Hollywood's Baddest (9 page)

So, I know what that’s like. I wish he could have seen me win the awards I’ve won, or… not even just that, but… just to be there, you know, on those days when you just want to pick up the phone and call them, or get in the car and go home to talk to them and spend time with them.” He grew quiet as well. “I miss that too. So I know just what you’re talking about. I hope I’m the man that he was, someday.”

She gave him a warm and genuine smile. “Me too.” she reached out and took his hand in hers and they were silent, sharing the moment for a small space of time. She brought up a few stories about her family, and he shared some tales of his family, and the walls between them slowly disappeared.

Alexis looked at him and shook her head slowly. “You know, you’re so different than everyone thinks you are. You’re so different than the super bad boy that everyone believes you to be.”

He chuckled. “Thanks for noticing. I come by that nickname honestly, but there is more to me than all the façade of the image the media portrays.” She nodded in agreement. He was a much more complex person than she had ever thought or imagined, even after meeting him for the first time.

She realized as she was helping him clean up after the meal, that she was at utter ease with him, and that she was enjoying his company and being around him. The nervousness she had felt with him before was gone, and that made her happy.

They talked a long while and had made it through most of a second bottle of wine, sitting together at the table, when she got up to get herself another glass of water. He followed her and as she stood at the sink filling it, he waited until she’d had a long pull from it, and then he took it from her hand and set it on the counter.

Her heart began to beat swiftly again, and she knew that there was no way she could resist him as he stared into her eyes, looking at them as if he was seeing every thought and feeling she had ever had. He cupped his hands around her face and brought his lips to hers; soft, sweet, warm. Her breath caught as she gasped and a soft moan escaped her.

She wanted to tell him no, she wanted to stop him and keep their relationship completely a platonic business bond, but more than that, she wanted to feel his lips on hers, and taste his kiss, and even more than that, to feel his hands as they closed around her body and pulled her to him.

She lost herself in his kiss, and the world fell away from them. Every piece of it; every thought of it, until nothing remained but the feel of his tender lips moving over hers, sucking gently, pulling, pressing, and the taste of his tongue, sweet with wine, twining with hers until there was no way to know where one began and the other ended. Her breath grew shallow and short, as everything in her began to catch fire and she surrendered to it, letting the flames engulf her. She remembered the dreams she’d had, and there was nothing in her dreams that was even close to the experience of really finding herself in his embrace, sharing his kisses.

Lucas drew his fingertips over her skin lightly, tracing invisible lines like a painter creating on a fresh canvas, and with every touch he stoked the heat in her, making her want more of it, making her need more of it, until she could barely breathe or hold herself back at all any longer.

She knew that he felt the same; in his arms she could see by his hunger for her that he felt as if she was the only person in the world just then who might be able to keep him alive if he only held tightly to her, and it felt to her like he wasn’t ever going to let her go. He began to tug at the thin straps of her sundress, sliding them off of her shoulders until her shoulders were bare and his mouth moved from her lips down her neck to the curve of one of them, biting her gently, holding her tight against him, teasing her skin and making her desperate with need for him.

He brought his mouth back up to her ear and whispered softly to her. “Alexis… come with me. Make love with me. I need you… god I need to feel you with me so much.”

His words set her on fire, and she closed her arms around him tightly as a soft moan escaped her. “Yes! Oh…. Yes… Lucas. I want you so much. I need you, too.” she kissed him again and he finally paused in their tasting long enough to take her by the hand and walk with her toward the stairs that would lead to his bedroom.

It took them some time to get there, as they kept stopping along the way, embracing, holding, kissing, and touching one another until the desire in them had overtaken them both. By the time Lucas got her to his bed, neither one of them was wearing any clothing at all, and he stood at the bedside with her, staring at her standing there before him, nude and beautiful.

“You’re amazing.” He breathed, barely able to speak as his hands canvassed her flesh, stroking and cupping it, following his hands with his mouth. She had never felt so wanted, so important or cared for, so cherished as she did standing there with him, feeling all the desire in his touch. She felt as beautiful as he told her that she was.

