Wicked Ties (Steele Security Series) (10 page)

But there was a connection to him that she couldn’t break and there had been from the start.  Even though he didn’t trust her.  Even though she hadn’t told him
everything—he knew that—but he still protected her, he still kept his word, and he still honored his commitment.  Now, he wanted her in his bed, he wanted in her head, and he wanted to own her.  Even as independent and self-confident as she’d been for the last several years after getting out from under her father’s thumb, she wasn’t the least bit offended by his declaration. 

She didn’t believe it was a total domination statement.  It was simply to let her know that he was staking his claim on her.  That he wouldn’t share her with anyone else.  He meant that
the intimacy was between them only and not meant for anyone else.  The feeling of belonging to someone in that sense, of surrendering all to him to love and care for her, wasn’t so scary.  It was comforting and fulfilling.  She just hoped she was right, because he owned her, he possessed her, and she willingly surrendered to him.

His tempo increased, moving in and out of her soft sheath with reckless abandon.  His long, thick shaft filled her completely, plunging into her and hitting her cervix until the intensity built so high, so strong, that she screamed out his name before she even realized the words were leaving her mouth.

“Colton!   Oh God!”

His appreciative groan in response sent chills down her spine, “Damn, you feel so good, Chaise.”

Chaise was still riding the high of her orgasm, unable to fully come down because he continued to rain down his pleasurable torture techniques on her.  She knew she was done for when he leaned down and murmured in her ear.

“I’m not finished with you yet, Chaise.  This is only round one.”

Without giving her time to respond, Bull sat up, pulled her legs up to his shoulders, and deepened his angle.  The more she screamed, the harder he drove into her, over and over until she was completely spent and limp under him.  With a final thrust and resounding scream from Chaise, Bull stilled and emptied himself into her.  She felt his manhood pulsing and pumping into her of its own accord.  His eyes stayed glued to hers, never releasing her gaze as his hand deftly released her hands from their binds.

Repositioning her to lie in his arms, she curled up beside him with their arms and legs entwined.  Content, thoroughly sated
, and completed drained of all energy, she quickly fell into a deep sleep against Bull’s warm body. 

Bull stayed awake, listening to her breathing while he tried to keep his thoughts from racing.  He had never allowed a woman he was involved with
spend the night at his place, and he’d certainly never gone to sleep with one in his arms.  But something about their union felt different.  Even though he knew she was still holding something back, he could only hope he wasn’t wrong about her.

The next morning, Bull woke to an empty bed and felt the instant alarm run through him like an electric current.  Chaise had slept with him the night before and he hadn’t felt her leave the bed.  Something about her was definitely throwing him off his game.  Slipping on his lounging pants, he silently moved down the hall and found her in the kitchen again.  She was sipping on a cup of coffee, reading the paper and was fully dressed. 
For work.

“How did you get the paper?  It was outside and the alarm was set,” Bull smarted.

“Well, good morning to you, too, Colton.  Yes, I did sleep well, actually—I slept like a rock.  You know, you are
so warm
it was like having my own electric blanket!  Would you like some coffee?”  Chaise spoke like there was no reason for concern and like he hadn’t just completely chastised her without so much as a good morning first.

They stood staring at each other for a moment until Chaise couldn’t keep her eyes from roaming over his broad shoulders, firm chest
, and chiseled six-pack.  Her eyes trailed down the muscled V that disappeared into the waistband of his pajama pants.  Her coffee cup was frozen at her lips as her eyes devoured the luscious scene standing before her. 

Bull’s lips quirked up in one corner as he shifted his weight to one leg, placed his hand on his hip
, and leveled his eyes at her.  When her eyes met his, she blushed, the bright pink color filling her cheeks and neck.  She smiled behind her coffee cup and quickly lowered her eyes as she took a sip.

“Oh, look at the time!  I need to get going or I’ll be late for work in the Miami traffic!”  Chaise tried to hide her ogling and announce her departure with one statement.  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bull’s stance immediately change.  Opening his legs farther apart, he crossed his muscular arms over his expansive chest and glared at her menacingly.  Chaise pretended to not notice the difference in his demeanor.

