by Ciara Cole
“But I’m thinking I could fast-track my way to achieving my true aim,” the redhead said with sultry invitation. “To get up close and personal – in more ways than one, with the city’s hottest bachelor whom I…”
“Forget it,” snapped Chace.
Emily was too busy being shocked by the woman’s blatant behavior to notice how Chace seemed to curve his frame protectively into hers as he responded to the woman. Emily’s eyes caught with the green-eyed female who seemed not only unrepentant, but even snooty as she spent several seconds staring Emily down.
Was this happening right now? thought Emily incredulously. She’d thought stuff like this only happened in really bad TV dramas.
The redhead took in Chace’s shielding stance as he stood close to Emily, his arm familiarly around her waist. All the woman could do was huff in disdain while Emily simply stood there in outrage as the redhead spun and strode off into the restaurant after her friends.
“Good riddance,” Chace muttered, while Emily resisted the urge to march away herself after that scene, but instead walked calmly outside the building with Chace.
Emily stayed silent while replaying the last few minutes in her head. It shouldn’t bother her if women got attracted to Chace or the money and everything else he represented. Neither should she care how they showed it such as throwing themselves at him as the redhead had just done.
So why did her mood feel dampened as she felt the sudden urge to simply head home and sort out her mixed-up emotions?
Chace wouldn’t be the astute man he was if he didn’t notice the recent little exchange with the redhead was giving Emily cold feet. He swore underneath his breath and gently grabbed her elbow to turn her to face him.
“What just happened…had nothing at all to do with me. That woman and others like her – it’s all on them and how they choose to act. I don’t set myself out to attract such attention.”
“Of course not,” Emily said drily. “I mean, you may well be the playboy type and certainly look it, but something tells me you wouldn’t go for the cheap or easily accessible…prospects. You like the thrill of the hunt.”
Emily faced him squarely while his steady gaze held hers. “That’s why someone like me would interest you – if only for that fleeting time. I don’t just bend over simply because you asked. I never have. But what happens when you eventually tire of the game?”
“That’s the exact opposite of the way things stand with you,” Chace said with a creased brow.
Emily sighed. “Either way, it doesn’t really matter does it?”
Just before Chace could reply, a gleaming black Mercedes pulled up with a uniformed chauffeur at the wheel. Emily turned to Chace, about to suggest she’d just take a cab and head home – alone.
Then she saw the warning glint in his eye and the look could only be called stern.
Oooh, so he’s going to be like that. Emily bit on her lip, undecided as excitement warred with a feeling of self-preservation. I don’t belong in his world, nor he in mine, she thought hazily. His world was stalking reporters, enticing redheads, and flashy cars. But each time she looked into his eyes, she never stopped wishing she did belong. And the futility of that seemed worse than when she was younger and dumber.
Emily realized she was at a turning point when without another word, Chace swerved and went round to get in on his side while the chauffeur who’d since emerged from behind the wheel, already held Emily’s door for her.
“Miss Cortes?” the burly, bald-headed, and affable looking chauffeur shocked Emily by saying deferentially and with a slight nod. He was obviously waiting for her to get in. But would she?
Not dwelling on the issue of how come Chace’s driver whom she’d never met before even knew her name, Emily chewed on her bottom lip and ruminated how much she really, really hated Chace’s cockiness. He’d settled in the back and leaned close to Emily’s side, his dark brow arched. He was leaving the choice all up to her.
Emily couldn’t deny she was intrigued by his take it or leave it challenge. Drawing a deep breath, she finally gave the driver a smile and thanked him before slipping into the car.
With them on their way, Emily chose to glance in Chace’s direction, expecting smugness. But his gaze which he fixed on her was filled with something deeper and far too intense to be anything but the same anticipation she felt.
It was almost as if he’d tried to let her know that though he did enjoy the chase, he also liked the thought that the woman could make the critical move, just like dominant man expecting a sign of submission from his female.
Emily hid an inner smile. She didn’t think she was exactly the meek type, but even she couldn’t deny she liked a man who kept her on her toes, someone who could handle her with the right touch of indulgence and control.
