Falling For Him

by Khardine Gray

  "Hey, what's going on?" Kelly asked looking at Chloe with an I-told-you-so grin.

  "What's your name, sweetheart?" Wade asked Kelly, shifting his weight from one leg to another in a self-possessed stance that emphasized the strength in his powerful, muscular body he took pride in.

  Chloe looked him over, standing there before her, devilishly handsome with the gleam of the lights making his blonde hair sparkle. Even in a crowd, his presence was compelling. Only he could manage to bring such character and style to a simple long-sleeved black T-shirt and dark jeans. It would look too casual on anyone else.

  "It's Kelly." Kelly glanced at them both. Her date moved closer to join them.

  "Kelly, I'm Wade, Taylor's brother. You won't mind if I borrow Chloe for a while, will you? We have some unfinished business to tend to."

  Unfinished business? What a way to put it, as if they'd been involved or something.

  Chloe gave Kelly a weak look hoping she'd save her from whatever craziness Wade had planned for her, but no, of course Kelly wouldn't save her. She didn't know why she even bothered to be surprised when Kelly said, "Not at all," and offered her sweetest smile.

  Noticing her despondent reaction Kelly pulled Chloe closer and leaned in to hiss, "Go. For heaven's sakes, go with the man." She was trying to be as discreet as possible, but Wade heard her. So did her date who chuckled at her encouragement.

  "Great, you've been told. Come on, baby."

  "Stop calling me that," Chloe retorted. Wade, however, ignored her and took her hand with gentle authority to pull her away.

  Just then, Chase returned with her drink. A very puzzled look filled his face when he saw Wade holding her hand.

  "Can I help you with something?" he asked Wade.

  "Nope," Wade replied.

  "Chloe is my date."

  Chloe liked that he would be so protective of her. She opened her mouth to speak, but Wade intercepted.

  "Sorry buddy, your date just ended."

  Embarrassment flushed her cheeks, and she felt terrible when she saw the disappointment on Chase's face. It was so hard as it was to find a nice, normal guy and Wade just made her look like one of those women who came to a club with one guy and left with another.

  All she could do was look back as Wade dragged her off through the crowd. He guided her down the ornate staircase to the foyer where they could be alone. As soon as they stopped, she hit him hard in his chest. If he'd been anyone else, he would have at least said ouch, but her strike had no effect whatsoever on the solid mass of muscle her hand contacted with.

  "What is the matter with you, you jerk!"

  Wade laughed. "I didn't do anything."

  He thought it was funny to make her life miserable. What kind of person did that?

  "Wade Vanderville, grow the hell up. We are in our thirties and you act like this is some kind of playground where you're allowed to mess with me. I've had enough of your shit."

  He must have been able to see how mad she was at him, yet he continued to grin at her.

  "I was on a date. I actually like that guy."

  "How long have you known him?" He tilted his head to the side drawing her eyes to the rich outlines of his shoulders strained against the cotton fabric of his T-shirt.

  "What? What relevance is that?" And it was none of his business.

  "Come on, baby, tell me." The baby every minute was irritating enough, but then he went and picked up a lock of her hair, and that made her fume even more.

  She made an attempt to smack his hands away, but he caught her hand and held onto it.

  "Tell me." He stared deep into her eyes with that look that tended to paralyze her no matter how hard she tried to resist the effect.

  "I've known him since last night," she firmly declared.

  "Good. Forget him." He said that as simply as if he were talking about food or the weather.

  Chloe gasped and stared at him wondering what the hell he was up to. "Wade something is wrong with you."

  "Could be, but that's not the point here. The point is you're right. We're in our thirties and it's way past time to address this elephant between us."

  "What elephant?" She knew what he was talking about but wanted to make it seem like she wasn't bothered by the past.

  "The massive elephant that fuels this nonsense between us. I know we can do better things with our time."

  "Like what?" She shook her head at him.

  He smirked. "Baby, you don't want to ask me things like that." His look was filled with raw desire. She broke eye contact and frowned as she felt her cheeks warm, and only looked back to him when he released her hand and reached out to turn her face to him.

