“With Mark,” Jess answered. “His courtroom partner took a spot in child advocacy and so Cam’s been filling in this week.”

“No kidding!” Braden said. “He’s turning into a regular little public defender!”

“He’ll need to go out by the end of week,” Jess said.

“You know, if we’re all going out together Friday night and we’re spending Saturday night at your parents’ place, Mark and I aren’t going to unwind this weekend,” Adam said significantly to Braden. It wasn’t too hard to figure out what he meant by “unwind.”

“So, go out beforehand to unwind,” Braden answered. “You’re not looking for a long-term relationship.” Jess got up and ran out to the ladies room then and a deputy called Adam over so Braden and I were left alone.

“What a great lifestyle, working in a quick blowjob before going out with friends,” I joked, rolling my eyes. “Didn’t Norman Rockwell paint that once?”

“Personally, I would much rather unwind with you. Speaking of, I think I would like to see you in an outfit like that,” he said. He was giving me the hot Braden sex look right here in the courtroom which made me feel rather flirty.

“Cowboy boots? Wouldn’t you prefer my high heels?” By the way his eyes got even darker and his smile even cockier I could see that he most certainly would. Hmm. I think Braden had a thing for high heels. He wasn’t just a boob man after all.

“How high?” His voice sounded a little husky.

“I have a couple of pairs that are six inches. I’m not a material person but I do have a weakness for pretty shoes and clothes.” His eyes dropped to my body and traveled down. I saw him swallow and start to breathe a little faster. He tore his gaze away and raked his fingers through his hair. He did that when he was stressed, especially when he was stressed because he wanted me but couldn’t have me at the moment.

“I’m not thinking about it. I’m not thinking about it. I am absolutely not thinking about what you would look like in just a pair of six inch heels.” His eyes returned to my body. “Okay, I’m thinking about it. Oh shit, Gabrielle. They don’t have cold showers here, baby.”

“You started it,” I reminded him. “Picture the cute little black dress I’m going to wear for you on Friday instead. That will take your mind off of it.”

“What does it look like?” He looked back to me and I could see he was torn between wanting me to describe something really sexy and something that looked like a nun’s habit.

“Well, it’s got like a halter top and it comes down in a V. It wraps around me so if you just untied it, it would come off. It comes to about two inches above my knees. It’s padded and more structured on top, so I don’t have to wear a bra under it. The material is jersey knit, which is smooth and stretchy so I was thinking about maybe not wearing anything under it on the bottom either. I hate panty lines. Did I mention that the heels are Louboutins by the way? They buckle at the ankle and I’m so tall when I wear them. We could probably have sex against the wall without you even picking me up or bending your knees!”

“You’re being very naughty, Gabrielle,” he said in a quiet seductive voice. “Remember what happened last time you were naughty.” He took a step forward toward me and I swore that I could feel the heat coming from him. “Do I have to put you over my knee, my bad girl?”

“Now you’re being a tease.” I was breathing quickly and I could feel that I was flushed. The judge came back out of his chambers and ascended the bench. Jesus! We still had legal argument to do!

Commonwealth v. Chapman

Braden and I were engaged in another fierce battle over a Motion to Suppress Evidence and the judge was giving us both a lot of leeway so we were really going at it.

“Your Honor, the case law provides that flight, in and of itself, does not provide probable cause to search!” I argued. Braden and I were circling each other again as we argued. We always looked like prize fighters in the ring.

“But it wasn’t just the flight in this case, Your Honor! There was a totality of the circumstances,” Braden shot back. He was coming at me full force on this one but I wasn’t going down. There was a bigger issue here. There were times that I did get to fight the good fight and today I felt like I really was defending the Constitution so I wasn’t giving in.

“What circumstances? That it was night in a poor neighborhood?”

“That it was dark in a high crime neighborhood!” Braden believed in his position too, though, and I respected him for it. Things were rarely simple in law. There were always two sides.

“If you allow that argument, it will mean that anyone who can’t afford to live in a good neighborhood could be searched at night!” I argued passionately.

“If they run from the police!” he countered fiercely. “And then not because they’re poor but because there is greater likelihood that a crime has taken place! Should we assign just as many patrol officers to low crime neighborhoods as high crime neighborhoods so that we equalize everything?” He was a smart and strong opponent and when he brought it he brought it hard.

“Okay!” Judge Channing finally stopped us. “I have your briefs and I’ve heard your arguments. I’ll let you know when I’ve made my ruling. That’s all that we have on the docket today. We’re adjourned.” He banged his gavel and left the bench. Braden and I looked at each other and it was clear that we were both very worked up. The combination of flirting and arguing had excited both of us. A lot.

“I have an office meeting that I have to be at in thirty minutes,” he said, looking at his watch and sounding kind of edgy.

“I’m supposed to interview a witness in half an hour,” I said, looking at him a little desperately. I was mentally calculating how long it would take me to get back to my office if we visited the negotiation room first.

“What is it with us, Gabrielle? This can’t be normal,” he said, looking flushed. “If it were, they would put beds in those interview rooms. Oh f**k. I just pictured you in bed.”

“I think we just have an exceptional amount of sexual attraction and chemistry between us. It’s got to be biological, like pheromones or something,” I answered, feeling pretty warm myself. “I’ve met a lot of attractive lawyers before but I’ve never pictured them naked while they were cross-examining a witness.”