“I aim to please.”
“I’m sure you do.”
She rested against him once more and couldn’t help trailing her eyes over his long, sleek form. God, he was a beautiful man—all corded sinew and muscled strength. And that spot just below his jaw, now darkened with stubble and beckoning her in for a nibble, and she licked her lips with anticipation.
Let me know if you change your mind…
Oh, yeah. Her mind was definitely changing now.
Snickerdoodle returned from the kitchen, his muzzle wet and dripping from the drink of water he’d obviously gotten and he eyed Chase’s lap again. Shelby loved her animals, but she’d fight to the death for that spot now. Before the dog could jump back up on the sofa, she swung one of her legs over Chase’s thighs, blocking Snickerdoodle’s attempt to sit there again. The dog snuffled his displeasure and walked to his bed across the room, giving Shelby the sad-puppy look he’d honed to perfection while rooming with her.
Guilt, however, wasn’t in her repertoire tonight. Not with so much gorgeous male holding her close, his heat fueling the fire already simmering in her blood.
At her territorial move, Chase raised an inquisitive brow, one side of his firm lips quirking upward in a sexy grin. Damn. Busted. Shelby started to move her leg, but he brought his hand down on her outer thigh, his fingers tracing absent patterns across her sensitive skin. “Rethinking your decision, baby?”
“Maybe.” Playing coy and sexy wasn’t usually her thing, but with him she felt truly beautiful, truly wanted and adored. She gazed up at him and tried to put all of her feelings, all of her needs, into her eyes. “What if I am?”
“If you are, baby.” Chase scooted down in his seat and shifted slightly, drawing her body farther across his lap until she straddled him completely. “Then I am all for it.”
His stormy gray eyes grew heavy-lidded, seductive, his lips parting for a kiss. She met him halfway, tentative at first, then growing bolder as the sparks between them burst into a full-blown wildfire. Shelby dipped her tongue into his mouth, reveling in the spicy flavor of sweet wine and heady desire.
He soon took over the embrace, one hand cupping the back of her head to keep her close while the other traced down her back to the hem of her T-shirt, pushing it higher, higher, until she shivered against him.
“Like that, baby?”
“Yes.” She kissed a path from his mouth to his ear, couldn’t get enough of him, wanting to taste and touch and explore every single inch of him. “God, yes.”
He groaned and lifted her T-shirt up and over her head, leaving her in just her bra from the waist up. The cool night air brushed over her heated flesh and made her burrow deeper against him, craving his warmth.
Next, Chase undid her bra and slipped it down her arms, his gaze narrowed on her full breasts as his hands cupped her. He flicked a thumb across each of her hard nipples and Shelby arched, offering herself to him as she never had with anyone before.
She’d had lovers, sure, but never one like him. Never a man she wanted this bad, or cared for so deeply. She desperately wanted him to like what he saw, wanted to know that her body pleased him as much as his pleased her.
As if in a daze, Chase leaned forward, his gaze fixated on her breasts. Under other circumstances, she would’ve been embarrassed, would’ve covered herself and shied away from such blatant attention, but with him it all felt so right, so good, so real.
“You are so fucking beautiful, baby.” He stroked her skin with infinite care, his voice reverent. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in all my life.”
He nuzzled the side of her breast before taking her aching nipple into the warm, wet heat of his mouth—sucking, licking, torturing her with pleasure. Moisture gathered between her thighs and she ground against the stiff, hard line of his cock pressed tight against the fly of his faded jeans. She wanted him so badly she hurt.
Shelby bit her lip to keep from crying out as he moved from one breast to the other, his fingers tweaking one nipple while he suckled the other, and his free hand clutching her ass through her jeans, pressing her hard against him.
She rocked her hips against him once more and he groaned. “You keep that up baby and we won’t make it to the bedroom.”
“Who needs the bedroom?” Her brazenness shocked her, but at this point, it was true. Shelby wanted him, anytime, anyplace. She just needed him inside her. Now.
