“You must do a lot of entertaining here.” I took in an outdoor kitchen, a lavish outdoor living area and a tiki bar next to where we’d parked. Gorgeous rows of red hibiscus, all in full bloom lined the perimeters of the house.
“I’ve never brought anyone here.”
“Really? You have all of this for yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Do you come here often?”
“Not as much as I’d like.”
“If this were mine, I would be here every chance I had.”
He smiled an amused grin. “After you.”
At the top of the stairs I stopped on the oversized deck admiring the incredible twilight view of whitecap waves roll onto shore. He kept quiet while sliding the key inside the lock and turning the knob. Threading his fingers with mine, he led me through the entrance dropping the rolling piece of luggage against the wall.
Inside, soaring ceilings and expansive windows in the very contemporary living area stole my breath. The large kitchen housed a formal dining area and commercial sized chef-like stainless appliances.
Chad pressed a switch on the wall and electric shutters rolled upward disappearing into the crevice of the wall exposing magnificent gulf views.
“We can take the Jeep down on the beach, or take a walk if you’re up to it? Or I’ll whip up some dinner and we can eat out on the deck.”
“A meal on the beach with a breathtaking sunset? Be careful, Mitchell, I may get the idea you’re a romantic.”
“There’s nothing romantic about me,” he said with a sharp edge but underneath it all he wasn’t fooling me.
“Why don’t we sit on the deck tonight. In the morning if you wake up and find me missing, I’ll be down at the water’s edge letting the waves wash over my toes.”
“Take a tour of the house and then make yourself comfortable. The master bedroom is upstairs.”
Chad strolled to the kitchen and opened up the door of the side-by-side refrigerator as if to inspect the contents.
“Do you have sandwich stuff? I’m not all that hungry.”
“When’s the last time you ate anything?” He glanced over his shoulder, his focus sliding up and down my body.
“Yesterday.”
“Do you like breakfast for dinner?”
“That sounds perfect,” I replied softly, unable to take my eyes off of him.
Perfect.
In my fucked-up world, Chad Mitchell was perfect.
From the way he whisked me away to a safe haven to get myself together to the way he’d breathed life into me when I’d forgotten how to live. Gawking, I watched his toned muscular body effortlessly move about the kitchen. My mouth became as dry as the desert because I knew every sculpted muscle underneath his tight fitted shirt by memory. I knew how his skin felt against my fingers and how my lips burned thinking about how he tasted.
“You going to stand there and stare at me or take a tour of the house?”
“I like what I see.”
His gaze drifted to my parted lips and a smile tugged at his while he cracked an egg. “Omelet, scrambled, or fried?”
“Scrambled.”
On impulse, I walked to where he stood whisking and wrapped my arms around his waist. Pressing my lips to his back, I breathed him in.
“I can’t tell you how grateful I am for everything, but I’m mostly grateful to be able to be here with you.”
He turned around in my arms and held me against his chest, pressing his lips to the top of my head. “We’ll stay for as long as you want. And when you’re ready, Hank will take us home to work things out.”
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to leave,” I whispered.
“You will. You’ll want answers to the millions of questions skirting around inside your head.”
I let out a soft laugh. “Like what? Did they fuck? Did they have an affair? Was I adopted? Did my father and this woman named Sharon purchase me? And if so, how much did they pay? What was I worth? Or was I a fucking project, the baby who would fix Sharon? If so, that backfired wouldn’t you say?”
He drew back and cupped my chin while tracing my lips with his thumb. “You were not a project. Harry told me how badly he’d wanted a child. He wanted Sharon to want you as much as he did. And if there was a financial contract involved, there isn’t enough money in the world to label your worth.”
For a brief moment we were silent and deep down I knew I wasn’t going to hurt forever. There was going to come a time when I could face them both again. But for now, I needed more time and I needed Chad.
Easing out of his arms, I diverted my gaze to the wall of windows where nightfall replaced the beautiful pinks and oranges.
“You do the eggs. I’ll do the toast.”
“Nope. I’ve got it under control. If you’re not going to take a tour, go sit out on the deck where it’s nice.”
“I wish you would let me help you.”
“No.” He poured the mixture into a skillet.
Outside, the balmy sea fragrance hit me in the face and instantly my shoulders began to loosen. I breathed in the salty air and listened to the calming waves wash ashore. Under a few twinkling stars I closed my eyes letting peace swallow me whole.
Chad did this for me.
I turned around and leaned against the wooden railing taking all of him in. God he was beautiful. I could stand here for hours and not have my fill of those mesmerizing whiskey eyes, his hard-lean body, and the way his smile stopped time. He sensually moved about the kitchen without trying, without even knowing I watched.
It was hard to ignore the achy need igniting, or the goosebumps spreading over my flesh. Raking my eyes over his body, I loved the way his shirt clung to his sculpted body. Pulling my lip between my teeth, my heart drummed in my chest.
He lifted his head and our gazes locked. Shuddering, I placed both of my hands on the railing at my hips and pressed my back against the wooden structure for support. His jaw ticked drinking me in. Raking his eyes over me, he placed his hands flat against the granite counter tops. Did his legs feel like gelatin, the same as mine? Did he want to kiss me as bad as I wanted to press my lips against his?
