by Mia Carson
Grace nodded, and once they were back inside the limo, the partition safely up to block Dexter from their view, Chase was quick to capture her mouth and kiss her until Dexter loudly announced twenty minutes later they’d arrived.
They chuckled as they helped each other straighten their clothes and hair, and Chase was giddy as he hopped out of the limo first so he could help Grace to her feet on the sidewalk. She gazed up at the building, her mouth opening in awe as her eyes widened.
“Holy shit, we’re eating here? I’m not dressed for it, Chase!” she complained, glancing worriedly at her jeans. “And they’re packed. We won’t get a table.”
“Of course you will, dear,” Dexter told her with a wink. “The man owns the place.”
Grace’s hand tightened around his. “How rich are you? You bought this place? It’s one of the most famous restaurants in the whole city, and you own it?”
He shrugged, laughing as he escorted her to the doors. “I built it, too. One of my very first designs,” he said, admiring the stone and brickwork with its gentle arches and twists and turns as it went up, stretching between two skyscrapers. “Loved this project.”
“It’s gorgeous,” she agreed. “Never seen the inside before, though.”
“Well, tonight you will, and don’t worry,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head when she tugged at her sweater again, “you look perfect.”
The second they stepped through the double glass doors, they were greeted by a man wearing an Italian suit. He welcomed Chase warmly and bowed his head to Grace before he took her hand and kissed the back of it.
“It is good to see you with a lady friend for once, Mr. Valentine,” the manager said.
“Thank you, Gary,” Chase said. “But remember, no Valentine.”
“Of course, of course. And who would you be?” Gary asked, directing his attention to Grace.
He offered her his arm, and after a glance at Chase, she took it and Chase followed them through the high-ceilinged restaurant with blue and violet glass chandeliers hanging every few feet. The booths were black leather set in dark wood, and the entire place had an old-world feel while simultaneously embracing the modern times. The building was his first solo project in grad school, and his father had liked it so much, he had presented it to several clients. A man who had a dream of running a restaurant wanted it but tragically died before it was completed. Chase took it upon himself to see the project through and opened the place in the man’s honor. The fact that it still stood and was as popular as ever with those of the high society class made his chest swell with pride.
Gary guided Grace through the main floor to a set of stairs leading up to the second floor. This was reserved strictly for Chase or any other VIPs, but tonight, it was just the two of them.
“Would you like the balcony table, sir? The weather is quite nice, and I have the heaters turned on,” Gary suggested with a gesture towards the French doors across the room.
“Grace?” he asked. “Want a table with a view?” She beamed and nodded eagerly. “That would be perfect, and if you wouldn’t mind, a bottle of my usual and whatever the lady would like.”
“Just wine—red, please,” she said. “Thanks, Gary.”
“Of course, miss. I shall return shortly.”
Chase swung open the doors and let the city life in as Grace stepped out onto the stone balcony etched with intricate designs framing it in. When night fell completely, the city lights would hide the stars, but the moon was full tonight and he had a feeling she would like to see it rise over the buildings. The night air had a chill to it, but the heaters placed at both ends were enough to warm the balcony. Candles lined the railing and sat in the center of the table. Chase couldn’t have asked for a more romantic setting for their first official date.
Once they were seated, their drinks poured, and dinner ordered, he took her hand. “So, I guess this means you are officially no longer my fake fiancée,” he said. “However, I would like us to toast to us dating for real.” She raised her wineglass to his tumbler and sipped with him. “I think we should go ahead and… uh… close out the current contract,” he added, swallowing an extra gulp of scotch. He didn’t want it to be awkward, but as he reached for his wallet, he felt like he was simply paying her off for their weekend together.
“Chase, wait,” she said. “Maybe… maybe we can hold off on that for a while? I don’t want to ruin the night.”
He sagged with relief and nodded. “If you’re sure?”
“I am. It can wait,” she told him. “This can’t.”
The evening wore on, and they talked through dinner – she laughing as Chase told her about his adventures as a kid, and telling him about her early acting days. The stories continued, and by the time she finished her bottle of wine and he was on his third glass of scotch, deep down, he knew this woman was meant to be his. There was no other way to explain their connection and how easily they fit together. Grace was finishing off her last sip of wine when she glanced past him and stood excitedly.
“There she is!”
“There who is?” he asked and hurried to get up and follow her to the railing.
Grace laughed, her face flushed from the wine, and pointed. “The moon. She’s full tonight,” she said and leaned against his side. She seemed so peaceful in that moment that he wondered again what had upset her so much the first night on the yacht.
“Are you ever going to tell me why you were crying the first night?” he asked, hoping it wouldn’t shut her down. “Graceland?”
She sucked in a deep breath and blew it out, puffing her cheeks as she did. “Let’s just say things were a little rough the few days before the cruise,” she told him. “But now there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, and for once, I’m not scared it’s going to disappear before I reach it.”
He wanted to believe her, but a quiet voice whispered in the back of his mind that she was still hiding something from him. His mind drifted to Tiffany and all the lies, but Grace was a far cry from that witch. If she didn’t want to tell him yet, he had to trust that she had good reason. She wasn’t after his money. She’d turned down the payment.
