Tara Sivec - Shame on Him

I feel like I just entered the Twilight Zone.

He just shrugs. “What can I say? You drive me crazy and for some strange reason, it’s the biggest fucking turn-on. I’ve wanted to kiss you ever since you first called me a pompous ass.”

Now this is a shocking development. I guess what they say about little boys picking on the girls they like on the playground when they’re younger is also true for adults.

“And for the record, watching you stand up to those assholes was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. That, and hearing you say the word ‘fuck,’” he adds with a smile.

I look away from him in embarrassment. “I think I took that a little too far. They’re probably never going to speak to me again.”

He shrugs. “Fuck it. They’re not worth it. If they can’t see how amazing you are, they don’t deserve to have you in their life.”

All of this insight coming from him is a little shocking. I mean, I thought he felt the exact same way about me as they did.

I push away from him and slide away from my car. I need some distance. This is a little too much right now. I just spilled my guts to my parents and now Dallas is telling me he thinks I’m amazing. I don’t know what to think.

“You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t exactly believe what you’re saying right now. You’ve taken every opportunity to tell me I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. You put me down left and right and I’m always second-guessing myself, wondering if I really am making a mistake.”

He grabs my arms and pulls me back to him, bending down to look into my eyes. “Let’s get one thing straight here. I admit I’m an asshole most of the time. But I have never underestimated you. I’ve been waiting for months to see that spitfire come out of you that I knew was hiding in there somewhere.”

“Right. So your telling me outside of Stephanie Covington’s house last week that I’m in over my head and I should go back to the courtroom was what? Tough love?”

The words tumble from my mouth and I immediately want to take them back. Do I really want him to know I’ve been dwelling on what he said to me every single day since then?

He sighs and pulls me against him. The warmth of his body feels so good that I instantly slide my arms around his waist even though I’m confused by what is happening.

“Why do you have to question everything? You told your parents where to stick it and now we don’t hate each other. Much. We should be celebrating this momentous occasion, preferably by getting naked,” Dallas informs me with a grin as his arms tighten around me.

“As much as I’m enjoying standing out here not hating you, I think we should probably leave. My parents will lose their minds if they see us out here like this. I think I’ve done enough damage for one night.”

Dallas sighs. “You’re probably right. Tearing your clothes off and fucking you on the hood of your car would probably push them over the edge.”

And just like that, I’m hot all over again. I never thought hearing someone speak like this to me would be a turn-on. Out of anyone else’s mouth, those words would have me smacking them across the face. But hearing them from Dallas, I want nothing more than to take him up on his suggestion.

“Well, I lied earlier when I told you I wasn’t planning on doing any more investigating without you. I have the file for Miles Harper in my car. I was planning on stopping at his office when I left here.”

Since he’s been so honest with me tonight, I feel it’s only right to go with full disclosure at this point.

He chuckles and pulls away from me, grabbing my hand and lacing his fingers through mine. “Yeah, I already figured as much. That’s why I trailed your ass here. Crashing dinner with your parents was just an added bonus.”

We walk around the front of my car and he opens my door for me.

“So are we really doing this? Working together without killing each other?” I ask as I slide into the seat and Dallas leans his arm on top of my open door.

“I’m not about to let you out of my sight, so that’s affirmative.”

I bristle at his words and glare at him.

“Don’t give me that look. I know you’re perfectly capable of handling this. It’s for my own peace of mind, all right? I don’t want to walk in on another scene like the one at Jameson’s house.”

His words calm me somewhat and I’m shocked that I believe him. And to be honest, it will be nice to have someone with experience by my side.

And someone who kisses so well.

“I’ll follow you to Harper’s office. Are they expecting you?”

I start my car and nod. “Yes. I called his secretary. He’s staying at the office late for a meeting so he agreed to speak with me.”

Dallas leans into the car and presses his lips to mine. I immediately get wrapped up in the kiss as his tongue slowly swirls around my own. He pulls back much too soon, pressing a kiss to my cheek before backing out of my car. He closes my door for me and I watch in my rearview mirror as he walks back to his car.

I’m working with Dallas Osborne without the need for blackmail or coercion and he just kissed me again like it was the most natural thing in the world. This is about to get very interesting. Or very messy.

Well, if it isn’t Lorelei Warner. When my secretary told me you requested a meeting I almost couldn’t believe it.”

On the way up to Miles’s office, Dallas gave me a few pointers. Be nice, but not too nice, and don’t let on that we’ve seen the e-mail correspondence between Richard and him. The way Kennedy, Paige, and I came across those wasn’t exactly legal and if anyone knows the ins and outs of the law, it would be Miles Harper. He graduated at the top of our class at Harvard and I found out in my research that any day now he’s going to be appointed as a judge in Indiana. Rumor also has it that he’s being positioned for a seat on the Indiana Supreme Court and that’s why he’s on such a fast track in his career.

Obviously, someone of his caliber would have a lot to lose if word got out that he was blackmailing one of the richest men in the state. Or if he killed him.

“Miles, it’s so good to see you again.”

I plaster a smile on my face as he rounds his desk and takes both of my hands in his before leaning in to kiss my cheek. My parents adore Miles, of course, and the few times we’ve seen each other, I’ve tolerated him. He throws his social standing and wealth around every chance he gets and it’s nauseating.

“I must say, Lorelei, I like the new look,” he tells me, staring me up and down. When Dallas did it earlier in the evening, it shot a thrill through my body. When Miles does it, I want to go home and shower.

“Hi, I’m Dallas Osborne. I work with Lorelei.”

Dallas shoves his arm between me and Miles and I silently thank him for the interruption. Miles drops my hands and shakes Dallas’s outstretched one.

“I thought maybe my secretary had made a mistake. When she told me Lorelei Warner was requesting a meeting as a private investigator, I nearly died laughing. So it’s true you’ve given up your legal career for something frivolous? What is it you do exactly? Take down hardened criminals?”

Miles laughs at me mockingly and it makes my blood boil.

“Actually, yes, that’s exactly what she does. If you don’t mind, we’re investigating the death of Richard Covington. We know the two of you worked together, so we’d just like to ask you a few questions.”

Miles perches casually on the edge of his desk.

“Really? So the rumors are true. Lorelei Warner has kissed her stellar legal career good-bye to follow a lifelong dream of . . . what? Pretending she’s a hard-ass among the dregs of society?” Miles says with a laugh. “Your parents must be having a field day.”