Full On Page 2

  The last six months had been the biggest challenge of her life, in more ways than one. The one man who could alleviate her frustrations was the one who caused them in the first place. Images of him taking her right there in the courtroom plagued her too often. One of them should have pulled out of the case. Both of them were too career-oriented to do so. They craved the experience a high-profile case would bring. And look what they’d lost as a result.

  More tears threatened. Valerie blinked them away and entered the next intersection. Headlights closed in on her left. Instinct kicked in even while she processed that someone had run a red light. Avoiding collision was impossible. She swerved hard to the right. The impact shuddered through her and shoved her car to the opposite corner. The squeal of tires gave way to the blare of a car horn reverberating against her ears. Not hers.

  Air bag didn’t deploy. Am I hurt? Move. Do something.

  Valerie dutifully shoved the gear shift to Park, for all the good that would do, then eased her foot from the brake and turned off the engine.

  “Valerie!” Russell’s shout came from a distance and for a moment she wondered if she was in the fog of a dream. Then the passenger door creaked open. Glass showered onto the seat.

  “Valerie.” His voice was softer now, hinting of after-love caresses. “Are you hurt?”

  Her jaw moved but it took several seconds before she could gasp out, “No, I don’t think so.”

  “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.” She heard the click of her seat belt opening, felt his fingers curl under her fingers. “Easy now. You’ll have to climb out this way.”

  The seat wouldn’t budge. Valerie accepted his hand—clutched it like a lifeline—and crawled from behind the wheel. She spied her purse on the passenger side floor and reached for it.

  “I’ll get it, honey.” Russell gently tugged her toward him. “Let’s get you out first.”

  She managed a nod and slid across the console. He never let go, not even when her foot touched the sidewalk. Not even as he retrieved her purse.

  “The other driver?”

  “Someone else is checking on that person.”

  Valerie glanced in that direction. She couldn’t see the other driver or any passenger because of their air bags. The fact there was no movement wasn’t a good sign. Shakes built up inside. She wrapped her arms around her midriff to keep them there. It didn’t help. Strong arms pulled her into comfort.

  “I’ve got you. You’re all right.”

  She sagged against him and soaked in the sweep of his broad hand over her back. Thinking of how great it felt was sweet balm for the tragedy that had just occurred. She’d deal with the repercussions of leaning on him later. Much, much later.

  Chapter Two

  The only thing that kept Russell from shaking as much as Valerie was holding her. It’d been a hell of an accident. If he’d been any closer he might have been caught up in it too. Yeah, he’d been following her. A smart man didn’t let a woman like Valerie get away. He’d respect the limits of her safeword, even humble himself if that’s what she needed. But he was damn determined that they’d end the night in bed buried in each other. Now this.

  He swallowed the fear in his throat. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

  “I’m not sure of anything right now.” She jerked her head up. “You…you were following me.”

  No sense lying about it. “Yeah, I was.” He eased her head back to his shoulder. “Did you expect anything less?”

  A shiver followed on the heels of her barely perceptible sigh. Keeping one arm around her at all times, he shrugged free of his jacket and then draped it over her shoulders. She clutched the lapels in one fist and burrowed deeper. “I honestly didn’t know what to expect,” she finally replied.

  Approaching sirens pulled her from him—police, fire department, paramedics. She fumbled registration and insurance papers from the glove compartment, then returned to his side at a respectful distance. Emergency personnel swarmed the scene. No one he was familiar with from work. Russell was amazed with how relieved that made him feel. He and Valerie were ordinary citizens and not—gasp!—the fucking ADA and public defender. Until they gave their names, that is. Or the news van screeching to a halt across the street disgorged reporters to spy them.

  The police officer flashed the van a glower, then whipped out a notepad and stalked toward Russell and Valerie. Tension radiated from his body.

  “How’s the other driver?” Russell asked, hoping to put the man at ease.

  The officer cleared his throat. “DOA. Judging from the alcohol pouring from the vehicle…” He left the rest unsaid. “Were you driving, sir?”