Chapter 20
Chad set fire in my blood and I needed him more than my lungs needed oxygen. I no longer felt like I walked through an emotional minefield. He sauntered across the living room and out onto the deck with a serving tray filled with bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, and two glasses of orange juice.
“It smells delicious.”
“Because it is delicious.” Smiling, he placed both plates of food onto the bar height patio table following with our juice and silverware.
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
After we sat together, he began opening a bottle of grape jelly. “Do you want butter and jelly?”
“Sure.”
He spread the rich fruit sweetness onto a slice of medium toasted bread and God he even made that task sexy.
“This view is amazing. I bet it’s even more beautiful in the mornings.”
“I used to think there was nothing more beautiful.” He licked his lips.
“Used to?”
“Then you came along and there’s nothing more beautiful than you.” His eyes darkened.
“Bet you say that to all the women,” I whispered, barely able to speak.
“Never.” He leaned in closer across the table. “Only you.”
A thrill shot through me and my insides turned to mush. The force pulling me to him was indescribable and without thinking, I suddenly slid off the stool and went to him.
The muscle in his jaw flexed a wicked gleam flickered in his eyes as he gripped the back of my neck. It was so natural to cling to him, to be in his arms, to feel the blood rush through my veins when he held me.
It was incredible.
He shifted and pulled me in between his parted legs. My hand fisted the fabric of his shirt and inched my mouth closer.
“What about right now? Do you want some more of me right now?” I whispered.
His nostrils flared and I drew in his spicy-woodsy scent, the one that from the first time we met, intoxicated me as if I drank the entire bottle of the strongest proof alcohol.
Our lips brushed in a timeless moment and the two of us were the only people that existed in the world. Angling his head to the side his hand tightened on my neck and his other found the small of my back.
He let out a groan in my mouth and it felt like a feverish caress to my lips. The kiss was so full of passion and exploding all at the same time before he gently pulled back. Pressing his forehead against mine, he let out a long deep breathy sigh.
“What’s wrong?” I searched his eyes.
“It’s been a long day. We should probably finish our dinner before we call it a night.” His voice was strained, and he squeezed his eyes closed.
“Really?” I whispered sarcastically.
“After everything that’s happened today, I think you need some time.” He reached over and caressed the side of my cheekbone with his thumb.
“I want you. That I’m sure of.” I leaned in and kissed his mouth, rubbing my pebbled nipples against his chest.
He let out a groan, and I felt his hardness press into me, but his shoulders still held a massive amount of tension.
I unfastened the buttons of my blouse letting it fall open in the breeze. Didn’t he have any idea what he did to me? How much I wanted him? How he held the power to make me erase and forget everything except goodness.
“I don’t know how, but you fuck with my self-control, Leah. You have the power to bring me to my knees. And I don’t let anyone bring me to my knees.”
“Good.” I captured his lips between mine.
Our tongues swirled together in a bold and passionate kiss. He had complete control over me, and I only craved more. Feverishly he fucked my mouth with his tongue and kneaded my breast with his hand.
Everything he did felt so good it almost hurt.
Then he broke free, and without giving me time to catch my breath, he ushered me across the deck and inside the house. Behind him, he kicked the door closed and his primal eyes sought mine in a raw feral way.
Suddenly I found myself pressed against the wall and our mouths clashed together as if the addiction for more was unbearable. A deep husky growl ripped from his throat and in a frenzy, he slid the straps of my bra down my arms. Caught up in the moment, I hadn’t felt him unfastened the clasp before the sexy lacy undergarment lay on the floor followed by my blouse.
He dropped to his knees and looked up at me with hooded eyes filled with white-hot need. An intense ache was intensifying in my center core as he tugged my pants and silky panties to a heap on the floor.
I let out a cry when he licked a slow methodical trail up the inside of my thigh. It felt like liquid fire coursed through my veins and my knees buckled at his touch.
“I’ve got you.” His hands held my hips firm and pressed me harder against the wall for support.
He looked up at me once more before dipping his head between my legs sending me into pure bliss. He licked, lapped, and swirled his tongue over the most sensitive spots causing me to writhe in pleasure. My head fell back next to a picture of some sort and I bit my lip, almost drawing blood.
Hungry for all that he gave, my hands desperately gripped his hair. His mouth and tongue owned my body and it felt as though gravity no longer existed as I soared toward a galaxy of stars. Clinging to him, he shoved two fingers inside me, and fucking gave me the stars.
“Oh, shit!” I splintered into millions of pieces as wave after wave of a mind-blowing orgasm ripped through me.
He pressed his mouth to the inside of my thigh and ran his hands up and down the back of my legs. When I finally opened my eyes, I found him watching with a wicked satisfied smoldering gleam.
“You have no idea how much it turns me on to watch you come.”
It was at that moment, we no longer felt temporary.
I felt connected to him and I knew he had to feel the same magnitude.
He stood and tucked a silky strand of hair behind my ear. “Come on, I’ll show you our bedroom.”
