Favorite Places (A TroubleMaker Novel, #2) (12 page)

He was tempting
her, daring her. She could tell by the rascally grin and mischievous twinkle in
his eyes that he didn’t think she would play along. Lifting her chin, she met
his challenge. “Chase, please let go of my hand.” When he released her, she
smiled, loving the feel of control. “Now,” she nipped her bottom lip, “go stand
over there against the wall and put your hands behind your back.”

Grin wavering, a
definite bolt of reluctance flickered in his blue eyes. It was ridiculous, but
for a millisecond there, she actually thought he was going to comply.

His forbidding
glare slithered from her. He turned and to her surprise, he did do exactly as requested.
Chase settled against the wall and looked up. Dark, unreadable eyes ran over the
length of her body. “Now what?”

She walked cautiously
over to him, stopping a safe distance of a foot away. She returned the onceover
and scanned his rampant body. “Now I’m going to touch you,” she boldly admitted.
Then, with additional boldness that came from God knew where, she placed the
palm of her hand on the side of his neck. She glided it downward, over a firm
but smooth, naked chest, past tight abs. She noticed another tattoo sneaking up
from his pants. Tracing it, she dipped a finger into the waist of his low
slinging slacks. She drew a line across his taut stomach muscles, causing them
to ripple and tremble against her touch. She did it again before trailing back
up his torso, causing more tremors upon his tight skin. His eyelids were at half-mast,
the sky-blue now nearing a midnight black.

Moving the tips
of her fingers to the bottom of his strong chin, she tilted it upward. “Now I’m
going to kiss you.” She dropped her lips to his neck. “Here.” She moved to his
collarbone, keeping her eyes trained on him. “And here.” She flicked her tongue
out and ran it over his erect nipple. His dark eyelashes lowered. A low growl
sounded into the small room, inspiring her to draw his nipple into her mouth,
which only brought out another mannish growl. His pectoral muscles flexed
beneath her kiss. The strength pulsating from his muscles to her lips pushed
heat all through her body. She bit him. He growled louder, and a flood of more
heat dispersed, touching her everywhere at once.  

Wanting to hear
more of that animalistic sound, to draw something natural and wild out of the
refined Chase Lennox, she attacked his nipples. Her hand strolled back to the
waist of his pants. She dipped a finger back in, a mere inch, then pulled out, then
went back in a little farther, until she skimmed over something smooth, hard, and…

“Okay,” Chase
grabbed her wandering hand. “You’ve had your fun.” He spun her around and
pushed her against the wall. Strong hips pressed into her, pinning her there. The
length of his hard shaft imprinted her belly.  

“But I wasn’t
done yet,” she nervously protested, upset that she’d been stopped from
investigating the smooth, hardness hiding in his pants.

“Neither was I.”
His mouth lowered, and a finger dropped to the top of her shirt. He pulled it
down and, as promised, trailed kisses along her exposed skin, until finally
latching his warm lips around her hard little nipple.

She drew a short
breath, arching toward him. And, just like that, Chase had regained control,
stealing not only her power but also her ability to think. She grabbed his head
and pulled him closer as she released a low cry. “Oh my…” She stopped mid-cry because
he had stopped. Jessina cracked an eye open and looked down.

He was staring
up at her, both eyebrows raised. “Oh my what? Who are you gonna call out to
Jessina?”

To get his mouth
back on her she was quick to catch on. “Chase. Oh my, Chase!”

He smiled, and his
tongue slipped out and circled around her dimpled flesh. Her fingers sank into his
hair, and she tugged him against her. She feared she was suffocating him, but it
didn’t cease the splendor his mouth was performing on her sensitive nipple. If
anything, it inspired him to suck harder. “Oh yeah!” She groaned his name. “Oh
my…Chase!”

