ZANE
She’s too goddamn adorable and rebellious for her own good and my piece of mind. After opening the conference room door, I step to the side and let her walk past me into the empty room. A tortured groan works its way up my throat as her sweet, floral fragrance teases my nose, causing my cock to expand painfully in my dress pants. Well, that’s a motherfucking first. I haven’t ever gotten a hard-on during a client consult before. But I’ve also never laid eyes on Autumn Romano until today.
If you looked up perfection in the dictionary, you’d find a picture of the curvy little rebel. Her long raven hair hangs loose nearly all the way to her sweet ass, and my fingers tingle with the urge to explore the luscious curves. My below-the-waist issues continue to expand as my eyes roam freely over my little rebel’s perfect body.
Every time Autumn smiles, a tiny dimple pops up in her left cheek, tempting me to run my tongue around the little indention to see if it tastes like candy. Adding her curvy waistline and graspable hips to the enticing package wasn’t fair to my heart. There’s no way I can resist this crazy pull.
Staring into the curvy little troublemaker’s brown eyes causes me to crave the hot cocoa my brother used to make for me and our little sister, Jules. For the first time, I notice the tiny scar bisecting her left eyebrow and wonder what caused the little injury. My heart clenches at the thought of my little rebel getting hurt without me there to protect her. Now, I know I’m losing my mind. When did I become such a sap? Oh yeah. The second I laid eyes on Andreas “Playboy” Romano’s little sister.
Fuck, this is getting ridiculous. I’m starting to sound like a cheesy dollar store greeting card. I give my head a hard shake, attempting to clear away the cobwebs, but my efforts are in vain. Autumn’s adorable sassiness combined with her sweet, bountiful curves are deadly to my fucking heart and single status.
Her well-connected brother will probably take out a hit on me for daring to claim his little sister, but I’m not concerned. My sense of self-preservation turned off the second I laid eyes on her.
A few minutes ago, Autumn taunted me about my reasons for leaving New York, and her sassy attitude sealed the deal. The little troublemaker stole my goddamn heart at that moment, and now she’s stuck with me.
My first order of business is making this lawsuit go away. Then I can spend the rest of my life loving my curvy little rebel. And keeping her out of trouble. I can already see both are going to be full-time jobs.
“You just can’t help yourself, can you?” That wasn’t what I planned to say. Where did my usual consultation speak go? Oh yeah, it flew right out the window when I met Autumn, just as my calm, analytical mind went on vacation. “You have to press your luck.”
Fire flashes in her cocoa-colored eyes as a blush moves from the top of her tits all the way up her graceful throat and into her dimpled cheeks. “If you can’t handle the job, all you have to do is say so.” She fucking loves to taunt me. There’s no way I’d let some other lawyer handle my girl’s case. “Because I’m sure Jude would be happy to arrange for someone to take your place.” Oh, hell fucking no.
“Stop pushing my buttons, little rebel,” I snap and groan to myself as my unprofessional words echo through my mind. “Or you won’t be able to sit down for a week after I get through whipping your ass.” Shit. That’s even worse, but I can’t seem to stop myself from digging the hole deeper. Autumn’s nonchalant shrug causes her loose shirt to slide off one shoulder, giving me a peak at her pink bra strap.
Like a goddamn schoolboy, I follow the movement while allowing my mind to have free rein. Visions of her naked curves draped across my black silk sheets flash through my brain, causing cum to build up in my nuts. Disbelief flows through me as I run a hand down the back of my neck. Maybe I’m suffering some sort of medical emergency brought on by the stress of my recent move combined with my demanding new position. I haven’t had a second to breathe since I arrived in Silver Spoon Falls.
“Rebel?” Autumn’s eyes flash fire before narrowing. She steps close to poke her finger into my chest, causing electric sparks to shoot up my spine. “First of all,” she growls adorably, and I’m tempted to kiss the scowl from her pouty lips. “My name is Autumn or Ms. Romano, not little rebel.” When her finger digs deeper into my pec, I wince from the discomfort while my cock grows impossibly harder. Fuck. I love a tiny bite of pain to go along with my overwhelming desire for her. I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. “Second, I don’t think it’s appropriate for my new lawyer to threaten to spank me at our business meeting.” When she adds “Duh,”under her breath,my hand itches with the urge to demonstrate my spanking skills.
