“And the place is lit up like a Christmas tree.”
Chaz decided to see just how lit up the front was. He could always valet park. He pulled up the circular drive and stopped at the door. “Wait till I come around.” By the time he reached the passenger side of the truck, the lobby attendant had exited the building and was nearing the vehicle.
“Park it for you, sir?” The guy was young, eager, and dressed professionally.
Chaz tossed him the keys. “Thanks.” He opened the door for Val, his gaze taking in their surroundings. “Park it as close as you can.” They might have to leave in a hurry.
Val met his gaze, taking the hand he offered. “You don’t like to take any chances,” she said, smiling.
“No, ma’am, that’s not what I get paid for.”
Chaz quickly directed Val inside, keeping his body between her and the glass door. He didn’t let down his guard until they were in the elevator heading up to her floor. She was leaning against the wall, amusement swimming in her eyes, and a smile on her pretty mouth. He had the sudden urge to crowd her into the corner and kiss her until she was breathless.
Would she fight him? The thought made him smile, especially when it occurred to him that he hadn’t had a good fight in a long time. And if they didn’t end up in bed, at least it would ease some of the sexual tension that had a grip on him. It was bad enough he wasn’t going to get a good night’s sleep on that short couch of hers.
“What are you smiling at?” There was suspicion in her tone.
Funny, he’d been about to ask her the same thing. She made the mistake of crossing her arms, which only emphasized her large breasts. Her nipples poked through the thin material like little bullets, aiming directly at him. Chaz’s palms itched to touch them, his lips burned to taste them, roll them around on his tongue until she begged him to do more.
“I was just wondering if you’re a fighter.” He decided to be truthful.
“When I need to be,” she said smartly. “I studied self-defense classes a few years ago.”
Studied? That was an interesting way of putting it. “Really? Show me your best move.”
“Oh, I will,” she said, stepping out of the elevator when the doors opened. “When you least expect it.”
Chaz watched the sensuous sway of her hips as she walked down the hall toward her door. I can’t wait.
Chapter 4
Val was very much aware of Chaz’s close proximity behind her. He made her nervous because she was attracted to him, and she didn’t want to be. No matter what he said, she knew he was a player and that his main objective, other than protecting her, was getting her into his bed. She knew all the tricks, and she wasn’t going to fall for any of them.
Ignoring him, she slipped her key into the lock, opened the door, and turned the alarm off. Next she flipped on the light switch, which bathed the living room beyond with a warm, muted glow, and dropped her purse onto an arm chair. She smiled, thinking about why the lights were set so low. It was for atmosphere, in case she’d brought someone home with her for the night. Though she hadn’t for quite some time, she’d forgotten to re-set them.
“Nice.” Chaz passed her when the room opened up, heading for the patio doors that led out onto a large balcony. He pulled the drapes closed, and swung back to her. “Were you expecting to bring someone home with you?”
Val didn’t care for his smug tone, or the sexy gleam of amusement swimming in his eyes that seemed to say he already knew the answer to that. “I never know who I might be bringing home, so I like to be proactive.”
A laugh burst from him. “Proactive? Hell, you sound more like a lawyer than a woman expecting an intimate tryst.”
Damn him, he was right! Val decided to ignore his comment. Her gaze moved to the antique grandfather clock against the wall. It was only eight o’clock, too early for bed, but she could drag her bath out and watch a little TV in bed before turning in. That would show Chaz Evans that she was immune to his charisma.
“Let me get you some bedding for the sofa.” Val turned toward her bedroom. The corners of her mouth turned up when she thought about the pink, satin sheets she would give him. Then another thought entered her head. “Do you have something to wear to bed?” She had a pretty, feminine robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door.
“I usually sleep in the nude.”
Even better. His response didn’t surprise her, though. Once again Chaz was right behind her, so close that she had no doubt he’d run right over if she were to stop short. “I can take care of that, too. Just in case you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.”
