Dangerous To Love

by Toni Anderson, Barbara Freethy, Dee Davis, Leslie A. Kelly, Cynthia Eden, J. Kenner, Meli Raine, Gwen Hernandez, Pamela Clare, Rachel Grant

  “Because you were worried that you’d get fired if you were caught screwing the boss’s daughter.”

  Chance rose, standing to his full, impressive height. As he walked toward her, his body blocked the light from that lamp. He was a tall shadow, coming right at her. “I knew I’d be the one screwed,” Chance said, voice deepening even more, “if I had you. Because once wouldn’t be enough for me. If I had you, I wouldn’t ever be able to let you go.”

  Gwen shook her head. She’d misheard. It was late. She was awake, but tired and—

  “You weren’t ready for what I’d need from you. You still aren’t.”

  Now she bristled. “What about what I need?”

  He stopped in front of her. “What do you need?”

  Oh, hell. “Back then, I needed you. You were the man I wanted, the man I—” Gwen stopped herself, just in time. Stopped herself before she made a seriously damning confession about how he was the man she’d loved.

  But Chance pushed, asking, “The man you…what?”

  Careful now, Gwen said, “You were the man I wanted in my bed. You rejected me. You sent me away—”

  “I didn’t exactly know you’d go jumping into Ethan’s bed!”

  He’d gone too far. Heat stung her cheeks, then ice seemed to coat her skin. Gwen turned on her heel and started marching for the door. Not the bedroom, but his front door because she wanted to get the hell away from him.

  “I’m sorry.” Chance wrapped his arms around her and pulled Gwen back up against him. “Shit, baby, I’m sorry. I can be a total asshole.”

  “Total,” she agreed.

  “You don’t know what it did to me. To find out you were with him…to go into that bedroom and see—”

  Her eyes squeezed shut. “I slept with him months after your big rejection. Months. And here’s a big newsflash for you. He wasn’t the first man I ever slept with, and he won’t be the last, either.”

  She could feel him stiffen behind her.

  “We aren’t together, Chance. So what I do and who I do it with…that’s none of your business.”

  “You think I don’t know that?” His breath blew over her ear and a shiver skated down Gwen’s body. “But the problem is…I feel too much when you’re close. I get so fucking jealous of any man near you. And I’m tired of playing by the rules. Tired of keeping my hands off…”

  His hands weren’t off, though. They were on her, and they seemed to burn right through her clothes.

  “When I want to touch you more than I want anything else.”

  Then he… he kissed her neck. She hadn’t realized just how sensitive that spot was, not until that moment. But when she felt the press of his lips against her nape, her knees did a little jiggle. Her nipples tightened. And her sex ached.

  I’ve wanted him for so long.

  Adrenaline poured through her blood. And maybe it was that adrenaline rush that was making her reckless, but Gwen found herself turning in his arms. She stared up at his face. The face that had haunted her nights.

  He wanted her.

  She’d longed for him.

  “I’m sorry,” he told her. “I’m an asshole. I just…I want you so much. And the thought of you with another drives me insane.”

  She didn’t want to imagine him with another woman, so Gwen could understand that part. For too long, she’d only imagined Chance…with me.

  And in that moment, he was with her. They were alone. The air thick with tension. Need.

  So…why not take what they both needed? Why not give in, just once?

  “Kiss me.” The words whispered from her.

  And he did. His mouth took hers. Seduced hers. She’d already known that Chance could kiss, but this time, things were different. She could taste the desire in his kiss. His tongue stroked into her mouth. Tempted. Took. She rose onto her toes and kissed him back just as desperately. Seduction gave way to growing passion. To a need that they’d both denied for far too long.

  He backed her up and her shoulders hit the wood of the door. Gwen didn’t care. Her nails were digging into his shoulders and she was fighting to get closer to him.

  Because just like…that…the desire she felt for him wasn’t controlled any longer. There was no control. There was only passion.

  Her hips arched against him. The long, hard length of his cock pressed against her. She wanted him in her. Wanted them both to be racing toward the edge of oblivion as the pleasure took over.

