Once Upon A Beast: A Billionaire Fairytale Page 6
I heaved in a deep breath and planted my hands on the desk in front of me, glancing at Aston out of the corner of my eye. I couldn’t let him get to me. That was precisely what he wanted, for me to fuck up this case by acting crazier than my client. Asshole.
All of this, the case we’d built challenging them to prove their own competency, had been constructed around the assumption that I had my feet on the ground. But right now, I struggled to catch my breath and tears pricked my eyes as I thought about everything that monstrous asshole had put me through—and I feared I wasn’t going to be able to hold myself together.
I shuffled through my trial binder, focusing on the arguments I’d so carefully laid out over the last few days, everything that worked in our favor, everything that made my client look good and his client look questionable. All of it felt pointless now as I struggled to regain my composure. I checked my watch. We’d start in a matter of minutes. How was I supposed to go up in front of the judge in the state I was in?
Suddenly, a touch landed at the small of my back. My first reaction was to jump, but I turned to see Zach. His hand was warm and gentle against my skin, his touch comforting, and he smiled at me as though he’d noticed I was in the middle of a grade-A freak-out in the middle of the courtroom.
“Hey, you’re all right,” he assured me, his voice low and a smile cracking across his face. “Really. Don’t panic.”
“I wasn’t,” I protested weakly, but his wryly raised eyebrows told me he didn’t buy it for a damn second. My shoulders sagged, and even though I was a little embarrassed at being found out, I was glad he at least wasn’t kicking me to the curb in horror because I didn’t have nerves of steel. I managed to return his smile, and he nodded, apparently satisfied at seeing me return to something close to normality.
“Now get out there and show them who’s in charge,” he ordered playfully. “I have a company to hold onto.”
“Will do,” I nodded, a little shaky, and stood up to head for the stand. I was as ready as I’d ever be, and even if it didn’t feel iron-clad, it would have to do for now. I turned my gaze to Aston, narrowed my eyes, and steeled myself for my first big case.
Chapter 11
Zach
I didn’t like the look of the opposing counsel from the first time I’d laid eyes on him. Not one bit. He looked at Jessibelle as though she owed him something, and she seemed to believe it as much as he did.
She returned from their little introduction looking like someone had knocked all the air out of her. Compared to the totally in-control and take-no-shit woman I knew, it didn’t make sense to me. It was obvious to me he was playing her. I knew creeps like him, looking at her like she’d come to court half dressed, holding her hand for a fraction of a second too long, like he was trying to throw her off her game. Was there something between the two of them? I couldn’t tell just by looking, but this felt like more than a friendly rivalry.
I had all but tuned him out as he started delivering his opening statements, laying out the case in an articulate and convincing fashion for why I should have my company taken from me. I didn’t want to hear it. I already knew I was a major fuck-up, and had no intention of letting this smarmy asshole remind me of that, no matter how many disparaging hand-waves he threw in my direction over the course of his opening statements. He didn’t need to remind me of any of it. It was all burned into my memory, no matter how much I wanted to get rid of it.
His statements ended, and there were a few seconds of silence in the courtroom as everyone turned their attention to Jessibelle and me. She looked paler than normal but determined, her hands clenched at her sides as though that was where she was directing her nervous energy. I briefly wondered if I’d made a huge mistake following my heart instead of my head on this one. After all, this was the woman who seemingly had a hold over the future of my stake in the business, and I’d picked her because I wanted to see her again. But as soon as she’d opened her mouth and started to talk, I was able to relax. I’d made the right choice.
She spoke slowly and clearly at first, as though revving up for the rest of the speech, but when she got going, it was like nothing could stop her. She laid out the argument, those opposing us should have to prove their own competency before being given the right to judge mine.
She spoke intelligently and succinctly, making the man who’d gone before her look like he’d spent all his time tripping over his ten-dollar words. I leaned back in my seat, watching her go, grinning, shooting a look at the men who seemed so determined to wrest control of my family business from me. They’d probably looked at Jessibelle and wondered what the hell she was doing there. Well, without a doubt, she was up there and proving them wrong.
