The Donovans: Pleasured By A Donovan Part 9

"I want..." he began, then shook his head. "No, I need to see every inch of you."

He cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s in the strapless bra that held them high. Reaching around to her back, he undid the clasp, pulling the bra away to sit next to her s.h.i.+rt.

"Beautiful," he whispered, his gaze fixated on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, his thumbs rubbing over her puckered nipples.

"Ben..." she gasped his name as her knees shook. She didn't know how much longer she would be able to stand upright with his intense perusal and electrifying touch.

"Shhh. It's okay, I've got you," he said taking a step closer, his hands moving to the b.u.t.ton of her jeans. "Look at me, Victoria."

She did, and what she saw was a desire that most likely mirrored her own.

"We're going to be so d.a.m.ned good together," he told her before he leaned forward to kiss her lips.

Victoria nodded and whispered, "So d.a.m.ned good."

When he'd removed her jeans and panties, taking her shoes off and shaking his head at them before placing them on the floor close to the door, he stood again and stared at her.

"I knew you were fine. But now that seems to be an understatement."

Victoria took a step to him this time, reaching for the b.u.t.ton on his jeans. "Maybe I'd like to see if you're as good looking as I've always thought."

He stood still while she pushed his jeans and his boxers down his hips and stepped out of his shoes so she could push them all the way off. He was gorgeous. That had been seen easily when he walked the length of the courtroom dressed in a suit. Or when he began his reb.u.t.tal and had to come out of the suit jacket. Even tonight, when she'd seen him in jeans and a s.h.i.+rt, he'd looked exceptionally enticing. But now standing here completely nude, there wasn't really a word to describe him. If someone had pa.s.sed her a thesaurus she still wouldn't find an adequate enough description. Everything about him screamed perfect, just as she'd always thought. For a minute, she figured he was too good to be true, but he reached for her then. She felt the tingles of desire sifting up and down her spine and knew instinctively this was real. He was real and she was right here with him.

"Come on," he said when they'd both stared their fill and led her to the tub.

He washed her slowly, gently, methodically she thought. Each touch designed to nudge her excitement another notch. When he touched between her legs, she sighed and pressed closer to him. He'd grinned, that all-knowing I-know-I'm-the-ish grin he had, so she felt the need to get back at him. Using the bar of soap, she built a thick lather in her hands, then slipped them over his length. After only two strokes he was moaning, his eyes closing and Victoria's chest poked out with pride. Two could certainly play that game.

"Enough," he groaned grabbing her wrists and rinsing them both off without another word.

He'd dried her with a thick, fresh-smelling towel, then escorted her back into the bedroom. Going to his nightstand he pulled open a drawer to retrieve a condom. With quick motions he sheathed himself then looked up to find her staring at him.

In her mind she thought, "This is it." Her heart hammered in her chest as she looked at the large bed, then turned back to look at him. Ben pulled the towel she'd held around her, letting it fall to the floor. Then he grabbed her by the waist, lifting her so that her legs wrapped around him.

"Now," he growled, taking her mouth in a hungry kiss, tongue and teeth included.

The initial thrust was so quick, so potent, Victoria gasped, her nails digging deep into the skin of his shoulders. He was pumping before she could take her next breath and all she could do was sigh and hold on. When he finally let her fall back on the bed, her thighs were quivering, chest heaving. She reached for him immediately and he was there again, planted firmly inside her so perfectly she might even begin to believe they were meant to be together.

He moved slow, plunging deeper, holding her tighter than Victoria had ever been held before. In return, she held onto him, unwilling to let go of this foreign feeling coursing through her body. The room was bathed in light and the sound of their bodies mingling, their voices moaning. Her legs lifted of their own accord and he reached back to lock them just above his hips. Pus.h.i.+ng up slightly, he changed the angle of his entrance and proceeded to drive her delirious with desire. It was when she felt herself slipping, the control she normally kept on a tight rein drifting slowly and surely out of her reach, that he said her name.

