Mysterious and alluring, her body promised sweet bliss unlike anything he’d ever had the good fortune to experience. Being with her, in her, tasting the ripe sweetness of all that was Lacey, brought a new understanding to Chance of just what had been missing in his life.
“Mine,” he growled, finally burying himself in her fist-tight sheath. Her moan of surprise and delight only spurred him on. When she lifted her legs, wrapping them around his waist, allowing him to sink even deeper into her luscious depths, he lost it.
Gathering her hands within his, Chance once again held her to the mattress as she begged for release, her body writhing beneath him in sensuous abandon. He intertwined their fingers, then held on for dear life as he picked up the pace.
She met him stroke for stroke, her hips pumping to meet his even as their pace became frenzied. Spiraling out of control, Chance bellowed his release as the feminine muscles of Lacey’s pussy clenched around him in rippling waves.
* * * *
“Oh my God, that was great!” Lacey was the first to speak.
She seemed awed at what had happened and pleased as well, with herself. A beautiful smile curved her lips, her eyes shone with pleasure.
“I’ve never had it happen at the same time. Hell, it hardly every happened at all, unless I got myself there.”
Several thoughts crossed Chance’s mind. The first was that he didn’t want to know a fucking thing about her sex life before him. That he wanted to yell from the rooftops. As far as he was concerned, there was no past, only a future for the both of them.
On the other hand, the thought that he’d accomplished what her ex couldn’t manage made him want to strut around with his chest all puffed up. Then there was the mental image of Lacey taking care of her sexual frustrations on her own. All sorts of wicked ideas sprouted with that thought.
“I want you to show me, Lacey. One day soon, I want you to make yourself fly for me, while I watch.”
Her pupils dilated at his words. The pink flush of her cheeks deepened, giving her a wanton look. When her tongue peeked out to moisten her lips, Chance couldn’t help but groan. His cock, which was still buried in her warm sheath, twitched in awareness.
Lacey smiled again, this time allowing a bit of naughtiness in the quirk of her lips as her eyes shone brightly. “I will if you will.”
Lacey said the words as she squeezed him with her inner muscles. Her smile grew with every curse and groan to leave Chance’s lips as he began moving within her once again.
Chapter Seven
Lacey woke deliciously sore and alone in her bed. There was no time to get upset over that fact. She was going to be late for work as it was. Throwing the sheet aside, she climbed nude from the bed, then made her way across the room toward the bathroom, where she took a quick shower.
She hastily dressed and gave her hair a quick brush, praying all the while that the day wouldn’t continue to spiral downhill. With barely enough time for a cup of coffee, Lacey headed for the kitchen.
There on the counter lying next to the coffeemaker was a handwritten note. Lacey’s mouth curved as she read the missive letting her know that Chance had gone to the ranch to tend to his chores and would be back by noon to take her to lunch.
So, the day wouldn’t be lost after all. Her breath hitched just thinking about what might happen when Chance finally made it back to her.
Lacey worked through the morning, massaging her clients while either talking quietly of everyday life or nothing at all. The quiet camaraderie she shared with her them made her career choice all the more wonderful.
As the day wore on, her anticipation grew. Lacey silently taunted herself for being so excited over a simple lunch. It wasn’t as if Chance would jump her on sight, although the effect that visual had on her body was instantaneous and a bit troubling. Her heart was dangerously close to being lost for good.
The thought of losing her heart to Chance scared her shitless.
It was almost lunchtime. Chance was due back soon. Lacey’s fingers trembled slightly her nervous excitement was so great.
“Bye, Ted. Stay out of trouble.” Lacey gave him a conspiratorial smile as he reached for the door.
“See ya, Lace.”
Ted pulled the door open as he winked his goodbye to Lacey. She couldn’t help but sigh when she spotted Chance standing on the threshold. The look on his face told Lacey exactly how unhappy he was to have met up with Ted Snider, firefighter extraordinaire, in her presence once again.
She opened her mouth with every intention of deterring the argument to come when Ted held up his hand.
