Chase sat in his usual booth at Slocum’s Diner and stared at the picture of Elvis near his shoulder. Even the King was smirking at him.

Somehow his life had turned into a joke. One big fucking ha-ha moment with accompanying laugh track. How else could he explain how he’d ended up in a stationary position for the foreseeable future while the woman he lo—had strong feelings for, traveled around the country like a wandering minstrel? Without him. That was the salient point. Even if he’d wanted to go too—if she’d even been inclined to allow him to, as her bodyguard or as that undefinable other—he couldn’t. Not right away. He had some pretty serious rehab time ahead of him, and if he was going through with this surgery, he wasn’t going to screw things up by not doing everything he could to improve.

He’d spent years on the road. Too many, truthfully. Sometimes he thought he might be ready to settle down in one place. And when he thought about where that one place might be, he saw Yardley with its picturesque streets and manicured lawns. Kids’ bikes littered the sidewalk, not dime bags. People kept their places tidy and locked doors never kept the neighbors out. Once up a time, his hometown had seemed cloying and intrusive. Now it just seemed like…home.

Summer was part of that. He was pretty sure she’d had a crush on him as a kid. Now the roles were reversed, except he didn’t have a crush. He had a boulder on his throat, cutting off his airflow. Chains around his heart. And he had a tattered show poster tacked up on his refrigerator, like a teenage boy’s shrine to the woman he’d never have.

By the time Jax arrived, Chase was working on a full head of steam. It all dissipated in a rush when Jax opened his mouth.

“Look, I know what this is about. You want me to go with her. It’s all taken care of.”

“I’m assuming we’re talking about Summer.” At Jax’s nod, Chase pushed aside his menu. He’d already dug into the sad looking banana and whole wheat toast on his plate, and he didn’t have the stomach for much else, though he’d planned to order a real breakfast when Jax arrived. “What do you mean it’s all taken care of? I thought you were taking some wonder job at the high school after winter break.”

“Wonder job’s not starting until next summer. Coach Collins decided he could tough it out until the end of the year.” Jax filched a piece of Chase’s toast and tore off a corner of the crust, popping it in his mouth. “And I have someone in mind to fill in for me at the agency. Assuming, you know, you ever get actual clients and stuff. Yardley’s not exactly a hotbed for people needing security, but if we expand our operations into—”

“I have clients, thank you very much.”

“Oh yeah? Who? Last I knew you had Summer and Ana. Summer doesn’t pay you. And Ana’s cuckoo.”

“She is not cuckoo.”

“Since when? You’re the one who described her as ‘the cray-cray rich broad’.”

Chase broke off the tip of his banana. Damn thing was mushy. “I forgot how you remember everything. It’s really fricking annoying.”

Jax grinned and ate more toast. “So do you want to hear about my replacement while I’m off with Summer?”

Off with Summer sounded way too cozy for his liking. “Who says I need to replace you? We only have two clients. I don’t even need your obnoxious ass.”

“Then why’d you make me a partner?”

“I didn’t make you a partner yet. Not officially,” he muttered.

“Maybe not, but I snatched one of these from your mailbox.” Jax opened up his wallet and pushed a business card across the table. It was one of the set Chase had gotten printed last week. “Deuces Wild? Really? Kind of lame, don’t you think? Bodyguard agencies should have a badass name. Like Mad Dog Security or something.”

Chase choked out a laugh. “Yeah, that’s real badass, Mr. T.” He shook his head and thumbed the card back at Jax. “Dude, mail tampering is a federal crime. You’re lucky I don’t make you wear orange for the next five to ten.”

“Anything for you. You kinky bastard.” Jax batted his lashes. “Wanna go for a ride on my new Harley? I bought it last week just for you.”

“Jesus, I hate you.” But Chase was still laughing when their waitress, the same one who had waited on them during their initial agency meeting over a month ago, bustled up to the table and took their orders. She flirted with him and Jax—more with Jax, naturally—then left them with a wink and a smile that bordered on lascivious.

“You are a total tease. Thought you were on the pussy wagon?” Chase asked.

“I am. But it doesn’t hurt to keep an eye on the prospects.” Jax grinned and propped his chin on his hand. “So, about Summer.”

