Rules Of Engagement

“Am I or am I not paying for legal representation for my employee?”

Jill frowned at the authoritative tone of his voice. “In a manner of speaking, yes, you are. But that doesn’t mean you can—”

“I’d prefer it if you met with him at my office.” Determination replaced his earlier concern, which didn’t surprise her. From what she’d seen of his personality thus far, determination was one of his more mild qualities. Sexual magnetism ranked at the top.

“But I don’t see—”

“I need him on the job, Jill. Today. He’ll be back at the shop by four-thirty. Meet with him then, and hopefully you’ll have this mess wrapped up in a few days.”

“It might not be that easy.” She had more pre-trial motions Nick was expecting, and he’d made it perfectly clear that she could handle this case for Morgan only if it didn’t interfere with her own caseload.

“You said—”

“I know what I said,” she told him, lowering her voice slightly, “but Eddie’s scared to death and I’m trying to set him at ease.” She glanced in her client’s direction. He’d returned to the bench and was again nervously tapping his boot on the tile. “It all depends on who’s been assigned from the D.A.’s office. If we get a seasoned A.D.A., I can probably have the case dismissed. But, if we get a recent grad anxious for some trial experience…”

Morgan’s frown deepened. Dammit. He’d hoped one morning of his time away from work was all that’d be necessary, but if Jill was right, that could change. “Over something so ridiculous,” he complained. And costly, he added silently.

“I’ve seen worse.” She stepped around him and walked back to where Eddie waited. Morgan watched her go, enjoying the gentle sway of her hips beneath the fabric of the short teal skirt that enhanced the length of her legs. She wore a pair of black pumps that hid her brightly colored nails, and he found himself wishing she’d worn those strappy kind of shoes that showed off the delicate structure of a woman’s foot.

She said something to Eddie, checked her watch, then looked over her shoulder at him and motioned toward the open courtroom door.

He followed them into the crowded, wood-paneled courtroom and took the vacant seat directly behind her and Eddie. Her hair was swept up in that complicated style again, giving him no hint as to the length of all that silky honey trapped within the confines of a clawlike gadget. The urge to reach over and unclip her hair and let it fall around her shoulders nearly overwhelmed him.

He leaned forward and breathed in her scent, a beguiling floral mix that awakened his libido. “Is that the A.D.A?” he asked in a hushed whisper.

She glanced in the direction he indicated and nodded before turning slightly in her chair to look at him. Those big blue eyes captured his, and for reasons that defied common sense, a flicker of heat shot south.

This woman was trouble.

“Technically,” she said in a hushed businesslike tone, “but she’s probably a relatively new lawyer. They use them as arraignment clerks, and it’s not likely she’ll be the attorney ultimately assigned to the case. These type of proceedings are pretty rote, so there’s not much risk of a screwup at this stage.”

Oh yeah, he thought. Big trouble, since he couldn’t seem to drag his gaze away from her peach-tinted lips. Major trouble, he amended, since he’d spent the night tossing and turning in his king-size bed thinking about her.

He tried to push those thoughts aside and make a mental list of things he needed to cover today, but his traitorous conscience refused to heed his wishes. He tried to pay attention to the various proceedings ahead of theirs, but the beguiling scent of her subtle perfume wafted toward him, making his synapses misfire like an old Chevy in need of a tune-up.

Ninety minutes later, the clerk called Eddie’s name. Jill rose and stepped across the bar, holding the low swinging door for Eddie to follow.

“Jill Cassidy, your honor, counsel for defendant, Edward Burton,” she said briskly, setting her briefcase on the table.

Morgan leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees, paying close attention to the proceedings, and Jill. The sweetness he’d witnessed thus far evaporated, and she was all business. Real cool, too, he noted as she requested in a firm, professional manner that the charges against Eddie for property damage be officially dismissed.

In a matter of minutes it was over, just as she’d predicted. With a little legal double-talk she managed to hold the trial over for three months, waive a jury and get the court to refund half of the bail money.

Morgan was impressed.

And disappointed.

For as much as Jill Cassidy interested him as a woman, continually setting off a series of sparks inside him whenever he thought about her, she was as off-limits as a woman could be, as far as he was concerned. He had nothing against professional women. He supported equal pay for equal jobs and a woman’s right to choose, but when it came to lasting relationships, a woman with a briefcase could be nothing more to him than a brief affair. Too bad he wasn’t the type to embark upon a casual fling, because he didn’t doubt for a nanosecond they could really have a great time together.

