The desperate hitch in his voice broke my heart, and I nearly let him kiss me again just to make it go away. Cupping his cheek with one hand, I managed to put enough distance between us so that our bodies were no longer pressed flush together, which made it a little easier to think clearly.
“You don’t need to do better. This isn’t about that. It’s the case. With everything we’re in the middle of, this isn’t a good idea.”
I was happy to see him finally listen to me and back up a step, until I noticed the way his shoulders slumped, and his arms wrapped around himself.
“No, I get it,” he said with a voice that made me feel like I’d just stomped on a kitten. “After spending every day going through my past with a fine-toothed comb, of course you’re not interested in me. Honestly, I’m lucky you’re not outright disgusted with me.”
“Hey,” I shouted as I grabbed his wrist. “Don’t say that. You’ve got it wrong.”
Jordy flinched, and I immediately realized my mistake. I quickly let him go and cursed myself for losing control. I knew better than to get physical with a witness, especially one that had been abused in the past, but there was something about Jordy that got under my skin. He was a victim that never asked for help and pulled himself out of the depths of hell one step at a time all on his own. That took more strength than most people could manage, but it also made me want to protect him even more.
Raising both my hands as if surrendering, I tried to keep my voice soft and my posture as non-threatening as possible. It was a futile effort overall. No matter what I did, I would always come across a bit threatening just by being bigger and stronger thanhim, and my face wasn’t well suited for soft expressions. Yet, it seemed to do the trick, as Jordy didn’t flinch from me again.
“I’m sorry,” I said, and I truly meant it. “But please don’t say that about yourself. This has nothing to do with anything in your past. I don’t care about your time with the bell ringers, or the years you spent surviving on the streets. Under different circumstances, I would gladly have you right now.”
Jordy’s eyes narrowed at me with suspicion. “Different circumstances? What kind of different circumstances?”
Breathing deeply through my nose, I resisted the urge to groan out loud. Everything I said made it sound like he was the problem, and I wanted something about him to change. All of my elegance and skills in the courtroom didn’t matter when it came to personal conversations. Talking was literally my job, and I still managed to firmly shove my foot in my mouth.
Simple words, I reminded myself. It would be best to stick to simple words. They were harder to mess up.
“I’m your lawyer,” I said, cutting right to the heart of the matter. “And while I would gladly take you to bed right this minute, it’s probably not a good idea for me to get involved with a client. Especially, not on such a high-profile case.”
Blue eyes looked up at me, their color broken up by striations of green that reminded me of sunlight drifting across ocean waves right before a storm rolled in. Along with his pale blond hair and bright pink highlights, Jordy really was such a colorful little thing. Like a human embodiment of candy. Not good for my health at all, but damn craveable.
“What about after the case?” he asked.
The flirty undertone was back in his voice, and the tension that had been gripping my heart finally released.
With a flick of my wrist, I gave him a dramatic little half bow. “After the case is done, I will be happily at your command.”
Jordy thought it over for a moment, eyeing me up and down like I was livestock he was considering purchasing. “I guess I can live with that.”
“Good,” I sighed. “Now, what?—”
I came to an abrupt halt when, the moment I looked away, I felt something tug at the waistband of my pants. When I snapped back toward him, I found Jordy watching me with his hands clasped in front of him, looking as innocent as spun sugar.
“Oh…” I sighed and shook my head. “You’re going to be trouble.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Jordy said, still trying to maintain the innocent act, but it was ruined by the way his gaze kept wandering up and down my body.
I shooed him out of the gym before he could test my patience anymore. I’d already said I wouldn’t get involved with a client during an ongoing case, and I intended to stick to that promise, but damn, did he make it hard.
Once Jordy was gone, I locked the door behind him for good measure to make sure he didn’t come back. Then, I looked down at myself and groaned. I’d been hard in my pants from the moment he kissed me, and the arousal simmering under my skin wasn’t going away anytime soon.
Picking up my boxing gloves again, I turned back to the heavyweight bag.
I had a whole new wave of energy I needed to work off.
CHAPTER 13
Kitt
The next day,my plans for patching things up between the witnesses were put on hold by some unexpected news. The new witness had been located faster than initially anticipated, and now, the other investigators were rushing to get the man to safety as quickly as possible.
I spent the day preparing for the new arrival and reading up on the information about them that I’d been sent.
Sam Casimir had the face of a young man, barely eighteen, but the eyes of a war veteran. I’d seen that same look on Jordy, occasionally, when he thought no one was watching him.
