Indiscretion

On Saturday I went into the office for a few hours before going over to Mr. Langone’s office to do a quick summary of all the cases the feds had confiscated over my objections. By the time I walked back out to the street, there was barely enough time for me to run home and take a shower before I was supposed to pick up Naomi for our date.

At seven, I stood in the hallway of Naomi’s sister’s building, dressed in navy slacks and a white button-down. I had a jacket in the car since the restaurant where I’d made a reservation was pretty fancy. I lifted my hand to knock with an equal amount of eagerness and apprehension. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt nervous about a date. It might have been never.

Frannie, Naomi’s sister, opened the door and smiled. “Well, I wasn’t delusional from fever after all. You’re just as handsome as I remember.”

I smiled back. “You look a hell of a lot better than the last time I saw you.” Frannie’s color had returned. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes bright. It made the resemblance to her sister much clearer.

The door had been open three quarters of the way, but it suddenly whooshed wide. Ryder stood behind his mom and folded his arms across his chest. “What are your intentions with my aunt Naomi?”

My lip twitched. “I intend to feed her a good meal.”

“What’s in it for me? How about bringing a cannoli home?”

Frannie swatted her son playfully. “Stop being a butthead, Ryder.” She motioned me in. “Come on in. Naomi’s just finishing getting ready.”

I followed the two of them into the kitchen.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Frannie asked.

“I’m good. Thanks.”

She leaned against the kitchen counter. “So where are you kids going this evening?”

“Eleven Madison Park. It’s vegan.”

“Oh wow. Fancy. That’s Michelin starred, isn’t it?”

I grinned. “Three Michelin stars.”

Frannie chuckled. “You hoping that gets you bonus points?”

Considering I’d had to bribe a friend of a friend who works as a bartender there with my Yankees tickets for when they play the Mets in order to get a reservation, definitely. Yet I shrugged. “It’s a big menu. Figured I couldn’t hate everything.”

“She’s gonna love it.”

A door creaked open down the hall, and a few seconds later, Naomi walked out. I’d been in the middle of saying something—I have no damn clue what now—when I forgot I was even having a conversation. I might’ve also drooled a little.

Frannie leaned in with a smirk. “Close your mouth, counselor.”

But I couldn’t, because this woman literally took my breath away. I am so fucked. Naomi had on a kelly green silk dress with spaghetti straps that looked like a slip. It draped at the neck, showing the perfect hint of cleavage. Her pale skin contrasted starkly with the color, making it look even creamier than usual, and I couldn’t seem to drag my eyes from her pert nipples. She definitely wasn’t wearing a bra, and I might’ve offered a silent prayer to God to thank him for air conditioning. And if that wasn’t enough to turn a man inside out, then the smell hit me. Coconut wafted through the air. It made me salivate, but it wasn’t fruit I was dying to eat.

Naomi read my face and grinned triumphantly. “Hi.”

“You look…” I shook my head and tried to come up with an appropriate word to use in mixed company. But all that came to mind was sexy as fuck, mouthwatering, and like a wet dream. I swallowed and settled on, “really nice.”

Lame, I know. Though I made a mental note to tell her what I really thought once her sister and nephew were no longer around. Kelly green was definitely her color. It might’ve been the first time I understood why she thought bright colors improved her mood. My mood had sure as hell improved getting a load of her in that dress. Then again, I was pretty confident her outfit could’ve been black and I’d be floating on cloud nine.

“You said the restaurant was dressy, but I wasn’t sure how dressy. I hope this is okay?”

“It’s perfect.” Just like you. Yeah, I’m fucked. Totally, totally fucked.

I looked at my watch, because I knew we were cutting it close. “We should get going. The reservation is for seven thirty, and they’ll only hold the table for fifteen minutes.”

“Okay.”

Naomi kissed her sister on the cheek and mussed her nephew’s hair. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Frannie said.

Her sister followed us into the hall, pulling the door closed behind her.

“I feel really good,” she said. “And I don’t need you to drop the kids off in the morning. I think it’s important for me to keep my routine, now that I’ve told them about my illness. So…if you wanted to stay out all night or come home really late, you don’t need to worry about us.”

I grinned. “Did you just give me permission to take your sister home with me?”

