Chase (Wolfe Trilogy, Book 2)

by Flora Dain

  Tonight he’s a no-show at dinner and now it’s getting late and he’s still at work. Better make this snappy. And if I’m interrupting something important I’d better look good …

  I inspect my scanty wardrobe, still a studenty mix of ball gowns and jeans. Nothing’s quite right. I finger my short silk wrap, a slim, costly copy of the velour robe he sometimes wears. He had the Wolfe Security logo picked out in brilliants on one breast and my own initial embroidered in silver underneath. It has a long silky sash.

  I try it with black stockings and my highest heels. Raunchy but casual. Perfect.

  I peek round his door. He’s sitting with his legs thrust out, a hand over his eyes and he’s talking quietly into his phone in Spanish.

  He’s been in here for hours. What’s going on? Things going badly? Some new launch? Cola?

  I move silently across the floor and quietly place my hands over his eyes and then lean over the back of the chair to kiss his cheek. Instantly his hand lands on my arms, hauling me forward while he carries on talking. To my joy I catch a slight movement in his lap, something stirring.

  As he talks on I wind one arm around his neck and slip the other into his shirt, where I loosen the top buttons and ease my fingers under the fine cotton. I search the springy mat of hair and come to his tiny nipple, graze it with my finger and thrill as it sharpens to a hard little nub. I pinch it gently and then move over and do the same to the other.

  Bolder now, I nibble his earlobe and lean forward, reaching down to push under the edge of his waistband.

  His breathing is getting uneven. From the tone of his voice I guess he’s winding up the call.

  I start to pull my hand away. Instantly his fist clamps round my wrist.

  ‘Going somewhere?’

  I kiss his earlobe. ‘I thought you’d be busy.’

  ‘I am. What do you want?’

  His voice is low, almost a growl. I swallow.

  ‘Guess. Anyway, I hate to interrupt. Am I allowed?’

  ‘Allowed? You’re essential. And I want to see you. Get that delectable little ass round here.’ He drops the phone and captures my other arm, pinning me to his chest.

  I kiss him again, breathing deep into his neck as I venture further down and now his erection fills my hand, hot, hard and silky. I slide my fingers all the way down his column and all the way up, thrilling to the hard ridge of muscle under the satin skin that stretches ever tighter as I fondle him. ‘Actually I came in to ask about Halloween.’

  He’s breathing deep, his head arched back, his eyes closed. His hands are still clamped on my arms and his voice is low and stirring. ‘You want a full history of the festival from earliest times, or just the summary?’

  I nip his earlobe in reproach and then gnaw it with my lip. ‘This party we’re invited to? Do I have to do anything …’

  He releases one of my arms and hauls me round the chair and onto his lap. I toss back my hair and edge my robe open so my breasts push against the satin. The sudden gleam in his eyes sends a shiver through me so my nipples stiffen, pushing against the taut, silky fabric. He folds his hands at my waist and pulls me close, his erection jutting between us, hot and eager.

  I slide the sash out of my belt loops, slipknot my wrists and then put my looped arms over his head and touch my lips to his mouth, teasing his lip with my tongue. ‘You’ve hardly eaten. You’ve hardly slept. Come and play.’

  His eyes glitter as he parts my robe to reveal the treasures within, his fingers warm and firm as he exposes first one breast and then the other, pushing the satin away and letting it slip innocently off his thighs and down my sides in a silky midnight waterfall. His eyes burn into mine as he fingers my taut stocking-clad thighs, runs his fingernail along the top edge where it cuts into my soft flesh at the inner leg, and then eases his fingers up higher, to where I gape wide over his muscular thighs.

  All at once he parts his legs. I gape even wider while he explores my openings. One hand slips round to knead and fondle me at the back. The other slides into my pulsing, swelling little folds, his fingertips sparking flickers of heat all through my groin. I can’t close, I can’t even clench, I’m splayed wide open, scared I’ll fall, helpless as sensation ripples down below and a climax starts to build.

  ‘Can I change the running order?’ His tone is harsh but we’re still on topic.