I wasn’t sure how long she spoke because time seemed to drift as I listened to her. She was in her element, no doubt, and looked the way I felt when I was in the boardroom pitching a great new idea to a team I knew was going to love it. Her eyes flashed with excitement, hands moving in sharp, considered motions, and her words dropped from her mouth perfectly rounded and utterly convincing.
Some lawyers I knew got into the job because it paid well or because their families expected them to or simply because it sounded like a vaguely interesting career. But it was clear, watching Jessibelle up there—this was a passion for her. I couldn’t imagine her doing anything else. How long had she dreamed of this? Of taking on her first case in front of a courtroom like this? I wondered, too, if she’d thought it would’ve been for a guy she’d had sex with after a crazy night on the town, but I pushed the thought from my head immediately. She’d made it perfectly clear where she stood with me, and for the time being, our out-of-this-world fucking would need to take a back seat so she could focus on her job.
She wrapped up, took a deep breath, nodded to the judge in thanks, and then returned to sit next to me. She caught my eye as she took her seat.
“That was amazing.” I raised my eyebrow at her, and she flushed slightly and moved to the edge of her seat.
“I should hope it was,” she replied, almost a little prim. “I spent weeks putting it together.”
“Well, I loved it.” I grinned at her, and her gaze floated down toward my lips before she quickly lifted it to meet mine once more. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, the judge called her back over.
“Ms. Adams.” She waved her over to the bench and did the same for the opposing counsel who, I noted, looked seriously pissed-off. Probably because he knew he’d just been beaten by a woman he had clear disdain for. The judge talked with them both for a few minutes, and I tried to read Jessibelle’s face for a reaction, but could only see her profile and came up with nothing. Straining my ears, I made out a few comments from the judge.
“Against the grain . . . not normally . . . in these circumstances.”
None of it added up to anything, and I forced myself to lean back and opt out of the conversation for the time being. I looked over at Harold McNicol, the head of PR who’d been sent over to represent the rest of the shareholders in this case, and he looked back impassively before averting his gaze. Yeah, he should be worried because my bulldog lawyer just tore his counsel a new asshole.
I glanced back at the attorneys conversing with the judge and saw Jessibelle’s face light up. Yes! That could only be a good sign. She nodded a couple of times, a smile cracking across her face, and then she turned to head back to me. She sat next to me, letting out a long, satisfied sigh, and I turned to her expectantly.
“So, how did it go?”
“We were granted the motion,” she nodded, and I sank back in my chair in relief.
“Oh, thank fuck,” I muttered, and then realized I should probably keep the effusive swearing to a minimum while I was in a room with people who had a vested interest in proving me insane.
“She said it was unorthodox, but I knew my precedents, and she would have to grant it to me based on case law.” Her eyes flashed with delight and triumph. Her gaze flicked down to my lips agai
n, and for a second, I was dead certain she was going to lean in and kiss me, right here in the courtroom in front of everyone, not giving a damn who saw or who knew what was going on between us. But before I could lean in and take advantage of the situation, the other lawyer appeared next to us.
“Congratulations,” he offered, but there was no sense of sincerity in his voice at all. I looked up at him, getting to my feet along with Jessibelle, and the two of us briefly looked each other up and down. His suit looked expensive, but it didn’t fit him right, like it had belonged to someone else first.
“Thanks, Aston,” she replied, and stepped out from behind the table to begin gathering her things. “Better luck next time, right?”
“Don’t you think this kind of motion is a little odd?” the opposing counsel snapped at her, pacing back and forth and following her around as though he was some kind of dog with a bone he didn’t want anyone else to get a shot at. She looked at him, brow furrowed.
