Chance Encounter

by Christy Reece

  But since she was far from the confident sexual being she wanted to be, she said, “Follow me,” and led him to the living room instead.

  Brennan placed the tray on the coffee table and waited until Kacie sat down before he handed her a piece of pie. She thanked him and waited till he’d served himself before she took a bite. The chocolate hit her tongue, and the sound she made would’ve made any porn star envious.

  Judging by the heated look Brennan gave her, he thought so, too.

  He raised a brow. “Good pie?”

  Dark red wasn’t her best color, but she was sure it was the exact shade of her cheeks.

  “Try it.”

  He did and made a similar noise. Although his sound was decidedly masculine and, to her ears, much sexier.

  “Told ya.”

  “My favorite meal, my favorite pie. Are you trying to seduce me, Ms. Dane?”

  “Are you seducible, Mr. Sinclair?”

  “Darling, all you have to do is look at me to seduce me into doing anything for you.”

  Like staying with me forever?

  But of course she couldn’t say any such thing. She had no real clue how Brennan felt about her, beyond sexual desire. Did he want to continue seeing her? How would that work with his job as an LCR operative?

  “Kacie, I—”

  She stood, cutting him off. She couldn’t do it. By the look in his eyes, she was about to get a standard, albeit gentle, Well, it’s been fun shutdown, and she quite simply did not have the courage to face that tonight. Tomorrow would be soon enough to deal with the hard stuff.

  Taking destiny into her own hands, she stood before Brennan and unzipped her dress. It slid to the floor, leaving her in a pair of white minuscule panties and nothing more.

  “Holy hell,” Brennan breathed. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m trying to seduce you.”

  Turning her down never crossed Brennan’s mind. If he lived to be a hundred, he would never forget the sight of this lovely, courageous woman standing before him, offering herself.

  He stood, bringing their bodies within inches of each other. She gave him the smallest of smiles…so incredibly sexy, and said, “Want to follow me somewhere else?”

  Even though he’d much rather pick her up and carry her, this was her show, her seduction. “I’ll follow you anywhere.”

  She took his hand and led him up the stairs to her bedroom. Wearing only those tiny lace panties and nothing else, she was like every dream, every fantasy he could ever have. Her skin almost shimmered beneath the lights, and her hair fell in soft, thick waves to her lower back. How could anyone be so lovely and still be mortal?

  Brennan walked into her bedroom, determined to show her, if not with words, then with his body, what she meant to him. He couldn’t possess this dream forever, but he could have it tonight.

  Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her, softly, tenderly, his mouth worshipping hers. He wanted to ravage her, savor her, devour her whole. Breaking away from the kiss, he looked down at her face. He had to make sure she was with him all the way. Only a short time ago, she’d been unable to let herself completely go and enjoy pleasure. Damned if he would push her into a setback by going too fast or being too demanding.

  “Why did you stop?”

  “Just wanted to look at you…see you.”

  “How about I see you, too?”

  Together they unbuttoned his shirt. He started with the first button, she followed with the second, and so on. While she pulled at his shirt, he tugged his shoes off and started on his pants by unbuckling his belt. Before he could unzip, her fingers were there for him. As she pulled down his zipper, a small, confident smile played around her mouth. She was teasing him, torturing him. He loved it.

  When at last his pants and underwear were on the floor, Kacie pushed him backward toward the bed. He dropped down onto it and watched. Even though every cell in his body told him to take over, claim her, make her his, he reminded himself again that this was Kacie’s show. If she wanted to tease and torture him all night long, then he’d let her. He might die from it, but damn, it’d be a fun way to go.

  She went to her knees in front of him and took one of his feet, pulling the sock off, then lifted the other and repeated the action. “Can’t believe I said you have ugly feet.”

  He grinned. “So now you think they’re pretty?”

  “Well…not exactly pretty.” She kissed the top of one foot. “But they brought you to me, so I think they’re perfect.”