“Well, permission would have to come from her, but I’m giving my blessing.”

I rocked back and forth on my heels. “Good to know.”

“Oh my God.” Naomi covered her face. “You are so embarrassing.”

Frannie winked at me. “Just wanted to make sure she couldn’t use me as an excuse.”

“I appreciate that.”

“I don’t!” Naomi said. But there was a smile in her eyes.

Frannie disappeared back into her apartment, and I wrapped an arm around Naomi’s waist. “I didn’t think tonight would end in a sleepover. I mean, I was hoping, but didn’t think it would happen.”

“No one said it’s happening.”

I started us walking. “Oh, it’s happening.”

***

Eleven Madison Park overlooked Madison Square Park. You can tell how high-end a restaurant is in New York City by the amount of space between tables. I bet we wouldn’t even be able to hear the conversation of the people next to us in this place. Soaring ceilings made the room feel bigger than it probably was, and giant, multi-paned windows brought the lit-up outside City inside. The maître d’ showed us to our white-linen-topped table, and I waved him off to pull out Naomi’s chair myself. After, we ordered a bottle of wine.

“I can’t believe you got a reservation at this place. Simon tried to get one, and he said the wait was more than three months.”

Simon. Fuck him. Though I felt a swell in my chest for being able to do something that dope couldn’t. I hoped there would be two things he couldn’t make happen by the end of the night… “Apparently Simon didn’t try hard enough.”

Naomi smiled. She took the napkin from the table and laid it across her lap. “How did your day go? Were you able to get Mr. Langone’s files back?”

“I got an injunction to stop the feds from opening the boxes they packed up, but they still have possession—at least until we have a hearing on my motion next week. Thanks for that case, by the way. I used it. It saved me a lot of time researching.”

“Glad I could help.”

“Can I ask you something about your disbarment?”

Her face fell. “Sure.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring your head down. But I was doing some research and read that disbarred attorneys can regain their license in some states by filing a petition for reinstatement after a certain amount of time, usually like three to five years. And you can also apply for your license in one state even if you’re disbarred in another.”

“Do you have a client who was disbarred?”

“No.”

“So you were doing that research for…”

I shrugged. “Out of curiosity. It just seems unfair that you can never practice again. Even criminals who are sent to prison get a second chance after serving their time.”

Naomi sighed. “I can apply, but my attorney said my chances are not the best. You have to demonstrate awareness and acknowledgment of the wrongdoing that caused the disbarment. He suggested I take some anger-management classes and try to make amends, then apply in a few years. But you have to go through a reinstatement proceeding, which is basically like a trial where I would have to testify, and I can’t imagine ever being able to stand there and say I regret my actions and feel remorse for what I’ve done.”

“I get it. But if it gets you your license back…”

“After everything happened last year, I really struggled to move forward. The only way I found I could do it was taking things day by day. Right now, working as a paralegal is all I can do, so I’m trying to make the best of it and not dwell on what could’ve been. I have years before I can do anything. A lot could change, so I’ll see where my head is then and where life takes me when the time comes.”

“Got it. Let’s change the subject.”

Naomi smiled. “Thank you.”

“How about I tell you how beautiful you look instead?”

“You already did that.”

I couldn’t remember the lame word I’d used, but whatever I’d said wasn’t nearly enough to let her know what I’d thought when I saw her tonight. “Your nephew and sister were in the room, so I had to make my comments PG.”

“And now you want to give me the R-rated version?”

My thoughts bordered on X at the moment, but R would suffice. I nodded.

She leaned forward. “I’ll bite. Let’s hear it.”

I wasn’t sure if she was intentionally giving me a better view of her cleavage, but it definitely helped me remember my thoughts from earlier.

“You look sexy as fuck.”

Naomi picked up her wine and brought it to her lips as she leaned back in her seat. “Thank you. Though that’s pretty tame.”

“I was trying to be polite.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because I finally got you here, and I don’t want to scare you away.”

“I don’t scare as easily as you might think.”

I looked around, grateful no one was within earshot, then cleared my throat and leaned in. “So if I told you that seeing you in that dress made me want to do very bad things, it wouldn’t upset you?”

