Chapter 116 kissed

Chapter 116 kissed
“It’s my party,” I said. “And if I want to kiss my boyfriend, I will.”
He chuckled and gently pressed his lips against mine. It was sweet and soft, exactly what I needed to finish calming my emotions after seeing Patricia. I’d tell him all about that later. Right now, we had cake to eat.
I took a step back and took his hand, threading our fingers together. “Let’s go get some cake.”
“Cake sounds good,” he said. “But I’m thinking we cut out after we’re done.”
Now it was my turn to be confused.
“I want to take you on a little trip.”
“Where?”
He smiled. “That’s a surprise.” He raised our hands and kissed the back of mine. “Let’s see about that cake, make the rounds, thank Mimi, and get out of here.”
“But I have to finish work.”
“Nope.” His grin widened. “Already cleared it with Mimi. She said you deserve it. So, what do you say?”
“I say, that sounds like exactly what I need.”
Less than twenty minutes later, we were heading down to the lobby where, I assumed, he’d have one of his infamous town cars waiting.
I was wrong.
What was sitting in front of the building wasn’t a town car, but a cherry red Italian sports car. A Ferrari, to be exact. I remembered him saying he preferred them to Bentleys, but I hadn’t realized that meant he owned one. I’d never been one to fawn over cars, but even I had to admit that this one was a beauty.
“This is my ‘outside the city’ car,” he said as he opened the door for me.
“So we’re leaving the city then?” I asked as I slid into the passenger’s seat. The leather was soft against my skin.
“No guessing.” He closed the door and then walked around to the other side. He continued speaking as he got in. “Don’t ruin the surprise.”
I gave him a mock pout and he laughed. Not the sexy laugh that made things low in my belly tighten, but the one that was far more rare, the one that was open and joyful. I hoped finding the man responsible for Camille’s death would give him some closure and allow him to laugh like that more often.
He reached over and squeezed my hand before starting the car and pulling out into the street. We didn’t really speak until we passed the city limits, and then it was he who initiated the conversation.
“Now that you’ve graduated, are you planning on staying at Webster and Steinberg or do you have another firm in mind?” He glanced at me before returning his attention to the road. “I just realized that I’d never asked you that before.”
He was right. We’d talked in vague generalities about things, but never specifics about what I planned to do after graduation and passing the bar.
“I appreciate everything Mimi has done for me,” I said. “But divorce court isn’t where I want to practice. I’ve always wanted to help the helpless, you know? Go after child abusers and wife beaters, that kind of thing; but I don’t think I’m cut out to be a prosecutor either.” I’d actually had this idea bouncing around in my head for a while, but this was the first time I was giving it voice. “I’ve been thinking lately that I want to fight sex trafficking by working for the victims, go after people like Howard not just criminally, but in every way possible. Fight to get laws passed for better protection and compensation for the victims.”
Gavin put his hand over mine. “I think that’s a great idea.”
I sighed. “The only problem is that, because it’s not a very lucrative business, there aren’t a lot of firms that specialize in that kind of work, and none of them are hiring. I’ve been checking this past week.”
Gavin was silent for a moment, then spoke, the hesitation in his voice making me turn towards him. “What about starting your own firm? Take cases pro bono. Maybe even spend some time digging into potential traffickers and gathering evidence for the authorities. You’ve proven you’re good at that.”
I gave him a puzzled look. “That would be great, but I’m going to be paying off my student loans until I’m forty as it is. I have to make a living somehow.”
“You make a living through your partnership in the club,” he said. “And you can even use it to weed out potential traffickers.”
“Okay,” I said slowly. I wasn’t sure where he was going with this. “It still doesn’t explain how I’m going to manage to not only pay my bills but fund a law firm with what I make helping run a club.”
“You don’t fund the law firm,” he said. “I do.”
I stared at him. He couldn’t be serious.
He continued, “It’s important work, Carrie. It means a lot to you, and I helped Howard run his business through the club.”
“You didn’t know.”
His expression was grim. “I didn’t, but it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t help put a stop to others like Howard.” He lifted our hands and brushed his lips across my knuckles, sending little tingles across my skin. “Those seem like just a few of many reasons why this is a good idea.”
He looked as if he expected me to argue like I had before, any time he’d spent a lot of money on me, but this wasn’t for me, not really. Sure, it was letting me do what I wanted to do, but it was about the victims, the survivors like Patricia and the ones who never made it home to their families. I wasn’t about to pass that up. Besides, I was getting more used to his generosity’s just being a part of who he was.
I leaned over, putting my hand on his leg to steady myself, and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
We went around a bend as I was starting to sit back, and the turn jostled me, causing my hand slid higher up his thigh, my fingers brushing against the bulge in his jeans. I heard him suck in a breath and my stomach clenched. I loved that an accidental touch could make him react like that.
The mischievous part of me, the one that had been growing bolder the more time I spent with Gavin, decided that it was time to come out and play. I didn’t sit back, but rather leaned as close as my seatbelt would allow, pressing my breasts against his arm, and put my mouth against his ear.