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“Come here,” he whispered, dragging his lips across mine.
I inhaled deeply. It was what I needed. What I sought.
The perfect way his mouth moved over mine, while his hands tangled in my hair. I couldn’t help the tiny whimper that escaped from my throat. His kisses had quickly become everything. They stopped the loneliness. They stopped the unavoidable feeling of panic and uncertainty. When he kissed me the only thing I felt was the path to escape. The way out of chaos. I sighed lightly as his lips fell on mine, raking over me as if he was trying to memorize the lines of my mouth.
The kiss burned my tongue.
“You make it hard to remember what I’m doing, Emily.”
I nod
ded. I wanted the kiss to continue. I wanted to forget everything else that had happened today. The only thing worth remembering was this. Vaughn’s mouth devouring me under a dark D.C. sky.
5
I needed a strong cup of coffee the next morning at the clinic. Meg brought in two cups and sat one in front of my desk.
“Rough night?” she asked.
I greedily sipped the hot liquid. I didn’t care that she hadn’t bothered to add cream or sugar. My body craved the caffeine. By the time Vaughn had dropped me off at the apartment, it was close to one.
I yawned. “Not rough, but late.”
“Well, drink up because you are double booked today.”
My eyes widened. “Why?”
Meg nodded toward the empty desk adjacent to me. “She’s not coming in today. She called in sick.”
“Addie’s sick? But it’s only the second day.” I hadn’t stopped long enough yesterday to pay any attention to her. If she had a cold or any symptoms, I didn’t notice. We saw one client after another.
Meg shrugged and carried her cup out to the reception area. “I would cancel lunch plans if I were you. You have three waiting outside.”
“Already? Oh shit,” I whispered.
My head was in the wrong place.
“Give me just a minute, Meg. Or maybe five?” I pleaded.
“Sure thing.” She closed the door so I could collect myself.
I scrambled to find my writing tablet. I powered up my laptop and kicked off my Keds under my desk. I slipped into a pair of flats. I had a great plan to unpack a few boxes last night. I wanted to go through my clothes and organize my closet, but instead I walked the city with Vaughn. We talked. We held hands. We kissed under every monument constructed in this town.
It was like some kind of romantic walking tour.
I tried to wipe the plastered look of lust off my face before Meg tapped on the door with my first client.
“This is Mrs. Foley.”
“Thanks, Meg.”
I rose from the desk and skirted around to shake the woman’s hand. I guessed she was in her mid-twenties. She was dressed in a suit and carried a leather messenger bag.
“Have a seat,” I instructed her.
“Thank you.” She planted herself in front of me.
“I’m Emily Charles. Before we get started, I want to explain a few things about how this process works. As you know this is a clinic run by attorneys to help women in the community who may not otherwise be able to seek legal advice.” I said the same speech I had repeated yesterday to the women I saw. “Everything we discuss is confidential.”