That didn’t mean she was reading anything more into this than there already was. She needed to discover how far this simmering heat they shared could take them – one night, a week?
Don’t think past this moment and the next, Emily warned herself as she managed to look away from Chace’s piercing gaze, settling into the plush seat as she closed her eyes and willed the burning ache between her thighs to subside.
Emily didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep till a gentle hand in her hair stirred her awake. Chace was brushing back her curls from her temple, and her eyes fluttered open to meet that beautiful gray gaze.
Before Emily could even think, Chace tipped her chin with his thumb and kissed her, feasting on her mouth like a man starved. Emily whimpered and slipped her arms around his neck, instantly in heat for him – only him.
Their passion was halted moments later as Chace reluctantly drew away. “I’ve wanted to do that since you showed up at the restaurant in your little pink dress. I’m going to enjoy peeling it off you soon,” he rasped, plucking at her lips before grabbing her hand and guiding her out of the car with him.
His driver stood holding the door open for them and Chace said “Thanks, Lennox.” So Emily could finally put a name to the guy. He gave her a smile and another slight bow of his head. Cheeks heated from the knowledge that he’d possibly witnessed the steamy kiss just now, Emily gave a semblance of a smile and couldn’t move fast enough after Chace. Damn, she was no exhibitionist, but it felt exciting to know they’d been watched getting hot and heavy.
It took a moment to realize this wasn’t Chace’s place she’d been to the last time. Taking note of her surroundings Emily observed it was some kind of manor house with no other buildings in sight, just stretches of trees and road. She turned to Chace in surprise. “This is just another one of my many homes in the city. It was much closer to the restaurant and to the air strip where I keep my jet. I’m going on a trip early tomorrow.”
“Oh.” Emily bit back her disappointment. So it was to be a one-night thing, after all. Well, okay. She didn’t have high expectations, anyway. Maybe one night was all they’d really need.
“Your home is beautiful,” she heard herself say as she looked around, wondering just how many houses a person needed in the same city. This was much different from his last one which had spelled “bachelor pad,” for the most part. These surroundings were more inviting and heart-warming, giving the sense of a family home. The kind of place you’d love to have warm meals waiting for your man when he got home from work, while the little ones sleep in their bedrooms upstairs.
Emily shook the scenario off instantly. She came up here tonight to get laid, simple. No use thinking about a future playing wifey to Chace.
There was silence as she turned around and found Chace standing some distance away, leaning against the wall and staring at her. That intense look always sent her inner folds swelling and twitching with fiery desire.
“Now that I’m here,” she began, trying to think up something satirical and confident, much as if to tell him she did stuff like this all the time, came back home with a guy just to get down and dirty.
Not that Chace was just any guy. He was embedded
somewhere deep in her heart she hadn’t fully submerged yet. Was she still in love with him? Maybe this one night together would help her find out.
Chace moved from his place and closed the gap between them. Even the way he moved spelled danger, but Emily wasn’t running – though she knew in her heart she should.
“Now that you’re here,” he echoed when she couldn’t say more. He cradled her throat in his big hands, his touch gentle, yet holding a trace of superior potency. “You’ll see that you belong and that I’d never do anything to hurt you. Yet you’re still scared, aren’t you.”
Emily’s eyes darted. Much as she hated the thought of Chace seeing her fear, obviously she hadn’t been able to hide it that much. “Yes,” she finally said, lifting unwavering eyes to his. She was glad when he didn’t ask what exactly she was scared of.
His gaze narrowed into icy gray orbs of molten promise. “I’ll have to do something about that.” His tone was husky and seductive. His thumbs stroked against her jawline and it was the most tender caress she had ever felt.
Somehow Chace being tender put her too much on the defensive. She didn’t need to see this side of him – didn’t want to forget the kind of man he was and how getting what he wanted was what he was really all about.
“Don’t lead me around, Chace. Please,” she said softly yet clearly. “Now that I’m here…the best gift you can give me is your honesty. We both know what we both need right now is to keep it real.”
