Page 32 of Entice

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Jordan rubbed the back of his neck. What a long day. It was after five. The courts never moved fast when you wanted them to, and today was one of those days. They’d barely gotten a half-hour for lunch.

He’d texted Crystal that whatever she wore to work would be fine for dinner, and he’d pick her up at six. Damn. He wanted to cook her dinner, but there wasn’t enough time for him to shop, and by the time he got anything ready, it would be after seven.

Jordan:Crystal, would you mind dinner at my house?

His fingers drummed on the steering wheel as he waited for her reply.

Crystal:Sure. Do you want me to meet you at your place?

Jordan:No, I’ll pick you up. I’m going to order Chinese food, any objections?

Crystal:Sounds delicious.

Jordan grinned.

He called his favorite Chinese restaurant and placed an order to be picked up. He didn’t know what Crystal liked yet, so he ordered a variety. After a quick stop to grab the food, he headed to her apartment.

Crystal was waiting outside for him. He frowned when he pulled up. She opened the door and hopped in.

“Why are you waiting outside?”

Her eyebrows rose at his tone, but he didn’t care. “Because it was easier than making you park, come up and get me. Relax.” She leaned over and brushed a kiss over his cheek. Then she sniffed. “That Chinese food smells delicious.”

Jordan smiled. “It does. I wanted to cook for you, but I got stuck in court.” He waited until she fastened her seatbelt before he pulled away from her apartment building.

“You don’t need to cook for me, and you should have canceled. You must be tired.”

“It was a long day.” He reached over and captured her hand in his. “But I wanted to see you.” Jordan glanced over at her as they reached a red light. A light blush graced her cheeks. His fingers tightened around hers. “How did your research go today?”

“Great. I talked with two different kink-friendly psychologists.”

The light turned green, and he drove as she explained to him what the psychologists told her and how she thought they could utilize them and their information to help Sage.

“You know, for every expert we put on the stand, they’ll put two who will deny what ours said.” He pulled into his driveway.

“I know. I’m trying to figure out how we can use this to our advantage. Having information will help.”

He hopped out and opened her door, reached in and got the bags of food, and led her inside. Jordan disarmed his alarm system and headed for the kitchen with Crystal following.

“Set the food down, and I’ll get it all set up while you go change,” she said as they walked into the kitchen.

“Giving orders, are we?” He grinned at her.

“If you’re anything like me after a day in court, you want nothing better than to change into comfortable clothes.”

“So true.” He dropped a kiss on her nose and jogged to his bedroom. Jordan changed quickly, and by the time he returned, Crystal had set the table in the nook and had the food out.

“Were you expecting more people than the two of us?” she asked.

“No. Why?” He walked over to the fridge. “What’s your poison for tonight. Beer, wine, soda, water?”

“Soda please. You bought enough food to feed five people.”

Jordan set her soda on the table and held her chair out for her. He caught a whiff of strawberries as she sat down. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I got a little bit of everything.”

“I’m not a picky eater.” She picked up the fried rice and put some on her plate. “Excellent assortment, by the way. Everything looks yummy.”