Seducing the Defendant Read online

  That’s what I’m talking about. “Me too.”

  He starts to kiss down my neck, the sensations indescribable. I arch my neck, giving him more room, silently begging for more. My whole body is tingling, and I’ve never felt so alive. I squeeze my thighs together and run my hands down the material of his shirt. I want to touch his bare skin. I lift the shirt up and gently run my nails down his back. Jaxon moves the neck of my dress to the side to kiss my collarbone, and I make a soft moaning noise that I can’t stop even if I want to. When he slides off the couch onto his knees, I miss him immediately. I want him back on top of me, his mouth all over me, I need more torturous kisses. He does something even better though. He pulls me to sit up, lifts my dress up, and I help him pull it over my head.

  “Fuck,” he groans, and I grin.

  I’m wearing the new lingerie I bought today, a black strappy lace bra and matching panty set. The bra has a thin strap that goes around under the cup part, which gives it an even sexier, almost bondage-like look. When I saw it I knew it was perfect. He cups my breasts over the bra, then pulls the cups down and kisses each nipple, before sucking on them in turn. Pleasure shoots through my body, right to between my legs. I’ve never experienced passion like this, and now that I know what I’ve been missing, it almost makes me sad. So much time wasted, but better late than never. The timing is finally right for me, and I’m going to enjoy this more than I can explain.

  Jaxon glances up at me and says, “Tell me if you want me to stop.”

  I know he’s worried about me, but I’m fine. The past is staying where it belongs, and I’m in the now, with him. I know he won’t hurt me. Nothing he’s done has triggered me or set me off, and I think it’s because of the simple fact that I trust him. Maybe I trust too easily, but I think it all comes down to making sure it’s the right person. It feels right with Jaxon. I will never regret this, or him.

  “Okay,” I tell him, then kiss his lips, my tongue doing a little exploring while his fingers gently tease my nipples. He breaks the kiss to bury his face in my breasts again, then he undoes my bra and throws it on the floor.

  “Shame to take that off, but you look even better without it,” he says, looking into my eyes. “You are fucking beautiful, Scarlett. You have no idea what you do to me.”

  I feel beautiful when he looks at me like that, like the most beautiful woman in the world. He pays a little more attention to my breasts before he starts to kiss a trail down my stomach. When he stops at the top of my panties, our eyes lock. When I give him a slight nod, he pulls them off. Ever so slowly, he spreads my thighs. He can see all of me right now. My sex is right in his face, but he’s still looking into my eyes, something passing between us. There’s something here, I can feel it and I hope he can too. At the first swipe of his tongue, a shiver runs down my spine and my mouth opens as my breath hitches. And then he lowers his head, finally breaking eye contact, licking me everywhere, sucking on my clit, and driving me absolutely insane. I thread my fingers through his thick head of dark hair and gently tug, needing to do something. I can’t sit still. The pleasure is too much, and it’s been so long. He’s so good with his tongue; I can barely handle it. I’m panting, my thighs are starting to tremble, and I can feel myself on the verge of something amazing. I lift my hips up, squirming, and he pins them back down onto the couch, keeping me in place, then continues to lick me and suck on my clit until I’m whimpering.

  When I come, it hits me in one quick shot. My thighs shake as the pleasure spreads outward, all over my body, making me cry out. When I’ve come down from a euphoric high, I’m breathing heavily, and I’m tired, like he wrung every last ounce of energy out of me. My body is like jelly, there’s no tension left in me.

  “Oh my” is all I can think to say. “That was amazing, Jaxon. I don’t even know what to say right now.”

  He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, kisses my stomach, and then moves to sit next to me.

  “Where are you going?” I ask him, wondering if he thinks I’m just going to sit here and do nothing about his erection. I just need a moment to come back to myself.

  “Nowhere,” he murmurs, watching me with heat in his eyes. “I’m not going anywhere, Scarlett.”

  “Good,” I whisper.

