“Please…,” she begged softly. “Dear god… please…”
I stepped back only long enough to shed my own clothes. Every inch of me was hard, ready… Every nerve anticipated the single moment, the very first moment, our bodies would touch. I shuddered, willing myself to take her as gently as I could. But my body was making demands of its own. My cock was enormous and throbbing, a long, thick rope of moisture swinging from its dark head. I saw her eyes drop to look and it bobbed with brutal urgency. “I need you, Emi,” I said through my teeth. “I want you so badly, I can’t think… I can’t breathe...” She was naked on her back with her thighs barely parted, her breasts mounded and curving gently out to the side. I moved over her, opening her legs with my hands, running my fingers up to touch her. The anticipation, the sweet tension between us was almost unbearable…
“But we have the entire night. I won’t let this be over too soon,” I promised her. “I want to make you feel as beautiful as you are. There’s so much time now…
And so much pleasure ahead of us…”
37
Emily
But I had none of Chase’s patience.
I took him in my hands, guiding his body to mine. His hard, wet cock slid up against my belly, hot between our bodies, as his hips met my hips… his chest met my chest. We were both damp with sweat, in spite of the cool air. His whole body trembled in my arms as our naked flesh finally met. I wrapped my legs around him, joining with him… my heart pounding, my breath coming shallow and fast. “Just fuck me,” I begged softly in his ear. I tilted my hips, gathering him into my hands, and slipped his heavy head between my slick and ready lips. “Don’t make us wait anymore.. I can’t, Chase… I won’t…
please…”
His thrust cut me off. Hard, powerful... Utterly complete. One minute I had been empty, the next he was fully inside me, cradling my head as I cried out, both in pleasure and sweet, sweet pain. When he’d taken me before, he’d taken me from behind… and we’d both still been clothed. He had only been able to thrust in so far…
But now he was buried deep… hilted inside me. I spread myself wider, aching with his depth, but greedy for still more. He lifted my knees with his hands, pushing my legs high and further apart… understanding by instinct and driving himself even deeper. His growl was guttural, primal and my body responded . No two people had ever been closer, and yet we both ached for more.
He pulled back, only to drive in again. He took my face in his hands, kissing me with passionate desperation. My nails cut into his back and it drove him faster. I could feel the climax building in us both. His cock set a pace that pushed me on… up, higher and closer to something only barely out of my reach. His hands stroked and explored, touching every inch he could reach. His lips caught my lips… my breasts… He sucked and kissed, licked and tasted. He found the soft spot under my ear, sinking his teeth into the lobe. I held my breath, right on the very edge, and felt his cock thicken inside me. I could feel his shape, his weight… every pulsing vein along his shaft. We were there, together, hovering right on the brink of sweet ecstasy.
“Emily…” he said, with all the air left in his lungs. “My sweet…”
And together we dove, plunging into the depths of an orgasm that shattered us both. His body was mine and mine was his… we moved like a single being, both giving and taking completely. He flooded my depths with hot jets of seed and I swallowed him into my core, taking everything he gave and demanding even more. My walls clenched against his thickness, squeezing in timed and powerful pulses that left us both spent, replete… He collapsed in my shaking arms as I held him to my breast. And trickles of sweat ran between us as we fought to catch our breath, struggled to slow our single frantic heartbeat…
The last thing I remembered before I fell asleep in his arms was his face in the curve of my neck…. the sound of his sigh, as his huge body finally relaxed against mine…
and his sweet and beautiful words against my breast…
“I love you, my Emi…
I love you…”
And he was a man of his word. He loved me again and again that night. In the darkness he woke and took me with his tongue, licking the sweetness of our love from my thighs. Jealous, I had taken him in my mouth. And together we’d discovered a whole new world of pleasure and delight. But no matter how we touched, it was his chest against mine, his belly brushing mine that seemed the most intimate of all. I was as hungry for his skin, I discovered, as he was for mine, And we’d slept many times in the night, only to awaken hungry and eager to satisfy one another yet again.
When I finally opened my eyes, blinking away the early morning light, Chase still slept easily beside me and for a long while I simply watched him. For the first time in my life, I felt sure of who I was… and of what I wanted. I was simply and purely myself. And I was completely happy…
“Penny for your thoughts…,” Chase said, stirring and bringing me back to the moment. He wrapped his arms around me, using one strong thigh to pull me closer. His stormy grey eyes hovered above me, his smile wide and temptingly sensuous. “You looked far away…”
“I’m right here,” I said, curving my body to fit against his. “I should probably call and have someone check on Gran though. I’ve never been out all night before… not without a cover story, at least.” It struck me funny, that after everything we’d shared last night, that I should be blushing now.
“I can take you home, if you need…,” he said, starting to rise from the bed. I pulled him back against me, this time wrapping my legs around him.
“I can text the next door neighbor,” I said, firmly. “Gran’s probably already called her over by now anyway.” I pressed my face into the curve of his shoulder, inhaling the woodsy scent he always seemed to carry. “They could be talking about what a bad girl I am, at this very minute,” I said softly, wrapping my hands around his ready cock. I slipped down lower in the bed, biting my lip and smiling at the thought. “Gran doesn’t approve of gossiping,” I said, licking him, and reveling in the taste of myself on his flesh.