  “No, I was,” Valerie told him. “The light was green.”

  “It was,” Russell added. “I was in the car behind hers.”

  No nod or acknowledgement, just the officer scribbling notes. “Tow trucks are on the way, ma’am. You hurt?”

  “No. Just shaken.”

  He completed his interview, gave them his card and walked off to help his partner mark the scene. Russell’s arm went around Valerie’s shoulders of its own will. The sweep of a camera their way pulled it down.

  “Vultures,” she muttered toward the ground. No one would be able to read her lips that way. Russell glanced down as well.

  “Whole thing scared the shit out of me.”

  Valerie managed a little laugh. “Me and you both. Frankly, I’m relieved to have a familiar face by my side right now.”

  “Even if that face belongs to me?”

  “Even if.” She tugged the edges of his jacket closer. God, the things that little action did for his ego.

  “I’ll give you a ride home.”

  “Thanks. There’s a glass or two of wine in it for you. It’s the least I can do.”

  “Too much wine and I’ll have to stay over.” He meant it in jest…sort of.

  “I know.”

  The smoldering note in her voice said the rest. Russell would have leaped on that thirty minutes ago.

  “But safeword rules are still in place.”

  A reminder of what a jerk he’d been. He didn’t much care for it but knew his behavior warranted the verbal cold shower. That was fine. There were other ways to get what he wanted. It wasn’t all about bondage and discipline. It never had been with Valerie, which was the main reason he found her so intoxicating in the first place. She’d seeped under his skin more than any woman before, and there would be no women after. “Would it help to say I’m sorry?”

  “Never hurts.” She tuned to face him, her back to the camera crew. “I owe you an apology as well. It’s been brought to my attention that I may have jumped to some conclusions about your after-hours activity these last months. I’m sorry.”

  Russell accepted her apology with a single nod. Curiosity begged him to ask who had enlightened her. For once, he managed to keep his mouth shut.

  Her gaze drifted slowly from his eyes, pausing at his lips, down his chin, his throat, over his tie until she reached his belt buckle and the erection waiting to greet her. Fingernails scored down his bare flesh wouldn’t have felt this hot. Then those big brown eyes lifted to his again. He longed to drag her close and let her get a good feel of what she’d awakened. Clamp his hands over her tight ass and grind into her. Push her to her knees and drag his cock out for her to suck.

  “Careful there, sweetheart,” he said with a smile. “You’re playing with fire that bites back. Do you really want to put on a public display?”

  She shrugged. “Firefighters are on scene in case the flames get out of control.”

  He smirked. “As are news reporters who would love to catch the ADA and public defender making extra cozy. What will they say when they see me in this state?”

  “Never fear. I’ll guard your assets.” She turned about, using her body to block the world’s view and grazing his cock in the process.

  Russell’s breath caught.

  “Sorry, ever the naughty schoolgirl,” she said ov
er her shoulder.

  “Nothing like mixed signals. Is the word in play or not?”

  “There’s play and then there’s play. If you get my drift.” She faced the gathering crowd once more. So near and yet so far. His cock screamed victory and frustration.

  “I get it.” He skimmed his fingers down her spine and cheered at the tiny shiver that came to life under his hand. “And when we get to your place perhaps a small reminder about trying to top from the bottom is in order.”

  He left the rest to her imagination. She could fill in whatever blanks she wanted. Because there was equal and then there was equal. He couldn’t turn his Dom self off completely, not when so much was riding on what happened tonight. But he also couldn’t cross the line she’d drawn. All Russell could think about was how badly he wanted to get this one right.

  Bees buzzed along Valerie’s nerves. She gave up trying to pass it off as an aftereffect of the accident. Each time she was near Russell she started ticking like a Geiger counter. And when he’d wrapped his arms around her and drew her close? Holy shit, what a feeling. His words laced with promises of things she’d longed for—things she wasn’t sure she wanted after all they’d been through but couldn’t stand to be without—dredged up a hunger that clawed at her to be fulfilled.