Lucas laid her back in his bed and moved his hands over all of her body, until she felt that she could not want him more. He slid down between her legs and gently pushed her thighs apart, trailing his lips and tongue over her skin until he reached her core, and as he tasted her, delving his tongue deeply into her, she arched her back, holding tightly to the pillows around her, crying out in pleasure until his strong tongue and gentle teeth brought her to her full ecstasy and she called out his name, wanting more of him; needing all of him.

He could not hold himself back from her any longer, and in moments he was at the outside of her, and she ached for him, and then in a breath, he pushed himself inside of her, slowly, carefully, deliberately taking his time to feel all of the exquisite heat and pleasure of entering her. She closed herself around him and they began to move together as one; both of them holding tightly to one another, clinging together in their heat and passion, wrestling in love.

They tasted one another’s skin, kissing it, breathing against it, making their two bodies one in every way, and he brought her to her breathless climax time and again until at last he joined her, flooding her as he moaned loudly, trembling with his pleasure, and she held him against her breasts tightly, until they had both collapsed together and rested in each other’s arms.

There was a peaceful quiet between them for a long while, but just as she was about to fall asleep, he leaned over to her and kissed her again, and that one kiss led to more kisses, until they had stoked the fires of need and desire to a blazing inferno once more, and they made love again, more slowly, more passionately, losing themselves in the wholeness of each other, until they were spent, and sleep overtook them both, wrapped around one another.

Chapter5

Morning light slowly and softly filled the room, drawing her from her sleep and when she opened her eyes, she looked around, not remembering right away where she was, but when she did realize it, she sat up a little in the bed, and saw that she was alone.

Sadness touched her until she looked over at his pillow and saw a note there that he had left for her. “You are incredibly hot, thank you for an amazing night. I had a great time.”  He didn’t leave his name, only an X beside an O, and that was it.

She sighed and frowned slightly, reading the note a few more times before she climbed out of bed and straightened the blankets and sheets some. She saw that her clothes were laid out for her at the foot of the bed and she smiled at his thoughtfulness, remembering how they had come off bit by bit on the way to his bedroom.

She showered and dressed, and went to the kitchen. There was hot coffee waiting in the coffee pot, and she found that he’d left a clean mug for her beside the pot. She sat with her coffee at the table and let images and feelings from the night before run through her mind over and over, and she smiled blissfully at how much she had enjoyed it. It was almost like it had freed her somehow, letting herself go with abandon the way that she had. She wondered if it would happen again with him, and she hoped with everything in her that it would.

Alexis left a note on the kitchen counter for him, telling him how much she loved being there and thanking him for a night she would never forget. She copied his X and O, and read it once more before walking out of the door and heading home.

She changed her clothes and headed in to work, her mood blissful and her mind on more than just her cases that day. The only thing that worried her was the arraignment and the knowledge that Lucas was hell bent on declaring himself innocent, no matter what it cost him, and she knew that it could cost him a great deal more than he might be bargaining for.

All throughout the day, she checked her cell phone, wondering if she would hear from Lucas, and as each hour passed, she began to realize that she would not hear from him, and as time began to stretch from when she had been in his arms to each passing minute that ticked by silently, the bliss she had felt began to be replaced with tinges of remorse.

She went home that night and tried to avoid looking at her phone or her tablet, tried to think of anything but him, but he was all that was on her mind, and there was no contact at all from him. By morning, as she readied for his arraignment, she had hit an emotional low that she had not expected, and she reminded herself again and again that it was just a one night stand, and that she shouldn’t read more into it than there was. It was only one hot night with a beautiful man, and that was all that there would ever be.

The remorse had grown strong in her, and though she had been completely elated at the sheer pleasure and happiness she had experienced with him, she was at a loss as to why he would disappear without a word to her at all, but there was nothing.

