Can't Buy Me Love (25 page)

Chase
gave a short nod, and he stepped closer to Lena. He pulled one hand from his
pocket and reached out to cup her face. Bending down, he dropped a quick hard
kiss on her mouth, and then gently caressed her bottom lip with his thumb
before stepping back. “I’ll be here at 6:00. Is that too early?”

“Not
too early. I’ll see you then.”

Twenty-One

Sunday
night, at 6:00 on the dot, Chase was back at Lena’s door. He was dressed
casually in jeans and a dark green Henley shirt, and he had a bottle of
champagne in one hand, and a bag of bacon-flavored dog treats in the other. Might
as well get off to the right paw with spoiling Winston, he figured, especially
since he planned on keeping Lena well and truly occupied for a while. A long
while.

“Fake
bacon,” he defended himself when Lena opened the door and looked suspiciously
at his offering. “What’s not to like if you’re a dog?”

Lena
rolled her eyes as she let him in.

Chase’s
gaze narrowed as he looked down at Lena. “You look nice,” he said softly.

Lena
raised her eyebrows. “I’m in ripped jeans and an old shirt.”

He
shrugged. “You still look nice,” he repeated, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

She
smiled her thanks. “Are you hungry?” she asked as she closed the door behind
him and locked it.

“In
more ways than one,” he responded with a grin. “And Lord, it smells good in
here. What are you making?”

“A
butternut squash lasagna. But I can’t claim to have put all of this together
today. I made it a few weeks ago, so I just pulled it out of the freezer for tonight.”

“That
works. Everything OK at the shelter?” he asked as he set the champagne down on
the kitchen counter and looked around for Winston.

“Yeah,
everything is fine. Would you like a glass of wine?” she asked. “There’s a
bottle chilling in the fridge.”

“Perfect.
We’ll save the champagne for later,” he said, slipping it into the refrigerator
and pulling out the bottle of Pinot Gris that was on the top shelf. “Wine
opener?”

Lena
pointed at a drawer, then turned to pull down a couple of wine glasses from the
cabinets next to the sink. While Chase opened the wine, Lena finished making a
green salad, sliding it into the fridge as she accepted a glass from Chase.

“To
us,” he toasted. “And to many more evenings like this one.”

She
lifted her glass to clink against his. “I’ll definitely drink to that.”

They
each took a sip of their wine, then headed into the living room. “Dinner will
be ready in about an hour,” she said. “In the meantime, you can work on bribing
my dog with dog treats.”

“Where
is that crazy pooch?” he asked.

“He’s
out in the back yard, digging. I’m not sure what he’s digging up, exactly, but
I’ve cleaned muddy paw prints off my floor about three times already tonight. And
I don’t think he’s done. As long as he doesn’t uncover some long-buried dead
thing and bring it in to me, I can handle the dirt.”

As
if he heard them, Winston appeared at the back door and scratched lightly at
the glass. Chase grinned, and set down his wine glass to go and let him in. “Hey
little guy,” he said, greeting the dog with a scratch. “Did you miss me?”

Winston
sniffed him suspiciously, but seemed to detect some small trace of bacon treats
and looked up at him expectantly, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

“Can
I give him a treat?”

“Be
my guest,” Lena grinned.

“I
think he likes me.”

“I
think he likes any man who smells like bacon,” she teased.

“Dinner
was amazing. I’m definitely glad I’m marrying you and not your grandfather.”

Lena
laughed, taking the dishes from the dining room table and carrying them into
the kitchen. Chase followed her, carrying the empty salad bowl and the jar of
salad dressing. Together, they loaded the dishwasher and put away the
leftovers. When the kitchen was tidy, Lena turned to Chase and asked, “Would
you like coffee or tea?”

“Maybe
later,” he said softly. “Thanks for dinner, Lena.”

