PARANORMAL ROMANCE: Shapeshifter Romance: The Vampire's Stolen Bride (BBW Fantasy Alpha Male Romance Books) (New Adult Vampire Fun Mature Young Adult Billionaire Steamy Love and Romance Novella) (44 page)

Chapter 4

As big a deal as Chase seemed to think that their charade would turn into, Joy tried her best to keep it quiet. She didn’t wear the ring unless she was around Chase, and that was only because he seemed to sulk whenever she took it off.

              “Have you heard anything?” she asked, taking a seat on his couch. It’d only been a day since she’d met Jake in the bathroom, and even then it was barely six o’clock. Jake had just gotten off work though, and if he was going to hear any gossip, it was going to be through the shareholders.

              “Not a word,” he admitted, sitting down in the armchair across from her. They were at his house, a giant mansion filled with servants. “It seems that your ex doesn’t have nearly the influence that he’d always bragged about.”

              “Jake? A braggart?” she snorted. “What a surprise.”

              “Mhm,” Chase hummed in agreed amusement before leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “I took tomorrow off,” he said.

              “Wait,” Joy frowned. “
You
took a day off?” While Chase only ever worked half-days on Saturdays, it was still something that he never missed. “Why?”

              “We’re going shopping,” he said simply, standing up.

              “We?” she repeated. “Uh, where?”

              “The Millennium Mall,” he said carelessly, walking over to his liquor cabinet.

              “The mall?” Joy scowled. She
hated
that place – it was a powerhouse of brands and thousand dollar price tags. And, while her family may not have been poor, they were certainly not the most loose with their money. “Don’t you think—”

              “We’re going to buy you a dress,” he said, pouring a glass of scotch. “One that you actually like. And I’ll get a tie to match,” he added.

              “Chase,” Joy said seriously, standing up to march over to him. “You don’t have to take this so seriously, you know.”

              “I know,” he nodded. “But maybe I want to.” He brought the scotch up to his lips.

              “Yeah?” she said, stealing his drink out of his hands. “Maybe I think it’s a waste of money.”

              “Maybe I don’t think that there’s a limit to seeing a woman in a flattering dress,” he shrugged, pouring another.

              “Implying that my other ones aren’t,” she frowned.

              “Implying that you don’t look good in everything,” he snorted.

              Joy paused. She opened her mouth to speak, but she wasn’t sure what to say, so she simply took a drink instead.

              “Look,” Chase said, placing a lid on the decanter. “You’re my oldest friend, and you’ve never asked me for anything. Let me do this for you,” he said, coming up to stand beside her.

              Joy shrugged, still stuck on what he’d said earlier. “Do what you want,” she said.

              Chase came calling the next morning at eleven a.m., and Joy only took an extra fifteen minutes to get ready before they were back out the door and on their way to the mall. He’d left the limo at home and brought the Mercedes instead, his green eyes sharp on the road as he navigated the lunch traffic.

              “You hungry?” he asked as he turned into the giant parking lot. “Or did you already eat?”

              “I’ll be honest,” Joy grinned. “I rolled out of bed at ten and didn’t even have time to do my hair before you showed up.”

              “So, I’ll take that as a no?” he asked with a smirk.

              “Good guess,” she said.

              After paying for valet parking and stepping out in front of the jewelers, Chase ushered her through the second hallway to Chianti Bella, the popular Italian restaurant with a view of the water fountains.

              “Reservation under Jones,” Chase told the hostess. She led them to their table with a smile and offered a choice of wines, to which Chase picked a red vintage and poured Joy a glass.

              “Reservation, huh?” Joy muttered as soon as the hostess left.

              “Nothing wrong with being prepared,” he said smoothly, opening up the menu.

              Joy picked hers up with an eye roll, and nearly cursed when she tried to read the menu. “It’s all in Italian?” she hissed.

              “Yes, don’t you— Oh,” Chase raised his eyebrows. “Oh, that’s right, you studied German and French. Look, don’t worry. I’ll order for you.”

              “I want steak,” she demanded quietly. “Medium well.”

              It didn’t take long for their food to arrive once it was ordered, though Joy had a feeling that the quick service had more to do with Chase’s last name than the restaurant’s fast kitchen. She got her steak, a thick cut of beef smothered in white sauce atop a bed of noodles, and Chase settled for a seafood pasta of shrimp and muscle.

              “What do you think?” he asked, motioning to her plate.

              “It’s good,” she nodded, twisting her fork. “Well seasoned.”