  She let those fantasies play through her head while the final details were tied up. It kept her from worrying about everything yet to come—insurance, finding a new car and the fact that two people had lost their lives.

  Valerie closed her eyes on that thought. Telling herself it wasn’t her fault didn’t matter. It’d still made her sick inside.

  “You ready?” Russell’s hand skimmed her lower back.

  “More than ready.” Her car was in the hands of the tow truck driver. She’d given all her info to the police, unloaded the few things she had from her car to Russell’s, and even reported the accident to her insurance company. She didn’t need to watch firefighters cut the deceased from the other vehicle.

  Her legs shook with every step. She still gripped the edges of Russell’s jacket around her. Her shield against the world. Her knight by her side. Her man taking control, making it all better, seeing she had everything she needed.

  Valerie jerked to a stop in mid-step. Russell glanced down, worry furrowing his brow. “You all right?”

  “Yes. I think I may have hurt my ankle.” A lie, but the only thing she could come up with.

  Russell scooped her into his arms. Her heart ran away with new fantasies, dreaming things it really shouldn’t. She told it to stop, that there were too many issues left to deal with. The foremost being her trust in him had been shaken. Her heart didn’t listen. Neither did those blasted bees swarming through her body.

  “I’ve got an emergency ice pack in my car. It’ll help until we can get you home.”

  Only if she could put it on her crotch.

  He carried her effortlessly to his car, then set her on her feet only as long as it took to open the door. She’d barely sunk into the passenger seat when he was crouched beside her, removing her heels.

  “Which one?” He ran his hands over her ankles. “I don’t see or feel any swelling.”

  He would if he searched higher—like between her legs.

  “Maybe it was just a twinge.” The words came out a tad too breathy. She hoped he took that as a reaction to pain and not to his touch.

  “I hope so. An ice pack won’t hurt though. Just in case.”

  He moved away to retrieve it from the trunk. Footsteps stampeded their way. Without the barrier of police tape, reporters converged on them. Their numbers had increased over the last hour, once word filtered out who had been involved in the accident. It wasn’t enough that they’d hovered outside the courtroom for sound bites. They wanted more, always more. Fodder for whatever story they wanted to spin. Valerie’s patience was on a short leash. They could make something out of nothing. God only knew what they were going to make of this.

  The vehicle rocked as Russell slammed the trunk closed. He beat the reporters to her side by mere seconds. Squatting, he ignored the blast of questions and placed the ice pack around her right ankle. Valerie squinted against the blare of lights. Only the quick pat of his hand to her knee as he stood kept her from exploding. He faced the throng in one smooth move, blocking their view of her, hands on hips.

  “You can address your questions regarding the accident to the police officers. As to your inevitable and unending questions about the Estavarez case… Those were answered this afternoon.”

  She loved the don’t-fuck-with-us tone in his voice.

  “Why are you here, Mr. Cambridge?” one female asked.

  Valerie fought the urge to roll her eyes. They were oblivious as always, asking stupidly obvious questions.

  Russell shifted. Valerie recognized the stance well even from behind. He’d clasped one hand over his wrist and stared them down.

  “Do you not stop to render aid when you witness an accident?” Idiots was implied, at least to Valerie.

  A new flurry of questions burst out, each reporter talking over the other. Russell let them make fools of themselves for only so long before he slowly raised his hand for silence.

  “It’s been a long day capped by a traumatic event. Good night.” He stepped forward, pushing them back by sheer force of his will.

  Valerie locked the door the second it closed and snapped her seat belt in place. The reporters scattered, cameras still captured every move. She closed her eyes and leaned into the seat, shutting them out. There was nothing she could do to quiet the rabble of voices.

  “Miss Oswald, how does it feel to put a murderer and rapist back on the streets?”

  She shot upright.

  Russell caught her forearm before she could explode. “Let it go.”

  The engine purred to life, classic-rock music covered more questions, and he steered his car to freedom. God help the fool who tried to block him. In minutes they were heading toward her home. She punched off the music.

  “Are they following?”

