for an outside jog. His hair was a mess, his eyes bloodshot, though I was getting used to Exhausted Chase. It was somehow even sexier than Regular Chase.
Our gazes tangled in the unlit hallway.
His eyes dragged to Ethan’s door, then back to mine. He popped an eyebrow in question. I shook my head. A barely visible gesture.
Nothing happened.
He caught it. His throat bobbed. A bubble of excitement swelled in my chest.
Beat.
Swelling.
Beat.
Swelling.
Beat.
The bubble popped when Chase pounced on me, his lips crashing down on mine with hunger that stunned me. There was nothing calculated, cold, or in control about that kiss. My back slammed against the wall with a loud thud, but I couldn’t feel anything other than his tongue invading my mouth and his hands climbing up my thighs under my chemise, tracing the outline of my panties teasingly. When he found the wet patch of fabric at the center of my panties, he groaned into our kiss, squeezing his eyes shut as if experiencing something painful.
I snaked a hand between us and did what I’d wanted to do for weeks. Ran my fingers along his rock-hard abs, fingering the coarse happy trail of hair under his belly button until I found the outline of the part of him I’d always missed and never hated.
Chase grabbed my ass and hoisted me up so my legs wrapped around his waist while I was propped against the wall. He captured my jaw, extending my neck to kiss me more deeply. No. What we were doing wasn’t kissing. He fucked my mouth ruthlessly, and I clenched against nothing, feeling my thighs locking in on his narrow waist with need.
“Bed,” I groaned into our kiss.
“Not gonna try to talk you out of it,” he groaned, his lips still not disconnecting from mine as he carried me back to his room and kicked the door shut. He was still kissing me when he toed his sneakers off. Then his lips dragged down my neck as he lowered me onto his bed, which was full of delicious Chase smell—of pine and rain and a dark forest where magical things happened. I felt so unexpectedly content that happy tears clung to my lashes.
“Chase,” I moaned.
His hands ran up the sides of my thighs, hitching the thin fabric of my chemise up. His fingers danced on my skin—was he shaking?—with barely restrained urgency.
“Chase,” I croaked again, desperate.
His mouth reluctantly unlatched from mine. He examined me warily. He thought I was going to stop it. To change my mind. Our hearts were slamming against one another through our chests.
“I broke up with Ethan. For good.”
He blinked at me. I thought maybe he hadn’t heard. Maybe all the blood had rushed down to his groin area. Based on the mammoth thing that was nestled between my legs, it wasn’t exactly far fetched.
“Why?” he demanded. He sounded . . . angry.
Because you are worth the risk, and I’m the idiot who is about to take it. Again.
“Because of your offer.”
“Be more specific?”
A temporary forever.
He was pulsating against my inner thigh. I thought I’d die if he didn’t enter me.
“To be your fake girlfriend . . . until . . .” I groaned when his teeth found my nipple through my chemise, clamping on it. “Is the offer still standing?” My teeth chattered.
“It is,” he murmured into my flesh.
“Then I accept.”
He froze completely. I thought he’d misheard me. Why else would he stop all the deliciousness that was happening between us? Then he laced his fingers through mine, curling them against my engagement ring with one hand, and ripped the chemise from my body with the other. He did it easily, like ripping clothes was his regular gig. The punishing pain of the fabric snapping against my flesh stole my breath away. A thin pile of satin pooled beneath me on his bed. He nudged my panties aside—the one clothing item he probably should rip, I thought in amusement—brushing his index finger along my slit, dipping it inside me and curling it. He hit my G-spot without as much as a blink, grinning sinisterly as I sucked in a breath, my abs contracting. I’d forgotten how good he was at this.
Actually, no. I remembered very clearly how accomplished he was between the sheets, which was why I’d tried to stay away.
Chase kissed his way down my body, taking each pert nipple between his teeth and giving it an appreciative tug. The chill of his cold breath against my wet nipples made delicious