He moved around a stack of boxes. "Enjoying the scenery."
She flushed red. "Right." Dry, amused, she adjusted her skirt. Then she frowned, glancing at the clock. "I thought you said dinner."
He shrugged like a bashful boy. "I have to cancel." He actually liked the disappointment in her eyes. "But I've come to renegotiate," he said, moving to her side and peering in the box. He smiled at her, wiggling his brows. "Nice," he said, then bent and lifted out the sexiest scrap of lingerie he'd ever seen. It was a white eyelet lace bra and panties, delicate, innocently transparent. He looked her over, thoroughly, suggestively, and she knew he was trying to picture her in the set.
"Forget it, Madison," she said, snatching it back. "I could barely get a thigh in this thing." She tossed it on a stack of others in various colors. "You mentioned negotiations?"
"I have a business dinner, very dull." His expression was suddenly hopeful. "Unless, of course, you'd like to come along?"
"With your business associates? I don't think so."
"Yeah, I figured that much."
She folded her arms over her tummy. "What's the deal?"
Glad she hadn't totally dismissed the idea of spending time with him, he reached out and brushed her hair off her shoulder, his gaze lingering over the lacy white blouse and long pink vest. The hint of more lace taunted him from the shadows of the blouse. He wanted to peel away every expensive layer, slowly.
"Come with me now."
She arched a brow, his feathery touch driving through her like streaks of heat.
"What do you say?"
"I can't. I have work to do." She waved at the cluttered storeroom.
"So do I, but it's lunchtime and Dana said you haven't taken a break all morning."
"Dana needs to keep her mouth shut."
"Just go for it, Tessa." He moved closer, dangerously close, and slid his arms around her waist. "Drop everything and come with me. Now."
She pried his hands free and stepped away. He was getting too comfortable. All last night she'd relived his kisses, the warmth and strength in his touch. And Tessa knew, the more he touched her, the weaker she'd get. He only wants the baby, she reminded herself.
"You're assuming a lot, Chase," she said in a guarded voice.
"I assume nothing but this." He reached and caught her against him, instantly covering her mouth with his. Her resistance lasted seconds and her answer nearly undid him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her mouth grinding against his, her fingers plowing into his hair. Her body arched to him and when she couldn't get close enough, she moaned with frustration. Then he shifted and she did feel him, the masculine hardness pressing to her hip, telling her the truth, telling her that she excited him as much as he did her.
His back braced against a high table, his broad hands smoothed over her back as his mouth moved over hers, thick and heavy with desire. He shaped her hips, the curve of her buttocks, his fingers grazing the skin of her thighs. He felt the lacy tops of her stockings, the kind without garters, and the image drove through his brain like a shaft of steel. God, he wanted her. Now. Right now.
"Tessa, ah, angel," he said against the flesh of her throat, leaving a trail of kisses. "Don't you see? Can't you feel this?"
Tessa tried to talk, but all that came out was a strangled "Yes." Reality was hard to face. He was right. And she loved, how she loved that he desired her, even in her present condition. Then he kissed her again, lush and deep, and her hands explored the width of his chest, the flatness of his stomach hidden beneath the green banded-collar shirt. His muscles jumped to her touch and, against his lips, she smiled.
"I want you," he breathed into her mouth. He insinuated his knee between her thighs, settling his hands on her buttocks and drawing her along the length of his leg, and she gasped, dropping her head back and clutching his shoulders.
The warmth of her sex seared him.
She wanted to be closer. He bent and rubbed his mouth against the hollow of her throat, his lips nudging the fabric aside. When he touched the sensitive swells of her breasts, Tessa thought she'd liquefy onto the floor.
"Chase. Oh, Chase." She was extrasensitive to his touch, to her reactions, and knew him for a special sort of man when his hand caressed over her belly as if it were flat and smooth. Then it drove lower, his rough palm sliding down her thigh, then back up, beneath the skirt.
And Tessa let him, her body clamoring with a thousand tingling sensations, her mind conjuring erotic images of him pushing her skirt up and making love to her right there.
Then he did, hooking his knee inside hers and spreading her. His palm covered her womanhood, a possessive claim, and Tessa's body exploded with moisture. He dragged his fingertip up the length of her panties to the edge, feeling the heat and dampness.