Body (36 page)

“Never again, Theo. She’s mine.” In a few steps, Chase assesses me. The cold blue of his eyes notice the red imprint on my arm. He cups my chin, lifts and turns my head to the side. His finger caresses the sensitive skin where Theodore bit me.

“I’ll fucking kill him,” he growls.

“Baby no,” I whisper. “Take me home,” I lift my arms to the beautiful face of the man I adore. Chase clasps my hand, turns me around and hugs me to his side as he leads us towards the exit. He has absolutely no concern for the man he left bleeding all over himself.

I’m still trying to wrap my mind around what just happened and how Chase made it to the restaurant so quickly when my knight in shining rayon forcefully pushes me into the limo. I slide in spastically. His hands settle me into my seat. Chase slams the door and turns to me. His eyes are black, hungry and filled with lust.

I hear the privacy screen roll up as I scrutinize the giant bulge in his pants. “Your underwear. Off. Now!” he demands.

I’ve never heard this tone from him before. His nostrils flare and his eyes narrow, their depths an inky onyx color. Quickly I hike up my dress and shimmy out of my underwear. Excitement and fear a hazy line he’s making me walk. With jerky movements he unbuckles his belt and pulls his pants down. His cock appears fully erect and bulging. The tiny slit at the top weeps, a pearly drop sits at the crown of his massive erection. My mouth waters at the sight wanting nothing more than to take his fullness into my mouth and taste his need. When his pants are around his ankles he hauls me onto his lap. In one second flat he powers into me, sheathed to the hilt. I scream out, the pleasure pain of his entry coalescing into one.

“Fuck!” he groans.

I’m not prepared for his penetration. There is no foreplay or kisses, just his carnal need to mate. After the burning sensation of his rough entry wears off, I slide up and down his length, rocking slowly. I grip him with my internal muscles and grab ahold of his shoulders for leverage. His gaze searches mine as if he’s memorizing every facet of my face. Then he smashes our lips together in a brutal kiss, one hand holding my nape close. He pulls back and bites and nips down my neck. His words are a chant against the tender skin, “I love you, I love you, I love you,” he says while he bites, licks, and sucks on the skin he can reach.

There’s the man I know. There’s my Chase. He grips my waist pushing me up and slamming me down on his cock in punishing thrusts. The rough pleasure of this coupling is unlike anything we’ve had before. Something about his need is feral, animalistic, stripping him down to want and need. All of which seem to be one thing…me.

“You’re fucking mine!” he says through gritted teeth, his jaw tight. “Do you understand?” He jackknifes his hips up going impossibly deep. I scream out in pure ecstasy, climbing to the crest and falling over the edge.

“Say it!” he demands with another harsh thrust. I cry out, lost in a never ending orgasm.

“I’m yours, Chase. Always, yours.” Tears prick at my eyes. “I love you, Chase. I love you,” I scream as he thrusts deeper and deeper. I lean back and rest my hands on his knees behind me, changing the angle, allowing him more access to penetrate farther. He moans and presses hard into me, his fingers dig into the flesh of my hips. His cock is rock hard as it pounds into me. I can feel every steely inch of him drag along the tender inflamed tissue inside.

“Come baby. Come again for me,” he says in a tone I recognize, one as intimate as my own voice. I come long and slow, my sex tightening in leisurely pulls against his length, tipping him over the edge with me.

I lay against his chest waiting for the storm to pass. His hands caress my back in lazy circles but he doesn’t speak.

“What just happened, Chase?” I whisper against his chest. This sexual encounter was rife with anger and possession.

“I lost control.”

Chapter 18

We don’t discuss what happened with Theodore-the-slimeball-Vandegren or what took place in the limo after we reach his Penthouse. Chase waves me off to bed saying he has work.

Instead of talking to me, he chooses to internalize his issues and isolate himself in his study. It hurts and makes me feel as if we’re taking steps backwards instead of forward. I feel alone, like a cork bobbing in a sea of disappointment. I thought we’d gotten past the bulk of our communication issues. So wrong. Every time it bubbles up it’s like a pot of water forgotten on a burning stove, left to overflow with the intense heat. I go to bed alone, exhausted over the day’s events. When I awake, disappointment once more crashes over me. He left me alone. I don’t even know if he slept next to me though he did leave a note on his pillow.

