Thomas snorted. “End goal? Dating can’t just be the goal?”
I shrugged. My hair slipped from where it had been artfully arranged on my shoulder, and I could feel Thomas’s eyes track it. “I don’t like casual dating,” I said. “Despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, I don’t do hookups, and I don’t like the ‘let’s just see where it goes’ situationship thing. So, if you want to date me, like you said, what’s the end goal? A relationship? Sex? I need all the facts before I make any kind of decision.”
It was quiet for a moment, and then the three men laughed. “Spoken like a lawyer,” Jake said, and he sounded proud, like I had risen to meet some expectation without knowing it.
“You have our offer, Ms. Beechum,” Zach said, falling into his “courtroom” voice with such ease. “You get exclusive rights to the three of us for whatever activities you and whichever of us you’re with decide upon, and we get exclusive rights to you in return. No situationship. No wondering how we feel. We’ll be honest with you.” He looked at Jake and Thomas. “Sound amenable?”
Thomas scoffed. “Did you want to draw up a contract too?” he asked. “Have Natalia notarize it for us?”
He meant to be a smartass, but Zach looked at me, the question in his eyes. I shook my head. “I don’t think I need a contract, no,” I said, “and I would imagine thatifwe were going to do this, it would need to stay quiet.”
That was the crux of this situation, the innate power dynamic that would get them all fired if it came out. Not only that, but the Bar Association could revoke their licenses. If they did this, it would absolutely have to stay between them. Which might be sexy for a while... but what if feelings became stronger? What if they wanted to make it more permanent, like Tinsley and her men?
Thomas reached out and gently rubbed his thumb between my eyebrows. “You’re frowning too hard,” he said, his thumb applying soft pressure to ease the tension on my face.
“It’s a lot,” I said softly, looking into his eyes. “What you’re all proposing is a lot.”
He nodded. “I know, and I can’t guarantee that any of it will actually work out because I can be a jealous bastard, and I don’t want to be the one who ruins things.” He stopped his gentle massage but cupped my face instead, eyes fastened to mine. “But I can’t say that I’m not curious or that I don’t want to explore things because I do.”
The sincerity on his face was the final nail in the coffin. “Ask me out on a date,” I said.
Thomas blinked, and then a smile spread across his lips. He had the best smile. “Go on a date with me?” he asked.
“I would love to.”
8
THOMAS
There was a special heaven-hell in anticipation. The waiting for anything was torture, but the payoff, I knew, was sweet. There was no time for a proper date the day that we decided to try... whatever the hell we were calling what was happening, so we all agreed to sleep on it and think it through.
Two days later, I had a night where I was actually going to leave work before nine o’clock, and I made reservations for a nice restaurant nearby that was far enough away from the firm that we weren’t likely to run into anyone we would recognize. It had a broad enough menu that I wasn’t worried about Alex not being able to eat, and having watched the woman consume a grilled chicken quesadilla the day before, I knew she wasn’t vegan or vegetarian, plus, the wine selection was top-notch.
“I want to pick you up tonight,” I whispered to her in the breakroom in between meetings. Alex had been working with a junior associate for most of the day, and we had missed her. When I ran into her, I couldn’t resist teasing just a little.
A small smile curved her lips. “Okay,” she said. “What should I wear?”
I looked down at the suit she was wearing. it was dark gray and tailored to perfection. “You look great,” I said.
Alex rolled her eyes. “I can look better,” she said simply, “and I want to.”
“For me?” I asked.
She nodded. “I want to look nice for you.”
Pleasure curled in my chest. She wanted to look good for me.Throw her over your shoulder, a less intelligent part of my brain whispered. “I like your legs,” I said as casually as I could manage.
Shehmm-ed softly. “Noted,” she said and then checked her watch. “I need to get back. See you tonight.”
I nodded. “Tonight.”
* * *
I nearly swallowedmy tongue when Alex swung open her door. She’d taken my request to heart. She was wearing a dress that barely reached to the middle of her thighs, leaving her long, beautiful legs on display. She’d added a pair of heels that made them appear even longer. It took me longer than I wanted to admit to drag my eyes up to her face. She’d let her blonde hair down from the clip that she’d had it in earlier, and it fell around her shoulders in a thick sweep that I wanted to bury my hands in and caress.
“You look beautiful,” I breathed out, and her smile became absolutely brilliant. “Are you ready to go?”
Alex nodded, and I took her hand to lead her to where my car was idling by the curb. She let out a low whistle. “Jaguar,” she said. “Are you trying to impress me?”