Mitigation (6 page)
Authors: Sawyer Bennett
Tags: #Anthologies, #Collections & Anthologies, #funny, #Humor, #Contemporary, #Legal, #Romance, #Erotic, #Adult, #lawyer, #steamy, #Love, #sexy, #Law
“Why not?”
I whisper.
He’s silent
for a moment, and all I can hear are the noises of the bar that he’s
in. Then he says, “Because I can’t stop thinking about
you. You’re all I want.”
I’m all he
wants? My heart flutters in response and my hopes that Matt and I
could truly be something start to rise.
But then Matt causes
me to come crashing back down again, because he says, “It’s
why I left work at two o’clock today and hit a bar to get
shitfaced. So I could drown you out of my mind… even if only
briefly. You’re a blessing, Mac… but you’re also
my curse.”
I’m stunned
speechless and, before I can even say anything back to him, he
disconnects and the line goes dead.
I wish there was a
magic pill I could take that would ease my heartache. And another
pill that would magically ease the way my body still aches for Matt.
This fucking sucks.
All weekend I stewed
over his call on Friday night. I vacillated amongst a variety of
emotions, trying to decide how to handle the situation.
When I was pissed, I
would work myself up and decide to put in my resignation. I even sat
at my computer on Saturday and typed it up. It was simple.
Dear Matt,
I hereby tender
my resignation effective immediately.
You suck, and I
hate you.
Sincerely,
McKayla P. Dawson
But there were
moments when I would get overwhelmed with sadness for Matt. He’s
a man that is clearly struggling, and I don’t know how to help
him. During those moments, I wanted to do nothing more than go into
work tomorrow, crawl onto his lap, and hug the hurt out of him.
And finally, there
were my moments of weakness. When I thought about what he told me on
the phone, that I was all he wanted, it would cause pleasure to fire
hotly through my veins. My memory would pulse and flash with images
of Matt and me together… naked, writhing on the bed, and
moaning in pleasure.
It was at those
times that I wanted to be in Matt’s office bright and early
tomorrow, lying naked across his desk when he walked in. His eyes
would darken heavy with lust, and he would take me fast and hard.
Just the mere thought of it caused me to shiver.
Then I’d get
pissed all over again, because Matt has such a hold over my
sensuality that I want to give in to him just because my body demands
it.
My heart doesn’t
stay quiet though, and it reminds me that it doesn’t want to
get shredded in the process.
The buzzer in the
kitchen goes off, and I walk in to take the cookies out of the oven.
It’s a compulsion of mine… baking when I’m sad,
confused, angry, or whatever. Bottom line—every emotion that
Matt is making me feel right now calls for massive amounts of
chocolate chip cookies.
Setting the hot pan
on top of the stove, I scoop a cookie up with my spatula and then
grab it with my hand. It’s hot as hell so I toss it from hand
to hand, little bits of boiling chocolate sticking to my skin. I take
a tiny bite—burning the hell out of my tongue and top of my
mouth—and drop my cookie on the floor, but not before I am
rewarded by a big dribble of chocolate down my chin and onto my
t-shirt.
Of course, that is
when the doorbell decides to ring.
Licking my
fingertips, I walk into the living room and look through the
peephole. Matt stands there gazing at the floor, looking so very
perfect with his hair windblown and his sun-kissed skin. He’s
casual in a navy blue t-shirt, faded jeans, and black Chuck-Ts. He
looks young and edible.
I open the door, and
he glances up. I amend my earlier statement. He actually looks like
shit. His eyes are bloodshot, and he hasn’t shaved in several
days. Dark circles hover just under his eyes.
“You have
chocolate on your chin,” he says as he steps up to me and wipes
it off with his thumb. He then sticks said thumb in his mouth and
sucks the chocolate off.
No matter how mad I
am at Matt, that simple act practically causes me to moan.
“Can I come
in?” he asks.
Nodding, I turn to
walk into the kitchen and he follows. As I stoop to the floor to pick
up my dropped cookie, he says, “Is Macy here?”
“No. She’s
at the gym,” I respond, tossing the cookie carnage in the
garbage. I make myself busy by taking the remaining cookies off the
sheet with a spatula and placing them on a plate.
When I’m done,
I turn to him and cross my arms over my chest. “You look like
hell, Matt. Did you go on a bender or something?”
A guilty look
flashes across his face. “Actually… I did. I never drink
like that, but I pretty much stayed drunk Friday and Saturday.”
“Did it help?”
“No,” he
says quietly. “It didn’t help at all. I can’t get
you out of my mind.”
