No Strings... (Harlequin Blaze)

chapter 6



AIDEN ESCORTED CHLOE toward the large ballroom hosting one of tonight’s dining options, excruciatingly aware of her, in every way. It wasn’t so much what she was wearing, though the chocolate-brown dress definitely drew his attention. The top portion fell off of one shoulder, revealing an alluring expanse of creamy skin, and the fitted skirt showcased her toned ass and ended just above her knee, accentuating her long, slender legs. Her four-inch heels were the strappy kind that wrapped around her ankles and screamed f*ck me, please.

The thought of doing just that made him hot and hard.

She’d worn her hair piled up on her head, giving her a slightly tousled look and exposed the elegant line of her throat. An assortment of gold bangles encircled her wrist and a pair of shiny gold hoops dangled from her ears. Her green-gold eyes were full of mystery, like a siren experienced in luring a man to commit all sorts of carnal sins.

But what was making it difficult to function was the air of confidence she moved with. It made him wonder what she was up to, though he definitely had a clue. Especially after the subtle challenge she’d issued that afternoon that had him seriously considering crossing some very strict personal and professional boundaries with her.

Normally, he wrestled with his conscience when it came to wanting Chloe, but right now the only voice in his head was his brother Sam’s, telling Aiden to stop overanalyzing things, that giving in to his desire for Chloe was all about feel-good sex, not a lifetime commitment.

Maybe, just maybe, for once his brother was right.

Tonight, they’d been given the choice between attending a Murder Mystery Fete, or a Truth or Dare Soiree—both events had been designed to create more social interaction between couples and singles. Since neither one of them were mystery buffs, they’d both decided on the latter, and as they stepped into a ballroom decorated in red and black tones, with sheer draping and candles flickering everywhere, a bubbly hostess greeted them.

“Welcome to the Truth or Dare Soiree. I see the two of you are a couple,” the young woman said as she glanced at their matching red wristbands. “That gives you two options tonight. Would you like a group table to share with other couples, or a private table for two?”

Aiden knew there was security in large numbers, which the group table would provide, but he didn’t want to go the safe route with Chloe tonight. Between all the sexual tension that had thrummed between them in the greenhouse, and later at the risqué charades, he was more than ready to kick things between them up a notch or two.

“We’ll take one of the private tables.”

The approving smile that Chloe gave Aiden told him he’d made the right decision. They followed the hostess to one of the secluded tables at the back of the room. Instead of taking the chair across from Chloe, he settled into the seat next to hers. Beneath the table, their thighs brushed, and neither one of them moved or shied away from the intimate contact.

“Here is a list of meal options,” the hostess said, handing them each a menu before she indicated a tray with a few items on it. “As for the truth-or-dare part of tonight’s dinner, it’s a very simple game that will require you both to answer a truth, or accept a dare, depending on what the roll of the die reveals.”

On the tray was a red cube stamped with the words Truth and Dare on each of the six sides. Next to that were four tall silver cylinders holding long wooden sticks. Each cylinder was marked TRUTH or DARE, along with the “mild” or “wild” option in each category.

“Once you roll the die, your partner will pick one of the wooden sticks from the corresponding container,” the hostess went on to explain. “They will then read aloud the truth or dare printed on the stick, and the other person must either answer the question or complete the task. Most important, have fun!”

“Thank you,” Chloe said, and picked up her menu to peruse the meal options.

Aiden followed her lead, and when the waiter arrived at their table, he ordered the rib-eye steak and potatoes, and Chloe opted for the grilled salmon and rice pilaf. When they were offered either wine or champagne, he went for the cabernet, while Chloe asked for an iced tea, citing that she’d consumed way too many love potions cocktails that afternoon.

Once the waiter was gone and they were alone again, Chloe eyed the red die on the tray, a very vixenlike smile curving her mouth. “So, shall we play?” she asked him.

He took a drink of his cabernet and quirked a brow at her. “Are you sure you want to?”