“But it can’t be gossip… if it’s true…”
38
Chase
The sun was high in the sky before we were finally dressed and I had a pot of coffee brewing on the wood stove. Even after our bodies were spent, we had shared the huge, old claw foot tub. She had rested in my arms, soft and satisfied, as I’d bathed her body and washed her hair. I’d dried her gently, as content to touch her with simple tenderness as with passion. What we’d shared in the night had redefined the limits of desire and connection. But caring for her so sweetly had been the most intimate experience of my entire life.
We took our steaming mugs outside. In spite of the lateness of the day, the breeze was cool. I sat down in one of the wide, wooden chairs and drew her into my lap, wrapping her against me. She fit into the shelter of my body and nothing had ever felt so safe… so perfect. She sighed, and turned her face up to mine. “I love you, Chase,” she whispered. “I wish we could stay here… just like this, forever…”
“I know,” I said, taking her fingertips into my mouth, “and I love you, Emi. No matter where we go from here… know that. You’ve given me back something I thought was gone forever. Something inside me that I didn’t even believe in anymore.
But we need to talk. You have a right to know what you’re getting into, about the things that could come out when I go public. There’ll be consequences, Emi, of being linked to someone like me. Details from the past… about the women.” I frowned, sick at the thought. “I need to talk to Amelia, too. And my father. They have to hear it from me.”
“The way I need to talk to Gran,” she said, turning in my arms to face me. “We both have truths to tell, Chase. I haven’t been really honest with her in my whole life. Or with myself.
I don’t mind taking care of her. And I’m grateful she was there when my mom and dad died. But I’m a grown woman now, and I have the right to live my life by my rules, not her
s… Even if she doesn’t see me as her good girl anymore. She used love to control me,” she said. “And she took it away when I didn’t obey.”
I nodded, quiet and thoughtful, thinking of every time my father had withdrawn his love… every fucking time I’d failed to meet his standards. I took Emi’s face in my hands and kissed her, slowly… kindly.
“Tell me anything you need to,” she said, brushing her nose against mine. “But the past is the past, and I believe in your heart, Chase. Whatever happened, I can’t believe you ever hurt any woman intentionally. No matter how you’ve been blaming yourself… it just isn’t in you. You’ve been Amelia’s rock all her life, and you’re here for me now.” She reached up and smoothed my hair and a wave of love and need washed over me. “Tell me if you want, but nothing can change how I feel now.”
It was well into evening by the time I was finally done. I’d spilled out the entire truth, my whole past, from Anna to the moment I’d laid my eyes on her. I left nothing out, and for the first time in forever, I felt completely unburdened.
We sat in front of the stone fireplace, watching the fire burn. The logs crackled and shifted… sending out a burst of sparks and thin trails of lifting smoke. She had moved against me, sliding down until her head rested in my lap as she listened. She looked up at me as I continued to stare into the fire.
“I think you’re wrong,” she said, twining her fingers with mine. “I think you’ve felt so guilty for so long that you may be jumping the gun by going to the press.”
“But it was wrong. I was wrong. And I have to make this right somehow. Not just for me… but for us.”
She sat up, facing me. “You had a lot of money, a lot of power at a very early age, Chase. And you reacted to having your heart broken. But you weren’t cruel. And you weren’t as selfish as you think.” She made me meet her eyes. “In the year since you stopped being part of the game, has one single woman come forward to complain about how you treated her?”
“No…”
“And in all those years, there were only five?”
“Yes, but…”
“And they liked the excitement just as much as you did?”
“It never would have happened if they hadn’t,” I said. “But I didn’t love a single one of them.”
“And, god help them, they didn’t love you either,” she said, laughing softly. “Lucky for me…”
She put her hands on my shoulders, smiling. “Did you ever stop to think that they might have enjoyed the fun of it too, Chase? All this time you’ve been seeing yourself like you were no different from Sutton, but you are,” she said. “He preys on women to exploit them, but you said yourself, you already knew the women you were with… you’d already been friendly with them. They weren’t strangers you seduced. They were just looking for fun, for an exciting hook-up…
None of them ever came to you for pay-offs. You’ve been punishing yourself all this time for something Sutton’s guilty of. But not you, Chase. Not you.”
“But I created the game in the first place,” I said, almost afraid to feel the hope she was offering.
“And if you need to make that right somehow, that’s good,” she said, running her hands around the back of my neck. I felt her fingers twine together. “But don’t you think that privately might be better than publically?” she asked, “For everyone involved?” I nodded slowly, taking her meaning.
“But I still have to stop Sutton,” I said. “I’ve been out all this time, but it still hasn’t been enough to end the game… I think the few who’re left would stop too, if it wasn’t for him. But you saw that party. He doesn’t intend to end it until he’s driven himself and our company’s reputation into the ground.” I ran my hands down her shoulders, down her arms, caressing her skin. “It needs to end because it isn’t right. The bets… the deception.
