The Heart Has Reasons (57 page)

“Is
this what you want?”

“Yes,”
she whispered, and then arched her back and breathed “
Ah-h-h-h!
” as he
pressed deep.

He
drew back as slowly as he had entered.  When he slipped completely out of
her body, she cried out in dismay, “
Why are you torturing me?
” 
Attention riveted between her legs as he once again circled the little nub with
the broad tip of his penis, he didn’t respond.  She closed her eyes and
arched against him.  “Chase, please.”

“Please
what
?”

“Please,
ple-e-ease
, fuck me.”

“Now
that’s what I want to hear,” he said, voice tight with arousal as he thrust
himself back into her.  He stroked slowly in and out, until there wasn’t a
single rational thought left in her head.  Wrapping her legs around his
waist to allow him to penetrate even deeper, she dug her fingers into his
shoulders and begged, “Chase, promise you won’t stop again.”

His
voice was ragged with passion.  “I couldn’t stop now even if I wanted to.”

He
seemed to reach her very core with each stroke.  Her soft moans and
utterances filled the room as her body quivered and clutched at him.  She
had to be dreaming — nothing real could possibly be this good.  The
pleasure consumed her until nothing existed, not her, not Chase, not the bed
beneath them, just pure sensation.

It
grew so intense that, for the space of several heartbeats, she stilled
completely, not even breathing.

And
then her entire body convulsed with the mother of all orgasms.

Rather
than the normal peaks and valleys, it remained steady and unbearably intense,
and went on and on and on for what seemed like several minutes, until she
actually lost consciousness.  Apparently, for only a matter of seconds
because, when she came to again her body was still pulsing and contracting with
the aftershocks.  As it finally began to subside, Chase cried out with his
own orgasm.

Overwhelmed
not only with the unbearable pleasure he’d given her, but also with feelings
she refused to name, tears welled from beneath her closed lids to trickle hotly
down the sides of her face.

When
he rose up on his elbows to gaze down into her face, she raised her hands to
cover her eyes, embarrassed by this show of emotion.  He gently moved her
hands aside, clasped her face between his hands and gently thumbed away the
wetness.  “I hope those aren’t tears of disappointment.”

“Don’t
make jokes.”

He
kissed her as jolts of pleasure continued to send tremors through them
both.  “Mad at me for torturing you?”

“Oh. 
My.  God.  I’ve never … I never knew that …”  Enveloped in a
lassitude so complete that she might never move again, she took a deep,
shuddery breath.  “All I can say is:
Anytime
you want to torture
me, I’ll be your most willing victim.”

* * * * *

Chase had no idea how many women he had
made love to in his lifetime, but he did know he’d never felt anything like
what he felt now.  He couldn’t even remember what Cheyenne, or Michelle,
or any of the others looked like.  For him, there was only Larissa.

Clasping
her hips to him, he rolled them over onto their sides.  She draped her
upper thigh around his, clutching his hips to hers to keep him in place inside
her, her soft curves molding to his hard body as if they were two halves of a
whole.  Tears clumped her lashes together in long, black spikes as she
blinked at him, green eyes languorous and dazed.

“So-o-o-o,”
he said.  “I guess that night in the motel was just a fluke.  There
is no chemistry between us.”

A
smile warmed her face.  “No, I guess not.”

He
caressed her breasts, circling her nipples with his thumb, all the while
devouring her with his eyes.  “I just hope your neighbor didn’t hear all
that screaming.  If she did, by now she’s called the police to report that
you’ve been murdered.”

A
blush crept over her cheeks and she smacked his shoulder.  “If I got a
little loud, it’s your fault for torturing me.  So when the police start
pounding on the front door,
you
can answer it.”

He
wrapped his arms about her and pulled her into a tight embrace.  “Jesus,
Larissa.  You don’t know what you do to me.”

“If
it’s anything like what you do to me, I think I have some small idea.” 
After a moment, she asked, “Do you think you’d like living here?”

“You’re
here, so how could I not?”

She
raised one hand to trace the long-healed scar that slashed across one chiseled
cheekbone.  “You’ve no idea how much time I spent trying to envision the
face beneath the ski mask.”

His
response was totally deadpan.  “Then I imagine your first sight of me in
the line-up was a cruel disappointment.”

She
pasted on an expression of contrition.  “I have to admit that, upon
realizing I’d seduced a gargoyle, my first impulse was to confess all to Agent
Jarvis.”

“Still
a fucking comedienne, I see.”

They
both laughed, then grew quiet as the phone beside the bed rang.  After the
second ring, the answering machine clicked on.  There was a moment’s
silence while the machine played its answering message, and then Brendon’s
voice came over the speaker.  “Larissa, if you’re there, pick up.”

“If
I don’t, he might get worried and call the police.”

“Then
by all means, answer it.”

They
were still on their sides, with him still deep inside her.  To keep him
there, she tightened the leg thrown over his hips and reached an arm out
blindly behind her, groping for the phone.  She found it and lifted the
receiver to her ear.  “Brendon, I’m here.”

With
their faces only inches apart, Chase plainly heard Brendon say, “Oh, thank
god.  Honey, are you all right?  Is the son-of-a-bitch gone?”

She
smiled at Chase, and said into the receiver, “I’m fine and, no, he’s still
here.”

“Shit,
Larissa.  Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

“Very
sure.”

“Well
… I have to admit you sound happy for a change.”

She
laughed.  “I am.”

“Put
him on the phone.  I want to talk to him.”

“About
what?” she asked, clearly suspicious.  Chase held out his hand, motioning
for the phone.  She frowned at him and covered the mouthpiece.  “You
can hear what he’s saying?”

“Every
word.”

Into
the phone, she said, “Okay, here he is,” and reluctantly handed over the
receiver.  Angling his upper body away from her, Chase pressed the phone
tight against his ear.  “Yes?”

