Page 24 of A Legal Affair
Daniela nodded, grinning. “It’s a sensory thing. You know, the combination of rich, hot coffee mixed with sweet, cold ice cream. Mmm, heavenly. You should try it.”
He shook his head. “No, thanks.”
“Come on, try it,” Daniela coaxed, holding out a spoonful of ice cream to him. “I think you’ll really like it. Try it. I insist.”
Caleb hesitated, then leaned forward to accept the sweet offering. As she slid the spoon into his mouth, she was caught off guard by the sudden heat that bloomed in her belly and spread outward like a slow, thick liquid, dampening her panties.
Her heart thundered at the very male look that filled Caleb’s eyes as he watched her watching him. Slowly he ran his tongue over the masculine curve of his bottom lip, removing traces of the creamy concoction.
“You’re right,” he said silkily. “Itisgood.”
Daniela’s breasts felt tight and achy against her lace bra. Without thinking, she drew the spoon into her own mouth and licked off any residual vanilla ice cream, imagining she could tastehim. It was one of the most erotic experiences she’d ever had. The only thing that’d be more erotic would be Caleb licking ice cream from her body, trailing a sticky path down between her thighs and burying his tongue deep, deep inside her.
She shivered hard, her nipples pearling. “You, uh, were supposed to take a sip of coffee right afterward,” she said huskily. “To get the full effect.”
Caleb’s eyes darkened, stoking the flames already building within her. “I think I did.”
Her pulse went berserk and so did her breath, his words sending a thrill of illicit pleasure to her core. Another minute of this, and she’d be begging him to drag her into a bathroom stall and fuck her hard against the wall.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—he chose that moment to glance at his watch and clear his throat. “Let’s talk about your case brief.”
As opposed to having hot, kinky sex in a public restroom.
Biting back a sigh of regret, Daniela reached into her handbag on the seat beside her. As she rummaged around for a pen and the small notebook she’d brought to take notes, Caleb’s gaze wandered to the flatscreen television mounted in a nearby corner of the restaurant. A KSAT-12 news anchor was reporting on the early-morning indictment of a local labor union boss. Carlito “Lito” Olivares, president of the Oil Refineries Workers Union, had been charged with embezzling over three million dollars from various employers represented by his union.
Shaking her head in disgust, Daniela was about to make a scathing comment when something in Caleb’s demeanor stopped her. There was a deep furrow between his brows, and he was gripping his coffee cup so hard, she worried it would shatter in his big hand.
With mounting curiosity, she looked at the television, then back at Caleb. What was going on here?
One of the waiters turned up the volume on the television. “…is also charged with defrauding the union by submitting false entertainment vouchers, using union funds to purchase personal airline tickets and billing the organization for $50,000 in personal telephone calls made on a union-issued cell phone. Olivares is expected to enter a not-guilty plea at next week’s arraignment. We’re also getting word, from sources close to the Olivares camp, that legal heavyweight Crandall Thorne may soon step in to represent Olivares on this case.”
Daniela snapped to attention. Crandall Thorne was going to defend the corrupt labor union boss? Was that why Caleb looked so ominous? Did he have a problem with his father representing Olivares? Or did he disagree with Olivares’s indictment?
When Caleb returned his gaze to hers, his face was devoid of expression. Calmly he took a sip of coffee and set the cup back down on the table.
Daniela studied him carefully. “Crandall Thorne is your father, isn’t he?”
“Yes.” He nodded toward the notebook in front of her, making it clear he didn’t want to discuss the matter further. “What can I help you with?”
Daniela wanted to press him for more information, but she knew she wouldn’t get very far.
Reminding herself once again that it would take time to win his trust, she launched into a detailed explanation of the problems she was having with her case brief.
9
It was, Caleb admitted to himself later that afternoon, one of the stupidest things he’d ever done in his life.
He’d had no business having coffee with Daniela Moreau.
Not when thoughts of her had taunted him for the past three days.
Not when he’d found himself seeking her out almost from the moment he stepped foot in the classroom that morning.
And definitely not when, in the middle of drilling her on a case, he’d found himself imagining her silky-soft skin pressed up against his, her luscious body writhing beneath him as he fucked her brains out.
He’d had no business having coffee with her.
His first mistake had been getting into her car. The eight-minute ride to the café had been pure torture. Every time Daniela shifted in her seat, the high slit in the side of her skirt had exposed the shapely curve of a milk chocolate brown thigh. Every time her slender hand palmed the gearshift, working the manual transmission with the skilled ease of a pro, his imagination—along with his libido—had kicked into overdrive.
