Unlawful Attraction: The Complete Box Set: Alpha Billionaire Romance (10 page)

Pierce’s words had been echoing in my head all week, driving me bat-shit crazy. I let myself out of my so-called office and turned toward the steps, intent on finding Bethany and Pierce. They’d be holed up together, I had no doubt of that, doing all of the trial work.

I had the utmost respect for the difficulty and importance of research, as well as for those whose job it was to do it.

I just didn't want it to be my job.

I'd already made up my mind. Once I turned over the information I’d dug up, I was going to do something I hadn’t ever done.

I was going to play hooky. Well, not exactly, since it was technically the end of the work day. I just wasn't going to spend today like I had the rest of the week, working late on some of the pointless shit Pierce had thought up. I had everything they needed here, but I'd already learned that it didn't matter if I thought my work was done. They'd find something else for me to do so I wasn't included in their little two-person team.

I'd had it. I'd do my work and do it well, but I was through letting Pierce be an ass.

Resolved, I strode down the hall toward Bethany’s office.

There were a few paralegals and associates still here, and I saw at least one other ADA's light on, but Bethany's door was shut and her blinds drawn.

Strange.

I knew Bethany and Pierce should be there. They’d told me they needed this information.

Knocking briskly on the door, I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And acknowledged that I was waiting on people who had likely left already without bothering to tell me.

Assholes
, I thought sourly.

Blowing out a breath, I tried to decide what to do. Bethany locked her office when she left. I could try it, but if they were inside and I opened the door, she'd probably be pissed. And if she was gone and the door was unlocked, she'd probably be just as pissed if I went into her office when she wasn't there. But I had to do something with the files.

I'd leave them on Pierce's desk, I decided. His office was near mine and we were on the same level, so it wouldn't be the same as going into a supervisor's office. Plus, I knew he left his office unlocked since I'd gone into it yesterday to get something for him.

I headed back down to where our offices were located, trying not to let my frustration get the best of me. As I neared the door to his office, however, I stopped suddenly.

Was that...

My skin prickled.

Heat rushed up to suffuse my face.

Oh, hell.

It was.

And before I could figure out what I should do, everything shifted.

Because the rough voice I’d just heard was most definitely Pierce’s.

And he’d just grunted out, “Bethany…fuck. Yeah. Just like that.”

Son of a bitch.

A rush of emotion welled inside me, stronger than anything I had felt in a very long time. I still held the information that Pierce had needed in my hands, my palms growing slick with sweat while my jaw locked to keep me from doing something stupid.

Anger, disgust, a seething sort of self-righteous fury that burned away the headache residing at the base of my skull – all of them thrummed within me in a cacophony that was almost loud enough to drown out the moans coming from Pierce's office.

I didn't know what to think in that moment. All I could do was stand there. Stand there and listen as Bethany urged Pierce to fuck her harder and faster.

She was his superior. Bethany was supposed to be his boss.

While there were a whole host of ethical issues brought up by what they were doing, it wasn't even those things that were causing the anger to bubble up inside me.

Bethany had shoved me aside and given second chair to Pierce because they were involved. That’s all there was to it. I was smart enough to know that I should've been given second chair. I had a lot to learn, true, but I was a better fucking lawyer.

And now I knew the truth.

But they didn’t need to know that yet. I waited a few more moments and pulled my emotions under control, closed my eyes and breathed deeply. I was going to take some time and think this through, calm down.

Anything I did right now would be driven by emotion, and that wasn't the way to handle things. This wasn't some asshole in a club. This was my job. One I'd been working my whole life toward. I needed to be smart.

As much fun as it might be to call them both on it, I knew I'd be better served by moving forward with calm deliberation and making sure I was reacting for the right reasons, rather than the petty ones.

I turned and headed back to my office. I'd wait until I heard Pierce's door close before I went to give him the files. Then I was getting the hell out of here.

By the time I finally got home, it was late and I was tired. More than that, though, I was still pissed.

Part of me was so tired, I wanted to just lay down and sleep, but at the same time, I knew there was no way I’d be sleeping any time soon. I ducked into the bathroom for a quick shower, then pulled on a pair of tight leather pants and a silk tank top.

Club Privé was a little farther from my place than I would've preferred to go considering how tired I was, but I desperately needed to blow off some steam, and part of me was hoping that I might find Arik there.

A little while with him and I’d be able to forget about the lousy day. Maybe it'd even clear my head enough that I could think through the problem with Pierce and Bethany.

And if not, well, hell, I’d still have had one more night with Arik.

When I strode through the doors, I met the eyes of the woman manning the door and nodded. Arlene was in her mid-thirties, a lesbian in a committed relationship, and one of my favorite people at the club. She was built like the side of a barn, and had a face that looked like somebody had smashed it with a hammer. She was also one of the sweetest people I’d ever met, and she could scare some of the toughest looking sons of bitches I’d ever met. She could also talk people down in a blink.

That was why she handled the door. She could have been a bailiff.

I doubted Carrie would be here tonight since she was busy with wedding preparations, but that was good. I didn't want to talk to a friend.

I wanted to fuck.

Hopefully Arik.

Bodies swayed and moved to the music. Skimming the crowd, I studied the dance floor for a long time before moving off to the staircase that led up to the VIP floor. I couldn’t see him.