She leaned a bit closer, amusement shimmering in her gaze. “What, are you afraid of having to give up deep, dark secrets?”

“I have no problem sharing truths,” he replied. The loose top portion of her dress slipped a bit lower on her arm, distracting him a moment with the urge to trail his fingers along that smooth, tanned skin, all the way up to the side of her neck. “I’m just thinking of what dares might be in store for us.”

“I can handle any dare thrown my way,” she said boldly. “How about you?”

“Oh, absolutely.” He waved a hand toward the game items. “By all means, ladies first.”

She rolled the single red die, and the word Truth remained faceup. Deciding to go easy on Chloe for the first round, Aiden selected a wooden stick from the “mild” category.

He read the question out loud. “What is the reason why your last serious relationship ended?” Recalling their vague conversation on the plane about the guy she’d been dating, he acted on a hunch. “And I don’t think that guy I saw you with at the Executive Bar counts.”

Her body language stiffened slightly, enough to tell Aiden that she’d been about to go the easy and superficial route with her reply. “Why not?”

He met her gaze and held it directly, not at all put off by the defensive tone of her voice. “Because I get the impression that he was more of a temporary thing, than someone you’d been committed to.”

She glanced away, and when she hesitated, he knew he’d assumed correctly. She absently bit the corner of her lip and he was struck at how vulnerable she looked in that moment, an emotion he never would have equated with the strong, always self-assured Chloe, had he not witnessed it himself.

Clearly, she didn’t want to discuss her last serious relationship. But Aiden was suddenly intrigued and wanted to find out what had happened that had made her so guarded, and how her past experience had shaped her current views on relationships, as his own divorce had.

“Spill the truth, Reiss,” he said, adding just enough of a challenge to his voice that he knew she’d never back down from. “That’s the name of this game.”

Schooling her features into an indifferent expression, she shrugged her bared shoulder. “I broke up with Neil because he was a real a*shole.”

Aiden smirked. Okay, that was succinct, he thought, more curious than ever. But being an a*shole translated to many things, and she’d just avoided the truth of the matter with a vague reply. “You’re cheating,” he murmured as he swirled his red wine in his glass. “And I’ve never pegged you for someone who would skirt any issue.”

That bit of prompting made her chin jut out stubbornly, and he waited patiently to see which direction she decided to take this conversation—avoid it completely, or give him a glimpse of something personal, and clearly, painful for her.

“Obviously, Neil isn’t someone I like to talk about. If I could, I’d erase the eighteen months we were together.” She paused, as if deciding what she wanted to reveal, then spoke again. “I met him my junior year in college, and everything was fine our first year together, until we got engaged, and then he...changed.”

Aiden was very familiar with how people could change, how someone he’d trusted so implicitly could betray him so completely and leave him with devastating regrets that would haunt him for the rest of his life. He never, ever, wanted to be blindsided like that again.

So yeah, he understood that kind of deception, and was surprised that he and Chloe shared a very similar past. The revelation was unexpected, and made him feel a strange, emotional bond with her.

The waiter came by with their dinner salads, and once he was gone Aiden returned to their conversation. “How did he change?” he asked gently.

“At first, it was all very subtle and I didn’t even realize what he was doing,” she said as she pushed her lettuce leaves around on her plate before taking a small bite. “But little by little, he started controlling every aspect of my life. Since we were engaged, it seemed logical to me that we open joint checking and savings accounts together. He monitored everything, which I didn’t have a problem with until he started criticizing me for spending even a penny more over his budget, even if it was basic necessities that I needed. Yet he never had to account for anything. He obsessively checked my texts and emails, and accused me of sneaking around on him when he had no evidence. He caused problems at the ad agency where I was working, and alienated all my friends so I had no one left but him.”

