The Proposal & Solid Soul (28 page)

She felt his erection pressed so strongly against her, actually wedged between her thighs, and moaned in his mouth at the same time her body instinctively rocked against him. A part of her didn’t know what to make of her actions. She had never been this loose, this free with any man. The couple of times she and Sam had made out, she’d been too busy worrying about whether they would get caught to fully enjoy the experience.

Now getting caught was the last thing on her mind. If an entire ballroom discovered her and Chance outside kissing beneath a bunch of willow branches, then so be it. Nothing, and she meant nothing, could make her stop being a participant in this. She’d needed his mouth on hers, his seductive taste mingling with her own tongue more than she had known. She had been hungry and now he was feeding her with a skill that only he possessed. He tasted, stroked and tangled his way around her mouth, pleasuring her as only he could do.

And then she felt him smooth a hand up her silken thigh. As it eased beneath her short dress and inched its way to her waist, she moaned deep within her throat.
The sensations his touch invoked overwhelmed her and instinctively she arched closer to him.

Slowly he released her mouth, raised his head and met her gaze, and she knew he saw the longing that was there in the dark depths of her eyes, mirroring what she saw in his. He reached up and skimmed a fingertip across her lips and she moaned against his finger. Heat shot down to the area between her legs.

“I want to leave here and take you somewhere to be alone with you, Kylie.”

She knew what he was asking. She knew what he was saying. He might not love her but he wanted her. And at that moment it was all that mattered to her. What he’d tried telling her all along suddenly made perfect sense. They were adults and they could do whatever they wanted to do within reason. Would it be so awful to take what he was offering? A chance for the two of them to be alone? She had lived the past fifteen years without a man in her life, she didn’t need promises of forever.

Right now the only thing she needed was him, the man she knew she loved. And for the first time in a very long time, she would be led by her heart and not her mind. Regrets, if there were any, could come later.

“I want to be alone with you, too, Chance.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” he whispered, smiling. “I think we should go back inside, mingle, dance a couple more times and then leave. What do you think of that?”

She smiled up at him. The thought of being alone with him later made her heart beat in an erratic rhythm, and the pure male desire shimmering in his eyes wasn’t helping matters. “I think that’s a wonderful idea.”

The moment they stepped back into the ballroom a woman called out to Chance, claiming his attention.
They turned and watched two beautiful, and gorgeously dressed women head their way. Chance’s hand on Kylie’s arm tightened and when she glanced up at him she could detect a frown that he was trying to hide behind a forced smile.

“Chance, I’ve been looking for you.”

“Hello, Cassandra. I’d like you to meet a friend of mine, Kylie Hagan.”

Cassandra barely spared Kylie a glance, until she noticed Chance’s hand possessively on her arm. Then, after a swift appraisal, she extended her hand. “Oh, hello. Have we met before?”

“I don’t think so,” Kylie said, noticing the woman’s immediate dislike of her. The feeling was reciprocal.

Cassandra then turned her attention back to Chance and to the woman at her side. “This is my cousin, Jamie, the one I told you about who’s visiting from Washington, D.C.”

“Hello, Jamie. Welcome to Charlotte,” Chance said politely. He then turned to Kylie. “And, Jamie, I’d like you to meet Kylie Hagan, a good friend.”

After introductions were made Cassandra didn’t waste time. “Chance, I think you and Jamie should spend time together while she’s in town,” she said, disregarding Kylie and Chance’s hold on her arm.

“Really? And why would you think that?”

“Because her father is Senator Hollis.”

Chance’s expression became barely tolerant. It appeared he didn’t appreciate Cassandra’s lack of manners. “Sorry, but is that supposed to mean something to me?”

Cassandra tilted her head back to look at him. The glint in her eyes said she was annoyed. “Well, I thought it would since you’re a businessman interested
in world trade and he’s on the Fair Trade Commission in Washington.”

“Well, that’s all rather nice,” Chance said, irritation evident in his tone. “But I don’t think I need Jamie to arrange a meeting with her father if I ever need to discuss business with him. After all, he is a paid politician representing
all
the people, right?”

Cassandra’s hazel eyes narrowed. “Right.”

“Okay, then.” In an attempt to save face, he changed the subject. “The committee did a wonderful job with the ball tonight, Cassandra. Kylie and I were headed over to the buffet table.”

“Well, enjoy,” Cassandra said, clearly not happy that she hadn’t gotten Chance to bend her way.

Chance gave Jamie a smile. “It was nice meeting you. Give your father my regards.” Tightening his hold on Kylie’s arm, they walked off.

When they reached the buffet table, Chance let out a long sigh. “That woman had a lot of nerve to suggest that I date her cousin while you were standing there. She was willing to use Jamie’s father’s political connection to set her up on a date. I’ve never seen anything so tacky. I’m sorry about that.”