  Because I haven’t even started with him yet.

  Time to put my newfound skills to practice.

  chapter 19

  Jaxon

  MY LITTLE TEMPTRESS. I love it when she’s confident; nothing turns me on more.

  “And what do you plan on doing with me exactly?” I ask, leaning back on the couch and watching her, like a wolf watches its prey. I know I said tonight could be for her, but I’m not going to say no if she wants to please me. It’s up to her though, there’s no pressure for her to do anything. Naked, she stands in all her beauty, giving me a show of that stunning body. From her tiny waist to her sexy wide hips and perfectly shaped thighs, the woman is a fucking goddess. She brought me to my knees, and apparently she’s about to return the favor. She lowers herself in front of me and reaches out, a little timidly, to undo my belt. I lie back and make no movement. This is all on her. If she asks me for something I’ll give it to her, but otherwise I’m just going to sit here and see what she’s going to do. She gets the belt undone and then lowers my zipper.

  “Help me slide these off,” she says, so I quickly remove my shoes, then slide the jeans down my ass and thighs. She pulls them off my legs. I’m left in my boxer shorts and my shirt, which is the next thing she demands that I lose. “Take your shirt off. And your boxer shorts.”

  I oblige, removing the items, then sit on her couch butt naked. She takes me in from head to penis, starting with my eyes, then down to my chest, my pecs, my abs, and then my cock. She lingers on my cock for a few moments, her eyes going wide. “It’s even bigger than the guys on the video,” she mutters, raising her eyes. “I knew it.”

  “Babe,” I grit out, my cock practically pointing at her, begging for some attention. She’s naked in front of me, on her knees, those tits right in front of me, and I’m about to lose my damn mind.

  Oh, right. I’m being patient.

  I take a deep breath, control my body, and relax.

  What’s a little blue balls, right?

  She licks her lips, then takes my cock in her hands at the base. Then she lowers her head, licking the tip before sliding as much as she can into her mouth and swirling her tongue around it.

  Fuck.

  I gently run my hands through her hair, making sure I don’t push her head down or anything like that. That video she was watching must have been extremely educational, because everything she does feels so good. She starts pumping her hand at the base and using her mouth on the head, a combination that has me on the edge. A few more deep sucks, and yeah, that’s me done.

  “I’m going to come, Scarlett,” I grit out between clenched teeth. I try to gently move her head back because that wasn’t a fucking warning. I’m about to explode. “Scarlett.”

  She doesn’t move, or let go of me.

  She keeps sucking until she’s wrung every drop of my come out of me.

  And then she swallows it, and licks her lips afterward.

  Fuck.

  I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.

  “Wow,” I breathe, picking her up and bringing her onto my lap. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

  “You liked it?” she asks, burying her face in my neck.

  “You couldn’t tell?” I tease, stroking my hands down her back. “It was perfect. You’re perfect. Loving that is not something I can fake, Scarlett.”

  “That’s true,” she says, kissing my neck, amusement in her tone.

  We just hold each other for a little while, feeling my skin against hers for the first time, peppering soft kisses on whatever part of her I can find. Her skin is so pale, soft, and smooth; I coul
d touch it all day. She has a rare beauty about her, almost an old-school beauty, like she should’ve been born in an earlier era. I don’t know how else to explain it. She just has something about her that is so different from all the women I’ve been meeting.

  “Can we go to my bed now?” she asks after a while, not letting go of me.

  “You want me to stay the night?” I ask, thinking how much I’d love to have her in my arms all night long. I can’t remember the last time I actually stayed the whole night in a woman’s bed without sneaking out in the early hours.

  “Yes, of course,” she says, sounding sleepy and sated, and I haven’t even been inside her. I definitely think we should save that for another day considering the way tonight escalated. I stand with her in my arms and carry her to her room, laying her down on the white sheets, then sliding in next to her. She rests her head on my chest, wrapping her arm around me, and falls straight to sleep. I can’t remember the last time I cuddled a woman all night, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now.