The pain in Chloe’s gaze spoke volumes. “Neil also developed an explosive temper I’d never seen before. He was so certain I was having an affair with one of the guys at the office, that one night when I stayed late with Simon to finish up a campaign for the next day, Neil came to the office and physically assaulted the poor guy in front of my coworkers. A few days later, I was conveniently laid off.”

Her mouth flattened into a thin, bitter line. “In short, he turned into an a*shole. And I was so gullible and stupid I didn’t even see it coming until after he cost me my job at the agency.”

Instinctively, Aiden reached out and placed his hand over hers, giving it a comforting squeeze. “That doesn’t make you stupid, Chloe. Just trusting.”

“No, stupid,” she reiterated adamantly. “My mother has a history of hooking up with these same types of men, the kind that charm their way in, then take over everything. I saw it growing up, over and over again, and I swore I’d never let any man have that much control over my life... It’s kind of ironic though, the first guy I get really serious about ends up being a jerk who could have been handpicked by my mother.”

Finished with his salad, Aiden pushed his dish aside. “Where has your dad been in all this?”

A hint of sadness passed over her features. “He died in a motorcycle accident before I was born. I never had the chance to know him.”

“I’m sorry,” Aiden said, blown away by everything she’d just shared. “At least you found out about Neil’s tendencies before you married him.” Aiden hadn’t been that fortunate.

She stared at him as the waiter cleared their salad plates and set down their dinner dishes. Her expression turned contemplating, and he knew she was analyzing him now that she’d just laid herself bare emotionally.

“Why did you get divorced?” she asked as she picked up a piece of her salmon with her fork.

He took a bite of his steak. His rib eye was just the way he liked it—seared on the outside and medium rare inside. While he appreciated that Chloe had played the game fairly and had answered her question honestly, he didn’t want to add his own depressing story about his marriage and divorce to tonight’s conversation. And luckily, he had a legitimate excuse not to.

“I plead the fifth,” he said, and grinned at her. “The question about serious relationships was yours to answer, not mine.”

She wrinkled her cute little nose at him. “You suck, Landry.”

A teasing glimmer returned to her eyes and he chuckled. “Yeah, I do suck,” he said, purposely using the playful innuendo to lighten up their exchange. “Are you sure you want to have that discussion?”

“I’m sure it would be a far more enjoyable conversation than the one we just had,” she grumbled beneath her breath.

So, she was still holding a little bit of a grudge that she’d gotten the short end of the stick—so to speak—even though the very personal question had been selected randomly. “Isn’t that what this matchmaking resort, and these games we’re playing, are all about?” he asked, looking at the experience as the advertising executive he was. “Meeting someone you’re compatible with and having deep, meaningful discussions that dig deeper than all that superficial stuff that doesn’t matter when it comes to developing a long-term relationship?”

She arched a brow and pointed her fork at him. “If you’ll remember correctly, we weren’t originally wearing matching wristbands. So technically, you and I aren’t compatible, no matter what Hattie and that silly flower indicated today. So it really wasn’t necessary for me to give you all the details of my dysfunctional past with Neil, and my mother.”

He couldn’t argue her point, but he didn’t regret pulling that particular question, or hearing her answer. Listening to her story gave him a whole new perspective on her strong-willed personality. Beneath her driven and focused attitude was a woman who’d been emotionally manipulated by a man she’d trusted, and now she channeled all her energy and passion into the one thing she could control—her career.

Yes, he now had a greater understanding of where her motivation to succeed came from, but it didn’t change the fact that her single-minded determination, to the exclusion of everything else in her life, made Chloe the exact kind of woman he’d never get involved with on an emotional level.

His physical attraction to her, however, was beginning to be a whole different issue.

“I know we probably have different views on fundamental and personal matters,” he said as he cut off another slice of steak, “but that hot kiss on the plane, and again this afternoon during charades, is more than enough proof that we’d be a perfect match in other ways.”

A sensual, knowing smile tipped up her lips. “Well, sexual chemistry wears off, and then you’re left with everything that doesn’t work in a long-term relationship.”