  Wade was standing a breath away from her; anyone passing by would have thought they were a couple.

  "I already know what I want." The corners of his mouth slid up into a grin. There was something dangerous about his smile. Something that made her hover between desire and anxiety. "The real question is, what do you want? And when you give me the answer don't think about it. Just do it." He turned his smile up a notch.

  She narrowed her eyes at him, not knowing what to say. All she wanted was to be the creative director at Runway. That was the only desire she'd ever had in her life. That and…

  Damn it…

  Him.

  The only other thing she'd ever wanted in her life was him, and he knew it. The arrogant smile on his face told her he did, and suddenly she felt extremely uncomfortable. She didn't want to be her stupid eighteen-year-old self again, and it was absurd that she could still think of him like that.

  "I don't know what I want," she lied. "But I do need to get back inside and salvage the remains of my date." It wasn't healthy for her to be near him.

  "No," he shook his head. "You don't need to do that. I told you, forget that guy. How about you give me your answer." His menacing smile spiked her nerves.

  "I'm not like you, or some kind of animal. I can't just do what I want, who—"

  His lips pressed over her mouth, stealing away her next words. Electricity rippled from his lips to hers and washed over her entire body. It held her in place and seized her mind, teasing her to give into the gentle thrust of his tongue as her lips parted. He tasted like raw passion, like the desire that fueled fantasies, and like that thing she needed but hadn't realized.

  How could this be?

  How could she feel like this?

  Wade pulled back with a smile on his face and looked down at her.

  Chloe felt light headed like she might faint, so she leaned against the wall behind her.

  "Why did you do that?" she asked, bringing her fingers to her trembling lips, now swollen from the heat of their kiss. As far as she knew, he didn't want her, and all the taunts were a way of goading her. Was this another game?

  "I wanted to," he breathed.

  "You didn't exactly want me in the past, is this some kind of joke to you?"

  He laughed, unphased by her question. "You were barely eighteen, and no, this is not a joke. So doll," he rested his hand on the wall beside her head and leaned in closer, tracing the line of her cheekbone and jaw with his other hand. "What do you want?"

  Her brain was nowhere to be found, neither were any form of constraints to police her thoughts. He'd given her a taste of what she wanted and was offering it up again. Instinct and want steered her hand up to his face to guide him back to her lips. He smiled as he lowered again to kiss her.

  This time when they kissed their unsated desire was on parallel to what they wanted. If Chloe allowed reasoning to guide her she would have run far away from him. Far, far away. Wade was bad for her, seriously bad news, and just wrong for her in every way, but she wanted him, and she enjoyed the taste of him. And didn't want him to stop kissing or touching her.

  He tilted his head so he could kiss her more deeply, his tongue claiming her mouth as hers tangled with his. Then he stopped, before they really got going, and pulled back. As his lips left hers and he moved his hand from
her waist, she felt the heat from their passion slip away. It slipped away and dissolved into the hazy cloud of desire that surrounded them.

  "We'd better stop there, doll, unless that promise to rock my world is still on the table." He smiled slow and sensual.

  She pulled in a breath and looked into his eyes, trying to will herself to think past her desire for him.

  "I should get back to Kelly." She signaled back to the door and tried to stop blushing as he looked at her.

  "Alright doll, now that it's clear what we both want I'll see you tomorrow."

  "Tomorrow?"

  "Yup." He winked at her and backed away. "Tomorrow." He smiled then turned.

  She watched him go, still feeling the tingle of electricity ripple throughout her body.

  What just happened?

  As her senses returned in gradual amounts, she wondered what the hell had just happened indeed, and what would happen tomorrow.

  Wade

  Obsession was a bad thing. Even for him. It was a bad thing with people with his temperament who did whatever they wanted.

  His focus on Chloe was bad enough before, but now that Wade knew what she tasted like it had awakened a desire within him that he didn't think he could control.