She’s not wrong about this crazy meeting. This whole situation is a clusterfuck of inappropriateness, but I don’t care. “This is a first for me, too, little rebel.” I can’t help myself. “What can I say? You bring out the best in me.” Poking the teddy bear seems to be my new normal when it comes to her. Jude will shit bricks if he ever discovers how I handled this delicate situation.
Autumn throws her hands up in the air and mumbles under her breath for a few moments before dropping into one of the leather chairs. “This is the craziest business meeting I’ve ever had.”
She’s right. Some tiny semblance of professionalism kicks in as my analytical mind finally wakes the fuck up and joins the meeting. I put my fantasies and insane thoughts about Autumn on the back burner and concentrate on the matter at hand. After sitting down across from her, I smile. “Let’s start over.” Digging deep, I school my face into a concerned, professional look and take control of the crazy situation. “Why don’t you tell me everything from the beginning, and don’t leave anything out. Even the smallest detail might help me with your case.” I reach into my pocket for my cell phone and pull up a recording app, then set it on the tabletop between us. “I’m going to record this so I can go over it later.” And because listening to her smoky voice while watching her luscious lips move causes all the neurons in my brain to misfire.
One hour and thirty-four minutes later, I’m pissed as hell but manage to hold my poker face. Autumn didn’t come right out and tell me that Jimmy Gatlin, the rat bastard, actually molested her, but it’s easy to see that he did something horrible to cause her to be terrified of him. Once I figure out how to make this fucking lawsuit go away, I’m going to take care of the fucker so he can’t ever prey on my girl or any other girl in the future.
Our meeting winds down, and I sit back and try to gather my thoughts. I can’t believe this is happening to me. I’m fucking losing my mind over Playboy Romano’s sister. Everything about her is perfect. Even her adorable habit of twirling a silky strand of hair around her finger as she talks. For some reason, the little gesture is more intoxicating to me than a full goddamn striptease.
“I’m going to go over my notes and get our investigator to dig up evidence against Jimmy Gatlin,” I tell her, needing to wind this torturous meeting to an end so I can examine everything I’ve discovered this afternoon. “Then we can meet in a few days to go over our strategy.” By then, I plan to have both my unruly cock and heart under control. Then I can figure out how I’m going to pursue my girl while keeping my job and all my vital organs intact. “I’ll have my secretary contact you and set up a time.”
* * *
Later that afternoon, I pace my office, wondering if I woke up this morning in an alternate universe. One minute, I’m minding my own business, and the next,bam, a little rebel drops into my life and turns it upside down.
When my cellphone rings in my pocket, I’m tempted to ignore the fucker until I pull it out and see my older brother’s picture flashing across the screen. “Hello.” There’s no use ignoring Cash. The persistent asshole never gives up.
“I heard you took on a new client today.” He doesn’t sound too shocked. I shouldn’t be surprised that the infamous Silver Spoon Falls grapevine ratted on me. I’ve heard a rumor that nothing stays secret too long in this small town. “A very important client,” Cash adds.
“What’s it to you?” I ask, already knowing the answer. My brother is the Silver Spoon MC President and CEO of Montoya Investments, one of the largest investment banks in Texas. Nothing happens around here without him hearing about it.
“Jude said you’ve been hiding in your office since Autumn Romano hired you to defend her in the defamation suit.” Fucking hell. “That doesn’t sound like you.” No kidding. The little rebel really pulled a fast one on me, and I’m floundering like a fish out of water.
“I’m busy.” I need more time to come to grips with my newfound little love before I discuss the situation with anyone. Maybe I can bluff my way through this call without giving away too much. “Did you want anything in particular?”
“To warn you not to get all surly and fuck this up.” My brother’s lack of faith in my ability to woo my girl pisses me off. Who am I kidding? My head is spinning, and I have no idea how to proceed for the first time in my life. “Her big brother is one of my best friends,” he reminds me unnecessarily. “If you fuck this up, he’ll be out for blood.”
“Did you give Bender this much hell when he was wooing our sister?” I growl, hoping to take the heat off of me. Bender Valentine, the former rockstar and one of Cash’s MC brothers, swept our little sister, London, off her feet recently. I’m suddenly wondering if my older brother gave him this much shit.
“Don’t try to change the subject,” Cash growls. “We’re talking about you and Autumn Romano right now.”