  This woman was going to break his heart.

  Pulling her up to stand, he slowly removed her last piece of clothing. And when she was bare, he lowered his head and kissed her at the top of her sex. She gasped and grabbed his shoulder. Stopping for a moment, he looked up to make sure she was in the moment with him, not back in the past. The simmering heat in her eyes was a sight to behold. She was definitely right here with him.

  Reassured and wanting to taste her more than he wanted his next breath, Brennan twisted her around until she lay on the bed and he was standing over her. Taking one of her feet, slender, narrow, and perfect, he slipped off her sandal. He kissed the top of her naked foot gently, and then, still holding that foot, took the other one, removed the sandal, and kissed it as well.

  “You know, some people have foot fetishes,” she said.

  “If all feet looked like yours, I can understand why.” Taking those beautiful feet, one in each hand, he pushed them forward until she was fully exposed to him. She was waxed, her sex totally bare, and colors from the palest of pinks to a deep shade of rose enticed him, enthralled him.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Looking at you.”

  “But why?”

  “Because you’re beautiful everywhere…and because I want to kiss you…everywhere.”

  “Oh…” She said the word on a soft, sexy sigh.

  Before lowering his head, he checked her face. Her eyes were half-closed and still glittering with heat. Her perfect mouth was slightly open, as if in anticipation.

  Putting his mouth to her, he licked delicately. Tasting her like this for the first time was an experience he wanted to savor, prolonging his pleasure and hers, too. She tasted as delicious as he had imagined. He kissed her, licked again and then, no longer able to wait, slid his tongue inside her and devoured her sweetness.

  Heat consumed her, want overwhelmed her. Brennan’s mouth on her was unlike any other feeling in the world. His tongued swept inside her, consuming, devastating her senses. Unable to control herself, she arched her body up to take him deeper. When he groaned, the vibration of his mouth sent her to the very edge.

  “Kacie…look at me.”

  She looked down at him. His eyes were glittering with heat, unbelievable desire. Awash in her own need, she could barely keep her eyes open.

  “Kacie,” he said again.

  She opened her eyes. “Yes?”

  “Whose tongue is about to make you come?”

  “Brennan…only Brennan.”

  Giving her a sweet, albeit hot smile, he said, “Damn straight. Only Brennan,” and then put his mouth on her again. This time he didn’t go slow, didn’t go softly. His tongue lashed at her, then thrust deep inside, and he sucked greedily at her clitoris. Lights flashed behind her eyes. Brilliant, vibrant shades of every imaginable color swirled around her, and she soared to the highest peak, hung in ecstasy for several seconds, then fell softly back to earth.

  When she opened her eyes, Brennan was standing over her again, his eyes questioning, wanting to make sure she was okay. Mere words could never describe just how very okay she was. Wanting to show him, make him understand that there was nothing he could do with her or to her that would scare her ever again, she sat up and took him into her hand. Marveling at the silky, hard heat of him, she tenderly caressed him as she brought him to her.

  Stopping her for a second, he quickly grabbed a condom from the nightstand and slid it on. Then he leaned over her again and once ag
ain let her set the pace. But this too controlled, too caring man needed to know that he could take her as hard and deep as he wanted and she would be right there with him. She trusted him, and she needed him to know that.

  “Brennan?”

  “What, baby?”

  “You don’t have to be so careful with me. I won’t break.”

  “I don’t want to scare you.”

  “I trust you, Brennan. Everything you do to me only makes me feel wonderful, powerful…beautiful. Forget about who I am, what I’ve been through. You’re a man, making love to his woman. Take me and make me yours.”

  Something hot and wild flashed in his eyes, and Kacie felt a thrill of sheer, unadulterated excitement. With a rough, needy growl, Brennan took her hand that held him and, together, they pushed him inside her. When she let him go, he lay on top of her and plunged deep, retreated, and then went deep again. Then, setting up a rhythm that left her both breathless and crazy with need, he pounded into her as if he couldn’t get enough. All Kacie could do was hold on and ride out the storm. This was what she wanted, what she needed. He wasn’t treating her like a fragile flower or a victim, but as a sexual partner. As his woman.