              “Mine too,” he said. “Want to try?” he asked, and to Joy’s embarrassment he held out his fork with a stuck shrimp on the end.

              “Uh,” she said, glancing at the people looking at them. “Sure,” she said, taking the fork out of his hands to scrape the shrimp off onto her plate and hand it back. “Thanks,” she said.

              Chase smirked at her like he knew exactly what she was thinking and took a sip of his wine, his eyes laughing at her over the glass. She merely looked back with a smile that promised pain if he ever tried something like that again.

              It was a good hour before they actually ventured into the mall to find her a dress. The food sat warm in Joy’s stomach, and she complained to Chase as he led her to the various shops.

              “You don’t eat before going clothes shopping,” she told him. “It’ll fit you differently. Plus you feel super full, so—”

              “How about this one?” he asked, pulling off a royal blue dress from the rack.

              “Uh, a little long, isn’t it?” she asked. It wasn’t that Joy was short, it was just that a lot of clothes that came in her size width-wise never really matched up length-wise.

              “We can have it hemmed up at the end,” he said. “Here, feel the fabric.”

              Joy ran her fingers over the silk flyaway sleeves, marveling at the softness there. “But,” she said hesitantly. “Do they even make this in my size?” Most of the stores at Millennium only went up to a size 8, which fell about five sizes too short of what Joy needed. Not to mention, the stores only really kept extra small display pieces out on the floor, making people like Joy have to ask if they even carried additional sizes.

              “Excuse me,” Chase stopped an attendant. “Could you find a, uh,” he looked at Joy.

              “An eighteen in that dress,” she said bluntly, refusing to feel embarrassed.

              “Certainly,” the girl smiled kindly, accepting the dress from Chase. “I’ll be right back.” She disappeared around the corner, leaving Joy in an awkward silence with Chase.

              She thought he was going to ask about her size, but then he just said, “What do you like better? Diamonds or sapphires?”

              “I own both,” she said after a moment, frowning at him. “I don’t need jewelry from—”

              “Here we are,” the woman returned. “Now, we have dressing rooms right back this way if you’d like.” As Joy was led away, Chase made an obvious move for the jewelry case.

              Not wanting to give him the time to buy anything else, Joy slipped on the dress as quickly as possible and sent the woman to go find him.

              “Joy?” he called from outside the dressing room. “Do you—”

              Joy stepped out from behind the curtain and gestured to herself. “What do you think?” she asked.

              As Chase’s jaw literally dropped, Joy couldn’t help but preen under the attention. The dress he’d picked out looked amazing – it framed her curves while keeping her stomach looking small by comparison, and the flat sleeves at her shoulders only distracted from her chubby arms.

              She looked good.

              “Do you like it?” Chase asked, clearing his throat. “Cause I like it.”

              “Sold,” she winked at the woman before going back into the dressing room to change.

              It was the first thing that she’d worn in a long time that she actually hesitated to take off.

Chapter 5

It was six by the time they arrived back at Chase’s house. After the dress he’d made her pick out shoes, and after shoes he’d needed to find a tie, and then he had insisted that she needed to get her hair done. All in all, it was one of the most exhausting shopping trips that she’d ever taken, and that wasn’t even counting what Chase had gone off to buy when they’d separated at the salon.

              “Here,” he said, rifling through a shopping bag from Victoria’s. He pulled out a black velvet box and tossed it to her. Joy barely caught it, and she glared at Chase from her spot on the couch.

              “What else could you have possibly bought?” she demanded, her lap already covered in jewelry and shawls.

              “Open it,” he said, crumbling up the bag to toss it into the pile behind him. Joy forced a sigh and popped it open, unsurprised to find another sapphire bracelet.

              “Seriously,” she said. “Half of this stuff has got to go back.”

              “Pick the ones that you want to wear tonight,” he shrugged. “And keep the rest for other occasions.”

              “Chase, I mean it,” she leaned forward. “What’s with you, anyway? You never spend money like this.”

              “I just thought that we had something to prove,” he said.

              “Which we can accomplish just by showing up together, no money needed,” she pointed out.

              “But money is all I’ve got,” Chase said quietly, his back to her.

              “What?” Joy frowned. “Chase, you—”

              He cut her off with a long-winded sigh, and muttered, “I love you.”

              Joy felt her heartbeat, once, thrumming throughout her entire body. It rang in her ears, and she wondered if she’d misheard him. “What?”

              Chase turned to her, his muscular arms slack at his sides. “I love you,” he said again – louder, fiercer. “Have since we were seniors in prep school and you moved away for college. It’s why I never dated, why I never tried to ‘find a girl’ like you keep suggesting.”

