And he’d been thanking his lucky stars ever since.
At the top of the striped paper were the words Wish List printed in a font designed to resemble a child’s scrawl. Below that were the beautifully formed letters he recognized as Steph’s handwriting.
And then she’d run a slash through that list and begun a new one.
The shock of that list had hit him so hard he’d stumbled into the nearby couch.
He’d understood then that Stephanie had been fooling him the whole time, just like she would a jury. Acting unaffected when she was really as hot for him as he was for her.
No woman had such detailed sexual thoughts about a guy she wasn’t totally into. She’d obviously been thinking about him for awhile.
Images inspired by her words filled his mind. His c**k swelled and he wondered how he’d make it back to his office, let alone the parking garage eighteen floors below.
He needn’t have worried. Her next shakily written line took all the heat out of him and left him cold.
In that moment he’d discovered two things. One—no matter how much she wanted his body, she still didn’t want anything to do with him. To the point where she was considering transferring to their firm’s other office across town.
Two—the thought of not seeing her nearly every day struck him like a physical blow. Too painful for his interest to be merely casual. He’d realized then what the tight knot in his gut was trying to tell him.
Somewhere along the way, the purely sexual desire he had for her had become something more. Maybe it’d happened when they’d worked that last case together and she kept blowing his mind with her brains. Or maybe it was when she’d cried over a verdict and hadn’t tried to hide it from him. Whatever it was, he’d be damned if his past got in the way of what they both wanted.
This Christmas, not so saintly Nick was making sure all of Stephanie Martin’s wishes came true.
Chapter Two
Steph left the conference room party the moment Nick’s attention was drawn away.
She had the next two weeks off. If she could just slip out of the office, she could get out of this mortifying situation.
She’d had a feeling when she threw out that stupid scrap of paper that she should rip it up first. Or burn it. But then she’d told herself she was just being paranoid. The damn thing was in the trash. Who was going to see it? Certainly not Nick. He didn’t dig in trashcans. Or so she’d thought.
As her temper rose, her step quickened and she reached her office in record time.
This was ridiculous. Those were private scribblings made during an especially boring meeting. She hadn’t been able to concentrate with Nick sitting across from her and looking as impossibly gorgeous as ever. Instead, she’d been totally absorbed in staring at the small part of his wrist visible at the edge of his cuff—hair-dusted dark skin next to the gold of his watchband and the white of his shirt. That little flash of nothing had made her hot and damp between the thighs.
There was just something about Nicholas James. Maybe it was the dangerous beauty of his face. Or that tall, well-honed body. Perhaps it was his amazing intelligence and aggressive stance in the courtroom. Or maybe it was his pro bono work for the Abused Women’s Program… Shit, she didn’t know why. She just knew his track record with women was bad news and she’d already had enough bad news to last a lifetime.
She growled. That damn list had been a form of purging therapy. None of it was ever meant literally. Still, as she shoved documents into her briefcase, she grabbed the silver box with the X-rated photo of Nick and shoved it in too.
“Merry Christmas to me,” she muttered.
“I’m just getting started,” purred a deep voice in her ear. The delicious sound hit the top of her spine and then curled all the way down.
Mouth open to protest, she spun to face her tormentor.
And found herself hauled up against a rock-hard body and kissed senseless.
Taken completely off guard, by the time her addled brain figured out who was accosting her and what he was doing, she didn’t want him to stop. As her senses filled with the scent of aroused male, the hands pushing against Nick’s shoulders slipped around them instead.
“Don’t,” she whispered against his mouth.
Groaning softly in answer, Nick tilted his head and deepened his already drowning kiss. He tugged, stealing her balance so that she tumbled into him. Taking the advantage, he lifted her and sat her on the desk, wedging his lean hips intimately between her thighs. Instantly the throbbing that had begun the minute he touched her turned into an all-consuming ache. “Nick…”
His damp forehead rested against hers, his panting breaths hot against her swollen lips. “Let me give you what you want for Christmas, Steph.”
“I don’t want you.”
“Liar.” His hand came up and cupped her breast. Expert fingertips found the hardened nipple that betrayed her. Kissing his way to her ear, he whispered, “I bet you’re creamy for me.”
“Jesus, Nick!” She shivered but couldn’t deny it.
“I locked the door…”
“Are you crazy?” she shot back, pushing his wandering hand away.
Nick caught her hips, pulled her to the edge of the desk and fit the hard length of his c**k directly against her pu**y.
“Yes.” He moved his hips, nudging her clit through the soft fabric of their dress pants. She whimpered.
“Don’t you know how crazy I am about you?”
“You’re crazy about all women.”
“No,” he argued, thrusting against her with greater urgency. “I like women. I’m crazy about you.”
The sweet friction of his dry f**king made her cunt spasm with need. With her heart racing and her breathing labored, she pushed at him weakly. “Stop that… I can’t think…”
“You think too much.” He held her in place as he rubbed his c**k against her. She hadn’t bothered with the lights when she’d entered, since moonlight lit the room through the floor-to-ceiling window. But even in the semi-dark, his eyes burned with a hunger that made her throat tight. Holding her still, he stroked the impressive length of his c**k up and down her slit. He was so gorgeous, so determined, just watching him pleasuring them both was nearly orgasmic by itself. “I want you, Steph. I’ve wanted you a long time. And you want me too.”