“It worked, didn’t it?” she replied cockily, and he rolled his eyes at her. I felt a surge of irritation. Who was this fucker, and why did he think it was all right for him to come swinging in here and shit all over my Jessi because she was better than him? He needed someone to put him in his damn place. I ran my fingers through my hair to calm myself down, ignoring the surge of anger that rose and fell in my chest.
“Yeah,” he conceded. “But it’s not going to hold out for long. It’s not going to be hard for us to prove that my clients have it together more than—”
He gestured to me vaguely, as though I wasn’t even standing there. I raised my eyebrows at him. Okay, this guy was an ass, and if I ever got the chance to put him in his place, I would do so with gusto.
“Yeah, well, that’s for you to prove,” she pointed out. “Judge has ruled, pretty boy. That’s it. It’s over. Deal with it.”
“I will,” he practically spat at her feet, and it was clear that her beating him was seriously messing with his psyche. Jesus, how fragile was this guy’s masculinity that a woman beating him had him in this state of fury?
“Catch you later,” Jessibelle eyed him coolly, dismissing him as politely as she could, and he shot one last pissed-off glance in my direction before he stalked off to join his clients. They were going to be mad at the way he’d handled this. Not only had he lost, but he’d marched up to the other side and reminded us he was a childish, petty little boy who couldn’t get his head around the fact that the judge hadn’t taken his side. But the way he looked at Jessibelle, gave me pause. I made a mental note to ask about their relationship when I got a chance, because it was clear this was far from the first time they’d met each other.
“Can I offer you a lift back to the office?” I asked, turning to Jessibelle and pulling my attention from the asshole who’d all but lifted a leg and pissed on her. I expected her to turn me down, but she shrugged, an enormous smile breaking out across her face.
“Hey, I don’t see why not,” she replied. “I deserve it, right?”
“You sure as hell do,” I replied, and guided her out of the courtroom, shooting one last look at the opposing lawyer as I did so. He was watching me as I led her out of there, his brow furrowed, his hands frozen as he went to pack up his trial case to leave. He was clearly jealous, but I couldn’t figure out exactly what it was in their past that had drawn this kind of jealousy out of him. And I was aching to find out.
We headed to the limo I had waiting outside. I’d considered a town car, but I was worried if we lost, it might seem a little gaudy and over the top. As it was, I’d gone all out. I opened the door for her and let her slip inside. She was still grinning from ear to ear, and her enthusiasm was infectious. I couldn’t keep the smile from my face as I slipped in to the other side of the car, gave the driver the address of her office, and leaned back as we pulled away.
Chapter 12
Jessibelle
I felt as though something in me might burst any second, overflowing with excitement at what I’d just managed to pull off. Not only had I just won my first case, but I’d beaten my asshole ex in the process. It didn’t get much better than that. I glanced at Zach, at the smile on his face. We were sitting close together on leather seats, close enough our legs were touching, and I felt a spark of electricity pass from his leg to mine. I took a deep breath. I could’ve asked him to let me out here, to let me walk the rest of the way to my office or get a cab of my own or something. But the excitement zinging through my brain told me to stay. Just for now.
“Champagne?” he offered, reaching into a discreet metal icebox that sat tucked beneath one of the sears. “To celebrate your victory.”
“I don’t see why not,” I replied, even though my brain was doing a good job coming up with a bunch of very compelling reasons why not, most notably that my guard was down and drinking on top of that was probably going to end pretty badly for me. But I didn’t care. Maybe I wanted to put my guard down. In court, all I’d been able to think about every time I’d laid eyes on him was him fucking me from behind and making me come so hard my body felt like it was going to shatter. I shouldn’t have allowed my brain to stray into such dangerous territory, but I was still giddy with excitement and couldn’t turn off the reckless little side that was desperate to be indulged for once.
He poured me a glass, and I took a sip, the bubbles filling my head and instantly relaxing me. I hadn’t realized how much tension I’d been carrying from the case until now, until it all left my body just like that. It was like someone had lifted this powerful iron weight from my shoulders. I felt instantly better and pressed my leg against his once more. A little harmless flirting never hurt anyone, right? It wasn’t like anything would come from this.