“First of all, how did you disable my alarm?”  Bull growled.

“I
didn’t—Shadow did.  He brought something by for you,” Chaise answered with an incline of her chin toward a large envelope on the coffee table.

“
Okay.  And I already said you’re not going to work today.  It’s too dangerous,” Bull commanded.  “And don’t forget your
missing
intern.”

The suspicion in his tone was like a literal slap to Chaise’s face.  She physically recoiled from the sting of his words and inflection of his voice.  There it was and it may as well
have been written in stone—he still didn’t believe her.  Not completely anyway.  After everything Shadow and Rebel had recently found that corroborated her story, and after their night together, he still doubted her.  

Tears stung the back of her eyes and she swallowed hard, holding them back.  She resolved that she would not give him the satisfaction of knowing that he hurt her as much as he did.  Chaise calmly walked to the sink, poured out her coffee, put her cup in the dishwasher and grabbed her purse off the counter.  She walked directly up to Bull, who was now completely blocking the doorway and her exit route.

“Chaise, I can’t let you go,” Bull’s tone softened, obviously aware of his mistake but not taking full ownership of it.   His stance, however, was still threatening and unyielding.

“You can’t stop me,” Chaise retorted, emphasizing each word.  “I’m not arguing with you, Colton.  I am going to work and acting normal.  Kindly step
aside—you can’t hold me against my will.”

Bull drew in a deep breath, straightening his back and pulling himself up to an intimidating height.  Letting out an exasperated huff, he stepped aside to give Chaise just enough room to squeeze between him and the doorjamb.  Seizing the opportunity before he changed his mind, Chaise moved into the tight opening.  Suddenly, both of his muscular arms came up on either side of her, boxing her in and preventing her from moving any more than to breathe.

“Chaise, I can’t let you put yourself in danger,” he said, his voice low but with a touch of tenderness to it.  Her chest tightened in response, wanting to feel the intimacy he implied but the sharp sting of his prior words was still fresh.

“You can’t stop me from doing anything I want to do, Colton.  It’s as simple as that.  I’m leaving now,” she stated firmly, meeting his eyes with her defiant glare.

While he was temporarily stunned, and before he could respond, she quickly ducked under his massive arm, slid her body against his, and walked quickly to the front door.  She noticed that he made no attempt to stop her that time.  She assumed he had done his duty—he had tried to stop her and she refused.  It was by her very own decision, but part of her had foolishly hoped he would chase after her.  The other part of her knew that was ridiculous since it was what she wanted to do in the first place and she made that clear.

And this is why relationships never work.  We’re all damn crazy
, she thought to herself as she got in her car.  When she looked up, she saw Bull watching her from his front porch.  His arms were crossed over his chest and his legs were spread in his fighting stance.  But the look in his eyes stopped her.  His eyes were fixed on her every move as if he was daring her to carry out her plan against his will.  She couldn’t explain—or escape—the feeling that she was betraying him somehow by simply doing what she’d planned to do all along. 
Work
.

Remembering that she was still mad at him, she quickly put her sunglasses on, cranked her car
, and pulled out of his driveway.  Chaise couldn’t help but wonder if she would be welcome back at his house at the end of her workday.  She decided to cross that bridge when she came to it—she already had enough to keep her busy and stressed for the day.  She would decide what to do about Colton Lanier later.

Pulling into the parking space, she took a few deep, calming breaths before gathering her stuff and walking into the building.  She knew she’d been followed before going to Noah’s wedding and she was sure it was because of what she’d found on the job.  But she didn’t want to show her hand just yet.  She wanted to make them think she hadn’t realized what she’d come across yet so that she could keep digging.  She wanted them to still feel smug and secure in their activities so they wouldn’t change them, essentially losing Aura forever.  She felt responsible and wanted to find the young girl before it was too late.

