Legally Bound (21 page)

His temples started to throb as Ambrose went into
a rant about their biggest competitor. Donavan hadn’t slept through the night
in two weeks and the lack of sleep was catching up with him. When he closed his
eyes, even when he was at work or at a business dinner, Eve was there in his
mind, tormenting him. Every morning and night he showered and vigorously
scrubbed, trying to purge his skin of her sweet scent, yet it was hopeless. The
rosehip and lavender smell of her hair was branded into his memory so deep no
amount of washing could remove it.

He toyed with a pen, letting it slide back and
forth between his fingers. Picking up the phone and calling her was out of the
question. He considered it several times over the last few days but always
circled back to the same conclusion. They wanted different things. Unless he
was willing to agree to her terms, there was no point talking.

He dropped the pen on his desk and then scrubbed
his palms over his face as Ambrose continued to fume. The old-timer never ran
out of shitty things to say about Kiniki and Bosely. Why he was pushing for a
junior partnership on her behalf, he wasn’t entirely sure. She would be good
for the company, he told himself. Obtaining a position in a larger firm would
open more doors for her professionally. He couldn’t give her what she wanted in
regards to a relationship based on secrecy, but he could give her this. Perhaps
his motivation was more selfish. If he couldn’t have her in his bed, he could
at least see her every day at work.

Now who’s the masochist
, Donavan thought bitterly.

The rapid click of quick-tapping heels outside in
the hall drew Donavan’s gaze to his office door seconds before it burst open.
Eve?

“I’m sorry to bother you at work but I need to
talk to you,” she spoke quickly and out of breath.

He swung his gaze to the speaker phone that had
gone eerily silent then back to her flushed face. Half rising from his chair,
he quickly replied, “Now is really not a good time, Evelyn. I’m on an important
call—”

“It can’t wait,” she interrupted. “If I wait to
say this I might never say it and I have to. After my behavior I can understand
why you don’t want to see me but, but just listen. All you have to do is
listen.”

Donavan tucked his tongue in his cheek and
grimaced as she continued without barely taking a breath.

“You have every right to be angry, but I’m going
to tell you why you should forgive me. Yes, it was wrong of me to expect you’d
be content with anything other than full disclosure. Secrecy is not your style
and it never has been. I get that now. You’re proud of who you are and you have
every right to be, but you have to understand not everyone shares your
confidence and conviction. Some of us are still muddling around, trying to find
our way.”

She paced back and forth, ringing her hands
together and Donavan wondered if he shouldn’t hit the hang up button on the
phone. However, Ambrose wasn’t one for secrecy either and if Donavan ended the
call it might have more of a negative effect than a positive one.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is that you
caught me off guard,” Eve admitted. “Until now the only thing I’ve ever been
one hundred percent certain of is my career. I always thought that it’s what
got me out of the slums, got me my car and my home. My very way of life. But,
now when I think about it, I realize that it’s not my career that makes me
successful. It’s me. My hard work and dedication is what got me here, and you
were right. I am a damn fine lawyer. If people can’t see that, well, then they
can go straight to hell. I’m tired of pretending to be something I’m not. I’m
done hiding.”

The gruff clearing of a throat sounded from the
telephone speaker and Eve’s eyebrows shot up. Donavan winced and pinched the
bridge of his nose.

“Well now,” Ambrose commented and Donavan watched
all the blood drained from Eve’s face. “That was quite the moving argument, Ms.
Morgan. I have to admit, I was a bit sketchy when Carver suggested taking on a
junior partner from outside the company, but I’m sold. Though I’m not entirely
clear on the subject matter of your dispute I can say this, if you argue all
your cases with half the passion you just demonstrated, you’ll have a promising
future here at Charleston and Associates. Welcome to the team, Morgan. Carver,”
he barked. “Draw up the paperwork.”

Donavan arched an eyebrow, keeping his gaze on
Eve as he spoke. “What about the senior partners, sir?”

“Screw em’! It takes those fools an hour to
decide what they’re ordering for lunch. We can’t let them debate about this
forever. There’s not a chance in hell I’m letting those Kiniki and Bosely
pricks get the upper hand on me! I didn’t get where I am today by dragging my
feet, boy. Fax me the contract when you’re done.”

“I’ll have it on your desk by five o’clock. Good
speaking to you, Mr. Charleston.”

The phone went dead.

Oh God. This is what happens
when I act spontaneously,
Eve thought miserably as the room began to spin. Did Donavan address the man on
the phone as Mr. Charleston? Flustered, she tugged on the high-neck collar of
her blouse then nervously twirled her thin gold chain around two fingers.

“Um…that…that wasn’t the, Ambrose Charleston, as
in your boss? Was it?”

“It was.” Donavan circled to the front of his
desk then propped his hip on the ledge. “I tried to tell you I was on a call.”

So he did. Eve hadn’t believed him, though.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized as her cheeks burned.
“I thought you were just playing nice—trying to get rid of me politely.”

“When have you ever known me to play nice?” He
folded his arms on his chest and arched an eyebrow. Eve wavered under his
intense gray stare, her heart fluttering a mile per minute. Until now, she hadn’t
realized how much she’d missed him.

“Um…wait a second—did he just welcome me on at the
firm as a
junior partner
?”

Donavan inclined his head. “That he did.”

Filtering through the scattered thoughts inside
her head, she briefly went over what Mr. Charleston said. Donavan had stuck his
neck out for her and suggested that they hire her on.