To my surprise, Naomi put her wine glass down and leaned forward with me. Her eyes sparkled with mischief, making my dick twitch in my pants. “I’d have to hear the bad things in order to be sure…”

Her rising to the challenge was almost a bigger turn-on than that dress. “It makes me want to lick you from head to toe.”

She swallowed. “What else?”

My eyes dropped to her full lips. “I dream about putting you on your knees and fucking that sexy mouth of yours. I wrap my hands in your hair and hold your head still while I fuck your throat.”

She’d asked me to tell her, but it looked like she hadn’t been expecting me to be so graphic. Her mouth dropped open. I smirked. “That’s right. Just like that, sweetheart. But you may have to open a little wider to fit me.”

She laughed nervously. “Oh my God.”

Unfortunately, the waiter had bad timing. He appeared out of nowhere and interrupted the moment. “Would you like to order some appetizers?”

Her. On a plate. I straightened and picked up the menu, looking at Naomi over the top. “What are you in the mood for?”

Her lips curved to a wicked grin. Fuck my life. If she keeps this up, we’re not going to make it to the main course.

I pointed to the sheet with the daily specials without even reading what they were. “We’ll take these two, please.”

The waiter nodded. “I’ll put that order in and come back to take your dinner selections in a bit.”

After he disappeared, I took a sip of my wine in an attempt to cool off. I groaned. “You’re killing me, Heart.”

“The feeling is mutual, Reed. Though I think it’s probably harder for me, considering I haven’t had sex in more than a year.”

I choked mid-swallow, and the wine wound up going down the wrong pipe. I started sputtering. The waiter ran back over to see if I was choking. I held up a hand and shook my head, even as my face turned red and I struggled to gulp down a breath. Meanwhile, Naomi looked amused as hell.

When I finally spoke, my voice was hoarse. “A year? Are you joking?”

“Afraid not.”

“On purpose?”

Naomi chuckled. “I might be pushing thirty, but I’m pretty sure I could still walk into most bars and find a willing participant, if I really wanted one. Yes, on purpose.”

“Why the heck would you do that?”

“I needed some time for me. I didn’t just get disbarred when everything happened. I also lost a fiancé. Plus, I wasn’t ready to share my story with a guy I’d just met on Tinder or whatever, so it was easier to not get involved with anyone.”

“When you say you haven’t had sex, you mean with another person, right? You’ve masturbated at least?”

She nibbled on her bottom lip. “I might’ve used a photo of you from the wedding on more than one occasion.”

I shifted in my seat, growing harder by the minute. This was going to be one long-ass night. Though there was something I was dying to know. “Did you let bonehead Simon touch you when you went out with him?”

She shook her head. “Not even a goodnight kiss.”

Thank fuck. “When was the first time you touched yourself and thought of me?”

Naomi smiled. “The night of the wedding.”

I groaned. “I was twenty feet away in the living room, and you were getting yourself off?”

She nodded. “It was the best orgasm I’d ever given myself.”

“I couldn’t fall asleep that night because I was so revved up over you. But I was afraid you’d walk out and catch me, so I managed to control myself. Though you’ve been the only material in my spank bank since the day we met.”

Naomi nibbled on her lip again, and my eyes dropped to follow. There were so many things I wanted to do to that mouth—bite it, kiss it, fuck it. How was I ever going to make it through dinner?

She ran her finger along the top of her glass, circling the brim. “Have you…been with anyone since we met?”

I shook my head. “It seems like we’ve both been busy imagining what it would be like to be together, yet it took us this long to even go on a date. Why is that?”

“I haven’t had the best luck with men, and after everything I’ve been through in the last year, I couldn’t handle any more disappointment.”

“Did every relationship end with disappointment?”

“Pretty much. All except Simon.”

My jaw clenched. “That guy’s name even pisses me off.”

She smiled. “I sort of feel the same way about Emily.”

“Then let’s not talk about them. What happened in the other relationships you had?”

Naomi sighed. “I’ve had three other serious boyfriends. The first was my high school sweetheart. We were together for three years, from eleventh grade until the end of our first year of college. We went to different universities, but weren’t ready to break up, so we did the long-distance thing. My semester ended a week earlier than his, so I went up to surprise him.”