She decided that the only way she was going to be able to put up with his arrogant presence was to avoid him as much as possible. In fact, she had a good mind to sneak out in the middle of the night and show him and her father that she was her own woman. I can take care of myself, and always have.
For some reason, Hal Cramer came to mind. Val was thankful that he didn’t know what she looked like. She’d known the importance of remaining out of sight when she’d seen the hit go down, sticking around to tell the responding officers what she’d seen, and then later picking Hal out of a line-up. The other woman had done the same thing. The most Hal would be told was that there’d been witnesses. Of course, she knew with his father’s connections and his uncle being the mayor, he would be able to find out who they were easily enough. Val could only pray the officers kept her identity a secret.
She flipped on the light switch right inside her bedroom doorway and gritted her teeth. This lighting was even cozier than the living room. The warm mood screamed intimacy and seemed to emphasize the large bed. It was too much to hope that Chaz wouldn’t comment about it.
“I see you’re prepared in here, too.”
“I leave nothing to chance,” Val responded, heading for her walk-in closet. She reached for a stack of linen and an extra pillow from the top shelf. When she turned back, Chaz was in the threshold, his arms crossed and his brow arched. “Here.” She practically threw it at him.
He accepted the pink linen with a cocky grin. “My favorite color.”
Yeah right! She bit her tongue to keep from giving in to his somewhat playful, unexpected mood. What’s he up to? “I’m afraid I don’t have anything for you to wear to bed, but if you need a robe there’s one behind the bathroom door.”
“Is it pink satin, too?” His tone was laced with humor, and the glimmer in his eyes caught Val’s attention.
It suddenly occurred to her that it wouldn’t take much for him to get her into bed. He was too damned sexy. She knew the importance of keeping that thought to herself. Ex-womanizer or not, if Chaz guessed what she was thinking he wouldn’t hesitate to put the moves on her, and she was too weak to resist him.
Since he was blocking the doorway Vas was forced to raise her gaze to his. Big mistake. A sense of humor in a man had always appealed to her, and he wore his as if it was an Olympic Medal. Proudly, standing there as big as Texas itself, so sure of himself... and her.
Why am I so captivated by him? Silly question, Val. Be honest, the man gets my juices going. I’ve been thinking about him for a month, wondering what it would be like being possessed by him, even knowing what he was. Dang it! How much more complicated can my life get?
“It has pretty flowers all over it,” she finally said, realizing he was still waiting for a response.
He slowly shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t do flowers.”
“You do pink satin but you don’t do flowers?” Val couldn’t believe they were having such an inane conversation. But then, she’d started it. Her gaze ran over his six-foot plus solid frame. “Funny, I can see you in flowers.”
“Funny, I can see you naked.”
Val frowned, trying but failing to ignore how he made her feel. His gaze dropped lazily down her body, pausing at all the places that even now were melting in response to him. Her nipples were tingling, but it was nothing compared to the pulsing fire between her l
egs. The dampness she felt soaking her thong almost caused her to moan. She thought about the vibrator under her pillow again. I just might burn it up tonight.
She was determined not to give in to his charisma. “Are you going to be this annoying the whole time?”
“I must be losing my touch,” he said. Only it didn’t sound as if he was worried.
Not hardly. Val swallowed nervously, their gazes locked, and she was about to demand he move before she made a fool of herself. The ringing of the phone from the other room saved her, and forced Chaz to move. She scooted past him and dashed for her purse.
She snatched her purse up from the chair, opened it, and reached for her phone in the bottom. The illuminated face showed her that it was her father. “Hi, Dad.”
“Where are you?” he asked in his usual short, getting-straight-to-the-point-tone.
Val smiled, detecting the fatherly concern in his voice. “We went out to dinner and just got home.”
“Oh.” He swore under his breath. “I’m driving home now and I just went through a red light.”
Val could just imagine him looking around wildly to see if there were any police in the vicinity. “You worked late.”
“Had to do some last minute preparation for the Jenkins trial tomorrow. You’re not alone are you?”
