Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
“Ha. Good luck with that, but we’ll still try.” Ella turns around and hugs me before heading toward the door. “Call me if you need me.”
“Thanks.” I don’t blame her for fleeing.
She’s great at computers, but not so wonderful with people. She gives Alexei what could only be considered a warning glare before turning and stomping out of my office.
I cross my arms. “I don’t believe we have an appointment.”
His smile barely moves the hard planes of his face. “Like you said, I’m welcome anytime.” He glances around my office. “We should start preparing my case.”
“I’ve already created a trial binder.” Even in the generic but bad boy clothing, he somehow appears wealthy. As if he’s just dressing down for the day. I have to admit, he’s mouthwateringly sexy. “Follow me.” I reach for my now cooled-off latte and walk toward him, my knees trembling. “I have a war room set up in the smaller conference room down the way.”
He moves to the side and allows me to pass. The heat from his body washes over me, and I shiver, masking the obvious tell by taking a drink of the coffee. He follows me silently down the hallway, and I turn into the smallest conference room where my paralegal organized stacks of files with trial transcripts, depositions, evidence files, and pictures already taped to a board.
“What’s your plan?” He shuts the door, enclosing us.
Heat swells from him and instantly charges the room.
“First, we need to get a couple of issues straight. One, you’re moving out of my place. Two, you’re never to touch me again. Got it?” I move to cross around the table.
He grasps the side of my waist with one hand, lifts, and easily plants me on the table. “No.”
My jaw drops open, and I set the coffee roughly down. How did he do that with one hand? My breath catches and not in the way I want. So I clear my throat. “I’m not giving you a choice.”
He moves in, his hips spreading my thighs, and leans over me until I fall back onto my elbows. What in the world is he doing? We’re at my office and anybody could walk by the conference room windows.
His eyes glitter. “You might want to rethink your approach. If bringing you to orgasm is the only way to gain your cooperation, I’ll get to it right now.”
I stare up at his onyx eyes, feeling devoured. The man makes up his own rules and society’s be damned. My lungs stutter, and even with my body lighting on fire, a new fear fuels through me.
A light flickers in those eyes. Just for a fleeting second. “You want a choice in this?” he rumbles.
I gape at that statement. “I-I do have a choice in this.” What an asshole.
“You really don’t, but I’ll let you get there yourself.” He steps back and gently tugs my skirt back down almost to my knees. “Nothing goes farther between us until you ask for it.” He moves away, and an irritating coolness washes over me.
I push myself off the table and shove hair out of my face. It’s time to regain control of this situation. “I want to go over your version of what happened the night of David Fairfax’s murder.” My nipples sharpening, I stride around the table and roll out one of the plush brown leather chairs. “Then we need an alternate theory of who killed David.”
“I have a lot of alternate theories.” Alexei pulls out a chair across from me.
Good. So he’s going to be somewhat agreeable.
“Also,” I clear my throat, “since we now understand the agreement between us, and I’ll never make a move, you need to find a different place to stay.”
“I’ve already given you the parameters. I’m staying with you, and when you make the choice, there’s no going back. So take your time,” he says mildly, cocking his head to look at the pictures Eloise taped to a board of him, Blythe Fairfax, David Fairfax, Garik Petrov, Hendrix Sokolov and Cal Sokolov. Off to the side are taped pictures of the prosecuting attorney, the judge, and Miles Molasses from my firm.
I take a deep breath—one fight at a time. “You mentioned that Miles Molasses from my firm was dirty?”
Alexei’s upper lip quirks. “He must’ve been because he sucked as a lawyer.”
Miles had made mistakes in trial, but nothing horrible. “Any other reason you made the accusation?”
“I said Miles worked with the prosecuting attorney and judge to get me convicted. I had a feeling at the time because he didn’t do a very good job, but rumors abound in prison. When the judge and prosecuting attorney were taken down, those rumors flew wild. The three were friends.”
“I’ll need to hire a private investigator to look into this.”
Alexei settles back in his seat as if he owns the room. “First thing we do is release my financial accounts.”