Read Online The Sun and the Moon (Giving You ... #1) by Leslie McAdam - Free Book Online

in the supply closet at Southwinds. I wanted to find out where else we were going to do it. I couldn't wait until Friday night.  I also realized something about the book. I had always assumed that erotica and porn were the same thing and I stayed away from both. Too naughty. But erotica was in black and white. Porn was in color. Erotica was words. Porn was pictures.  Erotica appealed to women through their brains. Porn appealed to women through their eyes. Since I was the lawyer-type, it's obvious that the way to get me all hot and bothered was through my brain. I was slowly becoming a fan of erotica.
     
    I want to kiss you on your lips and then explore where it will go.
    Hugo, are you sure you meant to send this to me?
    Oh yeah, baby.
     
    I laughed out loud, reading his text while sitting in the waiting room for my therapist. Hugo'd never change.  Then she called me in and I sat down.
    "I've made some progress this week but I've also regressed." By smiling, Christian Gray encouraged me to continue. "I did your homework. I feel, uh, different. I bought the books, the lingerie, and the vibrator."  We talked about how all of that felt. Then I blurted, "I, um, had sex with Ryan at the coffee shop."
    She looked at me with an unreadable expression. "How did that make you feel?"
    "Truthfully? Awesome. I'm not going to go be crazy promiscuous. But it was wonderful."  She nodded. "I also slut-shamed myself." She nodded again.
    "Are you going to see him again?"
    "Tomorrow night."
    "How does that make you feel?"
    "I'm excited and I'm scared. I feel shame and fear that someone is going to get hurt or someone is not going to approve. And then I argue with myself that I don't have to feel that way."
    Christian gently smiled. "Trusting and opening yourself up are healthy, but scary, feelings. When you've been depressed, it can take time to allow others in. Don't feel like you need to push yourself too hard at first. Do what comes naturally. But it's okay to feel whatever you feel. You may feel vulnerable. But trust that feeling."
    On Friday, I went to work early before a court appearance and chatted with Neveah, our receptionist, before going into my office, checking my emails, and grabbing the client’s file. As I headed away from her desk, Jake came in the building and followed me down the hall to my office, chatting about the settlement in our trial and the next matters that we were going to be working on. He seemed unusually relaxed, with his hands in the pockets of his lawyer trousers, and his blue eyes dancing.
    "Any plans tonight, Amelia?"
    "Yes, I do," I responded, startled.
    "Too bad. I wanted to know if you wanted to go have a drink with me."
    I was floored and then recovered. "Next time, perhaps."
    "Sounds good." He turned on his heel and left for his office.
    I sat in my chair, speechless.
    WTF? First Hugo was stepping it up, now Jake? Was there something in the water? Did I give off extreme female pheromones now that I had an orgasm or two this week? I gathered the client’s file and headed to court.
    "All rise. The Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara is now in session, Honorable Hannah Morales, Judge Presiding."
    I hastily put my cell phone on silent as the bailiff called the court to order. The court was packed this morning with attorneys and litigants.
    Then I waited for my case to get called.
    And waited.
    And waited.
    While I waited, I saw a text from Ryan.
     
    See you tonight. I'm bringing dinner.
     
    I shivered. And other parts of me felt good.
    Then I realized that the judge was looking at me and calling my case. I had not been paying attention. I snapped into lawyer mode and walked to the podium.
    "Amelia Crowley, present, attorneys for the plaintiff."
     

     
    LATER THAT AFTERNOON, I called Marie from the Paseo Nuevo shopping center, in a panic, after I had texted her pictures of plates, placemats, table cloths, stemware, and candles. This was my way of dealing with the fact that I would