“Whoa there, cowboy. I’m here for a massage and a massage only, and I’m too fucking relaxed to fight with you now.” The words were spoken casually, with no heat. Ted moved around Chance before once again turning around. “If you give a shit about Lace at all, you’d stop acting like the jealous boyfriend and start acting your age.” Lacey knew Ted’s words hit their mark when Chance’s hands balled into white-knuckled fists at his side. It wasn’t until Chance took a menacing step forward that she interfered by placing her hand on his arm.
Chance said nothing in return; he merely inclined his head in acknowledgement.
When Ted was gone, Chance closed the door with a snap. He was tense, his large body wound tight. Lacey could see it in his stance, in the way his jaw clenched, causing the muscle at the side of his face to twitch.
She longed to soothe him, to tell him how she would never dream of being with another man while she was involved with him, but anger at not being given the benefit of the doubt wouldn’t allow the action.
Chance stalked directly to her. Without saying a word, he pulled her into his arms and slanted his mouth over hers in a kiss so masterful it made her toes curl. Lacey tried to remain stiff in his arms but the more she objected with her body, the deeper he took the kiss until his mouth devoured hers.
The feel of his tongue stroking beneath her upper lip just before he sucked it into his mouth, tugging sharply, was the last straw. His action sent a coil of desire spiraling straight to her pulsing core.
Her moan of aroused defeat filled the room. Lacey moved impossibly closer, burrowing in until there was not even a millimeter between them. Once comfortably ensconced in Chance’s tight hold, she melted against his large frame and let her passion flow.
She kissed him back as if she might never get the chance to taste him again. With her hands around his narrow hips, Lacey proceeded to run her fingers along his spine, teasing and touching until Chance growled low in his throat and broke the kiss.
He stared at her, his brown eyes so intense Lacey felt as though he could quite possibly see right through to her soul.
“I thought he came on Tuesdays.”
Lacey’s thoughts were still jumbled, her lips still swollen and tingling due to their delicious kiss that it took her a minute to comprehend what he was saying. When the accusation in Chance’s deep voice finally penetrated the lust-induced barrier of her brain, she tried to pull away.
He held tight, the steely bands of his arms around her didn’t budge an inch. “Now don’t go stiffening up on me, darlin’. I just asked a question.”
Lacey couldn’t help the cynical laugh that burst from her mouth. With both palms now flat on his chest, Lacey pushed. Chance loosened his hold enough to allow their bodies to part but no more. With as much dignity as possible, even though she wanted to cry at the unfairness of the situation, Lacey threw her head back, tilting her chin at a stubborn angle.
She was not going to let this man bully her. Been there, done that, her mind taunted. She’d let her ex-husband get away with it for far too long, but she sure the hell wouldn’t let it happen again, even if it meant never seeing Chance again on a personal level.
Just thinking it caused pain deep in her chest, but Lacey wasn’t about to lie down and play the victim.
“No, you weren’t asking, you were accusing.” Lacey knew as soon as she opened her mouth that she should have just as
ked him to leave. Every ounce of her recent frustrations came pouring out then and, although humiliated by what she perceived to be weakness, she just couldn’t seem to stop.
“Ted is a client, nothing more. Not that I owe you any explanations.”
Chance released her and turned to pace across the room, his agitation at her words obvious. When he turned back toward her and opened his mouth to talk, Lacey interrupted.
“Don’t! I’m not done. I lived for years with a man who, while out screwing anything with legs, would come home and accuse me of the very same. Because his guilt ate at him, I was an easy target and I let it happen, but I’ll be Goddamned if I ever let it happen again, Chance, so if you can’t stop acting like I’m going to fuck anything with a dick, then I think it would be best it we call it quits now while we’re ahead.”
The look on Chance’s face was almost comical. His head snapped around so quickly, Lacey was surprised he didn’t end up with whiplash.
“What in the hell are you talking about?”
