“I like it when you’re bossy,” he said, keeping his eyes on her as she’d instructed.
Reaching her other hand below, she gently cupped his balls through his underwear as she continued to move her hand up and down his long shaft. He tightened and pulsed against her hand and she knew it wouldn’t take much more to get him there. She slowed her pace a little, liking the control she had at that moment. The look of wanting in his eyes as they remained locked with hers made her own body ache with longing to be touched, teased and satisfied.
“Hayley, I’m going to come,” he whispered, his breath coming in small gasps.
“Eyes on me... Not a sound,” she said, more aroused than she’d ever been. Holding all the power was exciting, but she hadn’t expected to experience a crazy animalistic hunger, as well. She wished he were coming inside her and not in her hands.
His head fell against her shoulder and she heard his teeth clench together in an attempt to muffle his satisfied moan as he came a second later. His grip on her waist was so tight, she expected bruises the next morning, but she didn’t care. His body shuddered and then collapsed slightly, causing them to sink a little lower. “My legs just completely gave out.”
She laughed, thrilled that she’d had that effect on him.
“Your turn,” he said, lifting his gaze to hers.
Her eyes widened and she pushed away. “No way. That was just for you...” She tread water quickly, in an effort to put distance between them.
“Not a chance,” he said, catching her again easily and wrapping one arm tightly around her as his hand grazed her inner thigh beneath the water.
What had she started? As aroused as she was, there was no way she could come there in the water with the chance of other people around. Her boss was only feet away and the newcomers were basking in the waterfalls around the corner from them. “Chase,” she whispered, feeling his hand move upward to the thin fabric of her panties. “Later...back in the hotel room.”
“Then, too,” he said with a nod, his other hand cupping the base of her right breast, just below the water’s surface.
“Seriously, Chase, you can’t do this here.” Her pleading was halfhearted at best and she knew her protests would be ignored, sending her anticipation soaring.
“That’s not how this works, Hayley. You pleasure me, I pleasure you,” he whispered against her cheek as he bobbed them along the water. He slid his leg between her knees, forcing them apart as he moved the fabric aside at her pussy. As his fingers massaged, she buried her head against his chest, gripping at his shoulders.
“Uh-uh, look at me. Remember—no moaning, no swearing... Stay with me.”
Damn. Her own rules coming back to bite her in the ass.
A soft sigh escaped her lips as he slid two fingers inside. “Oh, that feels so good, Chase.”
“You’re cheating. I wasn’t allowed to talk,” he said, placing his lips on hers to smother another quiet gasp as he slid the third finger inside.
Thank God he was kissing her. There was no way she could have stifled that moan on her own, spectators or not.
“Am I hurting you?” he asked.
No... Yes... Who cares? The intense pleasure far outweighed the slight discomfort of pressure as his fingers plunged even deeper. She shook her head, feeling her muscles spasm within her.
In the distance, she heard her boss’s voice. “They’re coming this way.”
“Do you want me to stop?” he asked.
“No, just hurry, please... Faster,” she whispered in his ear, her body longing for release. Marvin, Grace, the strangers, all disappeared as her body rippled in pleasure a second later and she once again claimed Chase’s mouth to silence the cries that threatened to give them away.
Chase laughed against her lips as his hold tightened around her. “Good girl,” he said as she pulled away. “No one noticed a thing.”
“Honestly, I’m not even sure I care.”
9
“SO, NO ONE actually knows where we’re going?” Hayley whispered to Lila. The morning sky was overcast as they boarded a resort excursion bus. A light misty rain wet her cheeks as a heavy wind blew her damp curls across her face. Where was the magnificent blue sky and hot sun that she’d experienced so far on the island? And why were they leaving the resort today? This would have been a great day to stay inside. In bed with Chase. The day before had been incredible and she found herself wishing they could spend the rest of the trip together...instead of golfing that afternoon with her coworkers. Yesterday’s free day had given her a taste of what this vacation could really be like.
She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
“I think Kim knows—she organized the entire retreat schedule—but she’s refusing to tell,” Lila said, taking a seat at the back of the bus. “We’ve already gone shark diving. It can’t be any worse than that, right?” she asked.
But an hour later as their bus pulled to the side of the highway behind a van that said Maui Waterfall Adventures on the side, Hayley shot her coworker a look. “Do you want to retract your earlier statement, counselor?”
“Who knows, maybe it will be fun. Where’s your optimism?” Lila said, following the group off the bus.
As she descended, her cell phone rang. A quick glance revealed a Los Angeles number she didn’t recognize. Had her assistant given a client her personal cell number? The temptation to answer was strong, but she wasn’t exactly equipped to deal with anything right now. She went to restash the phone but a text message immediately appeared from Chase, making her heart race.
It’s Kate calling you.
Fantastic, Chase. What exactly does “It’s Kate calling you” mean? Answer it? Ignore it? The jig is up? What? On the last ring before the call went to her voice mail, she answered. “Hello?”
“Hayley, hi! We missed you this morning, but I hope you were able to finish your work.”
