Through the Night (16 page)

After disconnecting the call with Tony, Chase glanced from the pages of notes he’d jotted down over the course of the afternoon to Valerie, a slow grin spreading across his face. His heart was racing in his chest from the punch of adrenaline, and unable to contain the triumph bursting inside him, he jumped up from his seat and did a high fist pump in the air accompanied with a loud, whooping,
“Yesss!”

Valerie stood in a much more sedate manner, laughing at his outward expression of enthusiasm. “Excited much?”

“Oh, you have no idea.” He shoved his fingers through his already mussed hair, still grinning like a fool. “Oh, my God. I can’t believe we found it, Valerie. We actually found the cane staff, and I couldn’t have done it without you!”

In a moment of spontaneity, he framed her face in his hands and planted a kiss on her lips before letting her go again. It was quick, a split second decision to express his gratitude, but no less potent than one of the long, lingering kisses they’d already shared. Just touching her made his entire body buzz with awareness, his lust fueled by their attraction and all the excess energy flowing through him.

A pink glow of pleasure suffused her face, and this time she did nothing to hide her desire for him. “I think you owe me dinner or something,” she said, her voice low and husky. “I’m starved.” She rubbed her stomach for emphasis.

A glance at his watch told him it was nearly seven in the evening and they’d been working for hours without food or a break. “The very least I can do is feed you.” He decided to do better than that, though. “How about a night out on the town to celebrate and have some fun? Dinner, dancing at an exclusive nightclub I know about, and …
whatever
else you want.” He left that open for her own interpretation.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” she said, and licked her pretty, tempting lips as they curved into a sweet, seductive smile. “Especially the ‘whatever’ part.”

Chapter Nine

Valerie followed Chase as he held her hand tight in his and pulled her out to the crowded dance floor of the nightclub he’d taken her to after dinner. True to his word, he was out to have fun and celebrate, and he was taking her along on the wild, thrilling ride.

She planned to enjoy every second of it. She didn’t let loose often, because letting go of her inhibitions meant relinquishing the balanced and stable composure she’d built her life around. But tonight, she was going to embrace her every whim and desire, including her attraction to Chase.

The atmosphere in the club was aggressive and energetic with an underlying carnal element that wove through her and increased her desires. The music was so loud, she could feel her body vibrate with the beat of it, each throbbing pulse matching the rhythm of her undulating hips. With all the people brushing up against her while she and Chase danced, it was difficult to ignore the heightened sexual energy in the place, and the steamy heat developing between her and the man in her arms. Nor did she want to.

Now that she was no longer resisting the temptation Chase presented, each touch, each caress held a high-voltage charge that tantalized and teased them both. They played with that fire, stoking the flames with their hands, the heat in their eyes, the deliberate brush of their impassioned bodies … knowing that the burn, when it came, would feel oh-so good.

After quite a few songs, she pointed to the lounge on the other side of the club, where they could take a break. She was hot and thirsty and just needed a bit of time to catch her breath before they hit the dance floor again.

He tucked his arm around her waist, holding her close to his side as they headed into the adjoining lounge and bar area, where the music wasn’t on full blast, it was less crowded, and the air-conditioning cooled off her skin. On the inside, however, the simmering heat for Chase remained, and she wasn’t in any hurry to extinguish it. No, that wouldn’t happen until they finally had sex—which was exactly where this night was heading.

“I’ll be right back,” she said just as they reached the bar. “I need to use the ladies’ room. Will you get me a water?”

“Sure. I’ll be waiting for you right here.” He gave her one of his sexy, bad boy smiles that made her want to jump his bones right then and there, no matter who watched.

Reining in that very uncharacteristic urge, she disappeared into the restroom. After taking care of business, she washed her hands, then stopped in front of the huge vanity mirror dominating one long wall where other women were primping. Her reflection stared back at her, her face flushed pink and her eyes dark and sultry. She dampened her lips with her tongue, and for the first time in years she felt sexy and confident in her feminine allure.

