Julia grins sweetly. “I’d rather sit on a rusty sword and bathe in lemon juice?”
Janelle clasps her hands on the desk in front of her and stares Julia down. Jules holds her gaze for a full ten seconds before rolling her eyes and giving in. “No.”
“Correct. Was that so hard? Next question. What is the nature of your working relationship with Dr. Grimaldi?”
“Professional.”
“Care to elaborate?”
“No.”
“Bingo,” Janelle says.
They go on like that for over an hour and by the end, Julia looks like she’s ready to pull the hairs out of her lawyer’s head, one by one. To be fair, Janelle doesn’t appear to be much better off. I’d be willing to bet she’ll have a drink in hand the second Julia and I are clear of the building.
Julia stands, smoothing her dress over her legs. The lawyer does the same and the two shake hands like a pair of exhausted MMA fighters after a clean match.
The fall sunshine hits us as we step outside. Julia shakes her head as she digs in her purse for her keys. She huffs her hair out of her face twice as we walk to the car, appearing almost personally affronted that the strands would dare fall in her eyes. I follow her to the driver's side door, putting my hand on the car before she can open it.
“Keys,” I demand, holding out my other hand. She looks up at me with those bottle-green eyes so filled with irritation that a lesser man might have backed down. She eyes my arm, caging her in, and I feel a bit like I’m cornering a hungry tiger rather than five-and-a-half feet of sexy-as-sin woman.
“Keys,” I repeat myself, brushing the offending lock of hair behind her ear. Leaning in close enough that I can feel her breath on my face, I hold her gaze, “You said I could do anything I wanted with you once we were done with the lawyer. We’re done here and now you’re at my mercy,” I say roughly, letting my lips brush against hers and loving the way her irritation melts away, replaced with heat and curiosity.
She holds the keys up in front of my face before dropping them into my open palm. I lean in, whispering next to her ear. “Good girl. Get in the car.”
Julia shivers, letting out a little groan when I step back. Placing my hand on the curve of her lower back, I steer her to the passenger side of the car. She gives me a rueful expression as I click the key fob, unlock the car door, and open it for her.
I have to slide the driver’s seat back about two feet before I can fit behind the wheel, but I manage to squeeze in. We drive up toward Sonoma with the windows down, enjoying the perfect weather, but when I pass the turn for Julia’s house, she pats my arm.
“You’re going the wrong way.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Um… yeah, I’m pretty positive that was the turn for my neighborhood.”
“Yep.”
“Then where are we going?”
“You said I could do anything I wanted with you,” I remind her.
“Well, yeah… but I definitely thought we were talking about sex when I made that promise.” Julia crosses her arms and slumps down in her seat with a little huff. She’s fucking adorable when she’s hangry.
I grin down at her grumpy face. “You’ll have to be more explicit next time.”
“I mean, do I really have to say the words, ‘Hold still while I sit on your face’ out loud? I kind of thought that was implied based on the discussion we were having.”
I nearly choke on my tongue. Thank God I wasn’t drinking anything this time. “Have to? Hell no. But feel free to use that phrase anytime. I’d be more than happy to oblige.”
Julia’s mouth pulls up into a grudging smile. “Fine, I’ll remember that next time,” she mutters.
I pull into the Olive Branch Bakery parking lot and Julia perks up. “Coffee?”
“Among other things,” I say as I park the car. “Wait here.”
“What, I have to sit in the car like a golden retriever? You’re going to leave the windows down, right? Do I get a treat if I’m a good girl and don’t chew on anything?”
Shaking my head, I laugh and lean over to give her a kiss, holding the back of her neck. Drawing her lower lip between my teeth, I give her a gentle little bite before pulling back. “I’m just picking something up. If you come inside, Lilah will commandeer you and it’ll just take longer for you to get your… treat.”