LITMIR.BIZ

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just that she’d put him in an untenable position with the law firm he’d hoped to work for. It was that she’d ravaged his nice, neat plans for the future.

      All of the Hollaran men had married their college sweethearts. Four generations of men had set the expectation for Mitch that women met in that phase of life were the ones to make a family with. Sophia had embodied everything he’d wanted in a woman and then she’d ripped that image to shreds with one coldly calculated move.

      Though he was content with his life, he wouldn’t rest until he came out of an encounter with her the winner. And to think he was going to have to thank his pain-in-the-ass client Jason Spinder for the pleasure.

      Mitch had talked with Spinder on the phone before leaving L.A. The case was basically one of “he said,” “she said.” Jason claimed that Holly McBride had told him she was eighteen and that others had corroborated her story. But the fact of the matter was Jason did have sex with Holly and she was underage. It was Mitch’s job to prove to the jury that Holly had tricked Jason for her own gain, using her body to get what she wanted.

      Since the moment his assistant had sent him the file on Jason and the D.A. who was prosecuting the case Mitch had thought of nothing but the woman who’d betrayed him.

      He had a chance to go up against the one woman he’d lost against so long ago. And this time he intended to come out the winner.

      He’d had other lovers since they parted but he’d never let one woman consume him the way he’d let Sophia that long-ago winter. He’d been young.

      Hell, he’d been a damned sap. But not anymore. He knew she had to have changed as well. And he needed to see the woman she was today. To exorcise the woman she was out of his system and move on.

      In his mind he always pictured her wearing the velvet ribbon choker and nothing but lime juice. He swallowed and shifted his legs. She’d been one hell of a lover and the most sensual lady he’d ever met.

      Everything with her had been erotic. Even law. He shook his head. He adjusted the radio dial off the pop station to some boisterous country music. It seemed to suit Orlando. The city was big and sophisticated but still clung to its cow-town roots. He maneuvered his way through the traffic thinking about Sophia.

      She possessed hidden depths that she’d reveal to no man. Or at least she’d never revealed them to him. Years ago, he’d been planting the seeds for the future with her. But she’d wanted him only for what he could give her in bed. Well, that was fine; he no longer cared about the secrets of her soul.

      He’d kept track of her through the alumni newsletter and the articles she’d written for the Harvard Law Bulletin. He’d seen a picture of her about a year ago when she’d won a humanitarian award.

      It had ruined the coldhearted bitch image he had of her but he knew that it was pride that had made him think of her in those terms. Because truth be told if he’d had the same information she’d had, he wasn’t too sure he wouldn’t have sent her down a false trail and then claimed the one spot in the prestigious law firm, just as she had done to him.

      He’d returned to Los Angeles and finished his graduate work at UCLA’s Law School. Fueled by the need to prove his worth to Sophia and the firm that had not selected him, he had scored a position in a very prestigious firm in Los Angeles and had recently been named an associate of the firm.

      He knew that a gentleman would let the past rest. His father had counseled him many times to let go of things. But then Peter Hollaran had married his high-school sweetheart and had gone to work in his dad’s hardware store. His dad’s life was a bit simpler than Mitch’s.

      Mitch had never been able to forget past wrongs. It was one of his faults and he’d made peace with a majority of his mistakes, but not Sophia. She haunted his dreams from time to time. And he knew it was time to force her out of his system once and for all.

      Everything seemed to be coming together at once. He was on his own again since he’d refused to marry his live-in lover and she’d left him. He was finally facing the one woman who had left him hanging. He was plotting the kind of revenge that made him feel a little slimy, but then betrayal was something he knew Sophia understood.

      So he didn’t really feel that bad. He didn’t regret the path his life had taken. He was a successful man by anyone’s standards, but deep inside the fire that had been driving him toward success was fueled by a deep-seated need for retribution.

      He downshifted the Porsche Turbo and pulled into the downtown courthouse parking lot.

      Who would have thought Jason Spinder, the twenty-two-year-old action movie star, would be the one to deliver it to him? Mitch entered the courthouse and spotted Jason standing off to one side with his manager, Marcus Richardson. Both men nodded at Mitch as he entered. He went through the metal detector and joined them.

      “Hollaran, I thought you weren’t going to make it,” Jason said. Jason wasn’t overly attractive by Hollywood standards. But he had charisma, according to Betsy, Mitch’s secretary.

      “Of course I made it. That’s what you pay me for.”

      “What’s going to happen today?” Jason asked. He didn’t look like a blockbuster action star who commanded ten million dollars a picture. Instead he looked like a young kid in over his head.

      “You’re going to be arraigned.”

      “Then?”

      “Wait for the trial to be set.”

      “Oh, God. This is such a mess. Marcus has been trying to put a positive spin on it. But I think this is going to hurt my chances for an Oscar this year.”

      “Let Marcus handle the media, that’s what he does best. I’ll handle the judge and jury. You just relax.”

      “I can’t, man. My career is on the line and I don’t want to be blackballed because of this.”

      “This is going to be tricky, Jason. I won’t lie to you, but I don’t intend to lose this case.”

      “I heard the D.A.’s office is sending their barracuda,” Jason said.

      “I’m a licensed fisherman.”

      Jason cracked a smile. Then the three men headed down the hall toward the courtroom where Jason was scheduled to appear. Mitch stopped at the water fountain for a drink. “I’ll catch up with you inside.”

      Mitch needed a few minutes to himself to prepare to see Sophia again. Perhaps the years hadn’t been kind to her. With more than a little spite, he imagined her overweight and graying.

      With that image firmly in mind, he started for the courtroom ready to meet his nemesis. The door opened as he approached it and a woman barreled out with her head down and ran straight into Mitch.

      He steadied her and then looked down into eyes he’d never forgotten. They were wide and a deeper blue than the Pacific Ocean at sunset. He started to release her, then stopped.

      Her hips were a remembered softness under his flexed fingers. She shifted in his embrace, then seemed to realize what she was doing and tried to push away. He kept her close.

      She held herself stiffly in his arms and he liked knowing he’d thrown her off guard.

      “Mitch,” she said.

      Just his name, but the tone of her voice stroked over his skin like a velvet glove bringing each nerve to quivering attention. He realized suddenly that revenge did have a temperature and it had just gotten much hotter.

      2

      SOPHIA CLOSED HER EYES and for a minute was tempted to put her arms around Mitch. Dammit, she was over him. Way over him. She’d made her choice and she’d been happily living with it. Until now. Until she’d felt his strong arms around her once again. He wasn’t doing anything improper but she remembered every time he had.

      Her stomach sank to her toes. She pumped up her internal background

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