Page 61 of A Legal Affair
Evander slapped him on the shoulder. “Just say you’ll give it some thought,” he advised with a sympathetic grin. “It’s the only way to get her off your back.”
“Fine. I’ll give it some thought.”When hell freezes the fuck over.
“Yay!” Robinette exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly and then hugging him. “I have a good feeling about this one, Caleb.”
“Where have I heard that before?” he grumbled.
She laughed and checked the time on her phone. “Oops. Let me go before I’m late to spin class.” She leaned over and kissed Evander’s cheek. When she moved to leave, he caught her around the waist and pulled her back in for more smooching, murmuring lewdly against her mouth, “Maybe I’ll come watch you ride the hell out of that bike. You know I love seeing you work up a sweat with your juicy phat ass jiggling all over the place.”
She pealed into giggles. “You so nasty!”
Caleb rolled his eyes. “Alright, I’m out. Catch you two later.”
“Don’t forget about dinner this weekend,” Robinette called after him. “I’ll text you the details.”
“Not making any promises.” He headed off down the tiled hallway to the locker room, where he stripped off his soaked sweats, tossed them in his gym bag and strode to the showers.
The scalding water hammered against his skin, sinking deep into his sore muscles. He soaped up a washcloth and scrubbed at his chest, his arms, his face, as if he could physically scour away the memory of Daniela’s glistening naked body, her perfectbouncing tits, her trembling thighs, her look of complete ecstasy as she came screaming his name.
He slammed his eyes shut and tilted his head back, letting the water spill over his face and down his chest, trying to wash away the guilt that clung to him like a layer of dirt and grime.
He tried to rationalize what happened, tried to minimize it somehow. It was just one night. A mistake. A moment of weakness. Temporary insanity. He could fix it. He could pretend it never happened. He could distance himself from her, make it clear there’d be no round two.
But deep down inside, he knew that was a lie. Some doors, once opened, could never be closed. He knew if Daniela walked into the locker room right now, nothing would stop him from having his way with her again, onlookers be damned.
He also knew, with a bone-deep certainty, that this was just the beginning. The consequences of his actions were gathering like storm clouds, ready to unleash havoc. All he could do was wait for them to break, and hope like hell he survived the destruction.
20
Daniela underestimated how difficult it would be to sit in Caleb’s class on Wednesday morning and pretend that nothing had changed between them.
She couldn’t look at him, prowling back and forth in front of the lecture hall, without remembering the way his body had felt under her, over her, thrusting in and out of her. And, unless she was imagining things,shewasn’t the only one with a problem.
Caleb’s dark gaze seemed to land everywhere in the room but on her, though she sat directly in his line of vision in the second row. Every time she thought for certain he’d look her way, her mouth went dry and her heart lurched crazily, only to have his eyes skim over her as if she were invisible.
It was one of the most frustrating, nerve-racking experiences she’d ever endured.
And she was going to do something about it.
When class was over, she told April that she had to meet with one of their professors. Then she made her way over to Caleb’s office in the law faculty building, fervently hoping he wouldn’t decide to have coffee with Shara first.
While she waited for him to arrive, she sipped her bottled water and studied his spacious office, committing every detail tomemory, as if by doing so she could gain deeper insight into the man himself.
Oak-paneled walls contained rows of law books, encyclopedias and every kind of dictionary imaginable. Books and papers covered almost every available surface of his desk, and near the end of one wall, his framed Juris Doctor degree was quietly displayed, as if he’d hung it there as an afterthought, or at someone’s cajoling. No family photographs graced the walls or desk, nor did the office contain a single plant, poster or favorite engraving. The absence of personal effects intrigued Daniela, heightening her curiosity about a man who remained as elusive as the dark secrets she’d been sent into his life to unveil.
She heard the deep timbre of his voice in the hallway as he responded to a colleague’s friendly greeting, and then he strode briskly through the door. When he saw Daniela seated in one of the visitor chairs, his steps slowed a little, but his expression betrayed no emotion.
Without a word, he closed the door behind him. When Daniela heard the softclickof the lock, her pulse thundered.
Caleb rounded the corner of his desk and dropped his messenger bag to the floor before lowering his big body into the leather chair, his dark gaze holding hers in silent appraisal.
“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly.
Daniela smiled. “I’m almost back to one hundred percent,” she replied, crossing one long leg over the other and watching, with a twinge of deep satisfaction, as his eyes followed the movement.
She’d dressed with extra care that morning, donning a midriff-baring white halter top with a brown ruffle skirt. The front of the tiered skirt curved upward to show off the smooth, shapely expanse of her bare legs—which, in her opinion, had always been her greatest asset. Completing the bohemian look were a pair of wide hoop earrings, simple bands of gold thatencircled her wrists and sexy platform sandals with crisscross straps that laced up the ankle.
Caleb’s lazy gaze ran the length of her before returning slowly to her face. In silence he watched her raise the bottled water to her lips and take a long sip, tilting her head back to swallow deeply.
