Author: Bella Andre

What she was feeling was all wrapped up in the man, himself, in every kind thing he’d said and done for her since that moment by the car. Sex wasn’t just sex anymore. Instead, it was something so much bigger, something utterly interconnected to a part of her heart that had been dead for so long she’d thought it would stay forever buried.

It was that realization that had her coming down from the peak fast. Way too fast.

She would have tried to hide her reaction from Chase if she could have, but he was too good at reading her.

And she wasn’t nearly in the frame of mind to play games.

“Talk to me,” he said.

In an instant, he was beside her on the bed, cradling her in his arms. She could feel his erection—still trapped in his jeans, huge and throbbing against her hips—but he wasn’t in any hurry to finish what they’d started.

Didn’t he realize that only made things worse? That he only scared her more when he acted so sweet, when he put her first? Because he made her want things, long for things she’d tried to convince herself she didn’t need anymore.

She shook her head, made herself say, “Just take me.”

But instead of doing what any other guy would have done, he simply raised an eyebrow at her language. And looked even more concerned.

“I will,” he promised, “but first I want you to talk to me.”

She swallowed. “You already know how much I want you.” She gestured to her body. “You would have known that if I hadn’t said a single word.”

He kissed her then, once on the lips, before saying, “Tell me how you’re feeling, lovely girl.”

The endearment had her tensed muscles turning to mush again. “Stop doing that.”

He frowned. “What am I doing? Did I hurt you?”

“No.” Frustration with herself—and with him for being way too awesome—made the word staccato and sharp. “You know you didn’t hurt me.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“You’re too great!”

The three words came out at almost a wail and he shifted her in his arms, as if he might understand what she was getting at if they only changed position. A moment later, she found herself flat on her back with Chase levered over her, his weight trapping her against the bed.

“You don’t like great?” He was running one hand down her arm as he asked the question.

“I do, but—”

Wrapping his fingers around her wrist, he gently lifted her arm above her head and leaned in to run kisses and love bites up the sensitive skin on the undersides of her arms. “But what?”

“It’s just that—” Her words fell away as he repeated the gentle caress and kisses with her other arm, lifting it above her head, too.

“Right there,” he murmured, looking down at the way her ribs were arching slightly, lifting her breasts up to his chest. “So pretty.” He circled the tip of one breasts one and it begged for more, tightening beneath the sweet caress of his fingertip.

Oh God, it was hard to form rational thought when he was doing that, but she had to at least try.

“This is supposed to be sex.” His eyes met hers and she clarified, “Just sex.”

She watched him go still above her and when his hand tightened on her wrist, for the first time since she’d been in his bed, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking how big, how powerful he was. If he wanted to hurt her, it wouldn’t matter if she yelled “bananas” as loud as she could.

“I won’t do that again,” he said, and before she even realized what had happened, he let go of her wrists and had them switch places so that he was lying on his back and she was sitting up, naked and straddling him.

“No fear, Chloe.” He brought her hands to his lips and kissed them. “I can’t stand to see that frightened look in your eyes when we’re together. I won’t hold you down again like that. I promised you I’d never hurt you and I meant it. “

“I know.” The two whispered words floated between them as they stared at each other like that for a long moment.

Emotion pulsed and flowed, rose without ebbing. This was what she was really afraid of, she knew.

Not that Chase would physically overpower her.

But that the strength of his emotions might actually slip in beneath her armor.

At yet, at the same time that her heart was grappling with fear and love and pain and trust, her body was crying out for more.

For Chase.

The way she was sitting on his hips perfectly positioned her over his erection. Even the slightest movement, as small as a breath, had the zipper of his jeans rubbing against her groin. Looking down at Chase, his beautiful, bare chest laid out beneath her for the taking, pure female instinct sent her hands off to explore his muscles, to play in the light dusting of hair on his chest and below his belly button.

“You should be a model.”

She watched him try to grin, but it never quite replaced the need on his face.

“I’m glad you like what you see.”

It sounded like he was gritting out each word and she knew why. His erection had, shockingly, grown even bigger beneath her.

“I want to see more,” she said softly.

Sliding a little lower down his body, she was barely aware of her breasts swinging as she concentrated on undoing the zipper of his jeans. “It’s your turn,” she told him.

He tried to distract her by cupping her breasts and tasting both at once. She moaned and nearly gave in to him, to the delicious persuasion of his lips and tongue and teeth. But, God, she wanted him naked, too, wanted to see all of him just as badly as he’d seemed to want to see her bared and spread before him.

With increased focus, she slid his zipper down the rest of the way, and even behind the fabric of his boxers, his erection jumped toward her. She tried to take his jeans off, but her hands were suddenly shaking.

“I’m right there with you, lovely girl,” he said in a husky voice before he took matters into his own hands and took care of his clothes.

