“I’m just a college kid,” I stammered, unsure of what to say. Unsure of myself. One wrong word or move in front of this man could guarantee I never even get the chance at a business career. My mind raced with the prospect of how many people I could help if any of this worked out. “I don’t even have a degree yet. I don’t know why Chase is so interested.”
Mr. Banks smiled, this time through tight lips. There was a glint in his eye that I couldn’t quite understand. “I’m sure Chase has his reasons. Besides, I’ve always known you to be quite capable.”
My brow knit in an alcohol hazed confusion. Before I could ask what he meant, a gorgeous young woman in a navy silk cocktail dress latched onto Mr. Banks and pulled him away. I stared after them for a second, my heart pounding in my chest. Then, I felt an unpleasant drip down my leg and remembered why I needed to visit the ladies room in the first place.
I spied the sign labeled ladies a few feet away, and stepped inside the poshest restroom I’d ever seen. There was actually an attendant, with Chanel and Tom Ford cosmetics on the counter and a silver tray of cotton swabs and single-use applicators. I gaped at myself in the mirror. My red cheeks, mussed up hair, and grimace looked like I’d just wandered in from the Discount Happy Hour. But I couldn’t stop myself from grinning. Because I knew that I wasn’t at the Discount Happy Hour. I was at the high falutin’ Waldorf Astoria for the very first time.
The attendant didn’t even make eye contact with me as I stepped up to the sink, stretched the fabric as far as it could go and wrung out the skirt in the basin. The sight of the silk wrinkling made me cringe, but I knew that Charlie was right – as long as I washed it out quickly, the stain probably wouldn’t show. You’re such a klutz, I thought as I stared at myself in the mirror. Lucky that you picked something black.
The bathroom door swung open, and a girl who looked to be around my age waltzed in. She had light brown hair parted on the side, glasses, and a body-skimming jersey dress. When she saw me at the sink, she raced over.
“Oh my god, let me guess, the wine? I’ve done it so many times myself. It’s easy to get overwhelmed at these things.” She beamed up at me. “I’m Angela. I intern at Banks Realty.” She squinted. “And I haven’t seen you before. What do you do there? Oh, let me guess. You’re not an intern, you’re a friend of the Banks family?”
I laughed – at first politely, but after a few seconds in her company, it turned into a genuine fit of the giggles. Angela was the first real-looking and behaving person I’d seen all night. Even Charlie, Nolan’s smart new wife, had a precision and coolness that didn’t just magically appear at one’s first work function. Let alone one at the Waldorf. It was a relief to be standing with someone who could have just as easily been a fellow Hunter student.
“Yeah,” I said with a wink and a grin. “I’m Mr. Bank’s long-time escort, a high dollar call girl.”
Angela stared. “Noooo,” she breathed. “You’re kidding, right?”
I burst out laughing. “Of course I’m kidding.” Rolling my eyes, I pressed the cold tap on the sink and began rinsing my skirt in the icy water. “I’m a guest of Chase’s. Chase Bradenton. He wants to hire me to intern at Banks, and said this would be a good way for me to meet everyone and see if it would be a good fit.”
Angela’s light brown eyes widened. “Wow. That’s almost as good.” She stepped closer and expertly began rubbing the silk against itself. I watched as the water turned a light pink from the wine and then swirled down the marble drain. “I mean, Chase is just awesome. I only met him a few weeks ago, but he’s incredible. I think he really could sell ocean front property in Arizona.”
An exemplary salesman. And you would do well to remember it, Chastity.
“That’s what I’ve heard,” I replied. Angela reached down and wrung out my skirt again, then smoothed it in her hands. “Hey, thanks. You’re good at that.”
You know those people you meet and immediately feel a connection? As if you’d known each other for years. I felt it with Angela.
“I’m awkward,” Angela replied with a frown. “I have to be good at getting stains out. This should be good, but you’ll want to iron it, of course. I am so excited about working together.” Angela leaned in closer. “Chase has already told me all about you, and I can’t wait.”
I blinked, and my heart started pounding a staccato rhythm in my chest. Exactly what had Chase told everyone about me? “He has?”