He held her gaze, deliberate and direct with his reply. “Who said anything about long-term?”

Her eyes widened ever so slightly, a little bit shocked at his blatant overture. Yeah, he went there. Put into words what they’d both been sidestepping since the day they’d started working together at Perry & Associates. He wasn’t alone in this attraction, and being on this secluded tropical island, their desire for one another was at an all-time high, making the situation ripe for a hot, no-holds-barred tryst.

He’d just issued a subtle invitation, but by the end of the evening there would be no doubt in Chloe’s mind exactly what he wanted—a steamy, lust-fueled night of sex with her.

With that decision made, he picked up the die and rolled for his turn. The word Truth remained faceup and he watched a slow, tempting smile curve the corners of her mouth. He was certain things were about to get very interesting, since she’d be selecting one of the wooden sticks.

Would she keep things modest as he had, or go for something more extreme?

* * *

CHLOE LOOKED FROM Aiden to the game containers on the table, quietly contemplating which category she’d choose—mild or wild. Her mind was still reeling after the very personal discussion they’d had...all because Aiden had picked a more reserved question. Considering she was still dealing with the churning in the pit of her stomach that always accompanied thoughts of her relationship with Neil, Chloe was ready to go the spontaneous and fun route to alleviate the tension of everything she’d just revealed to Aiden.

Besides, his insinuation of an affair had completely changed the tone of the game and gave the atmosphere between them a seductive vibe, and that was definitely the path in which she wanted to continue this soiree.

She waited a few seconds while their waiter whisked away their finished dinner plates, then selected a wooden stick from the wild container. She felt her face flame as she silently read the very risqué question, and knew that Aiden was definitely going to enjoy answering this one.

“If I was a type of fruit, what would I be and how would you eat me?”

Pure, unadulterated wickedness was the only word to describe the grin on Aiden’s lips. “That’s easy. You’d be a ripe, juicy peach,” he said in a low, throaty sound that hypnotized her. “And you’d be so good to eat. I’d open you up with my thumbs and catch all that sweet nectar on my tongue, and suck gently on the soft center of your core until my entire mouth is filled with the taste of you.”

Holy crap. The look in his eyes was so freakin’ hot, and combined with that erotic description of him eating her as a peach, well, she felt breathless and thoroughly aroused. Beneath the table, she crossed her legs as a steady, throbbing sensation settled between her thighs, but the pressure only increased that agonizing need he’d just inflicted upon her. To be touched, stroked, sucked...

“Your turn,” he said, as if he hadn’t just filled her mind with such provocative, unforgettable, erotic images.

She reached for the die and gave it a light toss across the table. The first Dare presented itself, and Aiden didn’t hesitate in plucking one of the sticks from the wild category. Chloe swallowed hard and prepared herself for an outrageous challenge.

Aiden smirked as he divulged the adventure he’d selected for her. “Pick up a stemmed Maraschino cherry with your lips. Feed the cherry to your partner using only your mouth, then tie the cherry stem using only your tongue. No hands allowed.”

“No problem,” she said, prepared to dazzle Aiden with her skills in tying a cherry stem with her tongue. Who would have thought that a silly talent she’d perfected as a teenager would come in handy one day?

He motioned to their waiter and asked for a few stemmed cherries. While the other man headed off in the direction of the bar, Chloe glanced around at all the other nearby tables. Everyone was having fun playing the truth-or-dare game. The groups of singles were laughing and cheering their teammates on, and the couples who sat alone like her and Aiden were either engrossed in a truthful conversation, or doing equally intimate dares with their partners.

The waiter returned and set a small plate with three Maraschino cherries in the middle of the table, and at the same time delivered their desserts—a slice of cheesecake drizzled with a rich-looking caramel sauce. Chloe was tempted to take a bite, but not until she finished executing her dare.