              “Chase,” Joy swallowed. “You never, I mean…”

              “I’ve always wanted to do this,” Chase said, sweeping an arm to indicate the gifts surrounding her on the couch. “Wanted to shower you in jewels and make you smile from a delicious meal. Wanted to make you happy.”

              “Chase,” she said again, watching as he stepped closer with every word. She didn’t move away as he reached out a hand to cup her cheek, or bent to her level to stare into her eyes.

              “Wanted to do this,” he said softly, leaning closer to kiss her lips.

              Joy didn’t pull away. She sat there, her back ramrod straight as Chase put his mouth to hers. After a moment he bent his head another way, gently grinding his lips against hers while his hand followed her face up into her hair. Joy closed her eyes and moaned – a small noise in the back of her throat. Chase heard it, and pulled away.

              “Oh my god, you suck,” Joy rolled her eyes, grabbing the front of his shirt to pull him back down. She sealed their lips together, scrambling her hands to grip his shoulders and tug him closer. Necklaces twinkled as they fell from her lap and she moved onto her back, Chase close behind as he followed her down.

              “I love you,” he whispered, moving his lips to her neck. He sucked at the skin there, making Joy arch her back, and professed it again and again. “I love you, I love you,” he sang.

              “Chase,” she demanded, tugging at his hair. He took the hint and nudged his knee between her legs, rubbing against her crotch. “Ugh,” she groaned, biting her lip as color blossomed on her face. “Why didn’t I wear a skirt today?”

              “I can help with that,” Chase kissed her shoulder as he sat up, his hands finding the front of her pants as he moved to undo them. Joy had never been one to sit idly by in the throes of passion, and she sat up to help him with it, finally shimmying out of her slacks with a shove. Chase grabbed the bottom of her pant legs and yanked them off fully, tossing them to the ground.

              Chase urged her to spread her legs with his own, his hands splayed out over her thighs as she moved. He ducked down there, and Joy only realized what he was doing when it was too late to stop him. “Chase—”

              He mouthed her through her underwear, a black pair of cotton panties, to her embarrassment. She could feel his tongue swipe against her, and his mouth suck on all the right places.

              “Chase,” she said, yanking at his hair. “I haven’t—You don’t want—” she gasped when he simply tugged her underwear to the side with a finger and thrust his tongue inside. She convulsed around him, the sensations making her shiver in pleasure as he kept up a persistent pace between her legs.

              Finally, just when she thought that she couldn’t last any longer, he sat up. His green eyes were blown wide, and he licked his lips obscenely as she stared back.

              “Pervert,” she panted half-heartedly, and he just shrugged. “C’mere,” she ordered, reaching for him with open arms. Chase kissed her fingers but stayed where he was, gripping her under the knees. “Wait,” she said, stopping him. “You haven’t heard my answer.”

              “Your answer?” Chase asked, frowning.

              Rolling her eyes, Joy sat up, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I love you too,” she kissed his nose. “I just never imagined that you’d be interested,” she admitted quietly, turning her face into his neck.

              Chase sighed, his hard chest heaving against her. “How could I not be?” he asked, kissing her arm. Shifting underneath her, he sat up straighter, grabbing her hips. Kissing her again, he picked her up, bringing her down on top of him.

              Joy knew what he was doing, and she drew back at arm’s length, holding onto his shoulders as she helped him position her. She felt him at her entrance, a warm promise nudging against her, and she rolled her hips downward, welcoming him in.

              Chase gasped at the sensation, his hips jutting up against her thighs. He stayed still, for a moment, but Joy wasn’t having it and she pulled herself up just to drop back down, panting as he sucked in a breath.

              “That good?” Joy joked.

But Chase gripped her hips and looked her dead in the eyes. “Better,” he said seriously. It was the only warning he gave before he lifted Joy up and slammed her back down, thrusting into her at the same time. Joy gasped, and held on.

It wasn’t long before Chase was shuddering underneath her, his arms shaking as he moved them faster and faster. Joy could feel herself nearing the end too, and she grabbed Chase’s face to kiss him hard, shivering as her stomach clenched and she convulsed around his dick.

Chase dropped her as he kissed her back, his teeth sharp as he grabbed the back of her head and held her to him, grinding their lips together. He pulled them apart to breathe, releasing a shaky hiss of a sigh as he closed his eyes, reaching his own orgasm.

“I love you,” he said softly, bringing their foreheads together.

“Ditto,” Joy replied, just to fuck with him. He laughed, and closed his eyes.