“Oh, yeah.” Angela grabbed my hand and squeezed. “And we’re going to be best friends, I can already tell!” She rolled her eyes dramatically. “I was just dying without anyone to have lunch with. And we can even go shopping together after work. But I don’t have a lot of money like their full-time employees. I mean…”
I laughed. “I know exactly what you mean. Hey, I’m a starving college student myself. Just so you know in advance, I’m not really that great at shopping. My roommate’s the one who found me this dress.”
Angela laughed. “After a week of working at Banks, you’ll be good at shopping.” She leaned in close. “Don’t let anyone hear you repeat this, but the women there are so catty. You can’t trust anyone.” Angela straightened up and crossed her arms over her chest. “Except for me, obviously. And Charlie. She’s one cool chick.”
Chapter Eight
Chase
By the time Chastity came back from the bathroom, nervous anxiety crackled through me. From the moment I’d picked her up, I hadn’t been able to contain my thirst. Her body, that black silk dress. The way her eyes flashed at me, then gazed demurely down at the floor like she didn’t think she could handle me. Maybe she couldn’t, even though every single cell in my body screamed that she could.
Deep down, I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to handle her. Every time I thought about our little chat on the phone, my cock throbbed between my legs. I hadn’t even wanted to talk to her then, but she’d somehow worked some kind of goddamn sexy-voiced magic over me. And now the little minx stood at my side, a grin stretching her gorgeous mouth.
“Sorry,” Chastity said with a giggle. She took a sip of champagne and tottered slightly on her feet. “I got lost. It’s huge inside this ballroom.”
“I doubt that,” I replied wondering what the hell had really happened to cause the annoying delay. “Are you alright?”
Chastity nodded. “Oh, yeah,” she said. She gulped the rest of her champagne back. “Look, Chase, you were right. About me working with you. I mean,” she paused and blushed. Stammered. In my line of work, I normally found it annoying as fuck. Not tonight. It seemed everything Chastity did. Every word that stuttered past her lush lips turned me as horny as a goat on Viagra. “Not working with you. But working for Banks Realty. I think that’s the right idea.”
I smirked. Hmm…the fly was already entangled in the web. Now, all I had to do was numb it with my venom and have my wicked way.
“I knew you’d come around. You’re certainly excited about the prospect now. I’m glad to see it since it’s obviously a win-win.”
Chastity nodded and took another long draught of champagne, turning it up until the last drop disappeared. She grinned, and I wondered how much she’d already had. She looked like a lightweight so I’d have to take care of her. She leaned close and her sweet perfume wafted over me. Jesus god, I thought, struggling to maintain my balance.
She smells like honey and strawberries, and forgive me, Universe, I wanna rip off that damned dress, bend her over the portable bar and pound into her until I explode inside her.
The music grew louder, and Chastity swayed back and forth to the rhythm, sipping her champagne every few seconds. I glanced at her with amusement – she was so innocent compared to the gold diggers in the room, and yet I had a feeling that she knew more about the way men and women worked than most people. Maybe even including me. Street smarts couldn’t be underestimated.
“Hey.” Chastity grabbed my arm and leaned in. Every single inch of my skin she touched tingled with electricity. �
��I met a friend in the bathroom. Angela. She’s good people. Meeting her had a lot to do with my decision to accept.”
I stared at her. “I don’t know anyone named Angela.” Frowning, I looked deeply into her eyes. Who the hell is she talking about? I closed my eyes and racked my brain, trying to remember if I’d slept with anyone named Angela in the past few weeks. I groaned, clapping a hand to my forehead. There had been a girl a couple of months ago, a stage five clinger I’d had to threaten to extricate from my life. It had finally taken a five-figure payoff to get her to buzz off.
“No,” Chastity replied. Her body pressed against mine and my rock-hard cock protested by twitching in my dress pants when I realized her breasts were bra-free under that slippery black silk. “Your intern. She said you already told her about me.” Chastity had somehow obtained another glass of champagne and sipped, moving and swaying to the music, her eyes half-closed. I just stood in confusion and admired the view. Banks had multiple interns, but I thought I knew them all by name. “She said she couldn’t wait to work together.”
