by Lisa Eugene
“You’re fucking killing me!” he barked with a shaky smile. “Fucking ride me, Dani. I—I can’t wait any longer.”
I held his steady gaze and straddled his hips, slipping his broad tip inside me. My lids drifted shut at the delicious pinpricks tickling my flesh, spreading like spilled molasses through my sex.
“You are beautiful, so beautiful . . .” His gritty whisper reached through the sensual darkness behind my lids, hitching my passion up another degree. Although slick with arousal, I had trouble adjusting to his size. I’d forgotten how thick he was.
Chase gurgled a rough curse and my eyes flew open when he grabbed my hips and in one swift move slammed the entire length of his shaft into me. Pleasure burst through my body, so good it curled my toes and exploded fireballs deep in my core. All I could do was brace my palms flat on his chest as he held my hips and pumped up wildly into me. I tossed my head back, thinking vaguely that I was supposed to be riding him. But Chase took full control and the intense heat and friction of his driving cock soon had another orgasm surging through me.
“Yes! Yes! Dani! My beautiful love. Come! Squeeze my cock! Feels so fucking good.”
I was still inhaling great gulps of air when he dragged me close to his body, my breasts mashed tight to his chest. He found my lips, kissing me soundly and murmuring words that tightened my chest. He grunted into my mouth as he slammed into me over and over with a violence that forced my hips far up off the floor. His body locked stiff, and with a thunderous shout, he came in quick, pulsating waves.
Panting, we collapsed on the floor, my head falling into the crook of his damp neck, his palm lovingly cradling my head as his fingers stroked my hair. I inhaled him, absurdly trying to trap his scent in my lungs, to officially seal his imprint. I felt wonderful, magical. And yet I knew this feeling wouldn’t last. I couldn’t have him. My mother was right. We were from two different worlds, and I would not risk my heart again. My eyes were wide open now. I wouldn’t delude myself.
Like those stolen Tuesdays at his office, this too, had to come to an end. I couldn’t go back to that. Things had changed. Savoring one last inhale, I lifted my head. Chase kept his eyes closed, his features soft, more relaxed than I’d ever seen him. Long dark lashes any woman would kill for rested lightly on high cheekbones. His lips were pink, the bottom slightly puffy and sexy as hell.
All the reasons this had been a bad idea stomped through my brain, turning on lights and demanding attention. I had to say something.
As if sensing my watchful gaze, the corners of his lips curved slightly.
“The answer is no, Dani,” he intoned evenly, eyes still closed.
I frowned, ignoring his words. Firming my resolve, I parted my lips to speak when his lids popped open.
“Chase . . . this was—”
“Amazing.”
Exasperated, I rolled my eyes, but bit my lip to keep from smiling.
“Well . . . yes . . . but also a mistake. We can’t do this. It’s—”
His finger came against my lips, chopping my sentence.
“The answer is no,” he repeated firmly. “We are not ending this.”
I sighed heavily, acutely aware our current position didn’t offer me an advantage, in fact it made a shameful mockery of my argument. He was still inside me—still thick and hard.
His fingers gently touched my cheek. “We are not going to waste another moment. I’m not letting you go.”
Pumping his hips, he slid deeper into me, causing a moan to break away from my throat. As if proving his point, and abiding no further dissension, he gave me a lopsided grin and rolled us over. His ass swiveled and his cock stirred a fiery thrill along the walls of my passage.
“There is another matter of great importance I wish to discuss,” he said seriously.
My heart teetered with worry. “What?”
“We’re going to need more condoms,” he groaned, claiming my lips.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I fluttered open my lids. Gray light filtered through receding shadows, casting a hazy glow into my small bedroom. Images of the previous night stole out of my dreams, seducing me back to sleep. My sheets were still warm, still perfumed with Chase. Hugging a pillow to my naked body, I smiled because I just couldn’t help myself. My thighs were notably sore, other parts of me deliciously tender. I stretched languidly and a noise from the other room drew my attention.