Strolling into the building like she belonged there, like every other morning, she smiled and said hello to the security guard at the front desk.  He smiled and responded as he normally did.  She breathed a sigh of relief and she moved past him and on to her office.  Putting her things down, she looked around her office to see if anything had been disturbed, but everything was exactly as she’d left it.  If anyone had been snooping, they were experts because not one paper was out of order in her neat, organized world.

Deciding to face the music, Chaise drove straight back to Bull’s house rather than going
to the condo that had always given her the creeps anyway.  When she first got in her car, she wasn’t sure which way she would go.  She hadn’t heard from Bull all day and she hadn’t called him, either.  It stung a little that he acted so concerned about her going to work but then he never even called to see if she was safe. 

As she pulled into his drive, she had a moment of panic as she pictured him turning her away for not following his orders to not go to work in the first place.  She parked and placed her forehead on the steering wheel, conflicted and generally unsure of her next move.  Her logical mind said she needed to be
there with Bull but she wasn’t sure of the reception she would receive.

Her car door opened and Bull’s big hand gingerly wrapped around hers.  She looked up at him, his cobalt blue eyes boring into hers, as he gently tugged on her to pull her out of the car.  He pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed each of her knuckles with his soft, plump lips.  Chaise’s heart both broke and melted at the gesture.  He was trying to be nice but there was still a huge chasm between them that she wasn’t confident they would ever be able to bridge. 

“I’m glad you came back here.  I was beginning to wonder if you would,” Bull finally spoke.

“I debated
it—several times,” Chaise answered truthfully.

Bull nodded in understanding, “I’m sorry for what I said, or rather,
how
I said it.  I do believe that she is missing.”

Bull reached in the car, turned the ignition off
, and gathered Chaise’s belongings.  He carried them in the house with one hand and led her with his hand on the small of her back with the other hand.  His words kept reverberating through her mind—both from that morning and from a few moments before.  Once inside the house, Chaise decided to address the big, pink polka-dotted elephant that stood between them.

“You believe that she is missing because of the information Shadow and Rebel found.  Not because of anything I’ve said.  There’s obviously a big problem between us, Colton.  It was ridiculous of me to think last night would’ve changed
anything—or that it meant anything to you.  I
know
that, but I still wanted it to, honestly.  I don’t think my staying here is a good idea anymore.  I won’t go back to the condo, but I think I should go somewhere else.”

Bull admired how Chaise stood tall even though she was afraid.  She faced her fears and didn’t back down,
although vulnerability showed in her mint-green eyes.  Her long, black hair cascaded over her shoulders and her tan skin glowed with sun-kissed radiance.  She was stunning at normal times, but when she was on a mission, she was absolutely spectacular.

And she was talking about leaving.

“I don’t want you to leave,” Bull stated plainly.

“You don’t owe me anything, Colton.  You’ve done what you said you’d
do—you kept your word.  This is my way of taking responsibility for my actions.  I allowed…this…to happen between us and it was just way too soon.  I don’t regret it, but we don’t really even know each other.  I just don’t want us to end up enemies,” she said, exasperated.  She was running out of steam. 

All the events of the past few weeks were beginning to catch up with her and take a toll on her emotions.  Discovering the missing girls, Aura’s disappearance, seeking Noah after all this time, the complicated and untrusting relationship with Colton, and now going back to work where she felt eyes watching her at all times.  It just all felt like too much and everything was closing in on her.  The feeling of claustrophobia was returning with a vengeance and she wasn’t even in a small space.

She was about to have a full-blown panic attack.  That’s what was behind that feeling of everything closing in on her.  The realization of that suddenly hit her—it was the same feeling as when she was in the Steele Security building and everything was so overwhelming.  It was coming on again—just thinking about all the things she’d been through and all the things she still had to face.  Alone.  Again.

“Chaise?  Chaise!”