  He grabbed the hem of her shirt. Pushed it up. Threw it someplace. Then his fingers were sliding under the edge of her bra. She needed that bra gone so that she could feel him and—

  The bra was gone. He bent his head and his mouth closed over her breast. Her eyes squeezed closed and a moan tore from her when he started to suck her nipple. She was pretty sure that her panties were getting drenched.

  And they’d just gotten started.

  But she’d always known it would be this way. The intensity, the attraction, had been there from the very beginning. Sometimes, she’d just looked at Chance and wanted.

  His tongue stroked her. He scored her with his teeth. Her hips jerked frantically against him because she needed to be closer to him.

  He kissed his way to her other breast. “You taste delicious.”

  He was driving her wild! Gwen’s eyes flew open.

  But even as he kissed her nipple, his fingers had slid down to the snap of her jeans. He yanked open that snap. Slid down her zipper, and then his hand pushed into the opening there. Down, down his fingers went and so did her jeans. They fell to the floor, and, frantic, she kicked them away. Then she widened her stance because she wanted him to—

  He stroked her through her panties.

  He had to tell that she was wet for him. She was so eager and her breath just panted out. His index finger traced over the red silk between her legs. That teasing touch wasn’t close to enough. She needed more. She needed deeper. “Chance!”

  His head lifted. He stared down at her, and the dark lust on his face should have given her pause. He was staring down at her as if he could eat her alive.

  Was she staring at him the same way?

  Still gazing at her, his fingers slid under the edge of her panties. Those long, strong fingers—slightly callused, a little rough—pushed between her folds. His index finger slid into her and she started to close her eyes again—

  “Keep looking at me.”

  She bit her lip because she was about to go crazy, but she managed to keep looking into his eyes. That finger of his slid deeper and his thumb stroked her clit, right there, the button of her desire.

  “I want to watch you come. I want to see your eyes go wild for me. I want to see the pleasure.”

  A second finger pushed into her. She was standing on her tip-toes now. Her nails were digging deeply into his arms as she held on tight.

  “And that will just be the start,” Chance promised her. “Because before I’m done…”

  She couldn’t be this close to an orgasm. Not with just a few strokes of his hand.

  But, oh, that hand of his sure knew just how to touch her.

  A moan built in her throat. The muscles in her legs were trembling. He had her pinned against the wall. She only wore her panties and he’d shoved those to the side so he could play with her and stroke her all he wanted.

  In and out, those long, strong fingers of his slid. And his thumb…it pushed harder against her clit. Hard and rough.

  Just the way she liked things.

  “Open your mouth for me…”

  Helpless, she did. He kissed her. Thrust his tongue into her mouth even as his fingers drove deep into her once more.

  She kissed him frantically, kissed him—

  He pulled back.

  Her eyes were on him.

  His fingers slid out, then pushed into her.

  She came, gasping hard with the pleasure and still gazing into his eyes as the wave of release washed over her. Her sex clenched around him, her body shuddered a
nd he smiled.

  “So fucking beautiful…”

  He made her feel that way.

  Even as the climax still shuddered through her, Chance was lifting her higher. Pushing her firmly back against the door and jerking at the opening of his jeans. Yes, yes! He was going to take her right there. She wanted him, all of him and—

  A loud, shrieking alarm pierced her haze of passion and pleasure.

  At first, the sound of that alarm didn’t fully sink in. She blinked and frowned at Chance. He was swearing and pulling away from her. “Smoke detector…” Chance muttered as her feet touched the floor again. “What the hell?”

  He whirled away and she scrambled to right her clothes. Her body was still on its after-orgasm high, but an adrenaline rush was bursting through her once again.

  Chance had run toward his computer and he was pounding on the keys.

  She yanked up her jeans. Twisted and managed to get in her bra and shirt. She’d left her shoes in his bedroom so she made a fast and frantic run in there to grab them, just in case that alarm meant they were going to need a quick exit. When she came huffing back into the room—

  “It’s on fire.”