“Uh-oh. This doesn’t sound good.”

“It wasn’t. After driving nine hours, I found him and some girl naked in bed.”

“That sucks.”

She shrugged. “Long distance is hard, and we were so young. So eventually I got over it and gave a relationship a shot again.

“What happened there?”

“Gunner and I—”

I interrupted, raising a hand. “No need to explain. Dude’s name is Gunner. He’s definitely a dick.”

Naomi laughed. “He was. But it took me almost a full year to figure it out.”

“And the last one? He was your ex-fiancé, I guess?”

She nodded. “Brad was older by ten years. He was actually the district attorney. We were together for almost two years. He proposed two months before everything happened.”

“What went wrong?”

“He couldn’t handle my disbarment or the humiliation I put him through.”

“What humiliation?”

“There was a lot of press, and his name was constantly mentioned. The story became more salacious with the DA involved since there was a big conflict of interest. He was supposed to be the one to make the call on how I should be charged criminally, but he had to recuse himself, and his deputy handled it. Brad broke our engagement a month after I caused Mr. Flint to fall down the stairs. That’s when I felt like I needed my fiancé the most, and he abandoned me. He said he’d worked too hard to get where he was to have his career ruined.”

“What a dick.”

Naomi smiled, but I could see it still stung.

“Yeah, so I don’t exactly have the best track record with men,” she continued. “Couple my dating experiences with my dad leaving my mother a week after she was diagnosed with cancer, and I probably have enough baggage to rack up a few hundred-thousand dollars in therapy bills. But of course, I can’t afford therapy since I blew through my savings paying legal fees and can no longer practice law.”

“I’m sorry.”

She shook her head and picked up her drink. “It is what it is. But enough about my depressing dating life. Tell me about yours.”

“There’s not much to tell.”

“Have you ever had a serious girlfriend?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

“Does that set off warning bells for you?”

“I guess that depends on the reason you haven’t had a serious relationship.”

It wasn’t the first time a woman had poked around in my past. Over the years I’d grown adept at responding without too many specifics. “Maybe I just haven’t met the right person.”

“Did you give anyone a chance?”

“I think so.”

“What was the longest you ever dated someone?”

“Probably Emily. About three months.”

“Hmmm…”

“What’s hmmm mean?”

“I’m trying to figure out if three months is an adequate amount of time to get to know someone and decide they aren’t Mrs. Right, or if that’s the amount of time it takes for a woman to grow close to you and then you to push her away because you’re a commitment-phobe?”

“Let me know when you figure it out.”

Naomi went quiet. It seemed like she was debating her assessment of me. “Do you have any women friends at all? I know your silly theory on being friends with women you’re attracted to, but what about the ones you aren’t physically attracted to?”

I shrugged. “I work with a lot of women I’m friendly with.”

“I don’t mean work associates. I mean good friends—women you spend time with outside of work. And your guy friends’ girlfriends and wives, like Lily, don’t count.”

I shook my head.

“Did you ever?”

Bailey wasn’t someone I talked about often, so my first instinct was to lie. It would’ve been easy enough to just shake my head and move on. For some reason, though, I didn’t. I nodded. “My best friend growing up was a girl.”

“Do you still keep in touch with her?”

I hesitated. “Can’t. She died.”

Naomi locked eyes with me. I could see the wheels in her head turning. She was a lawyer, so she wasn’t about to let go now that she’d latched on to something interesting. It would lead to an all-new round of questions. I might’ve answered her question honestly, but that was different than going down a long, ugly road. So I picked up the menu.

“We should probably figure out what we’re eating before the waiter comes back. I’m not even sure what I ordered for appetizers.”

She held my eyes a moment more, but then nodded. “Sure.”

How the hell had we gotten from me telling her I wanted to lick every inch of her body to talking about Bailey? I had no damn clue, but I wanted to go back in time a few minutes. Instead, I settled for changing the subject.

“How long have you been vegan?”

“I guess about seven years now.”

“What made you make the change?”