She could hear his voice but it sounded muffled and distant.  Her legs felt like wet spaghetti noodles—completely unable to hold her weight or move of their own accord.  She felt strong arms wrap around her and gently place her on the couch.  Then the strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her into a big, thick chest and shielding her from the outside world.  A low, murmuring voice chanted soothing messages in her ear and plump, kissable lips placed chaste kisses on her hair, forehead, and temple.

“Just breathe.  Focus on just breathing right now.  You’re safe here with me.  I won’t let anything happen to you.  Breathe, baby.  That’s it,” the reassuring voice repeated over and over until the words sunk in and took root in Chaise’s subconscious, eventually bleeding over into her conscious mind.

And then the dam broke.  Everything she’d held back, bottled up, and pushed down just broke free and the tears started freely flowing.  Bull felt the wetness, knew what was to come next, and just pulled her securely into his lap, cradling her in his arms like a baby.  Chaise welcomed it—she relished in the contact, the reassurance, and the support she felt flowing from him.  She felt safe and secure in his presence and even though she would normally be embarrassed to have anyone see her cry, when her first sob broke through, she was relieved. 

She felt relief that she could be herself and let the weakness show without being berated or chastised for it.  She was relieved that even through her weak moments, Colton would keep his word and keep her safe.  The anxiety she felt was in knowing that the troubles were not over and there were still things she needed to share with Colton. 
Maybe just not at that moment since she was a blubbering mess and couldn’t seem to catch her breath between sobs.  His hands rubbed her back and he still muttered comforting words instead of telling her to suck it up and carry on.

  The sobs subsided and she was completely wiped out.  She had no fight left in her, no energy to pretend she was
alright and that she didn’t need help.  All she could do was close her eyes, inhale the masculine musk of the man holding her close, and sink farther into his protective embrace.  Within minutes, her breathing returned to normal and she fell asleep in his arms.

Bull looked down at her and marveled at how protective he’d become of her in such a short time.  This type of thing never happened to
him—he never allowed it.  But he couldn’t lie to himself and say he wasn’t becoming attached to her.  When he told her he didn’t want her to leave, he meant it.  When he said he would protect her, he meant with his life.   Comforting her and calming her was new to him and he knew he’d fuck up again and cause her pain.  Somehow he had to make her understand why that was and figure out how he could make it up to her when he did.

Rubbing his nose and lips along her skin, he softly called her name until she stirred again.

“How long was I asleep?” Chaise asked, a little confused and her cheeks slightly pink with embarrassment.

“Not long.  I actually hated to wake you, but I need to feed you,” Bull answered, keeping his voice low and calm.

Chaise made no effort to move from her spot in his arms.  She looked up at him for several long seconds without speaking before she raised her hand and stroked along his jaw.  The afternoon stubble pricked her fingers and she liked the sounds it made as her nails scraped across it. 

“I can’t do this alone, Colton,” she finally whispered her confession.  Admitting to needing someone’s help was tough for Chaise.  She’d been on her own for so long and had always been the resilient one.

“I know, Chaise.  You don’t have to,” the sincerity of his tone warmed her heart.  “You don’t have to leave—I want you to stay here.  We can take it slower; get to know each other better.”

“I’d like that,” Chaise replied with a smile that Bull returned.  She knew full well there was no going back for her.  Taking it slow or not, there was something about
the man that had captured her and refused to let her go.

After cooking supper and cleaning the dishes, Bull and Chaise settled back on the couch together.  The atmosphere had lightened considerably since her emotional breakdown and she was just glad they were able to spend time
together—talking, laughing, and sharing.

“How was work today?”  Bull asked with an unmistakable smirk.

“It was okay.  I swear I felt eyes on me all day, though.  Made my skin crawl to think that they were watching me!”  Chaise animatedly replied while gauging his reaction.

“They weren’t the only ones,” Bull responded.

“What do you mean?”  Chaise asked while sitting up then leaning toward him in a challenging posture.

Bull smiled his full on, mega-watt smile before answering.  “Brad, our techie genius, hacked into their security system and we were able to keep tabs on you all day.  Why else do you think I let you leave this morning?”

