Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chase
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“You really have dessert here?” she asked the second we entered the loft.
"Obviously. Why would I say that if it wasn't true?”
“I don’t know. You wanted to lure me back earlier for some sexy time?"
"I always wanted to do that, but I wouldn't lie to get it."
"That's right," I said. "You wouldn't."
We headed straight to the kitchen. I opened the fridge and took out dessert.
"You found baklava," she gushed.
"Yes. It has nuts,” I told her. “And tons of honey."
She licked her lips, then shimmied her shoulders and her hips. This woman did things to me no other had come close to.
She opened the box and started eating right over it.
"Plate?" I asked in a teasing tone.
"Oops." She dropped the honey on her wrist and on the back of her other hand. "Let me clean this up."
"I'll do it for you.” I licked her wrist, and she sucked in a breath.
This gave me an idea.
I took the box and said, "Let's go to the couch."
"Why?"
I kept my voice neutral. "So we can sit down."
She grabbed two plates, though we wouldn’t be needing them—at least, I wouldn’t. I’d eat off her and then eat her out.
When we were in front of the couch, I stopped her from sitting down by putting an arm around her waist from behind. I spoke into her ear. "Take off your clothes."
"Now?" she whispered, then started trembling lightly.
"Yes."
She put the plates down, and I set the box on the coffee table. Then she grabbed the hem of her dress and pulled it over her head.
"Now turn around and lie down on the couch. Actually, on the ottoman. That's better."
The ottoman was large enough that she could lie down on her back. Her ass was at the edge of it, her feet on the floor.
"So, what's your big plan?"
I took the box with the baklava and held one above her. A few drops of honey landed on her stomach. Then I put the treat down and covered her stomach with my mouth, licking her clean.
“I love this,” she murmured.
I moved my mouth downward. Grabbing the outer edges of her panties, I tugged them past her knees and down her ankles, then parted her thighs wide and held the baklava over her pussy. A few drops of honey landed on her clit. Hannah gasped, so turned on that even the slight touch of the honey taunted her.
I didn't put my mouth straight on her. Instead, I put the sweets away and leaned over her, taking off her bra.
"You look so damn exquisite." Half her hair was splayed around the ottoman, the other half bunched under one shoulder blade.
I trailed my mouth down the side of her neck, then kissed down her torso in a crisscrossing pattern so she wouldn't know where I would land next. She arched her back on every kiss. I put a hand on her thigh and felt her wiggling her ass, smiling against her skin and slowing my pace as I moved inward over her pelvis. Then I went tortuously slowly toward her clit.
She grasped the edges of the ottoman with both hands, planting her heels against the hard floor.
Eyes on her face, I descended. I tasted her clit with the tip of my tongue first, and she went completely wild. Her hips bucked off the ottoman, and she put one hand on her stomach, digging her nails in.
"Don't hurt yourself. Squeeze my fingers if you need to."
"Fuck yes, I do," she exclaimed.
She sounded raw and unrestrained. I loved that I could make her lose her composure so fast. She was losing control of her own body right in front of my eyes. All because of me.
I clamped my lips on her clit.
"Chase!" She lifted her ass in the air.
I grabbed her thighs, putting them on my shoulders. This gave me exactly the angle I wanted. She was completely at my mercy. She blinked her eyes open, filled with lust and desire.
Something tickled my back, and I realized her panties were still dangling around one ankle. For some reason, this turned me on even more.
I buried my face in her pussy, working her with my tongue and lips until she was begging for relief. She craved it, and I was going to give it to her... but only when she couldn't take any more tension.
I slid one finger inside her and pressed the heel of my palm right next to her clit, but not on it. Then I sucked her clit into my mouth.
Feeling her explode was the best damn thing in the world. It was a privilege. She clenched her thighs around my ears, and I felt every vibration in her body. When she softened, I slowly put her feet back on the floor.
I grabbed her panties and tossed them away in the room as she pushed herself off the ottoman and rose to her knees, facing me. She put her hands on my shirt collar, grinning.
