...Sam’s succulent mouth was too much to resist anymore. Derek bent his head and crushed their lips together, forcing past Sam’s nonexistent defenses to plunder in the hot depths.

They didn’t do this at work. Derek had a very clean line he kept between his personal life and his private, though that had been noticeably blurred ever since they were both assigned to Gena’s case. Still, he didn’t indulge in his desire for Sam when they were on the clock, and any liberties he took with Sam’s body within the confines of the office only took place after hours.

That didn’t stop him from reaching for Sam’s hip, though, and yanking their bodies closer. Or prevent Sam from grabbing the back of Derek’s head and holding him down, lashing back as hungrily as Derek did. If anything, it made it better, knowing this was dangerous, knowing how close he was to his personal boundaries. He didn’t test them nearly as often as Sam would like him to. For anyone else, he wouldn’t.

Sam was different.

Sam had always been different.

They broke apart, panting. Sam’s swollen mouth glistened, beckoning Derek back, but even more enticing was the swelling lower down. His erection pushed against Derek’s upper thigh, nudging at his aching balls. It always amazed him how responsive Sam was. The man could get hard just from a kiss. Then again, so could Derek, though that was a reaction reserved only for Sam.

“Is this your idea of celebrating?” Sam asked.

“This is just the start.” He tightened his grip, bending to graze his mouth over Sam’s salty jaw. “Let’s cancel the rest of the day and go back to my place. I’ve got a lot of adrenaline to work off.”

Deep in his chest, Sam chuckled. “Considering you’re about to pound me through your office door with Nadia on the other side, I’d have to agree with that assessment.”

“So are we on?”

“We’re—”

The buzzing of his phone made both of them jump, though Derek refused to let go of Sam just yet. He glared at the phone over his shoulder, waiting to see if it would come again, daring it not to.

He growled when another insistent buzz filled the room.

“I should’ve told Nadia to hold calls, too,” he grumbled as he marched to his desk.

“Maybe we’re about to get another surprise,” Sam said. “Look at what happened when she interrupted us in the conference room.”

Derek had no idea what it could possibly be, but he held back from snapping when he picked up the phone. It was a good thing, too. It wasn’t Nadia.

“I knew you’d do it,” Rudy said, his warm voice richer than usual. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” At Sam’s curious glance, Derek silently mouthed, Rudy. “Did Nadia tell you the good news?”

“I caught opposing counsel walking out. You two had a lot of balls, setting up a meeting with them the same day as your interview.”

“That wasn’t us.” Derek detailed the specifics of the afternoon, filling him in on everything that had been agreed upon. Normally, he would have waited until speaking with the client, but since Rudy was the reason they’d been given the case in the first place, he deserved more than Derek’s usual.

“Gena’s going to be pleased about this.”

“I think a lot of people are going to be pleased about this. If it all works out, there should be some kind of precedence for others wanting the same kind of treatment.”

“No ‘ifs.’ Positive thinking. And speaking of positive thinking, this requires a celebration. I’m going to talk to Belinda and the others about throwing a party this weekend. We haven’t had this good of a reason for a bash in a while.”

“I’ll make sure and tell Sam.” He smiled across the room at the man in question. “I’ll bet he loves that idea.”

“Be ready to present to the partners in ten minutes. Whether they put a gag order on this or not, there’s going to be publicity. We need to be prepared for it.”

His momentary elation nose-dived. So much for a private celebration. “Sure. Ten minutes.”

Sam wasn’t smiling anymore, either, when Derek hung up. “What’s in ten minutes?”

“More work. Sorry. We’ll have to wait on canceling.”

“But we’ll make it up to each other later, right?”