by Jana Mercy
Had she somehow become a trophy to be won? Seemed unlikely within the short confines of a mere week, but she suspected Mel’s attention played a role in Chase’s interest.
“You okay in there?” Sheila called through the bedroom door.
“Yes.” Adrienne opened the door. Sheila stared curiously into her bedroom at the neatly made bed.
“No one’s in here with you?”
Adrienne’s eyes widened. “Any reason there should be?”
“Your dress is in the floor, like it was taken off the moment you stepped inside the apartment. I assumed Mel stayed the night.”
“No.” Heat suffused her face. How could she have completely forgotten about her clothes?
“No?” Sheila persisted. “You can’t leave me hanging like that. Was he fabulous or what?”
Adrienne closed her eyes as memories of Chase’s hands and mouth on her body assailed her. The memory of his powerful release as they both fell over the brink. She sighed. “Better.”
“Adrienne!” Sheila squealed. “I’m so glad for you.”
“Me, too,” she admitted. Even if she only got the one time of being the center of Chase’s world, what an experience it had been.
“Mel is a lucky man.” Sheila stared expectantly.
“I wasn’t with Mel last night, but you already know that.”
Sheila smiled, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
“So Chase was still here when you got home. Looks like he didn’t have to ‘chase’ you too far judging by where you’re dress landed.”
“Why did you leave him alone in our apartment?”
“What was I supposed to do? Bodily throw him out? He wasn’t budging until you came home.”
She knew first hand just how stubborn the man could be when he wanted something. Last night he’d wanted her. Until he’d had her.
“The man’s impossible,” she agreed.
“When are you seeing him again?”
“Today at work, I imagine.”
“Enjoy the sex, but just remember not to let your heart get involved. Chase isn’t the kind of man to give your love to.” Sheila advised as they left. “Your body, yes. Your heart, no way.”
Too late. What she’d shared with Chase had entangled her heart so securely there couldn’t be any unraveling of the ties that bound her to him.
Chase stared out the window of his office at the river off in the distance and contemplated his relationship with Adrienne. And whether he’d meant to or not, he did have a relationship with her.
He was involved with a coworker. Damn it, how had that happened?
On Monday, he hadn’t been able to stand the thought of her date with Mel. Not after that hot kiss he’d shared with her. She’d had him harder than a rock with just one kiss.
But man what a kiss.
He’d taken her lips in frustrated anger. But with the first touch of her soft lips, he’d been gone. His stomach had constricted to a quivering mass when she kissed him back.
When had a kiss ever turned him on so much?
Just thinking about her responsive sweetness made his groin rise to attention.
His feet shifted.
Damn, it wasn’t even nine A.M. yet. He shouldn’t be turned on at the memory of just a kiss.
Especially not at the memory of Adrienne Morris’s kiss.
He frowned as he thought over the previous night’s events.
Waiting for her to return from her date had been torturous. The moment she entered the apartment, he’d known she hadn’t slept with Mel. Her pureness radiated, both scaring him and drawing him deeper into her spell.
The thought of Mel possibly taking her virginity had driven him crazy. He’d had no right, either, but he’d wanted her.
Wanted? Hell, he’d had to have her.
Now, he felt guilty as sin.
He’d done exactly what he’d been trying to protect her from. Instead of Mel taking advantage of her pureness, he’d been the one to taste her innocent nectar.
Taste it? He’d devoured every drop of her heavenly body.
He shouldn’t have taken her virginity.
He shouldn’t feel like a seventeen year old boy dying for his next lay.
Only, not just any woman would do.
He wanted her. Just her.
He didn’t like it one bit.
He couldn’t recall a woman who’d caused him such agony, such loss of self-control, such absolute fulfillment.
Thoughts being inside Adrienne shredded his reason. His stomach fluttered. If he didn’t know better he’d think his stomach had just quivered.
Stomachs did not quiver.
He couldn’t free his head of how he’d felt when she’d opened her body to him. Of how she’d kissed him. Met him thrust for thrust.
Why should he?
She wasn’t his assistant anymore. Nor was she a virgin. He’d taken care of both of those obstacles.
He ignored his snippet of guilt that he’d subconsciously removed the barriers with calculated precision.
Of course, the nagging worry she’d equate great sex to love and a need for marriage still presented a problem. But, she’d told him she understood.
Marriage and Aaron men didn’t mix.
But beautiful, sexy women were right up their alley.