Chaise was stunned beyond speech.  Her mouth was agape, her eyes wide, and she sat motionless for a moment.

“
Let
me?  You
let
me leave?” she asked incredulously.

Bull chuckled, “
Okay, now, don’t take that the wrong way.  I just meant that otherwise I would’ve had to go with you.  We would’ve had to do things very differently if Brad hadn’t been able to get into their surveillance system.”

“Damn, no wonder I felt like I was being watched all day!”  Chaise swatted at his arm playfully.  She laughed harder when he pretended to be hurt.

“Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?”

“No, nothing.  And I looked around my office.  There was nothing disturbed.  Nothing out of place from where I’d left it Friday.  I didn’t really push my luck too much today and get into anything I’m not supposed to be in.  Now that I know you’re watching, I will try harder tomorrow.”

Chaise noticed the change in Bull’s face at that statement.  He didn’t like it one bit and he was biting his tongue to keep from saying anything.

“Go ahead and say it before you bite your tongue in two,” Chaise deadpanned.

Bull smirked, “It’s just that if they caught you, we may not be able to get to you in time to stop them from taking you somewhere.  If you’re dead set on doing this, we’ll have to outfit you with some of our
Inspector Gadget
toys first.”

“No Bond toys?”  Chaise asked teasingly.

“No, you haven’t graduated to
spy
yet.  Baby steps,” Bull joked.

****************

Shadow, Rebel, and Brad came by Bull’s house to bring their gadgets and show Chaise how everything worked.  They explained they would be able to hear and see everything that occurred but she wouldn’t be able to hear them.  Bull assured her that if it got too dangerous he would storm the building and clear a path to her by any means necessary.

The other guys exchanged shocked glances but none of them were stupid enough to question Bull in front of her.  Chaise’s look of gratitude told them everything they needed to know.  Whatever feelings Bull harbored for her were definitely reciprocated.  When Chaise announced she would get drinks for everyone, the guys took the opportunity to pounce on Bull. 

“Want to tell us what the hell is going on here, man?”  Shadow asked, giving Bull a pointed look and inclining his head toward the kitchen where Chaise was.

“
Uh—we are getting her ready to go in wired.  Have you not been paying attention?”  Bull snapped.

Rebel laughed, “You know what he’s asking, man.  Don’t play fucking dumb with us.  We know you better than that shit.”

Brad was so enthralled with how the conversation was unfolding, he didn’t notice at first that Bull was staring him down.  Quickly lowering his eyes back to the electronics in front of him, Bull looked at his long-time friends and huffed out a disgusted sigh.

“Fine.  Yes.  Chaise.  Me.  Happy now?”

Rebel and Shadow both had huge, shit-eating grins on their face at their friend’s admission.  Brad was even smiling but he didn’t look up from his work to invoke the wrath of Bull for intruding on his private life.  Rebel and Shadow slapped him on the back and clapped him on the shoulder.  Bull, uneasy with the sudden intrusion of his privacy, told them to knock it off and walked off with them laughing heartily behind him.

Several minutes later, he reappeared with Chaise and both had their hands full of drinks for everyone.  Brad took a drink of his and turned the conversation back to business.

“Alright, Chaise.  You’re all set—just remember what we’ve gone over tonight.  Don’t get the device wet.  Try to keep your hands away from it.  The rustling noises make it hard to hear.  And you’ll need to decide your code word that tells us you’re in trouble.  If we hear that word, we
will
rush in, so don’t use it lightly,” Brad explained.

Inhaling deeply, Chaise looked at each of the four men and saw a myriad of silent reactions on their faces.  Rebel cocked his head to the side, crinkled his eyes
, and studied her with a somewhat concerned look.  Shadow stood tall, hands on his hips and a troubled look on his face.  Brad was confident in his equipment and its ability to help keep her safe.  Bull was a different matter all together.  A mixture of feelings moved across his face—concern, awe, and agitation—almost simultaneously.