Right, she was supposed to be working...in the hotel room... Could Kate hear the sound of the waterfalls and her coworkers speaking behind her? She covered the mouthpiece slightly and moved farther away down the path. “Oh, yes, I did.”
“So, what are your plans for this afternoon?”
“Oh...um...” An excuse—anything—quick. Her phone beeped with an incoming call. Chase. “Kate, I have to answer another call. Could you hold for just a second?”
“Sure.”
Clicking over, she said, “Why is your sister calling me?”
“I’m sorry. She seriously arm-wrestled my phone away from me to get your number from my contacts list... Man, she’s stronger than she looks.”
“Chase!”
“Sorry, she wants you to go shopping with her this afternoon. She has a few wedding items she needs to pick up.”
Shopping? No. “I have golf with my boss.” Had he forgotten he was needed to perform that afternoon?
“I know, I’m sorry. I tried to tell her we have plans...but...she’s insistent that I can do without you for one afternoon.”
“You really need to grow a set when it comes to your sister,” she said. How was she getting out of this one?
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“She’s waiting on the other line. Hang on.”
“Okay, good luck.”
“Thanks,” she said sarcastically. An absent fiancé would have made things so much easier.
“Kate? Hi, I’m back.”
“Great, so shopping? In Lahaina this afternoon? The wedding favors and the engraved wedding party gifts are ready for pickup and I can’t leave anything that important to anyone else. But I’d love to have the company... We could grab a drink.”
“Um...I think we were just going to hang out. Enjoy the beach.” Golfing with Marvin and the other partners and directors was important. A lot of deals and de
cisions were made on the golf course rather than at the office. It was one of the reasons her father had insisted she take up golfing in college while she’d earned her law degree. He said the schooling would teach her the rules, and the golfing would help her forget them.
“The beach will be there when we get back. Come on, please? I took the other women to the spa yesterday. I’d love to spend some time with you before things get busy with the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. The thing is, if my brother brought you here to meet all of us—something he never has done before—then it’s a lot more serious than he probably even knows, so I think we should get to know one another better. Who knows, someday we may be sisters-in-law,” she said.
Her breath caught in her chest. Sisters-in-law? “Just a sec,” she said, quickly switching lines. “I think things are getting out of hand,” she told Chase.
“Why? What did she say?”
“She thinks you’re in love with me because you brought me here.”
Silence.
“Speak, please.”
“Sorry... Look, I’ll tell her we have other plans.” He sounded nervous.
She sighed and closed her eyes. The golf game was important. She really did want more time with her boss. But Chase had kept up his end of the bargain so far and she’d agreed to help him. She had a lot at stake, but after spending time with Chase and his family, keeping them from learning of their deception seemed much more important. “I’ll do it.”
“No way, you have golf this afternoon.”
“Look, my boss is making us rappel down the side of a freaking three-hundred-foot drop. I’ll tell him I’m sick.” She actually did feel nauseated at the idea of missing golf. “But you still have to go.”
“I’m on it,” he said, relief in his voice.
Wow, the guy really didn’t want to do anything to disappoint his sister. “Okay.”
“Thanks, Hayley.”
The gratitude in Chase’s voice helped her feel more confident in the decision. She clicked over to Kate. “I’m back. Um...yes, I’m free this afternoon.” She tried to inject enthusiasm into her voice.
“Great! I’ll meet you at the Sugar Cane Train station on Kaanapali Beach around noon?”
“Sugar Cane Train? I thought we were going shopping?”
“We are. The train is just a fantastic way to get there.”
Fantastic.
* * *
“YOU REALLY DIDN’T have to take time away from your family and friends to do this,” Hayley said as she boarded the steam engine train an hour later. She was grateful that Chase would be at golf. Her boss really liked him. And seemed to like her more because of him. Damn, what would she do without him back in Los Angeles?
“You are family and a friend. I wasn’t kidding when I said that bringing you to my wedding to meet all of us is a big deal for Chase. I haven’t met any of his girlfriends...except Kendall, of course.”
“Kendall?”
Kate sent her a puzzled look as they took their seats at the front of the train. “He didn’t tell you about Kendall?”
Too late to back pedal now, she shook her head.
“That’s strange.” She paused, then she started nodding. “Then again, he probably didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable when she arrives.”
What? Chase’s ex-girlfriend was coming to the wedding? That was a significant detail he’d failed to mention. Though it explained a lot.
“I shouldn’t be the one telling you this, but I guess I’ve said too much not to tell you the rest.”
Hayley nodded.
“Kendall’s my best friend from college. I introduced them at a party and Kendall immediately fell head over heels.”
She could see that. Who wouldn’t love Chase? He was hotter than a man should be allowed to be, caring, sweet, funny, strong...and if all that wasn’t enough, he wore a uniform. Feeling as though she had to say something, she said, “Naturally.”
“Anyway, he refused to be set up as usual even though I could tell that he liked her. She was too young, she was his baby sister’s best friend... The list of excuses was exhausting,” she said with a laugh.
