Page 33 of Cause and Effect

I sat on the edge of the bed. “What have I done? Oh God,” I whispered to myself.

Julian walked back into the room and set my suit on the bed.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “But for the record, I told you we should stop when you raped my mouth in the kitchen. Your exact words were, ‘We should, but we don’t have to.’ I’m a man, Laurel. There was no way I could resist you.”

I stared up at him. “I was drunk, Julian.”

“So was I. Listen.” He sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed my hand. I quickly pulled it away. “We had a good time. It meant absolutely nothing. This doesn’t have to make our work relationship complicated. It was only sex. It’s no big deal.”

I turned my head and stared out the window at the palm trees slowly blowing in the wind.

“It never happened,” I said.

“What never happened?”

I shot him a look, and he winked before standing up and walking into the bathroom.

When I heard him get in the shower, I grabbed one of his T-shirts and slipped it on. Grabbing my purse, I pulled out my small makeup bag and hairbrush and took it into the bathroom.

“Can you grab me a washcloth? I forgot to get one before getting into the shower,” he said.

“Where are they?”

“In the tall cabinet next to the toilet.”

I opened the cabinet and removed two washcloths. Opening the shower door, I handed him one, and my eyes involuntarily diverted to his large manhood, hanging thick and heavy between his legs—an endless world of possibilities as far as I was concerned. Good lord. A tingling sensation hit down below, and I immediately shut the shower door.

“Thank you,” Julian said.

“You’re welcome.” I grabbed my things and used one of the bathrooms upstairs to get ready.

After applying light makeup, pulling my hair back into a ponytail, and dressing in my suit, I walked down to the kitchen, where Julian was leaning against the counter, sipping a cup of coffee.

“You look great.” He smiled. “Here.” He handed me a cup of coffee. “I just brewed it for you.”

“Thanks.”

The front door opened, and Parker walked into the kitchen.

“Morning.” He grinned. “What’s going on here?”

“Morning, Parker. Nothing is going on here. Nothing happened. I had too much to drink last night and couldn’t drive home.”

He walked over to the island and picked up the empty wine bottle.

“Ah, the Italian wine. No wonder you couldn’t drivehome.” A smirk crossed his lips. “I’m heading to the firm. Are you two coming into the office today, or are you going to stay here and play house?”

“Very funny, bro,” Julian said. “We’re coming.”

I grabbed my purse, hooked it over my shoulder, and climbed into my car. He gave me that wine on purpose. I know he did. Asshole. But there was no denying he was a sexy asshole. With one hand on the steering wheel, I placed my other fingers against my lips, for I swore I could still feel his on them. I vaguely remembered a feeling of warmth and comfort.

“Stop it, Laurel!” I spoke. “Just stop. You screwed up, and now you have to deal with the consequences.”

I pulled into the parking garage, parked my car, and headed toward the elevator. Julian was standing there, holding the door open. I couldn’t even look at him.

“Laurel—”

I put my hand up. “You knew how potent that wine was, and that’s why you gave it to me.”

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