8

“Do you take the courtroom home with you?” She glanced around the group, her voice lowering as she added, “I think we’re all in similar stages of our lives here, but I wonder what it’s like for you. When you return to your house and Mrs. Shaw is waiting in the kitchen, a plate of cookies on the counter, can you eat the cookies and chat about where you’re going to vacation the following weekend? Or do you spend the entire dinner recapping every moment of the day’s trial before doing it again over coffee the next morning?”

Oh, Hannah …

I see right through you.

I had a reputation.

Bachelor. Serial dater. Playboy.

Whatever the fuck they called me.

I liked to think of it as not being tied down.

I was surprised Hannah didn’t know that about me.

Or maybe she did, and she was just confirming.

“When my driver takes me home every day, whether that be from the office or the courtroom, I leave work behind. Of course, there are evenings and weekends where I spend time doing paperwork or I take calls from clients. But when I’m out with friends, even if they’re lawyers, we don’t talk shop. When I’m eating cookies my private chef baked, I don’t think about the questions I should have asked in court or the points I should have made.” I gave Hannah a hard stare. “There’s work time and playtime. I don’t mix the two.”

I was immediately bombarded with another set of questions, taking my eyes away from Hannah. It didn’t matter. I could still feel her. Sense her. Smell her in the air.

Until I couldn’t.

Since I’d placed my back toward her during the last round of examination, I glanced across my shoulder to find her.

She wasn’t there.

I didn’t know if she was getting another drink. If she’d gone to the restroom. Or if she’d left the bar.

What I did know was that this meetup was over.

I gave my final bit of feedback to the student next to me and turned toward the group. “I appreciate you all joining me. Unfortunately, our time is up.” I decided to do one more thing to ease the blow. “Don’t bother paying your tabs; your drinks are on me tonight.”

Everyone stood to shake my hand, thanking me for my time and generosity. After I watched each of them trickle out through the main exit, I went over to the bar to pay their bill, ordering a scotch while I waited for the bartender to tally up the receipts.

That was when I scanned the room for Hannah.

But there was no sign of her.

Was our conversation too much for her to handle?

Did I misread what was building between us?

Nah, I didn’t believe that for a second.

Then, where the fuck is she?

I signed the credit card receipt and walked around the perimeter of the bar, looking to see if I could find her. When I neared the restroom, I spotted her. Her body was hidden because the man she was speaking to was much taller, blocking her from most angles.

They weren’t touching.

But Hannah was smiling, transfixed on his face.

Basking in his attention.

Only minutes ago, she had been doing the same to me.

And now, she was flirting with another guy.

Fuck that.

I downed the rest of my scotch and left the empty glass on a table before I headed into the restroom. I finished at the urinal and washed my hands, and as I was coming out the door, Hannah was walking into the short hallway, just about to turn into the ladies’ room.

Our eyes caught, and she stopped, leaning against the wall between the doors. “Where did everyone go? I just went to the table, and they’re all gone.”

“I sent them home.” I shoved my damp hands into my pockets. “You would have known that if you hadn’t been so tied up.”

Her stare deepened, and then she smiled. “You mean … with Gregory?”

“I don’t know who the fuck he is.”

She turned her face, giving me more of her profile. “Is that jealousy that I hear?”

I knew what she was trying to do. I wasn’t going to fall for it.

“I saw you two on my way to the restroom, Hannah. I wasn’t looking for you. Don’t make this something that it isn’t.”

Her teeth ran across her lip in a way that I couldn’t look away from. “Are you sure about that, Declan?”

Damn it.

She was pushing, attempting to control this conversation.

She would soon learn that the only thing she could control was the speed in which she sucked my dick.

“No, I’m not just sure,” I growled. “I’m positive.”

“Then, why do you appear so bothered by it?”

“I’m not.”

She switched positions and now faced me by leaning her shoulder against the wall, her hand clasping her hip. “Do you want to know who Gregory is?”

I didn’t like that she kept saying his fucking name, implying that his title mattered to me.

Before I could reply, she said, “He’s one of my study partners and a good friend, and he also happens to be gay, so there’s no reason to worry.”

Fuck, she had a mouth on her.

“I wasn’t worried,” I told her.

But deep down, I felt relief.

I didn’t know why.

But there it was.

“You know, it’s funny …” Her lips pulled into a seductive grin. “You told me earlier that if we had met under different circumstances, I’d be going home with you tonight. But from the way you’re looking at me right now, it seems those circumstances have changed.”

“And you can tell that from my eyes?”

She nodded. “Looks like you’re about to ravish me against this wall.”

She was right.

If my hands weren’t shoved into my pockets, they’d be all over her.

I didn’t know what was stopping me.

“Is that what you want, Hannah?” I paused. “Do you want my lips all over your body?”