my half of the house rental I shared with a friend at law school. Other than that, he regularly deposits an allowance into my checking account. It’s not much, a couple hundred a month. Everything else gets charged to an American Express card he gave me.
“Yes.”
I twist my mouth. “I don’t suppose he’d take a rain check.”
Steele laughs. “No. With Charlie, money talks, everything else walks.”
“I have money in a trust,” I say hopefully.
“You have access to the money?”
“Not until I turn twenty-five.”
“Who manages it?”
“Gramps and one other person.”
“Then you can’t get your hands on it without them knowing about it. When will you turn twenty-five?”
“September.”
He advances right into my personal space and cups my chin. “Let me pay Charlie’s expenses for now. Out of my pocket, not the firm’s. You can reimburse me when you gain control of the money in your trust.”
“I shouldn’t allow you to do that,” I say, even though I know there’s no other way.
“Yes, you can. Call it a loan. Pay me interest if you wish.”
“Fine. I’m not happy with it. But fine.”
“Now, about that research assignment.” He takes a seat behind his desk and goes over the task he handed me. I answer his questions as best I can, all the time worried about how deep I’m getting in with him. I not only had sex with him, but I’m allowing him to pay for the investigation into my parents’ murders. But if I want to get to the truth, what choice do I have?
CHAPTER 13
Trenton
Needing to keep up the charade that my only interest in Madrigal is as an intern, I’d asked her last week to research an obscure point of law. The work will keep her busy for the next month and stop Joss Stanton from poking into my dealings with her—like she did with the Raleigh expense account. I’d discovered her subterfuge when I noted charges for two rooms on my credit card. After calling the motel, I found out she’d asked the manager to do just that. So she knows Madrigal and I shared a room. She never asked me about it, but she probably discussed it with Madrigal. As close as she is to Holden, she probably warned Madrigal about me.
But Madrigal obviously didn’t reveal we slept together. If she had, I’d have been kicked out of the firm this last week. Holden might let some things slide, like a partner imbibing too much on the job, but my sleeping with his granddaughter would not be one of them.
So why do I burn to do it all over again? She’s toxic to my career, to whatever sense of honor I still possess. And yet I can’t stop thinking about her sweetness, her heat, and the most glorious night of sex I’ve ever had. I’ve never fucked a woman like Madrigal. One who trembled in my arms as she whispered that one word.
Please.
If she intended for me to stop, that wasn’t happening, not after I’d inhaled her exquisite scent, tasted the intoxicating flavor of her skin. And definitely not after I’d buried my cock balls deep in her heat. Christ. I’d been a right bastard that night, taking advantage of her fear, fucking her for my own pleasure, and barely ensuring she got hers in return. Best thing I can do is stay away from her. For the night. For the rest of the summer. Except—
I can’t.
I take the elevator up to the fourth floor, which houses the law firm’s library, where she’s busy researching that esoteric point of law I assigned her, and find her hunched over a law text typing notes into her laptop.
“Still at it?” I ask.
Her head jerks up. She looks around, but there is no one else in the library. We’re quite alone. “Mr. Steele.”
Doesn’t seem right for her to address me by my last name, not after what we shared. But it’s best this way. All the summer law clerks refer to their bosses by their surname as a sign of respect. For her to start calling me Trenton would raise suspicion. And that’s something I can’t have. For her sake. For mine.
“Hungry?” I
“Yes.”
I twist my mouth. “I don’t suppose he’d take a rain check.”
Steele laughs. “No. With Charlie, money talks, everything else walks.”
“I have money in a trust,” I say hopefully.
“You have access to the money?”
“Not until I turn twenty-five.”
“Who manages it?”
“Gramps and one other person.”
“Then you can’t get your hands on it without them knowing about it. When will you turn twenty-five?”
“September.”
He advances right into my personal space and cups my chin. “Let me pay Charlie’s expenses for now. Out of my pocket, not the firm’s. You can reimburse me when you gain control of the money in your trust.”
“I shouldn’t allow you to do that,” I say, even though I know there’s no other way.
“Yes, you can. Call it a loan. Pay me interest if you wish.”
“Fine. I’m not happy with it. But fine.”
“Now, about that research assignment.” He takes a seat behind his desk and goes over the task he handed me. I answer his questions as best I can, all the time worried about how deep I’m getting in with him. I not only had sex with him, but I’m allowing him to pay for the investigation into my parents’ murders. But if I want to get to the truth, what choice do I have?
CHAPTER 13
Trenton
Needing to keep up the charade that my only interest in Madrigal is as an intern, I’d asked her last week to research an obscure point of law. The work will keep her busy for the next month and stop Joss Stanton from poking into my dealings with her—like she did with the Raleigh expense account. I’d discovered her subterfuge when I noted charges for two rooms on my credit card. After calling the motel, I found out she’d asked the manager to do just that. So she knows Madrigal and I shared a room. She never asked me about it, but she probably discussed it with Madrigal. As close as she is to Holden, she probably warned Madrigal about me.
But Madrigal obviously didn’t reveal we slept together. If she had, I’d have been kicked out of the firm this last week. Holden might let some things slide, like a partner imbibing too much on the job, but my sleeping with his granddaughter would not be one of them.
So why do I burn to do it all over again? She’s toxic to my career, to whatever sense of honor I still possess. And yet I can’t stop thinking about her sweetness, her heat, and the most glorious night of sex I’ve ever had. I’ve never fucked a woman like Madrigal. One who trembled in my arms as she whispered that one word.
Please.
If she intended for me to stop, that wasn’t happening, not after I’d inhaled her exquisite scent, tasted the intoxicating flavor of her skin. And definitely not after I’d buried my cock balls deep in her heat. Christ. I’d been a right bastard that night, taking advantage of her fear, fucking her for my own pleasure, and barely ensuring she got hers in return. Best thing I can do is stay away from her. For the night. For the rest of the summer. Except—
I can’t.
I take the elevator up to the fourth floor, which houses the law firm’s library, where she’s busy researching that esoteric point of law I assigned her, and find her hunched over a law text typing notes into her laptop.
“Still at it?” I ask.
Her head jerks up. She looks around, but there is no one else in the library. We’re quite alone. “Mr. Steele.”
Doesn’t seem right for her to address me by my last name, not after what we shared. But it’s best this way. All the summer law clerks refer to their bosses by their surname as a sign of respect. For her to start calling me Trenton would raise suspicion. And that’s something I can’t have. For her sake. For mine.
“Hungry?” I
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