Kylie chuckled as she picked up a plate. “Don’t be. I learned a long time ago that usually it’s people with money who lack real manners.”

“I hope you’re not grouping everyone with money in that category.”

She smiled up at him. “No, only some of them. The Cassandras and the Dereks of this world.”

Chance grinned. “I agree.”

They remained at the ball for an additional hour or so, long enough to mingle and for Kylie to meet Chance’s three female cousins, and his other two brothers, whom
she thought were as handsome and as well-mannered as Chance and Morgan. After meeting Sebastian Steele, she couldn’t picture him married to someone like Cassandra Tisdale.

“We’ve hung around long enough,” Chance whispered in her ear. “Ready to leave?”

She looked up at him, her smoldering eyes telling him she’d been anxiously counting the minutes. “Yes, I’m ready.”

T
HEY LEFT THE BALL, THEN
waited as a valet brought Chance’s car to them. It was then that he asked, “Did you need to find Lena and let her know you’ve left with me?”

She shook her head. “I think she’ll have an idea what happened when she doesn’t see me anymore tonight.”

He opened the passenger door on his car when it came. “Will her knowing bother you?”

“No. Will her knowing bother you?”

“No.”

“What about your brothers and cousins?” she asked.

“It wouldn’t bother me for anyone to know we’re together, Kylie,” he said, closing the door when she slid onto the smooth leather seat.

When he got inside the vehicle and slid beneath the steering wheel she said, “Nice car.”

He grinned. “Thanks. I decided to leave the truck home and bring my toy.”

She chuckled. A Mercedes sports car was some toy. “Where are we going?”

He glanced over at her. “Where do you want to go?”

They could go to either her place or his since there
weren’t any kids at home. That thought made a girlish giggle escape her lips. He glanced over at her when he pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward the interstate. “Are you okay?”

She grinned. “Yes. I was just thinking that with the kids away the parents will play. I feel like being naughty tonight, Chance.”

He surprised her when he braked and veered off to the shoulder of the road.

“Why are we stopping, Chance?”

“I feel like being naughty tonight, too, starting now,” he replied simply, before leaning over and connecting her mouth with his again. Her lips parted without any hesitation and his aggressive tongue mingled diligently with hers. He tasted of the wine he had consumed earlier and it only raised her body’s temperature. She returned his intensity with her own, and as their tongues mingled, her insides turned to molten liquid.

When he pulled back, they were both breathless. He captured her gaze, held it. “So, will it be my place or yours?”

She reached out and placed her palm against his cheek. “Mine. I want you in
my
bed, Chance Steele.”

L
ESS THAN A HALF HOUR
later, they entered Kylie’s home. As she closed the door, a warm, tingly, tantalizing sensation began building up inside of her in anticipation of what was to come.

There in the middle of the room stood Chance. The dark eyes looking at her were smoldering and, as always, he looked the embodiment of extreme male sexuality. And there was no doubt that he was the most tempting sight she’d ever seen.

Neither of them spoke.

He continued to look at her, long and hard, making her already heated body that much hotter, making her fully aroused. When she thought there was no way she could stand the intensity of his gaze any longer, he smiled, that slow, sexy smile that was meant to warm her. Instead it ignited everything woman within her, making her body respond to his physical presence in the most primitive way. When she thought she couldn’t possibly take any more, he slowly closed the distance separating them.

“Are you sure about this, Kylie?” he whispered huskily, taking her hand in his and bringing her closer to him. So close that she felt his huge erection.

Kylie felt off balance and her mind became a mass of desire, of wanting, of need. “I’ve never been so sure
of anything in my life, Chance,” she whispered back. “But…”

“But what?”

“But I don’t have any real experience at this and I don’t want to disappoint you.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer still. “Trust me, sweetheart, you won’t. There’s no way you can.”

He leaned down and took her lips, and seconds later she felt herself being lifted in his strong arms. He carried her up the stairs. “Which room is yours?” he asked when he’d reached the landing.

“The first door to your right.”

She had left a low lamp burning in her bedroom and now it cast an intimate glow in the room.

“I love that dress you have on but it’s coming off, Kylie,” he said as he set her on her feet. Without hesitation he stripped off his tuxedo jacket and bow tie, and unbuttoned his white shirt.

She tilted her head back. “If you want it off, you’ll have to take it off,” she said with sass.

He accepted the sensuous challenge in her voice. “I have no problem doing that, because it
is
coming off. I have a lot of plans for you tonight.”

She smiled. Whether he knew it or not, she had a lot of plans for him, as well. “I take it you’re going to teach me a few things.”

“Yes,” he said, undoing the last of his buttons, exposing his muscular chest. She had seen his chest before, when they’d gone camping and he had taken a swim in the lake. And then, like now, she thought it was definitely a chest worth looking at, worth sliding her hands over, worth teasing with her tongue.

