First Time For Everything

As the sun had taken its first glimpse over the Atlantic this morning, he’d reluctantly left her bed, spent. Yet invigorated. Still reeling from the night of discovery. Now, six hours later, he still had no idea how to wrap his head around the blistering turn of events.

And his concentration was shot to holy hell.

His gut churned at the disturbing emotions, because he wanted her again, but he willed himself to think logically. To remain rational. Because, despite their night together, he still had a job to do and Jax’s legal problem to address. It hadn’t been his choice to be in charge of her case, but he’d made a promise and he intended to see it through. Which meant he needed to clarify a few things with the woman. Most notably, that her devil-may-care attitude and smart mouth might prove her undoing.

Because, if ever there was proof that Jacqueline Lee lived by her own rules, today had to be it.

“Just for the record,” Blake said with a droll tone, “since it was the judge that brought up the picture of the Ramones on your dress...” He opened the glass door of the lobby and ushered her into the warm sunshine. How could he have missed the full, standing image of the punk-rock band beneath the blazer? “It was perfectly acceptable to acknowledge your agreement with his comment about their impact on rock and roll.” The door closed behind them, and he shot Jax a meaningful look. “But engaging in a debate about which band had the most impact on punk rock was not the wisest course of action.”

Jax gazed up at him as if she had no idea why the disagreement was a problem. “Judge Conner asked for my opinion and I gave it to him.”

He fought the urge to let out an impatient sigh, clearing his throat instead, and shot her the most level look he could manage. “I believe his comment was meant to be a rhetorical question.”

Jax simply shrugged. “Well, if he didn’t want to hear my views, then he shouldn’t have formed it in the phrase of a question at all.”

As they descended the courthouse steps, Blake took a moment to regain his composure before addressing her again.

Narrowing his eyes in mock confusion, he said, “Do you get up every morning looking for ways to make life harder on yourself? Or does that just come naturally?”

Her lips quirked as she slipped off her blazer, draping it over her arm and baring the most beautiful expanse of shoulders Blake had ever had the pleasure of viewing. Desire fisted in his gut, but he ignored the feeling.

“Is this another one of those rhetorical questions that I’m not supposed to answer?” she said lightly.

“Yes,” he said, his tone firm. “Absolutely.”

She shot him a look from the corner of her eye, tossing back the wild hair that the breeze had plastered to her cheek. Her sweetly innocent smiles, like the one she was sending him now, were not to be trusted.

“You told me to be honest,” she said.

Blake bit back a smile at the courtroom memory, refusing to let her see his amusement. “Well, Judge Conner appeared to be enjoying the sixty seconds that it took for you to lay out your arguments in favor of the Ramones, even though he ultimately disagreed with your assessment.”

She came to a halt, grinning up at him and sending a disturbing thrill of pleasure along his veins. And the need to keep her out of further trouble made his expression turn serious again.

“You asked me to represent you in court,” he said. “In future, I need you to think about your actions and their consequences.” He focused on not looking down at her sun-kissed skin above the Ramones sundress.

The frown on her face lacked any real heat. “Is this your way of telling me to keep my fat mouth shut?”

He pursed his lips, trying to come up with a diplomatic response. “It’s my way of telling you that the world doesn’t need to know your every thought.” Against his will, his eyes drifted down to the bared shoulders. “Where did you find that dress, anyway?”

She grinned. “Your mother found it online and gave it to me as a good-luck gift.”

Blake suppressed the sigh. “Did she give you the mobster heels, too?” Blake said wryly.

“Nope, that was Nikki.” Her eyes lit with humor. “I plan on wearing them to the trial.”