“My sister had just been diagnosed with leukemia for the first time. I spent a lot of time in the oncology department at Johns Hopkins, waiting while she got chemo or had her exams. They have a lot of literature on cancer lying around there, so I started reading. There are a ton of studies that link red meat to various cancers, so I figured it was something I could change easily enough that might give me a better chance of staying healthy. Both my mom and sister were diagnosed by twenty-seven. I started by cutting out red meat. I didn’t really miss the burgers and steaks, so I wound up taking the next step and cutting out all animal products. Eventually, I cut out processed foods and dairy, too. I know it’s not for everyone, but it makes me feel like I’m doing what I can. I promise I’m not one of those preachy vegans who criticizes what others eat. My friend Mary is like that, and even I want to stuff her mouth with sprouts when she gets on her soapbox.”

I smiled. “Does it bother you when other people eat meat?”

“Not at all. Though sometimes the smell can affect me. I’m not sure why, since it never used to.”

“Ah. That’s right. You don’t like meat breath.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Your nephew overheard you tell your sister. You might want to talk lower around that kid.”

She laughed. “Oh gosh. Good to know.”

We spent the next hour and a half enjoying our meal and polishing off a bottle of wine. I was glad when she declined a second, because I didn’t want either of us to be drunk. I wasn’t sure anything was going to happen tonight, but on the off-chance I got the opportunity to touch her, I wasn’t about to let the issue from last time get in the way again.

Toward the end of the evening, the waiter brought a slice of dairy-free cheesecake. I had no idea it was possible to make it that way, but it actually looked like regular cheesecake.

Naomi took a spoonful of the creamy dessert into her mouth, and her eyes shut as she let out a moan. “Oh my God. This is so good.”

Maybe I was immature, but I couldn’t not imagine her saying that about something else. My cock buried deep, her eyes fluttering shut—so, so good.

She scooped up a second spoonful and held it out to me. “Try it. It’s amazing.”

I shook my head. “However good it is, it’s not as satisfying as watching you eat it, trust me.”

She blushed. “Why do I get the feeling you’re imagining something different going into my mouth?”

“Because you’re a very smart woman.”

She laughed. “And you have a one-track mind.”

“I do when it comes to you lately. Does that bother you?”

“No. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, because you definitely don’t need any encouragement, but I find it refreshing that you say what’s on your mind.”

I licked my lips. “That’s good. Because I like telling you, though some things more than others.”

She shook her head, but smiled. “Tell me what you were like as a teenager.” Naomi slipped another bite of dessert into her mouth. “I bet you were a handful.”

“I was.”

“Were you prom king?”

“I didn’t go to my prom.”

“Remember that girl I told you about who made fun of my knockoff Uggs?”

“Emily, right?”

“She was our prom queen.”

“I would’ve voted for you.”

She smiled. “Did you play sports?”

“All of them. Football, basketball, and baseball.”

“Were you the captain of them all?”

“Only of the football team, at least until I got kicked off.”

“What did you get kicked off for?”

“Fighting.”

“Who did you get into a fight with?”

“Who didn’t I? I went through a rough patch my senior year and didn’t know how to channel my anger. Ben actually got me into boxing, which helped.”

“Ben boxed? I can’t imagine him boxing.”

I smiled, thinking back. “He took one lesson. First time the kid he was sparring with landed a light punch, he quit. But he only signed up to get me to try it. He was always looking out for me like that. I’m sure he read some book on different ways to channel anger.”

A few minutes later, the waiter brought the check. After I paid the bill, we walked out of the restaurant hand in hand. I wasn’t generally a hand holder, but I’d take any opportunity to touch this woman.

Once we hit the sidewalk, it felt like we’d arrived at the moment of truth.

“Thank you for dinner,” Naomi said. “I had a really good time tonight.”

“Me too.” I caught her eye. “I don’t want it to end yet.”

She gnawed on that lip she’d been nibbling on all evening before speaking again. “The kids will be sleeping, and I wouldn’t want to wake them, but…we could go back to your place?”

I was going to ask, but her suggesting it was so much better. I grinned. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”

Naomi laughed. “You can work the word fuck into anything.”

I brushed hair from her shoulder, then kissed the skin between the thin strap of her dress and her neck. She shivered. “It’s my favorite word. Coincidentally, also my favorite sport.”

“I’m not sure fucking qualifies as a sport.”

I rubbed my nose against hers. “You won’t be saying that tomorrow morning…”