nother finger slid inside her, she screamed at the joy of it, her head falling back. Two strokes later, his fingers dug into her waist, and then he was pumping his fingers fast and hard, and she was screaming without restraint. She reached the edge again, nearly falling into the pleasure, when he yanked his fingers away.
“No,” she screamed.
His low chuckle brushed against her face before his tongue slid between her lips, exploring her mouth. Only after he had her a panting mess of desperate need, did he break the kiss. At some point, he had removed the scarf from around her face.
She blinked twice, her vision adjusting.
Then he was there.
All of him. All of Chase, and his sweet love.
He gathered her in his arms and carried her over to the wooden beams that had been delivered earlier. He set her down, her bottom resting on the edge of the stack, her legs hooked over his arms. He stared deeply into her eyes, and he entered her painstakingly slowly.
“Chase.” She gasped, shaking from the inside out, her legs trembling over his arms.
“Yes, beautiful?” He withdrew again, and holding the base of his cock, he slapped his shaft against her overly sensitive clit.
She gasped again and wiggled, grabbing his forearms. The pleasure was almost unbearable, but then he was back inside her. No more. She couldn’t possibly take anymore. Reaching up, she cupped his face and begged, “No more playing, Chase. I need you. Now.”
With the satisfied knowledge that he had brought her to the very brink of madness, he smiled and entered her in one swift stroke, all the way to the hilt. His brows were furrowed over his intense eyes. His teeth biting onto his lip while he thrust his hips in a rhythm, showing he would not stop until she exploded against him.
And she did.
A scream she didn’t even recognize escaped from her mouth, her fingernails biting into his arms. She shattered into pieces, falling into a foreign pleasure that had no beginning and no end.
Everything was a blur after that. For a long time.
Until she reopened her eyes, discovering that she must have slid off the beams to lay on the floor. Chase sat next to her, his back pressed against the wooden beams, beads of sweat sliding down the side of his check, his chest heaving.
With no recollection of how she got there, she kept the side of her cheek pressed against the cool floor, a much-needed relief, as she tried to desperately catch her breath and feel her toes again.
Chase’s low chuckle drew up her gaze to his sated eyes. “Teasing the hell out of you might be my favorite thing yet.”
Mine too.
Of course, she would tell him that when she could talk again.
* * *
An hour later, Chase arrived at the ranch twenty minutes before the grand opening. To his surprise, cars and trucks were parked in a long line along the road, running all the way to the driveway on both sides. Apparently, everyone they had invited to the grand opening had come, and some seemed to have come based on word of mouth alone. They had also all come early.
A month ago, Chase would have felt a twinge of guilt for spending time lost in Harper instead of being there earlier, but not anymore. She mattered. They mattered. The world could wait.
He parked his truck on the grass as soon as he pulled through the gates and was out a second later, striding up the gravel driveway. The day could not have been any better. The blue sky was full of white fluffy clouds, and Chase knew whatever picture the reporter printed on Monday, the ranch would look its best.
The closer he got, the more people he discovered. Some exploring the cabins. Others at the food table that they’d had catered. Harper had insisted on preparing the food, but Chase wanted her to enjoy the day with him. His gaze fell to his mother who stood with all her friends. The second she saw him, she moved in his direction.
“Can you believe this?” she asked with wide eyes.
“It’s quite the turnout.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “What’s the word so far?”
Mom wrapped her arm in his. “Everyone is loving what you’ve done, of course. I keep hearing so many people say such wonderful things about your work.”
Chase absorbed that. Damn, that felt good. He had gone to the right school, worked beneath the right people to gain the experience he needed, saved the money required. But he realized he was damn glad this was his first project. He had never been prouder to be a Blackshaw.
Over his mom’s shoulder, he noticed Nash and Shep approaching. When Shep sidled up next to him, he said, “I don’t think we could have asked for a better crowd.”
“No kidding,” Chase agreed.