Page 47 of Pleading Innocence

“But I know I’ve been a fool,” he said, dipping his head low to look at the ground and back up at me. My heart rate sped up and my breathing grew more rapid. I swallowed against the tingling in my body, not wanting him to see what he was doing to me as I raised my brow at his admission.

“What are you saying, Jared? You think I could beat you?” I asked as shock brought a small smile to my lips.

If he thought I could beat him, it was possible that he was seeing me as his equal and that was mind blowing. With an ego like his, it was surprising to me that he hadn’t broken apart and shattered into dust after giving me what I now saw was a genuine compliment.

He cleared his throat. “Well, I haven’t lost yet,” he said, putting his other hand in pocket, shrugging. And though he was resisting it, I saw a playful smile trying to emerge. My body warmed. I swore to myself, because I was sure my damn skin flushed, exposing me as always. I ran a hand over the back of my neck.

He stood in front of me, looking at me as if he wanted to touch me, and I could feel the sensation of his finger caressing my face though he hadn’t given in to the action. “Here’s another kicker that will knock your panties off you.” He grinned. “I think Crawford & Beam made a mistake letting you go.”

The way he said panties had warm liquid flooding my center. Were we still talking about my job, or by ‘Crawford & Beam’ did he mean that he made a mistake letting me go? My breath shook and I was pulled into his brown eyes, salt-and-pepper beard, and mostly gray hair over young, barely wrinkled features. Except for a couple lines in his forehead and at the corner of his eyes—which made me confused because he didn’t laugh too often, at least not around me, and those wrinkles were called ‘laugh lines.’ He was intense and that intensity was so strong in the way he looked at me right now, my fingers and toes went numb, my heart shook, and my voice trembled with desire.

“Well, thanks. I appreciate the compliment.” I smiled at him, feeling my lips shake as I did.

Damn, if I was misinterpreting his words and his actions, if he didn’t want me as much as I wanted him right now, I was going to really kick myself for allowing my defenses to sway by the time I made it back to my car.

Chapter 30

Jared

Itfeltsofuckingawkward hanging back after court. But when we were all leaving the courtroom, I noticed that Tiffany had remained seated. The concerned voice inside me that I tried to silence when it came to her managed to seep through making me pause at the door, watching her and contemplating whether or not I should approach her. It became clear by the way she was running her hands over the smooth, varnished wood that she was taking a moment to herself to celebrate. It reminded me of my first case. I knew that feeling.

Even though she pissed me off when she managed to get one over on me, I found myself wondering if Mario had been right. I hadn’t seen the value of her role as an attorney when she was working at Crawford & Beam. My biases toward her and my need to not feel anything at all for her blocked my ability to see her for who she was and what she was capable of.

Maybe she had to leave. If I was being honest with myself, she probably wouldn’t have gotten this opportunity had she stayed at Crawford & Beam. Maybe he was right and it was just a coincidence that she’d been assigned this case.

The truth wasn’t clear to me, but watching her, I remembered feeling that sense of success, even before the money started hitting my bank account. Being able to represent and satisfy my first client fairly felt like I’d hit the jackpot. With that memory and the possibility that I had let my feelings get in the way of seeing her value, it felt like I owed it to her to congratulate her, even though my insides were being incinerated at the thought. So to soothe the burn, I saw this as an opportunity to get what I wanted out of it.

In order to avoid lying, I dodged her question. When I congratulated her, therewassomething in it for me. It wasn’t a lie when I said she did a great job, that part was true, but just because my words were genuine, it didn’t mean that I was okay with losing. Losing wasn’t a part of me. And it wasn’t going to become a part of me now. So, yeah, the congratulations were more about me than they were about her. It gave me an opening because she clearly wasn’t going to give me the time of day otherwise. The congrats got her to stop and listen.

By being friendly, I could find a way to get some information out of her as long as I could get her talking. Slyness and wit was my strategy. But when her skin flushed and she pulled her eyes from mine, trying to hide the heat that somehow invaded her body out of nowhere, it dawned on me that perhaps her desire for me hadn’t died. Either that or she was having a really hot memory about someone else. In order to test it, I stepped even closer.

Her lips parted as she raised her head to look at me and my throat went dry. There was a tightness in my throat forcing me to gulp as it became harder to breathe. Desire slammed into my body, but I tried my best to gather myself. This wasn’t something I could act on. Everything with Tiffany was complicated, and I couldn’t want her.

With the blood thumping against my brain, my thoughts went out the window and the reason I approached her grew more distant. The memory of my plan to outwit her came back in patches as our eyes made contact. Her green eyes were looking up at me with pure flames shooting off them. I licked my lips and looked at hers. It was becoming even harder to focus. This wasn’t the best time for me to lose my focus. My reputation was on the line.

Overwhelming joy crept up inside me with the knowledge that I wasn’t the only one still inflamed by the thought of our hot, sweaty bodies rubbing up against each other. Ah fuck. The imagery made me groan as it took over my mind. Conjuring up that imagery was a bad idea…

Shit. I needed to think about something that turned me off about her. As great as it felt to know that she might still want me, the only thing I could allow her to stroke was my ego because this couldn’t go anywhere. But at the moment, nothing was turning me off about her, and it was irritating. Deciding to steel myself, I pulled away and heard her breath fall. She was so flushed, it did nothing to dim my arousal.

“Um, thanks for congratulating me. May the best man or woman win.” She smiled and stuck out her hand. “Truce?” she asked.

May the best man or woman win? Damn.

Right. That’s why I came over here. The need to win came back roaring. The whole reason I stood out here waiting for the chance to outwit her was alive within me again, and maybe there was a chance that I still could. As I looked at her hand an idea flashed white, blinking lights in my mind. It was possible that this sexual tension didn’t have to go to waste. Maybe I could seduce her into walking away from the case. It was a low level to stoop to and it was horrible to even consider asking her to walk away from something that she was just basking in, but fuck. I couldn’t lose.

Attempting this could backfire and make her hate me even more. I should’ve probably accepted the truce—but for what? To be tortured by an insatiable desire that couldn’t be fulfilled forever in her presence? It was easier when we hated each other than it was when we liked and wanted each other because at least I could let my resentment toward her overwhelm my desire for her. But a truce? Friendship? With how bad I wanted her? Forget about it. If this failed and she hated me afterward, oh well. I could cope with the hate not the need or the hope.

Taking her soft hand in mine, I looked in her eyes, giving her my best smolder. I ignored the heat that electrocuted my palms and focused on strategy, thinking only with the lawyer side of my brain. Win. Leaning into her, I watched as her breath caught and she licked her lips.

“Truce,” I said, all low, stroking my thumb over the back of her hand before looking from side to side to make sure that we were alone. Then I stepped in even closer until I could feel her heartbeat through her wrist going wild. Fuck. Something flipped over in my stomach, pulling on my abdomen and tugging on my shaft.

Over her shoulder, I could see one of the courthouse bathrooms and I shook my head against the thought that just entered my mind. This was a game and I needed to stay in it. I let her hand fall from mine and watched as her pupils dilated. Her lips were trembling, and I knew she wasn’t cold. It was the heat between us, the need to connect our lips, and the restraint in her body that had them shaking. It made me want to stroke my thumb against them. So I did.

“I missed you,” I said softly as I walked into her, prompting her to walk backward against the bathroom door.

There was a catch in her breath, and as I moved my hand to the side of her neck, her pulse hammered the palm of my hand. I saw the moment she surrendered to her desire. Her eyes flickered from resistance to need.

“I missed you too,” she said, reaching for my tie and tugging me lower to bring my lips to hers. Fuck.

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