  Maybe I’m getting somewhere. His hands move upwards now, exploring the dips and curves of my naked sides, his thumbs working along my ribcage, his touch sending ripples of heat through me.

  ‘Sure. What order do you want?’

  ‘Fun now. Then food. Then bed. Then more fun. Sound good?’

  ‘Sounds good. Am I keeping you from something important?’

  He fastens on my mouth, his tongue a surge of heat and power that warns thrillingly that he’s nowhere near as tired as he looks. When he pulls away he fingers the tight satin binding my wrists with eager, lingering fingers. ‘Yes. You’re sitting on it. Get up and turn round.

  ‘I meant business-important.’ I grin as I shift position to straddle his lap, facing away from him. He guides me with firm, warm hands, keeping hold of me throughout like he’s unwilling to let me go.

  ‘I mean business too. Bend over.’ As he pushes me down he slips the sash looping my hands back over his head and leans back so my arms are stretched out behind me and straining upwards.

  Now I’m bent double between his legs, my arms pulled back and my quivering rump fully exposed to the jutting column that butts against me, eager for entry.

  ‘Keep your legs straight. Open wider.’

  His barked command is scary and now I’m in trouble. My position is almost impossible to hold for any length of time. My arms are already aching, and I’m burning up. My exposed places are swollen with need. I whimper as he runs his hand down the inside of my thigh, where my sensitive skin is newly alive to his touch.

  ‘Ella?’ His voice is deep, his breathing ragged now as he examines my rear end, his fingertips gently probing my hidden places. He’s hardly shifted position, reclining like a lord at his ease while I strain before him, my legs aching now.

  ‘It hurts. I can’t stay like this for long.’

  ‘Then we better get it over with.’ He chuckles as he seizes me by the hips and pulls me back onto him. His erection butts playfully at my rear places, teasing my undercarriage. I hear the rip of foil and seconds later he surges up inside me, filling me so full I cry out.

  ‘You OK?’ He pauses, his hands hot on my hips, his shaft deep in my belly. I can feel the seams of his flies jammed hard against my bottom and the rough edges of his upper zip on the soft, slick curve of my backside.

  I laugh quietly as I haul in air. ‘Yes, yes. Don’t stop. It’s just it feels so extreme.’

  I hardly know what to call it, being fucked backwards while I’m looped to him with my arms wrenched back, but ‘extreme’ is close enough.

  ‘OK, I’ll loosen your wrists. Hold your hands at your back.’ He rises to his feet, almost pushing me off-balance and now he thrusts for real, ramming into me hard, while he holds me fast at the hips. I strain to balance with my hands knotted uselessly at the small of my back.

  And in a sudden act of mercy he reaches round to search out my pulsing, needy places and with a precise flurry of his fingertips he delivers a belly-wrenching orgasm that rockets through me in waves.

  ‘Christ, Ella, where have you been this past week? Hold position. You’ll be the death of me …’

  My muscles are clutching him now, my belly rippling with the aftershocks of my climax. For long minutes he hovers inside me, his head thrown back, his eyes closed, as my spasms work their magic and all at once he comes too, his iron will dissolving in the white heat of my pleasure.

  As we fuse together he sinks back down on his chair and pulls me onto his lap. He winds his arms around me, his lips moving on my skin as he murmurs low. ‘Halloween? It’s all in hand. Now let’s eat. I’m starving.’

  On Thur
sday I get another call from Billy. She sounds grumpy. ‘I talked to Aaron.’

  My heart skips a beat. ‘And?’

  ‘He got pretty huffy. Said it was all water under the bridge and whatnot.’

  ‘Drat. Did he say the papers were destroyed?’

  There’s a pause. ‘Not in so many words.’ Her clipped tone hints I’m an idiot.

  ‘So, there’s nothing else we can do?’

  I hear her snort. ‘Well, I guess we could scour all the local papers in fifty states going back about thirty years on the off-chance there’s some rumour about some possible event requiring a heap of paperwork that might relate in some remote way to a successful and respectable CEO who just happened to be over-friendly with the wife of a hotshot big-time lawyer who just happens to be my boss and my boyfriend’s dad.’ She takes a deep breath. ‘But somehow I think the chances of finding anything relevant are pretty slim. Plus I’ll lose the boyfriend and the job. Plus it’ll take about two thousand years. Satisfied?’

