Chapter Text
Anthony had been lusting after his colleague in the last few weeks, it was maddening, it was infuriating, and it was downright galling.
The woman challenged him over everything, she had stormed into the office on her second day at Bridgerton and Rokesby Family Law having been hired by his cousin Henry to work alongside them both as he had decided it was time to add some women to the company again, they had argued over taking a pro bono case for a young woman who had been done out of her inheritance and cheated out of her home.
Anthony had seen the application and seen the opposing legal counsel and said it was suicide…
She had stepped on his foot and said she was doing it anyway.
And irritatingly she had won. It had been a slam dunk and he had sat in the courtroom and watched Kate Sharma walk up and down like she owned the place and by the time she presented her closing arguments… the only thought on Anthony’s mind was “well fuck” and he desperately wanted her to stand on him again.
And that was nearly 18 months ago…
Honestly, it was becoming ridiculous whenever he heard her using the commanding voice, he was stuck behind a desk with a raging hard on for at least an hour and usually her ire was pointed at him but that afternoon it had been at someone else.
“No Edi. I am not covering for you. I don’t care… I am a fucking lawyer not a model… no…” the voice floated through. He could see the look on her face and somehow his brain had gone and formed a visual of Kate in lingerie… and well… he was lost to the rest of the conversation.
He wasn’t even able to formulate more than a grunt when Kate came in 30 minutes later and said she was taking a half day and was telling him why, his brain was gone, and he hadn’t heard a single thing.
Anthony had no idea what he was about to walk into 4 hours later when he went to meet his brother for a pint after work. He needed something stronger than a pint of larger but if he ordered Whiskey then Benedict would have known instantly something was up and picked and needled at him until he caved and told his brother everything and he wasn’t in the mood for that tonight.
It was a Friday night, he wanted to go out, get drunk and maybe find himself a woman to bury himself into to make him forget about the dreams he was having of her…
But when he opened the door to his brother’s photo studio, and he saw her covered in a red silk dress…
Honestly he was sure he was about to have an aneurism…
He just stared at the scene in front of him with an open mouth, honestly, it wouldn’t be a surprise if drool was coming out…
“Fucking hell” was what did come out of his mouth and the two other occupants in the room who had previously not noticed his arrival whipped his head around.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Kate had bellowed “are you stalking…” then she saw the resemblance and looked at Benedict with furious eyes “he’s your brother?”
“Well… yeah? I thought Edi would have told you” Benedict said as it was the most obvious thing in the world
He didn’t take photos under his family name, he didn’t want people to use that as the reason to hire him, so he had used his mother’s maiden name and was known, in the photography world as “Benedict Ledger” Kate just blinked.
“So, this is what you took the afternoon off for? To come take your clothes off for my brother?” Anthony managed to snap back, something throbbing in his temple, anger, and something hot and possessive in his throat.
“Do I look like I’ve got no fucking clothes on?” Kate snapped back.
Good god… Anthony felt his entire body heat up, not now, please god not now he tried to tell himself, now is not the time to imagine her in nothing but red underwear… he did not need the stiffy to make this all the more awkward.
“You might as well not…” He said, wishing the words never left his mouth.
“Ant…” Benedict said, trying to diffuse the situation “she’s just helping me out with the shoot for Penwood… Edi was sick today and the photos had to be in before the end of the week..”
“No, they don’t you just want to impress Sophie…” Anthony snapped. The fury in his brother’s eyes he knew he had gone too far but the jealous monster in him was raging that his brother got to take photos of Kate like this.
Wait… jealous?
Dear god…
He shook his head missing his brother calling him a dick as Kate chuckled “I don’t pay you to come do this! You’re a fucking solicitor”
Kate rolled her eyes “it’s fucking day off, so you aren’t paying… I don’t judge you when you take half days or come slouching into the office two hours late, looking like you’ve rolled out of someone’s bed”
“Jealous?” he smirked, unable to help himself and he delighted in the little blush that crept over her cheeks.
“Oh, you wish” Kate said, snatching up her bag from the floor. “I’m getting changed and going to meet Sophie. Ben you’re welcome to come join us… You… not so much” she snarled at Anthony.
Anthony glared but Kate stalked off.
“You know you could just get your head out of your arse and ask her out like a normal human being” Benedict said shaking his head as he put the camera away
“What… no… fuck no…” Anthony stammered, “besides… pot… kettle”
Benedict glared “that’s different!”
“How? You’ve been pining over her for 12 months… since she took over her father’s business. Just ask her” Anthony said.
