“Oh, God.” All thoughts of my discussion with James went sailing out of my head at the wet, hot suction of Harlan’s lips sliding on my dick. My vision swam as he lightly scraped his teeth against my aching shaft. I slid my hands through his hair and thrust into his mouth. “Harder.”
I only had to say that word for Harlan to increase both the pressure of his mouth and the swirl of his tongue around the head of my dick. He ran a finger down the crease of my ass and squeezed my cheeks. My hands tightened around his head, and I came hard, spurting deep in his throat.
“Mmm.” Harlan sat back with a still sleepy but contented smile on his glistening lips. “Violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
I ran my fingers over his jaw, and he kissed the palm of my hand. “Write me up anytime.”
I pulled up my briefs and pants, and Harlan fell back in the bed. “Before you attacked me and had your way with me, I vaguely recall you saying you wanted to talk.”
I lay next to him, loving how he automatically snuggled into my chest. It was Harlan’s default position with me, and I don’t think he even realized it. I did. I thought Harlan needed the comfort and reassurance of my arms around him, and I was happy to give it anytime he wanted.
“You’re not going to believe this.” I recounted my conversation, and in the middle, Harlan sat up straight and listened intently, not speaking a word until I finished.
“Well?” I reached over to turn on the bedside lamp. “What do you think?”
Harlan’s eyes shone like twin flames. “I think this is everything you ever wanted and never thought you’d have.”
“No, baby. That would be you. Everything else is just gravy.”
Harlan grabbed my face between his palms and kissed me hard at first, then softened his lips against mine. “You do this. Take this chance, smash the shit out of it, and show everyone what you’re capable of. I always knew it, Race knows it, and so do your friends. Now you know James sees it too. You do it, and then show your parents that you made it on your own. They tried to break you, but they failed. They tried to knock you down, but you got up and came back a hundred times better. You’re strong, and yeah, you may bend, but you’re unbreakable.”
Only Harlan had ever given me the confidence I needed. All my life I waited for others to make my decisions, believing they had my best interests at heart. Now I saw what having a person in my corner and by my side meant.
I brushed his lips with mine and hugged him tight, burying my face in the curve of his neck. My favorite sweet spot. “I’m all that because of you. You may have fallen, but you showed me how to get back up and never take no for an answer.”
Harlan kissed me slow and tender, leaving me both gasping for breath and laughing with joy.
“I’ll never say no to you.”
Chapter Twenty
HARLAN
Former employees ofDeWitt and Wynters stopped by the bookstore to gawk at me and drop snide remarks when making a purchase. It hadn’t taken long for the news to travel. Their sickly, fake-ass smiles didn’t fool me. The jackals were circling their prey, licking their chops, waiting to dive in and rip me to shreds. I’d ignored the side-eyed glances of everyone so far, but when one of the junior lawyers I’d supervised leaned against the counter, acting as though he thought I gave a fuck about his opinion, I’d had about all I could tolerate.
“Go ahead, Evans. I know you’re dying to say something. I’ll entertain it for a while, but this is a place of business. I don’t sit around all day and talk.”
“We heard you were working at a little bookstore down here, but I couldn’t believe it, so had to take a look for myself. You made my life and all the other associates’ lives hell, forcing us to do extra work to cover up for your stumbling in drunk all the time. I wasn’t sorry to see you were fired, but the only regret I had from that whole debacle was that Oren left.”
The fact that I still wanted a drink to calm my nerves pissed me off. I guessed the craving would never go away. But hearing Oren’s name hurt more than I thought it would. He’d been the unwitting catalyst for the end of one life and the beginning of the next.
“I guess you think because I’m not your boss any longer, you can speak to me like that. But see, here’s something funny.” I leaned in and dropped my voice low so only the two of us could hear. “I agree with you.” I almost laughed at his surprised expression. “I was a miserable, unhappy drunk and hated being a lawyer on top of it. Together it made for a deadly combination.” I straightened to my full height. “Now if you’ll step to the side, unless you’re buying something?” At the shake of his head, I waved to the woman waiting behind him. “Then I have a customer waiting. Is this all?” I held out my hand and smiled at the woman who handed me her book.
My guess was that Evans expected more of an argument or at least a taste of my vicious tongue. I was legendary for reducing people to tears, and I was sure he’d expected me to rip him apart. As Cort would say,Ain’t no one got time for that. I bit back a smile, imagining the faces of the people I’d left at DeWitt and Wynters if they knew that not only was I bisexual, but in love with a former cowboy who never went to college.
When Evans saw I wouldn’t engage any further, he kept silent until the customer left. “You know, you owe us all—everyone at the firm—apologies, but the one person you really need to get it straight with is Oren. Even though he’s doing great now, you put him through hell the entire the time he worked at the firm.”
There was nothing for me to say because I knew Evans was correct. Since I’d gotten sober, not a day went by that I didn’t think of making it right with Oren, but I hadn’t yet found the courage of taking that step to contact him. A customer approached and I ignored Evans, who shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away, grumbling to himself.
That night whenCort and I were getting ready for bed, I posed the question to him, knowing he’d give me the best advice of anyone I knew.
It was fascinating watching Cort dry off from his shower. My gaze lingered as the towel swiped up his hard, muscular thighs, taking with it the water droplets winking on his skin. The twin dimples on his rounded ass beckoned for my lips and tongue. Every inch of his body was familiar to my mouth and hands, yet every time I pressed my lips to him was as exciting as the first time we’d undressed before one another.
Maybe it was all the years I’d kept my truth bottled up inside me, but I couldn’t look at Cort without wanting to hold him. Knowing I could do so without repercussions hadn’t dimmed the pleasure I received from him and our relationship.
Sometimes I was so happy, I wondered if it was going to last.
“So, a guy from my old firm came by the bookstore when you were out getting coffee with the guys, and he started talking about Oren.”