“I can rumple this all I want!” she said.
“Yes, you can, babe.”
I got naked in record time.
"We are so not making it to the bedroom, are we?"
"Not right now," I whispered, lowering her to the carpet. I cupped her face, feathering my lips over hers. I wanted to savor this moment. I needed it. I knew once I was buried inside her, I wouldn't be capable of slowing down.
"You're shaking," I told her.
"Mmm" was all she managed. She couldn't even say a word, let alone form sentences. I wanted her exactly like this, delirious for me.
I slid inside her inch by inch. She clenched around my cock every time I pushed in farther. This feeling! I never wanted to be without it. It was exhilarating. She completed me in a way I couldn't explain.
I slid my hips back and forth at a slow pace. I enjoyed feeling her tighten on every thrust. Her moans became wilder. So were my grunts.
Needing more friction, I rolled us around until I was on top of her and pushed my pelvis forward.
"Fuck," I exclaimed, burying myself so deep inside her that I could barely breathe past the pleasure.
“Chase!” she murmured.
I stilled as our surroundings came into focus again. Fucking hell. I had to move her to a softer surface because I was going to go hard. I lifted her off the floor, moving toward the couch.
"We do like couches, don't we?" She grinned, and I kissed the tip of her nose.
I put her on the wider part of the couch and climbed back on top of her again. Now there was no going slow anymore. I pounded hard and relentlessly fast. Our bodies were perfectly in sync. She needed this just as hard as I did, just as savage. She rolled her hips, meeting every thrust with fervor.
The second she went over the edge, I was right there with her, groaning into her shoulder. I wanted her to know exactly what she did to me. I rolled my hips forward, but my body was moving of its own accord; I wasn't even aware of what I was doing anymore, only coming to my senses when my pulse slowed down.
Hannah was looking at me with a grin. She lifted her head, kissing my Adam's apple.
"This was delicious," she murmured.
I kissed her neck, making her laugh. "I know."
"Then I was right," she said as we both came down.
“About?”
“Using dessert as an excuse to lure me home earlier.”
I moved off the couch, pulling her up with me, then grabbed the box with baklava off the floor and brought it to the kitchen counter.
"I didn't plan it that way, but you know, one thing led to another."
"Hmm, really? You saw honey and thought, 'I could eat that off Hannah'?"
I tilted my head. "Exactly. Better yet, I thought I’d eat the honey, then you.”
A light blush crept onto her cheeks. After everything, she was embarrassed?
She looked over her shoulder and said, "I want to clean up. And then I’ll eat all the baklava."
"It's for both of us," I said, even though I didn't particularly care if I ate any of it.
"You had three drops of honey. That's enough for you."
I palmed her ass cheek, kneading it. "Damn right it was."
I came out of the bathroom right away. Hannah needed longer because she washed her hair. When I went back to the kitchen, I poured orange juice for each of us. Tempted by the baklava on the counter, I took a bite, chewing and then swallowing it.
"Hey, I thought that was all mine," Hannah said unexpectedly.
"I couldn't resist."
I turned around and then practically swallowed my tongue. Her hair was wet. It wasn't dripping, so she'd probably towel-dried it. It was wavier than usual, and it looked delicious on her.
She came around the kitchen counter, immediately shoving the remaining baklava in her mouth. Both her cheeks were full.
Damn, she's adorable.
She put her hand on my left shoulder blade, rolling my shoulder back. "You're still tense, aren't you?"
"I can't seem to get rid of the knot."
"Not even an orgasm helped," she muttered.
"But maybe a second one will."
She wiggled her eyebrows, opening her robe so I had a peek at her pussy. I turned semihard instantly. She had the remote to my body, and no matter what button she pressed, I got hard.
"Are you worried about the commission?" she asked.
"It's never a pleasure when they come knocking at your door, but I've got enough going on without bothering with that. It'll only be a bother if it truly turns out to be an issue."