“No, let’s go back to this replacement of yours. Who is he?”

“Name’s Sterling Vance. He’s actually got sec experience, unlike us. Used to work as the muscle for a minor boy band and also worked a few clubs in the city for a while. Actually, he’d probably be perfect for Summer.”

“Forget it. If anyone’s going with her, it’s you.”

Jax gave him a sly smile and stole more toast. Hell, Chase wasn’t eating it, so why not? “Thought you’d say that.”

“If he’s so almighty skilled, why does he need a job?”

“He made a mint from good investments early on and doesn’t have to work. Plus, you know, he’s a trust fund baby.” Jax raised an eyebrow at Chase’s quizzical look. “Vance Industries? The finance people?”

“Sorry, not my bag. So you want me to work with some spoiled rich pal of yours while you’re off guarding Summer?” Chase scowled at the table. “Assuming you actually, you know, manage to guard her this time and don’t go running off after some tail like you did last night.”

“What tail was I running after? And how the hell do you know?”

“The tail was my sister. And I know because I was there at the club. I saw you two arguing or love squabbling or whatever the hell it is you two are about these days.”

“Your sister is not, has not ever been and will never be, just tail. And you’re an asshole.” After that proclamation, Jax flashed his pearly whites at the waitress and accepted his coffee and scrambled eggs. Chase got more toast and a bowl of bacon. An actual bowl of it.

Worked for him.

“Regardless, your focus is lacking. So don’t screw around with Summer.”

“Or?” Jax sounded positively gleeful.

“Don’t test me, man. I’m not in the mood.”

“Aww, upset because your girl’s leaving?”

Chase pulled off the end of his banana and crammed it his mouth. Then he gulped half his coffee. “She’s not my girl.”

“But you want her to be.”

Chase lowered his cup a little too hard and the ketchup bottle pitched to its side. Neither of them righted it. “Irrelevant.”

“Ah, so you do.” Jax leaned forward and gestured with a forkful of egg. “You could try something revolutionary. You could tell her how you feel.”

“Uh huh. I’ll just do that. Too bad I don’t know what I feel, except that I sure as shit do not want to play ‘Therapist and Patient’.”

Jax let out a windy sigh and shoveled in eggs. “You know, you could join her in a couple of months. Once you’ve gotten in some of your rehab, you can get out there and spend some time together on the road.”

“She could be married in a couple months, for fuck’s sake,” Chase snapped.

Jax’s smirk returned. “Oh yeah, you don’t know what you feel. You’re a blank slate, buddy. Either you need to up your fiber intake or you’ll all knotted up over the girl. And I’ll say this…”

“Please don’t. Stop talking. Forever.”

Jax ignored him. “She’s totally worth it. She didn’t have it easy as a kid, but she’s doing great for herself. After what she saw and lived through, it’s a miracle that she came through it all sane.”

Chase set down his half eaten strip of bacon. “What are you talking about?”

“You know, what happened with her dad.”

“Her dad’s dead. That’s all I know.” The memory of holding Summer while she cried in her sleep made him fist his hands. Which, naturally, led to his little finger starting to tingle from the nerve compression. “What happened?”

Jax frowned. “It’s really not my story to tell.” He exhaled. “Fine. I know you care about her too. From what Cass told me, her mom and dad were really in love. One of those fairy tale-type couples every one hears about and no one ever knows.”

Chase pushed away his plate. “Should I ask why Cass told you and not me?”

“Did you ever ask Cass about Summer’s background?”

“No.”

Jax pointed at him. “There ya go. I used to bug her about it.” He shrugged at Chase’s lifted brow. “She’s a good kid. I always thought of her like a little sister.”

“Summer? Or Cass?”

“Summer,” he answered a little too quickly for Chase’s liking. Not that he wanted Jax to think of Summer in anything other than a sisterly way, but what about Cass?

Before Chase could ask exactly that, Jax waved his fork. “You want to hear the rest or what?”

“Go on.”