No woman should ever be treated that way.” I pressed my forehead into hers, squeezing my eyes shut as her hands moved up my back.
There was so much ahead of us. And so many things we both had to make right. There was her family and mine. My past, and the uncertainty of the future. But as I took her into my arms, and felt the melting warmth of her body and her love, I pushed it all aside. I stripped her gently and thoroughly, and myself with less patience. For one more night, there would be nothing but the two of us. She laid back, opening herself to welcome me inside. And I moved over her, seeking and finding
sweet absolution, in her arms.
39
Emily
“I don’t know what else to say,” I said, brushing the back of a flour-covered hand across my forehead. “Except I know how I feel when I’m with him.” I sat down, brushing my hands on my apron. Reese turned off the mixer and looked at me with her hands on her hips. “I love him… and he loves me. I know it’s all happening too fast…”
“Love usually does,” she said, with a patient smile. I’d been bending her ear for well over an hour. “I’m just relieved to know he’s made of better stuff than his business partner. I hear another woman’s come forward with allegations about his bad behavior. And after the eyeful I got at the party, it isn’t exactly hard to believe.”
“I know,” I said with a sigh. “Chase was honest about his part in starting the competition, but Sutton took it to a whole new level. They both participated, but their motivations were never the same.” I tipped my head, looking at my friend. “Sutton acts without conscience. And I don’t think he’ll never stop on his own. But Chase wanted it all to be over with years ago. He regretted it almost from the beginning…”
“So he just likes a challenge and has a tendency toward mild exhibitionism…?” she asked, playfully.
I laughed and used my fingertips to splatter her with drops of cake batter. “Not any more than I do,” I said, teasingly. “But it’s true… there is something exciting about the possibility of getting caught.” I felt my face grow hot. “That’s one of the things I’ve learned about myself…”
“One of many, I’m guessing,” she said, watching me with bright eyes. “And there’s nothing wrong with that… just as long as you don’t get caught.” She smoothed the batter she’d just poured and opened the oven door. “I can’t believe that Becca just wanted plain vanilla,” she muttered. “So boring…”
“But lucky for us,” I replied. “She wants almost a thousand candied violets on it. Assembly and decoration alone is gonna take hours.”
“We’ll be fine,” Reese replied calmly. “Tam’s coming in after her evening classes all this week. We’ll get it done on time. She turned to face me and for a second, I was envious. She was just so… unflappable.
“But Emily… you are going to have to talk to Justine. And I’d suggest sooner rather than later. I’ve covered for you as well as I could,” she said. “But I think she suspects you’re not really spending all these nights at my place.” She smiled kindly at me. “She knows you’ve grown up… and that things are changing. And I know it’s not going to be an easy conversation to have, considering her… conservative nature…
But in the end, it’s always better to be honest. Tell her the truth,” she said, encouragingly. “She’s lived a long time… experienced a lot more than you might give her credit for.” She took my hand and gave it a squeeze. “You need to give her a chance to understand, Em.
It’s possible she might just surprise you.”
I took a salad up to my room at lunchtime, giving May and Gran time to finish their game of cards. Reese was occupied with a trip to the bank. And I was grateful for the time to collect my thoughts. I hadn’t seen Gran for two whole days…
Twenty minutes later, I could hear voices in the hall. I screwed up my courage, knowing I couldn’t avoid the conversation any longer. And I still had no idea where to even begin.
“Well, I still say it wasn’t a proper deal.” I heard Gran’s voice. “Maybe I didn’t catch you at it this time, but I will tomorrow…”
I opened my door in time to see May’s face wreathe
d in a patient, wrinkly smile. Gran stood with her cane, and wrapped it against the wooden floor. “You be here a half hour earlier in the morning, May,” she said imperiously. “And I’ll win back that dollar… if it’s the last thing I do…”
May paused long enough to give me a quick kiss on the cheek and disappeared with a backwards wave. In spite of my grandmother’s tone, she left with a smile on her face. And for the first time in months, Gran waved me back toward my own room instead of beckoning me into hers. I sat down on the edge of my bed, my heart bumping steadily against my ribs as she followed me in, and closed the door behind her…
“So, you’re home, at last,” she said, sitting down opposite me at my little writing desk. “Reese tells me you two have been very busy lately, with your newfound success.”
I nodded, clasping my hands in my lap. “The bridal shower brought in two more jobs… large ones. They want full catering as well as classic desserts. And we’re working on an emergency job right now… a cake…
It’s good, Gran. It’s all been good. But there’s something I need to explain…”
“I met your young man,” she interrupted. “Did he mention?” She was eyeing me hard, but her gaze was bright, glittering. “Very tall… very intense…
And he speaks quite highly of you.”
“That’s what I needed to talk to you about…,” I began, hearing my heartbeat in my ears. “I know you’ve always had certain expectations… and as much as I’ve tried to…”
“I do hope you haven’t been putting him off too much,” she said, blotting at her wrinkled neck with a handkerchief. “Spending so much time with Reese, and keeping such a handsome young suitor at bay.” Her face was lined with a rare smile. “I made a mistake like that once… many, many years ago… with a man who…”
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