The Winston Brothers

by Lori Foster

  Chase pressed his chest closer, effectively pulling her from her thoughts. With a near sneer, he asked, “And what exactly is it that Rose has said about me?”

  She almost couldn’t utter the words. It took two swallows, and a great deal of effort to whisper, “She says you’re…you’re kinky.”

  “Kinky!”

  Allison nodded. “She says you like to…to dominate in bed.” Chase’s expression was almost comical in his disbelief. “She says that’s why you’re so choosy about who you sleep with, why you ignored me, because you didn’t think I’d get into sex games with you or that I wouldn’t indulge your preferences for a little bondage and—”

  Chase laid a hand over her mouth, halting the flow of words. He whispered, as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear, “There really are ghosts?”

  Allison nodded.

  The look of disbelief left his face to be replaced by outrage. He glared and thrust himself away from her, rolling off the bed and onto his feet in one quick, fluid movement. He searched the room, but the lights were dim again and Rose and Burke were hiding. Chase turned his accusing gaze on Allison, who hadn’t moved a single muscle. She was still too fascinated by the idea of being at Chase’s sexual mercy. She didn’t know exactly what he’d do or how much mercy he’d have, but she was more than a little anxious to find out.

  “Oh no you don’t! Don’t start trying to distract me again with sex.” He pointed a finger at her. “You expected me to make love to you tonight, and you knew all along they’d be watching? You set me up as entertainment for them? Rose and Burke can’t just be normal ghosts, oh no, they have to be damned voyeur ghosts!”

  A pillow shot off the bed to hit Chase square in the face. He slapped it aside, but another took its place. Chase cursed and said, “Oh great. Now I’ve pissed off a ghost! It doesn’t get much better than this, does it, Allison!”

  Still lying there, feeling a lot more confident about the situation now, Allison grinned and said, “Then you believe in them?”

  Running an agitated hand through his hair, Chase said, “Why not? It makes as much sense as anything else.”

  She looked ready to giggle. Chase realized he was behaving in an absurd way. There was Allison, spread out on a bed, looking so damned ripe and ready it made his teeth ache. And he was provoking ghosts.

  It also dawned on him that she didn’t seem overly repelled by the idea of him dominating her. In fact, if he was reading her right—and he knew he was—she was intrigued. Well, how about that.

  Another pillow hit him.

  “I think Rose wants you to apologize. She said she kept her eyes closed whenever Burke made love to her, so she sure as certain doesn’t have any urge to watch you.”

  A reluctant smile curved his mouth. The uniqueness of the situation was finally starting to sink in. “She said that, did she?”

  “Yes.” Allison hesitated, then added, “But Burke says it isn’t true, that she used to devour him with her eyes when they made love. He says Rose has the most beautiful, expressive eyes in the whole world.”

  Despite himself, Chase was touched by the sentimental words. Ghosts. And not just any ghosts, but passionate ghosts who joked and teased and loved. Who would have believed it? Allison had to be telling the truth because how else could she have known? And the damned pillows had literally flown off the bed without her help. She’d done no more than lay there, watching him. Waiting.

  In a way, he was grateful, because Rose and Burke had given him Allison. Without their interference, he never would have seen the depths of her, and seeing her now, so anxious to take part in everything he wanted to do with her, he couldn’t imagine not being with her.

  He stepped over closer to the bed. “Tell me something, honey. Did you think to try this with Jack?”

  She wrinkled her nose but apparently felt there was no point in lying. “I needed to do something passionate so Burke and Rose could move on. They don’t mind being here, but they’re not settled. Only they didn’t want me with Jack—and I have to admit I’m glad. He’s a nice guy, despite how he acted at your bar, and he’s been very considerate, very helpful to me. But I couldn’t quite get into the idea of…of…”

  Chase felt his heart swell at her pink cheeks and stammering tone. Very gently, he said, “You couldn’t imagine being passionate with him?”