“I work with her company but tell you want… I will if you do” Benedict said, the edge of competition in his voice.
Anthony glared “you know for a fine fact I’d rather…”
“Rather what…?” Kate said standing at the door, dressing now in her office clothes, her pencil skirt and blouse hugging her figure and her stockings back on. Honestly Anthony wasn’t sure what was sexier.
“Erm… erm…” he stammered lost for words.
“You coming?” she said to Benedict “I know Soph will want to see you”
“I’m supposed to go for a pint with this arsehole” he said gesturing to his brother.
Kate sighed “fine. You can come but honestly… if he so much as breathes on me…”
So, 40 minutes later the three of them were in the pub with Sophie who had been waiting for them and Anthony never felt more out of place in his life, or uncomfortable.
They had laughed and joked, and it felt almost… normal… Anthony had told Kate and Sophie about the time he held Benedict upside down by his ankle and honestly, her laugh…
She had taken herself off to the bar, Benedict and Sophie were practically pressed up against one another in the booth and Anthony let his eyes roam around the bar. It could have been a double date.
He was starting to wish it was…
He glanced at his brother and decided he needed to get up, he needed to give his brother a bit of privacy to at least grow a pair of balls and actually ask the petite blonde out and he couldn’t well do that with him sat there.
So, getting up he decided to go get some air, Kate had gone out to make a phone call and he thought maybe he could keep her company. He just wanted to talk, maybe apologise for being an arse earlier and ask if he could buy her a drink… or dinner…
But when he got outside he saw something that set that jealous monster off inside of him again, his blood raced, and his body seemed to tingle and reverberate with something…
This little beast inside of him screaming she’s mine… he wanted her to be his so badly… and he was just realising that tonight
A man stood so close to Kate it was indecent, his hand on her lower back and his lips so close to her ear and he saw her straighten, her spine stiffen in the way that she usually reserved for him when he walked into a room. “No” he heard her say, that commanding voice “I told you I am not interested” and the man tugged at her a little and Anthony could see the come on, it’ll be fun on his lips. He hadn’t heard it with the blood rushing in his ears and he did the first thing he thought of
“Babe! There you are” he called out, and Kate hearing the familiar voice whipped her head around and gave him a smile that Anthony was sure could have lit half of London…
Kate shoved the man out of the way, her eyes glittering with thanks as she moved over to him and she pressed a kiss on his cheek and Anthony felt it right down to his soul as he put an arm around her protectively. “Is this man bothering you?”
“You… you didn’t say you had a boyfriend” the man said, taking in Anthony’s tall frame, Anthony wasn’t ashamed to say he had bristled a bit like a peacock as he stood there, protective and a little jealous.
“You didn’t give me a chance” Kate said stubbornly
“Clear off mate before I break your nose” Anthony said. The man blanched and ran for it before Kate seemed to sag into him.
“Are you alright?” he asked her, genuine concern in his voice
“Yes I am fine” she said, looking at him with bright eyes “you didn’t have to do that though” she said letting go of him, taking the look of fire in his eyes to mean something else.
“I did, he was harassing you” he said “I’ve got far too many sisters to not do something”
“But you didn’t have to pretend to be my boyfriend” she said, her voice quiet.
“Oh… right… probably not but…” he said trailing off.
“We best get back; Ben and Sophie are probably wondering if we’ve killed each other” Kate said.
Anthony muttered “I wanted to…” but Kate didn’t hear it but as they re-entered the pub and saw the table they had one occupied was gone, and Ben and Sophie were nowhere to be seen Kate let out a “Oh… they’ve… gone”
Anthony frowned but the monster in his chest was growling with some triumphant “I think Ben finally got his head out of his arse”
“Good for them I guess. But if they’re gone… I should… we should…” Kate said awkwardly.
“Right…” he said as Kate turned to leave
“It’s… I’ll see you Monday” she said to him as she turned to leave.
“Kate wait!” he said, coming to a decision, the monster in his chest yelling at him not to let her go just yet.
“What?” she said, looking at him. Something had shifted between them tonight, something was different. He was different. He needed to seize this moment.
“Let me buy you a burger or something? Before you go… as… as I guess an apology for being an arsehole earlier” he said,
Kate looked at him for a moment “I think you might have done that before when you helped me out… but…” she said tilting her head in the way he noticed she did when she was thinking “a burger does sound good. I’m starving”
Anthony grinned.
And two hours later, when he was giving her a very tentative and gentle kiss on her lips, asking if he could take her out properly the following night… he had never been more thankful for his jealousy in his life…