  Brennan could no longer hold back. He’d seen the heat and need in Kacie’s eyes. They matched his own. She had given him permission to let go, and he was taking it, taking her. Claiming her as he’d never claimed another woman in his life.

  As she tightened around him, her body telling him she was near release again, he leaned over her and covered her mouth with his, his tongue plunging ruthlessly into her mouth as deep and hard as his cock was thrusting inside her. His release tore through him, and he almost shouted at the explosion bursting through his body.

  Kacie throbbed and pulsed around him, setting off another spark of release he’d never expected. Holding her hips still, he thrust again and then once more.

  To avoid crushing her, he rolled her over until she lay on top of him, boneless and limp.

  “Okay?”

  “Okay?” She sputtered out a laughing breath. “Try spectacular.”

  Brennan tightened his arms around her, treasuring and savoring, glorying in the incredible experience of having this bright, beautiful, courageous woman in his arms. How in the hell was he ever going to let her go?

  He held her quietly, gently, for a long while, reveling in the closeness. He wouldn’t allow himself sleep. Wanted to treasure every moment…every single second. Every soft breath, every sweet sigh. The memory of holding this woman in his arms tonight would have to last him a lifetime.

  She’d been silent for so long, he figured she’d fallen asleep and was surprised when her soft voice whispered, “Brennan?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Did you like tasting me?”

  Arousal slammed through him at her words. His satiated body instantly on alert, he answered truthfully, “Yeah…I liked it, a lot. You’re sweet, salty. Delectable.”

  “Better than chocolate cream pie?”

  Smiling, he rolled her to her back and leaned over her. “Much better.” A tender kiss to her lips, then another. “Deliciously addictive.”

  “So…I was wondering what you might taste like.”

  He went hard in an instant. Imagining her luscious mouth wrapped around him was enough to stop his heart and then bring it back to life in a thundering gallop.

  While he was trying to deal with his imagination and just how he’d be able to handle a sexually curious Kacie, she decided to take things into her own hands. Her slender fingers wrapped around him, holding, caressing…

  Brennan’s strangled breath produced an incredibly sexy laugh from her. And then she gently pushed him onto his back. He had seen Kacie with many emotions and expressions, but he had never seen her like this. Her face showed resolve. Her eyes glittered with intent. She had an agenda.

  Needing to touch, to taste her, too, he reached for her, but she pulled away from him. “No…let me. Please.”

  And he knew what she meant. What she wanted. This was Kacie in her element. Taking her sexuality back, taking her power back. What was a besotted, overly aroused man to do but lie there and allow it to happen?

  An adventurous and sexually confident Kacie Dane showed him exactly what making love was all about. Every place she touched, every part of his body her mouth landed on zinged to life. She started at his neck, trailing soft kisses down his torso and across his stomach. Brennan sucked in his breath, barely moving. She teased, explored. She savored. When she reached the part of him that was hard and aching for her, she slowed down and began to explore more thoroughly. Caressing, kissing, her lips and hands both curious and incredibly arousing.

  Barely breathing, Brennan’s entire body was stiff as he fought for control. Those soft, sweet kisses and long, slow licks were going to be the death of him.

  “Kacie, I…” Hell, he didn’t know what he was about to say. Coherent speech was beyond him. And then she took him into her mouth. Moist heat surrounded him, and then she took him deeper.

  Known for his control, his incredible restraint, Brennan lost it all. Grabbing her shoulders, he pulled her up and rolled with her on the bed until she was beneath him. He checked her expression, just to make sure he hadn’t scared her. The hot gleam in her eyes, the triumphant smile on her face said she knew exactly what she’d done to him.

  And then she whispered words he figured he’d hear in his dreams for the rest of his life, “I like your taste, too.”

