Leslie searched her brain for a safe comment. “I don’t remember him teaching here when I was student.”
“That’s because he’s never been on staff here in Boston. Professor Williamson has been at Juilliard for nearly thirty years. But, as he repeatedly told me yesterday, he has an excellent memory. And he was very close to your grandfather, Leslie.”
A sense of inevitability dropped like an axe. “I remember him.”
“He and some of his colleagues are sponsoring a benefit concert this Friday night. He’s requested that you go to New York to participate.” Ms. Warren hadn’t lost the ability to look right through Leslie with those pale blue eyes. “And no matter how you feel about it, I must insist that you go.”
“I’m sorry?”
Ms. Warren’s lips pressed together to form a shape that resembled a flatlining heart monitor. “Less than a year ago, you were here in my office, convincing your best friend Talia to take a chance and audition with the Jupiter Symphony Orchestra in New York. It galled me that day, and has every day since, that you seem to be determined to hide here as a simple music teacher.”
Leslie scored her nails against her palms until they burned. Her heart thumped erratically, and she wondered if it wasn’t about to burst and save her all this heartache.
“You’ve been hustling us, Leslie Hampstead.” Ms. Warren’s face took on a steely, determined look that had put many a student back on the straight and narrow. “I expected such great things from you after your audition, but you’ve only done just enough to get by. However, I do have ears, young lady. And when you think no one is listening, you do amazing things with that violin of yours.”
Pressure built behind Leslie’s eyes, and she fought back tears. She knew she was a disappointment. She’d shamed her professors and shamed this woman who’d given her a chance when no one else would. Leslie could hardly imagine what her grandfather would’ve thought of how she’d turned out.
“I don’t know what you’re afraid of, but you cannot continue to keep your talents locked inside you forever.” Ms. Warren handed her a neat folder, the same kind Talia received just before she had seized the opportunity to play for the Jupiter Symphony in New York.
Talia’s decision had eventually pushed the love of her life into meeting her on her own terms. She and her husband, Erik, now lived full time in New York. Talia’s tempestuous history was nothing like Leslie’s. Talia had come from nothing, using her talents and her wits to conquer the odds. Leslie had come from everything and had lost it all to her father’s betrayal.
Inhaling a ragged breath, she stood and gathered
La Bella Ragazza’s
case beneath her arm.
“A life spent hiding from yourself isn’t a real life at all. I’ve arranged to have another teacher cover your classes until further notice.” Ms Warren offered a soft smile. “You’ve come so far from the frightened eighteen-year-old who faced me across this desk all those years ago. It’s time to let her go.”
* * *
Joshua cursed beneath his breath as his office door swung open to admit Mikayla Stevens with Evie hot on her trail.
“I’m terribly sorry, Mr. Breckenridge.” Evie was breathless from her run across the thick carpet in six-inch heels. “She insisted you had a meeting scheduled.”
Overton & Breckenridge was a law office, not a bar. Up until this moment, they’d never had to use the building’s security service. Now, Joshua was considering the possibility of hiring bouncers. If they were good-looking enough, Mikayla might even follow them out of her own accord.
“I told your silly little assistant that I was almost
sure
I had scheduled a meeting with you and Seth today.” Mikayla’s purr was like nails on a blackboard. “Where is Mr. Overton?”
Joshua crossed his fingers and prayed for a stay of execution. “He’s in New York, actually. He won’t be back for several days. Shall we go ahead and reschedule this for after he returns?”
Mikayla swung around and shot Evie a look that sent the assistant scurrying for the door. Once it had clicked closed, she turned back to Joshua. “Maybe we can talk some pleasure and leave the business for later.”
He crossed his arms and tried to look as forbidding as he possibly could. “Ms. Stevens, as I told you before, any romantic entanglements between the two of us are a gross conflict of interest violation, as we are both representing clients on opposite sides of a custody case.”
She sauntered closer, and he shifted to put his desk between them. After their disturbing dinner, he’d stuck her at the top of his mental list titled “Armed and Psycho.”
“If you want to play cat and mouse, I’m all for it.”
