Page 18 of Legal Passion
Out of control.
Stone did not like to be out of control. But at the moment, his body had taken over his mind, its demands too intense to be ignored any longer.
“I’m terrified of you,” he told Hillary. But he made the truth sound like a lie as he grinned and chuckled.
And the smile slid away from her face as she tensed in the passenger’s seat. Maybe she’d realized then that he wasn’t the only one with a reason to be afraid.
“You should be,” she said. And now she sounded like the child, petulant and defiant. “I’m going to win.”
He grinned. “I think it’s cute that you believe that.” He leaned across the console and ran his fingertips along her delicate jaw. “But then, I think everything about you is cute.”
She flinched.
He knew he sounded more condescending than complimentary. But he’d meant it that way. He couldn’t tell Hillary how he really felt, that she was drop-dead gorgeous and sexy as sin. Or she would know exactly how much she distracted him.
And she could use that distraction to her benefit and his detriment. All she had to do was look at him, the way she’d looked at him the night before when she’d torn open his shirt...
And he would lose all rational thought.
Hell, he was barely capable of thought right now. He just wanted to feel her: her silky skin, her breath against his lips, her body wrapping around his.
“I know I’m not your type,” Hillary said. “That’s why I know this is all just some sick game to you, some sneaky trial strategy.”
“What makes you think you’re not my type?” he asked. He wasn’t aware that he even had a type. He’d always thought of himself as an equal opportunity dater—just lately, with this case on his mind, he hadn’t had much opportunity to date anyone.
“You and your friends are notorious for the women you date,” she said. “For the supermodels and lingerie designers and actresses.”
“You’ve got me mixed up with my friends,” he said. Not that he hadn’t dated a model or two and a couple of actresses himself. But he’d never been as involved with any of them as two of his friends were now involved. He still couldn’t believe that Simon and Ronan were in love.
A twinge of panic struck his heart. That was something he would never risk. Too often falling in love led to one’s downfall, like it had with Byron Mueller. And Stone’s mom. And pretty much every one of the clients Ronan Hall represented in their divorce.
Nope. Stone would never risk falling in love.
But lust...
He had no control over that because he’d been lusting after Hillary for a while now—even before last night.
“You shouldn’t believe everything you read about me,” he continued.
She arched a brow and snorted her skepticism as she sardonically said, “Really? You’re not a former runaway who survived the streets of New York to make it big in the big city?”
Apparently, she hadn’t believed everything she’d read about him. But that was actually the truth.
“I was talking about my love life,” he said.
She snorted again. “Love?” She shook her head. “I know you’re not capable of that.”
He expelled a slight breath of relief. “Good.”
“You’re too cold and calculating to ever fall in love,” she continued.
And he flinched now. “I’m cold?”
He was burning up in the small space of his little luxury SUV. It wasn’t the heat of the bodies warming up the place. It was the desire he felt for her.
She nodded.
He reached across the console now and touched her thigh where her skirt had ridden up. Her skin was as hot as his palm. “Do I feel cold to you?” he asked.
