Adrift, page 14
She leaned closer and nuzzled the side of his neck. He stilled, his hand tightening around her shoulder. At the first touch of her lips, his other arm came up to wind around her back.
He pushed his hand into her hair, pulling her close, her breasts pressed to his chest. “Becca.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m tryin’ to watch the movie.”
She let out a startled laugh and raised her head. Chase grinned at her, but the unmistakable heat in his eyes made her heart pound and sent heat flooding between her legs.
She shifted, focused on the building, delicious throb there, and leaned in to brush her lips over his. Tempting. Teasing. Thrilling at the leap of arousal inside her.
“You can keep watching,” she whispered. “Don’t let me distract you.”
“Too late.” He grabbed the remote, shut off the TV, then reached for her, pulling her astride his lap. His big hands settled on her hips, squeezing as he captured her lips with his.
Becca sank into the kiss, each lazy caress of his tongue building the heat between them. The ache between her thighs demanded relief. She rocked against him, a shiver speeding through her at the feel of the bulge behind his zipper.
She’d held so much of herself back last time. Hadn’t allowed herself to enjoy him. She wanted to now.
Chase set an arm around her hips, then pushed to his feet, taking her with him, their lips still fused. Becca gasped at the easy show of strength, something flipping low in her belly. He was always so gentle with her, in control of his power. She locked her ankles behind his back and gripped his wide shoulders as he strode down the hall.
Moments later they entered one of the bedrooms. He carried her straight to the bed, yanked the covers back and laid her down on the sheets, then came down on top of her, his weight anchoring her.
She moaned softly and rocked her hips, already wet and needy. He felt incredible, the way his body blanketed hers making her feel protected.
He seemed to sense the need inside her. His tongue trailed down her neck, his hands busy dragging up the bottom of her shirt to expose her bra. It was dim in the room, the only light filtering in from the hall, enough for them to see each other clearly.
But this time there was no shyness or hesitance in her. No overwhelming, paralyzing sense of vulnerability.
Chase had her. He cared about her. And she wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anyone in her life.
But then he raised his head to stare down at her. “That night we were together.” His thumb rubbed across her lower lip, his voice low. “Did I get you off?”
She went still, opened her mouth to say yes, but she’d hesitated too long.
He groaned, wincing. “Shit, I was afraid of that.”
“It wasn’t you,” she said quickly. “I…held back.”
He searched her eyes. “Why?”
“Because I—” She swallowed. Stopped, not knowing what to say without sounding stupid.
His smoldering gaze was steady on hers. “Are you going to hold back now?”
“No.” She wanted this. Needed this. Needed him.
“Good.”
She arched into his hands when he cupped her bare breasts, his thumbs strumming over her rigid nipples. Then his head lowered. The slight scrape of his stubble abraded her skin, then she felt the heat of his mouth on her right nipple.
Pleasure streaked through her from chest to thigh, coalescing in the pulse between her legs, and she trembled in anticipation when he undid her shorts and tugged them off. He stroked a fingertip around the edges of her panties, activating a million tiny nerve endings that sparkled and fizzed beneath his touch.
His hand shifted, pushing between her thighs to cup her. She caught her breath at the warmth of his palm, whimpered when he rubbed her through the flimsy fabric.
Her hips lifted, impatient. He curled his fingers into the edge of the fabric and tugged gently, providing friction to the swollen bud of her clit. With a soft sound of need she parted her legs more and grabbed hold of his head, letting her eyes close, her breathing choppy.
He dragged the panties down her legs, his fingers drifting lightly up the inside of her thigh. Becca held her breath, waiting. Dying for that contact.
The hand on her thigh settled between her legs, his fingers finding her soaked folds. With a groan, she moved restlessly and skimmed her hands down his ribs to reach the fastening of his jeans.
He stopped and pulled her hand free with a low, negative sound. Her eyes flew open in surprise. “Why not?”
He mouthed the side of her neck, then dipped back down to nibble at her breast. “Because this is just about you right now.”
Arousal still swirling through her, she frowned. “Why?”
He silenced her with another languid kiss, but a slight unease bubbled up to mix with the pleasure. She wanted to experience this incredible heat together, not have all the focus on her, putting pressure on her body to perform.
“Stop thinking,” he ordered, his fingers stroking between her legs in a way that made it impossible to think or protest. “Just close your eyes and let me take care of you.”
CHASE THROBBED SO bad he hurt, but he meant what he’d said. This was about her, not him.
He was going to focus completely on her without any distraction. Wanted to show her how it could be with someone she trusted, someone who cared about her, not because she was famous.
He wanted to win her. Make her completely his. She’d told him earlier that she wanted to go slow. Now he was staking his claim.
“But—”
He silenced her with another kiss. Deep. Hungry. Slow. So slow it made his whole body tighten with need.
“Let me,” he whispered against her lips. He needed this. Needed her to surrender and give herself to him this way.
He shifted his hand, sliding two fingers into her slick warmth, and rubbed his thumb along the swollen bud of her clit. Becca made a soft whimpering sound and dug her fingers into his shoulders, her hips lifting.