“Seriously, Ms. Stevens, I don’t know how to make it any clearer that Seth and I are not interested in pursuing any type of relationship with you outside the professional arena.”
He thought his eyes might pop out of his skull when she climbed
onto
his desk. Files, pens, and other clutter went flying as she crawled over and grabbed him by the tie. Her face was contorted into something she must’ve considered a sexy come-hither look, and he wondered how her expression would change if he took a step back and she hit the floor face-first.
A light knock on the door drew their attention. He could not have said who was more horrified when Leslie walked into the office.
“Joshua?” Leslie’s dark gaze lingered over Mikayla’s suggestive pose before coming to rest on him.
His mind spun wildly through the last few days, Leslie’s fears about long-term relationships and fidelity, and the sight of her sleeping in his arms. Before he could say anything, he watched her shoulders shake with something that looked suspiciously like suppressed laughter.
“Am I interrupting something important? Evie wasn’t at her desk, so I just came on back.”
Mikayla let go of his tie.
Taking advantage of her distraction, Joshua stepped quickly away. “Not at all. Ms. Stevens was just leaving.”
Mikayla managed to get off the desk without losing her balance. Once on her feet, she adjusted her short skirt and gave Leslie a calculating once-over. “Who’s this?”
As if drawn by sheer magnetism, Joshua and Leslie moved toward each another until she was tucked beneath his arm, one hand resting on his chest.
“Seth and I told you that we were in a relationship. This is Leslie.” He wasn’t sure what etiquette called for in this situation, but finishing the introduction seemed like the better idea. “Leslie, this is Mikayla Stevens.”
Mikayla’s gaze narrowed before settling on Leslie’s face. “Have we met? You’re very familiar to me.”
Something in Joshua’s midsection lurched. It was very possible that Mikayla could draw lines between Leslie and Niles. If that happened, Mikayla could find a way to make trouble for them all. It was too late to backpedal now. He didn’t know why Leslie would seek him out at work. She wasn’t the type to come knocking without a good reason.
“I think I’d have remembered meeting you,” Leslie said in a distinctly chilly voice. “In fact, I don’t recall either Seth or Joshua mentioning you before.”
Mikayla stiffened. “I work for another law firm here in Boston. We’re colleagues.”
Joshua bit his lip to keep from laughing as Leslie sent him a smoldering look from beneath her lashes. “That must be the explanation. The three of us rarely bother discussing work when we’re at home.”
Zing
! He could practically see Mikayla’s head rock back from the verbal slap in the face Leslie had delivered like a neat little package.
“I’ll be in touch, Joshua.” Mikayla turned on her heel and stalked out of the office. The door snicked shut behind her.
“Do I even want to know?” Leslie asked.
He wrapped both arms around the beautiful woman who’d just rescued him from the psycho opposing council and sighed. “That’s up to you.”
She twisted in his embrace until she could link her arms around his waist. “Has this happened before?”
He and Seth had agreed not to tell her about that terrible dinner meeting, but at this point, full disclosure seemed necessary. “Not exactly.”
She poked him in the belly.
Joshua wondered if there was any good way to explain that bizarre evening. “We had an honest-to-God business meeting with her that night we came and crashed your wedding gig. Before we’d even managed to order our food, she’d totally gone off on how much she wanted to watch me and Seth have sex.”
Leslie dissolved into giggles. Her laughter dispelled some of the apprehension in his gut. “Did either of you bother telling her you weren’t gay?”
“Multiple times.” He wavered for a moment, wondering if he should explain what had actually started the whole ball rolling. “Actually, Mikayla was the woman I met for drinks that night you moved into our apartment.”
She sank into introspection and moved her fingers restlessly against the fabric of his shirt. Her light touch was driving him insane. His nerves prickled with sensations that ricocheted down to his cock and caused it to grow at an alarming rate.
Quick as a wink, she tweaked his right nipple through his shirt. “No wonder you had trouble sleeping that night. You’re lucky you didn’t have nightmares for weeks.”
He felt two tons lighter. He’d never considered the madness with Mikayla to be something they’d actively kept from Leslie. Coming clean was like shedding a heavy burden he hadn’t realized he was carrying.