“They lived in the city and Summer was their only kid. I guess they spoiled her, like most parents do with their lonely only’s. The three of them were really close. And I suppose they had to be, considering that they basically only had each other, at least on Summer’s mom’s side. Summer’s grandparents shunned Summer’s mom for marrying someone they didn’t approve of, so that made the three of them that much tighter. Cass said Summer’s dad got in some trouble in high school. Fighting, that sort of thing.”

“Couldn’t have been that much trouble since I’ve seen pictures of her dad in his military uniform. She looks like him. Her eyes. Not the color, the shape.”

“Sounds like you’ve spent a lot of time looking at them.” Jax’s lips twitched.

“Go on, fuckwit.”

“From what I know, Mr. Maitland had a dry cleaning shop in the Bronx. Small place, but he did the best he could with it. One day some guys broke in and they got into it pretty bad. He was military, as you said, and he wasn’t about to let anyone harm his business.” Jax rubbed his hand over the back of his head. “The cops got there in time, but instead of them only taking out the punks who wouldn’t put down their weapons, they took out Summer’s dad too. One bullet to the heart.”

“Christ.” Chase sat back and shut his eyes.

“It gets worse. She was there. In the back. From what Cass said, Summer saw it all.”

Chase said nothing. No words came to mind. All he could think about was the girl he’d held in the night. How many times had she suffered through those nightmares alone?

And now she was going on the road, with no one to hold her when she went to sleep. No one who would care about her even a fraction as much as he did. He’d been her friend and he’d been her lover, and God knows he wanted to be more. He didn’t know much—okay, anything—about being in a healthy relationship, but she’d help him figure it out. If she wanted the same thing.

Only one way to find out.

Chase cleared his throat. “Her mom moved her to Yardley after that.”

“Yeah. They could’ve gone anywhere, but I guess she wanted Summer to grow up in a place with a friendly small town feeling. Plus, Yardley’s not far from where Summer’s grandparents on her dad’s side live. Well, lived. I think they’re dead now.”

“Why do you say they could’ve gone anywhere?”

“Because of the money.” Jax sighed. “Forgot that part, didn’t I? Her mom sued the city for wrongful death and they got a lot of cash. Not sure how much, but Summer won’t ever be hurting financially, best as I can tell.” His mouth tipped up. “Yet she’s getting freebie security from you. Think you might be sweet on the girl, Deuce.”

Chase fingered his fork. His appetite was officially gone. “Guess that explains the vintage Caddy. And how easily she could leave her job at Triple Scoop to take a chance on a singing career.”

“Yeah, I suppose it does. She’s a strong woman. Scary strong. She tells me she can take care of herself and I believe it. She’s taken tons of self-defense classes.”

“Yeah. She showed me some of her moves.” At Jax’s snort, Chase shook his head. “Sick bastard.”

“My point is she’s not the kind of chick you have to worry about. She has a good head, a firm backbone.” He grinned. “Ready fists and a willingness to use them.”

“Not arguing that. Any of it. It still doesn’t change that I want to be there for her. Not because she can’t take care of herself. I want her to know someone has her back.” Absently, he rubbed his thigh. Forever.

Jax threw his arm over the booth. “Sounds like you do know how you feel.”

“This isn’t some Hallmark moment. Life doesn’t work out like that. She’s about to live the dreams she’s always wanted. I don’t want to get in her way.”

“We both know dreams change.” Jax rubbed his thumb through the circle of wetness on the table from his glass of water. “Sometimes they don’t turn out the way you expect. Or they don’t mean what you thought they would.”

“No. They don’t.” Chase pushed away his plate. “Look, I’m just going to say it straight out. I was a dick to you all those years ago. You got something I wanted and I couldn’t handle it.”

“It wasn’t only that. You didn’t think it was fair. I get that. You’d been practicing all those years for a baseball career and one day I took it up on a lark, like I’d taken up so many other things, and next thing you know I was playing for the best team in the league and you…weren’t.”

Chase chuckled, shaking his head. “Understatement, bro. Serious understatement. The Diamonds weren’t even worth making the trip out for the draft. But I eased up on my training senior year. I got overconfident and lax about a lot of stuff. None of that was your fault. My jealousy was my problem.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I thought about your mom a lot. Even at a distance, I kept tabs on her. If I’d had bigger balls, I would’ve gone to see her. She was like my mom too. Better than.”