“Larissa
loves you and, if you ever hurt her again, I swear on all that’s holy that I’ll
kill you.”

Larissa
was watching him closely.  From her expression, it was obvious she could
hear only his side of the conversation.  “Are you serious?” he said into
the phone.

“Serious
that I’ll kill you?  Or serious that she loves you?”

“The
latter.”

“I
am.  She does.”

“The
feeling’s mutual.”

“You
love her too?”

“Would
I take such a risk in coming here otherwise?  I’m extremely sorry for what
I did to her.  Sparrow told me she was his wife — he even had a fake
family portrait of them together — and so, like an idiot, I believed him.”

“Larissa
told me about the portrait.  You
really
love her?”

“More
than mere words can express.”

“Have
you told her?”

“Not
yet.  We’ve decided to take it slow, get to know each other.” 
Although the taking-it-slow part wasn’t exactly working out.  “After all
that’s happened, it’s only natural for you to be concerned for her
safety.  Despite appearances to the contrary, I assure you I’m no threat
to her — quite the opposite, in fact — and, since you two are such close friends,
I’d appreciate the chance to prove it.  Would you join us for dinner
tomorrow?”

“Yes,
I’d like that.”  Brendon sounded relieved by the suggestion, and Larissa’s
smile indicated that he’d just earned several points in her book.

“You
choose the restaurant,” he said to Brendon.  “Someplace upscale, so
Larissa can dress up.”

“All
right.  May I speak to her again?”

When
Chase handed the phone back, she covered the receiver.  “What did he say?”

“Threatened
to kill me.”

“He
didn’t!”

“Only
if I hurt you.  In his position, I’d have done the same.”

She
put the phone to her ear.  “I’m here, Brendon.”

“Okay,
so maybe I was wrong about him.  He actually seems like a nice guy. 
And now that I’ve made that admission, I’d also like to say that, honey, that
man is hot enough to set hell on fire.”

When
Chase winced in embarrassment, Larissa grinned at his sudden discomfort. 
“Brendon, he can hear what you’re saying.”

“He
can?  Do you have me on speaker?”

“No.”

“Then
how can he …?”  There was a long, silent pause.  “Oh my god! 
You two are in the bedroom, aren’t you?”

“Uh-huh.”

“You
harlot!  So, did he rock your world again?”

A
blush crept up her face.  “You have no idea.”

“You
go, girl!  Hey, ask him if he knows any gay Special Forces guys.”

“There
are
no gay men in Special Forces,” Chase muttered.

Larissa
mouthed to Chase, “That’s what you think,” then said into the phone, “Chase
says all the gay ones are in committed relationships.”  She grinned when
his jaw dropped in indignation, and slapped his hand away when he tried to
snatch the receiver.

“That’s
just my luck,” Brendon lamented.  “Well, I’ll let you two get back to what
you were doing.  Oh, wait!  Are you still coming to work tomorrow?”

When
Chase shook his head, she asked, “Would you mind very much if I didn’t?”

“Honey,
if I had a man like that in my bed, you wouldn’t see me for a week.  I’ll
cover for you.  See you at dinner, tomorrow.  Love you.”

“Love
you, too.  Bye.”  She dropped the receiver back into its cradle, and
turned to him.  “Inviting Brendon to dinner was very considerate.”

“He’s
understandably worried about you.  I want him to see for himself that his
fears are unfounded.”

She
nodded thoughtfully.  “So, what do you think of him so far?”

“Seems
like a nice guy.  If you’re worried I’ll have a problem with him being
gay, don’t, I’m not homophobic.  Besides, how could I dislike someone who
so obviously has your back?  So-o-o-o.  That night at the motel, did
I really ‘rock your world’?”

A
flush of pink highlighted her cheekbones.  “You know you did.”

“All
I know for certain is you rocked mine.”

Still
inside her, he rolled them over so he was atop her.  When he dipped his
mouth to hers, her warm feminine scent enveloped him as she curled her arms
around his neck.  The kiss started out slow and gentle as he savored the
sweet taste of her lips.

Gradually
though, the kiss began to grow in intensity, becoming deeper, fiercer, more
possessive.  He couldn’t get enough of her, and the erect peaks of her
nipples poking into his chest testified to the fact that his need was
reciprocated.  Her tongue plunged into his mouth with a passionate
urgency, igniting sparks that blazed up to become a raging fire in his
groin.  His cock swelled and hardened inside her, until it was almost
painfully engorged.

It
was imperative that he convey to her that this was more than mere sex for him,
more than a simple physical conjoining, and so he made love to her tenderly and
passionately.  Her legs came up to wrap around his hips, her body matching
his rhythm as he slowly stroked in and out of her hot wetness, his entire body
rejoicing in the feel of her skin against his.

The
depth of his lust not only staggered him, but threatened to swamp all reason
and self-control.  It was as if he were exquisitely aware of every single
nerve ending on his body, every throbbing pulse point.  When she suddenly
gripped him tighter and increased their pace, he deliberately increased the
force of his thrusts.  When her breath and body immediately quickened, he
murmured in her ear, “More?”

“All,” 
she whispered back.  “I want it all.”  Instinctively knowing that she
needed to pound out all the stresses of the past month, he began driving
himself into her.  Each violent thrust provoked a grunt from her and he
knew he must be hurting her, but her hips met his with an equal violence and
then she cried out, “
Cha-a-a-ase!
”

His
own pent-up ecstasy released as if fired from a rocket-launcher.  His
orgasm hit a ten on the Richter scale and kept climbing, ripping through him in
shattering spasms that threatened to tear him apart.

When
he finally regained some awareness of himself, he started to roll his weight
off her, but she made a sound of protest and clutched him.