Her gaze followed Chance’s fingers as he removed
his shirt and tossed it aside, but when those same fingers went to the fastener of his pants her breath caught. Still, she couldn’t avert her eyes. They watched as he eased his zipper down. A heaviness settled in her stomach and every nerve ending within her came vibrantly alive when he pushed those same pants down his hips.

She had never seen a man undress before. At sixteen she had actually closed her eyes when Sam had done it. As an adult she was now seeing a male in the flesh for the first time. She’d always suspected Chance had a nice body, but now, she saw first hand just how nice it was. And she saw just how aroused he was since the black briefs he wore showed the large ridge of his erection. She couldn’t help but stare when he proceeded to remove the last stitch of clothing.

“Now it’s time for your clothes to come off.”

Her gaze flew up to his face, fighting the panic of not knowing just how her body would be able to accommodate such a well-endowed man. But when her eyes met his, that sexy smile of his aroused her even more and she knew that she wouldn’t worry. The two of them would fit perfectly.

With slow and precise steps, he covered the short distance separating them and his hand, as gentle as it could be, reached out and stroked her arm. “Do you know how often I’ve dreamed about undressing you?” he whispered huskily as he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her palm.

She took a deep breath to steady herself. The touch of his moist tongue on her hand only fueled the fire that was steadily burning inside of her. “No, how often?” she managed to get out in a raspy breath.

“Too often,” he said, reaching behind her to undo the
clasp at the nape of her neck. “And seeing you in this dress tonight didn’t help matters any.”

He took a step back, loosened the straps away from her neck and the black georgette material slid down her legs. And when he offered her his hand for assistance, she took it and stepped out of the dress. Now she was naked except for her thong, thigh-high hose and shoes.

His gaze, she noticed, was fastened on her breasts and she watched, as if in slow motion, when he reached out and fondled them, caressing them, shaping them to the feel of his hands.

At his touch, her breathing became erratic, and she leaned into him to grip his shoulders, for fear she would melt to the floor. She clutched him when he leaned forward and took a nipple into his mouth, licking and sucking first one then the other. Each and every tug sent sensuous sensations all the way to her womb.

“Chance,” she whispered, arching toward him even more. She gasped when he scooped her into his arms and carried her over to the bed, placed her on it. Gently he removed her shoes and then his hand slid up her legs to get rid of her hose. Taking off her thong was easy since there wasn’t much to it but Kylie saw how dark his eyes got when the most intimate part of her body became exposed.

His smoldering gaze focused on the mound between her thighs, and Kylie began to feel nervous with all the attention. Chance was definitely enjoying the view, but if he only knew how fast her heart was beating, he wouldn’t be looking at her this way.

“I want you, Kylie,” he said silkily.

She met his gaze and replied softly, “I want you, too, Chance.”

Her words, spoken honestly and seductively, zapped Chance of what little control he had. Placing a knee on the bed, he reached down and drew her naked body to his and kissed her with all the love he had in his heart. The moment he slipped his tongue inside her mouth she latched onto it, returning his kiss with an intensity he knew the both of them felt.

He reluctantly broke the kiss and began caressing her all over, becoming familiar with the soft feel of her body and the sexy scent of her arousal. He kissed her all over, starting with her breasts and moving down to her navel, but as he went lower still, he felt her tense. Knowing he was about to carry her through unchartered waters, he lifted his head and met her gaze. “Kylie?”

The eyes that met his were glazed with desire and shadowed in uncertainty. “Yes?”

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” she responded in a breathy sound. “I trust you.”

“How much?” he asked, giving her one of those sexy smiles again.

Her voice was soft and throaty when she said, “Considering all you know about me, I trust you a lot. I haven’t been with anyone in fifteen years, Chance. That in itself should say something.”

“It does. And your trust in me is special. I want to make not just tonight, but this entire weekend special for the both of us.”

He must have read the question in her eyes, as he chuckled and said. “And no, I don’t plan on keeping you in bed all weekend. There’s going to be more to our relationship than sex, Kylie. I want to take you on our first official date tomorrow night. Will you let me do that?”

Kylie caught her bottom lip between her teeth. She still wasn’t ready for their kids to know they were involved, but with Marcus and Tiffany away for the weekend, she and Chance were finally free to do whatever they wanted to do. “Yes, I’d like that,” she said quietly.

He smiled. “Good. And another thing.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “What?”

“I want to introduce you to various types of lovemaking but I promise to take things slow and easy. And I also promise not to do anything you’re not comfortable with doing. I want to show you that making love is the most intimate act two people can share, as well as the most pleasurable. And I want to share every aspect of it with you.” He reached out his hand and slowly traced it up her leg toward the center of her thighs.

The closer he got to a certain part of her, the harder it became for Kylie to concentrate and to breathe. “Every aspect?” she asked breathlessly.