Slipping on my bathrobe, I made my way to the living room. Chase stood in the middle of the small space, hands at his hips, head tilted back as he tracked a network of ugly cracks and peeling plaster decorating my ceiling. Like the gleaming piano, he seemed conspicuously out of place here. Clad only in boxer briefs, he stood tall and lean, his body tanned and beautifully sculpted with muscle. His dark hair was tousled, a short curl falling over his creased forehead.
Pushing away the embarrassment clenching my gut, I straightened my spine and approached him. I’d never apologize for my circumstances. I created the best picture I could with the canvas and paints life gave me.
Seeing me, Chase smiled and folded me into the warm pocket of his embrace. The tight hills and supple folds of his body were a wonderful shock of sensation. His eyes were stunning in the early morning light, shimmery flecks exploding through the sky blue. He dragged me close and dropped a kiss on my forehead. I followed his gaze to the bucket sitting on one side of the room holding about an inch of sooty water.
“What’s going on there?” he asked, frowning.
“It must’ve rained last night,” was all I offered.
His frown deepened. “Why doesn’t your super fix this?”
I knew by “this” he meant all the broken, dilapidated shit in my apartment.
“He wants money.”
Chase pulled back, his expression growing from confused to furious. “It’s the building’s responsibility to make sure your apartment is safe.”
Shrugging, I circled my arms loosely around his waist, not wanting to get into it.
“I’ll give the building’s owner a call,” he said.
“You’ll do no such thing.”
“Your super—”
“Chase,” I shook my head firmly. “This is not your concern.”
Stanley was an asshole, and the building was run-down, but things could be much, much worse. If I caused trouble for Stanley, he could make my life hell, maybe even get me evicted before I had a chance to find a new place.
“Like hell it’s not! You are my concern!”
I had to bite my lip to keep from telling him to mind his own damn business. Despite what I’d told him in anger, I was a grown woman, and didn’t need someone to take care of me. The look I gave him must’ve conveyed that sentiment because he sighed and shook his head in exasperation.
“We’re not done talking about this.” Securing me in his arms, he nuzzled his nose in my hair. “But I don’t want to fight with you this morning.”
“Good,” I grinned. “You’d lose.”
He chuckled and kissed me, tasting and nibbling my lips before licking his tongue deep. Melting against him, I moaned. I didn’t want to fight either. I was still trying to figure out what was happening between us, to decide if I’d totally lost my mind.
“How’s the campaign going?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“Good. I’m starting a round of debates next week. I’m meeting with Phil in an hour, then the police commissioner. I have to leave soon.”
“Oh,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment. “The election is only a couple months away.”
“Phil wants to really crank things up. He and his team have all sorts of events and interviews planned for me.”
“He wants you to win.”
He snorted. “Phil wants Phil to win. He’s worked on a few successful, high profile campaigns and has a reputation to maintain. I’ve got him worried.”
“Worried you’ll lose?”
“Having Kensington’s support makes a big difference, but voters haven�
��t forgotten the pollution scandal, and although I gained some ground early in the summer, it’s still touch and go. Gonzalez is still the front-runner.”
I chewed my lip, suspecting why he’d gained ground early in the summer. There’d been a great outpouring of support for him after his wife had been taken off life support. I remembered Jolene glued to the newspaper on her break, following every aspect of Chase’s life like it had been a reality show.
Women had rallied behind Chase, sending him condolence and sympathy letters, some even marriage proposals. As the daughter of a well-known senator, and a member of a prestigious family, Amy Rutherford’s death had gained national attention.
“How was your trip to Thailand?” I asked, needing to switch my focus.
“We closed down the factory.”
Feeling my eyes grow wide, I beamed, “That’s great! That’s what you wanted.”
Nodding soberly, he rubbed a palm up and down my back, the touch warming me. “I’m glad it’s finally closed.”
“But?” I’d heard it in his voice.