  With a growl, Brennan showed her that his famous control meant nothing when it went up against a sexually confident Kacie. Thinking rationally for one more second, he grabbed a condom. Tearing the packet with his teeth, he slid the protection on quicker than he ever had in his life and then thrust deep inside her.

  Kacie’s arms came around him, her legs wrapped around his waist, and she held on tight for a hot, fast, no-holds-barred moment of sexual frenzy. Brennan let loose, devouring her sweet mouth even while his body drove into her over and over, the harsh sounds of his breathing a perfect accompaniment to Kacie’s own frantic gasps. Then, like a meteor falling to earth, release crashed into him with the mind-blowing, life-altering force of a tsunami.

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  He lay there gasping, still coming down from the incredible high, the sweat had barely dried on their bodies, when she said softly, “You’re leaving.”

  Brennan tightened his arms around her, wanting to prolong the sweetness just another moment and then sighed. No use putting off the inevitable. “Yes.”

  “When?”

  Turning slightly, he glanced at the alarm clock beside the bed, surprised how quickly the night had passed. “Couple of hours.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Have no idea. McCall said he’d text me details.”

  “Would it do any good if I asked you to stay?”

  “Kacie…don’t.”

  Her hurt was a palpable, painful presence, but she still had the courage to ask, “Will I see you again?”

  “I think it would be best if you didn’t.”

  “Best for whom?”

  “For both of us. We live in two different worlds. You can’t come into mine, and I sure as hell can’t be in yours.”

  She sat up and looked down at him. Though it was dim in the room, he had no problem seeing the glint of tears in her eyes. Dammit, he shouldn’t have stayed the night. He should’ve grabbed his clothes, given her a peck on the cheek, and left. Staying had only made leaving a billion times more painful.

  “Why can’t you be in my world?”

  “Because it’s a world I despise. And one that despises me.”

  He hadn’t meant to be so blunt, but he had to tell her the truth. He hadn’t done her career any good by being seen with her. He would damage it even more if he stayed.

  Sitting up, he leaned against the headboard and stated his case. “When I left the limelight a few years back, I swore I would never return. This kind of life eats at you from the inside o
ut. It corrodes and corrupts.”

  “You see me as being corroded and corrupted?”

  Out of everyone he’d known in his life, save his mother, she was the least corrupted person he’d ever met. “No. You’re neither. And maybe it’s because you have an innate goodness in you that can’t be penetrated by all the shit surrounding you.”

  She snorted. “I’m no saint, Brennan. I just choose to believe that this world, and the people in it, have more good in them than bad.”

  “I hope you always believe that, sweetheart. But I know different.”

  “I can understand why you would feel that way. You were treated horribly when you should’ve received compassion and help.”

  “You think the shit people said about me was what turned me off to this life? It wasn’t. It was what I allowed it to do to me. If I hadn’t been so corruptible, I would’ve been the kind of father my little boy deserved.”

  He held up his hand. “And before you try to defend me by saying Vanessa should’ve looked out for his well-being, let me just say that even though she should have, the responsibility was still mine. I was a bad husband and an even worse father. I got what I deserved.”

  Kacie closed her eyes against the threatening tears. Brennan made it impossible to be angry with him. He beat himself up worse than anyone else could. But she could hurt for him. Hurt for the man who’d made mistakes and couldn’t take them back. Hurt for the man who would’ve made a wonderful father if circumstances had been different and he had been older, and wiser. Hurt for a man who had been unjustly judged and never fought to redeem himself because he didn’t care enough to try.

  Yes, she hurt for him…and she hurt for them. Because, despite the fact that they were good together and she knew he cared deeply for her, it was clear he saw no future for them.

  The ache in her chest was an agonizing pain, unlike anything she’d ever felt before. Tears threatened to explode, pounding against her eyelids, and she fought them for all she was worth. She would not give into the pain right now. Not yet.