Chance’s voice boomed through the room as he took hold of her arms. Although able to easily overpower her petite frame, he did nothing more then shake her. “Don’t you ever fucking talk about yourself like that, Lacey. I’ll have you bare-assed over my knee so fast you won’t know what the hell happened.”
Lacey wondered if all men were clueless or if she had just been blessed twice in the same lifetime.
Chance glanced down where his hands still gripped her arms as if he wasn’t aware of the hold he still had on her. Dropping his hands, he cursed viciously. He lifted a very large hand to his face then lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“I’m sorry sweetheart. I had no right to put my hands on you like that.”
Lacey laughed. After all that had just been said and done, after threatening to spank her, the idiot was worried about a little shake.
“This isn’t funny, dammit!”
Lacey watched Chance. His movements were jerky, not his usual fluid rolling cowboy gait. She lifted a brow in a sarcastic gesture. “You accuse me of fucking my client and threaten to spank me for saying as much, but it’s the fact that you shook me that has you all worried.” She shook her head in defeat. There was just no getting through to the opposite sex, evidently, and at this very moment in time, it was too damned tiresome to keep trying.
Lacey turned from him. Her plan was to head into her kitchen and drown her sorrows in a pint of double chocolate ice cream, but Chance’s next words stopped her in her tracks.
“I’m jealous, dammit! It drives me crazy just thinking about your hands all over another man, Lacey.”
The words were spoken low, forced out in a rush, but Lacey heard every one and felt the unspoken truth Chance had decided to share with her. Her heart swelled until she thought her chest would burst.
* * * *
“Damned stubborn-ass woman,” Chance muttered as he stalked back across the room toward Lacey. Her face still showed a hint of surprise over his heated admission. Didn’t she understand how just the thought of her hands dancing across the flesh of another man’s body affected him?
To know that every stroke and caress was doled out lovingly for a career choice she loved as much as he loved ranching, and not for his benefit, was enough to make Chance’s blood boil.
“I know it makes no sense, Lacey but dammit, I’m possessive of what’s mine.”
He knew immediately he’d not chosen the right words. Lacey’s shoulders stiffened and her spine snapped straight as she placed her hands on her hips. Her eyes shot blue lasers, her anger evident in every nuance of her features.
She’d never looked more beautiful, and Chance wanted nothing more than to toss her over his shoulder and cart her off to the bedroom where he could have his wicked way with every inch of her luscious body. Before he broke down and did just that very thing, Chance figured he’d better make amends and take Lacey to lunch as he’d planned.
“You don’t have to say it darlin’, I already know how you feel but I won’t make excuses for my feelings either.”
He shook his head briefly before touching her lips briefly with his own. “Let’s go to lunch, baby.”
Surprised that she gave no argument in return, Chance claimed Lacey’s hand, then tugged her gently to him before leading them to the door, their fingers entwined.
The walk to the local sandwich shop was a short one. The weather was beautiful. Clear blue skies with only the slightest breeze to ruffle Lacey’s hair and cause her scent to tease Chance’s senses, made the fact that she was with him all the better.
In no time they were seated and eating. Chance wanted more than anything to toss every dish covering the surface of the table to the floor, so he could splay Lacey across its surface and bury his face between the creamy smooth flesh of her thighs.
Wickedly sensual thoughts, such as tasting every inch of her body, then burying himself to the hilt in her heat, made his cock twitch and rise to the occasion. Chance shifted his weight in order to ease the discomfort his rigid length caused between his thighs. They needed to get back to Lacey’s place so he could turn each vision into reality.
Chance tugged Lacey from the booth shortly after she finished chewing her last bite of food. His roguish grin caused her cheeks to pinken even as a wide smile curved her lips causing her cheek to dimple.
Leaning in, Chance flicked his tongue across the dimple before moving on to her lips to taste her sweetness. He didn’t release her from his hold or leave the heat of her mouth until a group of teenagers walked by and made several sarcastic comments.