  She nodded, then added in a whisper, “I tried to think about him that way, but it always ended up being you in my fantasies. And somehow Rose just sort of knew that. She insisted I should go after you, even though I told her it was useless. She even selected the stuff I’d wear—”

  “Ah, that killer dress from yesterday?”

  She nodded. “Rose found it in the attic.”

  “Was it hers?”

  “No. She told me she really likes this modern, shorter style though.” Allison smiled. “To Rose, it seems really risqué.”

  He lifted a brow and looked her over slowly. “To me, too.”

  “Really?” She gulped, then forged on. “Rose even picked out the stuff I’m wearing now, but at the time, I didn’t know you’d ever see me in it.”

  He knelt on the bed beside her and without a word, unknotted the fabric belt to her robe to pull it open. He stared down at the soft-as-silk cotton chemise and drawers. There was a flawless rose crocheted on the neckline of the chemise right above a row of tiny shell buttons, and more roses on the front of each leg. The drawers closed up in front with a wide, intriguing flap—big enough for a man’s hand. Chase breathed hard. “You can tell Rose I heartily approve.”

  Allison smiled. “You just told her yourself.”

  He stared down at her soft breasts, her small nipples hard and straining against the cotton material. He felt his nostrils flare, felt a twisting in his guts. Without lifting his gaze, he said, “Beat it, guys. Allison and I have some business to attend to.”

  The lights dimmed so that only a soft glow touched the bed, then a slight warm breeze passed over him and he knew Burke and Rose had given them privacy. He wasted no more time. Straddling her hips, he stared down at her body, at the way her chest rose and fell with her deep breaths. He unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off.

  Allison groaned at the sight of his bare chest and started to reach for him. He smiled and caught her hands.

  “No, I have a certain way I like to do things, sweetheart. And seeing as we’ll be doing this a lot—”

  “We will?”

  “Oh yeah. Definitely. So we might as well start out right.” He pulled her into a sitting position and removed her glasses, tossing them aside, then stripped the robe off her shoulders. Holding her wide gaze, he pulled the soft, chenille belt out of the belt loops.

  He could feel her trembling, both alarmed and excited. “Don’t ever be afraid of me, Allison,” he ordered quietly. She licked her lips, eyeing that soft belt, then nodded.

  “Good girl.” Her acceptance pleased and provoked him. “Now, lie back down.”

  She was practically panting, her eyes unblinking, her lips parted. Chase couldn’t help but smile at her. “Put your arms over your head, as far as you can. Try to reach the top of the bed.”

  She gulped, but she slowly did as he ordered. Blood rushed through his veins at her compliance. And better still, he could feel her excitement, almost as great as his own. It was like she was his exact match, a perfect soul mate, and his body and mind recognized that fact, making all the feelings more acute, more important.

  Taking his time, making the anticipation build, he held her wrists together and looped the belt around them, then tied it to one of the sturdy posts at the top of the bed. When he was confident that the knot would hold, he trailed his fingers down her bare arms to her armpits, then over her collar bone. She shivered slightly, twisting, and he whispered, “No, don’t move.”

  She stilled instantly.

  He eyed her taut form. “Are you uncomfortable?”

  “No.”

  That was the tiniest voice he’d ever heard fro
m her, and he recognized the aroused tone. He touched the rose on her bodice. “I’m going to look at your naked breasts now, Allison.”

  She started to close her eyes, but again, he reprimanded her. “I want you to watch me,” he instructed gently.

  Her teeth sank into her bottom lip, but she kept her gaze on his face. The tiny buttons slid easily out of the silk loops, and little by little, he bared her. Her breasts were small, some of the fullness removed by her stretched-out position. He felt her touch of embarrassment but refused to allow it to interfere with her enjoyment.

  Closing his fingers around one taut nipple, he said, “You’re more beautiful than any woman I’ve ever seen.”

  She started to speak, and he pinched lightly, tugging. Her words evaporated into a gasp.

  “You like that?”

  “Yes.”