  Before he used to just wonder what being with her could have been like. Now it was a fantasy that robbed him of sleep, engulfed his mind with nothing else, and guided his actions.

  The next day he planned to go to Runway and see her, but his mother asked him to help her put up some shelves in her office at home. He thought it would only take an hour or two, but then she asked him to help her rearrange her files and some of the furniture. It seemed to be her way of getting him to spend time with her. He wouldn't have minded if he didn't have Chloe on his brain.

  The opportunity to see her finally presented itself in the evening.

  Wade found himself on Fawn Avenue, standing in front of the beach house Taylor lived in with Chloe and Kelly.

  Taylor answered the door on the second ring. She had her hair wrapped in a white towel and some sort of gray gravelly face mask was on her face.

  "What are you trying to do, scare people away?"

  "It's an emergency mask to calm my skin. I have zits." She started saying something else, but he was too busy scanning the place for Chloe.

  He hoped she was here.

  "Oh, I just realized this is the first time you've been here." Taylor smiled, making the mask crack a little.

  He looked back at her and nodded as he walked inside. "Great place you have here." The place suited her. He looked past the corridor, through to the living room, and up the stairs. It was very feminine and had a sweet candy-like smell. There were lots of pink and purple, flowers in vases and baskets of potpourri. "Where's everyone else?" He didn't ask for Chloe specifically because he could see Taylor obviously thought he was here to see her.

  "Kelly and Chloe are in the kitchen baking. You're just in time for cake and ice cream." Taylor's green eyes sparkled.

  He followed her through to the open-plan kitchen, adjacent to the sitting room where Chloe and Kelly were. Kelly threw flour at Chloe and laughed when it went all over her face.

  "Hey, you crazy girl," Chloe cried, rubbing her face. She reached for a roll of kitchen towel, tore of a piece, and started wiping off the flour.

  Both wore plain pink T-shirts and denim shorts. Wade admired Chloe's legs and found it hard to take his eyes off her. When she whirled around and saw him her eyes widened, and her cheeks turned that sweet rose color he liked.

  "Girls, we have company, that means we need more cake," Taylor announced with excitement.

  "Hi, Wade." Kelly beamed then glanced back at Chloe.

  "Oh good, you guys have met." Taylor giggled.

  "Yes, we have. Hey Kelly." Wade acknowledged her and then turned his focus back to Chloe, who was still looking at him.

  He held her gaze and admired her. Taylor said something he didn't hear again, but he could tell she'd been talking to him because her pitch got a little higher and then she nudged him when he didn't answer.

  "Can you guys not do that tonight, please?" Taylor chided, looking at both him and Chloe. "No foolishness and no arguments. It's fun night." She wiggled her fingers.

  "Okay," Wade replied, but went right back to looking at Chloe. He didn't want cake or ice cream or any part of fun night. What he wanted was looking right back at him with the same interest that sparked within him for her. He recalled the kiss they'd shared last night, and thought of how smooth and soft her luscious lips were. He remembered that point when she'd melted against him and gave herself to him. Wade wanted her again.

  "Wade, hello." Taylor shook his arm, disturbing the memory. Kelly covered her mouth and giggled.

  "Yes." He looked back to his sister, who by now had her arms folded and looked back at him shaking her head.

  "No foolishness, Wade, I mean it. Chloe is very stressed out."

  Chloe shot her a pained look.

  "I'm not stressed." Chloe raised her hands and widened her fingers.

  "Yes, you are." Kelly placed her hands on her hips. "Maybe for more than one reason," she teased, cutting her a sly glance.

  "I'm not stressed," Chloe repeated with emphasis, shaking her head.

  "Chloe, I watched you eat an entire box of donuts when you came home, and you were talking in your sleep." Taylor wiggled her finger again.

  Wade watched in fascination as Chloe's face reddened even more and she placed her hands at her cheeks.

  "Why don't you guys just display me on the ceiling and take turns to pin the tail on me," Chloe grumbled.

  "So, what is Chloe stressed about?" He looked at Chloe, trying to appear casual.