“There you go. Say
my name with those pretty lips, baby.” His warm, wet mouth moved up her throat
and captured her lips while his hands maneuvered to the waist of her jeans. Deft
fingers popped the button open, and she heard the
hiss
of the zipper,
like a pressure cooker releasing steam. He dropped to his knees, grabbed the
side of her pants, and yanked them down. Her heart followed his journey. Wrapping
his hand around her calf, he guided each foot until she was free of her denim
prison. Standing there in the lacey panties Barbie Number Two had so skillfully
and disturbingly purchased for her, Jessina became lost to the passion lurking
in his eyes. Deliberate, without an ounce of hesitance, Chase peered up at her as
if he owned her. In that moment, he did, for she would have done anything for
him.

Wait…
Her stomach tightened.
Is this really happening? Is he finally gonna throw
me on my bed and screw my brains out?
Her racing heart pushed the words
right out of her mouth, “Chase, are we going to have sex?”

“That depends.” His
hand crawled up her calf to her inner thigh. “What’s your definition of sex?” His
palm inched closer to the very berth of her sex. Her breath hitched in her
throat. His finger slithered beneath the lace, the thin shield protecting the hottest
part of her. “I’m going to take care of the ache right here, on these pretty
pink lips.” His thumb lightly coasted over her wet folds. “If that’s sex in
your book,” he said, the pressure of his thumb heightening as he stroked her
clit, “then yes, we’re gonna have sex.”

He pulled the
lace to the side and huskily hummed as wicked, smiling lips fell upon her
pussy. A couple sucks and a few strokes of his dexterous tongue, followed by a
thick finger thrust deep inside, and Jessina screamed. With each touch that Chase
so skillfully and devilishly expelled upon her crumbling body a deep, hoarse, foreign
noise came out of her mouth, and the sound she’d never heard before trailed the
entire length of the best damn orgasm she’d ever felt in her life.

After she came,
Chase finally carried her over to the bed. He stripped the remainder of her
clothes off her body, got onto the bed with her, and pulled her into his arms.

While they
slept, yes slept, besides that damn smooth hard tip poking her in the ass all
night, Chase remained a perfect gentleman. It was rather disappointing, but she
was afraid to move or even speak, fearful that he might come to his senses and
leave. It was strange, but spooning like that with him, gathered into his warm
body, she realized she’d never felt so secure or comfortable in anyone’s arms
before.

The sun had sneaked in
through the crack between the curtains. Jessina rolled and stretched out her
arm, only to find the bed empty beside her. She got up and wandered out to the
only other room in her place but saw no sign of Chase. He had left a note on
the table, a scribbled apology for having to leave without saying goodbye,
stating that he had an early meeting. He’d also left instructions to go to the
bus station and pick up a ticket he’d have waiting for her to get to his ranch
if she decided to take him up on his proposition. He ended the letter by
letting her know her car should be out in her parking lot, with four new tires
on it soon, and said he’d be at his ranch all weekend. “I hope you’ll join me
there, Jess,” he’d written as a P.S.

Monday morning,
Chase strummed his fingers over the conference table, not paying any attention
to his team or the strategies they were discussing to acquire the Monroe
account. All weekend, he’d waited for Jess at his ranch, only to be
disappointed and stood up. By Sunday night, he was ready to jump in his car and
drive to her apartment. But as spoiled as he was, used to getting whatever he
wanted, he was also a rational man. Going to her apartment would have been very
irrational. Chase planned ahead and never did anything on a whim. He was smart
and calculating, and while he did take risks from time to time, he also always
took time to weigh all his options and the possible consequences.

He’d taken a
major risk inviting Jess to his ranch. He was sure she’d show, and he’d
intended to show her his plans and explain everything to her, to make her an
offer she couldn’t refuse. She would have no other choice but to agree to help
him with Caplin. Sure, it meant exposing himself to her, but he was prepared to
do that. The only trouble was, he never got the opportunity. He waited for two
long days, and with Hannah still gone, it really was painfully quiet and lonely
at the ranch. He wanted an opportunity to explain Hannah to Jess, but he
couldn’t do that either because she’d refused his invitation.  