“Nothing stopping you from going to see her now. You know she’d love it.”

“Yeah.” Chase stared at Elvis’s picture and wondered how it was possible The King’s eyes now seemed sad. “Yeah. I will.”

“Good.”

Chase pushed a hand through his hair. “You know, Summer’s mom really fucked her over.”

“How do you figure?”

“She overprotected her all those years and then she took off and left her on her own.”

“I’m guessing she probably needed some space to live for herself after all those years of living on lockdown to protect her daughter. And it’s been good for Summer. She’s branching out.” Jax reached for his water, then drained it in a couple of long sips.

“You mean running away?”

Jax set down his glass. “It’s not running if you’re still searching for something you haven’t found.” Jax forked up his eggs and chewed thoughtfully. “Besides, look at us. We lived out of suitcases for years.”

“Yeah, and now we’re home again.”

“She’s young. Give her time. She may come back. Or maybe this isn’t her home at all. Home’s more than where you lay your head, man.”

Chase knew he was right. Knew it bone-deep. It didn’t make it any easier to imagine his life without Summer in it so soon after he’d gotten her back. Sort of. “Yeah. I get that.” He sighed, tipping back his head to stare at the cracked ceiling tiles. Years of grime layered over them. How many conversations like this had they been privy to? “Hearing what happened with Summer’s dad makes me realize how short life is, you know? Wasting time is a debt I might not ever get to repay. I don’t want to be that guy who looks back at my life and can’t remember when I really laid it all on the line.”

“Doesn’t make sense to lay it all on the line if you’re not certain what you want.” Chase looked at his buddy and Jax nailed him with his way too perceptive gaze. “But I think you are.”

“Think I’m getting closer anyway.” He took a deep breath, let it out. “So, ah, you saw the business cards.”

“I did.”

“Which means you saw how I said we were co-owners.”

“Yep.”

“You cool with that?”

Jax lifted his brows. “I’m sitting here, aren’t I?”

“Guess you are. At some point, we’ll have to look into renting some office space. Make it all official.” Chase cleared his throat again and wondered if he’d have any throat lining left by the end of this conversation. “I’m glad we’re doing this.”

“Me too.”

“And I’m glad we’re friends again.”

The corner of Jax’s mouth kicked up. “Ditto.”

Chase extended his hand, and yet again, Jax stood up to haul him into a bone-crushing hug that was the exact opposite of a manly fist bump. Then they pulled apart and stared at each other, grinning goofily the same way they had when they were ten. They had more lines around their eyes, more scars on their bodies and war wounds in their heads, but somewhere down deep, the carefree boys they’d once been were still there.

Looked like the best friends were too.

She was really leaving.

Summer stared at the suitcase at her feet. It didn’t hold much. The bulk of her clothes consisted of jeans and the outfits she wore for shows. She’d have to fancy things up a bit, but until she learned more about the clubs Frank had started booking for her, what she had would work. So far her bohemian funk style had served her well, and she wasn’t about to change everything all at once.

Bad enough she’d had to garage her car in favor of something more reliable that she could put some serious miles on. She’d bought a used SUV since four-wheel drive would come in handy this time of year. Plus, Kyle was coming too and they needed room for equipment and luggage and all that jazz. They might even end up with a small band at some point.

Though she could’ve afforded to fly, she didn’t want to. Part of the reason she’d wanted to become a singer was the chance to travel and see so much more of the world than she had through the lens of Yardley, New York. She’d finally been given that opportunity, and she wasn’t going to waste it.

But man, she would miss her sweet pink Caddy. Even more so now that it bore the faint imprint of her right butt cheek above the left headlight.

Swallowing hard, she stroked her thumb over the telescopic handle of her suitcase and debated going upstairs to change. She’d already swapped clothes twice, trying to ensure she presented the right image for this final meeting. She couldn’t show any weakness.

Or, yanno, sob like her heart was breaking.

She refused to let Chase Dixon know the impact he’d made on her. Sure, he obviously liked screwing her. La-di-da. Too bad she wanted so much more from him than that.

It was equally too bad he didn’t believe he could give it. If he even wanted to, and that was anyone’s guess.

