“Still clumsy,” he said. “And as adorable as always.”
“Or maybe you have me flustered.” Flustered was putting it mildly—I was overcome. My level of desire had sped off the charts, like he’d floored the gas pedal and cut the brakes at the same time. It hadn’t been long, but being without him was torture.
“That’s the goal.” With his hands spanning my waist, he squeezed me, his tone teasing. “Without the falling down part, that is.”
With another, more careful step, we reached the top of the staircase, and Chase steered me toward his bedroom, then slammed the door behind us. He tugged my soft pink sweater over my head and tossed it aside, then spun me around. My shoulders hit the bedroom door, and I drew in a breath as its cool surface pressed against my skin.
“Got a thing for doors, Carter?” I peered up at him, biting back a smile. “There’s a bit of a theme going on here. Car doors, bedroom doors…”
He grinned. “I can’t help it if they’re the perfect thing to pin you against.”
The air was pulled from my lungs as his lips crashed down on mine again. He kissed me like it was the first time, like it was the last time, like we were the only people in existence. I lost myself in him, my yearning intensifying with every sweep of his tongue.
He crushed me against the door with his broad frame, curving his hands down the small of my back and splaying them to grip me roughly from behind. With my palms under the hem of his black T-shirt, I soaked up the heat of his smooth skin. Now that I had my hands on him, I couldn’t stop touching. I was making up for lost time, my fingertips greedily mapping every inch of firm muscle. He was solid under my touch, heavy and immovable.
Still pressed against me, he nimbly unfastened my jeans, then took a step back only to peel them down past my hips, leaving me in nothing but a pale yellow lace bralette and panty set. The bralette had thin straps and plunged to a deep V in the front, and the underwear was little more than a flimsy scrap of fabric.
“Fuck me,” he murmured, more to himself than to me. His gaze flicked back up to meet mine, his mouth tugging into a wolfish smile. “Is this new?”
With his fingertips, he traced my hipbone, skimming beneath the delicate material. Goose bumps popped up in the wake of his touch, my body crying out for his hands to move lower.
“Sure is.” I’d bought the set two weeks before, and it had sat in my drawer waiting to be put to good use. A few days ago, I wasn’t sure it ever would be. I’d never been so happy to be wrong.
Chase let out a low rumble of approval, his attention lingering on my body. “It’s hot.”
He walked his fingers up my stomach, stopping momentarily at the band of my bra, then continuing higher. With my nipples between his thumbs and index fingers, he pinched them gently through the pale yellow fabric. They hardened beneath his touch, the need growing between my legs. All his attention—and he knew exactly how to work me—had me two seconds away from melting into a puddle.
“This too.” He slid the straps of the bralette off my shoulders. “Very sexy. Going to look great on my floor.” He slid his hand behind my back and unfastened the clasp, then let it fall to my feet. With both hands, he skimmed the sides of my ribcage and palmed my bare breasts. “God, you’re so perfect.”
With a hand behind my back, he turned us around and took a few steps, then eased me onto his bed. He placed a soft kiss on my lips before standing up and relieving himself of his clothing.
I swallowed and scanned his body leisurely, marveling at every sculpted inch of mouth-watering perfection. Planes of muscle beneath smooth, perfect skin. V-shaped indents in his torso that I wanted to sink my teeth into. And a light trail of hair leading to the waistband of his black boxer briefs, which barely contained his erection. Liquid heat pooled between my legs, my impatience growing by the second.
Chase cocked a brow, his lips forming a smirk. “Are you checking me out, James?”
Checking out, ogling, gawking, in giddy disbelief that he was mine. Same thing.
“Absolutely.” My voice was breathy.
He kneeled on the bed, the mattress dipping beneath his weight. Once he’d settled between my legs, he hovered over me, his muscular arms fencing me in. His fresh, clean fragrance invaded my senses, comforting me and stoking the inferno within me all at once. I’d never felt so crazed and so calm at the same time.
Chase tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “I missed you, baby.”
“I missed you more.”
The days we’d spent apart felt like an eternity—likely because I was scared it would be an actual eternity. Thinking back on it made my heart ache all over again, even with him here on top of me.
“Impossible,” he murmured, planting a kiss below my ear. Goose bumps formed on my upper arms in response. He dragged his lips down my skin and landed on my collarbone, placing another soft kiss. “I’m sorry I was in a bad mood earlier.”
My heart tugged. After what he’d been through, apologizing was the last thing he needed to do.
“Don’t apologize. There’s a lot going on,” I said. “I understand.”
“Good news is, I feel better now.” He curled his fingers around the waistband of my underwear and slowly dragged them down. I lifted my hips slightly, helping him pull them off, and he set them aside.
“Because you’ve got me naked?” I whispered.
He pulled himself upright and kneeled before me, his eyes blazing a path down my body. “Because I’m with you.”
Our gazes met, and his expression turned tender, his lips tugging into a smile.
Despite how exhausted I was after the past few days—and how tired I looked, based on what I saw in the bathroom mirror earlier—I felt beautiful because of the way he was looking at me. Because of the way always looked at me.
Reverently.
Chase grabbed the backs of my thighs, pulling me down so I was wrapped even more tightly around his body. The only thing separating us was the single layer of his boxer briefs. Once upon a time, I would have felt self-conscious, exposed. But right now, all I felt was wanted in the best possible way.
He nuzzled my neck and drew in a slow, indulgent inhale. “Have you noticed that we fit together perfectly?”
I pressed back against the pillow and sank my fingers into his silky hair, tugging gently. He hummed quietly in response, a smile breaking out against the skin over my clavicle.
“Mm-hmm.” I nodded. “Almost like it’s a sign.”
“Oh, it’s definitely a sign.”
Chase clasped my hands in his and guided them over my head. Strong fingers handcuffed my wrists, pinning my hands to the mattress. I wriggled against his grip in mock resistance, but he didn’t give an inch.
“Red?” He eyed me, expression playful.
“Green.”
He leaned closer, and our lips came together again in a brief, chaste kiss.
“Bright green,” I added, lifting up an inch and kissing him again. “Or dark green. Whatever the greenest green is.”
Chase huffed a low, husky laugh, but then he furrowed his brow, his expression going serious. Shifting his weight, he dropped his chin and let out a cross between a growl and a sigh.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. At all.” He shook his head and peered up at me, flashing me an utterly devastating smile. “Just have some conflicting feelings.”
“Why?”
Chase pulled my hand up to his lips, kissing my fingertips. “Because on the one hand, I want to take my time with you.” He grinned, sinking the softest of bites into my index finger. “But I also want to bend you over and fuck you into the mattress.”
I could see his dilemma—both of those options sounded highly appealing. Part of me wanted him to go slow, to be loving and gentle. The other part wanted to be claimed, taken, his.
“I vote both.”
“Yeah?” His eyes danced.
“Yeah.” My voice turned breathy. “Definitely both.”