Legal Terms

Chapter Two

"There he is," Kate smiled as she entered Ben's office. "My hero," she joked, placing a hand over her heart.

"All in a day's work," he smiled back. She walked to the couch, patting the cushion to her left as she sat.

"Come here," she said softly. Cautious, but all too happy to share space with her, Ben took the indicated seat. "You really are a genius," Kate said. She placed her elbow on the back of the couch, resting her temple against her fist. "Absolutely a genius." Ben's focus wandered to her legs as she crossed them, draping her right leg over his.

"You know how I feel about sarcasm coming from you," he frowned. "What…are you doing?"

"I just wanted to show my appreciation, Benedict."

"Okay," he said slowly. Kate laughed lightly.

"You won another big case for Reed and Reed," she continued.

"With your help."

"My help," she repeated, shaking her head slowly. "I botched the mediation, remember?" Her fingers slipped along his forearm. "If you wouldn't have won that case, Lauren probably would have thrown me off the roof."

"Yes, well, we can't have that happen, now can we?" He watched her fingers as they continued past his wrist and onto the back of his hand as it rested in his lap. He was curious as to where those digits were so slowly heading.

"No. We should celebrate."

"Celebrate?" he squeaked.

"Yes, celebrate. We make a good team, Benedict."

"Yes, we do. But, we have work to do, Katie," he said, moving towards the front edge of the cushion.

"No, we don't." She lifted her hand to his chest and quickly shifted her position, straddling his lap. Kate ran the tips of her fingers along his tie. "We make a great team, Benedict," she repeated. Her fingers closed around his tie and she pulled his mouth close to hers. "What else can we be good at…together?" she whispered. He sighed against her mouth as her lips gently pressed against his. He wrapped his arms around her waist, running a hand up her back and into her hair. "Ben," she whined as he pulled back to let his lips trail down her neck. Tightly grabbing his shoulders, she pushed him back into the couch. Ben pulled her down with him, Kate willingly leaning into him as she covered his mouth with her own.

"Ben!" Ben shifted his attention from the couch to the woman leaning over the front of his desk.

"What?" he asked through an annoyed sigh.

"You're staring off into space," Kate laughed. "Again. What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing," he answered quickly. "I was just…thinking about the case."

"Mm-hmm. And the blush across your cheeks?" She stood and crossed her arms. "What caused that?" She lifted her eyebrows suggestively. "Legal terms?"

"Why are you here?"

"We're due in court, Benedict."

"Right." He cleared his throat. "Court."

"If you really were thinking about the case, you would have known that," she taunted.

"I was and I did," he defended, pulling his brief case from the floor. "I-I knew that." As he stood and rounded the desk, Kate moved quickly, leaning her back against the door to close it.

"Where you thinking dirty things?" she asked quietly as he approached. Ben studied her carefully, noting the flirty smile on her lips and the spark of mischief in her eyes.

"Katie," he scolded softly, moving closer to her. "I am a man of action." As he closed the space between them, he slipped his arm past her side, wrapping his fingers around the doorknob. He allowed himself a brief moment to enjoy the sobering of her smile. "I don't think dirty things, I do them." He opened the door, sweeping Kate to the side.