But not hers. Mentally, she had to move on from Chase. That had been driven home to her on Thanksgiving, when they’d sat across from each other at Cass’s gorgeous antique dining table—one of Triple Scoop’s other family-less employees and Jax and his mom had also been in attendance—and pretended to be friends. And only friends.

They’d done their best to make the day festive. Chase’s dad was still in rehab, his mom had spent the holiday with her new family in Colorado and Summer’s mom was, at last check, in Sedona having her palm read, so Cass had been extra bubbly to cheer everyone up. At least until Jax tried to talk to her. Then she’d gone into super frost mode. Summer had attempted to eat her weight in turkey while trying not to smile at Chase and Jax’s mom getting to know each other again. Chase had ended the meal by giving Summer a butterscotch candy and she’d nearly sobbed in her hot cocoa.

It had been the strangest holiday of her life, and Christmas would be even worse, since she wouldn’t have Cass or even Chase’s glower to keep her warm. She’d probably still be on the road, which was all she wanted. Her time to seize the future had arrived, and she was stupendously happy to be on the brink of seizing it. Alone.

Woo-freaking-hoo.

The doorbell rang and she rose, rubbing her damp palms on her floral peasant skirt. Lace-up boots and a frilly blouse completed the outfit. Since she’d also left her hair down, she probably looked more like an eighteenth century poet than a present day rock-slash-country-slash-pop chick.

She crossed the foyer, her feet moving clumsily. This wasn’t a big deal. She and Chase weren’t anything but friends who’d seen each other naked. Partially naked in his case, since she’d never even seen all of him in the buff. He’d made her laugh and he’d made her come and he’d made her cry. End of story.

At least she’d gotten a couple of new songs out of it. She’d probably get more yet, when she was out on the road by herself with her guitar, a pen and a pad of paper. Always a bright side to every storm cloud. She knew that better than most. And this storm was only temporary. Being away from him would help. Eventually she’d forget.

She opened the door, her prepared speech at the forefront of her mind.

I appreciate you stopping by. It’s been a real pleasure getting to know you better, and I’m grateful for your assistance with my security. Please accept this small payment for your services. Excuse me now, while I go fling myself off the balcony I don’t have.

Okay, so the last part was an impromptu addition.

“Hey.” Chase brushed off the dusting of snow on his hair and held out a tiny plastic bobblehead Christmas tree, a sheepish smile on his face. “Got this for you. For your car,” he added when she continued to stare. Her speech vanished from her brain.

Possibly her brain vanished too. Did they ever spontaneously disintegrate? She was almost positive she’d lost all functioning brain cells in one fell swoop.

Did his eyes have to look so…so green? His jaw so carved? His body, clad in tight jeans and a loose-tailed shirt under a bulky coat, so sinful?

Porn was definitely overrated. A hot guy in a white dress shirt and faded denim could do more havoc on her hormones than some dude sporting a massive penis.

Her gaze dropped to the obvious column in Chase’s jeans. He did all right on the massive penis score too, come to think of it. And she was. A lot.

“I know you like Christmas. Or you used to.” His Adam’s apple jerked. “Do you still?”

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

“Oh. Good. I figured you probably hadn’t had much time to decorate, considering everything going on. Especially since you’re leaving. Who decorates a soon-to-be-empty house?”

“No one,” she echoed softly.

“So I got the tree.” He unfurled his fingers and it bounced maniacally on his palm. “You can stick it on your dashboard. As a reminder, you know, of home.”

“Home.” She stepped closer and leaned up on her toes, sliding her hands up his chest to frame his jaw. She pulled his face to hers, not expecting the torrent of heat that crashed through her from the brush of their lips. “God, I need you.”

She hadn’t meant to say it, to even think it. But once the words were out, he locked his arms around her waist and lifted her right off her feet. She let out a startled gasp that disappeared into his mouth, since he was currently kissing her like he’d die if he didn’t.

“You aren’t getting away from me now,” he mumbled between kisses, and hell if that statement didn’t send warmth spiraling through her body. More warmth, since every part of her was already heating up just fine.