No, he decided. Despite his attraction to her, it really was best that he keep his distance, emotionally and otherwise. Once he’d repaid his debt to her for taking on Eddie’s case, that would be the end of his association with Jill. He owed her for helping him out of a jam that could have cost his budding company thousands of dollars. There could be nothing else between them.

He stood as Jill and Eddie walked toward him, a twinge of regret shifting through him. He liked her, a lot. When he was a kid he’d learned that career women and family had about as much in common as fire and water. Further confirmation followed him into adulthood, and it was a good thing. Otherwise, a woman like Jill, with her hundred-watt smile, her intellectual wit and enough sex appeal to tempt a Benedictine monk, could really get under his skin and wrap herself around his heart.

Yeah, he thought, falling into step behind her as she inclined her head toward the door, a woman like Jill definitely had heartbreaker written all over her.

The problem was, he had a bad feeling she was about to become his favorite reading material.

JILL STEPPED OUT into the warm June sunshine, promising to meet Eddie later that afternoon to go over the details of his case, then waited while Morgan issued him a set of instructions for a job.

She checked her watch. The other proceedings had taken much longer than she’d expected, and it was nearly noon. Driving the sixty miles back to the Wilshire District made little sense when she’d only have to turn around and come right back. Luckily, she’d brought work home the previous night, and she decided she could put the time away from the office to good use at a local law library by making some headway on those motions Nick was expecting.

“You wouldn’t happen to know where the law library is, would you?” she asked Morgan once Eddie left. “I have some work that I need to do.”

They walked down Ninth toward Main, where she’d parked her car. “I’m not sure, but it’s probably in San Bernardino,” he said, taking hold of her elbow when they stepped off the curb. “The area’s kinda rough, though. I’d feel more comfortable if you used my office.”

Those darned electric tingles skittered up her arm and shot down to her tummy. If she didn’t get a grip, by the time they returned from Homer she’d be nothing more than an incinerated mass.

“So what happens now?” he asked, after they crossed the street.

The length of his tanned fingers, still wrapped seductively around her elbow as he walked her toward her car, sent little shock waves of pleasure over her skin. “After I talk to Eddie,” she said, “I’ll need to contact the prosecutor and discuss the case. Eddie’s a good kid, and this should easily go away for him. He might have to do community service or maybe probation, but that’s about it.”

She stopped and set her purse on the hood of her car to look for her keys.

“This your car?” Morgan asked, a note of caution in his voice.

She found her keys and looked up at him and the frown tugging his brows. She glanced at her car, and her heart sank. “Oh no,” she said, walking to the rear passenger side to examine the flat tire.

“I’ve changed a flat or two in my time,” he said, coming to stand beside her.

Jill couldn’t believe her rotten luck. “Normally, I’d take you up on your very generous offer, but this is my spare.” She’d gotten a flat a week ago and hadn’t had the time to have the tire repaired or replaced. What was it her grandmother had said about putting off today, or some other cliché about the evils of procrastination?

Morgan crouched to examine the tire. “Here’s the culprit,” he said, pointing to a long, rusty nail sticking out of the rubber. “You picked up a nail.”

She pulled her cell phone from her purse and pressed the call button. The LCD panel remained blank. She pressed the button again. Still nothing. “It’s dead. I can’t believe this is happening.”

Morgan straightened. “I’ve got one in my truck. Come on. You can call from there, then we’ll grab a bite to eat across the street while we wait.”

“I don’t understand,” she said, pressing the button again and again while falling into step beside Morgan. “It was working fine this morning.”

“Welcome to the electronic age,” he said in good humor, pulling his keys from the pocket of his khaki trousers.

He opened the door for her and she set her briefcase on the floorboard. “It’s better than the alternative,” she said, gauging the height of the truck in comparison to her short, teal silk skirt. “I didn’t see a pay phone for the last two blocks.”

She frowned, wondering how she was going to climb inside the four-wheel drive. She turned and braced her hands on the seat, prepared to lift herself backward into the truck.

Morgan stepped forward and placed his hands on her hips. She sucked in a sharp breath. The feel of his large hands gripping her hips set off dozens of sensual images. She looked up into his eyes and her breath caught. The hint of desire swirling in the depth of his gaze sent her feminine senses into an uproar.

He moved closer, trapping her between the thick wall of his chest and the interior of his four-wheel drive. Heat surrounded her from head to toe, but not the kind caused by the warmth of the sun. This kind of heat had nothing to do with weather, and everything to do with sex.