  Now I do feel an idiot.

  ‘My advice? Drop it.’ Her tone softens. ‘One thing was odd.’

  My pulse quickens. ‘What?’

  There’s a pause. ‘Aaron looked really scared. He was sweating.’

  On Friday after classes the Formans turn up. As I pack up to leave, Wayne and his mom are standing in the doorway.

  Ms Forman smiles. ‘I jes’ came in to tell ya, Mz Dean, that letter I got? I got another today from the same people. It’s all on hold for a while. An’ I got another letter too. Here. I thought you oughta see it.’

  I skim through it and then read more closely. It’s printed on heavy triple-bond paper and informs Ms Lola Forman that in respect of any legal matter arising from her recent communication from the Kraik Corporation, Lautner Wolfe will offer assistance pro bono and free of all charges.

  I feel a lump in my throat. ‘That’s wonderful news, Ms Forman. They’re a very good firm.’

  She smiles proudly. ‘Oh, I know. They’s one of the best. Looks like my boy Luther’s already makin’ waves.’

  When they’ve gone I finally go down to the waiting car. Darnley’s already in the back seat. As I join him he winds an arm around me and kisses me. ‘Hey. Good day?’

  I kiss him back and all at once the distance between us disappears. Once more life’s a breeze. ‘The best. Lola Forman came to see me.’

  His eyes gleam. ‘And?’

  I gaze at him, serious now. ‘And she’s had a letter from Lautner Wolfe offering her free representation. Was that anything to do with you?’

  I can hardly believe it. Is this what he’s been up to? Moving heaven and earth to get his family’s prestigious firm to stand up for Lola Forman? No wonder he looks ragged. Aaron and Lydia want the whole Kraik thing buried even deeper than Darnley does. He’s wrestled not only the pain of his own past but with his father’s. And goodness knows what it’s cost him. I gaze at his profile as he looks away, apparently unconcerned.

  ‘Why me? I’m no lawyer.’ His tone is neutral.

  ‘Because if it was, I was going to say thank you.’ My finger traces the line of his jaw. ‘A very big thank you. With a costume or two and maybe some equipment –’

  ‘Whoa. You’ll put Bullen off his driving.’ Laughing, Darnley claps a hand to my mouth and then pulls me close. ‘Maybe it was me. Well, just a bit me. Do I still get the costume?’

  He’s a skilled negotiator. By the time we arrive at his place I’ve lost ground on the costume and even thrown in a handcuff or two. We’re down to the precise number of kisses and their exact location and I’m still losing.

  I’m in for a busy evening.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Next morning we set off early for New York. We travel by helicopter, conveyed smoothly from one helipad to another with glorious views over the gold, scarlet and orange treescape in between.

  I know it’s just a party, but I loved Halloween as a child. Now I feel excited all over again. And why all this mystery about costumes? I’m getting nervous now. I like to know what I’m wearing. These things need planning – make-up, lingerie, shoes all have to tone.

  I pump him for information. ‘Pumpkins? Polar bears? Am I close?’

  At last he puts a finger to my lips and his eyes gleam a warning. ‘Enough. Or I’ll leave you in the hotel.’

  I laugh and give up, glad he’s playful. But as we get airborne I notice once more how hollow his cheeks have become, how grim his jaw. The past few weeks have taken a toll. That thing in my drama class cut him deep.

  We’re booked into the Plaza. The lobby’s all flashy marble and tinted mirrors but our suite is way up high, light and airy, with views over the Hudson on one side and the roofs and pinnacles of the city on the other.

  As I gaze out over the splendour stretching away at our feet he comes up behind me, winds his arms round my waist and buries his face deep in my neck. ‘What would you like to do while you’re here?’

  His body folds around me like a blanket as he draws me close and I feel his breath on my hair. I sense instantly what he really wants as something hard stirs at my back.

  Maybe we’ll keep that for later.

  I don’t get to see New York all that often so I offer up some feeble alternatives. ‘How about touristy things? A helicopter tour? Some art?’

