Page 36 of Cause and Effect

“Now, you’re upset you slept with him?” Morgan asked.

“I don’t cross professional lines, but that man is?—”

“Undeniably sexy, charming, and has a hint of bad boy in him?” She smirked.

“Yep.” I nodded. “He said I started it by raping his mouth, and there was no way he could resist me.”

She laughed. “Typical man. Listen, Laurel. It was only sex. You and Julian are two consenting adults who are attracted to each other. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“I told him it’s never happening again.”

“Okay. Chalk it up to a one-night stand and move on. Believe me. I’ve had my fair share of one-night stands in my lifetime. More than I care to admit.”

“You’re right. It’s no big deal. We’re adults, and it changes nothing.”

“Exactly!” She pointed at me. “You did use protection, right?”

I chewed my bottom lip. “I don’t know. Oh, God.” I stood up. “I’ll talk to you later.”

I ran down to Roman’s office but noticed that Julian was in his as I passed by. Stopping in the hallway, I backed up and stepped inside his office.

“You used a condom last night, right?” I asked.

“Yes. Of course, I did.”

“Okay. I’m on the pill anyway, but I wanted to make sure. God only knows if you have anything going on down there.”

“Excuse me?” His brows furrowed. “I’ll have you know that I am one hundred percent clean—one hundred percent. I’m offended you would even think I wasn’t.”

“Please. You sleep with any woman who looks your way.”

“That isn’t true. But believe what you will. If we’re done here, I have a lot of work to do.”

“We’re done.” I walked out and shut the door.

Chapter Fifteen

Julian

Melinda ran into my office and shut the door.

“You slept with Laurel last night?”

“No.” I looked up at her.

“Bullshit. I heard the conversation. Why did she ask you if you used a condom? Oh my God, Julian. Did you take advantage of her while she was drunk?”

“We both had a little too much to drink, and I asked her if she was sure, and she said yes. She kissed me first!” I pointed at her. “Oh, come on, Mel. Don’t look at me like that.”

“Okay.” She turned and left my office.

Sighing, I turned my chair around and stared out at the city. Last night was amazing—maybe a little too amazing. My mind kept remembering the soft curves of her beautiful body and the delicate arch of her back when I was buried deep inside her.

“Jesus Christ.” I placed my hand over my cock to stop it from getting hard.

“Hey,” I heard Roman’s voice from the doorway andturned my chair around. “Morgan and I decided to have a family barbecue tomorrow afternoon after we get back from our golf game. Don’t make plans.”

“Yeah. Sure. Sounds fun.”

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