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bared. I saw that folder you have. My photo’s in it. How long have you known? Didn’t that night mean anything to you? Because it did for me, in case you were wondering.”
    “Brandon, I—” Jackie didn’t know where to begin. She reached out instinctively toward him at the exact moment Gary Stone walked into the room.
    Stone cocked his head and sneered. “Am I interrupting something?”

Chapter Six
    Brandon stiffened. The hair on the back of his neck prickled, but he gave Stone an easy smile. “Nothing at all. Just telling Ms. North that I was looking forward to this afternoon’s line of questioning.”
    The scene in front of him had not settled as he’d hoped. Energy flowed between the two attorneys like a glacier running into a lava flow. Both emanated a steady, controlled rage. Stone’s was cold and biting. Jackie’s sizzling heat threatened to engulf the room and set its occupants aflame. Where the two met, a thick haze of emotion clouded the space.
    A week ago, that passionate heat had been directed toward him. His cock stirred. After her heat touched him that night, he’d become like one of those wretched creatures he’d seen at Pompeii. His life, as he knew it, stopped suddenly and unexpectedly.
    She lacked an ulterior motive, unlike most of the women he knew who seemed to always want something from him. Her inconsistent mix of intensity and silliness refreshed him. Her aggressiveness challenged him. Yet underneath that tough exterior, a naive tenderness and frank honesty peeked out.
    He hadn’t looked at a single woman since then. His fantasies always returned to Jackie when he was alone in bed at night. No one had ever affected him this way.
    And now she was out to discredit him.
    He appreciated the fact that her job obliged her to cross-examine him. Her professional competency was alluring. But his debt to Ashe forced him to make her look unconvincing. Jackie wouldn’t yield easily. Even if his ego survived her attack, losing jeopardized his reputation in the financial community and threatened the onslaught of Ashe’s wrath.
    Unconvincing wouldn’t be enough. Neither would relent until the other was proven utterly untrustworthy. How could he do that to the one person he thought he might be able to trust?
    Brandon looked at Stone and narrowed his eyes. Why did Stone warrant her passion? Brandon coughed to startle them out of their psychic grappling. “I’m ready when you are.”
    “Yes, we’re all anxious to be finished here. Shall we begin?” Jackie raised her eyebrows at Stone, who lowered his eyes with a slight nod of his head.
    The court reporter switched on the video recorder. Its blinking red light was the only eye focused on Brandon. Stone’s and Jackie’s gazes remained fixed on the papers in front of them.
    The questions resumed in a mechanical way. Stone had provided him with a copy of the previous expert’s deposition, so he was familiar with the line of inquiry. Textbook stuff, her questions addressed standards for investment practices and financial advisors’ fiduciary duties.
    Victory or defeat wouldn’t be achieved through the raw data. Smart but not creative, the previous expert lacked persuasion. Brandon survived on his persuasive skills. Charm a client. Charm a woman. Charm a jury. A wave of confidence swept through him.
    Even though Jackie had been thorough and aggressive, he’d held his own. He smiled. He could hold his own against Jackie North on the witness stand and in bed. God, was she incredible in bed. The thought of how she wrapped her long legs around his waist to pull him into her harder caused his cock to swell.
    “Mr. Marshfield?” Jackie’s voice sliced through the silence.
    “Yes?” He set his gaze upon her face, daring her to look at him.
    “Would you like me to repeat the question?” Her continued avoidance of his gaze gave him hope. Maybe she did care.
    “If you would, please,” he warmly requested.
    “How long have you known Robert Ashe,