Afterburn

by Kira Sinclair

  Who knew what he’d find, but at least it was a starting point.

  He stood up, folded the papers, placed them in his pocket and headed for the door. Before he could reach for it, it opened.

  “What are you doing here?”

  He stared at Sabrina as she entered her office, frowning at him.

  “Waiting for you. What are you doing this weekend?”

  Her frown deepened, but he continued to ignore her obvious puzzlement at his presence.

  She answered slowly, “Nothing,” as if trying to figure out where the land mine lay and how to avoid it.

  “I wanted to ask a favor. I need a female opinion on something for my apartment.”

  “And I was the best choice?”

  “More like the only choice.”

  She snorted, an unladylike sound that clashed wonderfully with her perfectly polished exterior.

  “I believe that, Babe Magnet.”

  “Believe whatever you want. I’m tired of looking at four milk-white walls, but I suck at picking out colors and crap. I need someone with a sense of visual awareness.”

  “And you think I can help? You’ve never seen my place. Maybe the walls are painted lime-green.”

  “First of all, I’ve seen the graphic layouts you do for the squadron—you have a very artistic eye. And I happen to like green, any shade, although the color your eyes turn when you climax would be my favorite.” He smiled. He simply couldn’t help himself. “Besides, I suspect red, white and blue covers every surface of your apartment.”

  She ignored his provoking statements, and asked, “Why me?”

  “Because despite what you seem to think, there aren’t a lot of women in my life and the men I know would skin me alive if I even asked…friend.”

  Chase watched the war within patiently, she fought a battle he knew he’d win. She was attracted to him, whether she wanted to admit it or not. She liked spending time with him, a fact he couldn’t find fault with. He was rather charming.

  And she had a whimsical, creative streak she tried hard to hide, a streak she rarely let run free…just like the passionate side of her personality he seemed to be the only person aware of. She put up such a front with everyone around her, all the while concealing the most exciting and intriguing elements of her personality.

  Her eyes narrowed to slits of glimmering green but in the end she agreed, as he knew she would.

  “Fine. I’ll help, but only for a few hours.”

  “Fantastic. I’ll pick you up at eight tomorrow morning and we can hit Lowe’s.”

  “Eight?”

  “Don’t even try to pretend. You’re a creature of habit, Sabrina.” He ignored her sigh of annoyance. “You get up at the butt crack of dawn every day. I’m giving you an extra hour to sleep in.” Chase took a quick scan around, checking to make sure they were alone before invading her personal space just enough to make her squirm. “And this time don’t use it to sneak away.”

  RINA STOOD at the front window to her apartment, well behind the drapes so Chase couldn’t see her, and waited for him to show. She honestly had no idea what she was doing. Making a colossal mistake obviously, but aside from that…

  He pulled into a spot in front of her place. Before he could even get completely out of the car she’d grabbed her purse, locked her door and was standing on the sidewalk waiting for him.She didn’t want to let him inside her space. Somehow that felt too intimate for her peace of mind, like a line that, once crossed, she wouldn’t be able to push them back over.

  “Ready?”

  Without waiting for his answer, Rina opened the passenger door to his sleek black Mustang and slid inside. She was immediately enveloped by Chase, his scent, his presence, his heat.

  Her own internal temperature rose in response and she squirmed on the leather seat, trying to find some relief from the pressure spiking inside.

  “Lowe’s, Home Depot, the furniture store. Any secret female destinations for making a house a home?”

  “Michaels. The craft store.”

  She’d said it more to torture him than anything. She’d honestly thought he’d balk at the suggestion. The image of him towering over displays of silk flowers, picture frames and glass beads made her smile and put her back on an even keel.

  Until he said, “Okay, and Michaels.”

  “No, I—”

  He cranked the car and music blared from the speakers, drowning out her protest. Shrugging, Rina figured getting the visual in living color would be her payment for the hours of self-torture she’d agreed to.

  But what she’d thought would be the longest morning of her life turned out to be almost fun.

  Whenever she and the General had moved to a new place, Rina had always tried to make it feel like home. She’d never quite succeeded, partly because no place had ever really been home but mostly because the General hadn’t cared what color the walls were painted as long as the house was spotless. He ordered her not to clutter up the place with frills like picture frames or throw pillows. The only spot that she’d ever been able to truly make her own had been her bedroom. As long as she kept everything in its place he’d let her “girlie” it up.

  But Chase wasn’t anything like the General. Either he was blowing a butt load of smoke up her ass or he was genuinely interested in paint chips, wallpaper borders and sconces. However, she did completely bypass the silk flower section…Even she wasn’t that cruel.

  They ended up at the furniture store since the other stores were located closer together. Walking in the door, she still wasn’t quite certain what their agenda was.

  “What are we looking for?”

  “Whatever I like.”

  “You already have an apartment full of furniture.”

  “How do you know that? You only saw one room.”

  True, but she couldn’t imagine that he only had one room furnished. Besides…“I thought you said all the stuff had come from storage.”

  “It did. But I sold several things before I left. I figured after being locked up in a musty room for months there were certain things I’d want to replace.”