She nodded. "That's smart." But she was fiddling with her thumbs.
"It makes you nervous," I realized.
She nodded again, putting both hands on my chest, and said, "I don't want anything happening to you. To the company either, but specifically not to you."
I wasn't used to someone wanting to protect me. My brothers and I watched one another's backs, but this was different.
“I’m ready to fight whoever comes after you.” Her tone was lighthearted, but something told me she wasn’t joking.
I ran my thumb over her jaw. "There's no fighting involved. But you can use all your skills to help me relax. You can definitely put an orgasm on the list." I smirked.
She giggled. “Will do.”
I didn't want her to worry about me. It was my job to protect her .
“By the way,” she said, “now that I’m a bit more sober, I realized I forgot to tell you something. I got a message from an investor who's interested in the inn.”
“That’s great. Who is it?”
“No one you’d know. Their name is Boutique Relax Inc. I couldn’t find much about it.”
Because I didn’t want her to. Knox and Finn had moved extremely fast. I was in their debt.
Did I feel guilty about straight-up lying to Hannah? Sure. I'd come to the conclusion that one day I would fess up, because I didn't want us to have any secrets, let alone flat-out lies between us. But right now, I simply wanted her to feel at ease and to get the inn repaired.
"I'm taking my time with the research," she continued. "I don't want to rush into anything, but I can see this happening. I wish I could put a face to the name, though."
Yeah, I was sure she did, but it was impossible. “Sometimes it’s better to keep things impersonal.”
“True, but you know I do things differently.”
“If it helps, I can look into them and vet the company.”
She smiled. “That would be amazing. Things are finally starting to look up for me."
She rose on her tiptoes, kissing my right shoulder and then the left one. "Actually, I think you've made my luck better. Ever since I met you, things turned around a bit."
I felt guilty as hell right then. I'd been up front about the job thing, but this was nagging at me. With effort, I pushed the itch to the back of my mind. I'd accepted that I was going to tell her one day, preferably after she signed the papers and saved her business, and we'd see where that got me.
"I think Gran would be so happy if she knew I'm keeping her inn." Her voice was warm and joyful. “I feel closer to her when we're there."
"Want us to head over there right now?"
She jerked her head back. "No, don't tempt me. The whole place is a mess. But I can't wait to finally get the funds for repairs. I’ll probably head there often.”
"I'll come with you."
She narrowed her eyes. "Why? Are you afraid I'm going to step on something and twist my ankle?"
"Something like that. I just want to be with you. You always light up when you talk about that place, and even more so when you're there."
She twisted her hips, then pressed herself against me. "I do. I can't believe you noticed that about me."
"I notice every detail when it comes to you."
She snorted. "I mean, you are known for your eidetic memory."
I kissed the side of her head. "It doesn't work like that,” I murmured in her ear. “It's not a conscious thing about you. It's a feeling. And frankly, I never thought it existed."
"What?"
I pulled back a bit, watching her intently. "I'm in love with you, Hannah."
She jumped back, eyes wide. Her grin was huge. "Wait, you're serious?"
I frowned. "Of course. Why would I say that if I wasn’t?"
"Because you gave me a long-ass speech about how you didn't believe in love back at the wedding.”
"I'm sure it wasn't that long," I said.
"Well, it felt that way." Still grinning, she stepped in front of me, rising on her tiptoes. I realized she wanted to whisper something in my ear, so I bent slightly. "I'll tell you a secret. I'm in love with you too."
I kissed one corner of her mouth and then the other one before confessing, "I've never heard that before.”
She toned her grin down to a smile. “I’ll say it very often, then. I love you. I love you. I love you."
Something twisted inside me. This felt good. Right. How was I such a lucky bastard? How did I find this amazing woman who felt the exact same way about me?
I kissed her shoulder and then up the side of her neck.
She sank against me. "Hmm... this kiss is different. It tells me that you want me to say it a few hundred times more."
"You've read my mind."