She quickly removed his shirt and scoured her nails down his bare chest, savoring his answering shudder. When her fingertips grazed the waistband of his jeans, he moaned, low and loud and full of want.
“Are you sure, baby?” Chase covered her hand with his, his tone husky with need—deep and dark as midnight. “We proceed, there’s no going back.”
Shelby met his gaze, more sure of this moment than anything else in her life. “I never want to go back. Not without you. I’ve dreamed about you, about this, since the first night we met.”
He growled, more animal than human, and pulled her down for another hot, passionate kiss. “Mine.”
“Yours.”
Like a man possessed, Chase quickly shifted her position and rolled her beneath him on the sofa, keeping his weight balanced on one arm while removing her jeans and panties with the other. “Our first time should be special, should last all night, but I want you too bad, baby.”
“I just want you inside me, Chase. Right here. Right now. I need you. Please.”
“Fuck yes!” He tore off his own pants and briefs then slicked on a condom before stretching out atop her, his body fitting hers in all the right place, his hardness melding into her soft curves.
She flexed beneath him like a lazy lioness, loving the soft heat of his skin against hers, and bent her knees to cradle him between her thighs. The tip of his rigid cock tickled her wet folds and she moaned. “Please, Chase.”
“Yes, baby.” He kissed her deeply and positioned himself at her entrance. “Ready?”
“God, yes.”
Chase entered her in one long thrust, burying himself inside her and stretching her tight walls more than any other man before. She exhaled at the fullness, savoring the fact they were finally joined, closer than close. Exactly what she craved for so long.
He nuzzled the side of her neck and whispered, “Christ, baby, you feel incredible. Hot, wet, and so fucking tight. I never want to leave you.”
“I never want you to.” She locked her legs around his waist and drew him even deeper inside her. “Make me come, Chase. Please.”
“Yes, baby.” He withdrew almost to the tip before plunging back inside her slick walls, setting a steady pace that had her hovering on the edge of orgasm all too soon. “Tell me how it feels, baby.”
“It feels so good. It feels…” At that moment, he shifted his angle of penetration to hit the sensitive bundle of nerves just inside her while his pelvic bone brushed her swollen clit. She gasped. “Ah, God. Yes. There. Right there, Chase. Oh, God.”
“Are you close, baby?”
“Yes. So damned close.”
“Good.” He kept up his brutal rhythm, pushing her nearer to the edge while she locked her ankles at his lower back and urged him onward. “I want you so fucking bad, Shelby. I need you to come for me, baby.”
“Yes. Please Chase, make me come.”
“Fuck yes, baby.” He reached between them and pinched her throbbing clit gently between his thumb and forefinger and sent her spiraling over the edge. “Let it go, baby. Let me see how much you want me. Come apart for me, baby.”
“Yes!” She clung to him, eyes closed and breath panting, riding out wave after glorious wave of ecstasy. It was too much. It would never be enough. “Oh, Chase. Yes. Please.”
He arched against her, his movements harder, stronger, building her pleasure to even greater heights even as he sought his own release. Once, twice. On the third thrust, Chase’s body went whipcord tight and he cried out, his orgasm pounding into her with such force it pushed Shelby to the brink once m
ore and she climaxed around him for the second time, her body milking his for the ultimate pleasure.
After an eternity of moments, they collapsed together into the welcoming softness of the sofa, out of breath and totally relaxed. Chase’s head rested atop her breasts while she stroked his hair.
He sighed contentedly, his long lashes brushing against her skin and his breath warm. “That was perfection, baby. You were perfection.” He raised up and dropped a lazy kiss on her lips. “Are perfection.”
“And you were amazing.” She couldn’t help asking the question hovering in her mind. “Um, was that your first time? You know, since you got out of prison?”
“Yeah.” He traced idle patterns across her stomach with his fingers. “Couldn’t have dreamed it any better than that.”
“I’m glad. I couldn’t have dreamed this any better either.”
