I'm already in the research room when Dane and Hunter walk in. I don't look up or acknowledge them, I continue to read my file and eat my bagel.

Hunter is chatting with him already which takes the pressure off of me. It may be bratty but I don't want to look at him. I can't control the magnetic pull between us. I need to take a beat to collect myself before I let his eyes suck me back in.

I can feel his stare burning into me, willing me to look up.

"Jolie," Hunter says, surprising me, "Bond flipped the fuck out when he read through your discovery sheet. He called Kilpatrick on the spot and let him have it. His face was so red I thought he was going to explode. He swore up and down that those are the only other complaints we will find but... I don't really believe him. Don't think Bond does either."

I think this is his way of complimenting me, maybe? I give him a small smile, "I could run down a few more resources, dig into college a little bit deeper. I should check with Bond but girls on campuses talk, maybe the complainant knows of other girls with similar experiences."

"Fucking Kilpatrick, man. You're supposed to be honest with your lawyers. We could be using you for other things instead of searching for this hidden bullshit."

"Like I said before, it was really buried, my guess is he thought it wouldn't come up."

After a few hours, I need to stretch my legs and spend a few minutes away from Dane staring me down.

I quickly run up to the fifth floor, hoping to speak to one of the partners about reaching out to an old complainant.

Chris and Michael are seated in the waiting area, they both look at each other before looking at me.

"Hey, Lennox," Michael starts, "good work with the old complaints."

I try to hide my surprise, "thanks, do you know if the partners are in?"

"Conference call," Chris answers but his voice isn't dripping with irritation at my mere existence.

After leaving a memo for the partners on Erin's desk I slowly head back to the research room. I'm stalling, which is childish. I know that we need to have a conversation, again. Why can't we be adults about this?

Only Dane is there when I arrive.

"Jolie," his voice is soft and tired, "I know you're mad. I know it seems like I'm jerking you back and forth. I just... we were drinking, if we do that there can't be any alcohol involved. We both need to walk into it fully present and in charge."

I look up at him, his handsome face is marred by deeply furrowed brows. His eyes look tired and the splash of stubble makes it obvious he didn't rest much on his day off.

"Dane... I... I," I can't find words, "I understand why you stopped it. In hindsight, it makes me like you even more. But this game of stop and go is all I think about. I can't focus because this," I gesture between us, "is consuming me. One minute we aren't, then the next, we are. I want to be your friend, you're an amazing lawyer, your dedication, your ability to interpret the law, I'm inspired. We just need to decide once and for all."

"You're like an itch I can't scratch, the more I try to ignore this the more I think about it. I know that this is a bad situation but I genuinely enjoy working with you. It might take us some time but I hope we can be friends too. I will keep myself in check, this is ridiculous." He rubs his hand over his face.

While the mature adult in me knows he's being rational, it's also a stab directly to my heart. I can't explain it but I feel like there has to be something about this draw we feel. I've never felt this kind of all-consuming attraction to anyone.

We work the rest of the day in relative comfort. I sneak a few peeks at him over my laptop but we're otherwise it's all professional, at least outwardly, he doesn't have to know what's going on in my head.

"Let me drive you home, please. No funny business, I promise." He gives me a boyish grin that takes ten years off his face instantly.

My heart flutters in my chest. It makes this whole 'just friends ' thing really difficult.

"Things seemed, almost friendly with Colson today. He seemed..."

"Like less of an asshole than usual?" I cut in.

"Yeah, that," he chuckles.

Damn, he even makes driving look attractive. How is that possible? I blush and look out the window. I hope he didn't notice I was staring.

"This case is crazy, right? Through two years of clerking, I never had a case that had hidden bombshells like this!" I try to keep the conversation strictly related to work.

"Well," he purses his lips, "it would help if the client would stop withholding information."

"It would be nice if every client was forthcoming and innocent. It really would make everything easier."

He chuckles, "exactly," he licks his lips innocently and I squeeze my thighs together.

When we pull up in front of my building I hesitate for a moment before slipping out of the seat.

"Goodnight, Dane, thanks so much for the ride," a smile tugs at his lips but his eyes are dark.

I rush upstairs to my apartment feeling flustered.

I force the thought of him to the back of my mind. Stripping off my suffocating clothes and jump straight into the shower. I need to wash these thoughts away and cool myself off.

After my shower I prepare for tomorrow, picking clothes and pulling soft rollers into my hair. I'm doing extra in my beauty routine to distract myself from the uncomfortable tightness in my lower abdomen.

My body is wound up, craving. I want his hands on me so badly I can almost feel it.

I lay down in my bed, thrashing slightly against the pillows. I force my eyes closed and will my brain to shut up.

My mind wanders to his voice, deep and masculine, the hint of rasp that makes me quiver. His large hands, typing, running through his hair, on the steering wheel of his car.

I wonder what kind of sex he likes. Is he rough and domineering, sweet and passionate, a little bit of both?

I think back to my previous sexual relationships, they were... unfulfilling at best. Dane gives off an energy... a feeling... he knows what he's doing in bed. I didn't care much about sex in college.

I was studious and focused in school, my sex life was always on the back burner. That was never an issue until now.

Dane does something to me that no one else has ever done.

I imagine what it would feel like to have his body on top of mine, his rigid muscles pressed against me.

The pressure in my abdomen is unbearable. I open the small drawer on my bedside table, pulling out the small wand that I hope is charged. I press the button and click it until it begins to pulse in a rhythm that I like. I bring it down beneath my blankets and gasp as it touches my needy clit.

Dane told me he has to take cold showers. I wonder what else he has to do. Does he make himself come thinking about me? The thought brings a jolt of pleasure shooting up my spine.

I bet his cock is beautiful. I felt it through his pants, it's definitely not disappointing.

I remember the deep groans and his soft panting sighs. God, he's so attractive.

My empty core aches for him, this little wand is nice, but it's not enough, it's not him. I grip my sheets in my free hand, twisting them and groaning as the coil in my stomach pulls tighter.

"Do you know how easy it would be to fuck you, right here?"

His voice, and his dirty fantasy play over and over again in my mind. I bet he's vocal during sex. I bet he'd tell me every nasty, filthy thing he wants to do to me.

My legs begin to shake as I picture him, above me, below me, behind me, sliding in and out of me.

The band snaps and I cry out into my quiet room, releasing the sexual frustration that has built up over the day.

I sigh as I throw the vibrator to the side. I'm still frustrated. That wasn't enough. Somehow, I know that nothing other than him will be.