Our.
Our bedroom.
“Earlier you said that no one has ever fucked with your self-control and that I brought you to your knees… that you’ve never wanted anyone like you wanted me.”
“It’s true,” he whispered.
“I feel the same way. Since that night when Preston… hurt me, I’ve been in total control of everything. And I lost all desire to feel anything, until you.”
He cupped my breasts, trailing his tongue over one nipple before moving to the next. His teeth grazed the pebbled rosiness and then licked his way to my neck.
“I want to make you feel so good, all you can do is scream my name.”
My fingers fumbled at the button of his jeans. “Forget the bedroom. I want you, Chad. Right here. Right now.”
In a maddening second, Chad’s clothes lay all over the room and my legs curled around his hips. In a slow deliberate thrust, he filled me to the hilt.
“Is this what you wanted, Leah? You wanted my cock inside of you balls deep, right here against the wall?” He stilled inside me waiting for my answer.
“Yes!”
“I feel you tightening around me.” He drove into me so hard, I thought the art pieces hanging next to me might fall to the floor.
Oh. My. God.
“Oh, fuck yes.” I thread my fingers in his hair at the back of his head and fisted the short locks into my hands as he filled me with rhythmic strokes.
“Tell me this is mine.” He rolled himself teasing and torturing me. “Say it, Leah, or I swear I’ll stop.”
“It’s yours… please Chad, please… It’s yours.” I gave myself completely, begging—but not because he demanded it but because it was the most truthful declaration I’d ever made. Every piece of me belonged to him.
My fingernails dug into his back as the peak reached its limit and I let myself go.
“Chad!”
I lost count how many times I called out his name when his own voice joined mine.
“Fuck, Leah.” Chad breathed hard and shuddered in my arms until he stilled. “God, you’re amazing.”
Still joined together, he framed my face in a tender hold and caressed my cheekbones with the pads of his thumbs. “I hadn’t planned on this happening. Tonight was supposed to be about you resting.”
“You might not have planned it, but I did. You’re the only one that can make the world disappear.” My lips curled into a bewitching smile.
He silently responded with a sinful grin and took my hand leading me upstairs.
Inside the master bedroom were hardwood floors and soft grey painted walls coordinating with dark charcoal bedding. Massive pieces of sea coral sat on top of the dresser and shell patterns were stitched on the oversized pillows piled on the bed.
He retrieved a black tee shirt from the drawer and handed it to me. “You want to take a shower or a bath?”
“A nice soak in the tub sounds amazing. I’m guessing I’m sleeping in this?” I held up the black shirt.
“Unless you prefer to be naked.” He winked.
“Hmmm, I’ve never slept naked before.”
He playfully slapped my bare bottom. “I like the thought of you sleeping against me, skin to skin.”
I tossed the shirt back to him. “Save the shirt for another time.”
A devilish wicked grin teased his lips. “I don’t see much sleep on your horizon, if you keep toying with me.”
“Finally. We agree on something.”
“I need to make a quick call to Bivens and iron out a few wrinkles for tomorrow’s game. I’ll be back up to worship that body of yours in a few minutes.” He cupped the sides of my face and then softly kissed my lips. “You are so beautiful.”
Something in the moment triggered the realization...
I was in deep.
Love.
I had fallen deeply in love with Chad Mitchell.
The way he looked at me, the way he touched me, and the way he’d put me back together piece by piece.
Climbing into the tub, I poured some lavender and vanilla scented bath bubbles into the water pouring from the fixture. The foamy bliss filled all around me, and I slid my body down resting my head on the back of the tub. Even though dad and Anita hurt me in an irrevocable way, somehow, I let go of everything—at least for tonight.
Deep in relaxation, the soothing caress of masculine fingers dusting along the side of my face felt like the icing on the cake for solace. He let out a soft chuckle and then the sound of water draining from the tub forced me out of my own serenity.
“Come on, baby. I’ve got you.”
Chad helped me stand and draped a plush thick charcoal towel over my shoulders and began drying the droplets from my skin.
“What time is it?” I yawned and reached up to release the clip holding my unruly hair. “Eleven minutes after ten.”
“That was a dreamy soak.”
“Were you dreaming about me?”
“Maybe.”
Once dried off, he carried me to bed, the mattress dip with him climbing in beside me. I felt drained, emotionally and physically. He wrapped his arms around me, like a cocoon, sucking me deeper into his world.
I pushed my heavy eyes open for one last look at my reason but with each blink they became heavier and heavier.
“Go to sleep, beautiful. I’m right here.”
Chapter 21
Just as I thought, night out on the deck didn’t hold a candle to the morning sunrise overlooking the beach. It was like I could see forever through the floor to ceiling wall of windows. Chad legs scissored with mine and I lay snuggled deep in his arms.
Savoring the moment, I listened to his soft and even breaths of his peaceful sleep. The truths of yesterday was still so unbelievably difficult to process, but somehow being here with Chad gave me reassurance that everything was going to be okay.
Keeping Wicked (The Mitchell Brothers Book 3) Page 15