Chloe knew better than to stare. She wasn’t a virgin. But no naked male she’d ever seen in person—or in a photo—had looked like Chase.

And then he was kissing her, both of their naked bodies pressed against each other and just that skin-to-skin contact, the feel of him, hot and hard, the hair on his legs scratching against her, the muscles of his stomach and chest and arms pressing into her, were the most erotic thing she’d ever experienced. Even more than her orgasms.

The words “You feel so good” were out and between them before she could hold them back.

“So damn good,” was his response, and this time she was the one kissing him, wanting to climb inside of him and never come out to the real world again.

Complete. She felt complete with him. Except, as her body reminded her, for one thing.

She needed him inside of her.

Now.

Her hips moved into place over his and she was so close—oh God, just one more inch and he’d be pressing against her, into her—when his hands moved to her hips and held her still. “Wait a second.”

Misunderstanding him, thinking the whole honorable thing was popping back up at just the worst possible time, she said, “I want it, Chase. I want you inside of me. So, so bad.” Her desire was so big, so overpowering, that her mouth had actually lost its fear of speaking what she wanted aloud.

She belatedly realized he was tearing something open. A condom wrapper. Another time she would ask him where it came from, but right now, all she cared about was getting it on him.

And getting him in her.

Together, they worked to slide the latex protection over his hard shaft, and then he was lifting her again, over him. The first press of the thick, broad head of his penis made her breath came out in a gasp.

“We’ll go slow,” he told her, but she didn’t want to go slow.

She wanted all of him. She wanted fast. She wanted hard. She wanted to be so full of Chase that there was no room for anything else, no room for fear or worry or thoughts of what the future might hold.

She looked straight at him, let herself fall into his beautiful eyes, so intense, so full of desire and arousal...yet so gentle all at the same time.

“I want you.” Her words rang out like a vow in the bedroom.

“Then take me.”

He was making it her choice. Despite how hard he was, despite the fact that he could be inside her before she even blinked, he was still making sure he didn’t take anything she wasn’t ready to give.

She sank down onto his shaft with a moan of deep, deep pleasure. When they were groin to groin, she stilled over him to appreciate how good he was making her feel. Beneath her, she could feel how tense every muscle was, but he let her settle deeper onto him at her own pace.

She began to lift off him—wanting to feel that delicious slide of heat and power, wanting him to make her entirely his—and her inner muscles clenched tight around him.

“Chloe, sweetheart.”

She put her hands on his chest and felt how fast, how hard his heart was beating beneath her palms.

And then she was riding him until her thigh muscles were screaming out, and he was driving into her, farther, deeper than she thought he could go. Nothing had ever felt like this.

She had never felt like she could fly before.

Oh, how she flew, higher and higher until she was crying out Chase’s name and he was rolling them over, his heavy weight crushing her into the mattress as he moved with her, up, up, up to the peak and then over, over, over.

Chase had done more than show her how to fly.

He’d flown with her.

Chapter Ten

Chloe woke up the next morning just as Chase was about to leave the bedroom.

She waited for regret to move through her at waking up in a man’s bed, expected fear to pulse through her veins at the way she’d naively trusted him.

Her belly did feel a little tight. But apart from that, she was surprised to realize that she felt pretty good.

Verging on great, actually.

Pushing her hair out of her face, she sat up. Shocked by the way her muscles were protesting the sudden movement, she felt herself flush as she said, “How long have you been up?”

He moved back across the room to her, his long, strong limbs, his innate power and beauty taking her breath away all over again as he answered with a soft kiss, followed by, “Good morning.”

One kiss turned into another, and then another, until all she could think about was how much she needed him.

“You have no idea how much I want to stay here with you,” he whispered into the curve of her neck right before his tongue came out to taste the skin below her earlobe.

She shivered, wanting him to stay with her—wanting him to be inside her again—so much she thought she might burst apart with it. If circumstances had been different, maybe she would have pulled him down onto the bed with her and convinced him to let his professional responsibilities slide for an hour. But she couldn’t stand the thought of being any more trouble than she’d already been.

So instead of pulling him closer, she laid her hands flat on his chest. “They’ll all be waiting for you.”

His eyes were dark, full of desire, as he looked down at her. With a badly muffled curse, he straightened up. As soon as he stepped back, she threw off the covers.

“I’ll just be a second.”

“I’m heading over early to set up. You don’t need to rush.” He moved closer again, pulled her naked body against him. “God, you’re lovely. You make me want to call off the shoot today and just stay locked in this room.”

She wanted the same thing, but that want was too big, like an ocean trying to swell and crash inside of her, so she joked, “We’d starve.”

“What’s one day without food if I’ve got you?”

She knew he wasn’t serious, and yet ... he sure looked like he was.