  “Like what?”

  Standing on tiptoe, Rina looked over the vast sea of furniture laid out in the humongous warehouse before them. The place was huge. How would they ever find anything if he wouldn’t tell her what he was looking for?

  She was so engrossed in surveying the place that she didn’t even notice he’d moved closer until his words brushed against the skin at the nape of her neck.

  “Like a bed.”

  A shiver of unwanted anticipation rushed down her spine. Her body shuddered. She couldn’t help it.

  “Goose walk across your grave?” Chase ran his hand down her arm.

  Jerking away, she threw him a look that should have had him taking ten paces back. He simply smiled down at her knowingly.

  “May I help you?”

  Sure, now a salesman showed up. Where had he been three minutes ago?

  “We’re looking for a new bed.”

  “He. He’s looking for a new bed. I’m just along for the ride.”

  Both men turned to stare, Chase calling her on her words with nothing more than a look and the salesman turning rather red-faced.

  Clearing his throat, the other man asked, “Are you looking for something in particular? Four-poster? Sleigh? Dark or light wood?”

  “Big’s my only requirement.”

  Rina trailed behind the men as they set off through the store.

  “We can order any of the designs in a king so size isn’t an issue.”

  Rina muffled her snort with a cough, but when Chase turned back to look at her she had a feeling he knew exactly what had crossed her mind. Size was always an issue when men were involved, not that Chase was anything to snort at. The man embodied king-size in every possible way.

  She simply smiled angelically. And tried to get her mind out of the gutter. A difficult endeavor staring at his tight ass, remembering it filling the palms of her hand
s as he thrust deep inside her. What was wrong with her? If she couldn’t control her thoughts she had next to no hope of controlling her impulses. Considering that every minute she and Chase spent together those impulses seemed to get bigger, stronger, more difficult to deny…

  “What do you like?”

  Pulling herself back to reality, she said, “It doesn’t matter what I like. It’s your bed.”

  “But I want to know what you think.”

  “I think you’re wasting good money. I find it hard to believe that your bedroom doesn’t already have a bed.”

  “I’ve decided I need something brand-new, something no one has shared with me.”

  He slipped a finger into a curl that had fallen from the clip she’d scraped her hair back with. She knew she should have pulled the mess up like usual.

  “Yet.”

  The word was for her alone and had her heart beating loudly in her chest. Suddenly, the room felt warm, her clothes tight and constricting to her skin.

  Clearing her throat—and the sensation—away, she said, “I like that one,” and pointed to the first bedroom display she saw.

  It was a modified sleigh bed, dark cherry wood with a vine pattern carved around the edge. It felt intimate and…sexy somehow. Or maybe that was just the leftover hormones pumping through her blood.

  Chase moved to the center of the decorated display. He stood, studying the space for a good five minutes without saying anything, turning every few moments to view another piece of the bedroom suite.

  “I’ll take it.”

  “Which pieces, sir?”

  “All of it. I want every accent piece, lamp, bookend, and I want the bed as big as you can get it.”

  Rina watched the salesman’s eyes widen before filling with dollar signs.

  Walking up beside Chase, she nudged him and grumbled out the side of her mouth, “I think he works on commission.”

  He smiled down at her, not his usual smile but something softer, more real. She jerked her hand away from his arm and stepped backward into the dresser. The mirror rocked with a loud squeak and heat flooded her face.

  “I’m such a klutz.”

  “No you’re not. But it’s nice to know I can fluster you.”

  “Of course you don’t.”

  “Why don’t the two of you go over to our mattress gallery while I write up the rest of the order?”

  Without hesitation, Chase grabbed her hand and headed in that direction, pulling her reluctantly along behind him.

  “You didn’t even look at a single price tag. Aren’t you worried about how much this is all going to cost?”

  “No. I inherited some insurance money when my father died eight years ago. I’ve had no reason to spend any of it until now.”

  Rina stopped dead in her tracks, yanking back on their joined hands. Someone had to talk some sense into the man. Just because he had money to throw around didn’t mean he had to throw it away. Besides, she didn’t like the way he’d said father, tight and controlled. In fact, it was the first time Chase had ever mentioned the man to her.

  “Seriously, Chase. Are you sure you need everything over there? I mean if you really want some bookends then we can head to Target after this. It’ll cost a hell of a lot less.”

  “But it will require more time than I’m willing to give. I have a better idea on how we can spend the rest of the day.”

  “Oh yeah. Like what?”

  Using their linked hands against her, he pulled her across the space separating them until she was less than an inch from his chest. His eyes glowed down at her, full of a desire her flesh distinctly remembered, even if her mind had tried very hard to forget.

  Her lips parted. It wasn’t an invitation. Really it wasn’t. She just couldn’t get enough oxygen into her lungs. Into her brain. Everything seemed to turn a little fuzzy at the edges. It all blurred away, everything but the glow of Chase’s eyes staring into her own as he said in a low, rumbling voice, “Painting.”

  CHASE RELISHED the way her pupils dilated, the way her pink lips parted, the way her body leaned into his, closing the gap between them even as he knew she really didn’t want to.