  The second my eyes close, I fall asleep.

  I WAKE UP FEELING warm and content.

  Scarlett is still fast asleep next to me, so I gently slide her off me and get out of bed. Luckily for me I woke up early enough to head home and get ready for work, because we didn’t set an alarm. Wishing I had time to make her some breakfast, or perhaps pick something up for her, I write her a note and place it on the bedside table, kiss her forehead, then get into my car.

  I already can’t wait to see her again tonight.

  THE NEXT CASE I’M working on is another highly publicized one. A well-known television presenter by the name of Sharon Beetle has been charged with sexual assault against one of her coworkers. It’s going to be a long court matter with a lot of media attention because both involved are public figures.

  After Ms. Beetle leaves my office, Hunter walks in, eyes wide. “She’s a babe.”

  “See, you should’ve done criminal law,” I tease, cleaning up my desk.

  “You saying all the hot women are criminals? I don’t know, I get my quota of hot single moms,” he jokes, dropping into the chair in front of me.

  “Yeah, ones that are getting a divorce,” I remind him, smirking. “Have you ever gone there with any of them?”

  “Nah,” he says, flashing me a grin. “I don’t shit where I eat. It’d be too messy to get involved with any of them, plus I see firsthand how money-hungry most of them are. Want to grab some lunch? I had a date . . . but well, that’s not going to happen now.”

  “Why, what happened?”

  “Well, she didn’t exactly look like her pictures. She lied. A lot,” he says, jaw going tight. “I think we need to go to Riley’s to make up for it.”

  “You got catfished?” I ask, barking out a laugh. “Ahh, fuck. Sorry, bro. Come on, I’ll buy you lunch and a beer. Riley’s it is.”

  “That would make me feel a little better,” he grumbles, playing with the watch on his wrist. “I don’t think online dating is for me.”

  “Old ways are the best ways,” I advise, standing up and closing my briefcase. “What’s wrong? Have no game? And how come Kat, Tristan, and Yvonne aren’t in here giving you shit about this? Or is it only me who gets that?”

  “As if I’m going to tell Kat,” he says, rising to his feet and stepping toward the door. “She’ll never let me live it down.”

  “Tell me what?” Kat asks, sticking her head in. “What’d I miss?”

  “Nothing,” we both say at the same time.

  She looks between the two of us. “What happened? Is it women problems? Because I’ll have you know that I give excellent advice.”

  Hunter and I share a look, then exit the room, walking past her.

  She actually does give wonderful advice, if I’m being honest, but she’ll also give you shit about it later. She follows behind us, an amused expression on her face. “Oh, come on, I’m not that bad.”

  I wave ’bye to her and exit the building.

  Time to try to cheer Hunter up a little.

  chapter 20

  Scarlett

  DID YOU MAKE ALL this yourself?” I ask Jaxon as he pulls everything out of the picnic basket. Bread, different cheeses, crackers, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, wine . . . He’s thought of everything.

  “No,” he admits, looking a little sheepish. “There’s a place that sells everything just like this, so you just buy it and you’re good to go.”

  “That’s a pretty cool idea,” I say as I cut a slice of cheese and place it on a cracker. Tonight he’s taking me to the concert. Are these things normal men do? I have no idea. I think I need to find some girlfriends so I can talk about these things.

  “I’m glad you like it,” he murmurs, popping an olive into his mouth.

  “Not as much as I liked last night,” I mutter under my breath, then grin cheekily and take a bite.

  Jaxon stills, then starts laughing, his shoulders shaking. “Plenty more where that came from.”

  “There’d better be,” I say, lip twitching.

  He leans over and wipes a little cheese from my lip with his finger. “Feeling bold today, are we?”

  “And less tightly wound,” I add, laughing when he shakes his head at me in exasperation. “I haven’t had an orgasm in quite a while, okay? I forgot how good they are. And that one . . . well, it was indescribable.”