"Victoria. Open your eyes and look at me. I want to see your eyes when I come."

The words didn't make sense to her, hadn't been words she'd heard before. But she did as he asked. She looked right up at him, felt the tensing of his thighs and the decisive fill of his p.e.n.i.s deep inside her. She gasped and let go, let all her worries and inhibitions where this man was concerned drift happily away on the tidal wave that culminated in a fantastic o.r.g.a.s.m. He followed suit with a tense look on his face, a gasp and a deeply moaned, "d.a.m.n!"

CHAPTER 12.

"The letter looks just like mine," Ben told Noah as he talked on his cellphone in the hallway just outside his bedroom.

Victoria was still asleep in his bed.

He'd done just as he promised and made love to her all night long. It was almost dawn when they'd both admitted getting some sleep might be good since they had work in a few hours. But Ben hadn't slept. He'd held her in his arms and waited until her breathing had steadied and he was sure she rested before slipping out of bed and giving Noah a call.

"I don't like you keeping evidence at your place," Noah told him. "Maybe you should bring them down here."

"There's a leak at the station, Noah. You know that. How else did Vega's men show up at every location the cops tried to hide Alayna Jonas? He's got cops on payroll as well as politicians."

"You keep saying that, which leads me to believe you're holding something back. What really happened between Vega and the congressman?" Noah asked for about the millionth time in the last couple of weeks.

Ben squeezed the bridge of his nose, shaking his head even though he knew Noah couldn't see him. "I'm not talking about the congressman's murder. I'm talking about Vega's killing Ebony and now turning his attention to Victoria. I won't let him touch her!" He'd been trying to keep his voice down, but his emotions were fierce.

"Don't forget he's got himself a little fixation with you as well. I gotta tell you, Ben, it doesn't make sense to me. Why's Vega so intent on getting to you?"

"Because I didn't take his case," Ben replied.

"That can't be all," was Noah's retort.

And he was right, Ben thought with an inward sigh. He wasn't telling Noah everything and the biggest reason was guilt, plain and simple.

"Look, you can take her letter to dust for prints but I doubt you'll find any but mine and hers. Then I want it back to keep with mine." The one he had locked in the safe beneath the bar in his dining room.

"And then what? Either she has to get a conviction or we need to get some concrete evidence to bring this b.a.s.t.a.r.d down."

"Or I could just kill him," Ben said, and was struck by how serious that statement was for him.

"You're not a killer," Noah replied seriously.

Ben inhaled deeply. "I'll do whatever it takes, Noah. Whatever it takes to keep her safe."

"That's my job. You just tell her to win this d.a.m.ned case."

The reply was emphatic and Ben wanted nothing more than to relay it to Victoria just that way. But because he was an attorney as well, because he knew the case was only as good as the jury panel selected, he wouldn't say that to her, wouldn't put that kind of pressure on her, not again. He realized that maybe he'd been hard on her in the diner and he'd told her she had to win the case.

"I'll drop the letter off to your house after work," Ben told him.

"Actually, I think it might look better if I picked it up from another location. If he's watching her, he's watching you. Let's not give anybody any unnecessary ammunition. How about you take it to your cousin and I'll stop by his office to retrieve it."

"Sure. I can do that." Even though he knew that would lead to even more questions.

Trent was no fool. He knew Ben was keeping something from him as well, something that involved this case. It was only a matter of time before his cousin pushed for the answers he wanted, or simply went out and found them himself. h.e.l.l, knowing Trent, he'd probably already started to look for the answers on his own. A fact Ben knew would lead to even more trouble.

"We shouldn't be seen together," Victoria stated the moment she emerged from the bathroom.

When Ben had returned to the bedroom, she hadn't been in the bed. He tried not to be disappointed by that, but realized it was already after 7 and they both needed to get ready to head into their offices. He'd already moved to the closet to retrieve his clothes for the day and was just deciding whether or not he should join her in the shower when he heard it shut off.

