Unlucky In Law

1 Monday 9/1 Seven a.m. on the first Monday morning in September. Nina Reilly and Paul van Wagoner snoozed in his king-size bed in the sole bedroom of his Carmel condo. As the sun came through the shutters, striping the rug with light, Paul kicked off the covers on his side and, as Nina opened her eyes, turned over so all his long naked backside was displayed: the blond hair, smooth, well-muscled back, strong legs, and narrow feet. As if he felt her attention, he turned to face her. Eyes closed, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her tight to his body. Nina was naked, too, the way Paul liked her. Herself, she favored expensive silks or shabby cottons, but since she had gotten involved with Paul, she had learned to appreciate what he called his simple needs. He liked skin, he liked the smell of her, he wanted nothing to come between them, so nothing did, at least not when they were in bed together. This time with Paul was precious. Her son, Bob, fourteen, had spent the previous night with his grandfather. She had "freedom," in the way all mothers had freedom, meaning contingent freedom, but at least Bob was safe enough for the moment. She stretched in Paul's arms so her toes reached his calves and kissed his stubbled cheek. "Mmm, coffee time," Paul said, smiling, eyes closed. It was her turn. She didn't have far to go in the compact condo. When she came back with the mugs, Paul was sitting up in bed, legs crossed. "I feel suspiciously elated, considering it's Monday morning," she said. "Ben Franklin would call us slackers. He would have been up since five, making a kite." "Progress means we get to do whatever the hell we want this early in the morning," she said. Nina had moved to the Monterey area from Tahoe in early summer to be with Paul, just to see how things would play for them. She had gone to law school here, at Monterey Peninsula College. Her father lived here, and she had other old ties. But now, after her move from Tahoe and after a brief vacation of sorts, she had signed on for her second murder case in three months. Her part started today, though the poor client had been counting the days at the Monterey County Jail for four months. A new case, a new chance to test herself and show her stuff, was always a thrill. So she felt good right now, enjoying the smoldering looks she was getting from Paul. "Get back in here," Paul commanded. He patted the bed beside him. "Be polite or you won't get this coffee. Triple-strength fresh-ground French roast. You'll never get better." "All right, I'm begging you, please, get back in here. Or is the plan for me to admire you standing there with your hip cocked like that?" She climbed into bed and pulled up the sheet, and they both sipped their coffee. Paul seemed to have something on his mind, so she held back the impulse to jump up and throw her clothes on, waiting to hear it. He ran a very successful investigation and security business. Selfishly, she hoped he was worrying about work and not anything that would slow her down. He set his cup on the bed stand and drew her close. "Back to the grind for our girl. I hope Klaus is paying you a whole lot to compensate you for putting your life in such an uproar." "I'm just glad to have a paying gig again, even though I'm coming in so late. It's going to be very demanding. But I've got you, and I've got Sandy to back me up, so I'm wallowing in a pleasantly fuzzy false sense of security." "What about this case snagged you? You told me you weren't going to accept any more work until you made some decisions about the things that really matter. Remember?" She knocked back some of the coffee left in her mug, remembering a distant time when she made decisions with only her own futurO'Shaughnessy, Perri is the author of 'Unlucky In Law', published 2004 under ISBN 9780385336468 and ISBN 0385336462.