White Collared Part Four: Passion (5 page)

“That’s because the only one who can is Jaxon.”

“He may not have removed it, but he made it clear that he needed time away from me.”

She hadn’t heard from him since the police station. Nick had gone with Jaxon to his exclusive interview with Rachel Dawson, and he’d requested Nick come alone.

Jaxon obviously didn’t want anything to do with her.

Shocking her, Camille gave her a motherly hug. “Don’t give up hope, darling. As long as you wear that collar, you’re his and he’s yours. Give him some time to grieve. After all, he’s lost more than his wife.”

“What do you mean?”

Camille threw her bloody tissue in the trash. “Even though he was innocent of Alyssa’s murder, people will always associate him with the crime. He’s been outed as a Sadist and Dominant, and as long as he’s head of his venture capitalist firm, no one will work with it. The board is going to remove him and force a sale of his stock, which at the moment isn’t worth much. He’ll face prejudice wherever he goes.” Narrowing her gaze on Kate as if she were examining her, she tapped the desk with her long fingernails. “After all, it’s legal to discriminate against a person for his or her kink. Luckily, he has contacts in the alternative sexual lifestyle that will help him with a job, but not everyone is so fortunate.”

Michigan also didn’t provide protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation, a fact that had always bothered her and one of the reasons she’d been drawn to work for Nick, since he often took discrimination cases for LGBT individuals. But she didn’t know anyone who represented those discriminated against because of their alternative sexual practices. Was there even a need for it?

“Anthony Rinaldi joked about me becoming counsel to the kink.” Right before he electrocuted her.

Camille stopped the tapping and looked thoughtful. “Well, it’s not entirely a bad idea if you decide to go that route.”

“I’m not sure the firm will allow me to choose my own clients.” At least not at first. She’d get the grunt work that more experienced attorneys passed down to her. Then once she’d proved she could handle a case on her own, they’d still monitor her clients. A conservative firm like Joseph and Long wouldn’t want its name associated with the kink community.

How had Nick managed to convince the firm to allow him to take so many
pro bono
cases? Maybe it would work for her.

Camille arched a perfect brow. “So you’re planning on joining the firm after graduation?”

She shrugged. “If I get an offer.” Before the last week, she wouldn’t have considered any other alternative.

“Oh, I think the fact that the founding partner tried to kill you would secure you a permanent spot. I’m surprised they haven’t already offered.”

That Kate might benefit from Camille’s loss caused twinges of guilt in her belly. “Things have been a bit crazy around here. I don’t think they’ve had time to think that far into the future.”

“It’s coming. They’ll need to buy you off one way or another. If I were you, I wouldn’t go with the first offer. Make sure you get a cash settlement on top of a job guarantee and ask for twenty percent over their initial salary offer. Trust me, you’ll get it.”

Shocked by Camille’s suggestion, Kate’s jaw almost dropped. “It’s not the firm’s fault.”

The smile she gave her drew attention to the sad shadows below her eyes. “Honey, if you’re going to be an attorney, you’ll learn fault has little relevance when it comes to the law. It’s all about the bottom line and how much it will cost them if they don’t settle. They’re not going to want to take the chance of you suing them.”

Thinking like an attorney, she thought of the firm’s counter-argument. “But if I hadn’t gone undercover in the first place, this might not have happened.”

“Exactly. You were working for another attorney in the firm. Nicholas Trenton’s ass is on the line as well if you don’t settle.”

A gasp escaped before she could stop it. “Nick’s in trouble?”

Camille frowned. “Oh dear. You’re involved with him too?”

“No. He’s my . . . we’re friends.” Maybe if she lied enough, she’d start believing it.

“Two sexy dominant men. However will you choose?”

She hedged. “Nick isn’t dominant. I mean, yeah, he is, but he’s not, you know, a Dom.”

“He might not be a part of the community, but everything about that man screams dominant. Jaxon and Nick are best friends, right?”

“Yes.”

Camille’s gaze slid to the collar around Kate’s neck. “Maybe you won’t have to choose.”

Kate’s breathing accelerated, though whether it was fear at Camille’s ability to pluck her private thoughts from the deepest recesses of her mind or from the arousing pictures that formed, she didn’t know.