A loud sneeze, followed by a disgruntled growl interrupted their snuggly afterglow.
Chase turned his head and chuckled as Snickerdoodle sat beside the couch staring at them with big hopeful eyes. “I think he wants to join us.”
“Too bad. You’re all mine for the rest of the night.”
“Poor guy.” He reached over and gave the dog a scratch behind the ears. “You heard what your mama said. Back to bed with you.”
At the word bed, the dog scrambled through the open studio apartment and hopped up on Shelby’s mattress.
“Well, that didn’t work out quite like I planned.” Chase placed his chin on his hand atop Shelby’s stomach and gazed up at her over the tops of her boobs. She didn’t think she’d ever seen anything more adorable in her life. “But this couch is kind of small. Maybe we should join him?”
“Maybe we should make him move instead.”
Chase stood then picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom area of the studio apartment, despite her protests.
“I can walk you know. Besides, I’m too heavy to carry.”
“Nonsense. You’re light as a feather. Down, boy.” A put-out Snickerdoodle jumped off Shelby’s bed and returned to his pillow across the room. Chase tossed Shelby down on the mattress, then disposed of the used condom before climbing in beside her, his body, she noticed with appreciation, already hardening again. “Now explain more about these dreams you have about me…”
He kissed her and she spent the rest of the night showing him in great detail all of the things she’d dreamed about doing to him and with him since the first day they’d met.
Sixteen
The next night, Chase hovered near the side employee entrance to the Lucky Ace, tension gnawing a hole in his gut. At least darkness had fallen about an hour earlier, giving him better cover for the covert nature of his mission. The alley adjacent to the door appeared empty too, making him feel a tad less apprehensive.
He leaned against the brick wall to wait for Owen. He’d texted they guy before leaving Blake’s house and feigned a need to pick something up for work as an excuse to come to the casino. Dangerous, sure, but what other choice did he have? He needed dirt on Katherine Bryant and where better to find it than in her condo?
The metal door beside him pushed open and Owen Rockford peeked his head out, punctual as always. “Hey, man. Should you be here?”
“No,” Chase said. “Definitely not. But like I said—”
“I know what you said.” Owen blocked the entrance with his muscled bulk. “Now tell me why you’re really here.”
Well, shit. Chase exhaled and kicked a non-existent pebble with the toe of the black motorcycle boot. “C’mon, Owen. If I don’t find something on Katherine, I could end up back in prison. And now Shelby’s going to end up homeless. I can’t let that happen, man.”
Owen regarded him with a narrowed brown gaze for several seconds before stepping aside and cocking his head toward the casino interior. “Whatever. Fine. Get in here then.”
They walked side by side down the back service halls toward the same entrance he’d gone out onto the casino floor with Shelby a few nights earlier. The one closest to the executive offices and the private elevator to Katherine’s condo.
“You know if you get caught, I’ll lose my job.” Owen paused outside the door to the casino. “Please, man. For both our sakes, play it cool, eh?”
“Will do.” Chase leaned a hip against the door to open it. “Cameras off?”
Owen backed away, hands up and head nodding. “I did not see you here tonight because I’m long overdue to leave.”
Great. After a deep breath, Chase headed out into the marble hallway and over to the elevators, head down and baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. He’d just reached into his pocket for his trusty latex gloves when he collided hard with another person.
“Excuse me.” Startled, he glanced up to find himself face-to-face with Katherine Bryant. Fuck. The gleam of triumph in her eyes made his skin crawl.
She clucked her tongue, shaking her head as she crossed her arms. “Chase Evans. Never a smart move to return to the scene of your crime. Didn’t they teach you anything in prison?”
Chase shoved the now useless gloves back into his pocket, his pulse thudding loud in his ears. He wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of a response. He wouldn’t.
“What’s the matter, Chase?” Katherine tilted her head and wrinkled her nose. “Worried about your new little sex toy? Be a shame for Shelby to lose that shelter.” Her tone reeked with insincerity. “Especially with her father dead. Accidents happen so easily these days, don’t they?”
