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Dani frowned. “I don’t think I can discuss what’s going on with you. Particularly since you might end up being a witness for me—or for WMP, for that matter. You haven’t told me whose side you’d take if it came to a lawsuit between me and my employer.”

He didn’t answer immediately, and she risked lifting her head from his shoulder to peek up at him. His blue eyes looked black in the flickering light of the fireplace. But she thought it might be because he was angry and not because the dim light hid the bright color of his blue eyes.

He asked grimly, “Do you seriously need to ask me that? Do you think so little of my ethics and moral fiber?”

“Well, you didn’t tell the WMP partner to shove it when he offered me to you on a silver platter.”

“I’m not gonna lie. I was so shocked I didn’t know what to say.”

That made her push away from him a little to stare up at him. “You? Shocked? I thought you guys in the D.A.’s office have seen everything.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve never been offered women as a perk of a job offer before.”

She stared at him for several long moments, assessing the truth of his answer. She didn’t hear or see any signs of evasion or dishonesty. If he was faking his dismay over WMP pimping her out, he was a better liar than she could detect.

At some point, she had to get off the fence and choose to trust him or not. And her gut said he was being straight with her.

She settled back against his side, which had the advantage of her not having to look him in the eye when she talked about this supremely embarrassing subject.

“There’s not much to say. And honestly, Cam, you know more than I do at this point about what WMP is asking—or coercing—its women associates to do.”

He snorted but made no comment.

She continued, “I only caught part of the conversation between you and Raspy Voice. But from what I heard, I was hired apparently not for my mastery of the law, but rather my more…tangible… physical assets. Like how I look in high heels and a tight skirt.”

She had to stop for a moment to collect herself. She was not going to burst into tears in front of Cam.

Eventually, she added, “I never noticed before that night how there are practically no female attorneys at WMP.” She shook her head. “I was arrogant. I assumed I was special. That I was the first woman from a crappy little part-time law school who was talented enough to scale the walls of the ivory WMP tower and breach their corporate fortress.”

“Aww, honey. They’ve had a reputation since long before I started practicing law for burning through female associates over there like spilled gasoline.”

“Too bad no one told me that before I accepted their job offer.”

“Honestly, you strike me more as the fiery public defender type than as a well-paid private defense shark.”

“Really? Thank you.”

He chuckled briefly. “Some attorneys would take that as an insult.”

She ventured another peek at him, and he smiled back wryly.

“What am I going to do with you?” he sighed. “I’d love nothing more than to kiss you right now, but if I do that, then I’ll be the asshole you originally thought I was.”

“I really did think you were a jerk after our first meeting,” she confessed. “The one in the courthouse where you showed up in sweaty workout gear.”

“I really am sorry about that. I told you the truth. I didn’t have time to change.”

“It’s okay. I’m told the clothes don’t make the lawyer, anyway.”

He said reflectively, “I thought you were the smartest, hottest woman I’d met in a long time. I was secretly not disappointed you turned down the plea and were going to fight the case. You know, so I could see you again.”

“Really?”

“Scout’s honor.”

“Then I guess that leaves only one option open to us,” she announced soberly.

“What’s that?”

“I’ll have to kiss you.” She pushed away from his side and turned to face him. His expression went dark and sexy and dangerous. He reminded her of a tiger she’d imagined sitting on in his car.

Which gave her an impulse. She intentionally didn’t stop to consider it and just acted upon it, rising to her knees, and throwing her thigh across his lap. She straddled his hips and draped her hands over his shoulders, smiling shyly at him.

He smiled back, slow and sexy.

She murmured, “Your car made me imagine sitting on your lap like this. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Do you see me complaining?”

Her skirt had ridden up her thighs when she climbed on him, revealing the tops of her stockings and generous lengths of garter. Cam’s warm palms cupped her knees but didn’t move as he said low, his voice husky, “I’m a big fan of consent. You can say no or tell me to stop at any time. Okay?”

“Does that also mean I can tell you not to stop?” she replied.

His mouth curved into a sinful smile. “It does.”

“Good. Then don’t stop what you were doing with your hands.”

His gaze went serious. Intent. Sparks crackled between them as he skimmed his hands up the length of her thighs. His fingertips traced the skinny garter straps and heat shot straight from his fingers to her groin.

Their smiles faded as they stared into each other’s eyes. Millimeter by achingly slow millimeter, she closed the gap between them.

Her breasts brushed his chest lightly and she gasped as fire shot through her, resolving into a molten ball of lust low in her belly.

She got the distinct feeling they were approaching a cliff.