In the next seconds, as he sat on the side of the bed waiting for her, he wondered what this morning after confrontation would be like. Would she have regrets? Would she curse him out? Would she be nervous or embarra.s.sed? None of those reactions mattered. Ben could deal with them all. What he couldn't and did not want to see was that lace of fear that had s.h.i.+mmered through the alluring depths of her eyes when she'd shown up on his doorstep.

The door opened, light pouring into the bedroom, and she stepped out. Her words came before she took another step, taking him only slightly off guard.

"You might be right to some extent," he conceded. "But I have no intention of keeping the fact that we're together now a secret."

She shook her head, wisps of hair that she'd combed back into a smooth twist brus.h.i.+ng over her forehead. "I don't recall saying we're together."

Ben stood then. He wore only his boxers as he crossed the small length of floor to stand in front of her. "You didn't. But I'd think our actions last night speak louder than your words this morning."

She lifted both hands, stopping his next forward step, planting her palms firmly on his chest. "This will have to wait, at least until after the trial. I can't afford to be distracted, and if Vega's following us both around, neither can you."

He clasped her wrists, brought her hands up to kiss the backs one at a time. "Partially correct again."

"Ben," she started.

"Look, I see where you're coming from. But we've got to find some common ground here. I've waited, we've both waited, a long time to see where this thing between us is going to go. I'm not thrilled about the idea of waiting longer."

"Now is just not a good time. I still don't even know why Vega would send me this note or how you're connected besides the fact that you used to represent him. It just doesn't add up."

With a sigh, because he knew he'd have to do this sooner or later, he led her to the bed where they both sat.

"I told Vega I wasn't going to represent him on the second trial, the day you served me with the new trial notice. He wasn't thrilled with the idea."

"Did he threaten you? Because if he did, we can have him arrested on those charges as well?" she asked, real concern etching her face. The face that was free of any makeup and even prettier than he could have imagined.

Ben shook his head. "That's the thing, he didn't threaten me that day. He gave some half-a.s.sed type of warning, but he didn't threaten me with any real conviction. He watched me leave with a sort of smirk on his face and then I didn't hear from him again. Until later that evening." He took a deep breath and ran both hands down his face.

"There was a note stuck on my winds.h.i.+eld when I left my house to go to the gym. I'd seen Vega maybe three hours before at the parking lot across from my office. I was on my way to the courthouse to file my motion to strike appearance and he was there."

She kept a serious face, even though her shoulders sagged just a bit at his words. "A note like the one I received last night? What did it say?"

"It was an address. I ignored it. The next day my a.s.sistant was found murdered. Her body was at the location on the note."

"My G.o.d, Ben. I had no idea. Why hasn't Vega been arrested for her murder? Have you given the note to the cops?"

Ben was already shaking his head. "I have a friend that's a detective. I told him about the letter and I told my cousin who is a private investigator. I don't want to take it to the cops officially until we have enough evidence to charge and convict Vega. I don't want his a.s.s slipping through any loopholes this time."

"Did he slip through a loophole the last time? Is that how you got him off?"

She didn't say it, her voice didn't give away any hint of belief to what she was saying. Still, Ben was offended. When he turned to look at her, it was to find her staring intently at him. She looked the same, but there was something more. Her beauty was deeper this morning. It wasn't as stark and as a.s.saulting as before because he'd actually gone behind that layer with her. Last night, as he'd slipped in and out of her, Ben had felt something he'd never felt with another female. Each time she said his name, rubbed her hands over his body, let her lips be taken by his, a tightening had increased in his chest. For one brief second as they'd lay waiting to fall asleep, he'd imagined that tightening being her fist around his heart.

Linc had warned him that when Donovans fell, they fell hard. He hadn't tried to deny that fact before; he just hadn't experienced the fall yet. Until now.

