“That was incredible,” he said softly, “you were incredible.”
Maddy tilted her head back. “Really?”
Chase grinned. “I don’t think I was making any secret about how good it felt.” He reached up to touch her face and let out a groan of frustration when the cast kept him from doing anything but lightly stroking her skin with his fingertips. “What about you, sweetheart, did I hurt you?”
“A little at first, but after that it was…devastating.”
His eyes danced with amusement. “Devastating?”
Maddy kissed the corner of his mouth. “Devastating and beautiful and intensely passionate. Is…is it always like this?”
“Sweetheart,” he chuckled, “you’re going to have to give me a little time to recuperate before I can go another round and give you a verdict.”
A blush rose instantly to her cheeks. “That’s not what I was asking. What I meant was whether it was like this…with other women.”
The significance of the frown he’d seen on her face earlier suddenly became clear. “That would be impossible to compare.”
Maddy’s stomach twisted painfully. “Because the others were so beautiful and more sophisticated,” she said flatly.
“No baby, that’s not why. As far as beauty goes, you outshine any woman I’ve ever known but the reason it would be impossible to compare is because with them it was just sex.”
“I may be new at this, Chase, but I’m pretty sure what we just did falls under the category of sex.”
“No, what we did was make love and there’s a huge difference between what we shared and just having sex.”
“In what way?”
“For one thing, you can have sex with anybody. To make love, there has to be something more. I’m not sure I know how to explain it except that it’s a little like watching someone on a carnival ride versus being on the ride yourself. With the others, there was always this emotional detachment but with you…the physical pleasure was so much more intense because of my feelings for you.”
“I’m glad,” she said, nestling her head back on his shoulder and closing her eyes. “Chase? How long do you think it will take you to recuperate?”
He smiled as she tried to stifle a yawn. “Not long, but I think you should try to get a little sleep first. You’re going to be tender for awhile and I don’t want to overdo it.”
“Okay,” she murmured, already half asleep.
The breeze from the open doors felt good as it whispered across her skin. Coupled with the warmth of Chase’s hand moving slowly up and down her back, she was quickly lulled into a world of dreams that swirled around her in a kaleidoscope of disjointed events. Green eyes glared angrily at her, filling her with dread then gradually changed and swept over at her with undisguised desire. She melted under their heated gaze and felt something deep inside of her begin to bloom like the first bud of spring. Love. And then she was falling, her body plummeting through a mist of clouds, but she felt no fear as the wind whipped past her and stole her breath because she knew Chase would be there to catch her.
****
Maddy woke slowly, dragged from her dreams by the sensation of being caressed in a sensual way she’d never known before. It aroused her before she even opened her eyes; the feel of his hand gliding down her back to rest for a moment on her hip then the gentle kneading when it found the curve of her bottom. She moaned softly, tilting her head back to invite the kiss she knew was waiting for her, and wasn’t disappointed. He took his time, languishing over her mouth then concentrating on her breasts, nipping and sucking until she was writhing beneath him and begging him to relieve the ache inside of her.
Maddy welcomed him back into her body, her tender flesh soothed by the slow, easy strokes and the climax that quickly followed. They made love for what seemed like hours, and perhaps it was, because the shadows of evening had begun to fall before he drew one last shuddering breath and released himself inside of her. Their bodies spent, they fell asleep as before and she was awakened again in the night to be taken hard and fast, but this time she felt no tenderness. There was only a sharp need as he drove into her and an explosive passion that shoved aside her inhibitions and gave her the freedom to love him as he was loving her.
When it was over and she had sufficient time to learn how to breathe normally again, Maddy planted a kiss on his lips and sat up. “I’m starving and I know you must be too. Would you care to join me in scouring the kitchen for a midnight snack?”
“I’d love to, Miss Sawyer. Just let me use the bathroom first then I’ll meet you downstairs.”
He didn’t turn on the light before he left to use his own bathroom and for that she was grateful. It was one thing to be stark naked when they were lying in bed together but it was quite another to parade her body in front of him when they weren’t caught up in the throes of passion. It wasn’t that she was ashamed of her figure, it’s just that she couldn’t help noticing how much more curvaceous Angela was and was feeling a little self-conscious. Maddy threw back the covers went to the bathroom, eyeing herself critically in the mirror.
Did Chase prefer a woman with an hourglass figure rather than the gently sloping hips she had? What a stupid question, of course he did, what man wouldn’t? She pursed her lips, studying her breasts. They were full and round, but they certainly didn’t dominate her appearance as Angela’s voluptuous breasts did. And her legs…Maddy peered down to assess her limbs and found she had no complaints. So what if they didn’t go on forever like Angela’s did, they were still slim and shapely and she’s always liked it that her ankles were trim. She straightened up and frowned at her waist. Angela’s waist was practically non-existent, and while her own waist wasn’t thick by any means, it…
“Oh!” Maddy nearly fainted to find Chase’s image suddenly appear behind her.