Her throat dried and she studied him, perplexed. “Let
me get this straight. Even after the other night, you still suggested to your
boss that they hire me on as a partner?” Eve shook her head. “Why? Why would
you do that?”

“You’re a good lawyer. You’d be an asset to the
firm. Simple as that.”

Was his reasoning so simple, Eve wondered. She
didn’t think so. He had known how much being hired at a larger firm meant to
her, especially after their conversation the other night. And, although she had
treated him as if he ranked lower than her career, he still went out of his way
to do this for her. Butterflies danced in her tummy. She wanted to close the
distance and throw her arms around him, to show her gratitude for his
selflessness, but she forced herself to remain where she was. At the moment, he
didn’t exactly appear overly approachable. When she continued to stare in
disbelief, the muscle in his jaw flexed.

“Did you mean what you said?” he asked in an even
tone.

She exhaled all the air from her lungs and
nodded. “Yes. Yes, I meant every word.”

“Prove it.”

Startled, Eve detangled her fingers from her
necklace then cleared her throat. His gray gaze burned hot as it skimmed over
her body and sent shivers down her spine. Was this his way of saying he still
wanted her?

Prove it? But how?

Think like a submissive, Eve.
Let feeling and instinct guide you.

With a careful eye, she studied him while an
uneasy tension wreaked havoc on every muscle in her body. If she was misreading
his signals, what she was about to do would be mortifying. Was she was willing
to take that chance?

She propelled into motion, slowly striding across
the office. Her heart pounded harder with each step that brought her closer to
him. He wanted her to prove to him that her earlier speech was not built on
empty promises. He wanted physical confirmation that she had changed. She would
give it to him.

Watery legs carried her forward until she was
standing directly in front of him, however, he didn’t greet her with open arms
or even the hint of a smile. He looked calm and collected, a portrait of
coolness. Yet she understood the grounds for his cavalier posture. Their last
night together, he had let his guard down and she had hurt him. He would not
lower his defenses again. Not without warrant.

Though he was within arm’s length now, Eve didn’t
reach out to touch him. Instead, she ever so slowly sank onto her knees. In
silence, she aligned the inside of her thighs with his feet and shifted her
hands behind her back. The submissive stance would go further than words, she
hoped, considering his office door was wide open. Any second someone could walk
by and see her kneeling at his feet, but Eve didn’t care. She was done hiding.

Head bowed, she locked her eyes on Donavan’s
shoes and waited. The next move was his. This was all she could offer him. This
was all she could do to show him that
she
had changed.

What felt like an eternity passed before Donavan
finally shifted his weight off the edge of the desk and gave it a slight shove
backward with his foot. He sank onto his haunches in front of her.

“It looks like someone’s been practicing being a
good sub,” he murmured.

His hand came up and cupped her cheek, tilting her
face back to look at him. The tension coiled in her abdomen released with the
familiar comfort of his large palm and the gentle calm of his eyes. The second
her gaze locked onto his, emotion assaulted her. She wanted to hurl herself
against him. She wanted to feel the safety of his arms wrapped around her and
the strength of his body, yet she remained immobile. Frozen in the intensity of
the moment, they stared at each other for a long time.

With a watery gaze, Eve combed the planes and
angles of his face, committing them to memory incase even this wasn’t enough to
convince him she’d changed.

A tear slipped from the corner of her eye and
slid down her cheek.
I love him. I truly love him. How could I have pushed
him away so easily? He has to forgive me. He has to.
On a sob, she broke
out of her submissive pose and shook her head. “I’m so sorry I hurt you. I
never meant for—”

“Shh.” He finally gathered her into his arm and
Eve clung to him as if her life depended on it. She clenched her fingers on the
collar of his shirt as an onslaught of emotion ripped through her. Regret.
Happiness. Relief. Some of the emotions spilled out of her while others rushed
into her, filling a void that had been inside her for years. She sniveled
against his shoulder, uncaring to whether or not she looked weak in his eyes.
She didn’t know what kind of future they had together—a week, a month, a year—she
was content to have him for as long as he allowed. A short time was better than
no time.

Grasping her by the shoulders, Donavan gently
eased her back and framed her face in his hands.

“The other night,” he paused and creased his
brow, “I never told I loved you.”

With the reminder, her stomach knotted and she
tried to hide her wince. “I—I know you didn’t. It’s okay though, I didn’t come
here expecting—”

“I should have,” he interrupted, stroking his
thumbs along her cheekbones. “I should have told you that I loved you that
night. And, I do. I love you, Eve.”

Before she had time to form a response, Donavan
sealed his mouth over hers. His hungry lips pulled and plucked greedily while the
pressure of his kiss suspended her ability to think clearly. He loved her. He
wanted her. He forgave her. Is this what love feels like? Agonizing, yet
heavenly?

Eve’s chest tightened as he kissed her deeper,
gliding and sweeping his skilful tongue inside her mouth. She moaned and
savored the muscles in his biceps contracting as he held her tighter.

When they resurfaced for air, both of them were slightly
out of breath. Donavan sighed and rested his forehead against hers.

“Strange I’m about to say this,” he started in a
breathy tone. “But, it might be in both of our best interests to keep our
personal relationship under wraps while you settle in here at the firm. The
contracts will take a few weeks to finalize. Think you can keep a secret for
that long?”

An unrestrained and uninhibited burst of laughter
carried out of Eve and she arched an eyebrow at him.

“Mmm, I’m not sure, Donavan. You of all people
know I’m not very good at keeping secrets.”