“Lofted second floor,” Haley announced, sweeping her hand around the space. “A second living room that opens up to the downstairs, which would be perfect for an office. The second and third bedrooms are this way.”

I gazed around the space, imagining the layout for a few moments. But I was also giving myself a moment to get Haley’s intoxicating scent out of my nose. I was already half-hard just from being around her for a few minutes.

She had disappeared into one of the bedrooms, so I hurried in that direction. I poked my head in one bedroom, which was empty, then turned and walked into the next one…

Haley came around the corner and ran into my chest in the doorway. Both of us grunted, and she began to stumble backward, but then I snatched her arm and yanked her toward me. She bumped against my chest again, softer this time, before regaining her balance.

“Sorry,” she said, face immediately turning red. “I thought you’d gone somewhere else…”

“No, it was my fault,” I replied.

Suddenly, I realized our faces were very close. I could see the pale blonde eyelashes that framed her impossibly blue eyes.

The last time we were this close…

Her blush deepened, but she didn’t move away. Neither of us wanted to leave the wonderful proximity of our bodies.

Why did this feel sogood?

As an attorney, I was cautious by nature. Ihadto be that way.

But sometimes, I wanted to throw caution to the wind and do what feltright. She had pounced on me the night we kissed on Lucas’s couch, and I’d loved her eagerness.

Standing in the penthouse loft, staring down at Haley’s heart-shaped face, I couldn’t hold back any longer. It wasmyturn to show her how eager I was.

I shoved Haley up against the wall and crushed my lips against hers. She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me backhard, like she’d been thinking about it since we rode the elevator up together. My body throbbed with need as I inhaled her orange scent again.

So much for willpower.

29

Haley

Since the moment I met Shay outside the building, I’d been silently praying he would make a move. Being around him was torture—all I could think about was the night of naughty fun we’d shared, and the damn-near-heroic way he’d saved my ass in court. As I showed him around the penthouse, I was turned on so much I felt downrightelectric.

Maybe I knew he was about to walk through the doorway. And maybe I bumped into him intentionally. Who could possibly know?

When I kissed him on Lucas’s couch weeks ago, he was slow to kiss me back. It was like he was trying to be nice about it. Eventually things got hotter, but it took him a few seconds toreallyget into it.

But the way Shay threw me up against the wall tonight? He didn’t care about being nice anymore. He gripped my arm and kissed me hotly and hungrily, causing me to melt. My breath quickened as my body lit up like a Christmas tree, wedged between the wall and his hard body, deceptively strong beneath his suit. He growled deep in his throat, pushing into me, arousal rolling through his body into mine.

I hadn’t realized so much tension had built between us since that night at Lucas’s place, but it was undeniable now. As his tongue pressed into mine, I felt like I was going toexplodein the best possible way.

Then his lips moved to the side of my neck, our cheeks pressed together. He sighed. “Sorry. I had to do that.”

“Don’t you dare apologize,” I breathed. “Although I’m surprised a lawyer didn’t get verbal consent first.”

He pulled back far enough to playfully glare into my eyes. Then his mouth slid past my cheek once more, teeth dragging against my earlobe as he whispered directly into my ear:

“Do I have your consent?”

“Consent to do what?” I replied.

I felt him smile against my neck. “Whatever. I. Want.”

I fuckingmeltedunderneath him, nodding frantically. Only then did he kiss my neck again. I slid my hand up his thigh, over the dress pants. He grabbed my wrist and pulled my hand higher, to the buckle of his belt.

My body was on fire, but I still felt like I owed him for his help in court. I wanted him to know how grateful I was. I spun him around so that his back was to the wall, then dropped to my knees while unzipping his pants, savoring the bulge I felt inside, confirmation of my own desire.