  I tail off as his hand slips under my thin sweater and folds around my breast, kneading softly. His body presses against me, his erection jutting hard against my rear end. A tremor runs through me as something deep down starts to pulse. I close my eyes, leaning back against him and moving sinuously against his shaft, relishing its eager heat.

  It’s an effort to speak. ‘What about you? Anything you’d like to see?’

  ‘Yep. Right here.’ He turns me round to face him and starts to peel away my light cashmere sweater and slim skirt, stripping me down to the basics, stockings, heels and underwear. I wind my arms up round his neck and hold very still as he explores me, his expression solemn, his touch electrifying.

  I kiss his cheek. ‘What happened to all the phone calls?’ He’s not made a single call since last night. The difference is startling, like he’s back from space. ‘Crisis over now?’

  I’m only playing. I know only about his family, nothing about his business methods or his difficulties.

  Instantly he stiffens. ‘Crisis?’

  Shit. ‘I thought maybe … you’ve been so busy lately.’ I tail off as his jaw softens a little and he pulls me close.

  ‘I know. I’ll make up for it, I promise.’

  All at once he finds my mouth with an urgency that scares me, his tongue sending my drumming arousal into overdrive. When he’s like this I’m helpless in his arms, a leaf in a gale. He pushes me back towards the bed and we land together, our mouths still united, our bodies entwined.

  As he rolls over onto his back and hauls me on top of him he releases my mouth and I breathe in deeply. I lean up on my elbows and let my hair brush a silky wave along his shoulder. I drop light, tender kisses on the hollows of his perfect face and weave my hands into his light, springy hair, seeing the tiny gold highlights flash and sparkle in the sunlight streaming through our tall windows.

  He watches with a lazy smile as I loosen his shirt and push it open, nuzzle the landscapes of his chest, the light glancing off the bronzed, golden skin stretched tight over the swelling muscles and sloping down to the flat plains below the waistband of his dark jeans, where the rising bulge of his growing erection pushes hard against his flies.

  His impatience is growing too. I can sense it in the way his smile darkens to a gleam and his eyelids lower as he coils to spring. And all at once, as I loosen his waistband, he surges up on top of me and now I’m pinned below him, his hungry mouth filling me as he frees his eager manhood, so hard and hot against my belly.

  He kneels up beside me on the bed, his shaft only inches from my face. ‘Here, you do the honours.’

  I watch the ripple of muscles across his upper chest, breathle
ss at the view as he reaches across to extract a foil packet from the side table where he’s already placed his watch and some coins.

  He towers over me as I shuffle up into a kneeling position and bend over before him. As I take out the condom I lunge forward and salute his erection with a reverent touch of my lips. I lick for a while before taking it fully into my mouth and riding down his length a few times to moisten him fully.

  As I do it I feel that special twitch of excitement flare deep down. Over my head he’s breathing faster. His thighs tower at either side of my face, solid statements of power. Now they flex and grow rigid as he yields to my eager mouth, my teasing tongue swirling and dabbing his shaft into a tense, stone-rigid colossus. At the same time I stroke the muscular columns of his legs, thrillingly close to my face, and reach round to fondle him as his erection leaps and surges in my mouth.

  ‘You’re good. Too good.’ His low murmur thrills through me but holds a note of warning – too much, too soon may spoil things.

  Keen to make him know how much I want to please him and how sorry I am that in seconds his delicious skin has to be sheathed in synthetic skin, I ease back and lick along his length a few times to get him thoroughly wet and then work my way right to his root and tease around the base with eager little darts of my tongue. When he’s good and wet I glance up but I’m startled at his expression. His eyes are glowing with love, his angular face tense with concentration.

  It’s almost like he’s committing me to memory.

  ‘Darnley? You OK?’

  He blinks, like I’ve derailed some private train of thought. ‘Sure. Why?’

  ‘Nothing.’ Now I’m worried, but with delicate, feathery movements of my fingers I roll the condom over him, smoothing it into place with light, teasing touches. As I kneel up he finds my mouth, plunging into me with hungry force and pushing me back onto the bed until we’re stretched out full length.