"I tried the case I had. I countered the evidence Jules presented and I implored the jury to find my client not guilty. They couldn't decide. So despite how it might seem, Victoria, the mistrial wasn't a win for me either."

Her head nodded slightly as if she understood his rationale. "Do you think he killed the congressman and his wife?"

Ben didn't answer immediately. In fact, he looked away from her.

Victoria's fingers were soft, her grasp firm as she turned his chin until they were face-to-face once more. "You do, don't you? You think your client is a killer."

Ben pulled away and stood. He walked over to the window but didn't open the blinds. Victoria's car would be parked out front. His car was in the garage. If Vega were watching, if one of his men were watching, they knew she was here.

"He's not my client anymore," he said, moving from the window to the nightstand where he'd laid his phone. He picked it up and hit speed dial.

"Yeah. Victoria's going to need an escort home. Right, you were already on it." He sighed and disconnected the phone, then turned back to her.

"Who did you just call and why do I need an escort?"

"Look, Victoria, there's a lot going on here. A lot that you don't know."

She'd stood now and had folded her arms across her chest. "Then tell me so I will know."

He didn't immediately respond. Didn't know where to possibly begin.

"Oh. I see." She was nodding and Ben was feeling regret at the same time. "You get to know everything. You get to tell me what you want when you want and I'm supposed to follow your lead. I'm supposed to take all your information and try this case. I'm not supposed to ask questions or do anything to help in this situation at all. Am I correct?"

"You're not correct," he told her. "Not entirely."

"Okay, well, let me just clarify this situation for you Mr. All Mighty Donovan. I do not now nor have I ever needed your help to win a case. I can get a conviction on Vega without any of your top secret help. And as far as this 'thing' between us. Consider it an itch that has been thoroughly scratched. Should it resurface for you I suggest you look elsewhere for relief."

She'd spoken and turned to storm out of the room before Ben could say a word. What he did was curse, long and fluently at the mess he'd made of things in the span of about twenty minutes.

By the time he made it down the stairs, Victoria had already found her purse and was looking around in the dining room, moving things out of her way, not giving a d.a.m.n whether she broke something in the process. She was so angry at him. No, she was p.i.s.sed at him and angry at herself. What had she been thinking by coming here? How had she thought he could help the situation when he was the one who had created it? Even though she hadn't known that then. Whatever. Now she wanted to find that note and get the h.e.l.l out of this house!

"Victoria, listen, it's not what you're thinking," he said from behind her.

"It is exactly what I'm thinking. Exactly what I've thought since the beginning. You like to control everything as if it's your job to run everybody else's life. Well, I'm not a part of the Ben Donovan harem or fan club and I certainly don't walk to the beat of your drummer. Where the h.e.l.l is my letter?"

"I took it and I'm going to give it to my friend the homicide detective today. He'll test it for fingerprints, then return it to me."

"To you? For what? You're not investigating this case or any case involving Vega for that matter since you backed out of his trial."

"I'm still working on the case," he said, solemnly folding his arms across his chest.

He still wore only his boxers and still looked way too attractive to ignore. But Victoria was determined to ignore him. Her sanity depended on it.

"Why?" she asked simply. "Tell me why you still have your hands in this or I swear I'll go to the police with everything I know."

He took a step towards her, then stopped. A muscle in his jaw twitched, his eyes going a deep dark color that looked almost lethal.

"You go to the police and you'll be dead by the end of the day. I think Vega has someone on the inside at the police station. I also believe he killed the congressman and his wife and Ebony Reece, my a.s.sistant. Now," he continued slowly. "I need for you to prepare for this case like you normally would. When I find Alayna Jonas, I will bring her to you. Her testimony will convict Vega and he'll go to jail."

She shook her head because it still didn't make sense. There was more he wasn't telling her. Ben Donovan would not do all of this just so she could get a win under her belt.

"You know why he killed the congressman, don't you? You know there's more to this case than what's been reported, but if you expose the truth others will be hurt. Others who you either care about or need to protect to save your a.s.s."