  He lifted his other hand, plying both breasts. Her back arched, ignoring his order to remain still, but he let the small disobedience pass. She looked sexy as hell writhing under his hands, and he enjoyed watching her, enjoyed feeling her waves of carnal pleasure pass through him.

  Without a single word of warning, he leaned down and replaced one hand with his mouth. She cried out at the sweet, soft tugging and the stroke of his tongue.

  “Shhh.” He blew softly on her now wet nipple.

  “Chase, I can’t stand it.”

  “Yes you can.”

  He felt her frustration explode, felt her body tensing even more. She was drawn so tight, her entire body jerked when he lightly nipped her with his teeth. He tightened his thighs around her hips, holding her still, forcing her to his will.

  He switched to her other breast, treating it to the same sensual torture. Around her nipple, he whispered, “I learned early on how much I love controlling a woman this way, being in charge of her pleasure, mastering her with sex. But I love controlling you even more.”

  She groaned and tried to lift her legs but couldn’t. He smiled. “None of that now. I told you to be still.”

  “Chase…”

  “It’s all right. Let’s see what we can do about these bottoms.”

  Sitting up, he positioned himself so that her upper thighs, clamped tightly shut, were accessible to his hands. Through the soft cotton, he stroked one finger over the center seam of the drawers.

  Allison’s head twisted from side to side and she tugged on the bindings of her wrists. It was an instinctive reaction, he knew, to try to free herself even though she didn’t really want to be free. He could feel everything she felt, and it doubled his pleasure knowing his own unique form of foreplay drove her crazy with need. She was already wet, the drawers damp where his finger continued to stroke. He was careful to barely touch her, to avoid letting her get too close to the edge.

  Her belly hollowed out and her breasts thrust upward as she tried to strain closer to his taunting finger. He watched her face as he asked, “What do you want, Allison?”

  “I don’t know,” she answered on a wail.

  “Yes, you do. Don’t lie to me.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut and he lifted his hand. “I told you not to do that.”

  Gulping air, she forced her eyes open again. “I want you to touch me.”

  “Like this?” His finger slid down, dipped, came away.

  A great shudder passed over. “No. Under…under the drawers.”

  His body rocked with his heartbeat. He slid his hand inside the seam, barely touching her. “Like this?”

  She tried to thrust against him, but he pulled away again. “Oh, please.”

  “Tell me, honey.”

  “I want…I want your fingers inside me.”

  Her face was bright red, both with frenzied need and embarrassment. Chase was so pleased with her, he leaned down and kissed her mouth hungrily, thrusting his tongue deep, his control almost shattered by her innocently whispered words. When he pulled back again, she stared at him expectantly, her breath held. He opened the seam of the drawers, laying the material wide.

  Her feminine curls were dark blonde, damp, and he wanted to taste her very badly. He locked his jaw against the temptation and insinuated one long finger between her folds, feeling her wetness, the warmth of her. His penetration was eased by her excitement, but the tightness of her nearly did him in.

  Allison let out a low, keening cry as he forced his finger deeper. “Is this what you wanted, baby?”

  She didn’t answer, her hips working against him, almost lifting his weight from the bed. He pulled back, watching her face closely, then thrust again, hard and deep.

  She screamed with pleasure. His name.

  Cursing viciously, Chase levered himself to the side. He pushed her legs wide, then held them there when she instinctively tried to close them again. The material of the drawers was in his way and he ripped it open wider, wanting to see all of her, vulnerable, open and ready for him.

  Allison was stunned. He could feel her sudden confusion and anticipation. He slipped his finger into her again, then added another. Her hips bucked, and that was all the provocation he needed. Bending down, he took her in his mouth, his tongue hot and rough and insistent. He found her small clitoris and sucked gently.

  Allison climaxed with a shock of incredible pleasure that shook her whole body, and he felt it all, felt her trembling, her emotional turmoil, her greed. He cupped her hips, lifting her tighter against his mouth, refusing to let her orgasm fade despite her cries and weak struggles. When finally she stilled, going boneless beneath him, he climbed off the bed and furiously stripped off his jeans and shorts.

