Taming the Beast

“Then, can I have your number?” he said, after an uncomfortable pause. I shook my head.

“You’re just visiting a friend. There’s no point,” I said, as I walked the few steps to the door.

“Rose, that’s not really—”

“I can’t get the door open,” I interjected, humiliated that the dead bolt wouldn’t cooperate. He reached around me and grasped the deadbolt, but didn’t open it.

“You can stay,” he said softly, as his breath stirred my hair.

My heart beat double time as I said to the door, “I’ve got to go, the courthouse opens in a few hours.”

“The courthouse?”

“Yes, I’m a defense attorney,” I said, and I risked a glance at him when he didn’t respond. He looked shocked, and suddenly his face flooded with color.

“You’re a defense attorney,” he said without inflection. It wasn’t a question.

Christ, what was his problem? He didn’t think I was smart enough to be a lawyer?

Indifference slid over me like a soothing balm, and I was sure for the first time since I’d arrived in the apartment that I would be leaving it like I’d entered it, exactly the same. He said nothing else as he flipped open the lock. I stepped out into the hallway and closed it behind me without looking back.

Chapter 4

I stepped out of the shower the next morning, having thought about last night while I scrubbed it away. I had only had about 3 hours of sleep, and was a bit hung over, but of more concern to me was that thoughts of Jeremy were prominent in my mind. As I blew my hair dry, I closed my eyes and felt his hands on my breasts, heard him whisper my name, saw his face above me in the dark as he came.

Fuck.

I turned off the blow dryer with my hair still damp and walked into my bedroom, where music played. The sex had been amazing and I couldn’t seem to shake it off. But I had to. There was no other choice. I just needed to get to the courthouse, where I planned on doing some pro bono work for the town’s legal clinic.

I walked around my bedroom as I went through my morning routine. I put on another sexy bra and panties, navy blue this time, and sat on my bed while I rubbed my favorite scented lotion from Victoria’s Secret all over my body. I took care of my skin and wore beautiful underwear, because even though my clothes were my suit of armor, underneath was how I really wished I could show myself to the world. Not in my underclothes, but not hidden away, forced to live a solitary life lest the vampire became common knowledge. My clothes forced people to see only what their preconceived notions allowed them to, and most weren’t able to see how I had manipulated them.

Jeremy can.

I sighed as I tossed my lotion on my dresser and got up to look in my closet. A wall of suits greeted me in varying shades of dark blue and gray. I grabbed a skirt and a blazer, skimmed through my silk tanks and picked one at random. I stood in front of my full-length mirror and watched as any sexiness I had was swallowed up with each piece of clothing I put on. I twisted my blonde hair into a messy bun on top of my head, and secured it with the pin my sister had removed last night. I slipped my feet into my black heels, and my armor, with a few dings, was back in place.

I arrived at the courthouse at 8:30, with a pounding headache and an empty stomach. I was set to volunteer as lawyer-for-the-day, which meant that I would give people some free advice, which would be just about what the advice would be worth. I was not on my A game to say the least, so I was thankful that I wouldn’t be in front of the Judge. I was determined to put Jeremy out of my mind, since a normal future was out of the question for me. I didn’t date. I never had relationships. Who would want that with a monster?

I walked into the attorney conference room, which was little more than a broom closet without any brooms. At that moment it contained the nectar of the gods, otherwise known as coffee, so I bee-lined it over to the machine. I fixed it just the way I liked it, with lots of cream and sugar, and had just taken my first soul-soothing sip when I heard, “Psssst, Rose!” come from behind me.

“Joey Miller,” I said wearily to Joey Miller, as he leaned halfway into the broom closet. “Please tell me nothing. Just…No,” I said, as I waved one hand at him in a “Go Away” motion, while I drank half my coffee in one gulp and scalded the roof of my mouth.

“Rose, come on. Don’t be like that,” Joey said, as he came into the room.

“What is it?” I sighed.

“You remember Matt Davis, right?” I rolled my eyes and didn’t respond. Matt Davis had lived next door to my parents for the last 35 years.

“Um, okay,” he said, as he realized that I was, in fact, not going to respond.

“Well,” he said, as he l

ooked at me sheepishly, “the thing is that Matt got himself in a bit of a pickle over some parkin’ tickets. Ya know, forgot to pay a few or somethin’. No big deal. But the cops went to his house an hour ago and arrested him! Over a couple parkin’ tickets! I swear this town is going crazy with all these arrests lately over stupid shit. Makes me wanna run for office or—”

“Joey! Get to the point,” I said, as other attorneys came into the closet. One or two gave me a side-long glance because we were supposed to talk to clients in the hallway. Since I didn’t care what they thought, I finished my coffee with another gulp and then filled my cup again, draining the pot to empty. For this, the side long glances turned into glares. I gestured for Joey to continue.

“Okay, well Matt called me, ‘cause I’m his one call, ya know? So, I’m calling you, Rose, ‘cause you’re my one call,” he said earnestly. Even my cantankerous nature softened a little at that. Not completely however, since I was tempted to point out that he hadn’t actually called me. But I refrained.

“So, he’s locked up downstairs and needs me to represent him,” I concluded.