“I wanted to ask you, then, instead of me taking you back to your place tonight, since my parents are coming Wednesday night, why don’t you stay with me until then?” he asked, hoping his words lacked any hint of nervousness.
“Stay with you? At your place?”
“Partly to help with the act,” he said casually, “but mostly, because I would like you to be my guest. With the theaters under construction, I wasn’t sure what you had going on, but you’re more than welcome to stay.”
He waited for her answer, studying the way her eyes glimmered in the candlelight. In that moment, another bit of the real Grace shone through, and he grinned. She stretched up on her toes, and Chase bent lower until their lips met. Fire coursed through his blood and arousal stirred him to pick her up, moving to the closest wall so he could kiss her thoroughly. At some point, he thought he heard Gary step out, chuckle, and say he would be certain they were not disturbed. Chase waved him away absently, too busy exploring the depths of Grace’s mouth with his tongue, never getting enough of her.
If they didn’t get back to his place soon, he’d take her on the damn table and let all of Seattle hear her cries. Hating to break the kiss, he set her on her feet, tossed a few hundreds on the table, then tugged her hurriedly after him through the restaurant. With a quick direction to Dexter, they disappeared into the back of the limo and into each other’s arms again, oblivious to the city full of people around them.
Morning came, and Grace stretched out in the plush bed, grinning in disbelief to find Chase by her side, naked in all his muscled glory, his long hair thrown over the pillow, breathing soundly in sleep. When they made it back to his penthouse last night, they’d barely gotten in the door before clothes hit the floor and they tumbled, laughing and tipsy, into his over-sized bed.
Their first night together had been incr
edible. Last night was mind-blowing.
Careful not to wake him, she slipped naked from the bed and tiptoed into the bathroom to wash up for the morning. It was barely seven, but she was used to waking up early. She did yoga every morning, making her last role so easy to play, and this morning, she felt the need to get back to it.
She stepped out of the bathroom and realized she only had her clothes from the cruise. A large, green robe hung on the back of the bathroom door, plush and soft. She donned it, savoring Chase’s scent around her, and meandered through his penthouse. Last night, there hadn’t been a chance to see much, but this morning she stared, wide-eyed, as she took in the open and airy space.
Floor to ceiling windows covered the main wall, giving her a full view of the city as the sun rose. The sky was clear enough to make out Mount Rainier in the distance. The only enclosed space was the bedroom and bathroom, but everything else was open. There was a large flat screen with a gaming system beneath it. She flipped through the collection of games, the gamer in her curious, and laughed because he had the exact same first-person shooter she enjoyed with Jimmy.
“Wonder how good he is,” she mused out loud.
A tour of the kitchen showed her the latest coffee maker with at least ten different varieties of coffee as well as pantries filled with more food than she’d seen in one place in a long time. As she passed by the front door, she saw a suitcase sitting there with a note taped to the top. That suitcase was hers and, curious, she walked to it.
The note was from Chase telling Grace he’d sent Dexter to her place to gather some clothes from her roommate last night. She grinned at his thoughtfulness and dug through the bag to see another note from Jimmy that made her blush and curse her friend. She prayed, for Chase’s sake, he hadn’t read it. It only took her a few minutes to find the black capris and blue razor tank she wore for yoga.
The living room was a good place as any to go through her moves, and she rolled up the edge of the dark brown rug so she could start, enjoying the warmth of the sun pouring in through the windows. With each stretch, she breathed deeply, letting go of the stress and worries that held her back for so long. She didn’t really believe in happily ever after, but for the moment, her luck had turned around. Another deep breath, and she switched to warrior one pose, settling her hips into the stretch with each deep inhale and exhale.
After nearly an hour, every muscle in her body was relaxed. Her eyes closed, she switched to warrior two when footsteps moved towards her and hands closed around her hips.
“You realize what you do to me?” Chase grated roughly in her ear as he kissed her neck.
Grace didn’t open her eyes nor shift from her pose. “No? Is it that bad?”
He growled a curse and his hands moved along the curves of her hips and down her thighs, stretched in the pose she held. “You’re about to find out.”
She shivered beneath his touch as she tried to shift and stretch the other side, but Chase simply moved with her, his hands grasping her waist to steady her when she faltered at his sucking her earlobe.
“Chase,” she whispered, trying her best to finish her exercises before she gave in to him.
“Could these pants be any tighter?” he asked, cupping her ass, and she almost lost her footing. When his hand slid around to cup her through the thin fabric, she lost all concentration and fell into his arms.
Her eyes fluttered open in time to see his fiery green gaze move closer before his mouth claimed hers, jolts of arousal rushing down her body and pooling in her loins. Her panties were wet, and he’d barely touched her. Just like last night and the night before, there was nothing out of place with his hands or his body so close to hers. She turned to face him in his arms, enjoying the hardness of his chest beneath her palms before he lifted her tank top and tossed it aside.
Goosebumps covered her arms when Chase’s hands held her breasts, massaging them gently as she struggled to stay on her feet. He lowered his mouth to one and she groaned, her head rolling back to feel his tongue lavish her so hotly. Her eyes blurring, her knees started to buckle, but Chase’s arm wrapped around her waist and held her close, not ready to let go. The couch was close, so she directed him backwards to it, wanting to touch him this time, hold him in her hands, and hear him groan as she teased and tortured his most sensitive parts.