Uncomfortable with the direction of their conversation, Kate began to help pack up the few remaining items on the desk, putting them into the almost-full cardboard box. The two worked in silence for the next few minutes.

Camille picked up a picture of her and Mr. Joseph on a cruise ship and stared at it. “I hate to ask you this after everything you’ve gone through, but you were the last person to speak with my husband. Did he say anything?”

“Are you sure you want to hear this?”

“I need to know.”

“He said Stephanie’s death was an accident. When I told him I found the knife, he said I didn’t know what I’d found.”

The judge frowned. “Did he explain what he meant by that?”

“No, he didn’t get . . .” The image of his bloody body flashed before her eyes. “Why do you want to know?”

Camille glared at the picture again. “Stephanie was his type. He enjoyed role playing with girls who appeared underage. Alyssa was built more like you, and she was a pain slut. Role playing wasn’t her kink.”

“Are you saying you don’t think your husband killed Alyssa?”

“I’m sure it’s wishful thinking on my part. After all, the police found the evidence. He’d tried to kill you. He stabbed Hannah. He killed Stephanie.” Camille exhaled and placed the framed photo in the box. “Sorry, I’m only thinking out loud. Thank you for indulging me. If you ever need anything, professionally or personally, I hope you’ll consider me a friend.”

Kate left Camille to finish packing and returned to her office. The widow had raised Kate’s darkest fear—Miles Joseph hadn’t killed Alyssa. What had been his motive? Had she known about Stephanie? Other than both of them being members of Benediction, there was no evidence to tie them together. With Miles Joseph dead, the police wouldn’t bother with any further investigation into the murder. For them, the case was closed.

Kate couldn’t help thinking that she was missing a part of the larger picture. She grabbed her briefcase, and as she left the firm, it occurred to her that she’d been so distracted by Camille Joseph that she had forgotten to speak with Lisa about the Reverend Pierce file, which was still in her possession. And Nick hadn’t come back to the office.

She revved the engine of her Harley and drove out of the parking garage into the dark night. Stopping at the light, she felt pulled in two directions, uncertain which way to turn. The magnetic pull of him was too tempting to resist. She had to see him. Had to know if what they shared was real.

No matter what Camille thought and regardless that she fantasized about being with them both, she wasn’t torn between the men. Her heart and head knew who she wanted.

She made a right toward the highway.

And hoped he was home.

Chapter Six

B
Y THE TIME
Kate arrived at Jaxon’s a half an hour later, her teeth were chattering from the cold, and she couldn’t feel her nose. The temperature must have dropped ten degrees since she’d left her office. What had possessed her to come all this way without calling him first?

At the box at the gate, she pressed the buzzer and waited for a response. Surprisingly, the gate opened. Why hadn’t he asked who it was? Was he expecting someone?

She drove through, and as she pulled up to his house, she saw Jaxon on the porch, his hands fisted at his sides. She removed her helmet and got a better look at him. In the days since she’d seen him, he’d grown a short beard and mustache, which immediately made her think of how it would feel between her thighs. His hair was unkempt and he wore a ratty black Henley over jeans.

She got off her bike and ambled closer, catching his woodsy scent on the wind. “Were you expecting someone else?”

Glowering, he didn’t look happy to see her. “No. I heard the rattle of your bike’s engine through the intercom. What are you doing here?”

She stopped in her tracks, the collar growing heavy like an anchor around her neck. “I’m sorry. You said you needed time, and I should’ve respected that. I’ll go.” She sprinted toward her bike, cursing herself under her breath.

“Kate!” Jaxon ran up behind her, grabbed her by her arm, and spun her around. “Don’t go. You just caught me at a bad moment.” Distress in his eyes, he leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers. “Please stay.” His voice cracked, and so did her resistance.

She’d missed him so much, she physically ached. She had to force herself not to tip up her head and crash her mouth to his. In lieu of doing what she craved, she simply nodded.

He exhaled and dropped his shoulders as he took her hand and led her inside his house. His gaze bounced around as if he wasn’t sure where he wanted to take her. The living room? The bedroom? The playroom? Sensing his confusion, she tugged him toward the staircase. Letting go of his hand, she sat on the second step and patted the spot beside her. Since she didn’t know how long she’d be staying, she didn’t bother taking off her coat.

