Free A Legal Affair by Maureen Smith

nights, demanding clients, unscrupulous bosses. About the tears of frustration she’d shed on the way home, then quickly scraped away before going inside the house so her mother wouldn’t notice and worry even more.
    “I was unhappy,” she said simply. “The reason I became a CPA was that I’d always been good at math, so it seemed the natural choice for me to go into accounting. And, quite honestly, I wanted to make a lot of money—and I did.”
    “But it wasn’t enough for you,” Caleb said softly.
    “No, it wasn’t.” A sardonic smile curved her mouth. “When the whole Enron scandal broke, I realized that what had happened to those employees could just as easily happen to me. The next day, I walked into my boss’s office and handed him my resignation letter.”
    “That took a lot of guts,” Caleb said in a voice laced with admiration.
    She shrugged. “Not really. I should have done it a lot sooner.”
    Caleb nodded slowly. “So, what have you been doing since then?”
    “Freelancing. Preparing taxes, doing bookkeeping—stuff like that.”
    The waitress materialized with their orders, setting each item carefully on the table. “Is there anything else I can get for you?” she inquired, looking at Caleb.
    He shook his head, and Daniela asked, “May I have a spoon?”
    “Oh. Sorry.” The girl fumbled out a set of linen-wrapped silverware from the front pocket of her apron and passed it to Daniela without ever taking her baby blues off Caleb. “Can I get you anything else, sir?”
    His mouth twitched. “I’m fine, thanks.”
    “Okay. Well, just let me know if there’s anything else you need. Anything at all.”
    “Will do,” he said with a wink that made the girl blush. “Thanks.”
    Daniela shook her head at Caleb as the waitress moved on to the next customer. “Is it just me,” she muttered, “or have you ever noticed the effect you seem to have on every female that crosses your path?”
    He took a sip of steaming coffee, dark eyes glinting with amusement over the rim. “How would you know that? We’ve been acquainted all of, what, two days?”
    “Three days. I met you bright and early on Monday morning.”
    “Not so early,” he pointed out dryly. “You were ten minutes late to my class.”
    “Semantics.”
    He laughed, a strong, deep sound that rumbled up from his chest and made Daniela’s toes curl inside her wood-heeled Jimmy Choo sandals. “You’re going to make a fine lawyer someday, Miss Moreau,” he drawled.
    “I’ll choose to take that as a compliment,” she quipped, enjoying the repartee so much that she didn’t bother correcting him on the formal address. She spooned vanilla ice cream into her mouth, then followed up with a sip of espresso.
    A deep, languorous sigh escaped her lips. “Mmm-mmm.”
    Caleb was watching her, cup halfway to his mouth. “That good, huh?” His voice sounded rough, tight.
    Daniela nodded, grinning. “It’s a sensory thing. You know, the combination of rich, hot coffee mixed with sweet, cold ice cream. Mmm, heavenly. You should try it.”
    He shook his head. “No, thanks.”
    “Come on, try it,” Daniela coaxed, holding out a spoonful of ice cream to him. “I think you’d really like it. Try it. I insist.”
    Caleb hesitated, then leaned forward to accept the sweet offering. As she slid the spoon into his mouth, she was caught off guard by the sudden heat that bloomed in her belly and spread outward like a slow, thick liquid.
    Her heart thundered at the very male look that filled his eyes as he watched her watching him. Slowly he ran his tongue over the sensuous curve of his bottom lip, removing traces of the creamy concoction.
    “You’re right,” he said silkily. “It is good.”
    Her breasts felt tight and achy against the lace bra she wore. Without thinking, she drew the spoon into her own mouth and licked off the remainder of vanilla ice cream, imagining she could taste him. It was the most erotic experience she’d ever