by Lisa Eugene
“Cheapen?” I laughed bitterly. “Just because you caught a bit of jungle fever, you think we had something?”
Chase looked so enraged I thought he’d explode. A muscle twitched in his jaw as he crowded close to me, making a soft breath push from my lungs.
“Oh, we both caught a fever . . .” His ridiculously sexy voice rumbled in my ear. “And it made you delirious, Dani. It made your pussy wet and sweet, it made you scream and shake when I buried my cock deep inside you, and it made you wrap your creamy chocolate legs around me until I’d come so hard I thought I was dying.”
Jesus Christ! Tremors shook through my quivering sex and I clutched the edge of his desk to keep upright.
“And don’t deny you enjoyed it as much as I did,” he snapped.
With a decisive shake of my head, I stepped away from the hypnotic pull of his body. My brain scrambled for reason.
“That’s not the point. You were married!” I reminded, hoping his words would disgust me. This conversation was useless, only serving to exhume weeks of debilitating misery. “This is bullshit. I won’t waste my time rehashing this.” I shoved the invoice for the car in his face. “And if you think I’m paying this ridiculous bill, you’re crazy! Send me a bill that is more reasonable, and we can work out a payment plan.”
I turned and headed toward the door, back straight, knees still trembling. It wasn’t his words that stopped my feet. It was the pain braided into his quiet voice.
“Despite what you think of me, Dani, I loved my wife.”
I kept my back to him, my eyes squeezing shut.
“I loved her very much. I was devastated after her accident.”
From across the room, his heavy sigh felt like a cool breeze on my skin. It had me covered in goose bumps.
“I’ve mourned her for five years,” he said softly. “I knew in my heart she was never coming back to me, but I’d always hoped for a miracle, hoped she’d wake up. I never thought I’d be able to move on—I didn’t want to—until I met you, and then I couldn’t let you go. I couldn’t say the words I knew would drive you away from me. I was dead inside and you were the only person who could give me life.”The sharp edges of his voice cleaved open my heart, stabbed at already tender flesh. I wasn’t aware of the tears until I felt the wetness on my cheeks. Slowly, I turned to him.
His expression was taut, mapped with contrition, with yearning, with desperate anguish. It changed the rugged terrain of his face and clouded his eyes.
“I’m sorry I hurt you,” he said softly. “I didn’t plan any of it. I didn’t plan on falling in love with you.”
My lips parted, but I could find nothing in my throat but a painful silence. There were no words to convey my tumult, the feeling that I was full and empty all at once.
Chase cleared his throat before he continued, but his voice was still thick and grainy. “I would never hurt you intentionally, Dani. That’s not the kind of man I am.”
“That’s the problem, Chase,” I whispered. “I don’t know what kind of man you are. I don’t know you at all.”
I turned to leave as his voice reached me again.
“I tried not to touch you. I tried so hard, Dani, but you know what? If I had to do it over, I’d do it again. I’d gladly burn in hell for my fucking sins.”
More tears gathered on my lashes as I turned, put one foot in front of the other, and left the room.
***
“Let’s go get a drink at the bar on Center Street.”
I cradled my cell on my shoulder and dried the remaining dishes on my counter top. Emmy had just left with my mom, and I was looking forward to a quiet evening alone.
“Not tonight, Wanda, I’m not really in the mood,” I repeated lamely.
Wanda’s lack of response had me gnawing my bottom lip. I hated when she did this, and I didn’t know how, but the woman had perfected the squirm-inducing, tension-filled, long-ass lapse of silence. It was her superpower. I could picture Wanda’s face, her eyes narrowed and brows wrinkled with just the right amount of reproach.
This is always the prelude to—
“Girl, you’ve got to shake that man off like a leg cramp!”
—her candid, unsolicited advice.
I gripped the phone. “This has nothing to do with Chase. I’m just tired.”
There was a loud snort in my ear. “Bullshit! It’s been weeks, Danielle. You’ve been miserable. I know he hurt you. He knows he hurt you. If you can’t get over him, then maybe it’s time you cut him some slack. Forgive him.”