He carried her inside and kicked the door shut so hard that the house shook. A laugh burst out of her, more than a little hysterically, but he didn’t pause in his tongue assault long enough to join in on the hilarity. After a minute or two of their wet, hot duel, she didn’t remember what she’d found funny. Ever, in the whole of her life.

“Bed,” he said, and she could only bob her head frantically like the bobblehead she was pretty sure he’d dropped. “Where?”

“I don’t know. I have to look for it.”

It took a minute, but he finally pulled back and cocked open one eye. “You don’t know where your bed is?”

“Huh?”

A smile crept across his lips, curling them up in that smug grin she loved best. “Your bedroom, Summer. Where is it?”

She blinked dazedly before taking a slow look around. Oh yeah, this was her foyer. Her house. She remembered this place, vaguely. “Upstairs. Second door on the right.”

He grabbed her hand and tugged her along, taking the stairs two at a time. At the top of them, he pushed her against the wall and gripped her wrists, pressing his groin into hers with an insistence that left no doubts about his intentions. She angled upward and nipped his chin hard enough to make him groan. “I can’t be gentle. I want to give you that tenderness, always,” he said into her hair, stirring the heavy curls. “But right now I can’t. I need to pin you down and fuck you like tomorrow isn’t going to come. And I need to know you can handle it.”

“No.” When he didn’t move back, she spoke more loudly to compensate for the thunderous beat of her heart. “No.”

He lifted his head and caught her in his hot, glittering gaze. “No?”

“No. Tomorrow is going to come, and we’re going to see it together. If we do this, it’s not some furtive quick thing in the dark. I’m going to climb on top of you and ride you slow. So slow you can’t imagine living one moment of your life without me by your side.”

His lips lifted on one side. “Baby, it’s daylight.” He stroked her cheek. “No dark.”

She blinked. Frowned. “Oh. Right.”

“And in case you forgot, we did it the first time in a well-lit dressing room. I saw every bit of you. The freckles here.” He rubbed her left shoulder, nudging aside the bra strap under her blouse. “The tiny mole here.” The thumb of his other hand caressed the strip of her belly below her navel. “Your beautiful breasts.” His lips claimed the tip of one and he pulled it wetly through the cotton.

A sigh slipped out against her will. Another tug of his mouth broke that will entirely. Her surrender to him was inevitable, each freaking time. And she loved every minute.

“Your pretty pink pussy,” he murmured, bringing up his knee to rub the apex of her thighs.

This time when she moaned, she craved the sound. She needed him to know what he did to her, to understand how she burned for him.

She grabbed a handful of his hair. She’d never seen it grown out this much. She wanted to pull on it while he entered her, fast and hard.

Screw slow. They’d save that for round two.

With her other hand, she grabbed the sizeable bulge in his jeans, stroking him without compunction. “In my mouth.” She rubbed her kiss-swollen lips over his, smiling at his rapid intake of breath. “I’m going to suck you until you scream my name.” She pushed him down the hall toward her bedroom. Over the threshold, across the carpeted floor. His legs bumped her bed and she went to work on his belt. “Until you’re so hoarse you can’t.”

“I’m supposed to refuse this,” he muttered, sounding as dazed as if he’d been hit by the business end of a hammer. “Right? Ladies first.”

“Good thing for you I ain’t no lady.” She grinned and pushed him back on the bed. He collapsed like she’d toppled him from a great height, and curiously enough, fell backward with his legs oh so slightly spread.

God, she adored this man.

She helped him tug off his shirt and took a minute to admire his ripped torso. Ripped everything. She unlaced his boots and dispatched them and his socks before tugging on his zipper and freeing him from his boxers and jeans. His cock curved into her grip, even harder and thicker than she remembered. “Tell me what you want. Leave no doubt in my mind,” she murmured against the damp head of him, her lips rubbing his flesh, her voice humming over his skin.

He stared at her without blinking. She was his entire focus. “I want you.”

Her mouth was around him before he’d said the last word.

His salty flavor hit her taste buds as the arousing weight of his length slid over her tongue. She wrapped her fingers around the base and kneaded his thigh with her other hand, digging into his taut muscles. When she had a better command on his size with her mouth, she let him go to tickle his balls. Playfully at first, using her nails. Gripping them in her palm when he groaned and reflexively thrust deeper. She could tell he was holding back, not wanting to push too hard. So she relaxed her throat and eased him farther, doing her level best not to choke. That would totally ruin the sexy moment.