  "I'm not stressed."

  "Oh please," Taylor scoffed, gaping at her. "She's worried she won't get the creative director job. You know Mom never opens a new role, and if and when she does she always has someone in mind for the position before she's even announced it."

  Wade met Chloe's uncomfortable gaze. He'd known her all his life and the one constant about her was that she was always into fashion. Not as in dressing fashionable, which yes she did, but she did more than that. She studied it, emulated it, and he had to admit was en route to being a copy of his mother. Wade was certain Chloe had nothing to worry about.

  "You'll get it." He tipped his head in a curt nod and was pleased to see a small smile pull at the corners of her delicate mouth.

  "Very good." Taylor tapped his shoulder. "Keep this up. I like it. I know you guys can get along if you try."

  He agreed wholeheartedly. "Sure, we’ll try." Once he found his way back to Chloe's lips he'd be fine and would show her just how well they could get along.

  Taylor smiled wide and nodded with appreciation. "Excellent. Right, I'm going to sort out my face. And hair. I'll be back down in about half an hour."

  "How about I help you?" Kelly offered, much to Chloe's dismay. She looked like she didn't want to be left alone with him. With her cheeks tickled pink and an uneasy expression, she turned back to the baking bowls on the kitchen counter while Kelly joined Taylor and the two went upstairs. On the way up they talked about how good Taylor's mask was, and the great effects the ginger extract and banana blend would have on her skin.

  In the meantime, Wade concentrated on the beauty before him, and the effects her glowing skin were having on him.

  He made his way over to her and stood a few paces away. Wade thought he'd tone his forwardness down a notch tonight, just to allow her a chance to get used to him, and for him to get what he wanted.

  She looked at him out the corner of her eyes first, then she turned to face him, gaping at him through cautious eyes.

  "Hi," he began. His gaze moved over her flawless skin. This closeness reminded him of the past, and he conjured up the image of her naked body, perfect in every way, soft and tempting. Waiting for him to seize.

  "Hi." She brought her fingers together.

  "Stop worrying about
the job. You shouldn't worry about things like that. It's just a job."

  Laughter escaped her lips. "Says the billionaire playboy."

  "I'm not a playboy." He wasn't, not anymore.

  She laughed again. "Oh, I thought that was a joke."

  "It's not."

  "Okay." She didn't bother to hide the sarcasm in her voice. "Please don't tell me you think you're a saint."

  "I'm not a saint, Chloe." A saint wouldn't be trying to guess what color underwear she was wearing, or thinking of her naked. "I'm not a saint, not a playboy, and definitely not a billionaire."

  "Right, okay. The last time I checked you were still Wade Vanderville. You must at least think you're a billionaire."

  "No, but my parents are."

  "Of course, I see how that differentiates." Sarcasm mingled with humor. At least she wasn't looking at him with the usual scowl.

  "I plan to work, to earn a living too, but my job won't be the center of my universe. Anyhow, enough of that. Come on, let's go." He managed to tame the uncontrollable beast within for all of two minutes.

  "Go?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

  "Yeah, you may need to bring a jacket."

  "Wade, I'm baking. And even if I wasn't, the answer is no."

  She had to be the very first woman who'd ever said no to him. It felt odd, but he loved a challenge.

  "Why no?"

  "I'm baking, my friends are upstairs, and we're having fun night."

  "You'd have more fun with me." He liked this part, where she'd start blushing and look shocked at his openness and purely sexual focus on her. Now he moved closer and lowered to taste those delicious lips that fueled his obsession.

  He smoothed his mouth over hers, and the kiss immediately became fiery. Wade enjoyed her and the smoothness of her tongue on his.

  God, he wanted her bad, and he wanted her now. That was it, enough of this child's play. He pulled away from her and took her hand to usher her outside and into his car.

  But she stopped as they got out into the sitting room and pulled back, shaking her head.

  "Wade, I can't do this." She struggled to catch her breath and placed her hand on her chest drawing his attention to the hint of cleavage she displayed. "You're driving me crazy."