“Forgive him?” I screeched. That was not what I’d expected to hear. Wanda was usually the first to call a man out and demand a pound of flesh—preferably from an especially delicate area.
“Yes. He’s human. Once you take away all the ugly labels you’ve pinned on him, you’ll see that underneath, he’s simply human. He was afraid you’d kick him to the curb—and you would’ve in a heartbeat.”
“I can’t believe you’re taking his side! What he did was reprehensible!”
“I’ve said this before, Danielle. He’s not Steven. You can’t use the same measuring stick. Don’t you think he’s suffered enough? Chase’s situation was unfortunate and—”
“I thought you were on my side.”
“Girl, I always have your back, you know that. I just hate to see you like this.”
“Like what? I’m fine!” I snapped.
More silence I didn’t want to listen to. I sighed relief when the doorbell rang, and ignoring Wanda’s quiet condemnation, made an excuse and signed off the phone.
I spied Stanley’s round, bald head through my peep hole.
“We’re working on the pipes upstairs and I need to make sure there isn’t another leak,” he hollered.
Flipping my locks, I shook my head grimly. So much for my quiet night alone.
Pulling open the door, I frowned at the blank look on Stanley’s usually smug face. He stood in the hall, making no attempt to come in. I was just about to question his odd behavior when a large shadow sliced across the floor and Chase stepped into view. I watched, stunned, as he pulled out a wad of bills and handed them to Stanley. My super’s vacant look swiftly changed to greedy delight as he palmed the bills and disappeared. Picking my chin off the floor, I pinned my astonished gaze on Chase.
“You did not just pay off my super to get you into my apartment!” I balked incredulously.
Chase’s smirk was full of satisfaction as he advanced, crowding me so I was forced to step back.
“There was no other way to get you to open the door.”
Head still scrambled, I scoffed, “How did Stanley know you weren’t some serial killer?”
“He didn’t.”
“That man would sell out his own mother to make a damn buck!”
“He would ask for more than a buck,” he quipped, closing and locking the door behind him.
The sounds of my locks clicking into place tripped sirens in my brain, and they blared in flashing neon colors. I stole another cautious step back and stared at Chase, mayhem starting low in my belly.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
His presence was shocking, especially after the gut wrenching encounter at his office. I wasn’t sure I could give credence to anything he’d said, wasn’t sure I could forgive him. I was a realist who didn’t believe in the impossible. Men were never a constant in my life. Men always hurt me. They always left.
He advanced again, invading my personal space, so close I could feel heat radiating from his body. Not used to having him near, he overwhelmed my senses. His warmth settled around me. His scent teased my nose and buzzed static along my skin. It reminded me of that first evening in his office when he’d circled me, divining every secret of my naked body. The memory made my sex ache and my nipples tighten. God, what this man could do to me with a single look . . .
Trying to suppress my physical reaction to him, I took a deep breath, my mind struggling to grab hold of something tangible, someth
ing safe. “Is this about the car bill?”
His reliable blue gaze fixed on mine and he shook his head slowly. “Fuck the car bill. This is about you and me, Dani. It’s Tuesday. We have a standing appointment, and since you’re too stubborn to come to me, I came to you.”
I wasn’t sure I could deal with him right now. I’d spent weeks telling myself the feelings I had for him were foolish, that there’d never been anything of substance between us. Had that been simply to assuage my own guilt?
In his presence, it was difficult to deny the brutal honesty of what I was feeling now, of how much I still craved him.
As if sensing my shaky resolve, he raised a hand and trailed a finger pad slowly along the edge of my jaw, provoking a sharp inhale. My lids drifted closed, a feeble protest creeping from my throat. My stomach did somersaults as I stood transfixed.
“Dani . . .” My name was a needy groan. “If I’ve learned anything, it’s that life is too short. We can’t waste away the moments. I won’t let you walk away from me.”
His palm cupped my cheek, and intuitively I settled into the touch, accepting the gentle stroke of his thumb before he dragged it across my bottom lip. A groan throttled in my throat as I smothered the urge to lick out and taste him.
“I dreamed of touching you again, not knowing if I’d ever be able to,” he said.
Snapping to my senses, I pulled away with a cry. Nothing had changed. He’d lied to me, deceived me. My wounds were still raw and I didn’t want them ripped open again.
