Page 64 of Legal Seduction
“Will I see you naked?” he wondered. “Even if I get this thing off you? Will I see you really naked?” Because that was what he wanted. He wanted to know Bette in the way that she’d gotten to know him. Completely.
* * *
He was asking for more than her body. For more than sex...
And for the first time in her life, Bette was ready to give herself completely to someone else. She wasn’t worried anymore that she would wind up like her mom or sister. She knew she wasn’t like them. And Simon was definitely not her father or brother-in-law. He wouldn’t expect her to give up anything for him.
“I missed you,” she said, her breath escaping in a ragged sigh. “So damn much.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have told you about my suspicions.”
She smiled. “But what if I had been the mole? You would have tipped me off.”
“You’re not the mole. I figured that out pretty damn fast,” he admitted. “But I wanted to keep seeing you, keep being with you.”
“I wanted to keep seeing you,” she said. “Keep being with you. I even considered offering to stay on part-time as your assistant.”
He shook his head. “As much as I hated you leaving, I wouldn’t want you to stay. This isn’t the job for you. Being a fashion designer, that’s what you love.”
And he was whom she loved. More than she’d thought it possible to love anyone.
“Before I could offer,” she reminded him, “Ronan confronted me about Muriel.”
He lifted his hand from the satin ribbon to her face, his palm gently cupping her cheek. “You should be the model,” he murmured. “These designs aren’t just madebyyou, they’re madeforyou.”
She shook her head. “You are the only one I want seeingmein them.” She drew in a deep breath, bracing herself, before admitting, “You’re the only one I want to see me naked.” She tugged on the right bow, the one that had the corset dropping away from her body. “Really naked.”
He tensed and stared at her face, his blue eyes wide with hope. “Bette.”
“I have really fallen in love with you.”
He laughed and wrapped his arms around her. “It’s about damn time!” he said. “I have loved you for so long!”
She snorted at his claim. “Not very damn long,” she said. “You ignored me for two years.”
He shook his head. “I tried to ignore you,” he said. “But I never should have hired you in the first place. You have no experience or education to work in a law firm.”
She eased back and studied his face. “That’s true. So why did you hire me?”
“Because I wanted to see you every day,” he said. “Even if I couldn’t touch you, I wanted to see you.”
“You can touch me now,” she said.
Now he stepped back and looked at more than her face. He looked at her body. And his breath hissed out between his clenched teeth.
“You are so damn beautiful.”
She didn’t argue with him or doubt him. She knew it was true. And she felt beautiful. “Thank you.”
He grinned. “Thankyou.”
“I haven’t done anything yet.” But she reached for the zipper of his pants.
He caught her hand in his and held it still in his gentle grasp. “You came here,” he said. “I was afraid to come to you.”
“If your friends hadn’t told me that, I probably wouldn’t have found the courage to come,” she admitted.
“My friends? The guys came to you?”
