Page 53 of Already At Risk
But more than that, I wanted to be a man she could count on—and not just because it was my job. I was fully aware that this was different from any other case or any other feeling I’d had about a client.
“Ms. London,” Korey’s lawyer started, and I already found myself tensing at how he addressed her.
“It’s—”
“Dr. London,” Natalie inserted, and I watched her rise into a different version of herself. The version that I knew was going to kick this deposition’s ass.
“Dr. London.” Korey’s lawyer made an unattractive grimace as he corrected himself. “Let’s get started, shall we?”
“Please,” Natalie said, flashing a forced smile as she folded her hands on the table in front of her.
I squeezed her thigh again and watched as the smile shifted.
Suddenly, it felt genuine.
Warm and sunny, like her.
Korey’s weaselly-ass lawyer asked Natalie questions for hours, and she handled every single one of them like a pro. I had to cut in a few times to make sure he kept in fucking line, but overall, his lack of ability to rattle her filled me with so much goddamn pride, knowing how nervous she probably was on the inside. Her confidence in her ability as a mother to care and provide for her daughter shone through in an undeniable way, and despite someof the things stacked against us, I had to believe that any judge would see how fit she was to maintain full custody.
We took a break halfway through, and it was only then that I removed my hand from Natalie’s leg. She stood, went to use the bathroom, and returned a few minutes later, wearing a hard-to-read expression. She’d put up those walls again, the ones Noah had mentioned. And I couldn’t blame her, not after being poked and prodded in all the sensitive parts of her soul for the better part of today.
I gave her space, leaning on the armrest that was on the opposite side of my chair than where she sat. I wasn’t sure if she’d want me to slip beneath the guard she’d put up while she was in the bathroom or if she needed it to stay intact to get through the rest of today. I kept my palms firmly on my own knees. If she wanted my hand, it would be there, waiting for her. It was hers to grab, the only part of me I could really offer her right now when we were sitting before a camera, before a man scrutinizing her—our—every action, word, inflection. But I wanted her to take it if she needed it.
Natalie dropped back into her chair, pulling herself toward the table. Her eyes darted to me. A flicker of a smile passed over her lips, but it vanished as soon as she trained her attention forward again. She cleared her throat, and I thought that was the end of our brief interaction, but then I felt her.
Her fingers brushed against my pant leg first, like she was searching blindly and couldn’t quite find me beneath the table. I widened the spread of my legs, pressing my knee against hers. The contact was…disarming, to say the least. I suppressed a shudder, swallowing hard as I tried to maintain my expression, staring ahead at the camera, which luckily was still off. Korey’s lawyer was looking at his phone when I felt Natalie’s fingertips brush my knee again. I flexed my knuckles until our hands grazed, finding each other. She hooked one finger with my middle one, giving it the tiniest tug, and I understood what she wanted.
How could I deny her when it was exactly what I wanted, too?
I’d never take touching Natalie for granted, not when it felt like a rare prize, when feeling her like this was forbidden, something that should be out of my grasp.
But she was very muchwithinreach right now. I curved my palm over her knee again, sliding it back into the same place it had been before, finding her inner thigh.
Natalie’s muscles calmed. I could actually feel the way they loosened beneath my touch, and I tried not to think about what it could be like to do that to her entire body.
Fuck, I just knew I could make her feel so good.
The camera flicked on again, and I gritted my teeth.
The red light on the front of it blinked in our faces, taunting. Reminding.
Natalie cleared her throat, leaning forward with her elbows on the table. Korey’s lawyer gave her a once-over, as if to ascertain if she was ready to continue, but I didn’t like how he did it with his eyes. And I didn’t like the way they lingered. Actually, I fucking hated it.
Whether Natalie noticed or just felt uneasy about the entire experience, I wasn’t sure, but I felt her tighten again. A gentle squeeze of my hand on her thigh seemed to help, though, so I repeated it a second time, with a touch more pressure.
“Dr. London.” Mr. Keller’s voice had a monotone quality that I hated listening to. “We’ve talked quite a bit about Chloe. Let’s talk a little more about you.”
Natalie bristled a little but nodded.
I moved my thumb in a circle on her warm skin, a reassuring touch that I hoped she understood. But she squeezed her legs together, like maybe she wanted me to stop, so I did, keeping my fingers still as Natalie answered a question about the medications she was currently taking as it pertained to her overall health, listing a prescription for generalized anxiety and birth control.
“Are you sexually active?” Mr. Keller followed up with.
“Objection, relevance,” I cut in. “Natalie, you don’t have to answer that.”
Natalie’s lips stayed sealed, her expression stony.
Good.
