by Mia Downing
Chase looked like he wanted to say something, his mouth open slightly, an unreadable expression on his face. Then he glanced out into the kitchen and back at her. “Maybe you and I could be friends someday. When this weekend is over.” He turned to the kitchen. “Dinner is ready.”
****
“This is so good.” Kate couldn’t help but heap the praise on Chase as she finished her meal. The man was a genius in the kitchen. Even while living with a professional chef and other staff as Emma, she’d never had anything this delicious. “What is it?”
“Coq au vin. Chicken with mushrooms and a wine sauce.”
“Do you do this every night?”
“No.” He glanced at her with a soft smile. “Only special occasions. The weekends. I’m happy with leftovers during the week. If I ate like this every day, I would gain too much weight and wouldn’t be able to run my prerequisite five miles.”
“Do you cook for Jake?”
Chase grinned and set his napkin on the table. “No. He’s picky. I order Jake pizza, he brings beer, and we play video games.”
“Really?” She took one last bite and then pushed her plate away. “You’re such guys.”
Chase shrugged. “What do you do with Jake?”
“We go to the movies, or Jake orders the pizza, we drink soda, and play board games.”
“Soda?”
“I’m not stupid, Chase. Two beers and I’d be his. He’s always the gentleman, but it’s not that far of a leap to the bedroom with him. And he’s very deadly in the seduction department.”
Chase arched a brow. “How many beers would it take to make the leap with me?”
Oh, he was smooth. “As I recall, I hadn’t had a drop to drink last time.”
He grinned, his ego inflated. Then he sat back and studied her in a less intense way than usual. “You’ve changed in a year. Are you enjoying your new life?”
“Yes, and no.” She picked at a string on her napkin. “I love some of the training, but its long hours, and lonely, and there are times when I wish someone would make me do something cerebral because this physical stuff is so hard sometimes.”
“What’s been the hardest?”
It was all hard, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. She had never run more than the length of the driveway before coming here, to her new life. Now she pounded out miles as if they were easy.
“Well, I had never driven a car before I took defensive driving—don’t look at me like that. So that was obviously hard. It doesn’t help when they let Jake tag along, and I get heckled for being less than competent. Like when we repelled off the training office roof on the base and I was terrified.” She shook her head, remembering hating the height and Jake. “He thinks I swim like a rock, too.”
“Jake has too many brothers. Picking on you is hard-wired into him. Don’t take it personally.” He smiled. “Anything you’re good at?”
“Well, obviously I flew through bomb disarmament and special weapons. Those I understand. It was nice to see Jake in awe in that department.” She’d broke the record time by several minutes and Jake had stared at her, then the timer for a long, long time before proclaiming her fucking amazing, in his crude yet endearing way.
“Jake can’t disarm a bomb to save his soul.”
Kate inhaled sharply. Oh, she wished she had known that then. She could have made him even more in awe of her skills. “Then he can be indebted to me out in the field if I have to do it, because I’m not going to teach him. The man is too good at everything he does.”
“Anything else?”
She shrugged. “I like guns and shooting. There’s some physics involved, though my body just doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do. I don’t mind the running, but I hate it when they put that special ops gear on me and make me run. Jake loves that—even more torture. I like the hand-to-hand combat, though Jake kicks my ass there, too.”
Chase laughed. “Jake is the best partner, but a pain in the ass. If you survive him, you can survive anything.”
She shrugged. “It’s still better than being trapped in a lab, the daughter of a crazy man selling weaponry to even crazier people.”
“How good are you?” Chase asked.
“At what?” She glanced up at him sharply. “I just told you Jake handed me my ass every day—”
He leaned forward, his hands folded, his face very intense. “The bombs. Weapons. How good are you?”
Somehow she knew that this man wouldn’t want her to sugarcoat it to make himself feel better. He was sizing her up, seeing what she brought to the table. This was an area where she more than ran with the big dogs. She showed them the way.