When she’d packed for their trip to San Francisco, bringing along an outfit to tantalize a man had been the furthest thing from her mind, which had left her with only a few options out of her suitcase. But Chase seemed to appreciate her tight, curve-hugging black jeans and the low-cut wraparound top she’d worn. One pull on the tie at her waist and the blouse would fall right open, giving him easy access whenever he wanted it. The strappy pair of black high heels she’d tossed into her bag as an afterthought made her legs look endlessly long, and she’d already caught him staring at her ass more than once.

Since she hadn’t brought a purse into the club, she improvised with Kleenex to blot the perspiration from her brow, and used her fingers to tousle her hair into a provocatively disheveled,
I’m looking to get laid
look. Satisfied with her appearance, she smiled at herself, more than ready to push all Chase’s hot buttons, drive him out of his ever-lovin’ mind with wanting her, and reap the benefits of all that testosterone unleashed and his gorgeous, rock-hard body.

She walked out of the ladies’ room toward the bar where he said he’d be waiting, and came to an abrupt stop when she saw who was with Chase. His ex-girlfriend, Angie, was clearly making her move on him—standing inappropriately close, with her hands on his chest and her lips tilted up in a come-hither smile.

Shock and jealousy rippled through Valerie, the latter of which settled in her stomach in a hard knot of resentment toward Angie. She glanced around for Russ, but didn’t see him anywhere. That didn’t mean the man wasn’t at the club, of course. Valerie was so stunned by the unexpected scene and her startling reaction to seeing Angie coming on to Chase, her mind struggled with how to handle the situation without causing a catfight.

Chase’s back was to her, giving her a straight-on view of Angie, and she knew the other woman had seen her. The two of them were having a conversation, but judging by Chase’s body language, it clearly wasn’t a pleasant one from his side of things. Angie said something to him, then brazenly ran her fingers through his hair, causing Valerie’s temper to rise. Chase jerked away from her touch in annoyance, jammed his hands on his hips, and shook his head as he issued some kind of reply.

Angie’s gaze traveled past Chase and locked on Valerie. The other woman gave her a loathsome once-over before looking at Chase again with a coy smile. She touched the tips of her fingers to the unnatural swell of the fake boobs nearly spilling from the bodice of the cinched, tight bandeau dress.

If the tactic piqued Chase’s interest, he certainly didn’t show it.

Very deliberately, in a way that made it far too easy for Valerie to read her lips, Angie said,
You know you still want me.

Valerie decided that she’d had enough. Beyond irritated at the other woman’s audacity, she headed toward the two of them, refusing to let Angie get the best of her. There was only one person who was going to seduce Chase tonight, and that was
her.

When Valerie reached Chase, she didn’t even acknowledge Angie. “I’m ready to dance again,” she said, curling her fingers possessively around his arm for the other woman to seethe over. The relief that passed over his expression spoke for itself, and eased any of the slightest insecurities she might have been feeling at seeing Angie’s hands on Chase.

Just as they started to walk away, Angie shot Chase one last parting remark. “If you change your mind, you know how to reach me.”

Valerie glanced over her shoulder at Angie, giving the other woman a challenging stare. “Don’t count on it. He’s going to be
very
busy.”
Meow.

She heard Chase chuckle, and when she glanced at him, his eyes were flickering with amusement and a deeper, burning hunger. For her. And in that moment, that’s all she cared about.

He put his mouth close to her ear before he spoke. “God, that was
hot.
”

She shivered at his words, and from the damp warmth of his breath on her skin. “You haven’t seen anything yet,” she said, and proceeded to make good on her promise.

With the pulsing music dictating the sensuality of her movements, and being surrounded by so many people, she let her body do all the talking. She was wanton and shameless, and pure static electricity flowed between them, physically shocking and wholly arousing.

She rubbed intimately against him, teasing them both, and loved the way he watched her, so dominantly male. She twirled around and tucked her bottom against his groin to tease him even more, and he caught her around the waist, ground his hips against hers, delivering a little torment of his own.