That’s it, sweetness. Let go for me.
He raised his head enough to focus on her face as he stroked her. Slow and steady, watching every nuance of her expression to tell him what she liked best. Her breathing was shallow and rapid, her dusky-brown nipples hard points.
“Chase,” she whispered shakily.
He made a low sound and kept caressing her, drinking in her expression. Her parted lips, the way her eyes were squeezed shut. The desperate grip of her fingers on his shoulders.
The tension building in her, little tremors rippling through her muscles.
He stilled his hand. Waited for her eyelids to lift in confusion, then dipped down to capture her lips again, his hand pressed to her slick core. Letting the pleasure recede a little before resuming his languid stroking.
“Oh,” she gasped out, rolling her hips into his hand. “Chase—”
“Shh.” Slow. So slow it was twice as intense, he built her pleasure again. Making her crave it with every cell in her delectable body.
This time when she got close, she clutched at him, her fingers digging into his back. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop,” she blurted, her voice full of sensual anguish.
Raw possessiveness flooded him, along with a sense of triumph as she began the final climb to the edge. She was so fucking beautiful like this, desperate and needy, the muscles in her thighs and stomach trembling. She felt like wet silk against his stroking fingers, the evidence of her arousal making his cock throb.
As she neared the edge, Becca gasped and made a choked sound, turning her head to bury her face in his neck.
Chase cradled the back of her head with one hand, his other stroking her aroused flesh as he pressed a slow, tender kiss to the center of her forehead. It was such a turn-on, getting her off like this, and her soft cries of ecstasy as she bucked against his hand and started coming made him shudder.
He held her close while the orgasm rippled through her, then slowed his touch, keeping his fingers buried inside her, caressing gently while she came back to earth. She groaned and melted against him, her breathing uneven.
“That was…” She made a humming sound and sought his mouth.
Perfect. She was fucking perfect.
He couldn’t stop kissing her. Couldn’t get enough of the way her lips clung to his, her silky tongue caressing his. His whole body throbbed, even as a sense of satisfaction and contentment slid through him. He eased his hand from between her thighs, hard as hell at the thought of using his tongue on her next time. Driving her wild as he tasted her.
Shifting slightly onto his side, he brought her flush against him and tugged the covers over them both. The way she sighed and burrowed into him made his heart squeeze.
Lying next to her hard and aching was a small price to pay for earning her trust and being able to hold her close all night.
****
His heart raced as the end of the paper slowly emerged from the laser printer. Inch by inch it revealed more of its beautiful, elusive subject.
Her chin. The line of her jaw.
The smile that inflamed and taunted him at the same time. Just as the slow reveal of her face tortured him now.
Becca.
He stared at the building image of her, but his mind was busy planning for what he would do when he’d tracked her down and caught her. There were endless possibilities for where to take her. It had to be a good spot. Everything had to be planned carefully, right down to the last detail.
Her eyes were visible now. Dark, mysterious eyes in that pretty, oval face, with dark waves of hair spilling around it. Ethereal. Unreachable.
Until now.
He swallowed, his breathing erratic as he took the warm paper from the printer and held it up.
She was his. And when he made his move, she would never see him coming.
Chapter Seventeen
Becca dashed out of the bathroom fresh from a shower the next morning and ran into the bedroom to grab her phone before it stopped ringing. Her agent’s number was on the display. “Hey, Janet.”
“Hi. So I’m…guessing you’re not staying with your mom right now?”
She frowned at the hesitance in the woman’s voice. Janet was the opposite of hesitant. “No, why?”
“Okay, let me start over. I’ve got good news and bad news, and I’m gonna lead with the good.”
“Great, because I could use some good news.”
“Pixar wants you.”
Becca gasped. “Really? Oh my God, that’s fantastic news!” And Janet might be able to get her a sizeable advance, which she could use to get Rick off her back.
“Yeah, I just heard a little while ago. But then I found another email, and…” She sighed. “You obviously haven’t been on social media yet this morning.”
Her stomach tightened at Janet’s ominous tone. “No. What’s wrong?”
“There are pictures of you making out with a guy on the beach last night.”
“What?” she asked woodenly, cold spreading through her.
“Yeah. You apparently posed for pictures with some people, but they’d taken some candid shots of you kissing someone as well. Looks like it could be Chase maybe?”
“Yes,” she muttered, flushing. Not because she was embarrassed about being seen kissing Chase. No, she was pissed the hell off at the exploitation and invasion of privacy. “How many pictures?”
“Not sure, but the racy ones have kind of already gone viral. It’s all over the tabloid sites already and spreading on social media. What do you want me to do?”
Meaning, should she go into damage control mode. “Nothing. Don’t do or say anything.” It was her private business. She was a single adult. She was allowed to kiss someone in public, for Chrissake. “Did they disclose the location?”
“Yes. And I strongly advise that we do something to counteract this.”
Shit. Her heart thudded. Rick might have found out her location.
As soon as she thought it, she shook it away. Didn’t matter, even if he did find out. As long as she kept paying him, he wasn’t a threat. She was being paranoid. “Anything else?” Her tone was clipped, the anger rising. She’d stopped to pose with those people even though she hadn’t wanted to, and they’d done this.