“I could wire this house, use household chemicals to make the explosive, and then kill you at least ten different ways, in under an hour, without collateral damage. As good as I’m sure you are, you’d never, ever know.”
“What else?”
Was she imagining things, or did the devil look…excited? “I could also poison you easily. I have enough of a chemistry background to mix up something delightfully evil that you’d never suspect. I threaten Jake all of the time that I’m going to get rid of him either way. He says it turns him on, so I keep that at a minimum.”
There was a flare in Chase’s eyes, and she suddenly knew how a snake looked at its prey before it pounced. Or maybe, this was the look of a lustful man. “Don’t tell me that turns you on, too.”
“I’m a spy. Telling a spy how you could kill him is very exciting. It adds danger.” He drew in a breath, one that sounded a little ragged. “What else are you good at?”
“Scary good, as Jake would say?” He nodded, and she thought for a moment. “I am a pool shark. We had a pool table at home, and I logged many hours at it. Again, all physics. I excel at bowling—more physics. And you wouldn’t have a chance of beating me at word games. Jake’s goal is to keep the carnage at under a one hundred point lead. I can play the cello and violin. I could play with any orchestra in any major city if I auditioned. My father wouldn’t allow it, though.”
“You’re amazing.”
His eyes held something akin to awe as well as lust, and it made her unsure. Uneasy, because she didn’t believe for one second he wanted her for anything more than his weekend task. This man could have any beauty in the world, and he found her brains to be amazing?
“Because I’m smart? I don’t think so. I spent my life dreaming of being normal, going to high school, and getting groped in the back of some guy’s sports car.”
“I have one of those, if you want to pretend. I also have a truck, if you’re into more rural fantasies.”
“Thanks, but maybe tomorrow.” She looked away, feeling nervous all of a sudden. He’d expect her to put out now, after such a wonderful meal. “I guess it’s time for…you know. Dinner’s over.”
He frowned, and for once she could see the wheels turning behind his brown eyes. “How about I make you a deal?”
“A deal with the devil is never productive.” He grinned, and she sighed. “Tell me.”
“We have all weekend, and I’m a very compassionate, very patient man. What you lack in your life is control. I’m going to give you control over when we make love. It’s your call. I will wait patiently until you can’t resist my charms any longer.”
Control. She liked that idea, because he was right. The only things that were keeping her from jumping him now were the facts that she had to be here and she was scared as hell. If this were a date, she’d still be scared as hell, but she’d be more than willing to make the leap. “What happens if we make it to Sunday night and it hasn’t happened?”
“Then we have a problem. But I have faith in my seduction skills. It didn’t take much to get you hot for me before. I don’t need until Sunday night.”
“Ego, Chase, ego,” she whispered. But that offer took an incredible amount of stress from her, and she heaved a sigh of relief. “So how will you continue charming me?”
“Well, we have dishes to do,
and since you cleaned your plate, I promised you a movie.”
“I’d like that. I haven’t really watched much in the past year.”
“Neither have I. So we’ll make popcorn, and sit on the couch, and if you’re a very good girl, I’ll let you hold my hand.”
She thought of his hand in hers, those long fingers caressing hers. She bit her lip. A deal with the devil was definitely not a good thing. “And if I’m a bad girl?”
The ego returned, and he smiled a devilish smile. “Then we won’t need to worry about Sunday.”
Chapter Four
The movie had ended—a comedy, since Chase couldn’t stand the action movies most guys liked. Too riddled with inconsistencies and fallacies. Kate glanced at Chase to discover he had fallen asleep. That surprised her, because he didn’t seem the type to just fall asleep anywhere. He must have been incredibly tired or very relaxed with her.
She shifted on the couch so she could look at him better. He was a man that many women would follow to the ends of the Earth—gorgeous cheek bones, a feathering of dark lashes fanning them, hiding his chocolate brown eyes. His mouth was firm, the lips pale pink in a perfectly masculine way. She liked the dimple in his chin, and the one she knew that resided in his right cheek, now hidden as he slept. The stubble on his strong jaw had grown in, and he looked even sexier this way, more rugged, slightly imperfect.