As if he had a headache, he radiated tension, deep frown lines creasing his forehead and around his eyes. She was at a loss as to what to say or do for him. If he’d only allow her to unzip him and take his magnificent cock into her mouth, she would suck the stress right out of him. That not being an option, she went for the more classic route. Small talk.

“So . . . how’ve you been?”

It sounded as bad as it had in her head.

His eyebrows rose and a bit of smile played on his face. “I’ve been better.”

Right. He’d lost his wife and now, through no fault of his own, his career. “I heard the board is going to remove you. I’m sure Nick would represent you in a lawsuit against them.”

His shoulder bumped into hers, the innocent touch sending a bolt of electricity down to her nipples.

Oblivious to the small fire he’d just lit, he spread his legs and settled his elbows on his knees. “It stung, don’t get me wrong, but it was the right thing to do not only for the business but for me as well. I didn’t grow up thinking about becoming a venture capitalist.”

“What did you want to be?”

“Truthfully? An attorney.” He smirked and she laughed, thinking how quickly small talk had turned into a deeper conversation. “I’ve changed my mind. Now I want to do something to help people. Maybe go back to school and become a social worker. The whole world knowing my sexual preferences makes it a little difficult.”

The intimacy between them was staggering. No longer capable of keeping her hands to herself, she settled her hand on his knee, feeling slightly giddy when she heard his slight gasp. “I think you can do whatever you want to do. Give it a little time. The world will forget and move on to the next scandal.”

He turned his face toward hers, his lips so close she could practically taste them. “If you really believe that, why did you change your name and hide who you were?”

She flinched, uncomfortable that she had become the topic of conversation. But she refused to run away this time. “It was different for me. No one forgets in a small town.”

His eyes narrowed. “Bullshit. If that were the case, you wouldn’t have changed your name after you moved to Detroit. You wouldn’t need pills to deal with your anxiety over Rachel Dawson saying your real name. Why should my situation be any different?”

The truth in his words flayed her. “Because you’re not like me. You don’t give a fuck what people think of you. You’re brave.”

His nostrils flared like a bull’s before it charged. “And you’re not? How could you think that? You went undercover to help me prove my innocence and refused to back down when you started receiving threats. With no thought to your safety, you went alone to Joseph’s office to search for the evidence that would link him to Alyssa’s death.”

“If I’m so brave, why did I freeze?” Flooded by shame, she dropped her gaze to her lap. “I had the gun in my hands. It was him or me, and in the end, I couldn’t kill him. If Nick hadn’t shown up when he had, I wouldn’t be here. Going to Joseph’s office wasn’t an act of bravery. I did it because . . .” She swallowed back thick tears. “. . . I had to prove to myself I wasn’t wrong about you. I knew when I walked out of your bedroom it was a mistake, but I was so angry you’d lied about your alibi, I questioned my instincts. That’s why I went to Joseph’s office.”

Jaxon gently tipped up her chin with the soft pads of his fingers. “I shouldn’t have kept Bethany Gold a secret from you. You deserved the truth not only as part of my legal team but as my submissive.” He glanced at her collar. “I don’t want what happened between me and Bethany to diminish what you and I shared. Bethany was physical, a way for me to move on from my broken marriage, but when it came time to fuck, I couldn’t do it. All I felt was guilt and remorse for breaking my marriage vows. It hadn’t mattered that she had been unfaithful. That’s why I left the hotel room. Why I left Chicago. But as I got closer to Detroit, I didn’t want to go home either. I realized in that moment that I didn’t really have a home anymore. Only a house where I hung my clothes and rested my head at night. This house, my career, it was never mine. I loved Alyssa, but my marriage was over. I knew a vanilla relationship would never satisfy me, but neither would a relationship with a woman who pushed me past my boundaries. And then you came into my life, and for the first time, I thought I might have found what I’d dreamed about.”

She hadn’t missed that he spoke about their relationship in the past tense. But if she was going to start being brave, she had ask for one more chance to make things right between them.