  “Allison?”

  Her eyes barely opened—until she saw he was naked. Then her big blue eyes flared wide, looking him over in great detail. “Are your arms okay, sweetheart?”

  She squinted at him, trying to see him more clearly, and he smiled. “I want to touch you, Chase.”

  “That’s not what I asked.”

  Her legs shifted restlessly, then she nodded. “I’m not in any discomfort, if that’s what you mean.”

  “Good. And don’t worry. You’ll get your turn. But for now—” His gaze burned over her again. Her legs were still open, her damp curls framed by lacy cotton. “—For now, I like you just the way you are.”

  He slid a condom on and moved over her. After gently lowering himself onto her, he held her face and said against her mouth, “I like making love to you like this, Allison. Will you mind if we do this often?”

  She blinked at him, then mutely shook her head.

  “Good. I think I’d enjoy keeping you tied to my bed forever.”

  “Chase…”

  He could feel the questions she wanted to ask, questions about the future. But he couldn’t even explain to himself what he felt, the rightness of being with her, the intensified pleasure of his naked body touching hers. She felt like his soul mate, like just being with her would be enough to make him whole. He realized how alive he’d felt since last night, when he’d first started sparring with her, wanting her, trying to understand her and get to know her better. He felt unbearably possessive, and he knew the feeling wouldn’t go away anytime soon. Probably never.

  He kissed her to stop any further questions and calm his own tumultuous thoughts, then reached down and carefully opened her to his first thrust. The bed rocked gently and she moaned into his mouth.

  “So tight, honey. So damn wet. God, you feel good.”

  Her body resisted him at first, then, as if being welcomed home, she accepted him, his size and length, letting him in until he filled her completely. She gasped, arching her neck back, her tied hands curling into fists. Her muscles clenched and unclenched in small spasms, her entire body trembling. It was incredible and mind-blowing, and he couldn’t pace himself, couldn’t hold back to tease further.

  He met her eager gaze as he balanced himself on his elbows and tried to control the depth of his steady thrusts. His jaw locked with the effort, his shoulders straining.

  The damned bed, apparently on uneven legs
, rocked back and forth with his every movement. He slid his hands over her breasts, felt her nipples tight against his palms, felt her hips lifting, seeking, her muscles squeezing around his erection as he thrust harder and faster, and he was gone, closing his eyes against the too intense pleasure of it.

  Nothing in this life had ever felt so right.

  He knew then that he couldn’t ever lose her.

  Chapter Six

  Long minutes later, Chase became aware of Allison shifting beneath him. Good lord, had he fallen asleep? Appalled, he lifted himself to stare down at her. Her face looked so precious to him, glowing, flushed, happy, and also a little timid. He smiled and kissed her gently, then smoothed her mussed hair, now more unpinned than not. “Are you all right?”

  She ducked her head shyly and attempted a restrained stretch. “I’m wonderful.”

  He looked up at her wrists, then reached to untie her. Lowering her arms carefully, he began to rub them, easing any tenderness she might feel. “I’ve never made love to a virgin before.” He grinned at her. “It was a uniquely satisfying experience.”

  She gave him a quick glance. “I’ve never been tied up before. I doubt I would have enjoyed it with anyone else but you.”

  “And with me?”

  “It was…incredible. You’re incredible.”

  Chase rolled to his back and pulled her on top. She wasted no time in doing some of the exploring she’d missed out on due to her restraints. Her hands coasted over his chest and she sighed in wonder. “You are one devastatingly beautiful man, Chase Winston.”

  Satisfaction settled into his bones. Life didn’t get any better than having a naked Allison sprawled over him, his body replete from loving her, his mind at peace with the knowledge that she was his.

  When she bent to press her soft lips to his chest, he laughed and resettled her against him. “Behave, woman. It’s almost four in the morning. Don’t you think we need some sleep?”