Chase wrapped his arms around her, cast and all, and pulled her back into him. He’d been watching her for quite some time and it hadn’t taken him long to figure out what she was doing. How any woman who looked like Maddy could ever consider herself inadequate in any way was beyond his realm of comprehension but she was obviously experiencing some serious self-doubt.
Granted she wasn’t tall and leggy like most of the women he dated, but he loved her delicate bone structure and wouldn’t have changed a thing. And her skin…he’d never felt anything as soft as her skin, and even now after having made love to her three times, the feel of its satiny smoothness against his thighs was arousing him.
He lowered his head so that his cheek rested against hers. “Look at us,” he said softly. “Our bodies mold so perfectly together.” He cupped her breast, lightly raking his thumb over the peak as he spoke. “You have no idea how beautiful you are, do you? Your breasts were made to fit my hands, and that lovely bottom of yours nestles in exactly the right spot when I hold you like this.” Chase loosened his hold on her and nibbled at her ear. I want you again, Maddy,” he said huskily.
Maddy’s eyes widened as she caught his smoky gaze in the mirror. “Wh-what are you going to do?”
He laughed softly and gently nudged her legs apart. “I’m going to show you just how beautiful you are, how perfect you are for me.” He pressed his growing erection between her parted thighs and guided himself into her warmth. “Don’t close your eyes,” Chase ordered when her eyelids fluttered. “I want you to watch yourself while I make love to you. I want you to see what I see when I look at you.”
****
Maddy’s lips parted, her pupils dilating as he continued to move in and out of her. What little shred of modesty still remained slipped away as she watched what he was doing to her and the changes that took place in her body because of it. Her breasts seem to swell, the peaks growing taut, and her skin turned a light pink as the heat inside of her began to build. Even her face had taken on a rosy blush and her eyes reflected that same smoky look of desire she’d seen in his. It was erotic, watching his hips thrust forward, feeling the length of him against the raw ne
rves of her inner muscles then the spasm that wracked her body when he pulled back and plunged into her again.
Tentatively, she stretched her arms out and braced herself on the counter then leaned forward to give him greater access. She gasped when he flattened his palm against her belly and drove himself into her, the sensation so mind shattering and explosive she found herself wantonly pushing back to meet each thrust. The wild sound that tore from her throat as she climaxed embarrassed her, though she couldn’t have held it in to save her life.
It was then that Maddy’s eyes locked with his and she understood what Chase had been trying to tell her. No man had ever looked her that way before; as if the sun rose and fell on her face and that nothing or no one existed for him except her.
Chase ground his hips into her, holding her firmly against him until the last of his seed was spent along with the greater part of his strength. Never in his life had he been so insatiable, not even as a young man when nothing seemed more important than having sex. He couldn’t get enough of her and didn’t think that he ever would. He pulled away from her, then gathered her in his arms when she turned around to face him. He looked at their image in the mirror and knew he was lost. Chase grinned at himself and silently bid his bachelorhood good-bye.
“Funny how quickly your life can change, isn’t it?”
Maddy tipped her head back, her mind still reeling from what he’d just done to her, what he was still doing to her. “I’d say my life has taken a pretty sharp turn in the past week.” She touched his cheek lovingly, her eyes reflecting what was in her heart. “Thank you for making me feel beautiful, Chase.”
Choked with emotion, he couldn’t even speak for several minutes and when he finally did, his voice was thick and husky. “A week ago I would have laughed my ass off if anyone told me I’d not only have a woman living in my house but that I’d be happy about it. I used to think I had it all, that there couldn’t possibly be anything else I needed to make my life complete.” He brushed a kiss across her lips. “I was wrong, sweetheart, so wrong. I need you.”
Maddy trembled in his arms. “Chase, I…I feel the same way. I’m so happy being here with you, but it scares me too. I’m afraid I’ll wake up and find that it’s all been a dream. I’ve never wanted anything as much as I want this with you, but I’d be lying if I said I believed you’d be satisfied with just one woman, and I’m worried that what we have together won’t be enough.”
“It is enough,” Chase said firmly. “Listen to me, baby. I know I’m not very good at expressing my feeling, at least not in words, but surely you know…”
He shook his head ruefully. Even now when his heart was practically bursting from feeling so much he couldn’t seem to find the right words. No, that was wrong. He knew exactly what he was feeling and he knew exactly what to say, it was just that he’d never said the words to any woman before. But she deserved to hear them, and he needed to say them. Chase looked into her eyes, drowning in their depths. Oh yes, this was right. He’d never miss those other women, never miss the single life, not as long as he had Maddy to come home to.
He took the hand that was still cupping his cheek and pressed a kiss into her palm. “I love you, Maddy. I know it’s probably too soon to be telling you this but it’s how I feel. I can’t imagine a life without you, not anymore, and I know I can make you happy, happier than you’ve ever been, and…oh God, honey, say something!”