Val rolled her eyes. “You know I’m not.” She reached down and removed her heels. “Is everything okay?” A movement out of the corner of her eye caused her to turn. Chaz had set his bed linen down on the sofa and was standing there, just watching her.
“Yeah, I haven’t heard anymore about Cramer. When are you and Evans leaving for vacation?”
“First thing in the morning, why?”
“Just curious.”
She could visualize his shoulders lifting in a shrug. “Dad, I thought you hired Evans Security so that you wouldn’t have to worry about me.” Val watched Chaz pick up the TV remote and aim it toward the TV.
“When you have children some day you’ll understand.”
Val was so tired of hearing that. She decided to change the subject. “Hey, speaking of cases, I don’t think Bartow is qualified to handle the Sony divorce case.” Jasmine Sony was a barracuda, and out to milk her soon to be ex-husband for all he was worth. She would take one look at Bartow, and have him eating out of her hand in a minute.
“That’s why I gave the file to Samson. Don’t worry about your active cases. I’ll be closely supervising them. Now, what should I tell Craig?”
Noticing Chaz was occupied with something on TV, Val walked back to her bedroom. “What do you mean? Don’t tell him anything. We’re no longer involved.” As she was speaking she unsnapped and unzipped her jeans.
“Well, he’s going to ask about you. We have a golf game tomorrow afternoon. I still think—
“Dad…” Val shot in a warning tone. She shimmied out of her jeans and tossed them to a chair. “I’m not going to talk to you about Craig. He’s off limits.” Why couldn’t he get that through his stubborn head? She went to a dresser and opened a drawer, pulling out a black satin nightgown.
He sighed as if he were annoyed.
“And whatever you do, don’t tell him about Hal Cramer.” The last thing Val wanted was Craig’s interference. They might not be engaged anymore, but they were still friends, and he would be worried sick about her. “I mean it, Dad. I don’t want Craig involved.” She expertly squirmed out of her blouse and bra and added it to the jeans.
“Well, if you’re sure.”
“I am. Now, I’m going to take a nice long bath, and then turn in early for a change.” Val turned toward the door to exit her room, coming face to face with Chaz. Her eyes grew round. How could I have forgotten he was here?
“I love you, dear.”
“I love you, too, Dad.” She heard the click that indicated her dad had disconnected. She closed her phone.
A fiery flush engulfed Val’s body when she realized the only thing she had on was a lacy thong. Seeing the way Chaz’s gaze moved over her, slowly, like a predator sizing up his quarry, it was amazing she didn’t go up in flames. She quickly brought her arm up with the nightgown draped over it, shielding her breasts from his view.
“Too late. I already got an eyeful,” he said with a satisfied smirk. And it didn’t appear he was done looking. His gaze moved past her.
Val turned her head, seeing her naked backside in the mirror over her dresser. “You’re supposed to be watching TV,” she said in her defense. Having his gaze on her was almost like a physical caress. It certainly produced the same results.
“Why?” His gaze moved over her again, with lazy slowness. “When I can be watching you.”
Val’s whole body began vibrating with desire. “Well, I hope you like what you see.” If she weren’t shielding her nudity with her nightgown she would have slapped her hands on her hips.
There was that smirk again. “You’ll do.”
Instant anger infused Val. She’ll do? Why that arrogant ass! He’d said it like he’d seen better, and was willing to lower his standards if he had to. She wasn’t vain, but she knew she had a nice shape, having been told on more than one occasion that she had a sexy body. Maybe her breasts were a little on the large side, but her tall, slender height carried them well.
His expression indicated that Chaz was aware that he’d angered her, but there was something else in his eyes, a dark, smoldering emotion dueling with the fading glimmer of humor. Women’s intuition told Val that he wasn’t as immune to her as he’d like her to believe. Instead of slapping his face, as she itched to do, she decided to test him.
