Only Pleasure (Bound Hearts 10)

"It merely means whatever you think. " Khalid shrugged. "But Daniel is rather popular with the women. And as we've found out, Kia has become rather alone. Women should never be alone in such ways, Chase. It's a crime against nature, against their very instincts. "

"Don't start lecturing me on women, Khalid," he retorted.

"And so there goes my fun for the night. " Khalid chuckled. "I wonder if Ian would allow me to dance with Courtney. I wouldn't have to worry about her groping me in public as that shameless little Rebecca Harding did. "

There was an edge of censure in Khalid's voice that Chase rarely heard. He would have commented on it, but Daniel chose that moment to actually touch Kia. He reached out and ran the backs of his fingers down her arm. Chase had had enough.

He wondered if he really growled.

"Should I have the limo brought around?" Khalid asked him, more than just amused now.

Chase didn't bother answering him. Khalid would have his driver on call and the limo would be at the door in seconds if they needed it.

He made his way through the crowd, nodding as guests called to him, ignoring questions, his eyes narrowed, his entire focus on Kia.

She was shaking her head as Daniel tipped his blond head to the side to ask her something. She shook it again as Chase moved in behind her.

"Chase. " Daniel smiled as Kia turned quickly, her hands bracing against Chase's chest as she realized how close they were.

The moment she touched him, she felt something shift inside her. Languorous weakness invaded her body, her nipples peaked, the flesh between her thighs grew swollen, sensitive. Wet. Just that fast.

As though she had been waiting for his hands to cup her arms, his light green eyes to meet hers, his expression to shift with the memory of one stolen night they had shared.

"Chase. " His name slipped from her lips on a sigh, as though of relief.

"You promised me a dance, Kia," he told her, his voice lowered, smooth, like the finest brandy on the coldest night, and that was how it filled her.

"I did, didn't I?" She was mesmerized by his eyes, by his lips.

The world seemed to stop, there and then. The music whispered in the distance, voices became muted, unimportant, as they ignored Daniel and he drew her to the dance floor and pulled her into his arms.

Her head went against his shoulder, her arms around his neck as his arms encircled her, and he began to lead her around the floor.

She was lost. Nothing else mattered but the dance and the man, the arms holding her, and the feel of him against her.

"You look like a jewel in that dress," he whispered, bending his head to her, as though they were the only ones who existed at that moment.

"I almost didn't wear it," she admitted, too lost to sensation to play the flirty game or the cool, bored socialite.

"Why?" His lips brushed her ear.

"I don't like standing out. "

"You look beautiful. Like a sapphire in the snow. I saw you the moment I entered the room. "

And she had wanted him to see her, she realized. The moment she saw the dress the other day, she had known it would draw attention, and a part of her had wondered if it would draw Chase's attention.

The stroke of his eyes was better than no stroke at all. And how she had missed the stroke of his hands.

One stolen night hadn't been enough. She had lain alone the rest of the week, aching, dreaming, awakening and whimpering when he wasn't there on her lonely couch beside her.

"I've decided blue is my favorite color," he whispered, nipping her ear with a subtle little bite. "But I liked white, too. Tell me, baby, do your pretty panties and bra match that dress?"

She almost lost her breath. Her head lifted as she looked up at him, meeting his eyes, holding his gaze and the heat and hardness of his body.

"Yes. " She licked her dry lips, arousal pouring through her now.

"And the stockings?" He pressed her head back to his chest, whispering the words against her hair.