“Chase . . . I can’t . . . do this.”
I opened my mouth to voice another protest when his lips descended on mine. The contact was explosive, an electric current firing every dormant synapse. I was lost, drowning in sensations I’d only allowed in the deep unconsciousness of sleep.
Trying to resist him would be as difficult as switching the moon for the sun, and just as devastating. I didn’t want to stop to think about what I was doing. Soft lips feathered over mine, as gentle as a summer breeze and as reverent as a whispered prayer. Chase skimmed kisses over my face, and I kept my eyes closed, simply absorbing his touch, his scent, and the current of his warm breath.
His rough stubble grazed my skin, electrifying it. When his lips returned to mine, I opened to his delicious tongue, and with a groan, stepped into his body in trembling surrender.
His arms caged me, fingers sinking into my ass cheeks as he fused me roughly to him. His lips slanted over mine, tongue probing deep as he took my mouth with a fierceness that stunned me. I matched his ardor, scattering my hands over his body in a frenzy, kneading muscled arms, tight shoulders, and a strong back I’d left marks on. I cooed in pleasure when he bit savagely at my mouth and sucked hard on my bottom lip, the sensation almost as good as the feel of his rock-hard cock stabbing into my belly.
Breaths panting hoarsely, we separated long enough for him to tug my tank top over my head. Clothes flew across the room, and crazy for him, I couldn’t stop to be concerned with the sound of fabric ripping or buttons popping and rolling on the floor. I curled my palm over the thick bulge in his pants and squeezed hard, delighting when his body jolted and his shaft twitched in my hand. Kissing him frantically, I worked on his belt and zipper, my fingers clumsy from the adrenaline dousing my system.
“Shit! Hurry, Dani!” Chase growled when his zipper caught.
His big hands slid into the waistband of my sweats, which he tried to jerk down without untying the string. They stopped at my hips, trapping my legs and stubbornly refusing to budge any further. Chase swore and pushed harder, body straining, muscles bunching tightly with the effort. All it took was one too-eager tug to pitch us off balance, and with a yelp of surprise, we both toppled ungracefully to the floor. With lightning speed, Chase angled his body so I fell on top of him.
Suddenly our frantic movements ceased. The air stilled. I held my breath, biting my lip in utter mortification. I couldn’t see Chase’s face. My hair fell around him in disheveled waves and I found it too awkward to look down. Feeling his chest vibrate beneath me, I grew worried and chanced a peek at him beneath my lashes.
His eyes shined bright as his body shook with quiet laughter. I grinned down at him, listening to the sound crest and roll out of his chest like approaching thunder. He threw his head back and exploded with laughter, the melody landing somewhere deep inside me. Shaking my head, I stared in awe at this man I couldn’t purge from my heart, and laughed in earnest along with him. It was a moment we both needed.
“Oh, God,” he chuckled. “I’ve imagined this many times, but never quite like this.”
Looking down at our tangled limbs and haphazardly dressed bodies, I grinned and buried my face in the warmth of his neck. He smelled like spice and heaven. “We’re a hot mess.”
Another laugh rumbled out of him. He pushed my thick hair back from my face and angled my head so he could see my eyes.
“As long as we’re a hot mess together.”
I smiled and planted a kiss on the very tip of his nose, loving this sexy, relaxed Chase. My eyes widened when I felt the clasp of my bra unsnap from behind. Chase’s tongue tasted the shell of my ear, sending shivers cascading over my skin.
“Let’s see if we can manage this without bodily injury,” he teased. “Or you might have to stick to a padded desktop with guard rails.”
His reference made my cheeks heat, but he just laughed and captured my lips for a thorough kiss. His tongue swept over mine, lashed it with sensuous strokes. I released a moan into his mouth, my desire quickly catching fire again. He cupped my breasts, kneading them, twirling the dark, swollen peaks between his thumb and forefinger. My pussy throbbed in response.
“You feel so amazing . . .” he groaned over and over. “I’ve missed you so much.”
Taking time with our clothes, I removed the remaining garments, and we both gasped when skin came against heated skin. Chase was hard with muscle, corded and lean.
