Page 40 of A Legal Affair
Without warning Daniela found her back flush against the masculine warmth of his big body.
She looked over her shoulder at him, and their eyes locked. She felt him go tense, felt the tremor of response in her own traitorous body. Her pulse spiked crazily, her nipples pebbled and her thighs clenched.
As she slowly rose to her full height, the resulting friction between their bodies was so supercharged, so mind-blowinglyintense, that she nearly moaned out loud.
She stayed right there, unwilling or unable to move, trapped in a cocoon of Caleb’s body heat. She could feel him breathing, could feel his chest expanding and contracting against her back. He had her caged in against the bookcase, his arms like steel bars on either side of her.
As they stared at each other, one of his hands lowered from the shelf and ghosted her hip. She shivered as if he’d actually touched her, goose bumps erupting all over her skin. She saw his pupils dilate before his eyes dipped to her mouth, watching her lips slowly part.
And then his hand came up and passed over her hip again, this time settling on the flared curve.
The rush of wetness between her legs shocked her, and she audibly gasped.
As if the sound broke the spell between them, Caleb dropped his arms and stepped back from her, his gorgeous face an impenetrable mask.
Suddenly the aisle seemed way too narrow, the space much too confining.
They held each other in a locked gaze for a long, electrifying moment. Then, without a word, Daniela turned on legs that shook and got the hell out of there.
Caleb stood watching as Daniela walked away from him as quickly as if the devil was on her heels. And maybe he was.
God knows there was nothing saintly about the thoughts racing through Caleb’s mind, or the raw hunger rampaging through his blood and hardening his dick. How could something as simple and fleeting as the accidental brush of their bodies wreak such havoc on his senses?
When he’d unexpectedly found himself pressed against Daniela’s lush curves, a double onslaught of temptation and lust had hit him like a tsunami. Her bewitching dark eyes, at once innocent and boldly seductive, had thrown him completely off-kilter. All of a sudden he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t move.
Staring at her slightly parted lips, he’d been struck with a feral urge to kiss the hell out of her, to plunge his tongue into the sweet depths of her mouth and devour her whole. As she’d slowly risen to her feet, the unhurried pace had intensified his awareness of her jasmine-scented skin and every dangerous curve of her body. He’d wanted nothing more than to grab her by the hips and crush himself against the plump swell of her ass. He’d wanted to strip her naked, bend her over and fuck her until she screamed his name.
Shaken to the core, Caleb took a deep, ragged breath that burned in his lungs. As he blinked, his surroundings slowly came back into focus. He was in the library, for God’s sake. He’d been on the verge of seducing one of his students in the fuckinglibrary, where at any moment another student or one of his colleagues could’ve stumbled upon them.
Caleb swore under his breath, filled with shame and self-loathing.
Somehow, some way, he had to resist this forbidden craving he had for Daniela Moreau, before his slick grasp on control completely slipped away.
If it hadn’t already.
14
Daniela slid a tube of red matte lipstick over her lips and finger-combed her luscious twist-outs before turning away from the mirror.
As she bent to retrieve a pair of strappy high-heeled sandals from the floor, she felt the onset of a migraine behind her eyelids. For just a moment she wished she could crawl into bed and sleep it off, both the headache and the growing fatigue that had dogged her all afternoon. But she’d promised April that she would attend tonight’s art exhibit at the Blue Star, where some of April’s photography would be on display for the first time ever. She’d spoken of little else during their study session that morning, so Daniela would have felt like an asshole if she didn’t make an appearance.
Besides, she needed a distraction, something to get her mind off the library encounter with Caleb. It was all she’d thought about for the rest of the day, torturing herself with illicit mental images of being pinned to the bookcase while he kissed her dominantly, his strong hands roaming all over her body until she arched into him with a breathy moan of surrender, until he lifted her against the row of books, their spines digging into her backas he pulled her legs around him and dry humped her to a body-rocking orgasm.
Holy hell.
No wonder she felt so hot and bothered.
Giving herself a hard mental shake, she slipped on her sandals and swallowed two aspirin, then grabbed her black clutch and left the house. It was a mild summer evening, perfect for the five-minute stroll to her destination.
Nestled on the outskirts of the historic King William District, the Blue Star Arts Complex boasted an eclectic cluster of old warehouse buildings divided into galleries, artists’ performance spaces, design offices and studio apartments.
The Blue Star’s most popular event was First Friday, a community-wide art walk held the first Friday of every month that drew crowds from all over San Antonio for art openings, theater productions, shopping and dining. The event was held rain or shine, which meant that every so often the turnout was low.
Such was the case tonight, Daniela noted upon arriving at the brightly lit complex. The parking lot was only half full, though it was well past seven o’clock. On a busy night, the valets were usually turning motorists away by six. Live jazz music beckoned to visitors from the Blue Star Brewing Company, a charming pub located in what was once an old beer storage warehouse.
Passing the brewery, Daniela climbed a steep set of metal stairs to reach the gallery dedicated to showcasing the works of new and emerging artists. Because she was a regular at First Friday, she didn’t flinch at the muggy heat that greeted her when she entered the building.
At the end of the long corridor and wearing a chic black pantsuit, April stood at the entrance to one of the small exhibit rooms, talking animatedly to a middle-aged couple dressed for a night on the town. Her grin widened when she saw Daniela.