Suddenly, Emily wasn’t sure what she saw blazing in his eyes. It was gone too fast before she could truly grasp it. Then came the words from his lips that made her spine tingle.
“Take off your dress.”
He’d moved a small distance away. The command in his tone and gaze did impossible things to Emily’s rampaging hormones. She’d never seen him look so remote, yet with a darkening flame in his eyes which told her how much he was reining himself in.
Emily shrugged her dress off her shoulders and let it drop to pool at her feet. Her underwear was in matching pink with chocolate brown lace and ribbons. Chace came forward, reaching out a hand and cupping between her legs. His fingers hit the moist spot and rubbed it in circles.
Emily got wetter and wetter. “Pretty,” said Chace, while Emily drew in a hissed breath and bit off a moan. She felt him slip a middle finger beneath the lace and trace over her puffy slit. “Very pretty,” he added, before hooking a finger and easing the fabric aside.
Emily’s mouth parted wide in a gasp and Chace pushed into her wetness. Her knees buckled, but he caught her easily. Moments later, she felt the giving softness of the sofa underneath her as Chace placed her on her back.
His body instantly covered hers as he first crushed her lips with his, kissing her hotly. Then he moved his lips over the apple of her cheeks to her neck, biting into her flesh there. Emily arched her back, head flung to the side as Chace found her nipple through the lace of her cup. He bit there, too, right through the fabric then tongued it wet.
Emily’s hands reached over her head to grasp any kind of purchase to keep her from grabbing for Chace’s hair and pulling hard at the roots like she wanted to. Oh God. His mouth there was so good, even with the barrier of the lace. The texturing made it all the more sensual and arousing. She whimpered his name.
It was then that he edged even lower, his face positioning between her spread thighs. Emily’s deep moan escaped before she could stop it, as his tongue began sliding up and down her swollen folds. Then he stabbed that skillful tongue starkly at the bud he had trapped in his mouth.
Emily cried out unintelligibly. The pleasure was too intense, but she couldn’t escape from it if she tried. Not when Chace wrapped his arms round her legs, snatching hips from under her and lifting her till only her shoulders stayed on the sofa. Then he plunged deep into her core with his hungry tongue, ruthlessly making a feast of her from inside out. He was sucking, nibbling, and darting in and out of her. With just his mouth, Chace had Emily screaming with ecstasy, her fingers clawing at the headrest she was gripping.
He nuzzled her as he swirled her clit insistently within his mouth. Emily stared at him wide-eyed, just as Chace looked up to witness her disintegration. With their eyes locked, he brought her to a stomach-clenching orgasm. Emily could only manage a strangled series of gasps as she came and came on his beautiful face.
Shuddering and groaning, Emily felt Chace switch to fluttering strokes all over her sensitive vulva, lapping at her drizzling droplets. She bucked and strained against his arms as she exploded again. “Chace! You…”
Whatever curse she could have thought up for him making her cum this bad and hard was erased beneath her blissful screams. Chace laughed as he moved his head from side to side, increasing the pressure of her gushing vulva. Emily rode the ever climbing wave for at least a minute before she went limp.
Slowly, Chace lowered her till her full length lay back on the sofa, releasing her legs while still lapping at the evidence of her total ownage by his mastery. Then he eased back up her quivering body and sought her lips. With him on top, Emily got to feel his powerful weight partly held off her, even as she took note of his impressive package throbbing stiff and hard against her lower belly.
Tasting herself on his lips, Emily shared his deep groan, lashing her tongue with his. Her post orgasm high still misted her brain and it was impossible to focus on anything but Chace, his kiss, and the unique taste swirling from his tongue to hers, titillating her to more groans and sighs.
Chace lifted up to stare into her face and Emily’s cheeks went hot. The next moment, she felt him slip a finger into her. Then she felt another. Oh, shit. Both fingers joined within her to work in and out in a steady mounting motion. Her soaked walls suctioned his fingers eagerly and a renewed urgency overtook Emily’s daze.