  Gwen froze and looked at Chance.

  “The lower floor is on fire. We have to get out of here, now!” He ran toward her and grabbed Gwen’s arm.

  “I-I don’t smell smoke…”

  “You wouldn’t, not up here, not the way the place is reinforced, but, shit, it’s blazing. The alarms should have gone off sooner.”

  He grabbed a gun from the line of drawers near his door.

  “Chance?”

  “I don’t believe in coincidences. Someone set that fire…and we have to be ready.” His fingers locked with hers. “Stay with me.”

  He wasn’t even wearing a shirt. “Chance!”

  But he yanked open the door and pulled her outside. That was when the smoke hit her. They were on the second floor and below them, well, Chance just used that area as a garage to tinker with his cars. She knew the guy loved his classic rides. But when she looked over the edge of the stairs, she didn’t see his tools. She just saw the flames. Rising and twisting. They were shooting fast across the floor below them.

  His hold tightened on her. “We’re going for the exit on the right. We’ll get down these stairs, we’ll stay low, and we’ll get out safely.”

  But there was so much fire.

  “Trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  She did trust him. So Gwen nodded. And they ran down the stairs and straight into the fire.

  Chapter Four

  The smoke was billowing, choking him, and Chance could hear Gwen coughing as they made their way through the flames. He should have been alerted to the fire sooner. What the hell had gone wrong?

  One minute, he’d been lost in Gwen, and the next…

  We’re in hell.

  They were crouching as they made their way to the exit. The flames were close, but he wasn’t about to let Gwen get so much as a blister on her skin. He’d get her out of there, and then he’d find the SOB who’d done this.

  They reached the door. With the fire raging so hot, he didn’t make the mistake of reaching directly for the doorknob. Screw that. He lifted his foot and kicked at the door. Once. Twice. The door gave way and fresh air rushed inside. He gulped that air greedily even as he cleared a path to exit. When they left that inferno, Chance made damn sure that he went out first. Just in case some unwelcome company was waiting outside—the kind of company that would have started the fire—he wanted to use his body to shield Gwen. He had his gun at the ready and he kept his body as close to Gwen’s as possible.

  In the distance, he could hear the scream of sirens. When the alarm had finally gone off, he knew the system had sent an instant message to the fire department. The fire fighters wouldn’t get there soon enough, though. The place was going up so fast. With all of the oils and paints he kept in his work garage, hell, it was a wonder the building hadn’t already blown sky high.

  And then the windows shattered as if on perfect fucking cue. Glass flew out. He pushed Gwen behind him and stared at the wreckage.

  Someone was going to pay. Pay.

  * * *

  He smiled when he saw the fury on Chance’s face. Oh, but there was no missing that rage. Not with the fire lighting up the scene. It had been simple enough to start that fire. A few Molotov cocktails, a few wires cut…and bam. Instant hell.

  Gwen was clinging tightly to Chance. And the guy was holding her just as fiercely. Together, for the moment, but he’d be pulling them apart soon enough.

  The fire truck’s sirens were growing louder and he could see the lights from the truck in the distance. Like the fire fighters would be able to do anything at that scene. Not now. The fire was too bright. A red and orange beauty that couldn’t be controlled.

  It just burned.

  Some tasks were just so much fun.

  * * *

  She’d never been to Chance’s office before.

  VJS Protection, Inc.

  The gold-lettering at the front had been small. Discrete. The interior went along with that discrete elegance appeal. Leather chairs. A killer view of the city.

  When she’d asked Chance what the VJS stood for…he’d explained the letters were initials. V for Valentine, his last name. J for the last name of Jensen, one of his partners, and then S for the last name of his other partner, Devlin Shade.

  She knew Chance was catering to upper-end clientele. In that city, the rich and famous were always ready to hire some protection…and Chance was looking to be that protection.

  She sat huddled in the leather chair across from his desk. She had ash on her clothes. Soot on her hands. The fire fighters had fought the blaze while she’d just watched—helplessly—as Chance’s home went up in flames.