The stubble was the right balance for the perfection that continued down his lean body. He wasn’t as bulky as Jake but obviously worked out when he had the chance.
He definitely worked sexy into his jeans and T-shirt. The muscles of his biceps were framed perfectly by the short length of the sleeves. He’d crossed his legs at the ankle on the coffee table and he was stretched out. His abs were a ripple beneath the fabric of his shirt, his thighs nicely muscled and firm under his jeans. His feet were bare, and she found it oddly comforting, as if he offered proof he was just a man, not the devil with cloven hooves.
What would it be like to kiss him again? Kate had thought about it a lot throughout the evening, and her libido hadn’t waned much from how it had felt the night they almost made love.
He’d been incredibly charming, sweet, attentive all evening, right down to waiting on her hand and foot, and allowing her to choose the most buttery bits of popcorn. She definitely wanted him, wanted his hands back on her breasts, his mouth exploring. She’d probably let him have sex with her if he woke, but she was definitely nervous about the whole prospect.
But he was asleep, so she didn’t need to worry about that. She tucked her feet under her and leaned forward a bit. She could kiss him before she went to bed, as sort of a thank you for the evening. He was sound asleep, and it would give him some pretty awesome dreams.
She smiled, liking that. She leaned forward a bit more and let her mouth gently touch his. He tasted of salt and butter, and she tentatively slanted her lips across his a little harder, kissing him a little longer.
Chase jumped a bit and his eyes fluttered open, narrowing a second as he took in her face just inches from his. Understanding dawned and he closed them again. “Don’t let me stop you.”
She knew she should stop. The devil was awake, and she’d already bargained with him. Kissing him would just seal the deal. The part of her that was still Emma cried out, warning her to run. He was dangerous. Didn’t she remember? But Kate was tempted, so tempted, by the firmness of his lips.
Kate brushed his mouth with hers again, her lips slanting over his, enjoying the warmth, the shape, how gentle his lips were. His arm went around her back, cupping her shoulder as he pulled her a little closer, his lips a little more insistent.
Then his tongue slipped between her lips and she opened on a moan, wanting to taste him fully. Their tongues tangled, hers hesitant, his showing the way. His hand inched between them and slid beneath her shirt, his hot palm on her stomach, his fingers brushing the underside of her breast.
Her last bit of innocence warned her to say no, to push his hand away, but Kate arched into his palm, wanting more.
“Please,” she whispered, wanting him to cup her breasts, tug at her nipples again. She’d tried alone to mimic what he’d done, but her own hands didn’t net nearly the response. His hand covered her breast and the shocks didn’t disappoint her. Pleasure flew straight to her pussy, her core dampening, pulsing with need.
Chase pushed her back on the couch, his hips now aligned with hers, as he loomed over her. This kiss was smoldering hot, demanding, and when he pressed the hardness of his cock against her pussy, she moaned into his mouth.
“I have a proposition for you,” he whispered against her neck.
“Another one? The devil is feeling generous.” The hand on her breast gently pulled at her nipple, the jolt running deep within her, her stomach tightening, the heat radiating outward, enveloping her entirely. She gasped. “I don’t think it’s fair for you to do that while you proposition me.”
He smiled against her throat as he kissed her, then he propped himself up on an elbow. “I know I said I wouldn’t push you.” He tugged her nipple again, this time rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. The sting of pain was even more pleasurable, more exciting. “I would like this to be about you. I’ll give you a mind-blowing orgasm, and if you’re pleased, you can consider letting me continue. Because I am a gentleman that way.”
“By continue, you mean…”
“Yes.” He thrust his hard cock against her crotch and there was an answering pulse within her pussy, as if that area knew what his shaft was for and that area wanted it more than her mind did.