She smiled up at him, watched the sun rise and fall on his face and everything in the world simply faded away. Everything except this one magnificent man. He loved her, loved her. The enormous power of that knowledge was more than her exposed emotions could bear and Maddy was helpless to stop the flood of tears that welled up in her eyes and spilled down over her cheeks.
Chase’s heart broke neatly in two at the sight of her tears. “It was too soon,” he said unhappily. “I knew it was, but I had to tell you. Please don’t cry, sweetheart.”
“I love you too,” she managed to say before the damn broke and she cried even harder.
“But you don’t want to love me, is that it?” He hugged her to him, fierce determination lining his face. “It doesn’t matter, because you do love me and somehow I’ll make you see that we belong together.”
“You…you don’t understand,” she sniffed. “I’m crying because I-I’m so h-happy.”
The dull pain in his chest began to ease when she looked up at him with a wobbly smile. “Thank God,” he said on a sigh, then captured her mouth and kissed her senseless.
****
Maddy hummed softly as her brush brought the painting to life one stroke at a time. Not unlike Chase, she thought wickedly, remembering how erotically he’d stroked her that morning. In the two weeks since they’d declared their feelings for each other they’d fallen even more deeply in love than before, and every morning when she woke to find herself in his arms, she thanked God for bringing them together.
She imagined Chase was quite a force to be reckoned with in the business world because she’d been in the room when he’d made work related calls and knew he could be quite shrewd and ruthless, but he was never anything but kind and tender towards her. He insisted it would be her fault if he lost his hard-nosed reputation and accused her of casting some sort of spell over him, teasingly saying Minelia must have had a hand it.
“Who’s Minelia?” She’d asked sharply, feeling the barbed edges of jealousy stab at her heart. “Is that an old girlfriend?”
It was the following evening, after that first time they’d slept together. They’d been sitting on the sofa watching an old movie but she’d been more interested in kissing Chase and soon found herself on her back, pinned beneath him. One thing led to another, as it inevitably did when they started kissing, and he’d been so anxious to make love to her that he’d dispensed with the niceties of getting completely undressed. He’d managed to get her panties off and bunch her sundress around her hips, while his own jeans had only made it to his knees before he’d buried himself inside of her.
It didn’t last more than a few minutes, but she hadn’t expected it to, not when she’d done her level best to push him to the point where he could no longer control himself. Afterwards, when they’d straightened their clothing and he’d settled back on the sofa with her in his arms, he’d made the remark about Minelia. That’s when she asked if Minelia was an old girlfriend.
Chase laughed, easily subduing her when she struggled to get off his lap. “Minelia,” he explained, “is the goddess of pure, endless love who delights in bringing lovers together who are destined for each other. The story is that once Minelia brings a couple together, she strengthens the bond by helping them consummate their union. And,” his voice softened, “when the time is right, she makes the woman ripe for conceiving.”
Maddy’s insides melted at the thought of carrying his child. “Do…do you want to have children? Someday, I mean.”
Chase’s hand moved to cover her flat belly. A smile tipped the corner of his mouth. “I never really thought about it before, but I kind of like the idea of planting my baby inside of you. Maybe I’ve already gotten you pregnant.”
“I assure you I’m not,” Maddy said with a laugh and wondered why that disappointed her so much.
“You could be,” he insisted. “It’s not as if we used protection last night or just now for that matter.”
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Did you just suddenly remember about the protection because of your lesson on Minelia?”
Chase gave her a sheepish grin. “I admit the first time we made love it completely slipped my mind in the heat of the moment.”
Maddy arched a brow. “And what about the numerous times after that?”
He shrugged, his grin broadening. “Okay, so maybe it did cross my mind that if I got you pregnant you’d have to marry me.”
“Marry you? Chase, we hardly know each other!” Her breath caught in her throat when he pulled her up hard against his chest and kissed her soundly.
“We’ll have a lifetime to get to know each other, sweetheart. Marry me, be my wife, have my babies. I want to grow old with you, Maddy.”
There was a desperation to his voice that plucked at her heartstrings, made even more endearing by the sudden tension in his body. He meant it, she realized with a surge of happiness that was so forceful it knocked the wind out of her. Maddy looked into his pleading eyes, and it wasn’t difficult envisioning a lifetime with this man. He’d taken her by storm and flat out stole her heart from the moment his lips first touched hers, but it wasn’t one sided, not by a long shot. He was just as captivated by her; she could see it in his face, heard it in his voice, felt it in the rigid muscles of his shoulders and the way his stilted breath hitched because of her hesitation.
Ignoring the whispers of reason that gave her a million arguments why it couldn’t work, Maddy threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled his mouth down to hers. His big body trembled in response to her ardent kiss and the fire that had only just been doused by their love making ignited instantly, scorching her skin, burning her from the inside out, consuming the last vestige of doubt and leaving her utterly at his mercy. She could never deny him anything. Maddy, who had fought with her mother and father for independence, who had never given herself to another man for fear of losing herself, now willing accepted that Chase would always come first in any decisions she made for the rest of her life. He was everything to her, everything.
A MATTER OF TRUST Page 8