“Yes. I want to take you to a place you’ve never been before. Pleasureland. I want us to go there together and participate in the kind of pleasure that only the two of us can generate.” His voice went lower when he asked, “Will you go there with me?”

She swallowed when his knuckles nudged her thighs apart and his fingers touched her—right there in what had to be her hot spot. And she knew he’d found her not only hot but wet, as well. “Yes, I’ll go there with you,” she said, barely able to get the words out.

“Anyplace? At anytime…within reason?”

Chance was stroking her and she could feel pressure building inside of her. Pressure she needed to release. “Yes.”

“My touching you this way is just the beginning,” he
said as he continued to stroke her. “I want to take you on one hell of an adventure. Are you okay with that?”

Biting back a moan, she closed her eyes. “Yes, I’m okay with it.” The feathery touch of his fingers was slowly driving her insane. It seemed as if he was touching every sensitive cell that was located between her legs.

“You sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“And what if I replaced my fingers with my tongue?” he leaned over and whispered hotly in her ear.

Her eyes flew open. And she knew the flush that had suddenly appeared on her face told him everything. She took a deep breath as she melted inside with the thought of him doing that. “Why would you want to do that?” she somehow managed to ask.

“Because I want to satisfy my taste for you in a way that kissing won’t do, Kylie.”

“But no one has ever… I’ve never…”

“Yes, I know,” he said silkily. “But I want to be your first. May I?”

Her heart pounded erratically in her chest. She had to swallow twice before she spoke. “Yes, if you’re sure you want to do that.”

“Oh, baby, more than anything, I do.”

As soon as he had spoken those words, Chance slid off the bed, gently brought her body closer to the edge and knelt in front of her open legs. Then he leaned forward, inhaled her scent and took her into his mouth.

Kylie’s body bucked at the first touch of his tongue. A deep groan escaped her throat when he proceeded to taste her with a hunger that appeared unquenched. She clutched the bedspread, needing something to hold on to.
His mouth was literally driving her insane and she had to clamp her lips closed to stop herself from screaming.

Chance lifted his mouth only long enough to say, “Just let go, baby, and come for me.”

No sooner had he replaced his mouth on her, she did just what he had asked. The force of the climax hit her. And when it did she forgot everything except how all of her senses seemed to be gathered at this one particular spot, making it impossible to hold back. She screamed out his name when her body splintered into a thousand pieces. Waves and waves of pleasure washed over her and through her. She cried out several more times as her body, soul and mind were transported to a place where only pleasure resided.

Pleasureland.

It was a place that only Chance could take her.

C
HANCE RELUCTANTLY PULLED
his mouth away and sat back on his heels, watching the last contractions of Kylie’s orgasm move through her. He had dreamed of taking her this way for so long, the only thing he could do for the moment was to sit there and inhale the womanly scent of her, savor her taste.

Hearing the woman he loved scream out his name had filled him with a joy he’d never felt before. But he knew for them, this was just the beginning of one hell of a weekend, one hell of a relationship and one hell of a future.

Driven by an intense need to become a part of her in yet another way, he reached for the pants he had discarded earlier. He pulled his wallet out of the back pocket to get one of the condoms he’d put there. He quickly slipped it on, wanting to join their bodies while she was still in the throes of lingering passion.

He eased her back to the center of the bed and joined her there. When his face was mere inches from hers she slowly opened her eyes and met his gaze. A satisfied curve touched the corners of her mouth. “Hi.”

He smiled back. “Hi.”

“I came,” she said like it had been a miracle, a pleasure she would remember always.

He smiled. “Yes, you did and I’m going to make you come again.”

She blinked at him as if such a thing wasn’t possible. “You will,” he assured her.

And then he kissed her, taking her mouth in a way that let her know just how intent he was on making it happen for her again. Moments later, his mouth left hers to skim down her jaw, past her neck, as it traced a damp trail toward her breasts, tasting them as he’d done earlier, while reaching down to sink his fingers in the flesh he had just tasted a while ago.

“Chance.” She called out his name when she felt her body getting all heated again.

He eased over her. “Open your eyes, Kylie, and look at me.” He wanted to be caught in her gaze the exact moment he joined with her. If she wasn’t quite ready to hear about his love, he wanted her to at least feel it.

Desire and love pulsed through his veins, made his erection just that much harder, thicker, and when she opened her eyes he knew he needed to be inside of her, feel the length of him stroking her, claiming her as his, totally consuming her.

He raised her hands above her head and with their fingers laced together, their gazes locked, he slowly eased inside of her, finding her wet, ready, yet tight.

“Oh, Chance. I need this. I need you,” she whispered.

His response was a hard thrust that shook him to the core, and as he went deeper inside of her, she moaned out her pleasure. “Yes!”