“Well, then,” She lowered her arm and watched with satisfaction when his gaze returned to her breasts. “I guess I’m safe.” Her nipples were already hard, and a tremor of deep responsiveness traveled from the crowned peaks of her breasts to her tingling pussy. Shooting for nonchalance, she took a step around him to continue to the bathroom.
Without warning, a powerful arm wrapped around her waist and Val found herself being pulled up against his strong body. She caught her breath, aware of the large erection throbbing against her butt. The arousal inside her belly popped, spreading a current of pleasant sensation throughout the rest of her body. She moaned before she could stop herself.
“Guess again, baby,” Chaz said against the back of her ear. “You might be safe from Cramer, but you’re far from safe from me.” With that he took the lobe of her ear inside his mouth, gently savaging it with his teeth. He seemed to know exactly how much pain to inflict before it turned into pleasure.
A wild shiver went through Val, releasing the floodgates of warm desire to pool between her legs. She moaned low in her weakened state. There was no way he could have missed it. His cock hadn’t missed it, reacting strongly against her bottom. Before she realized it she was thrusting back.
Chaz groaned low, and his breathing picked up. His arm slid from around Val’s waist, and then his hands were smoothing up her body until they were beneath her breasts. She strained against him, yearning for him to take the tingling mounds in his hands. Finally he was doing just that, weighing her breasts in his palms, and tweaking her nipples with just enough roughness that she felt her thong get soaked all over again.
She bit down on her bottom lip to keep from crying out. The nightgown slipped to the floor. One of Chaz’s hands abandoned a breast to glide down her body in a sensuous path that took him to the top of her thong. Val’s breathing turned harsh as she willed him to complete his journey and put her out of her misery. When he slipped his hand beneath her thong she was unprepared for the intense feeling of pleasure having his hand cup her pussy produced.
She hissed.
He sucked in his breath, his cock pushing hard against her.
Val’s head went back against Chaz’s chest as weakness invaded her limbs, and she was certain she was going to slip to the floor. His fingers toyed with the coarse hair covering her mound, twirling and tugging until finally he slipped a long, thick digit insi
de her pussy.
“Yes!” God, did I say that out loud?
“Fuck, Val, you’re already wet for me.” Chaz murmured into her ear, sliding his finger in and out of her pussy in slow motion.
More than once he paused to explore her labia, and when he discovered her clit Val cried out with ecstasy, bringing her arms up, and wrapping them around his neck. It was either that or slink to the floor. He wrapped a hand around her breast, caressing it with rough desire, while his other hand continued to probe her aching loins. As his movements picked up speed, her body bowed sharply, as if an electrical current were holding her captive.
As Val strained toward an orgasm, she moved her hips against Chaz’s finger with wild abandon, and with one thought on her mind-she wanted to come. Please don’t let him talk! She couldn’t help wishing, as she moved closer to climaxing. Talking while she was nearing release always ruined it for Val. It tore into her concentration like a hot knife slicing through butter. Please don’t let him talk!
“You have a sweet cunt, Val,” Chaz grated into her ear. “Next time I’m going to eat it.”
Oh! My!God! Val screamed inside her head, exploding around Chaz’s finger. Apparently it depended on what was being said. The combination of his hot breath against her ear and his erotic comment made her lose total control. She tripped over the finish line and climaxed hard, convulsing as if she were possessed. With his finger buried deep inside her pussy she moved jerkily against him.
Chaz didn’t give her time to come down from the wave she was riding. Withdrawing his finger, he flipped her around and kissed Val roughly and passionately, forcing his tongue inside her mouth and mimicking what she wanted his cock to do in her pussy. Feeling weak, and with her body still pulsing from such an explosive orgasm, Val was thankful for his strong embrace.
As Chaz worked his mouth masterfully over hers, he was grinding his lower body against hers. Val wanted his cock inside her, had never needed anything more. She fumbled to undo his belt buckle, and then moved on to the snap and zipper. Once the zipper was lowered, she didn’t waste any time delving inside and grabbing his meaty shaft. It was monstrous, and it took some effort to pull it free.
Burning Hunger Page 3