This was wrong, and they both knew it. Why then, did it feel so totally right? Good grief. Was she one of those cliché women who fell for the one man they weren’t supposed to have? How lame was that?

Thing was, she knew— knew —that once she went over the edge of the cliff with Cam, there would be no coming back. But then, that was the nature of cliffs, wasn’t it? They were a one-way trip.

But to what?

She would turn thirty in another year. She’d always assumed Mr. Right would show up in college and that they would fall in love and get married while she finished up her law degree. They would start their family once she got out of law school and had a good job. But Mr. Right had stubbornly not come along and she’d despaired long ago of ever finding a good man to settle down with.

And then this man blew into her life.

She barely knew him. But she knew him well enough to be positive he was everything she’d been looking for, and maybe a whole lot more.

Cam shifted restlessly beneath her and she realized she’d zoned out on him there, for a minute. “Sorry,” she murmured.

“What were you thinking about so hard?” he asked surprisingly seriously.

“You. Me. The way I thought my life was going to go. Wondering why you had to come along now, in this way, that makes it so hard to be with you.”

“I’m here, now. And in my experience, moments like this don’t come along very often.”

She studied his dark, smart, compassionate eyes intently. He knew exactly what was going through her mind, but he was going to make her choose what happened next between them. Which was frustrating as hell…but also responsible of him. Considerate. Yet another quality that made him even more perfect.

She didn’t know what she was waiting for. They’d kissed once already. Heck, they’d all but given each other tonsillectomies already.

But this was different. They weren’t angry with each other. They weren’t operating in reaction to other people’s agendas. It was just her and Cam. Alone. Two consenting adults who could do whatever they wanted tonight in the privacy of his home.

Nobody else knew they were here, together. This moment was theirs alone. Regardless of what tomorrow served up, the two of them had tonight.

And that decided her.

She took the last step, off safe, solid ground, into thin air and plunged off the cliff. Hitting the ground was going to hurt like hell but for tonight, she was going to enjoy the flight.

She leaned forward and kissed Cam. The instant their lips touched, it was as if the entire sky lit up in fireworks around them. Passion sparked between them even more brightly than the first time they’d kissed. Maybe it was because nobody might walk in on them tonight and interrupt them.

Sure, the risk to everything she held dear still lurked at the bottom of this incredible fall. But for now, she planned to ride the searing heat and swirling currents of this wildfire raging between them.

Her mouth moved lightly across his warm, firm lips, tasting the sweet bite of the liqueur on them. She sipped delicately at his mouth, savoring the taste, and he let her. In fact, it felt like he was holding his breath.

Tentatively, she deepened the kiss. His mouth opened a little, inviting her in, and she accepted the invitation. They fit together so shockingly perfectly. As if they’d been made for each other. Being together like this felt like the satisfying snap of two puzzle pieces going together exactly where they belonged.

Cam kissed his way down her neck and paused with his face pressed in the hollow where her neck met her shoulder. “I can’t get enough of you.”

“Same,” she panted, plunging her fingers in his short, thick hair and tugging his mouth back up to hers.

He resisted her urging, his mouth a millimeter from hers. “I’m really sorry. But we need to stop now unless we plan not to stop.” He added ruefully, “This is me asking for consent to continue, by the way.”

She knew without a shadow of a doubt that, if she said the word, he would stop and not press her to go any further tonight. A profound sense of safety washed over her. She could trust this man never to hurt her or force her to do anything against her will. He had her back in all things, including this most intimate and personal of things—sharing her body and possibly her heart with him.

She leaned into him, pressing her breasts deliciously against his hard chest. She grasped his face in her two hands and looked him square in the eye. “And this is me asking you not to stop.”

His breath audibly caught. “You’re sure?”

“I’m sure. This night is ours. Nobody else’s.”

And that was when all hell broke loose between them. His arms swept around her as he took control of the kiss and plundered her mouth with gentle violence.

She surged against him, meeting him halfway, kissing him eagerly and reaching for the buttons of his shirt, impatient to feel his skin. She was confident it would be a perfect combination of soft and rough, like his lovemaking.

As she fumbled clumsily at his buttons, slipping them free one by one, his teeth closed on her lower lip and she moaned as pleasure-pain streaked through her. Her nipples hardened and her crotch rubbed against the hard bulge beneath her. Oh, yes. She wanted all of this man.