“I couldn’t get all the information I needed on Robert. I was able to get some of the original reports documenting the pollution, but nothing on the bribery. I suspect Robert knew what I’d been after.”
“How could he?” I asked.
He hesitated a fraction and my worry spiked.
“I found surveillance equipment in my office,” he confessed, giving me an apologetic look. “He knows I’m trying to dig up stuff on him.”
Sucking in a shocked breath, I absorbed what that meant.
“He knows about us,” I whispered, mostly to myself.
Sighing heavily, he said, “I believe so.”
“Have you gone to the board, told them what he’s done?”
He shook his head. “I was able to convince the board members to vote to close the factory. Robert knows I have the original reports. I used them as leverage to get him not to oppose the vote, but bringing him down is a different matter. I need more.”
“What about your source—the factory manager?”
“He says he has proof of the bribery, and he’ll hand it over, but he’s been stalling. He’s afraid.”
“Of Robert?”
Chase shrugged. “Yes, but most likely Los Lobos. They’re ruthless. They’ll have no qualms about making him disappear.”
“Do you think you can get him to turn over the evidence you need?”
“I’ll have to convince him. Since we closed the factory, things have been more tense between Robert and I. I don’t want to put the factory manager in danger.”
As much as I wanted Chase to unseat his unscrupulous CEO, I couldn’t help my worry. “Maybe you should just focus on the election for now. At least the factory is closed. Once you’re mayor, you can maybe approach the situation from a different angle—use your influence to have Robert investigated. I’m sure Flex-Steel wouldn’t want that type of scrutiny. The board might ask him to step down.”
He shot me a smile. “I miss talking to you. You always help clear my head.” Lacing our fingers, he brought them to his lips and nibbled gently on my knuckles. Tingles shimmied down my arm. “Before I met you, my world was in chaos—Flex-Steel, the election, Amy, Kensington—I was dealing with so much, there were days I honestly didn’t think I’d get through it, but . . . but you burst into my life with your smartass attitude and your feisty personality demanding this and that.”
Huffing at his characterization, I opened my mouth to respond. With a lopsided grin, he brought a finger to my lips, silencing me.
“And suddenly everything seemed manageable. Our appointments—our time together, was the calm in the midst of my storm. I couldn’t wait for Tuesday to come.”
I stared, not certain how to respond because that was exactly how I’d felt about him, why I’d kept going back week after week. He’d been adamant about not ending things, but he was misguided if he thought we could continue this way. He was running for office. I wasn’t exactly a model citizen. An association with me would not help his campaign.
He cleared gravel from his throat and kissed the back of my hand, his lips dawdling there. As if sensing my reservations, he confessed, “Dani, I want to spend time with you, get to know you beyond our appointments. I want to get to know Emily.”
“What are you saying?”
He grinned irreverently. “I want to be your sugar daddy.”
I rolled my eyes and punched him playfully, sighing when he chuckled and drew me closer. Surely he could see how impossible that would be. He was recently widowed. The public had mourned the passing of his wife with him, had praised his courage and devotion to a selfless philanthropist and wonderful woman.
Chase was not someone who would now fade into obscurity; he’d always be in the spotlight. The mayoral race was highly publicized. To see him, just a few weeks later, with another woman would not only be repugnant in the eyes of his public, but would be a terrible disrespect to his recently buried wife. Despite my feelings for him, that wasn’t a situation I wanted any part of. It could only prove disastrous for me and Emmy. The fact we’d been “involved” while he was still married was still fueling my guilt.
I shook my head. “It’s not possible. There’re too many variables—”
“I understand all the implications. I know how it might look to some people. I would never want to disrespect Amy’s memory. We can be discrete—for a while.”