Sweeping her up into his arms, he deposited her on his desk and leaned down to give her a long, slow kiss. She melted into him, reaching up to lock her arms behind his neck and twine her fingers into the hair at his nape. He slid his tongue inside her mouth and deepened the kiss until she was whimpering with pleasure.
He pulled away reluctantly and pressed a line of light kisses down her jaw. She threw her head back, her hair shimmering in waves down her spine.
“So why did you come to see me?” He nipped her earlobe. “Not that I can’t find something to do while you’re here.”
“I have to go to New York.”
He was momentarily taken aback. Not just by her sudden desire to take a trip but by the obvious apprehension in her dark eyes. He had two choices. One, send her to New York and let her become Seth’s immediate problem. Two, go with her so they could both get a handle on exactly what was going on. Really, it was a no-brainer. “When do you want to leave?”
The palpable relief on her face warmed him from the inside out. She reached up and pulled his mouth back to hers. “Just as soon as you finish what you started.”
His cock throbbed, and he resumed his exploration of her neck. He placed a warm, wet kiss directly onto her pulse point before sliding his hands beneath her sweater and pressing his palms against her sides.
She dragged her nails across his slacks until she could stroke the hard ridge of his erection. The muffled sensation of her touch on his swollen flesh increased his desire past endurance. His hips jerked involuntarily. He knew he couldn’t wait much longer.
His zipper gave beneath her fingers, and she gripped his shaft. Even breathing required concentration at this point. He knew he wouldn’t last much longer. It was time to take control of the situation.
He slid both hands down her legs and removed her thick-soled shoes. It took only moments to unbutton her jeans and slide them down her legs into an unceremonious heap on the carpet. When he reached for her panties, he found her bare-assed instead.
“No panties?”
“I need to do laundry.”
His hands found her hips, cupping their perfect shape and pulling her against him. She braced her hands on his daily planner and made a tiny moaning sound.
He ran his fingers over the dewy thatch of red hair between her legs. “God, you’re already wet.”
“I want you, Josh.”
Her simple declaration undid him. There was no more waiting. No more foreplay. He wanted to be inside her now.
He pulled her legs up, the position tilting her hips. Ignoring the slacks still anchored around his ass, he drove his cock into her core.
A soft cry passed her sweet lips as her eyes slid shut and her head fell back.
Her tight cunt embraced him in wet heat that melted like honey around his throbbing shaft. He moved inside her, as deep as he could go. The wet noise of his thrusts filled the office. Her hip angle focused friction on the sensitive underside of his cock until he thought he’d explode.
He gripped her hips. She moaned long and deep, lost to the climax he felt building inside her slick sheath. He concentrated on deep, rhythmic strokes that made his balls ache with the need to ejaculate.
Her channel quivered around him, the convulsions coming on like an earthquake until her pussy tightened around his erection. Seed erupted from his cock as his climax came fast and hard. He rode out the orgasm, feeling her aftershocks and bracing one arm on the desktop to keep from crushing the woman he held tightly to his chest.
He pressed light kisses to her damp forehead. “Are you all right, sweetheart?”
She dragged in a heavy breath. “I think I died and went to heaven.”
“Not just yet.” He pulled his cock free of her cunt.
“Oh!” Her hips flexed, and she shuddered.
The intercom on his desk buzzed. “Excuse me, Mr. Breckenridge?”
Joshua reached around Leslie’s shoulder to answer the summons. “What did you need, Evie?”
“You had a lunch meeting today in the conference room, Mr. Breckenridge.”
“Shit.” Choosing to leave town on a whim wasn’t one of his better decisions. “When do we need to be in New York?”
Their gazes met briefly. “Seth is in New York.”
“Yes.”
Her face grew wistful. “I want to be there as soon as possible.”
He helped her down from the desk so she could dress. “Then we leave now.”
“Mr. Breckenridge?” There was a note of desperate confusion in Evie’s voice.
“Evie?” Joshua thought of the responsibilities he was skipping out on. None of them mattered more than the woman standing half-naked before him. “Cancel my lunch conference and reschedule whatever I have the rest of the week. I’m meeting Seth in New York.”
“What?” Her yelp had gone past desperate to downright frantic.