She
turned to him, ready to reply, but her response died as he walked up to her,
intent in his eyes. Reaching up, he framed her face with his hands and threaded
his fingers into her hair. Lifting her face to his, he lowered his mouth to
hers. He paused for just a few seconds before his lips descended and met hers,
his kiss initially light and teasing. He gently stroked her mouth. Gently
licked her lower lip, then nipped it with his teeth. When she opened her mouth
to moan her response, he let his control break, and he deepened the kiss. His lips
moved over hers, his tongue seeking and gaining entrance. He made love to her
mouth, moving with the same rhythmic motion that he would take her with.

Still
holding her face steady for his kiss, he slowly moved his long hard body
against her soft curves, and nudged her backwards, pushing her steadily and
firmly until she was up against the kitchen counter, and still he moved
forward. He pressed his hard thigh between hers, and felt her breasts as they melted
against his torso. Her legs opened to him, and he immediately moved between
them, letting her feel the hardness that she caused, pushing that same hardness
against her soft core.

Releasing
her face from his grip, he gently caressed her cheeks, his eyes looking down at
her with a passion so deep that his eyes darkened. Lena looked back at him with
equal desire, and Chase again lowered his mouth to hers. It was a primal kiss –
teeth clashing, tongues meeting, their breath mingling as they sought to be
closer still.

Chase
moved his hands to Lena's shoulders, then ran one hand gently down her front,
down to the top button of her white cotton shirt. She writhed against him,
pressing her own pelvis into his, seeking release from the passion he was so
expertly building in her. But Chase just chuckled. “Not yet, sweetheart,” he
said softly. “I have a lot I want to do to you first.”

Lena
moaned in frustration, but just closed her eyes as Chase popped her top button
free. Then the second. Then the third. He stopped and simply looked down at
her, his eyes devouring her. Her full breasts were covered with a light pink
lacy bra, but the bra reached only up to just above her hardened nipples,
leaving the creamy skin of her curves exposed above the lace. Chase’s sharp
intake of breath was clearly audible, and Lena instinctively thrust her chest
forward in response, causing her breasts to strain against the soft fabric.

With
one hand looped around her waist, Chase gently ran the back of his other hand
along the top of her curves. When he reached down and plucked one lush breast
from the fabric that was holding it, Lena whimpered with pleasure. He cupped
his hand around the fullness, his thumb gently rubbing over her nipple until it
hardened even further under his touch. Reaching back into the bra, he pulled
out the other breast, giving it equal attention. The bra now hung under her
breasts, holding them together, and thrusting them out for his enjoyment. He
finished unbuttoning her blouse, letting it hang open in front of her, letting her
breasts part the fabric, letting the fabric drape to their side like an
adornment to a work of art.

“God,
you’re beautiful,” he breathed. “I knew your body was amazing, but I never
dreamed you’d be so perfect.” He reframed her face with his hands, holding her
steady as he looked into her eyes. “I want to make love to you, Lena. I want to
feel your body naked beneath me. I want to thrust myself inside of you until
you forget where you end and I begin. Will you let me?”

She
swallowed hard, her eyes dilated with need. She looked up at him and nodded. “Yes,
Chase. Please. Make love to me.”

But
he still didn’t let her go. He continued to hold her face in his hands as he
said, “This is it for us, Lena. If I have you once, I’ll never be able to let
you go. Never. Do you understand?”

Again,
she nodded. “I love you, Chase.”

With
that, he kissed her again, pushing hard against her mouth with his own, making
her understand the force of his need, and the strength of his love for her. Pulling
his hands away from her head, he moved them down until he was gripping her
hips, pulling them forward to meet his. He thrust his pelvis toward hers,
feeling her full breasts pushing forward against his chest. Finally, Chase
reached down and swept her up into his arms, one hand firmly behind her back
and the other under her knees as he moved with her toward her bedroom. Her
blouse fell back, exposing her breasts completely to him. He leaned down as he
carried her, and covered one nipple with his mouth, then the other, sucking
them into his mouth, licking and teasing them with his tongue. She moaned,
arching her back and wrapping her arms around his neck to keep him close to
her.