“Ah, no. But are you…sure you don’t want me to at least—”
“Just say I’m back in LA now and leave it.” The less said the better. Within a few days, speculation and interest in the story would fizzle out, and the gossip rags would move onto something else. She wasn’t paying another goddamn dime to silence someone. People could talk all they wanted about this.
“All right.” Janet didn’t sound happy about it. “But I’m going to do everything I can to put a lid on this. If you think of anything specific you want done, let me know.”
“I will.”
“Okay. So are you staying over there longer? Or are you coming back to LA now?”
“I’m staying for at least a few more days. I’ll let you know when I book my return flight.”
Fuming, she ended the call, dressed, and ran a blow dryer through her hair. This was the part of being a celebrity she hated the most. The lack of privacy. And Chase…
A wave of sadness hit her.
He didn’t deserve having his face splashed all over the damn internet because of her. It was possible someone would recognize him from the recent movie shoot and leak his name.
Then he’d be linked to her and people would want to know all about him. They would start hounding him on social media, maybe a few might do something bolder, or bug his family to find out what they wanted to know.
Shit.
Overcome by morbid curiosity, she picked her phone back up and went to a popular social media site. It took all of ten seconds for her to find the first post.
Becca Sandoza hot and heavy with a hottie in the Outer Banks.
She winced at the photos of her and Chase. They were all over each other, their position graphically sexual. And there was obvious tongue involved in the kiss.
In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t that bad. It was just a kiss. They weren’t naked or had their hands shoved down each other’s pants. But it made her think of the images of her mother and those men, and a sense of shame and helplessness hit her anyway.
The scent of brewing coffee filled the air as she made her way to the kitchen. Chase glanced up from his phone at the counter, the warm smile he gave her hitting her square in the heart. “Morning.”
Her heart tripped. He’d been so incredibly tender and generous with her last night. And she dreaded his reaction to the pictures. “Morning.”
He tilted his head a little, frowning, the morning sunlight streaming through the window glinting on the golden-brown stubble on his jaw. “Something wrong?”
She sighed. He deserved to know from her, before he found out himself or by one of his siblings telling him. “Those people I stopped to take pictures with and sign autographs for last night? Well, they apparently got some pics of us kissing. It’s all over social media and the tabloids already. They haven’t mentioned you by name yet, but that could happen.”
“Really? Lemme see.” He walked over to her, angling his head to look at her phone.
“You sure?”
“Yeah.” He sounded curious, so she braced herself, pulled up the story she’d found, and watched his reaction.
Surprise flashed across his face, then a slow grin curved his lips and his eyes lifted to hers. “Damn, we look good together, don’t you think?”
Of all the things she’d expected him to say, that wasn’t it. Taken aback, she glanced down at the photo, seeing it with new eyes. They did look good together. “Yeah. But that’s not the point. They never should have taken them, let alone posted them, and you shouldn’t have to deal with this bullshit because of me—”
“Hey.” He curved a hand around the back of her neck and leaned in to press a tender kiss to her lips, cutting off the rest of her sentence. “It’s no big deal.”
Was he serious? She scowled. “Yeah, it is. It’s a total invasion of privacy, and it pisses me off.”
He met her gaze. “Because you got caught kissing me?”
The hint of vulnerability in his eyes registered. It stunned her to realize he was worried she was embarrassed to be seen kissing him. “No. God, no, it’s not that,” she rushed out, grasping his hand to reassure him. “It’s that it’s wrong of them to do this. And it…”
“Reminds you of what happened to your mom,” he finished.
She swallowed, stunned by how clearly he saw and understood her. No one had ever understood her like he did. Because she’d never let anyone in until him. A tiny burst of fear fluttered to life, leaving her squirming around the sense of vulnerability he made her feel.
“Yeah,” she finished in a whisper.
He made a low sound of understanding and drew her into a hug, his lips resting on the crown of her head while those big, strong arms locked around her. She closed her eyes, tears pricking the backs of them. “I’m sorry,” she managed. This was her fault. She should have been more careful to protect him.
“Nothing to be sorry for, but I hate that they upset you.” He squeezed her, nuzzled the side of her neck in a way that made it hard to think.
She pulled in a steadying breath, pushed aside the silent fear gathering inside her. The one that said it was only a matter of time before Chase got sick of this kind of thing—sick of her—and broke it off. “It’ll…take a while for the story to die down. And people know I’m in the area now, so if we don’t want to wind up dealing with more of this, then we’ll need to keep a low profile until I leave.” She drew a breath and forced herself to say the rest. “But I’ll understand if you’d rather I leave today.”
He drew back and tipped her chin up with a finger, his hazel gaze steady on hers. “I want to be with you, Becca. I don’t give a shit what anyone else says or thinks about us.”
Hope bloomed, bringing a hesitant smile. “You may regret saying that.”
He shook his head. “Never. I only care what you think.”
He said that now. But sooner or later, she was afraid he’d change his mind and leave her with a gaping hole where her heart should be.