Adrienne Morris was both beautiful and sexy and this Aaron man wanted another taste.
He was starving.
Wonder what she had planned for lunch?
Adrienne instinctively knew the moment Chase walked into the cafeteria. Did he have some type of homing device that warned when Mel came within five feet of her?
She’d called and invited Mel to join her for lunch.
What was Chase doing here, anyway? He didn’t take his meals in the employee cafeteria. She could only recall one instance of him doing so the entire time she’d worked at Weston Financial.
So why today?
She tried not to stare, but found it impossible. Her mind screamed that only last night he’d been naked and inside her, pleasuring her.
How did a woman ignore a man when her brain kept having flashbacks like those?
She clenched her fork.
Mel noticed and glanced in Chase’s direction. His curious gaze skimmed over her heated cheeks.
“You must be upset he fired you.”
“I have a better job now, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I’d like to pay him back for firing me. The man is so arrogant it’s a wonder his swollen head fits inside the building.”
“It would have been nice if something had been open in legal.” Mel regarded her curiously.
“I would have liked that.” She smiled, trying to look at him as she would Chase, hoping Mel couldn’t see right through her.
“Saving me a seat, honey?” Chase slid into the empty chair opposite Mel, sandwiching her between them.
Honey? It wasn’t what Adrienne expected to hear. Not after his hasty retreat the night before. Exactly what she’d expected, she wasn’t sure, just not that.
His attitude toward her went from one extreme to the other so fast she couldn’t keep track.
“Three’s a crowd, Aaron,” Mel advised, not bothering to hide his displeasure at Chase’s intrusion.
“So, get lost,” Chase advised.
“Don’t hold your breath.”
Adrienne looked from one to the other. It seemed they’d both forgotten she even sat at the table as they squared off at one another. She’d had enough of participating in their little game.
This was the perfect opportunity to ingratiate herself with Mel by publicly ‘proving’ where her alliance lay.
“Mel’s right. Three is a crowd. You two have fun.” With those words, she gracefully stood from her seat, plopped a kiss on Mel’s cheek. “I’ll call you later.”
She sashayed out of the cafeteria, knowing both men stared at her retreating backside.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“What the hell do you think that little stunt
was about?” Chase stormed into Adrienne’s new office.
Adrienne looked up from where she worked at her desk. “What do you mean?”
“Cut the crap. You know exactly what I mean. You sleep with me and less than twenty-four hours later you’re kissing Mel Sheppard?”
She averted her gaze, her face pale. She looked guilty.
“What the hell is going on?”
Her gaze flitted back to his. “Last night was a big mistake. You said so yourself.”
Sure he had, but hearing her say the words ticked him off.
“You didn’t enjoy last night?”
Her cheeks flushed. “You know I did, but let’s face it, you aren’t the kind of man I’m looking to have a relationship with.”
“Hell, a week ago, you weren’t looking for a man at all.”
She lowered her gaze to the papers on her desk. “I shouldn’t have lied to you, but I can’t change the past. Sometimes life presents hard choices and a person has to do things they wouldn’t consider under other circumstances.”
Huh? “What are you saying?”
She took a deep breath. “I’m saying that although last night was wonderful. I don’t want a repeat. At least, not from you. I plan to pursue a relationship with Mel.”
She was lying.
She had to be lying.
He felt sick.
Very sick.
“You’re saying you plan to make love with Mel?” The thought of Mel touching her, of her moaning at Mel’s touch, almost undid him.
Damp heat flushed his skin and nausea churned. His legs wobbled.
“I don’t delude myself that I love him, but I have my reasons for wanting to be with Mel.”
He was sick. Sick to his very core.
He stared at her until he could stand the sight of her no longer, refusing to label the ache within him.
“Fine.”
Adrienne placed her hand over her mouth to keep from calling Chase back. Her resolve cracked and she ran after him.
Too late. He was already gone.
She closed her eyes.
What had she just done?
She’d seen the cold acceptance enter his eyes. He’d blocked out whatever feelings he had for her. Had he felt more than just a rivalry for Mel?
Yes, her heart needed to believe he had. That last night had been about two people giving in to the need they’d been denying for weeks.
She did believe.
But, between the lies and deceit, Chase would never forgive her.
“George, I can’t do this anymore. I have to tell Chase the truth.” Adrienne announced two minutes later as she entered George’s office.
“You can’t.”