Folding her hands securely in her lap, she glanced from the dish, to Aiden. “Since I can’t use my hands, you’ll have to feed me one of the cherries to get me started.”

More than happy to accommodate her, he picked up a cherry by the stem and dropped it into her waiting mouth. First, she had to transfer the actual cherry to Aiden, and in order to do so she needed his lips on hers.

Tucking the piece of fruit against the inside of her cheek, she crooked a beckoning finger at him. “Come closer,” she cajoled sweetly, and when he did as she asked, she framed his face in her hands and brought his mouth to hers. “The cherry is for you, but first, you’ll have to find it.”

She could have kept things chaste and pushed the cherry immediately into his mouth, but this evening wasn’t about playing it safe. Not any longer. She kissed him, her lips parting to invite him inside. His tongue glided along hers as they played hide-and-seek with the piece of fruit and she let him chase the treat until she was ready to end the playfully hot kiss. Finally, his tongue curled around the cherry and he drew it into his mouth. She clamped down on the end of the stem between her teeth, allowing him to bite off the Maraschino to enjoy.

While she went to work on the second part of her task, he chewed and swallowed the cherry, then grinned like a rogue. “Not quite as good as eating a peach,” he said meaningfully.

Oh, he was so bad. A slow burn blossomed in her belly, and spread lower...to the exact part of her he associated with a ripe, juicy peach. With seductive eyes, he continued watching her as she manipulated the stem with her teeth, lips and tongue. Less than a minute later, she presented him with the cherry stem, now with a tight knot in the middle.

“Voila!” she said, proud of her accomplishment.

Amusement etched his gorgeous features. “Very impressive.”

She laughed huskily and gave him something else to consider and mentally fantasize about. “My tongue is quite talented and can do all kinds of neat tricks.”

“I’ll just bet it can,” he murmured, and rolled the die she’d nudged toward him since it was his turn, which landed on another Dare.

Feeling bolder and more brazen with each scene they completed, she went straight for a wild adventure. Anticipation spread throughout her entire body as she read his challenge. “Suck on your partner’s finger for one full minute.”

With a slow, shameless smile that ramped up her awareness of what he was about to do, he gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand toward him...and unexpectedly dragged the tip of her finger through the sticky caramel sauce on his dessert plate. The impulsive move startled her, but not as much as the wet heat of his mouth as he gradually pulled her index finger all...the...way...in.

Her breath hitched in her throat, then released in a low, sensual moan as he leisurely sucked the caramel off her finger, his gaze so dark and smoldering she knew what it was like to melt from the inside out. His tongue was as soft as velvet along her skin, and the scrape of his teeth added a sharp, erotic edge of pleasure that made her shift in her chair. With excruciating thoroughness, he licked his way all the way to the tip, then drew the digit deep once again.

Her eyes rolled back, and she bit her bottom lip to hold in another groan. She felt that suctioning pull on her nipples, which peaked into tight, hard pebbles against her top. And when he flicked his tongue along the sensitive skin between her fingers, it was as though he somehow had a direct link to her sex and had just stroked his tongue deep between the moist folds of flesh between her thighs. She had the vague thought that if he kept this up, she was going to end up climbing onto his lap right here and now and demand satisfaction.

Abruptly, he stopped and let go of her hand, jarring her back to reality and the fact that they were in a room full of people. But the hungry look in his eyes told her that he was just as affected as she was. The air between them was fueled with sexual tension, and she needed an orgasm so badly, she was close to begging for it.

Finished playing it safe, she decided to do exactly that. “Aiden—”

He pressed two fingers against her lips and shook his head to stop her words, clearly wanting to be the one to take the lead. “I have one final dare for you, Chloe,” he said, his voice low, gruff and just aggressive enough to pique her interest. “I want you. My room. My way. All night long.”

She shivered, the promise of pleasure and ecstasy implicit in his proposition. Her answer came without any hesitation whatsoever. “Yes.”