Angela. Finally, it clicked in my brain. Angela, that mousy little intern who had almost caught me jacking off to Chastity’s voice. Angela, the little brownnoser who couldn’t stop trailing Nolan and me around like we were the popular high school jocks.
“I didn’t tell her anything about you,” I said, reaching out a hand to steady her. My fingers itched to blaze a trail down her arm and land on the side-swell of her full breast. “She’s just my intern, that’s all. I’ve barely even talked to her.”
Chastity smiled – a kind of sexual, secret smile. I wonder if she wore that same look after she came. “Whatever.” She closed her eyes and drained her glass. “We should dance, Chase. It feels so good to move my body to the beat of the music.”
I’d like you to move your body to the beat of my hand between your legs.
I glanced around the room, suddenly finding the whole event distasteful. Finally alone with the girl I wanted more than any other in years, it chapped my hide that dozens of shallow people surrounded us. Friends and family of Nolan had swept him and Charlie away, and more patrons crowded the bar with each passing second.
“I’ve got a better idea. Let’s go for a drive,” I whispered into Chastity’s ear. Up close, the scent of honey and strawberries overwhelmed me. The blood pounded in my ears as I wrapped my fingers around Chastity’s arm and guided her toward the door. She almost fell – twice – but we managed to make it to the entrance.
“Are you ashamed of me? Because I had too much champagne? I’m not used to drinking it or walking in such tall shoes at the same time.” Chastity turned on her heel and stared right into my eyes, her voice thick with alcohol and I then realized her level of impairment. She wavered for a second, threatening to plant her delectable ass on the floor of the bar. “Is that it? Is that why we’re leaving? I knew it. I knew this wasn’t real. Just some joke where the rich guy jacks around the poor girl.”
What the fuck was she talking about?
I pursed my lips and gave her elbow a little shake as I leaned close. “I want to leave so we can be alone,” I purred into Chastity’s ear. “I can’t stand seeing you around all these people without being able to put my hands on you. Nothing more, nothing less. Unless, you’re not attracted to me?”
The way Chastity shook in response to my whisper almost made me come in my pants. She wrapped her arms around my neck, hauling her perfect, curvy body next to mine. When I felt her stiff nipples through the thin silk of the dress, I clenched my hands into fists. If I didn’t get her in the car right now, Chase Bradenton was going to be facing his third or fourth public indecency charge.
Like it was my fault I got caught fucking some girl on the beach in Cancun on spring break. Or in that alley behind Uncle Boons. It didn’t matter anymore – this was my Chastity, and desire threatened to rage out of control. I had to touch her. I had to taste her.
I had to fuck her senseless.
Diego waited by the car. He eyed me with surprise as I guided Chastity toward the rear of the limo, but didn’t say anything. As he opened the door, Chastity tumbled inside, flashing her perfect ass toward me and the rest of the street.
I stepped in behind as Chastity flopped onto the leather seat. She reached down with one hand and plucked at the straps of her shoes. When I saw how she struggled, I pulled her feet in my lap and delicately unfastened the buckles, sliding the heels off her feet. Hmm. Bright red toenail polish. Holding Chastity’s bare feet in my lap sent another painful shock of lust through my body, and I licked my lips as she struggled to sit up on the leather bench.
“You don’t like me,” Chastity slurred. Her eyes were half-closed and her hair hung in front of her face, hiding her features. Aside from the drunkenness, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen such an intoxicating woman. But this wasn’t some cheap, loose socialite. This was a do-gooder. Someone I respected in spite of our short acquaintance. Someone working hard to put herself through school and create a better life than the one she’d been dealt. A stab of guilt sliced through the desire.
“I do like you,” I said. “Very much, in fact.” I wrapped an arm around Chastity’s shoulders, but she shrugged me off, sliding down onto the floor of the limo as Diego pulled away from the curb.