  “Is this your usual picnic conversation?” he asks, kissing me on the temple, his tone laced with enjoyment. “Or maybe you just feel more comfortable around me now.”

  “I think this is the first official picnic I’ve ever been on,” I tell him. “How about you? Been on many picnics?”

  “Only one,” he admits, pouring some wine into two glasses. “I think it was with my first serious girlfriend. I was trying to be romantic, but it didn’t exactly work out.”

  “What happened?” I ask, wishing it was me who he’d met back then. How different my life would have been. Then again, we probably wouldn’t be together right now. Timing is everything, after all.

  “I put some candles all around the blanket, except one of them fell over and the blanket caught on fire,” he explains, cringing. “I didn’t get laid that night.”

  I cover my mouth with my hands, then start laughing, unable to control my reaction.

  “Glad you’re amused,” he grumbles, trying to sound put out, but I don’t miss the twitch of his lip.

  He’s secretly amused too.

  “So you weren’t always smooth, huh?” I tease, lying back on the blanket and turning to face him. “And how come I don’t get any candles?”

  “Because I learned my lesson the first time,” he says, leaning over me and giving me a lingering kiss. “I liked spending the night with you last night.”

  “All we did was sleep,” I point out. I thought maybe he would’ve reached for me in the middle of the night, but he didn’t. I have the feeling he’s letting me call the shots, letting me decide how fast or slow we go, and I like that about him. I can’t lie though, sometimes it makes me question whether he wants me as much as I want him.

  “I know. It was a good sleep, and I loved having you in my arms,” he says, kissing me again. “Why, what did you want to happen?”

  I purse my lips as I think how to word this. “I don’t know. I thought you’d maybe make love to me. I know you’re waiting for me to be ready, but I am.” I sigh and add, “I guess I’m just going to have to keep making the first move, aren’t I?”

  “Babe, you slept like a log last night. You didn’t wake up once, so I don’t think you could have made the first move even if you’d wanted to.”

  “Well, tonight is another night, isn’t it?” I say, lifting my chin. “And you know what? I still haven’t seen your house. What are you hiding there?”

  “You can come stay at my place if you li
ke.” He grins, kissing my forehead. “You can see what I’m hiding for yourself.”

  “I think it’s going to be super clean and tidy, just like your office.”

  “The office has a cleaner.”

  “Maybe your house has a cleaner too, then,” I fire back, taking an olive and some feta cheese and putting it into my mouth. I chew slowly as we both watch each other. “Jaxon.”

  “Scarlett.”

  “I would’ve slept with you even if you had almost set me on fire,” I tell him, smirking. I’m in a playful mood today, I just feel so happy. Jaxon is one of the first people I can spend time with without still feeling lonely. I never knew what I was missing out on until now.

  He shakes his head, then lies back on the blanket next to me.

  We look up into the sky, my arm touching his, and just enjoy being in each other’s presence.

  It’s comfortable between us, whether we’re talking or being silent. It’s intimate, whether we’re kissing or not, and I feel safe.

  Safe.

  A notion I thought impossible.

  But here we are.

  And I’m going to enjoy every second, and live it like it’s my last.

  AFTER THE CONCERT, WE go back to Jaxon’s house. It’s everything I thought it would be—a modern spacious house decorated in neutral tones, and the biggest TV and couch I’ve ever seen.

  “It’s stunning,” I say, looking around. “It’s the classiest bachelor pad I’ve ever seen.” I then add, “Okay, I think it’s the only bachelor pad I’ve been in, but still.”

  He laughs at that and grabs me a bottle of water from his fridge while I look at the photos on his shelf. “Who is this? She’s beautiful.”

  She has dark hair and an olive skin tone and stunning green eyes. In the picture, she’s looking at the camera, but he’s looking at her. And the way he’s looking at her, I can tell that he adores her. Is this an ex-girlfriend?