Motherfucker.
All his protective instincts blended with his loathing for the bitch before him. Without considering his actions, Chase grabbed Katherine around the throat one-handed and slammed her back against the wall. The thought of anyone or anything hurting his Shelby made him damned near homicidal.
“I swear to God, you pathetic, conniving bitch. If you touch one hair on Shelby’s head or harm her in any way, I will fucking end you. Understand?”
Katherine chuckled, not appearing the least bit concerned, though her next words emerged as little more than a croak. “You never were the sharpest crayon in the box, were you, Chase? Guess dropping out of law school was a good career choice.”
“Hey!” A security guard called from the other end of the hall. Chase’s stomach nosedived to his toes. Fucking hell. He’d played right into the bitch’s hands. The guard pulled his Taser and pointed it directly at Chase. “Step away from the lady, sir, and put your hands behind your head.”
Chase did, glancing over as another guard joined the first and moved closer to frisk him. Neither of the two were Rockford employees, unfortunately, meaning, there was no way in hell he could talk them out of another trip to police central. Especially once Katherine started her show.
Coughing, spluttering, choking. She clutched her throat and stumbled forward, fake tears streaming down her cheeks as she grasped one of the guard’s beefy bicep with her shaking hand. “Thank God you should up when you did. This man is a known felon and I was terrified he’d kill me like he did my husband.”
One guard placed a comforting arm around Katherine’s shoulders and pulled her off to the side while the other secured Chase’s wrists behind his back with a set of cuffs, then radioed in for the cops.
Yeah, it’s going to be another long fucking night.
* * *
It was close to midnight before they finally released Chase from police custody. Thankfully, Marlowe had been out on another case, so at least he didn’t have to spend his time playing Twenty Questions with her again. Still, his temples throbbed and his neck and upper back were stiff from stress, but at least he was a free man again.
At least for a little while longer anyway.
He stopped at the evidence window to collect his belongings, then headed out into the brightly lit LVPD station lobby. Like Vegas itself, the place went twenty-four-seven.
No rest for the wicked, as they say.
Head lowered, he walked over to where Blake sat near t
he far corner of the space. “Thanks for coming to get me, man. I still can’t believe they dropped the charges. I figured after everything that’s happened, they’d nail my ass to the wall this time.” He looked away and cringed. “I can’t believe I walked right into her fucking trap. God, I’m such an idiot.”
“Yeah. Not exactly a brilliant move there, genius,” Blake said. “And they caught you on camera too, dumbass. Not smart at all.”
Heat prickled up from beneath the collar of Chase’s black T-shirt. “Sorry.”
“You should be.” Blake walked out of the station. Chase trailed behind him like a guilty puppy. “And for your information, I did not get the charges dropped. The most I could do was pay your bail to get you released into my custody.”
“Shit.” Chase halted at the side of Blake’s navy sedan. “I don’t have the money to pay you back right now, but you know I will. Someday. And you know I’m grateful.”
“Grateful, huh?” Blake glared at him over the roof of the car, “Grateful would be not going to jail in the first place. That would be grateful.” He exhaled loud. “Besides. What the hell was I supposed to do, Chase? Let you rot away in there?” Blake cursed under his breath and yanked the driver’s side door open. “What the hell were you thinking, going back to the Lucky Ace tonight?”
Chase released his pent-up breath and climbed into the car. “I wasn’t.”
“Damn straight you weren’t.” After cranking the engine on and revving the motor, Blake sped out of the station lot and into the bustling late-night traffic. Uncomfortable silence descended over them like a shroud.
Minutes past as the tension between them grew thicker, became damned near palpable. Unable to take it anymore, Chase attempted conversation. “So, you saw the footage, huh?”
“Yeah, I saw it.” They swerved around a corner and Blake focused straight ahead. “You know, while I was sitting around waiting for the judge to set your bail.”
Treacherous Seduction (The Rockford Security Series Book 3) Page 14