  “Not yet,” he said. “They don’t have to. They know where we both live. They can stake us out anytime they want.”

  Too true. She’d kept the drapes closed for months to avoid being snooped on. Her poor houseplants had paid the price. Valerie had too. She hated not letting the sunshine into her home.

  “You can’t stay tonight.”

  His grip on the steering wheel tightened.

  “They’ll see,” she quickly pointed out.

  “Then I’ll park in your garage.”

  “And in the morning?”

  “They’ll have found a new story to chase.”

  He pulled to the curb, cut the engine and leaned her way. One arm draped over her seat. The other slid over her knee, crawled up her thigh, bunching her dress. His intent was clear and all the “red lights” she could stutter weren’t going to stop him. After all, this wasn’t about a Dom and a sub. It was about a man wanting his woman. Russell wanting her. They were in a public location where anyone who drove or walked by would see what they were doing. That only added to the allure and made her heart race with anticipation.

  “I want you, Valerie. These last six months have been like a slow death.”

  He slipped his thumb beneath the crotch of her panties and went right to the source. A whimpered gasp burst from her lips. She scooted lower, widening her thighs to give him whatever he wanted to take.

  “I’m going to be buried balls-deep inside you before this night is over.” Long, thick fingers plunged into her pussy, thumb lashed over her clit. Valerie fisted the sides of her seat and ground into his hand.

  “You’re going to come soon.” The whispered promise tickled her neck. “I can feel it building fast. The way your muscles trap my fingers right where you want them. The heat boiling up inside. I want to kiss you so bad. But if I do I’ll be all over you, feeling your tight nipples dig into my chest, burying my cock hard and deep where my fingers are. You know what’
s stopping me?”

  He had the nerve to pause while she dredged up an answer. Valerie clamped her thighs around his hand to keep it in place. “Because we’ll get caught?” she managed to say.

  “Uh-uh, baby.” He pressed his thumb harder, faster. “Because once I have you writhing under me, I’m not pulling out until the sun shines.”

  Valerie was too lost in the image of him fucking her to respond. Fantasies added more fuel to her orgasm, now approaching at warp speed. She lay spread at his mercy, alternately tensed and writhing as each swipe of his thumb drew her closer and closer. Her panted breaths matched his but Russell’s spiraled between her breasts like hot licks seeking forbidden treasure. She longed to tug her dress and bra down to free aching nipples to his mouth. Fear of that level of discovery kept her from doing so. Or was it the death grip on the seat as she braced for…

  She froze with the impact of sweet release, then clamped her lips shut on the cry that came with it. Russell’s soft groan filled the void. He kept his hand buried inside her through the rise and fall, then dropped a kiss to the well of her throat in the aftermath as he slowly pulled free.

  “You’re so beautiful. Always so beautiful.”

  Valerie laughed lightly. “Even when I don my French twist battle gear.”

  “Formidable. Untouchable. Don’t fuck with me.” Russell grinned. “But I know better.” He drew his fingers to his nose, inhaled her scent, then licked her taste from them. “Delicious too.”

  She brushed her hand up his arm. “You always say the sweetest things.”

  “Always?” His eyebrow hiked up a notch, rather like it did when he was cross-examining witnesses.

  “I think you know the answer to that.” Valerie poked him in the ribs. “Home, please, before our fan club finds us.”

  Russell eased back behind the wheel. They continued on in silence. One part of her urged him to push the speed limit and get there as fast as he could. The other wanted a little more time. The eyebrow thing reminded her of every clash they’d had over the last six months. Yes, it was in the line of duty and part of their no-holds-barred agreement to each do their jobs to the best of their abilities. Honestly, if they hadn’t come at each other full-on wouldn’t they have lost respect for each other? Doing so undermined their personal relationship. At least for Valerie. She couldn’t separate vicious ADA Cambridge from loving Dom Russell. The anger in his eyes during the trial was real, carried over tonight when he’d first approached her. Her trust in him to handle those extra needs that were so much a part of her was shaken.