“So what changed his mind?” she asked, biting back an irrational sense of jealousy. What did she care who Chase had dated in the past...or who he might date in the future?
“Kendall was attacked.”
“What?”
“One night on campus, she was walking back to her dorm from the library. Some guy attacked her from behind with a baseball bat...” Kate’s eyes teared and she shivered. “Worst night ever. She was unconscious when campus security found her hours later. Chase and his ex-partner, Will, took care of her statement and the investigation. They found the guy within twenty-four hours.”
“Thank God. Who was it?”
“Some burned-out grad student who snapped... Anyway, Chase offered to stay with her for a few nights and they...”
“Fell in love.” She shifted on her seat and picked an invisible piece of lint from her black walking shorts. This jealousy could take a hike anytime now. This thing with Chase wasn’t real. So why was she already hating a woman she’d never met...who was no longer dating Chase...and who’d clearly suffered a terrible attack? What was wrong with her?
“Yeah. But then his partner died and the whole Mia-and-Angie thing tore them apart...”
Chase had a lot of talking to do. Mia-and-Angie thing? She had a feeling she should know this, but still she asked, “How did that tear them apart?”
“He really should be telling you all this himself.”
Yes, he should, but so far he hadn’t. And clearly it was information she should be privy to. Especially the part about his ex-girlfriend being at the wedding. She wondered why he’d kept it all to himself. Was he still in love with Kendall? Was he in love with this Mia woman? She needed answers...though why, she wasn’t sure. “I don’t think he’d mind... Maybe it’s easier if you tell me about it.”
Kate hesitated, but as the train sounded its deafening whistle and dark steam escaped through the vents, she turned in her seat and lowered her voice. “When Chase’s partner, Will, died, Chase promised to take care of his widow and daughter. Mia was completing her nursing degree and without Will they couldn’t afford to keep their home, especially with Angie’s meds costing the family over five hundred dollars a month, so they moved in with Chase.”
“Angie’s meds?”
“She has juvenile diabetes... Chase bought her a blood sugar monitor because her spikes and lows were getting dangerous. I can’t believe he didn’t tell you any of this.”
She could. Chase wasn’t the kind of man to sing his own praises. She was quickly learning that he put everyone else first. He had while raising his brothers and sister, and then he was a support system for his former partner’s family...and he’d offered to help her out of this situation without much consideration at all. He seemed to jump in to help wherever needed.
“Anyway, Mia graduated from nursing school and they got on their feet quickly and moved out of Chase’s house...but not before the situation had put a wedge between him and Kendall.”
“No doubt,” she mumbled, digesting the new information.
“Just promise me you won’t let his commitment to his job take its toll on you the way it did on Kendall,” Kate continued. “I love my brother, especially for what he did for Will’s family, but I can understand how it can be tough to deal with—what woman wants to come second to the man she loves?”
“Yeah...” Hayley mumbled though she wasn’t sure she fully agreed. Kendall should have been proud to be with a man as unselfish and compassionate as Chase. And leaving him during a painful time in his life seemed harsh to her.
“Chase is fantastic—as I’m sure you know—but I think at times he’s a little too selfless. That’s wh
y we’re all so excited that he has you. Especially Adam.”
“Huh?” She hadn’t even met Adam yet.
“Well, he wasn’t sure how Chase was going to react seeing him and Kendall together, you know...but when I told him on the phone last night that you were here, he was relieved.”
Kendall was Adam’s pregnant wife? Jesus, Chase. A heads-up about all of this would have been fantastic.
“And I have to tell you, we all agree we’ve never seen him so relaxed and happy as he is on this trip. So, thank you.” Kate reached across and squeezed her hand.
A wave of guilt washed over her as she forced a smile. Turning her attention to the passing scenery, her mind was frantic. What had they been thinking to do this? Him helping her with her coworkers was one thing—those people wouldn’t get hurt after this week was over and they went their separate ways—but her infiltrating his family was wrong. Kate, Adam, Eric...they were all too important and special to Chase. For a man with such a big heart and desire to help others, this seemed out of character. And at the end, she would walk away, and he’d be the one who would have to deal with his family... They needed to talk that evening. She had to make sure he knew what he’d gotten himself into—not that they could do much about it now.
* * *
“HAYLEY DIDN’T TELL us you were a pro golfer,” Marvin said, slapping him on the back as his golf ball left the tee, sailed through the air and landed on the green.
The two board members he’d met in the hotel lobby the first day they’d arrived nodded, shielding their eyes from the blazing sun to watch the ball creep closer to the tenth hole.
Something in Marvin’s voice told him that maybe he was playing a little too well. Maybe he should be letting him win? Wasn’t that the correct protocol when golfing with a boss? It would be tough for him, with his competitive nature, but for Hayley, he’d lower his game, just a little.
“Actually, Hayley had never even mentioned you before,” he said, adjusting his sunglasses before lining up to take his swing. The man swung and his shot was slightly too far left. “For some reason, I’d thought you were a dentist. Not sure why.” He shrugged.
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