He squeezed his eyes shut, seeming to need a moment to collect his thoughts. “I’ve been alone—lonely for a very long time. I’ve submerged myself in work, in charities, in politics, hoping to find a purpose, hoping to fill a void that just grew wider as time passed by. Dani, you fill that void. Only you. It might be selfish of me to want you, and God knows I loved my wife, but I’m not giving you up.” Determination fixed his jaw, his voice growing hoarse. “I can’t.”
A fine tremor shook my hands, vibrated my body with my feelings for this man, with my fear for us both, and my foolish desire to hold on to him.
Maybe we could continue for just a little while longer . . .
Could I forgive him as Wanda had urged? Could I try to understand why he hadn’t been honest with me? Or was this all going to blow up in my face? Was I opening myself up to more pain, inevitable heartbreak?
I had no answers. I only had an aching need, the same void it seemed only he could fill.
“I have a house in the Hamptons,” he said. “It’s private, on the beach. Come away with me this weekend. You and Emily. It’ll be just us. Our time. It’ll also give me a chance to figure out what I’m going to do about Robert.”
I nodded, snuggling into his chest. I couldn’t see his wide smile, but I felt it deep in my soul, felt the warm magic of it vanquish my uncertainty.
Chase cupped my ass, grinding me against the thick bulge in his briefs. I startled and laughed when he blew raspberries into my neck.
“What are you doing?” I asked between giggles.
“I have about a half hour before I have to go.” Grinning wickedly, he skimmed his tongue along the shell of my ear, making me squirm with delight. “Come, let Daddy give you some sugar.”
Throwing my head back, I laughed, instantly heating at the sweet promises in his eyes.
***
Chase’s beach house was a gorgeous, finely crafted home in the traditional East Hampton shingle style. A grand entryway led to a great room with soaring ceilings and a beautiful fireplace framed by a wall of colonial windows.
I tried to keep my jaw from dropping as I peeked into each of the eight bedrooms. Taking the back stairs, I passed the large chef’s kitchen, and stepped through sliding glass doors to the slate patio where a pristine, private stretch of beach greeted me with rolling blue water. The view was spectacular, nothing short of majestic.
A hot breeze swirled the see-through wrap covering my bathing suit and I unfurled my arms, letting the summer sun kiss my darkly tanned skin. My gaze turned back to the house. I’d nev
er been anyplace more beautiful. Hell, I’d never been out of the boroughs. I thought of my small, run-down apartment with its peeling plaster walls, unsightly stains, and boxes and crates for furniture.
Chase hadn’t called my super, but he’d shown up the following day with a ladder, buckets of spackle, and paint. He’d stubbornly defied me, and despite my protests, climbed up on the ladder and gotten to work on repairing the worst of my many leaks. It was difficult to stay angry with him when it was obvious he only meant well, but being here was another reminder of the vast differences in our lifestyles.
I’d left Emmy and Chase on the beach while I’d run up to fetch a hat for Emmy. Unlike me, Emmy burned easily. Her completion was lighter and more sensitive to the sun. I was scanning the landscape, searching for the two of them, when husky, deep laugher gave away their location. I rounded to the side of the house offering more shade, and stopped, smiling.
“All right, last one!” Chase announced to Emmy with a sly smile on his face. He lowered his voice dramatically. “And it’s special. This one has Dora on it! But, I hid it in a place where you’ll never find it. If you do, I’ll—I’ll . . .” He made the mistake of looking over to me to fill in his sentence.
“Stand on your head,” I supplied with an encouraging nod, biting back a smile.
His dark brows drew together, eyes shooting me a warning wrapped in amusement. Slowly, hesitantly, he nodded agreement and turned back to Emmy.
“Deal.”
I folded my arms across my breasts and looked on as he held up his watch. He was beautiful, the mop of black waves on his head contrasting with light blue eyes that rivaled the sea and the sky. He wore loose bathing trunks that I wanted to peel off every time I glanced at them. His bare chest was tanned and defined, glistening with a sheen from the humid day. Dark hair dusted long muscular legs, and my skin tingled when I recalled the way they’d felt wrapped around me last night.