She shifted from teasing his sac to caressing the base of his erection, finally taking hold of him in a firm, unyielding clasp. The untamed heave of his hips nearly made her come. Well, after she almost blacked out. The guy was huge. All over. But minus that pesky little detail, his urgency turned her on big-time. That he responded so aggressively to her touch made her want to blow his mind even more.

To give herself something else to focus on, she slipped her other hand under her skirt and into her panties. She didn’t mean to moan. Truly. But her clit needed more attention than she’d guessed and one flick of her thumb was all it took to have her gasping around his cock.

Chase leaned up, his sleepy eyes going sharp. “You’re touching yourself?”

She bobbed her head, unintentionally forcing him deeper. Making him groan.

“Let me see.”

Gesturing at her voluminous skirt and seeing no way to get it off without releasing him—something she was not prepared to do—she pulled out her wet fingers, intending to stroke them over his cock. But he had other ideas. He jerked up to a sitting position and grabbed her hand, bringing it to his lips, sucking her with molten eyes while she sucked him. Even harder than before, because that intense do me stare of his drove her crazy.

“No more. Can’t,” he gritted out. “Get up here.”

When he nudged her back, she didn’t balk. Her well-used throat appreciated the break and besides, she wanted to be up there beside him. On top of him, beneath him, bent over with him at her back. Every possible way he could take her.

But first, she needed to get naked.

She removed her blouse and slipped off her boots and skirt, taking her time on each task. It helped, inspiration-wise, to have a gigantic sex god watching her from her bed, cock standing straight up, seductive eyes set on stun. He leaned back and stared, tongue caught between razor-sharp teeth.

Her fingers went to the clasp of her bra and she fumbled it open, letting it fall. Her silk panties followed and flew through the air. Then she stalked toward Chase and stood between his spread legs, waiting for him to make the move.

Sitting up, he wound his arm around her waist, pulling her breast to his mouth. Finally he was using those teeth to torment something other than his own tongue. And speaking of his tongue…she felt its hot, rough sweep throughout every feverish molecule of her body. He switched from one breast to the other, giving them both the attention they craved. “I need another pair of lips,” he muttered, slipping his hand between her embarrassingly sticky thighs.

Judging from his grunt as he caressed her swollen clit, he didn’t mind how wet she was. Or how eagerly she ground against his palm. “You could always get one of your baseball buddies to help,” she teased, not expecting him to growl around her nipple and haul her off her feet, dumping her unceremoniously on her back on her mattress. He didn’t give her time to comment on the proceedings, however, since he shoved her legs toward the ceiling and latched his mouth on her very appreciative pussy.

By then she was moaning in earnest and really didn’t care about conversation.

He pushed in his fingers—two, three, maybe a baker’s dozen. She had no idea. All she knew was that he drew so strongly on her clit that her entire body throbbed. He rubbed just right inside, hitting some spot that hadn’t ever been stimulated in quite that way before. Her nerves strung tight, to the point that she thrashed on her bed spasmodically and couldn’t seem to stop. She babbled things she knew she’d regret later. Something about giant baseball bats and love and loving giant baseball bats. Either he didn’t hear her or didn’t care enough to stop.

Thank God.

Sliding farther down, wedging her thighs open with his huge shoulders, he forced her up off the bed until her ass was in the air. Did she mind? Oh no, she surely did not. Because one of his lubed fingers had found a new target between her ass cheeks, and something about the pressure there shot tendrils of pure ecstasy through her core. It fanned out until he owned her with his mouth and fingers and those simmering green eyes that hungrily watched her splinter apart.

That whole courtesy coming warning flitted through her head and was ruthlessly dismissed. She didn’t have breath to speak. Even gasping through the spasms taxed her immeasurably. Her belly seized up, cramping from the almost violent contractions that shook her from shoulders to toes while he extended them with his thrusting tongue. And other thrusting things that made her nearly delirious.

She flung her arms up and braced her hands on the wall behind her bed, her gaze riveted on his head moving between her legs. His absolute dedication to his task was so freaking hot she couldn’t drag her gaze away.