Gillian,

I have to work today. Dinner tonight with Craig and his wife at 7:00. Jack will take you wherever you’d like to go today. I’ll call later.

Yours,

~CD

At least he left a note. I can’t help but hope the “yours” signoff means something. Last night was the first time he’d said those three little words in months. Under the circumstances, I wish he hadn’t.

We also haven’t discussed any of what we revealed of our pasts since that night. Do I regret telling him about my past? That I loved him? No. I could never regret that. Last night when I screamed my love for him as he took me in the limo was the only other time I told him. It was such a relief. It’s as if we’re holding onto that night and those revelations as if they never occurred. Even the “love” part.

As I get ready for the day, I decide not to sit around waiting for Chase to get home. I call the bellman and schedule a taxi to pick me up. I walk out of the building and jump into the waiting taxi as I wave at Chase’s sentinel sitting on his perch near the car.

Jack shoots me one of his patented scowls. His large form bounds over to the cab but not fast enough. I promise the cab driver an extra twenty bucks if he squeals the tires as we speed off. I smile coyly as Jack puts his phone to his ear. I use my thumb and pinky to give him the symbol for making a call and mouth “call me,” adding to his irritation. He seems pretty peeved. Mission accomplished. I feel vindicated and free. Now for a little “me” time. I need the space to put things into perspective.

Besides, I refuse to be chauffeured around New York by Chase’s personal soldier so that he can be apprised of my comings and goings.

My phone rings. I answer, saccharin sweet, “Hello darling.”

“What the hell are you doing going off without Jack?” His deep voice is clipped and razor sharp. “Didn’t you get my note?”

“I did.”

“Why the hell are you out without protection?”

“Look, Chase, you are not my great protector—“

“Wasn’t I last night?” he interrupts. “I protected you from potentially being sexually assaulted.”

“Last night was…” I have trouble finding the right words. “…difficult.” I choose a light one, one without malice. “Today is a new day, and I’m more comfortable on my own. I will meet you back at your Penthouse in plenty of time to get ready for our dinner this evening.”

His voice lowers. “I’d be more comfortable with Jack--”

I’m tired of his controlling ways. He cannot leave me lying in bed, cold and alone and expect me to just do what he says. “Chase Davis…you, mister, do not own me,” I cut him off.

“Yet,” he growls.

I shake my head trying to wrap my mind around what he just said. Nope. Still doesn’t compute. “What?”

“I do not own you…yet,” he adds with a strained tone. I can tell he’s barely holding on to his anger.

“Whatever, Chase. I’ll see you later this evening.” And with that, I hang up just like he does with me, never saying goodbye, just cutting him off with a dial tone. Serves him right.

I’m actually feeling quite proud of myself. He’s the one who avoided me last night. I don’t even know if we slept in the same bed or not. That thought more than anything saddens me. The last thing I need right now is to feel uncertain of my place in his life, in his bed. I decide a day of shopping will perk me up. Shopping in New York City is exactly what every Californian girl dreams about. I tell the driver to head to the outlet stores. The closer I get to my retail therapy, the more I start to relax. I’m going to get a smoking hot dress for this evening and wow the socks of the temperamental Mr. Davis. Remind him of what he has so that he never ever feels the need to isolate himself away from me again.

***

I feel his presence before I see him. He’s sitting in the armchair across from the bed in the darkened room as I enter with today’s bargain finds. His elbows rest against his knees, his face teetering on the tips of his fingers. The drapes covering the window behind him are open enough to shine a slice of light across his furrowed brow.

“I was worried,” he says brusquely.

I set my loot on the bed and turn toward him, hands on hips. “I told you I’d be back in time for dinner. I keep my promises, Chase.”

“Just the thought of you out in the city, not knowing where you were, that you were safe…” He cocks his head to the side, and I adjust my shoulders, not really wanting to have this battle with him before I meet his family.

“I was fine. I went shopping. Got a dress for tonight,” I say trying to change the topic. I rifle through my bags looking for the outfit I plan on wearing.

“I know. I had your credit card traced.” He is nonchalant in his admission, not even a hint of apology can be heard.

