Alex removed his papers from his briefcase. He had crime scene photos, rape kit results, character witnesses, hospital records, phone logs, and everything else that he needed to win this case. He noticed that Andreìna was entering and smiled at her. Andreìna was small with tanned skin and big brown eyes. Her medium length brown hair was up in a bun and she was wearing a white cotton blouse with black slacks and flats. She sat down next to Virginie, greeting them both quietly. He turned around again to see Stephanie behind him, dressed in glamorous and loud clothes. He didn't want to claim her but she was fake whispering and waving so enthusiastically that he had to do something to make her stop. He waved back at her and then went back to glancing back down at his notes.

    But not before stealing a quick gaze at his absolutely dazzling companion who also happened to be going through some of her own notes. God, being with her was absolute torture. His lust for her had not gone away like he thought it was going to. In fact, it had only been intensified. Getting to know her mind only made her hotter than she already was. Her mind was...for lack of a better word, fucking brilliant. She could figure things out faster than most people who worked at his firm. She wasn't only book smart but she was street smart as well. She could talk to anybody and make a connection with them. He swore every day he found out something new about her. A new language she spoke, a place she had been, a skill that she had.

He learned that she could speak Italian when she promised to make him dinner and went deep into Little Italy to get the authentic ingredients. He was about to pull out Google translate when he heard her talking rapidly with the shop owner in his native tongue. He looked just as surprised as Alex was. When he asked her about it after they left, she laughed it off and began talking about something else. That was another thing that he liked about her. Her humility. She knew so much and she could do so much but she never acted like she was better than anybody because of it. Whenever Stephanie even bought something new, she would brag about it to everybody that she met and wore it as loudly as possible. She tried pushing them in Virginie's face a lot, especially when it was something that Alex bought her. But much to Stephanie's chagrin, Virginie never looked upset or unhappy. She congratulated her on her find and went back to work. The amount of patience that she had with Stephanie was absolutely mind-blowing to him. She treated everybody from the managing partner of Borden (who was smitten with her, to Alex's dismay) to the homeless woman who stayed outside the Drip (she refused to take Virginie's money, no matter how hard she tried) the same. With care and kindness. It wasn't a fake kindness, or a front like a lot of people put up to make others think that they were kind but really weren't. Virginie truly cared about each person she came across, and it showed. That was how she connected with people so easily. It was how she had gotten her hooks in his heart.

Did people feel this strongly about their friends? Sometimes when they would take a lunch break, people would compliment them on how cute a couple they were. Before he could open his mouth to say anything, Virginie would smile and say, "Oh, we're just friends. He has a beautiful girlfriend waiting for him at home." Then she would give him a quick wink that had his heart racing and his mind in the gutter. Even though it was true, he wished that she didn't say it. He wished that she would hesitate or even have some type of emotion wash over her face when other people complimented them. But she stayed professional and never faltered. He knew it was wrong to feel like this but he couldn't stop himself.

He had a strange possessiveness over her that he did not quite understand. Whenever other guys would flirt with her or ask her on dates (which was often, since Virginie was a goddess) he would want to go over and punch them. He noticed how their hands would linger by her waist when she stood by them or how they would watch her leave with hard-ons. They would make sexual jokes in front of her but she would laugh it off like she was one of the guys. It made Alex so angry how used to the disgusting attention she was. One time he walked into the bathroom to hear a bunch of the associates at the firm discussing how they would fuck her. It was so graphic and revolting that he had to leave. How could they see her as a piece of meat for them to use for their own sexual needs? She was a complex, intelligent person who was worth so much more than that.

    The thing that frustrated him the most was that he knew that he could not have her. When he would stare at her, he often caught her staring back at him blankly, like she was wondering why she was still here. Why the mission wouldn't end already so that she could be free of him. He would look away, embarrassed, knowing that she didn't feel the intensity of feelings that he felt for her. He wished that she needed him like he needed her. Did she feel the lust emanating from him every time that they were together? He wished that the threat never went away so that she could stay with him forever. He knew that it was selfish of him to want her for himself but he couldn't help it. The connection between them was so intense that he couldn't understand what was happening to him. He wanted so badly to say that it was the lust that was consuming him but there was a thirst underneath all of the sexual tension for something more.

    He often tried to see if she would react to the relationship between him and Stephanie. He wanted her to feel the same way that he did whenever he saw men trying to make moves on her or try to kiss her. He tried to kiss Stephanie more deeply whenever Virginie was around and touch her visibly but it was like she didn't even care. Virginie wasn't even looking. She never broke a step, her facial expressions never faltered. This made him so unnerved that he would go back in for more from Stephanie, who would oblige so easily. He knew that she thought he was getting more passionate with her because he was falling for her and he felt bad about it, but he needed to keep up the lie so that he would have somebody to let his frustrations out on.

Ever since they had started working together, Alex had been more than thankful that he had Stephanie. His sexual appetite had completely changed. He was more passionate, giving, and intense in the way that he had sex. Sometimes they would barely make it into the bedroom. He had never had sex on any surface other than his sheets before, but now he had sex everywhere whenever he needed it. His thoughts about Virginie devoured his time and when he couldn't take it anymore, he would grab Stephanie by her neck and stick his tongue in her mouth.

As beautiful as Stephanie was, he just couldn't get turned on by her. He had to think about Virginie. Everything with Stephanie was quick and rabid like he was animal, hungry for flesh. He made sure that she finished as well, but he didn't particularly enjoy it. It was hard for him to ignore Stephanie when she moaned like a dying hyena. She often tried to talk to him while they were having sex so he started choking her and covering her mouth as a kinky thing but in reality, he just wanted to focus on his fantasy. However, she didn't like that. Stephanie eventually slowed her audible advances but her moans did not cease. He wanted to pretend that it was Virginie who he had his arms around. But Stephanie just couldn't let that happen.

Whenever he was riding her, he would turn on music to drown out her moans and close his eyes and imagine that it was Virginie that he was burying himself into.

He had imagined his first time with Virginie so many times. He would ravish and devour every inch of her body. He had only seen bits and pieces from the clothing that she wore but even that was enough to send his mind spinning. Unlike with Stephanie, he would take his time and make sure that she got the most pleasure possible. They would go slow and fast and everything in between. As she slipped off her clothes, he would kiss every inch of her skin. He wanted to hear her call his name out in pure ecstasy and know that it was him who caused it. He wanted to try everything with her. He wanted to see her fall apart under his hands.

Focus, you idiot! You'll have time for fantasies later. He shook his head and looked up. The gallery was filling up with people. In his peripheral vision, he could see Daniel's family whispering intensely amongst themselves. He wanted to sneer at them but he kept his professionalism.

He felt a warm hand on his. He turned to see Virginie smiling at him. "You got this. Don't let them get to you. We've been preparing this for weeks and we know what we're doing."

This was the first time she had touched him since the fateful gala when he asked her to be his bodyguard in his drunken stupor. He didn't know what to say so he just stared at her.

Say thank you or something, you buffon.

"Please rise for the honorable Judge Cindy Hill," the bailiff announced, breaking the silence. Virginie quickly put her hand away and for a moment, an emotion crossed her face that he did not understand. He hoped that she hadn't taken offense to his lack of response.