Which, of course, made her come again. Or still. By that point she couldn’t be sure.

“Stop. Please. Dying.” She arched her hips as the heated pressure in her ass spread even deeper. “Already dead.”

His laughter against her all too sensitive flesh caused her to whimper. Especially since that finger in a place no finger had ever gone did not stop moving. It forged on, twisting slightly, reigniting sparks that hadn’t yet fully burnt themselves out. He didn’t do anything else but touch her there, slowly, sinuously, until he sealed his warm lips around her clit. One pull and the enormous ball of tension that had built up inside her broke apart in a fiery, all-consuming rush.

If she screamed, her hearing shorted out so she couldn’t hear it. All she could do was shake and pant and thrust her body up to seek more of his ceaselessly inventive tongue.

When she could take no more, she curled into herself, whimpering. Chase laughed and rubbed her ass, his amusement reaching her even in her delirium.

She never wanted to leave.

“Worn out, baby?” he said near her ear. She’d tucked herself into the fetal position and he loomed over her back, kissing her shoulder.

Another whimper was his answer.

“I should let you get some sleep.”

“Mmm.” She wasn’t capable of more.

Then she felt his fingers between her legs again, probing gently, and she couldn’t stop from arching into the touch. He laughed again, pressing his mouth to her neck so the vibrations traveled through her skin. “You lie there. I’ll do all the work.”

She mumbled again and hid her smile against her pillow. What did he think she was, ninety-five? She wasn’t nearly done yet.

But let him think she was down for the count. It’d be more fun to show him otherwise.

After a few minutes, the bed dipped as he rolled off it, presumably to get a condom. When he returned, he wasted no time slipping his cock between her thighs. Oh hell, he was so hard. As he pushed the tip inside her, she clenched, drawing another growl from him. “Don’t keep me out.” His big hand wrapped around her upper thigh, forcing her more open. “You can take me.”

Oh yeah, she’d take him, all right.

Biting on her arm, she tightened up again, making him have to work for it. He grunted and forced more of himself inside, dragging over swollen, sensitive flesh. Then rubbing over that pleasure center that made her teeth scissor over her own skin. Still, she bore down, not relaxing around him, wanting him to claim what he wanted. She wasn’t some breakable glass doll, and she ached for him to work her rough and hard—to drive him to that point he didn’t have any rationality left.

Another inch, then two, and he bit her shoulder in frustration, reaching around to circle her clit. The action had her bowing up, giving him the access he needed. He sank in deep and let out a glorious groan, barely giving her time to accede to his invasion before he retreated and returned twice as hard. Slamming into her, shoving her across the bed until she was half on her stomach with her face buried in the pillow. She drew herself up on one hand and he pushed her back down, his hand spanning her spine and keeping her locked in place. Trapped beneath him, she moaned, twitching around his cock. Begging without words for him to finish what he’d started, to command her that completely.

To prove to them both that she was his.

“Fuck me,” she snarled, nearly vicious in her urgency.

He gave her what she needed, with powerful, unrelenting thrusts that had her shoving the pillow in her mouth to keep from screaming. The pleasure he created was so keen she could only jerk back against him, meeting him stroke for stroke. He gripped her ass in both hands, bruising her for sure, marking her in a way no lover ever had. Slaking his desire, using her to get himself off. And getting her off again in the process.

Forget courtesy come warnings.

He drove a fist into the bed beside her head and jolted deep within her, going still for one heart-rending instant before his hips shot into overdrive. Even through the condom, the warm pulses of his release triggered her climax, hurtling her into a bliss so vast that only oblivion could result. She gave herself over to the sensation, glorying in the bruises, the sweat, the hard clamp of his teeth fastening to the back of her neck.

“You’re mine now. Not sharing you with any baseball players or anyone else.” The words hit her skin like shrapnel wrapped in silk. “The second you let me touch you…” He inhaled sharply. “Dammit, you’re mine.”

It wasn’t the most eloquent speech, but it made her eyes sting just the same. She nodded and whispered, “Yours.”

“Yes.” His body came down over hers. Sheltering, heavy, hot. And she let the oblivion take her.