He scrubbed his
hand over his face, and his three-day stubble tickled his palm. He’d neglected
his own face, something he took pride in maintaining, and that reminded him of
just how bad he had it for Jessina Landi. He couldn’t think about anything but
her. The taste of her, the sound of her sweet cries when she came in his mouth,
and the feel of her soft body molded against his as he held her all through the
night.

He made it a
habit not to sleep with a woman after “sleeping” with them. It was a rule, an
important one that Chase always followed, because spooning with a woman,
actually sleeping with her and cuddling all night long was a sure way to let
her get all attached. He hadn’t really had sex with Jess, but he had slept with
her. And he had loved the feel of her being in his arms all night long. He could
get used to having her warm, soft body in his bed. He had it so bad for her.
And like a chicken-shit, he’d bolted out of her apartment that morning. Still,
he wanted to see her again, so he’d left the note. Had been confident that she’d
come running to him. But she hadn’t. And Chase’s ego was still bent out of
shape over it. Add that to the odd ache he felt in his chest, he had no desire
to shave, let alone sit in on a boring meeting.

He circled the
table, not really hearing what anyone was saying. He stopped his eye stroll at Katie,
his assistant.

She glanced up
from her phone with a weary look. She rose from the chair, walked over, and
leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Uh, the front desk just informed me that,
um…well, Mrs. Lennox, your wife has just entered the building. She went
straight to the elevator and got off on the thirteenth floor.”

Excitement,
anticipation, and relief swarmed Chase. He wanted to jump up from the chair and
run the three flights up to his apartment, but he kept his cool and tapped his
finger over his mouth, attempting to keep his smile at a bay. He nodded. “Thank
you, Katie.” He then looked pointedly at his team, knowing he had to wrap the
meeting up in a hurry, without being too suspicious about it or jeopardizing
his professional reputation. “Okay. I think that’ll do it for now.” He leaned
forward and smacked the table. “Please have your proposals to Katie no later
than three on Wednesday.”

He hurried out
of the conference room and into the elevator, where he’d take some time to
mentally prepare for his next meeting, a rendezvous with his pretend wife.

The elevator
stopped at the eleventh floor to let out the only other occupant, and then it
started back up. The bell dinged just before the door opened, and that odd
sensation in his chest intensified.

Jess was leaning
against the wall, dressed in jeans, a white button-down shirt, and white
flip-flops, with the infamous suitcase propped up beside her. Her light amber
eyes reached right into his chest and tugged on the very place the odd
sensations were coming from. To his surprise, that place was several inches
above his dick. Yes. Just as he’d feared, it was smack dab in his heart.

He stepped out
of the elevator, shoved his hand in his pant pocket, and, as casually as
possible, said, “Hey.”

“Hi,” she returned
with a warm smile. “I’m sorry it took me so long to get here. I had to take
care of a few things at home.”

He was glad to
hear she had some kind of excuse for putting him through hell for the past few
days. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah.” She
waved a hand. “I just needed to tie some things up with my job.”

Not a good
enough excuse though. Chase glanced down at the suitcase, “Huh, there’s the
troublemaker,” he teased, trying to break the tension that had crept into the
air. She laughed, and he liked the sound of it. He loved the way her freckly
nose crinkled. In fact, Chase liked a whole lot of things about Jess. “So, I
take it this means we have a deal?”

She looked down
at the suitcase, and her laughter subsided as she touched the handle. “About
that…um, I have a few conditions—”

“You name it,” he
said, accustomed to compromising in order to seal a deal, willing to do just
about anything to have her back in his apartment, in his life, and in his bed.

Her eyes shot up
and met his. “First, I have to be somewhere next Tuesday. I’ll be gone for the
day.”

“Not a problem.
Caplin isn’t due to arrive until Thursday.”

“Good.” She
twiddled her fingers.

“Is that it?”

“No. Uh…” She
nipped her bottom lip. “Can you come over here?”

Chase didn’t
hesitate to take the few steps to close the distance between them, but he
didn’t want to scare her away, so he stopped outside her personal space, the
safe distance of three feet away.