It should've bothered me that I knew I'd be able to spot him in a crowd, but it didn't. I just wanted him.

One familiar form did catch my eye, and I paused briefly when Jack caught my eye, but that wouldn’t do it tonight. I gave him a smile and turned away. Settling at the bar, I ordered a drink.

Gavin found me before I was halfway through my glass.

“You look like you've had a hell of a day.”

“It’s been one hell of a week.” I crooked a smile at him and shook my head. I considered elaborating and then decided not to. It wasn’t going to help, wasn’t going to make anything any better.

“Carrie is off looking at...” Gavin frowned, looking more perplexed than normal. “Table favors and hand fans.”

I grinned at him, amused. Seeing Gavin confused and thrown off his stride was something I might've paid money for at one time. He was definitely one of those men who always seemed to know what to do in any situation. “What, Gavin, don’t you know your way around a doily and a jar of mints? A personalized bottle opener?”

“It’s not the favors.” Gavin let it go at that.

There was a shiver of fear and awe in his eyes that left me amused.

Men and weddings.

I knew beyond a doubt that he loved Carrie more than anything, but he was still freaking out a bit. Maybe it was just the planning, but it was still amusing.

Rising, I moved to the railing that faced out over the dance floor on the lower level. As Gavin moved to join me, I gave him a smile. “It won’t be long until you’re well and truly chained for life.”

“Yeah.” He nodded slowly, a glint showing in his eyes. “I can’t wait.”

It was just the event itself. Good.

Envy curled inside me, but I didn’t let it show as I leaned over and bumped his shoulder with mine. “You’re such a sap.”

He snorted, then said something else, but I didn’t hear him.

A tall, lean figure moving out on the dance floor had caught my eyes. He’d emerged from the shadows and I hadn’t seen him. My heart skipped a beat. I steadied my breathing and mentally prepared a little exit strategy.

Those few precious seconds saved me from doing something stupid.

Arik wasn’t alone.

He had a woman with him.

One I knew.

She was a regular here at the club. She was pretty and funny and nice.

She was also a submissive. More of a traditional 'yes, Sir' one.

Not like me.

As Arik led her off to the area where some of the private rooms were, my throat went tight.

I closed my hand tighter around the stem of my wine glass, and told myself that it didn't matter. We hadn't made any promises to each other.

Then why the hell did my chest hurt so badly?

Continues in Unlawful Attraction Vol. 2

Unlawful Attraction Vol. 2

Chapter 1

Dena

The words kept blurring in front of my eyes, and when the words weren’t outright blurring together, my thoughts were drifting away.

None of it was adding up to a productive morning. And it sure as hell hadn't been a productive weekend.

I never should have gone to Club Privé.

Every time I started to make a little bit of progress on the background report and various witness statements I was supposed to be working on, my mind would take a little sideways trip and there I was, standing up on the VIP level, Gavin talking about...whatever he’d been talking about while I watched Arik leading the Sub down the hall to the private rooms in the back.

Even though I hadn’t actually seen
him take her inside one of the rooms, I might as well have. My imagination took over from there, and I could see the two of them as he closed the door behind him, walked around her, pacing the perimeter of the room, considering what he wanted to do before turning to look at her.

He’d do the same thing he’d done with me, let her go first, establish the ground rules, smiling at that pretty young thing while watching her and planning just what he’d do to her. For
her.

Something twisted inside me and it took me a moment to realize what it was.

Envy.

I had no reason to be jealous. He wasn’t
mine
. We’d had sex. Once. That was it.

It had been amazing sex, and yeah, I’d loved to hook up with him again, but I had no reason to be sitting behind my desk feeling like I’d caught my boyfriend cheating on me. I had no reason to spend the weekend lounging on my couch, watching shows I wasn't really seeing.

There was no reason to feel hurt or disappointed...cheated.

But she couldn’t give him what he needed.

Arik could give her
what she needed.

For a night.

But I knew the woman I’d seen him with.

Her name was Sabrina, and as sweet as she was, she was a hardcore submissive and with her, it didn’t stop at the bedroom door.

We only knew each other casually, but Sabrina was a submissive through and through. The man who'd been her Dom for over a year had just ended their relationship, and she was already trying to find somebody to replace him.

She was barely functional outside a serious Dominant / Submissive relationship. Carrie knew her better than I did and had given me the story a few weeks ago. Sabrina had been involved with the kind of guy who’d given Doms a bad name. When it ended, she’d forgotten what it was like to make choices and decisions on her own. He hadn't protected and cared for her. He'd used and abused her, his needs always superseding her own. His sadism hadn't been to bring her pleasure, but to please him.

She'd needed a man who made her feel safe, and she'd given herself to the worst. Now, she needed someone to help her be her own person again, but while I felt sorry for her, part of me thought she’d do better if she’d get her ass into therapy instead of coming to the club, trying to find a replacement for a man who wasn't worth it.

Yeah, Arik could give her what she needed for a night, but he wouldn’t want to master somebody outside the bedroom.

He clearly didn't want anything outside the bedroom, I thought as my heart twisted in my chest.

It’s not what he needs,
a small, petty voice in the back of my head whispered. He didn’t want to lead somebody’s life for them, didn’t want to control them. He craved a woman’s submission, the thrill of it, the rush that came from that kind of trust, the sheer eroticism of it. I understood that, better than any submissive could.

I
could give him what he needed...and more.