Chastity shook her head. “You don’t like me,” she said, her voice flat. Emotionless. Not the Chastity I’d already come to admire. “You haven’t even tried to kiss me yet.” She licked her lips and stared straight at me. “Don’t you want to kiss me, Chase?”
I stifled a groan. Her phone sex operator voice had come out, and my cock threatened to burst in my Valentino slacks. I shifted in the seat, but the buttery leather felt like steel against my ass.
“Don’t you want to kiss me?” Chastity pouted. “Touch me?”
“Yes,” I said firmly. “But you’re drunk right now, and I don’t think–”
“Then kiss me,” Chastity purred. She crawled closer and hauled herself into my lap. As her silk-covered ass slid over my crotch, I groaned loudly and dug my fingers into her fleshy thighs.
“Chastity, now isn’t…”
“Kiss me,” she interrupted. She leaned closer, and I could smell champagne rising off her breath. “Kiss me, Chase. Show me that I’m more to you than some cheap whore who gets geezers off all day every day.” She closed her eyes and sighed, then ran a hand down the front of her dress. As her fingers grazed her nipples through the black silk, I felt a torrent of sexual desire flood my body.
“Don’t you ever say that about yourself again!” I snapped. “You are about the furthest thing from a whore I’ve ever seen. We can continue this conversation when you’re sober.”
“Chase,” Chastity moaned. “Oh, Chase, I want you so badly. Look how I’m touching myself. I want you,” she growled, reminiscent of our first ever conversation.
The limo swung around a curve, and I held her tighter against me, so she didn’t slide off my lap, only a thin layer of merino wool and silk separating our bodies. Our faces hovered inches apart. I could smell the lingering champagne and wine on her breath. Mixed with the strawberry-and-honey scent of her body, it hurtled me toward an explosion. I couldn’t hold back any longer. What would one little taste hurt? I had restraint. I leaned in.
The kiss unfolded like nothing I’d ever experienced. As our lips pressed together in a torrent of heat, I groaned with rampant need into Chastity’s open, pliant mouth. Her warm tongue twirled softly against mine. Electrons swarmed between our bodies and her arms snaked around my neck, pulling me closer.
My hands memorized the feel of her body through the thin silk, and I ran my them down her back, squeezing her luscious, heart-shaped ass. Chastity shivered and wriggled on my lap, driving me into a frenzy of passion and desire. As my tongue caressed hers, she suddenly pulled away and leaped off my lap.
“I’m sorry, Chase,” she moaned. “This was a mistake. I have to go. I have to go now!”
“Chastity, don
’t do it,” I groaned loudly. “Please, don’t leave like this, we can talk about the kiss. We can talk about the internship. You’re in no position to leave this car.”
Chastity grabbed onto the handle of the door and dragged herself away from me. She wasn’t answering, and every passing second converted my infernal lust into a torrent of anger and anxiety. The limo slowed for a red light and without consulting me or Diego, Chastity threw the door open.
She was fucking going to do this to me again.
“Chastity, wait!”
She opened her mouth and shoved her tangles of dirty blonde hair out of her face. Her expression a perfect storm of panic, horror, and regret. It broke my heart. All I wanted was to pull her back toward me, stroke that messy hair, and tell her that I thought she was perfect. Even when she was sloppy drunk, even when she was totally messed up. I still found her irresistible - as perfect as she had been that day in the elevator where she’d first smiled at me.
But the sound of her vomiting squashed that image.
Chapter Nine
Chastity
“Shit,” I groaned, rolling over in bed and burying my head under the pillow. An infernal racket paraded through my head – like someone had loosed a party full of frat boys into my brain – and even blinking hurt. Actually, everything hurt. My hands hurt. My body hurt. Even my hair hurt.
My black silk Chloé didn’t make much of a nightgown. Good thing I hadn’t splurged on retail. I rolled my eyes as I saw the fabric covered with infinite creases. So much for the perfect dress. And so much for the perfect night.
And so much for the perfect man.
Every time I thought about what happened at the Waldorf Astoria, I burned with shame. I’d fucked up the best opportunity of my life because I couldn’t hold my champagne. I’d never been more disgusted with myself.
Hook Page 7