Dahlia's Kiss

“Me?” I asked. “Never. I’m not a prissy little woman who gets her panties in a bunch easily.”

“Speaking of panties.” He tried to hold back a grin but failed. “Did the cops ever find yours?”

His question brought back thoughts of the dead bodies and the unique use of my undergarments. I felt my expression go dark, and he cleared his throat, growing uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s fine.” I looked at my phone. Forty-five minutes had passed since we locked ourselves in the office and the others would start arriving any time now. “We should probably get to work.”

“I’m going to get out of here and shower and change before anyone sees me like this.”

“Yeah, you probably should.” I glanced at him sideways. “Big shot lawyers don’t wear running suits.”

“Then what the hell do they run in?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. A whole mess of hundred-dollar bills sewn together?”

We laughed together as we got to our feet.

“Thanks for coming to talk to me, Dahlia. I really felt awful thinking I’d hurt you. I know I come across as an arrogant prick, but I wouldn’t want to see anything happen to you.” He pulled the door open and stepped halfway into the hall. “I look forward to our casual encounters and I wouldn’t want to jeopardize that. You’re seriously the best fuck I’ve ever had, and I mean that in the nicest way possible.”

“You’re not too shabby yourself.”

Drake put a finger on the bottom of my chin and kissed me deeply, threatening to ignite the fire I was keeping at bay.

“You two!” The shrill voice came from down the hall and my heart sank into a puddle at my feet. “Are you kidding me? I knew something was going on, but I didn’t think it was this!” CeeCee slammed her bag down on her desk and glared. Drake stepped away from me quickly. Even his background in law left him fully unprepared to defend himself against what she saw.

“CeeCee,” I tried to talk to the woman, but she was having none of it.

“Leave me alone,” she muttered. “I need to wrap my brain around this.”

Drake made for the side door and disappeared into the parking lot. The coward.

“CeeCee, really. There isn’t anything going on between me and Mr. Sullivan. I don’t know what you think you saw, but he and I are just friends.” It was a fruitless endeavor to try to convince her of what she thought to be true.

“Friends don’t make out, Dahlia. I saw him kiss you.”

Fuck. Well, there was only one thing that could be done about this. I turned on my pheromones and blasted her with a wave of lust. “Friends make out all the time. It doesn’t mean anything. In fact, I would love to kiss you right now. Do you want me to kiss you, CeeCee?” I could smell her arousal. Her panties were soaked, and her body vibrated with need. She was already halfway out of her seat, her eyes partially closed. I met her across the desk, grazing her lips with mine, touching my tongue to hers for the briefest of moments. “We’re friends, right CeeCee?”

“Yes,” she breathed her word like a sigh, leaning in to get more of me.

“Then what you saw was nothing. Just a kiss shared between friends.”

She nodded enthusiastically. “Kiss me again. Please, Dahlia.”

“Later.” I pulled away, disgusted that I had to use her in that way to protect myself. “I’ll give you all you want and more later. You just have to be patient. Okay?”

She settled back in her seat with a slack look on her pretty face. “I’ll wait.”

My phone was vibrating in my pocket. If I had to guess, it was probably Drake wanting to know what to expect when he returned. “Excuse me, I have a phone call.” I gave her a mental nudge to go back to work and to remember that everyone at the firm was very good friends. I hoped that thought didn’t get her into too much trouble.

I stepped outside to get a little more privacy and looked at the screen to confirm whose call I missed. It had been Sterling. Hoping he had a good update to what had transpired the previous evening, I called him back.

“Sterling?” I gasped. “Do you have good news for me?”

His silence was all I needed to know.