My head whips to his side of the room settling on him. I let go of the bags. “You what?”

“You heard me. I also paid for those items.” He gestures to my bags. My mouth opens to respond but he continues. “I paid off your credit cards, and I put a large sum of money into your checking account.” His words are calm and evenly spaced. However, that’s not how my twisted brain interprets them. He says “paid” and my mind morphs it into “owing.” He says “large sum of money” and my mind warps it into “you are my possession.”

I can’t breathe. My ability to speak is gone. Pretty much the only thing I’m capable of is standing still with what must be a stupefied look across my face. Again, I open my mouth and close it several times, trying to form a response but nothing comes out. Panic swirls like liquid acid in my stomach, sending spikes of fear to hammer at my heart. I clutch my stomach and chest protectively.

“No woman of mine will go without. No woman of mine will live paycheck to paycheck.” He stands abruptly and walks over to me. “No woman of mine will need to shop at thrift stores when she can have everything she ever dreamed right at her fingertips!” There’s a grimace to his features, almost disgust twisting his beautiful lips.

“They were outlet stores, not thrift stores and what the fuck?” I say as he slides his hands around my waist. Scowling, I push away from him. He doesn’t relent, holding me tighter. His magic fingers move enticingly along the fabric of my hips and up my ribs. I close my eyes in frustration and excitement, the panic transitioning into lust. I want to be pissed at him. I
am
pissed, but when his hands are on me, I turn into a pile of goo. Chase hasn’t touched me since last night in the limo and although the sex was satisfying, something happened to him. Since that moment we’ve been off kilter. Proof can be found in his reaction moments ago.

He completely ignores my question; his hands burning a path along my sides up and over my swelling breasts, cupping them firmly. I gasp. “And no woman of mine will go unprotected as long as I am around.” His fingers slip into the straps of my dress and pull them down my shoulders. The summery dress falls in a pool of cotton around my feet.

“I’m not your woman, Chase.” The words cross my lips in a breathy whisper, lacking conviction.

“No?” he asks flatly while thumbing the erect peaks that are reaching for his attention. He knows he’s affecting me. The grin that comes across his face is confident, smug.
Handsome bastard.
My nipples bead into impossibly tight knots as he pets them, pushing tightly against the white strapless bra. Moisture pools between my legs, soaking the barely there matching G-string.

He inhales deeply and stares into my eyes, straight through to my soul. His right hand slides along the swells of my breasts, just his fingertips caress the skin so softly in a wide infinity symbol. Chills race up my back. The movement of his fingers reminds me of a scent wafting in a breeze, gone too quickly to place the origin. I let out a ragged breath as his fingertips trail down between my breasts and along the line of my stomach. Goosebumps cover my skin but I’m not cold. Far from it. A fire burns so hot in my belly, only one thing can put it out and he’s standing right in front of me, toying with me. He knows it too. He is intimately aware of the power he holds over me.

“You are
my
woman, and I’ll prove it,” His fingers dip into my panties and without preamble he pushes two fingers deep inside. I cry out and grasp onto his shoulders. A firm arm already around my waist holds me up; never for a moment would he let me fall. “You see how wet you are for me?” I close my eyes. Regardless of what words come out of my mouth my body is Judas, a traitor working for him, and he knows it too well.

“Chase,” I breathe trying to say something, anything before I lose the battle completely. His fingers dig deeper and he presses me back. His knee comes up onto the bed and I’m floating down to its surface on a haze of lust. He’s a puppeteer, controlling my body’s responses and I’m his willing marionette.

“I don’t know why I have to repeat myself.” His fingers tangle into the side of my panties and slip them off my legs. He grips my legs and spreads them apart more roughly than I expect. His hands palm my thighs and drag down to my center. Slowly just his thumbs draw apart my lower lips exposing me fully to his gaze. He groans deeply at the sight.

He brings his head down to me and inhales, “I’ll never forget your scent. I love knowing that I’m the only man who gets to experience this piece of heaven.” And then he’s everywhere at once. The flat of his incredible tongue laps at me in long strokes from the tiny rosette that tingles every time he touches it with his delectable tongue, to the place where I need him most.