He released her lip and his tongue briefly soothed the spot he’d bitten, then plunged into the heat of her mouth. She sucked on his tongue as she reached between her legs to stroke him through the thin wool of his trousers. His erection jumped within the confines of his clothing and Cam groaned into her mouth. Her entire body throbbed erotically in time with her pounding pulse, and she felt a climax building in her nether regions as he groaned again.

Holy crapoli . She’d never reacted like this to a man before. Just the sound of his pleasure was enough to excite her almost beyond bearing. She couldn’t wait to find out what he could do to her when they actually had sex.

She slid her hands inside his shirt, pushing the smooth fabric aside as she kissed her way across his chest. The muscles beneath her mouth jumped and bunched, and his skin was, indeed, as smooth and taunt as she’s seen in the courthouse, the hair sprinkled across his chest rough beneath her lips. His hands slid up her thighs to her hips under her dress and then followed the path of her garter belt around her body to grasp her naked buttocks. Note to self: thongs were incredibly convenient when having sex with an insanely hot guy.

He growled into the valley between her breasts, “Did I mention your ass has been driving me crazy ever since you marched out of that interview room the day we met?”

“Do tell,” she panted, her head thrown back in lustful abandon.

“I’ve wanted to feel how it fit in my hands—” He cupped her bottom with his big hands, and she loved how his hot palms and strong fingers tugged her harder against his erection.

He muttered, “I’ve been dreaming about your ass. Been dying to find out if it’s as firm and juicy as it looks?—”

She moaned as he squeezed her tush rhythmically, rocking her core against the hard bulge throbbing impatiently against her softness.

He released her ass and his hands slid higher until they encompassed her waist, groaning, “Your curves drive me out of my mind.”

“They’re all yours, tonight,” she replied breathlessly. No man had ever made her feel quite so beautiful and feminine before, and she reveled in how his big hands made her feel petite and delicate.

Without warning, he let go of her and his hands slipped down her body. She made a sound of protest, but then Cam muttered, “I’ll buy you a new dress.”

“What? Why?—”

She felt a yank at the hem of her dress, which was bunched up around her hips, and heard a tearing sound of cloth as her dress gave way beneath Cam’s strong hands.

The dress fell away from her body, revealing the skinny silk garter belt and her black lace thong. Another jerk by Cam and the dress split the rest of the way up her body. Her breasts spilled out, encased only in black lace.

Cam leaned forward and captured her pebbled nipple in his mouth through the black lace, biting it just hard enough to make her back arch as she moaned in pleasure. No man had ever made her feel this wanton or wanted.

He turned his attention to her other breast, this time sucking at her tightened nipple, which she offered up eagerly to him.

The bra had a front hook, which Cam popped open instead of destroying. He pushed aside the delicate lace and cupped both her breasts in his hands. She fit him this way even better than when he’d grasped her rear end.

“You’re perfect,” Cam said in a hush. “Freaking perfect.”

“Really? I’ve been told before that my chest is too big.” Her last boyfriend had even called her chest white-trash-sized. She’d dumped him the next day, but the damage had been done. She’d been ultra self-conscious of her generous endowments ever since.

“Bullshit,” Cam answered succinctly. To emphasize his point, he leaned forward to reverently kiss the pale globes in his hands. He murmured against the warmth of her flesh, “Whatever idiot told you that was dead wrong. Your body is…a masterpiece.”

“Really?” she asked in a small voice.

Cam’s mouth lifted away from her breasts. His gaze lifted to hers. Fire burned so hot in his eyes she thought she could actually see flames within the blackness of his pupils. “Really, Dani. You’re a rare treasure.”

“You’re just saying that because I’m half-naked and sitting on your lap?—”

“You’ve already given your consent. I have no reason to lie to you. And we’ve already established I have a good eye for art. I know true beauty when I see it.”

The heat of a blush started on her face and spread rapidly down her neck and across her chest.

His mouth curved into a smile. “You even blush beautifully. The great masters would’ve loved painting you. If I had an ounce of talent with a paint brush, you would be my muse. I would spend decades trying to capture your feminine essence.”

She blinked at him, stunned. No man had ever said anything like that to her before. And her lawyer’s spidey sense for lies wasn’t firing off. At all. He genuinely meant what he was saying. He thought she was beautiful.

Something unfolded inside of her as her years of shame over her excessively curvaceous body fell away, as years of low self-image evaporated. In their place, a tiny shoot of self-confidence sprouted. Was it possible that she was all the things he said she was?

Was she rare? Feminine? A treasure, even? She didn’t even care if he was lying. For the first time in her life, she liked herself just the way she was.

“Let me show you how perfect you are,” Cam whispered. “Give yourself to me tonight.”