She moved instinctively against his hand, seeking the pleasure he offered without protest. She even forgot her inhibitions about making love outside the bedroom. All she knew was the feel of his body against hers and how she desperately needed him to finish what he’d started.
His skillful fingers took her to the edge of sanity and sent her plunging over the side. Light and color exploded behind her closed eyelids. An incredible feeling rocked her body. In her year and a half married to Phillip, she hadn’t experienced a single orgasm. She’d secretly thought she was incapable of reaching that pinnacle of pleasure.
Now her heart thundered, and she tried in vain to catch her breath. As the crazy sensations subsided, her thoughts began to return to normal. It was then that he united their bodies with one swift movement. She’d expected pain or awkwardness, but it felt like he belonged inside of her, like he was the missing half she’d been searching for her entire life.
Tears filled her eyes at the beauty and the sadness of it all. She weakly thumped her fists against his back. Her heart screamed in denial. It wasn’t possible. Phillip was the love of her life, not Chase. She was betraying Phillip with her thoughts... and with her body.
Chase began to move, thrusting against her with growing abandon, and her thoughts fled again. She stopped thinking and held on tight. Her fingers grasped his muscular arms. As impossible as it seemed, she felt herself racing to the finish line again. Her entire body turned into a lit stick of dynamite and exploded a second time.
She bit her lower lip to keep from screaming.
“Don’t do that,” he said with a growl. Breathing hard, he rasped against her ear. “Don’t hold it in. I want to hear you.”
He lifted her off the cabinet and walked to the sofa. Going down, he gently set her on the cushions with their bodies still fully connected. She wrapped her legs around him and used her muscles to try to bring him closer.
He grunted in her ear and stiffened before collapsing on top of her. His mouth settled near her ear. Gasping, he said, “You are amazing.”
All her doubts, inhibitions, and guilt hit her like an avalanche. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she had given a piece of herself to Chase that she’d held back from Phillip. She had shared something significant with her boss, her husband of convenience that she hadn’t known existed until now.
“Get off me.” She pushed against his bare chest, a wave of panic overtaking her. “Get off!”
Chase quickly moved to the side so she could bolt to her feet. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Did I hurt you?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. We fulfilled the contract and had sex. There was nothing in it about cuddling afterward. I’m tired, and I’m going to bed. Alone.”
She hurried to the bathroom, locked the door, and took a shower. Her hot tears mingled with the warm water. Her body shook as tremors ripped through her. What had she done? Guilt plagued her, and she wondered what Phillip would think. She had betrayed him, not in the act of sex. That was nothing. But she had betrayed him with the deepest part of her soul by letting another man touch a part of her that was only meant for him.
Chapter Five
She woke to the smell of freshly brewed coffee. Smiling, she stretched her limbs and arched her back beneath the cool sheet. The mattress felt odd, different from the one she usually slept on. And why was she sore? She searched her brain for her last clear memory.
Her eyes popped open wide, and she bolted upright in bed. Relief flooded her system when she remembered she’d gone to sleep alone. The things they’d done last night had felt so right at the time. Now she wanted to bury her face in a pillow and scream. How could she betray Phillip’s memory so easily?
She reminded herself she’d only slept with Chase as part of a deal. They had a contract. It was hardly the romance of the century. But she’d been on the verge of sharing more than her body last night; she had come close to opening her heart to someone she barely knew.
She turned her head and caught sight of a cup on the night table. Steam swirled and looped on its way up in an attempt to reach the ceiling. She grabbed it with both hands, desperate for the caffeine. Still hot. Chase must have just left it for her. That meant he was somewhere in the hotel suite. After taking a large gulp and burning her tongue, she got dressed in a hurry. There were a few things she wanted to say to him before he got any ideas. She felt the need to be fully-dressed for the conversation ahead.
In casual attire, Chase sat at the table on the balcony reading the newspaper. She couldn’t remember seeing him in jeans and a t-shirt before. He looked good, relaxed, and sexy as hell. His hair hadn’t seen a comb yet that morning, and it didn’t look perfect for once. The sight of his rumpled mane made her fingers itch more than ever to bury themselves in the thick strands.
Her mouth went dry.
Her appetite disappeared as her stomach muscles tightened.
He glanced up, and there wasn’t a flicker of recognition in his eyes over last night’s events. Even though he wasn’t wearing one of his custom-made suits he was in total business mode. “Take a seat,” he said. “We need to go over a few things.”
“Such as?”
She poured a second hot cup of coffee from the pot for herself before sitting in the available chair. Now that she knew he wasn’t going to initiate sex first thing in the morning or make her talk about last night, her hunger returned. She scooped scrambled eggs onto her plate and grabbed two bacon slices.
After she was settled and digging into her food with a voracious appetite Chase tossed his newspaper onto the table. “I need to tell you what to expect from my family at the board meeting this coming week.”
“Board meeting?”
They had meetings every other Wednesday, but she’d never been invited to one. Stockholders only. It was a private company, family owned, and the only non-family member on the board was Reginald Jacob.
Chase leaned back in his chair. “The second you married me you became a stockholder. My mother will sign over ten percent to you at the board meeting, and then you’ll be able to vote.”
“You have forty percent of the stock, right?”