“Don’t move,” Chace said, his voice deliciously hoarse. He still had his eyes pinned to hers, and Emily had to consciously still her wriggling. As his fingers thrust continuously, his thumb was busy strumming and rolling her clit. Emily’s walls worked and gripped at those knowing fingers, drawing out a thickly muttered “fuck” from Chace.
“I’m going to come again,” Emily warned on a panting breath. The fact he never tore his eyes from her face was taking her past the last threshold of control.
“Good.”
His tone spelled singular satisfaction, as if to tell her he enjoyed making her unravel. Emily’s arms found their way around Chace’s broad shoulders. The motion of his fingers became relentless, showing no mercy. Her thigh muscles went rigid and then she torpedoed through the roof.
When Emily came back to her senses, she was naked on a bed with soft, deliciously clean scented sheets. Her eyes darted round to finally notice Chace right by the bed. He was naked and beautiful. Emily’s gaze was drawn to his face where his eyes were dark with a mix of hunger and desire. She couldn’t remember seeing that height of intensity ever directed at her and it scared yet thrilled her.
“Chace?” Emily could hear the fragile wonder in her voice, knowing her arms itched to reach out for him, but feared something inside herself – something wary of giving away more than she wanted Chace to see. Such as how much she needed him and all he could offer not just physically but emotionally. But Emily daren’t ask for more than Chace was willing to give.
So she lay there trembling, still on fire from his onslaught on the sofa. He must have carried her in here and undressed her then himself. Emily let her gaze sink lower, past his broad chest and washboard abs to his groin. She swallowed, feverishly hungry to stroke and caress his beautifully large, stiff member.
Something on her face must have reached into him, causing him to bite off a curse and join her on the king-sized bed. His hands gripped her wrists and spread them out on either side in a T. He kept them pinned there while scanning her face and body. Emily’s breasts rose and fell with each tortured breath she took. Her hard nubs grazed his chest as he eased over her, heat on heat.
“I’ll take care
of you,” Chace said. Did he feel her shivering and wanted to reassure her? Or did his words hold deeper promise? Much as she’d vowed not to wish for any of that, Emily’s heart soared and dipped happily. “Trust me, beautiful.”
He’d laced their fingers, while he kneed her legs wider apart and settled himself between her quivering thighs. His hard thickness ground against her soaking sex. Emily’s innermost walls shook with need, hunger, and emptiness. Her sudden wail was muffled by his kiss as the friction of his maleness was felt most at her clit region.
Here it was again, that swirling storm overtaking her brain. It took just moment for Emily to cave against it all. The pressure on her nerve cells was too finely combed to be ignored. A sudden cascade of ecstasy rushed through her and down her thighs in a flood. Chace’s lips never left hers and neither did he let go of her wrists, feeling her body lurch in unwavering climax.
Emily was barely even conscious anymore. Yet she couldn’t help but feel Chace nip on her lips before sliding down her neck to tease her breasts with his nibbles and sucks. Emily drifted back down to herself and hummed. Feels so good.
“I know, baby,” rasped Chace, making Emily realize she’d said the words aloud. Her eyes flew open to seek his.
“That’s it, beautiful. Focus on me. Don’t think of looking away now.”
Emily couldn’t even if she’d wanted to. His eyes and face looked too gorgeous, too passionate for her to want to see anything else. “I want to touch you,” she whispered, finding her voice after what seemed an eternity. Her eyes pleaded up into his.
“Not yet.” Those ice-gray eyes gleamed. Emily’s skin heated up as she felt his mushroom cap nudge at her entrance. Then he plunged, Emily’s slit parting to accept him inside her as she gave a shrill cry. He stretched her exquisitely and her walls proved their jubilation in the way they leaked copiously around his invasive length.
Never had pleasure felt this good. At least with her legs she could wrap herself around him. She could feel his staff stroking her tortured walls, and she dug her heels into the muscled flesh of his ass. The last of her sanity floated round the rim of her brain. Too much, too deep. She couldn’t remember him being this big or forceful, with focused thrusts, reaching everywhere.