Her eyes dart over my shoulder to where Marty is inevitably watching. There are still eyes on me, on us, but I don’t care. I’d let everyone watch if it meant I got to be close to her.
“Um…wasn’t that your lunch?”
Autumn’s tone is dry, annoyed. A corner of my mouth lifts.
So she is jealous.
“No,” I lie, feeling no remorse about leaving the risotto in Marty’s hands. She can pour it all over her naked body for all I care; I only have eyes for Autumn.
Her green eyes dart to the side and the legal aides cough and shuffle and go back to their desks. Autumn crosses her arms.
“Can I help you with something?”
It’s an echo of the question she asked me a week ago, when I caught a tantalizing glimpse of her in Grant’s old office…
“Have lunch with me.”
A few heads turn, conversations ending in shocked stutters. I get it, this isn’t something I do.
Ever.
Confusion flits across Autumn’s face, but she masks it quickly. A habit that makes her a good lawyer. My smile only widens to a wolfish grin.
“If I’m not mistaken, Marty was offering you lunch.”
She makes it sound like a dirty word and my cock twitches with interest. Gaze dropping to her plump lips, I wonder what other dirty words I could make her cry out.
My voice drops, aware of our audience, as I answer, “Marty just wants to fuck her way up the ladder. I’m not interested.”
Autumn’s brows knit as her gaze runs over me appraisingly. I’m not completely clueless. I know she doesn’t trust me, has some preexisting dislike for me, for some reason. Whenever she spies me on the floor, I see that little sneer she can’t hide.
I want to know what I did to make her dislike me. I want to fix it; I want to beg at her feet if that’s what it takes.
I want to make her beg.
“No.”
Autumn turns and walks away.
Following her, I’m only dimly aware this isn’t a good look for the firm. Their leader wandering around after an attractive woman, wounded and half in love.
Half? the little voice in my head taunts.
“Autumn—”
She turns quickly. I barely pull to a stop, the distance between us minuscule.
That scent is back again. Vanilla with a hint of something floral…
Something warm…
I want to bury myself in her. Let my senses soak her in.
“What are you doing?”
Her voice is hard, unforgiving. It’s like a slap in the face.
It brings me back to myself.