  God, she was fighting hard. However, she was going to lose. Today. Tomorrow. Next week. It didn’t matter. Sabrina McAllister, no, Sabrina Carden, wanted him. Almost as much as he wanted her.Now it was simply a matter of convincing her to listen to her body and let go. Somehow, he didn’t think letting go was very easy for her.

  Of course, that just meant that when she finally did, the moment would be unbelievable. He’d had a taste of that experience on their wedding night. Only it wasn’t enough. He wanted that again. He wanted more.

  Chase unconsciously tightened his grip on her hand as his already snug jeans strangled his erection.

  “Ouch,” she protested, tugging away from his hold.

  Just as well. Throwing her down on one of the display mattresses probably wouldn’t have won him any brownie points.

  “Mattress first, though.” His voice started out as gravel before he cleared it away.

  They entered the small section, a sea of snow-white mattresses just waiting for someone to jump in. He was a firm believer in comfort and had no problem paying to ensure he slept well. As a pilot, he couldn’t afford to spend the entire night tossing and turning because his mattress was too soft or too stiff. He needed to be alert and focused. He’d learned firsthand the price that could be paid if he wasn’t.

  Flopping onto the first one, he tested it out.

  “Too hard.”

  He watched Sabrina as he moved from one display to the next, her cheeks flaming an adorable, rosy pink that matched his memory of her aroused nipples. Her muscles were strung so taut he thought she might snap.

  “Why don’t you lie down? Try this one.” Relax.

  “No, I’m good here.” Her voice ground out the protest.

  Finally, she did walk to the other end of the room, as far from him as possible, and lay down on a mattress. Apparently, she was more comfortable away from him. No, comfortable wasn’t the right word, because he could still see the tension tightening her body from here. The sexual awareness snapped between them.

  He watched her as he moved methodically from one mattress to the other, keeping her always in his sights. It was just as well that she’d put space between them—even if it wouldn’t change the eventual outcome. His body still hadn’t cooled down and wasn’t likely to with her standing between him and a bed.

  After about five minutes he narrowed down his choices, calling her over.

  “Sabrina. What do you think about this one?”

  She wove through the displays to his side, standing just far enough away that he couldn’t reach out and grab her.

  Chase looked up at her from his prone position; her body was as stiff as the forest of shellacked and painted wood inside the place.

  Rolling his eyes, he reared up and grabbed her hand, pulling her down onto the soft pillow top beside him. He honestly wanted her opinion since he seriously hoped she’d be sharing the mattress with him at some point.

  She landed with a decidedly unfeminine grunt, sprawling across his body in a way that sorely tempted his control and restraint. But she didn’t give him a chance to act on the impulses firing through his brain. Take. Plunder. Own.

  She squirmed away from him as if he were the newest case of bird flu, kneeing him painfully in the upper thigh in the process. A small price to pay, he supposed. It sure as hell could have been worse. He narrowed his eyes, considering whether or not it had been an accident.

  Letting his hands drop to his sides, empty unfortunately, he said, “Lay down for heaven’s sake. I’m not going to jump you in the middle of the showroom floor.”

  “You’re not going to jump me at all.”

  The force behind her words had a smile playing at his lips. He heard the uncertainty behind her statement, even if she hadn’t wanted him to.

  There was a distinct possibility that he might jump
her this damn second if he couldn’t get control. His erection pulsed painfully against the hard line of his fly, obvious for anyone who wanted to look—including Sabrina.

  She wasn’t helping him much, either. He could practically feel the hum in her blood from here.

  She tried to vault back up but he reached for her hand, holding her in place. After struggling in vain against him for a minute she finally gave up and with a flounce dropped flat to the mattress beside him.

  “What do you think?”

  “I think you promised we would be friends.”

  “Aren’t we?”

  She rolled her head sideways. The glare lost all of its power from that angle, but it sure as hell was cute to watch her try to be fierce.

  “Look, I’m trying here. I can’t deny that I’m attracted to you.”

  “Try a little harder.”

  Rolling his head away from her, he asked, “Can you see yourself sleeping on this?”

  “Chase.”

  The one word was a warning, a warning he was probably going to ignore…even if he was lying on a mattress, the most vulnerable parts of his anatomy within easy striking distance.

  “I just mean is it comfortable?”

  “It doesn’t matter. I’m not going to be sleeping on it.”

  “Rina, answer the damn question.”

  CHASE HAD seriously rattled her in that mattress room. He’d never called her Rina.

  And for some reason she didn’t like it.Everyone in her life called her Rina. He was the only person who’d insisted on calling her Sabrina. Well, the only person since her mother. It had bothered her.

  But hearing her nickname in his smooth, commanding voice had bothered her more. She’d needed to get out of there; away from him and the jumble of mixed-up emotions he made her feel.

  One minute Rina had been adamant about going home. She had things of her own to do…laundry, dusting, scrubbing the toilet. Anything that would get her away from the temptation of her husband.

  The next she’d found herself not only in Chase’s living room arranging drop cloths on the hardwood floor, but also agreeing to come back and finish up the project tomorrow.