Matt sounds so
forlorn that I can’t help but be moved. “I’m
sorry.”
His eyebrows shoot
up. “Sorry? You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m the
asshole. I have so much to apologize for that I don’t even know
where to begin.”
My hope starts
building again. Here is Matt… standing in my apartment and
telling me he’s sorry. This is a man that rarely apologizes…
for anything. I feel the burning need to let him off the hook
quickly, my evil plans to make him grovel completely abandoned.
“Matt,”
I say gently. “It’s okay. I understand what was driving
you.”
I actually get a
little dizzy when Matt walks up to me, standing toe to toe. He smells
so good, and his eyes are glowing golden. Both of his hands come up
to frame my face, his long fingers circling to the back of my head to
hold me in place… to make sure my eyes stay on him.
“No, it’s
not okay, Mac. I have to make up for this, and I’m hoping that
I haven’t messed things up so badly that you won’t let me
start over by taking you out on a date. I want to give you what you
want. At least, I want to
try
to give it to you… if
you’ll let me.”
I can literally feel
the burden of sadness and frustration lift from my shoulders, while a
thrill of hope and excitement fills my body. My skin is even a little
tingly.
“A date?”
I ask in wonder, my wildest fantasies—not involving Matt
naked—are coming true. “What made you change your mind?”
Matt’s eyes
are deep pools of regret and sadness. His voice is quietly calm, but
resolved. “I finally started realizing that the pain of
loneliness is much worse than the pain of betrayal and heartbreak
that I was trying to avoid.”
The power of his
words and what they mean slam into me so hard, I have to close my
eyes to savor them. He is saying he’s lonely without me, and
for someone that has shunned relationships and emotional bonds, that
is saying a lot. He’s also saying that he’s ready to take
a risk.
He’s ready to
step out onto the ledge and risk it all.
When I open my eyes,
he’s smiling at me. It’s a tentative smile, because I
still haven’t given him an answer. I smile back and nod. “I’d
love to go on a date with you.”
Relief floods Matt’s
face, and the haggard look he’s been sporting suddenly lifts.
Leaning in, he whispers his lips over mine gently… just a
ghost of a kiss. When he pulls back, he says with a low voice, “I’m
probably going to be really bad at this dating thing… I hope
you have patience with me.”
Grinning at him, I
say, “I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”
Chuckling, he leans
in and kisses me on the forehead. Giving me one last look of longing,
he turns toward the door to leave.
“Wait! Where
are you going?” I ask, confused as to why he’s leaving so
soon. I had maybe sort of hoped he’d continue to kiss me, and
then we could just jump right into the make-up sex.
He doesn’t
even look back at me as he opens my door, but he does call out over
his shoulder. “I’m going home so I can call you and ask
you out all nice and proper.”
“But…
but…” My words trail off, but it doesn’t matter.
Matt has already
walked out and closed my door behind him.
Turning back toward
my cookies, I give out a squeal of excitement and pump my fist into
the air. Glancing at my watch, I see that I can get one more batch of
cookies done before Matt calls me.
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Stay tuned for upcoming volumes that will be releasing. There are only six volumes in this series.
Legal Affairs – Objection
releasing January 10, 2014
Legal Affairs – Stipulation
releasing January 24, 2014
Legal Affairs – Violation
releasing February 7, 2014
Legal Affairs – Mitigation
releasing February 21, 2014
Legal Affairs – Reparation
releasing March 7, 2014
Legal Affairs – Affirmation
releasing March 21, 2014
Connect with Sawyer online:
The Off Series
New Adult Contemporary Romance
The Forever Land Chronicles
New Adult Paranormal Romance
Stand Alone Titles
Serial Romance
- Legal Affairs – Objection
- Legal Affairs – Stipulation
releasing January 24, 2014 - Legal Affairs – Violation
releasing February 7, 2014 - Legal Affairs – Mitigation
releasing February 21, 2014 - Legal Affairs – Reparation
releasing March 7, 2014 - Legal Affairs – Affirmation
releasing March 21, 2014
Last Call Series
- On The Rocks
- Make It A Double
Publication Date To Be Determined - Sugar On The Edge
Publication Date To Be Determined - Shaken Not Stirred
Publication Date To Be Determined - With A Twist
Publication Date To Be Determined
USA Today Best-Selling author, Sawyer Bennett is a native North Carolinian and practicing lawyer. When not trying to save the world from injustice, she spends her time trying to get the stories she accumulates in her head down on paper. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, Shawn, and their three big dogs, Piper, Atticus and Scout.
THE END