Chase didn’t know how much more of Valerie’s dirty dancing he could take. It was like someone had flipped a switch, and she’d gone from being sweet and ladylike to a risqué temptress straight out of his most X-rated fantasies. Not that he was complaining. But after nearly an hour of her brazen behavior, Chase was so hard and so fucking turned on, all he could think about was getting her alone, getting her naked, and getting inside her. As soon as possible.

He slid his hand into her hair, cupping the back of her head to bring her face close to his so she could hear him when he spoke. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

She nodded, and that’s all the consent he needed to grab her hand and lead the way out of the nightclub. Once they were on the street, he hailed a cab, and they climbed into the backseat. He gave the driver the name of their hotel, which thankfully was only a few blocks away.

But Valerie was wound up with so much sexual energy, so beyond any propriety, that she continued where they left off on the dance floor. Uncaring that their driver could see them in the rearview mirror, she moved over him, straddling his lap so his fierce erection pressed hard between her thighs. Her fingers delved into his hair, and then her mouth was on his, their tongues dueling in a deep, wet, aggressive claim that made any kiss he’d ever had before pale in comparison.

She was out of control with desire, and if he didn’t know better, he would have thought she was drunk, but she’d had only one wine spritzer at dinner, and no alcohol at the club. The thought that he alone intoxicated her and had brought out this wild side to Valerie was so heady and exhilarating.

Her hips gyrated against his, seeking the same thing he wanted—deep, mindless penetration. She moaned softly against his lips, and he filled his hands with her curvy bottom, matching her frantic rhythm, knowing if she’d had a skirt on, he would have been balls deep inside her by now, despite where they were.

But he didn’t want their first time to be in the backseat of a cab. No, for what he had in mind, they needed complete privacy, and that’s what ultimately slowed him down and made him stop. He ended their kiss and held her waist to keep her from rubbing up against his cock, and she whimpered in frustration. He stared into her dark, dilated eyes as they shared a series of deep, panting breaths, and she didn’t have to speak a word for him to know what her body craved so badly, what she’d ultimately been after.

“Soon, baby,” he whispered so only she could hear. “Soon I’ll give you all the orgasms you can handle.” And when that happened, he wanted to feel each one, to own each climax he gave her, to absorb those tremors that would clutch at his fingers and milk his cock dry.

She leaned forward to nip at his bottom lip. “I want one
now,
” she said against his mouth.

He chuckled, the sound rough and ragged. “Greedy wench.”

The clearing of a throat coming from the front of the taxi made them both realize the car was parked at the curb in the roundabout at the hotel. “I want to say get a room, but I assume that’s why I’m dropping you two off at the Four Seasons.”

Their driver was clearly amused, and Chase was certain that the other man was used to all sorts of wild and crazy things happening in his cab. An embarrassed flush suffused Valerie’s cheeks, and she moved off him so Chase could get to his wallet and pay for the cab ride. He gave the guy two twenties, tipping him generously for being a good sport.

Valerie was a bit more subdued as they walked through the lobby and rode the elevator up to their floor, but once he shut the door of their suite, she was all over him again, with no momentum lost whatsoever. Something on the entryway floor caught Chase’s eye—a white envelope—and he ignored it for now, assuming it was the itinerary Tony had faxed over for their trip to Florida tomorrow.

As soon as they reached the bedroom, she had his shirt stripped off in record time and her damp, hot mouth landed on his chest, kissing and licking his skin while her fingers went straight for the waistband of his jeans. She’d managed to get the button undone, but he caught her wrists before she could lower the zipper, knowing he’d come in her hand if she so much as wrapped her fingers around his shaft.

Needing to regain control of the situation, and of her, Chase pushed Valerie against the wall next to the dresser and raised her hands above her head, keeping them pinned there with his fingers. Her eyes were wide and luminous, the slight parting of her lips making him envision having her mouth on his cock, her soft, pink tongue flicking over the head.

His dick throbbed, and he swallowed a groan. Next time, he thought. Right now, tonight, it was all about
her
pleasure. “You keep touching me like that, and I’m done. You, on the other hand…” He gave her a slow grin filled with all sorts of wicked intent. “I need to make good on those orgasms I promised you. But we’re going to do it
my
way.”