The Heart Has Reasons
Page 45
“You should have seen your face.”
“You should have seen yours,” he said. “You turned white as a sheet.”
“I was afraid you were going to kill him right there in the restaurant.”
“At that moment, I badly wanted to.” He was still deeply embedded in her, but speaking of Jarvis made him go completely flaccid. When he shifted position slightly, he slid out of her. “But in the end, Jarvis turned out to be an all right guy.”
“Yes, he did,” she agreed.
When she tried to shift him over onto his back, he resisted. “I don’t want to get blood on your sheets.”
“Blood?”
“You clawed the hell out of my back.”
“I did not.”
Arching his brows, he rolled away from her. Larissa gasped at the eight parallel wounds gouged into his back, four across each shoulder blade. “Oh my god! Stay here. I’ll get the peroxide.”
When she started to get up, he turned quickly back to her and pulled her to him. “A few more battle scars won’t matter.”
“Honey, I am so sorry. I truly didn’t mean to do that.”
He grinned. “We’ll see how sorry you are when you see the handprints I left on that cute little ass of yours.”
She reached back a hand to rub her buttocks, which still smarted slightly. “You didn’t!”
“Don’t look so affronted. You enjoyed it.”
“I did not!”
“Then why were you so wet?”
She felt the heat rush into her cheeks. “I couldn’t help it. Everything you do makes me wet.”
Until now, his penis had draped limply across his muscled thigh. In response to her words, it jerked and started swelling back to life. His eyebrows rose meaningfully. “You can plainly see the effect you have on me. Do you see what I meant about adrenaline enhancing sex?”
“That was incredibly good, wasn’t it? Chase, have you ever been in a relationship where you did it this much?”
“Uh-uh. Have you?”
She shook her head. “Not even close. And it’s strange because it seems like the more we do it, the more I want.”
“I know the feeling. Hell, I didn’t even know I was capable of doing it this much. At this rate, before long it’ll be worn down to a nub.”
Laughing, she reached down to encircle his penis with one hand. “Let’s hope not. I kind of like it the way it is.”
He turned on his back and gathered her to him, cradling her in one arm with her head on his shoulder. They lay there for some time, not speaking, simply enjoying the feel of each other, both sore but content.
Finally, she broke the blissful silence to ask, “What are you thinking about?”
He sighed. “Moving. On the one hand, I want to get it over with; on the other, I don’t want to leave. And I’m trying to decide what to bring and what to sell. My motorcycle’s definitely coming.”
“You’re not planning to ride it back, are you?”
“Normally, that’s exactly what I’d do. But since I don’t want to be gone one moment longer than necessary, I’ll have it shipped.” He gazed at her curiously. “Will you let me take you for a ride on it?”
“Actually, I was hoping you might teach me to ride. If I like it, I might buy a motorcycle of my own.”
“You see? You were never a coward. Just overly cautious.”
“I’m beginning to believe you may be right. What about the van?”
“Already sold.”
She propped herself on her left elbow and ran her right hand lightly over his chest and stomach, tracing the muscles of his abdomen with the tips of her fingers. “That was fast.”
“Too many disturbing memories. I’ll sell my furniture and buy new when I get back here. It’ll probably cost about the same as shipping it.”
She pulled back so she could see his face. “Why would you need to buy new? Aren’t you moving in here with me?”
“Well, you never mentioned it, so I assumed I’d be getting my own place.”
“No! I want us to live together. But only if it’s what you want.”
“Of course it’s what I want.” He paused for a moment. “Larissa … I have a cat.”
She frowned. “The night of the storm, you claimed you didn’t have any pets.”
“Do you remember the little calico? When I got out of jail, I went back and got it.”
She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. “You know, it’s things like that that make me love you so much. The cat can keep the puppy company when we’re at work.”
“Then all I have to do is sell my furniture, arrange to have my bike shipped out, and pack up my clothes.”
“Don’t forget the handcuffs.”
His eyebrows rose. “I’d have thought you’d had enough of handcuffs.”
“They’re not for me, they’re for you. Once you return, I intend to keep you in this bed.”
Chase rolled atop her and kissed her long and passionately, until she was once again breathless with desire. “Larissa, you will never need handcuffs to keep me at your side.”
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Martine Marchand