Elastic Hearts (Hearts #3)(34)

“What I wanted to hear? What happened to telling the goddamn truth? If it was a relationship you wanted, you should’ve said so.”

“And you would have given that to me? You would have taken things to another level? Last I remembered you were married to this job.”

He stepped forward so quickly, I almost lost my balance, but he held my hip to keep me from stumbling.

“Are you staying with him?”

I blinked. “What?”

“Are you going to stay with your husband?”

“Who’s asking?” I whispered. “My lawyer or Victor?”

He closed his eyes briefly once more, and when they opened I knew where this was headed. “I can’t represent you anymore, Nicole. I feel like I’m going f*cking crazy over here.”

“Why?”

“Because I want you,” he said. I gasped as his fingers dug into my flesh. “I want you and I can’t have you if I keep working for you.”

“Says who?” I asked, surprised my voice was loud enough for him to hear me.

“I’ve worked so f*cking hard and this case is going to blow it all to shit,” he said, inching his face closer to mine. I stopped breathing. “All because I need this more than I’ve needed anything else in my f*cking life.”

His lips were so close to mine that I was sure he would kiss me. Was he expecting me to kiss him? Would he break the vow he made to the court over me? Was it fair for me to test his limits? He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against mine, his minty breath hitting me as he exhaled. His hands were still on my hips. I was sure he could feel the rapid vibration of my heart there. I felt it everywhere.

“Have me,” I said finally, unable to have him this close to me and not do anything about it. “Just . . . take me. You’ve done it before. You know I can keep a secret.”

He shook his head, his forehead brushing back and forth against mine. “It’s not that simple, Nicole.”

“It was never that simple,” I whispered.

One of his hands made its way up my back, stopping on my shoulder, then moving slowly, tentatively to my neck, my collarbone. My breath was becoming ragged, uneven, desperate for something, anything. I wanted to kiss him, touch him, f*ck him, but more than anything I wanted him to want to do it. I wanted him to be the one to make the first move.

“You’re right. It was never that simple.” The way he said it made me wonder if maybe he’d felt something more than lust. “When this is over,” he said, rearing back slightly to look at me, “when it’s over, I’ll have you.”

“What if we see each other in private?” I asked.

“You want to sneak around?” he asked, his lip twitching into a smile. He shook his head and dropped his hands, stepping away from me. “Is that what you want?”

“Maybe.”

He raised an eyebrow. “That isn’t a maybe kind of question, Nicole. It’s yes or no.”

“Yes. I want to sneak around.”

“Are the paparazzi still following you?” he asked, his voice serious.

“No,” I said, and corrected myself when he shot me a look that said he didn’t believe me. “Not as much.”

“Let’s see how it goes with them the next few days.”

“And then we can sneak around?”

He looked down to try to hide his smile, but I saw it. “I never said that.”

“Okay. Do you need anything else from me?” I asked, my eyes raking down his body to the half hard-on he was sporting.

“I need a lot of things,” he said, eyes blazing.

“I would help you out,” I said, pointedly looking at his hooded pants as I licked my lips before unlocking the door and holding the handle. “But you refuse to cater to my needs.”

He slapped his hand on the door to keep me from opening it and pressed his hard chest against my back. I closed my eyes and tried to control my body to keep it from quivering at the feel of his breath on my ear.

“I don’t want a time limit the next time I f*ck you. I don’t want a quick f*ck where clothes don’t even have time to come off. I want you naked and in my bed, and trust me,” he said, lowering his voice as he pressed his lips against my neck, right under my ear, “I will cater to every one of your needs.”

I had absolutely nothing to say to that, so when he put his hand over mine and opened the door, I stood off to the side and waited for him to brush past me. The light of the hallway had been switched on. Victor and I looked at each other, wide-eyed.

“Hey,” Grace said, looking confused as she walked into the lobby with a big pot of coffee in her hand. “I didn’t know you had an early meeting scheduled today.”

I wasn’t sure if she was talking to me or Victor, but he responded before I could.

“Yeah, I had to squeeze this in between my run and court,” he said. “I’m going to get dressed. If anybody calls for me before it’s time for me to leave, take a message and give it to Corinne when she gets here.”

“Okay,” Grace said, then turned to me. “Want coffee?”

“I’ve been wondering when somebody around here would offer me something worthwhile,” I said, unable to hide my smile. Victor scowled as he turned and walked into his office.