I straddled his thighs, and my eyes took a tour of his beautiful cock. Thick and long, it extending from a thatch of dark curls. His wide, glossy tip leaked and the more I stared, the larger he seemed to grow. My sex clenched with want, eager for a connection, to have him deep inside me.
“Dani . . .”
My name slid sweetly off his tongue and I looked to his face. The appreciation I saw in his eyes made my breath catch. He grabbed my knees and pulled, forcing me to inch up his body. My chest hitched in confusion as he kept urging me forward, but when my knees straddled his head, I forgot to breathe entirely. His long fingers traced my folds, slipping shallowly into my wet sex.
“You’ve kept yourself bare,” he growled from between my legs, his voice so saturated with need I didn’t recognize it. Inhaling deeply, he groaned, “I’ve missed the taste of this sweet pussy.”
Before I had time to absorb his words, his fingers gripped my ass and he pulled my core to his mouth.
“Oh . . . fuuuck!” I cried out when he dragged the flat of his tongue over my flesh and whipped my clit into a frenzy. Gut-clenching pleasure had my hips jerking onto his face, my thighs quivering as I fell forward.
I tried to grasp hold of something, anything to gain equilibrium, but Chase was relentless, moaning lustily as he smudged his tongue through my creamy slit, licking and consuming me with mindless enthusiasm.
“Dani . . .” he groaned, latching on to my clit. “I could live on this.”
“Chase! Shit! Oh . . . My . . . God!” I grabbed the edge of the couch, nails punching into the cushion. Chase pulled back, twirling whispery light circles over my flesh. My eyes rolled back into my head and my breath shuddered from my lungs. He shoved his tongue deep into my pussy, then lapped greedily at my sensitive walls.
Everything inside me coiled tight, the pleasure so intense it robbed my vocal chords of sound. My orgasm barreled down on me, and his grip turned fierce as he worked me exquisitely with his mouth and tongue. Lips parting silently, I felt my face bunch as I shook and shook, knees scraping on the
linoleum floor. It was only after my second wave that a scream tore out of my throat. My eyes popped opened to stare blindly as lights continued to explode in my vision.
“Holy fucking shit!” I gasped, sucking in a breath like I’d just emerged from long moments under water.
Chase delivered one last lick that shot a delayed spasm through my limp body. The words he uttered were indecipherable as he flipped me over and crawled over my body. I loved the way his bare, broad chest scraped my pointy nipples, loved his heavy weight on me, surrounding me. He held his cock in his fist, whipping up and down the engorged shaft with lightning quick strokes.
Ravaging my swollen lips with a kiss, he licked deep. The taste of myself was heady on his tongue, sweetly intoxicating. With a rich moan, he nudged the head of his cock through my wet folds. I mewled and arched my back, my flesh sizzling with sharp pleasure. Somehow I surfaced from my haze, my lids rolling open.
“Chase—wait! Condom.”
He blinked and stared at me blankly, as though his brain wasn’t quite functioning. I looked up at his gorgeous face and smiled slowly, something snagging in my chest. He was everything—my good, my bad, my ecstasy and my agony. And still he wasn’t my anything.
Tapping a finger to his lips when he tried to enter me again, I giggled and admonished, “We need a condom.”
He nodded once, and rolled off me onto his back. He was quiet, still buried somewhere in his head. I saw the tight curl of his fists and the stubborn pull of his brow. My gaze dropped to his swollen shaft with beads of pre-cum rolling down its length. He was struggling to control himself.
I scampered into my room, hoping I still had condoms left from what Wanda had given me. Finding them, I returned to the beautiful man laid out on my living room floor like an offering, and knelt beside him. Chase watched me quietly, eyes hooded, as I ripped open the packet.
I was on the edge again, the sight of him so arousing that I burned. Anticipation fluttered my sex. Unable to help myself, I raked my nails up his lightly furred balls. He swore through clenched teeth, body jerking at the contact. Twitching hard, his cock spurted a thick rope of pre-cum onto his taut stomach, and I leaned forward, collecting it with one long lick. Meeting his gaze, I smiled wickedly and rolled on the condom.