Pulling away, Chance said, “Sorry darlin’, lost myself there for a minute.” He released the taut hold he had on Lacey’s ass, a virtually impossible feat but one he managed with a groan of frustration.
They’d only walked a few blocks when Chance could no longer hold out. Backing Lacey into an ally, he lowered his mouth to hers. Their kiss was fierce and passionate in its intensity. By the time he lifted his head from hers, nipping her bottom lip in farewell, she was shivering in his arms.
One hand held tightly to his neck, the other to his head as if she was unable to let go.
“Damn darlin’ you taste good.”
“Mmm, you too.” She murmured the words against his neck just before Chance felt her hand move across the flesh of his bald head. “What made you decide to go bald?” Lacey asked the question, her hazel eyes searching his.
Chance gave a mocking chuckle. “Clay and I made a bet over the sex of his and Bobbie’s baby. He wanted a little girl to coddle and I tortured him the whole time with all the reasons why the baby was going to be a boy.”
Lacey laughed. Damn how he loved her husky laugh. “I take it you lost.”
“Yeah, you could say that but, then again, the feel of your hand rubbing across my naked skull makes me wonder.”
“Is that why you’ve kept it this way?”
“Not originally. Originally, I found I liked being bald, although the maintenance to stay smooth is a pain. But now that I’ve felt your hands on me, I know it’s worth it.”
Lacey’s pupils dilated and her cheeks flushed, making it impossible for Chance not to kiss her again. It wasn’t until he felt the silky bare skin of her pert breast beneath his palm that he realized just how out of control he was getting.
Reining in every ounce of his waning will power, Chance backed away. “Sorry sweetheart,” he explained when she continued to stand there, eyes wide. “We’d better go.”
They had only made it another block or so when Chance noticed someone in the window of the local lingerie shop. She appeared to be dressing a mannequin in a frothy, barely-there set.
“What are you doing?” Lacey’s voice was husky, proving to Chance that their kiss had affected her just as much as it had him.
Chance didn’t answer her question as they walked through the door. Instead, he led her to the back, where he assumed the changing rooms would be. Right outside of the small curtained-off
room was a plush looking chair.
Without divulging why, Chance gently pressed Lacey into the chair. “Stay right here, baby.” He laced his voice with just enough steel so she would know he meant business. Instead of being afraid or sulking as many women would do, Lacey upped the ante.
“And if I don’t?”
The mischievous twinkle in her sparkling blue eyes caught his attention, as did her pink tongue peeking out nervously to wet her kiss-swelled lips.
Leaning in, he nipped her full bottom lip. “Get up and your ass will be as red as your lips.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle when her jaw dropped before she closed it with a snap. Her eyes narrowed in challenge but she made no move to disobey his order. With no more than a quick look to be sure she stayed put, Chance wandered back to the front of the store where he began to look through racks and bins of some of the sexiest undies he’d ever seen.
“May I help you?”
Chance turned to find himself looking almost eye to eye with a tall stately woman who was built like a fence post. “Yes ma’am, I’m looking for some things for my girlfriend.” He gestured to where Lacey sat. Her eyes bore into him with an intensity that kept his cock half-aroused.
“I see.”
Chance wasn’t sure what the woman saw but whatever it was, it must not have bothered her because within minutes his arms were overflowing in lingerie. Everything from wisps of lace and silk to leather and buckles adorned the dressing room before she finally stopped.
The height of Chance’s arousal was overwhelming just from imagining Lacey in all the tiny outfits strewn about. He tried not to think about how easily his body reacted to her or about how light his heart felt when she was around. Pushing thought of all except seeing Lacey in as little as possible aside, Chance helped her from the chair, then lowered his lengthy frame into its cushioned softness.
“Try some of those pretties on for me, sweetheart.”
Lacey looked from him to the store clerk; then back to him again. Chance wished he could see inside her head, hear what her inner thoughts were saying. He bet, whatever it was, they weren’t being quiet. She was more than likely arguing with herself, trying to think of a reason not to do what he’d asked.
The Chance of a Lifetime Page 6