“I want to make love to you, but I don’t want you to feel like you don’t have options. Like last time. I won’t push you. Just offer you the sweetest pleasure. No strings attached.”
Oh, did the man know how to bargain. “Is my goal to lay back and watch while you give me this orgasm, or am I to thwart you at every turn?”
He chuckled. “Either. I’m very, very good at this. As good as you are at shooting pool or assembling bombs. I plan on making you come so hard, your toes curl.”
“Not scream your name in six languages? I’m disappointed.” She shook slightly at the idea of coming for him, that hard. She’d never come that hard before.
“Lovemaking has its own learning curve.” He shrugged, so sexy, self assured. “Have you had an orgasm before?”
“Yes.”
His smile was even more determined. “Then you can rate what I give you compared to what you’ve had by your hand.”
Kate wanted to say yes. Scream yes. But the Emma part of her hesitated still. “About your prize…If I say no, you’ll wait?”
He hesitated. “Yes.”
She knew his hesitation was a boss-thing. Eventually, he’d have to insist, and she’d have to give in. She hoped she ended up at the point that it didn’t matter any longer, and if she didn’t have him, she’d kill someone.
“Do your best, then,” she whispered.
He grinned, looking almost boyish. “I’d like to go upstairs.”
“Why?” She closed her eyes for a moment, a tremor shaking through her. “Never mind. Okay.”
He took her hand and pulled her from the couch, into his arms. He kissed her for a moment, one filled with tongue and hot promise. “Let’s go.”
“You’re not going to carry me up the stairs?”
He snorted. “If you’ve been running in special ops gear, you should be able to carry me.”
Chase’s bedroom was as gorgeous, formal as the rest of the house and just as impersonal. Tons of pillows were strewn across the bed, the duvet gold and cream with maroon accents. He pulled down the covers, chucked the pillows across the room. “Give me a moment to undress you.”
“I can—”
“It’s part of the experience.” He lowered his head to kiss her, his mouth firm, gently insistent. His hands found her buttons on her shirt and undid them, sliding the material off her shoulders and down her arms. Though undressing should b
e a mundane task, the way his fingers brushed her skin as he removed her shirt was intoxicating. She couldn’t wait for him to undress other areas.
He broke the kiss long enough to admire her bra. “Very pretty. Is it new?”
“Yes. I went shopping this afternoon.”
“Do you like your new breasts?” He ran a finger between her cleavage, then back up.
“They’re every flat-chested woman’s dream.”
“You weren’t flat-chested. You were small but perfect.” He kissed a globe of flesh above the black lace. His tongue ran the edge of her bra, dipping in to tantalize her nipple. She gasped and grabbed his shoulders, needing the support. His mouth slid down the cup of material to take her peak fully into his mouth, sucking gently, then harder. The insistent suction resonated in her belly, and pulses echoed in her pussy.
His hand slid to the other breast, fondling the flesh there, pinching the nipple between his thumb and forefinger. “Do you like that?”
“Yes. Am I supposed to?”
“This isn’t a psych test. There isn’t a right or wrong answer. But some women like a rougher touch than others. I’m trying to see where you fall.”
It surprised her that she liked a more insistent touch. She pictured herself as a soft and gentle girl. Maybe it was just his sinful hands that made anything he did seem too right. “Rough is…nice.”
He ran his tongue between her breasts again. “I have toys we can try sometime, to see how much rough you like.”
“Toys?” she squeaked. He unhooked her bra and removed it, switching to suck her neglected nipple. The pleasure made her not care so much about toys. Hell, if they made her feel anywhere as close to this much ecstasy, she was all for them. “I think we’ll just get through this first.”
His hands slid down her stomach, tickling her navel, tantalizing her hip bones, then they hooked into the front of her pants and deftly unbuttoned her jeans. The denim brushed down her thighs, and she helped him by kicking out of one leg, then the other.