She walked into the courtroom early, hoping to see him and get a few moments alone with him to see how he was feeling, but he didn’t arrive until right before it was time for court to start. She felt her breath catch as she saw him walk in. Warren was at his side, and they appeared to be in the midst of a deep conversation that they both cut off when they reached her at the defense table.

She held herself back from touching him, from looking at him too long, and from asking him any of the thousand questions that were burning through her mind. Instead, she glanced at him and kept it simple and professional.

“Are you ready for this?” her tone was nothing but polite, though she felt tidal waves of emotion inside, none of it showed.

He nodded at her silently. Just then the prosecuting attorney came over to their table and looked at them both.

“Harvey.” He said, looking directly at Lucas. “Here’s my final offer for a guilty plea. If you plea bargain this, it will go much lighter on you than it will if I have to drag your ass through the court system. If you make me take you to trial, I’m going to make you regret it. I promise you that, Mr. Ryan.”

Lucas stared at him in shock. Alexis stood up and met Harvey’s gaze, eye to eye.

“Well?” she asked coldly, “What’s the plea bargain offer?”

Harvey lifted his chin slightly. “You enter a guilty plea today, and I will let you off with time served in jail, you’ll have to do mandatory rehab, I’m going to nail you with a huge fine, and you’ll get three years of probation. In return for that deal, you have to tell me who the drug dealers are and you have to testify against them for us when we prosecute them. That’s the most I’m willing to do for you.”

Warren looked over at Harvey and spoke before anyone else had a chance to open their mouths. “No deal.” He looked directly at Lucas. “We talked about this. You fight this.”

Lucas shook his head at Harvey. “I’m not going to plead guilty. I didn’t break the law. I didn’t do anything wrong, and I’m not about to say that I did.”

Alexis closed her eyes for a brief second, wishing so much that she could have found something that would save him. She knew she would have a little more time before the court set a trial date, but it was going to take a miracle to prove him innocent, and he had just declined the prosecuting attorney’s offer. She knew that was the end of it, unless she could work some magic.

Harvey gave his head a shake. “Well, that’s too bad, Ryan. You’ll be going to prison.” Then he turned and walked off, going back to his table just as the bailiff announced the judge’s entrance. They all rose as the judge walked in, and they all sat when he told them to.

Lucas was sitting right next to her; inches from her, and yet she had never felt so far away from anyone in her life. He did not look at her; he did not indicate at all that there was anything between them but the cool, professional relationship of a defendant and his attorney. It felt to her as if there was some great void beside her; like a black hole that she had somehow fallen into and could not get out of.

She tried her best to wrestle the tangle of emotions in her, attempting to control them and hold them at bay, but it was almost more than she could do. The only saving grace for her was that she had done so many arraignments that it was really just routine for her, and she was able to stand and speak as she needed to, to do her job as she was expected to do it, and not falter once; not even a little.

The judge asked Lucas how he wished to plead, and Lucas answered him, “Not guilty.”

There was a soft murmuring in the courtroom and the judge set the trial date for one month from that date. He left the bench and everyone rose as he left, and Alexis stood there beside Lucas, her ears ringing, her heart pounding as reality set in on her.

She had one month to prove that the man beside her was innocent, or she was going to lose her job and her career would be practically forfeit. Her breath was short and she tried to hold back the panic that set in on her.

Harvey walked over and sneered at Lucas. “You plead not guilty. Ryan, I’m going to throw the whole book at you. I’m going to request maximum sentencing for you. You’re the highest profile case I’ve tried, and you’d make a hell of an example to the public to stay off of drugs. You’d be the best public service campaign this city has ever had. Thanks, Ryan, you just handed me a win. A big one.”

With that, he walked off, leaving Warren, Lucas, and Alexis looking after him. She turned to him then and tried to talk to him quietly.

“Are you okay? I haven’t heard from you at all. I…” she began, not quite knowing what to say, but knowing that she had to say something.

“I’m fine.” He answered quietly, looking away from her. She knew he was avoiding her, but she wasn’t prepared for the yank on her heart that it caused.

