I nodded. “I saw a darkness in this world I never wanted to experience for myself.”
My drink was brought over, and I stared at the contents, with three green olives speared with a metal stick. I picked it up and took a sip. “Thank you,” I offered to the server, who returned a nod.
“Is that why you decided to represent the defense instead of the prosecution?”
“No, not exactly. I read many cases similar to yours and wanted to help make a change. However, I also wanted to prosecute the dirtbags responsible for the crimes they committed.”
“Sounds like you’re on the fence, then,” Chase said.
“I think I still am, in a way, but I want to help people who can’t help themselves. If that means representing them as a defense attorney, then that’s what I’ll do.”
“Are your parents still alive?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yes. They’re both in the Fort Worth area. I’m close with my mom, but my heart belongs to my daddy.”
He grinned. “That’s great to hear. My mom is still alive, but she’s not in the best of health.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thanks,” he said and took a sip of his amber liquid. “She’s in a nursing rehab home right now in Austin. She’s had dementia for a while.”
I wanted to hug him again. This man had been through so much torment in his life. It wasn’t fair. Yet, here he was with me, smiling and enjoying himself.
“How do you do it?” I asked.
He pressed his brows together. “How do I do what?”
“All of this? Run your own firm? Smile? Live? Be out with me?” I felt I was rambling but didn’t care. “You’re like some kind of Superman, you know that?”
He chuckled. “There comes a time when you have to push everything you feel to the back burner and put your best foot forward. At some point, you have to put yourself first. If not, there’s a chance you could hurt yourself in the process. Am I sad about my mother? Of course, but there’s nothing I can do for her other than be there. The days she remembers me are the best days of my life. When I walk in and she screams because she has no idea who I am, it kills me a little more every single fucking time. So, Ainsley, you have to do what is best for you and put that foot forward and live. You must choose to live. You have only one life, and it’s up to you what you do with it.”
I felt my eyes burn as they watered with tears. “I don’t know what I would do if it were my mom or dad.” I shook my head and swiped at my tears. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to cry.”
A white napkin was held in front of me. I smiled and took it.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“You’re welcome,” he said and slid closer on the couch. “Ainsley?”
I sniffed and set the napkin down. I met his gaze and felt my lips part. He was close, so close.
“I haven’t told anyone that story about my mom, or my dad, in many, many years,” he said. “What is it about you? Why do I trust you?”
I shook my head slowly. “I’m sure I don’t know.”
He leaned in a little more.
We were alone in this booth. No one would come in, and I’d be damned if we left.
“Chase,” I whispered, and a rush of breath pushed past my lips.
“I want to kiss you,” he told me. “Let me kiss you, Ainsley.”
I licked my lips, and Chase groaned in approval. I wanted to touch his face, his chest, his back, feel his skin against my own. But not here.
He lifted his hand and cupped my cheek and then with the other, pushed a few strands of hair behind my ear. Cupping both sides of my face, Chase leaned in and slanted his lips across mine.
Instant fire and electricity shot through my body. It was as if I had been running idle and the touch of Chase brought me back to life with a bolt.
I placed my hands on his chest and moved them up to his neck, holding on to him.
He tilted his head and deepened the kiss, pressing his tongue against my lips, and I opened for him. His tongue sought mine and teased it.
I scooted closer to him. I wanted to straddle his lap, but I remained on the love seat instead.
Chase tilted my head and trailed his lips along my jawline to my ear. His breath was heavy in sensitive areas of my neck, and chills raced down my spine. A heat ignited between my legs, and I pressed my thighs together in an effort to extinguish it. God, I wanted him to touch me, taste me, be inside me, and claim me. I also knew we shouldn’t do all of that here, in public. He was a prestigious attorney, and what was in his hands was my career. Not my body.
“Chase,” I whispered. “We need to stop.”
“I know we should,” he said and nibbled on my ear, “but I can’t find the strength to stop.”
I gasped when he pulled me closer. He moved his arms around my body and dug his fingers into my skin.
I pressed my hands to his chest and put a small amount of space between us. “We need to stop,” I whispered. “We’re still in public.”
With a sigh, he groaned and pulled away. Chase adjusting himself didn’t go unnoticed. I smirked, enjoying the feeling that I’d done that to him.
“I want to see more of you, Ainsley.”
I felt a giddiness overpower me, and a giggle managed to make its way out of my mouth.
He chuckled. “Shall we?” he asked and stood, offering me his hand.
I reached for it as a female’s voice interrupted our private moment. “Ma’am, you cannot interrupt the party inside. You are not an invited guest.”
“I don’t care if it’s the President of the United States! Get out of my way!”
Chapter Ten
Chase
“Ainsley, sit down, please.”
Rage bubbled to the surface, and I didn’t want Ainsley getting hurt. Not that I would be swinging my arms, by any means, but this was not her fight.
The curtains were yanked back, and in barged Patricia, the faux Monet.
From a distance, she was striking, beautiful, exotic. Her long blond hair was loose in curls and tumbled down her back. Her bright-blue eyes were wide with shock when she stared into mine. She looked at Ainsley and me and then crossed her arms over her chest.
“What the fuck is this?” she demanded.
“I should be asking you the same thing,” Ainsley growled.
“What do you want, Patricia?” I asked.
Before she barged into my office yesterday morning, the last time I saw her—outside of court—was her bedroom while she was getting fucked by my friend.
“I heard you were here, and well, I wanted to see you,” she said.
There was the familiar whine in her voice she used to use with me. I’d found it cute when we first started dating, but eventually it grew to irritate me. She sounded like a fucking child.
“You’re not welcome back here,” the bouncer told her.
“Fuck off,” she said to the man and turned back to me. “As I said, I’m here for you. But I can see you’re here fucking another one of your whores.”
“Excuse me?” Ainsley said and stood up.
“We’re done here, Patrica,” I said and then turned to Ainsley. “Please ignore her, Ainsley. Come on. I’ll take you home.”