  With everything else that had happened that night, she sure didn’t buy that fire as being an accident. His home going up in flames hadn’t been some terrible coincidence. There was no way her luck was that bad. And if it wasn’t coincidence…

  Then Chance’s home burned because of me. Because some crazy jerk watched us leave my apartment and followed us to Chance’s home.

  The door opened behind her, the faint sound reaching her ears and causing Gwen to instantly jump to her feet. She whirled for the door. “Chance, I’m so sorry, I—”

  Chance wasn’t standing there. A tall, handsome blond man was. A man she’d never met before.

  He smiled at her. The sight was hardly reassuring. Smiles were supposed to be reassuring. But, somehow, when this guy smiled, his face went from handsome…to oddly dangerous.

  There is something so wrong with that.

  He was a big guy, close to Chance’s height and with a similar build, and when the man walked toward her, he used that same easy glide that Chance had.

  “Ms. Hawthorne? My name is Lex Jensen and I’m one of Chance’s partners here at the agency.”

  Right. He was the “J” in VJS Protection.

  Lex offered his hand to her. His eyes—a dark shade of green, much darker than her own—swept over her.

  Gwen knew she was supposed to take his offered hand. Normal people shook hands. It was just that she was feeling pretty far from normal right at that moment. Still, Gwen made herself take his hand. Like Chance, the guy had a rough edge of calluses on his fingers. She knew those calluses—at least Chance’s—came from his workout routine. A routine he’d perfected during his time in the military.

  Was this guy ex-military, too?

  “You’ve had quite a night,” Lex murmured. He didn’t let her hand go. “I’m very sorry for what you’ve been through.”

  She tugged her hand free. The last thing she wanted to do was get handsy with Chance’s friend. Especially after what she and Chance had done at his place. Done…almost done? Gwen cleared her throat. “I’m the one who’s sorry. Chance lost his home tonight.”

  “Homes can be replaced. You can’t. I’m sure Cha
nce would tell you the same thing.”

  Gwen thought she caught the faintest edge of an accent in his voice. A hint of the south? Maybe, it was hard to say for certain.

  “I was the person Chance sent to do a sweep at your apartment after you left.”

  The door opened behind him. Chance strode inside. Gwen couldn’t help it. She tensed at the sight of him. Like her, ash darkened his clothes. A smear of soot lined his right cheekbone. That man had gotten her out of the fire. He’d risked his life for her. And what had she done?

  I brought danger to his door. Hardly a fair exchange.

  Lex glanced at Chance, then back at Gwen. “I was just updating Ms. Hawthorne about what I found at her apartment.”

  “Gwen,” she murmured automatically. “Just call me Gwen.”

  From the corner of her eye, she saw Lex nod. She should look at him, fully, but Gwen was too focused on Chance. And Chance seemed just as focused on her. He strode across the room. Came right to her. He peered down at her with that intent, focused gaze of his. She could still smell smoke, clinging to him. Her hand rose and brushed away the soot on his cheek.

  He caught her wrist.

  Gwen’s lips parted.

  “Uh, yeah…” Lex cleared his throat. “I’m still in the room, and I’ve got intel you both really need to hear.”

  Chance swore and let her go.

  She backed up a step. Seriously, she had to get a grip. Her response to Chance was way off the scales.

  “Your hunch was right, Chance,” Lex said as he inclined his head toward the other man. “I found bugs in her place. Listening devices. Small cameras. Someone really wanted to keep close tabs on Ms. Hawth—Gwen.”

  Her stomach knotted. “How long have the cameras been there?” Had someone been watching her for days, weeks? Nausea rose in her throat.

  “I can’t say for certain.”

  Damn. How much did he see?

  But she knew…

  Everything.

  A light knock sounded at the door.

  “Come in,” Chance barked.

  And another guy pushed open the door and sauntered inside. His hair was as dark as Chance’s, but his eyes were a bright blue. He was another big, tall, dangerous kind of guy. The type that—no doubt—made for perfect bodyguard material. His gaze swept the room, and lingered, with a hint of curiosity, on Gwen.