“Why not?” Her brow furrowed. She’d sat at her desk and realized she had to tell Chase everything. From who she was to what their suspicions about Mel were.
“I’ve been running some traces on phone calls made from this building. Several calls have gone out to Chicago. To Drew Steinberg’s private number.”
“And?” She didn’t see what that had to do with Chase. “We’ve known Drew had somebody on the inside of Westons all along.”
“As much as it grieves me to admit this, I think I pointed the arrow in the wrong direction.”
Flutters rose up her throat. “What do you mean?”
George’s gaze met hers. Deep sadness wearied his eyes. “The calls came from Chase’s office.”
“No.” Her feet gave out from under her as she fell back into a chair.
It couldn’t be true. Chase couldn’t be helping Drew.
But he had said he questioned whether or not he’d made the right choice backing Roger.
She rubbed her throbbing temple.
Chase had a lot to lose if he backed the wrong person. Had he thrown in lots with Drew? Had his backing Roger only been a ruse to mask what was really going on?
Oh God.
Her head ached.
Her heart broke.
“There’s more.”
Her gaze lifted to George.
“I had a private investigator run some checks on Chase. His bank accounts have had a great deal of activity lately. I’m talking six figure amounts have been transferred into his accounts. The PI hasn’t been able to trace the source of the money—just that it originated from Switzerland.”
No. No. No.
Chase couldn’t be the one involved in whatever Drew had going on. He couldn’t.
“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?” George Weston took her hand in his. “I hate to see you hurt. I’d never have believed it of the boy, myself, but the facts speak for themselves.”
All this time she’d been worried about how she deceived him. He’d been deceiving her. Plotting to help an evil man take over her father’s company. She just couldn’t buy it. Not Chase.
“Now what?” she asked her late father’s friend.
“We need to call Roger. Get him in on what we’re doing.” He squeezed her hand. “Either Mel and Drew are setting Chase up to take the fall or you’re going to have to shift your focus to Chase. Either way, we’re running out of time.”
“Sorry, Mel, but I can’t keep our date tonight.” Adrienne continued to browse through the messages on her business e-mail as she spoke into the phone.
She listened to his response only half-heartedly. She’d called and left a message on Chase’s voice mail, telling him she really needed to talk to him. That it was urgent she do so.
Whether or not he’d give her the time of day, she wasn’t sure. But, she’d come up with a back-up plan if he didn’t.
He might ignore Adrienne Morris, but in his power hungry greed it was unlikely he’d ignore Adrianna Morrigan.
Mel’s repeated request for her to change her mind, keep their date called her back to the phone conversation.
“Listen, Mel. I’ve got to go. I’m not sure it’s a good idea for us to go out again. Thanks anyway.” She hung the phone up before he could launch into a new set of protests.
“Bravo.” Clapping met her ears the moment the handset touched its cradle.
“Chase.” Automatically his name rolled off her lips. Had his Mel alert gone off? Warning him of her phone conversation with the other man? Or had he gotten her message?
“So, you’ve dumped us both,” he accused, sauntering closer to her desk.
“No,” she denied, but didn’t meet his eyes. She couldn’t. He might see the pain that he was out to destroy her father’s company. The hurt that she loved him and hated him at the same time.
“We need to talk.”
She supposed they did. “Yes.”
“Can we go somewhere this evening?”
“I have plans,” she fibbed. Her gaze drifted to those powerful thighs right in front of her desk.
“Not with loverboy.”
“No,” she agreed.
“You’ve already hooked another man?” his tone rang so incredulous it irked her.
“That’s none of your business.” She glared at him.
“I think after Tuesday night, it is.”
Adrienne laughed.
“That was just sex,” she reminded. “A one time thing. You said so yourself.”
He shifted his weight. “That’s what we need to talk about.”
“It’ll have to wait, Chase. I really am busy.”
“The entire weekend?” His eyes narrowed to dark emeralds. “We could have lunch together.”
Adrienne’s head swam. He wanted to have lunch with her? Having ‘lunch’ with Chase was one of her fantasies. Didn’t he know how unfair his suggestion was?
She stopped what she was doing, took her purse from her desk drawer, and glanced up at him. She pretended her heart didn’t race and her legs didn’t tremble just at the sight of him. Not that it made much difference.
The thought of ‘lunch’ with Chase stole her breath away, just the same as it always had. ‘Lunch’ with Chase was her ultimate fantasy.