I finished up my glass of champagne in one more gulp, and he lifted an eyebrow in that sexy smolder he had down perfectly.
“Another?” he asked, and I nodded. He obliged at once, and I found my gaze heading toward his mouth once more. God, I remembered all too well what his mouth was capable of. Should I take advantage of that? We were sitting in the exact same spot we were in when we’d kissed for the first time, the two of us losing ourselves to each other completely. I knew giving in to him again would only complicate whatever it was we had between us, but that didn’t make it any less tempting. I realized, sitting there watching him, just how badly I wanted him and how little there was standing in the way of my pouncing on him right then and there. I could just go for it. No thinking, no second-guessing. Just his mouth on mine. He turned back around, and without giving myself another second to think about it, I leaned in and kissed him.
He tasted of champagne and man. Just like that, I was whisked back to our encounter in this car, to the tipsy feeling of needing him so badly that it felt like something physical, like an addiction, like a need I was required to fill. As soon as our lips touched, the same sensations overwhelmed me. Any kind of resolve I might have built up was out the window. My champagne glass slipped from my hand and fell to the ground with a small thud, and he reached over to pull me close, our tongues meeting as his hands traveled all over my body.
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you,” he breathed into my ear, his voice almost a growl. “Bent over my couch like that.”
I couldn’t manage anything beyond a moan, but I didn’t need any words. Our bodies could do all the talking. He grasped my ass, pulling me against him, and I slipped my hand between his legs to find his cock already growing hard inside his pants. But he wasn’t interested in his own pleasure. No, as he pushed me back on to the leather seats, it was clear he had one thing in mind and one thing only.
“I’ve wanted to taste you again so badly,” he murmured, looking up at me as he pushed my legs apart and began rolling up my skirt to expose me. I wriggled on the seat, glad I’d taken this chance, but unable to shake the feeling I’d end up in trouble for indulging myself like this. But, as his lips touched the sensitive spot between my thighs, everything rushed from my head, and the only thing I
could focus on was his tongue on me.
He kissed me through my panties, and the warmth of his breath against my already-aching pussy almost had me undone. I didn’t know how long we had before we arrived back at the office, but I hoped it was long enough to get me off. If I could climax before then, I was good to go. The thought of going back into the office with this level of arousal rushing around my body was unthinkable. I could barely keep my head straight as it was, and walking around like this at work would be damn near impossible.
He seemed as aware of the time crunch as I was, and he skipped straight through the teasing he’d put me through last time and pulling my panties down just far enough to expose my pussy. I moaned as the cool air hit me; I was so wet, I could feel it on my thighs. He looked up at me, flicking his gaze toward mine, and then finally, he pressed his mouth to my pussy and licked.
God did he lick!
My back arched, and my hands grasped for anything to keep me tethered to the seat as he flattened his tongue against my clit and began slowly licking up and down. He sank his fingers into my asscheeks, pulling me in closer so he could bury his face in my pussy. His stubble brushed up against the inside of my thighs, and somehow the mixture of feelings—his soft tongue contrasted with the roughness of his five-o-clock shadow—sent me into overdrive. He reached up and pushed two fingers into my mouth, and I sucked and licked on them hungrily. God, did we have time for this? The thought of taking him into my mouth, of having him at my mercy, licking and sucking his cock was as hot as what he was doing between my legs right then.
He touched my outer lips lightly, running his tongue in an arc from one side of my pussy to the other, skipping out on my clit and making me crave his touch even more. He looked up at me again, and there was a flash of amusement in his eyes as he watched me silently plead with him. He obliged, sealing his lips around my clit and working his tongue until I was hard and pulsing with need. He moved his other hand and slipped a finger inside me, twisting it around and stroking my sweet spot in a come-hither motion that made my toes curl. The mixture of sensations, the build-up between my legs, the feel of his fingers in my mouth, it was all too much. I needed to come. I needed to come now.