In
her bedroom, he lowered her gently to the bed, and came down on top of her,
carefully balancing the majority of his weight on his arms. Moving down
slightly, he reached around to unsnap her bra, then used his hands to push her
breasts together. He moved his mouth from one to the other and back again, his
thumb gently caressing whichever nipple he wasn’t ravishing with his mouth.
Lena writhed beneath him, her hands around his back, her nails scraping into
his skin with passion. Chase had never been more aroused by a woman in his life
– no other woman came close to Lena in nearly causing him to lose control.

Moving
his hands lower, he slowly inched her jeans down her long legs. As he stripped
them from her body, he had to stop to catch his breath as he looked down at the
woman below him. She was bare-legged, but her bottom was enclosed in a pair of
skimpy pink lacy panties. With a moan, Chase reached around and quickly
dispensed with her blouse. Now, she was nearly naked in front of him, apart from
those sexy panties. Just looking at her, watching her move under him, Chase
knew that he needed a quick break or things would be over too soon.

He
stood up. Pulling off his own clothes gave him the breathing room he needed to
regain control. But when he looked down and saw her eyes roaming over his body,
he hardened even further. The desire in her eyes was heady. She wanted him, as
much as he wanted her.

He
moved back over her, his mouth again finding hers, kissing her with abandon as
his fingers slowly moved under her panties, slowly moved downward, found her
wet and ready for him. He wanted to take his time, wanted to tease her and make
her even crazier than she was, but Chase could tell how close she was to
coming. How close they both were to finding release. He stripped the panties
from her, and moved over her.

“Lena,
sweetheart,” he said, his breath raspy. “Do you want me to use protection?”

She
looked up at him, her breath as uneven as his. “I’m on birth control. And I’m
clean,” she told him.

“I’m
clean too,” he assured her. “But if you want me to put on a condom, I will.”

But
Lena shook her head. “No. I want to feel you inside me. Please,” she added, her
voice shaking.

Chase
needed no other encouragement. Finding her wet opening, he carefully probed it
with the head of his shaft, slowly pushing until it was just inside of her. His
finger reached down and found her sensitive spot, and gently moved over it
until Lena arched up against him, and he slipped deeper into her. Rolling
completely on top of her, he thrust until he was all the way in. And then he
stopped.

It
felt amazing. Her tight wetness surrounded him, and he could feel her gently rubbing
and moving against him. He nearly came right there, but he was determined to
take Lena with him. He reached down then and grasped her legs, bending them up
as he began to thrust into her, over and over again. She was moaning softly,
crying out each time that Chase pushed in, each time that he hit her sensitive
core with each thrust. He felt himself begin to lose control, and he moved one
finger over to Lena’s clit, gently rubbing it as he continued to thrust. When
he felt her arch against him, felt her walls begin to contract around him, he
let go. Plunging deeply into her, he came with such power and strength that he
thought his entire life had poured out of him and into her. And still she moved
against him, writhing with such pleasure that Chase was astounded. He’d never
had a woman respond so wildly to him. Never had a woman take such pleasure from
his love-making. Never had a woman who moved him the way that Lena did.

They
lay on the sheets, their legs entangled, their breathing slowly returning to
normal. Finally, Chase rolled off of Lena onto his side, his arms encircling
her as she nestled closer to his chest.

“Wow,”
she said softly. “That was incredible.”

Chase’s
arms tightened around her.

“I’ve
never felt like that before. Ever.”

Chase
was unprepared for the bolt of jealousy that raced through his system at the
thought of Lena with another man. He had thought that his reaction to seeing
Greg kiss Lena had been odd, but the thought of Lena lying here like this with
another man…

“Chase?
Are you OK? You’re not saying anything,” Lena murmured.

With
one movement, Chase rolled back on top of Lena, his hands reaching out to pin
hers to the bed on either side of her head. He looked down into her eyes, and
saw nothing but concern and love. Nothing but arousal.