“Is there anything that we need to talk about? I thought… I thought I would probably have heard from you by now…” she trailed off, feeing pathetic as she stood there looking at him with imploring eyes.

He sighed and looked away from her, “I’ve just been busy, that’s all.” he answered with a quiet voice.

Warren stood up then and leaned around Lucas, looking at Alexis. “I guess we’ll talk to you soon. Let us know when you have some kind of defense built up for him.”

Warren took Lucas then and led him from the courtroom, walking out of it and into a massive sea of reporters who were all waiting for them just outside.

Alexis knew then that all that had happened between them was nothing more than a one night stand to him, and she was the only one still thinking about it and wondering where to go afterward; like a small boat tossed about on a wide ocean of big waves. She found herself in unfamiliar territory with no idea how to navigate through any of her emotions or dashed expectations.

He didn’t want anything else from her, and she had no idea how to come to grips with that. She could not begin to understand how they could have shared so much with each other, both in conversation and in physical connection, and then walk away from each other completely as if nothing at all had happened, knowing that nothing at all would ever happen again.

She was nothing more than just another woman, just another good time one time, just like so many other women he had been with; all of them sent to the curb when he was done with them, not one of them staying in his life longer than one night.

She had never felt so used and abandoned. She had never been so overwhelmed with the realization of what an utter fool she had been, and how stupidly she had acted. She was less than nothing to him, and nothing would change that. He was done with her, and he had already moved on, leaving her far behind him in no time at all.

She felt as if her heart had just been ripped from her chest by nothing more than the empty look in his eyes. She wasn’t in love with him, but she had not been that close to anyone in so long that the loss and emptiness; the loneliness, overtook her completely.

She picked up her things and walked slowly out of the courtroom as if she was in a daze, and before she could even take a breath of fresh air, she was inundated by a wall of reporters and media who were drowning her in questions.

Alexis did her best to answer some of the questions shot at her; as many of them as she could, before she didn’t feel strong enough to stand there and speak any longer. She waved them away then, though some of them were audacious enough to follow her to her car. She climbed into it and drove away, leaving the courthouse and her reality check behind her, and as she realized it, she knew that she was probably leaving her career behind her as well.

She went back to her office and tried to collect herself in the solitude of the four walls where she worked, but she wasn’t alone for long. Anderson Nolan came in not ten minutes after she had closed her office door behind her. She wiped swiftly and subtly at her eyes to dry the tears away, not wanting him to see them.

If he did see them, he didn’t show it. Instead, he sat at her desk and waited as she turned to face him, leaving the window behind her and taking her seat. She looked across the desk at him and waited. She knew what was coming.

“Well, how did the arraignment go?” he asked directly.

She took a deep breath. “Harvey offered him a plea bargain and he turned it down. He pled not guilty.” She answered shortly.

Anderson pursed his lips thoughtfully, and nodded his head slowly. “Then that means that you will have your hands full proving him innocent. How is his defense coming along?” Anderson asked, looking at her as if he was looking right through her.

She gave her head one small shake. “It’s not very strong. There isn’t much that we can use that proves he’s innocent.”

Anderson sighed and leaned forward, looking at her intently. “When is the trial date?”

“One month.” She answered quietly.

“So, you have a month to save him and to save yourself. You’d better get busy.” He said sternly.

She looked at him imploringly. “Anderson, I don’t feel like I can do this. I feel like I’m personally compromised in this case and another attorney should take it over. Really, that would be best for him and it would be best for me, and for this firm.

I don’t want to let you down, I don’t want to let the firm down, and I certainly don’t want to let the client down. I feel like I’m not the right person for this one. There are other attorneys here who could do this and possibly win. I’m too personally invested in it to give it my best any longer.”

Anderson shook his head. “I appreciate your being candid with me, but that does not change anything. This is your case and you will do it. No matter the cost, no matter the circumstances or the situation. It is your case. Finish it, and win it. You know what the consequences will be no matter the outcome.” With that, he stood up and walked out, closing the door behind him, and leaving Alexis in a pool of tears.