Surprise Seduction (18 page)

Then, he totally surprised her by laughing.
 
Crinkle lines fanned out from the corners of his eyes.
 
Real humor twinkled in his green depths.

She wrinkled her forehead in confusion.

Chase nodded in the direction of his gaze.
 
She turned to see what had caught his attention.
 
The three men she’d tried to pick up earlier curiously watched them.

Chase mischievously waved.

“No more kissing,” he told her as his lips touched the top of her head.
 
“That was the last one.”

His kisses melted her insides to mush.
 
Just the way a kiss should.
 
And that little peck on her head was to be the last?

She held her protests inside, opting to go with the flow of his mood.
 
He’d gone from hot to upset to his normal fun-loving self so quickly she wasn’t exactly sure where each transition had taken place.

It didn’t matter.

She would take each moment of this night with him as it came.
 
Tomorrow she had to convince Mel she wanted
him
and hated Chase’s guts.

Adrienne’s hand reached for the door handle of Chase’s car as he pulled up in front of her apartment building in an upscale section of Boston.

“Thanks for tonight,” she began.

“I’m walking you up.”
 
He surprised her by saying.
 
He put his parking lights on and turned off the ignition switch.

“But what if your car gets towed?”

He grinned.

“Guess I’ll just have to stay the night.”
 
Her shock must have registered on her face because he quickly added, “I’m only teasing, Adrienne.
 
I have no intentions of going into your apartment.”

Relief and disappointment filled her in unequal proportions.
 
Disappointment took top billing.

She’d be lying if she didn’t admit how much she wanted him to stay, but she knew better than to offer.

“You’re looking too serious.
 
Come on.”
 
He opened his door and leapt out.
 
In seconds, he stood at her open car door.

She placed her hand in his and let him help her from his low-slung Ferrari.
 
Men and their toys.
  
Still, the flashy red car had impressed her.
 
It seemed so…Chase.

Hand in hand, they walked to the entrance.
 
She took her security card from her purse and gained access to the building.

“Nice place,” Chase commented as they crossed the lobby of the building.
 
Adrienne glanced around the chic room trying to see it through his eyes.

Large crystal chandeliers hung from the high ornate ceiling.
 
Burgundy and hunter green printed carpet lined the floor.
 
Rich mahogany furniture shined.
 
The scent of fresh-cut flowers tickled her nose.
 
Expensive.
 
That’s what this room shouted.

Would he question how she could afford to live in a building this nice?

“Yes, I was fortunate Sheila happened to be looking for a room-mate at the time of my arrival in Boston.”
 
She took a preemptive strike.

“Apparently so.”

Adrienne slid her card into the elevator slot.
 
The door shifted open.

He held his arm out to allow her to step inside the car first.
 
Adrienne did so.

Silence loomed as the car moved upward.
 
Adrienne dredged her mind for something to say.

“I had a really nice time tonight, Chase.”

Those dimples she loved deepened.
 
“Me, too.”

“So the truce ends at the stroke of midnight?” she teased.

He glanced at the slim gold watch on his wrist and chuckled.
 
“Looks that way.
 
You aren’t going to turn into a pumpkin, are you?”

Adrienne shook her head.
 
“I’ve undergone enough changes for a while.”

“Mouse to fox,” he mused out loud.

“What did you say?”
 
Adrienne knew she hadn’t heard him right.

He shook his head, grinning.
 
“Nothing.”

The elevator door opened on the twenty-third floor.
 
Her floor.
 
They stepped out of the elevator, and Adrienne led the way to her apartment.
 
When they stood outside the door, she turned to face him.

“I really did enjoy tonight,” she repeated.

Chase didn’t say anything, just stared into her upturned face.
 
Her eyes fluttered close as she waited for him to kiss her goodnight.

Only it didn’t happen.

She opened her eyes.

His tender smile threatened to send her body into meltdown.

“Night, Adrienne,” he whispered and stepped away from her.
 
She watched as he walked away.

He was leaving?

Why?
 
She’d have invited him in for a drink.
 
Maybe more.

He confused her.

Tonight had been so wonderful.

Tomorrow was back to reality.
 
Back to convincing Mel she was interested in him and that he could use her against Chase.

The thought sickened her.
 
What would Chase think when he saw her working in George Weston’s office?
 
Or if he discovered her playing up to Mel?
 
Which she planned to do.
 
She had to gain his confidence.
 
Bashing Chase and flirting outrageously should accomplish that.

Her worry was what else it might accomplish.

She’d already lied to Chase.
 
He wouldn’t take well to her attempting to seduce Mel.

She hit her head against the door, rolled it against the cold metal in frustration, then let herself into the apartment.

She closed the door with a soft click.

“Oops!
 
I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Sheila and her current steady scuffled with each other on the couch.
 
Their bodies tangled together in a confusing array of twists as Sheila continued to wiggle in an attempt to escape Tim’s tickling.

“Hey, Adrienne.
 
Have a good time tonight?” Sheila asked when she managed to squirm her way to half-on-top of Tim.

“Yes.”
 
She’d had a good night.
 
With Chase.

“How was Mel?”

“He didn’t show.”
 
Adrienne plopped unceremoniously into a chair.

“What?”
 
Sheila jerked up right.

“Chase did something.”
 
She closed her eyes and put her hand to her now throbbing forehead.
 
“Something about an audit due in the morning.
 
Anyway, Mel never showed.
 
Chase did.”

“Chase Aaron ditched your date and took his place?”
 
Incredulous disbelief dripped from Sheila’s words.

“Yes.”

“Why is that?”
 
Sheila’s inflection grew speculative.

“How would I know?
 
The man is driving me crazy.”
 
Adrienne propped her elbows on her knees with her face in her hands.

“Think about it.
 
Why does a man thwart another man’s attempts to woo a woman and show up for the date himself?”

“I can tell you why,” Tim piped up.
 
“Because he wants her for himself.”

“Maybe.”

“No maybes about it.
 
He does.
 
A man doesn’t go to the effort Chase went to, unless he wants the woman for himself.”

“I agree,” Sheila added.
 
“Why else would he not want you to go out with Mel?”

Adrienne stared at her friend, skeptical of the train of her thoughts.
 
“Maybe he just doesn’t like Mel?”

“Oh, right.”
 
Sheila’s eyes rolled at her.
 
“If that was the case, why bother to show up for the date himself?”

“Good question.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Idiot!
 
Chase blasted himself.
 
She wanted you to kiss her and you walked away.

What sane man walks away from a tasty set of full lips begging for his kiss?

It wasn’t like him to ignore a sexy woman desiring his touch.
 
She had.

Yet he hadn’t been able.

Not like with Starr.
 
He hadn’t wanted her.
 
He’d thought he should, but he hadn’t.

With Adrienne, he wanted.
 
He wanted bad.
 
But he’d held back.

She’d looked innocent.
 
So completely untouched.
 
And, damn it all, she really was as pure as she’d looked with her eyes closed and soft lips slightly puckered.

Adrienne was a virgin.
 
He was sure of it.
 
Tonight when he’d asked her, she hadn’t denied her innocence.

He shuddered.

He’d never been with a virgin.
 
Wouldn’t ever be with one, either.
 
But hell if he didn’t want this one.

He’d taken her mouth out of sheer frustration in his office.
 
He’d felt the need to prove something to her.
 
What, he wasn’t exactly sure.
 
He’d been the one claiming annoyance because of assistants falling for him.
 
The first one who didn’t, he’s kissing her, hoping to spark a flame.