His knees hit the couch, and Grace reached for his sweats, tugging them down quickly and off his body before she pushed him back onto the cushions. His eyes darkening, he tried to reach for her again, but she side-stepped him.
“Graceland,” he whispered, watching her intently. She grinned wickedly and lowered herself between his thighs. His mouth parted, but whatever he said was lost on a growl when she took the tip of him into her mouth and sucked hard. “Jesus, mother of God,” he groaned, his whole body shuddering.
Grace licked the vein as her hand gripped the base hard and slid up and down in time with her mouth. She pressed hard down onto him, savoring how he squirmed beneath her touch. His hands gripped the couch, and his hips twitched with his need to have her. But not yet. Grace wanted to push him as close to the edge as she could. The salty taste of pre-cum hit her tongue, and she sucked it up, her eyes locked on his fiery gaze. He swelled with each suck of her mouth, and Grace thought for a moment she was going to hear him cry out when he pulled out of her grasp, picked her up, and laid her back on the couch.
“I wasn’t finished with that,” she protested through a laugh that quickly turned to a gasp when he almost tore her yoga pants to get them off.
Barely a second later, his fingers thrust inside her, twisting and turning, rubbing to find her sweet spot to send her crying out. Chase kissed her, his tongue moving inside her mouth with each thrust of his hand, pushing hard against her. Grace pulled at his hair, wanting to be closer, as close as she could get, their chests smooshed together in the heat of the moment. His hand glided easily in and out then over her folds, tugging and teasing at her clit without mercy.
Grace was lost in his arms and the passion of his lips in a constant caress of hers. His hair fell over her face in a darkening cage, giving her the only view she wanted, his green eyes. She nipped his lip, and he growled. With his body covering hers on the couch, Grace had never felt safer in her life, or more loved. He was her safety, her sky, and the ground beneath her feet. He was her home. There were so many things she wanted to tell him, to admit to the face of the man she fell for hard, but his hands shifted against her and a cry tore from her chest.
Her back arching into him, she gasped his name, blown away by the intense orgasm ripping through her body. Wave after wave of pleasure hit her. She had no idea what he was doing, but it was unlike anything she’d felt so far. Her world was torn apart in that moment, and Chase was there to put it all back together for her, with him in the center of it. No matter what might happen now, he had snuck into her heart and there was no prying him loose.
Clutching his shoulders, she struggled to hold onto something—anything—as the pleasure continued to shoot through her body until, finally, she was spent and fell back onto the cushions.
He smirked as he kissed her lips gently before sliding lower, tracing the curve of each breast down to her waist and hips. Each place he touched screamed with desire, and all she could do was lie there, her chest heaving as her body tried to recover.
But that was the last thing on Chase’s mind. Gently, he rolled her over onto her stomach, his hands massaging her shoulders, his thumbs moving in hypnotic circles lower and lower until he cupped her ass. Grace shivered with anticipation when the couch shifted and he pressed against her. Already in overdrive, her hips jerked to be closer to him, wanting him inside her, while at the same time, she wondered how much more pleasure her body could handle.
When he lifted her hips and rubbed his swollen length between her wet lips, Grace gasped, her back arching into his mouth trailing kisses down her spine. Too much… It was already too much, and he wasn’t even inside her yet.
“C
hase,” she whispered, her whole body trembling in his arms.
He chuckled, but in that sound she heard the restraint he showed, trying to hold on to his fragile control. But control was the last thing she wanted in this life with her new-found freedom. The time had come to lose control.
“I don’t know how sweet I can be,” he grunted. “You’re making me lose it.”
The arousal within her exploded at his words, and she moved her hips back against his body, urging him on. The second time she did it, he cursed, gripped her hips, and plunged into her to the hilt. Their moans at the connection echoed around the penthouse, and both were struggling to breathe until Chase pulled back out and thrust inside her again.
The angle was deep and rubbed her in all the right places. He set a steady pace, but he held back and she didn’t want him to. She reached back and dug her nails into his thigh as she met his thrust each time until he cursed and his body covered hers with an insatiable need. As he took her, Grace groaned, the desire building to another insane peak within her body, but when his fingers reached around and tugged at her clit, she cried out, all restraint lost.
Chase groaned and shook behind her as he spilled into her. He clung to her hips, holding her against him until the last tremors left their bodies and Grace thought maybe she’d be able to breathe again at some point that day.
He left delicate kisses across her back as he pulled out, and she shivered as the last aftershock of ecstasy shot through her body, leaving her arms and legs numb. With his strong arms, he brought her back against his body, and they lay back on the couch, Grace rolling to face him. His chest rose rapidly beneath her, and a fine gleam of sweat covered his body and hers from their exertions.
“How’s that for a morning yoga session?” he asked, and she burst out laughing.
“Not what I had in mind, but probably one of my best,” she agreed and kissed him. She glanced down at their tangled bodies and the couch beneath. “I… uh… think we might have ruined your couch.”