5 Nights (Sinful Delights Romance - Boxed Set) (21 page)

Chase left the lunch feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. He managed to keep his emotions in check until he made it back to his home, and then for the first time since he’d become a man, he sat down in his study and cried.  The knowledge that his father was leaving this world, sat heavy on his heart.

He remembered fondly the first time his father had taken him to the plant, and the pride that shone in his eyes.  As a single father, George had brought him there on school vacations and during the summer.  Everything he knew about business was because of that great man. 

Turning the club over wasn't as disheartening as he'd thought.  He loved the lifestyle, but he no longer craved a public dungeon.  Maybe he was just getting older, but the thought of settling down with one woman to enjoy this, appealed to him.  Thoughts of one particularly enchanting woman suddenly filled his mind.

His thoughts strayed to Jessie a lot these days.  There was something special about her, and he wanted to discover her secrets.  Knowing the news his father gave him wasn't conducive to rational thinking, he brushed aside all thoughts about her.  He had much more important things to worry about at the moment.  With that thought, he kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed. The stress of the day had made his head pound, and rest proved impossible.

6 Waiting

Jessie waited for the phone call that never came, and wondered if Chase had decided to just not bother with her.  It hurt a little more than she would have thought to know he wasn't really interested in her.  After taking a run, grabbing a shower, and checking again for messages, she sat down with her new best friend of the moment, rocky road ice cream. 

Finishing half the cartoon, she felt on the verge of vomiting, and it did little to help with her depression.  "Some friend you are," she spoke to the box as if it were responsible for her bad mood, before placing it back in the freezer.

Sebastian rubbed against her ankle, his silver and white fur, soft against the bare flesh.  Picking him up in her arms, she nuzzled her face against his back.  "I guess that's what I get for thinking about a man."  Sebastian's answering purr seemed to say he agreed with her.

Two sappy romances later, she turned off the television.  Watching movies was something she didn't do often, and it was just more proof of her depressing mood.  Finally she made a decision.

Sitting around moping about him, definitely wasn't going to help, so she called Amanda.  They agreed to meet at her house later for drinks, and she forced herself to keep up a cheerful disposition that she really wasn't feeling.  As the evening arrived, she couldn't help but wonder how she'd so misread the signs Chase was giving off last night.  It never entered her mind that something might have come up.

She dressed casually for her visit to Amanda's and on the drive over she hoped her company would help cheer her up a bit.  Several glasses of wine later, they sat on her oversized couch, and her friend seemed just as puzzled as she was about him never returning the call.

"It just doesn't make sense; the man was practically eating you up with his eyes at the book club."  Curling her legs under her on the couch, Amanda scrunched up her face.

"I guess maybe he realized I wasn't worth his time."  She gave a small laugh to show that she was joking, but internally that was how she felt.

"That's not funny Jessie, you know what? I'm going to call Carolyn and let her know how poor her judgment in men is!"   Sliding down to the arm of the couch she picked up the phone and dialed her number.

"That's not very nice Amanda," but gave up trying to convince her to not call since she was apparently ignoring her at the moment.  Sipping on her wine, she decided that it was time she started making herself available again.  It was apparent her heart had healed enough to want to date again, and even though the thought of meeting strange men wasn't comfortable, she knew she didn't want to be alone forever.

Amanda tapped her manicured nail against the phone receiver, waiting for Carolyn to pick up. "I want you to know that your friend is not everything you say he is."

"Which friend are we talking about?"  Carolyn slid on her heels, and checked her reflection in the mirror before walking across her bedroom.

"Chase, who else, Jessie is just heartbroken that he didn't call her back." 

"You've lost me Amanda, what has Chase done and why should Jessie care?"  Sighing into the phone Carolyn waited.

"He asked her out last night and then didn't call her back today; you know how hard Jessie takes things." 

"Hello, sitting right here, he just isn't interested, it's not the end of the world."  Amanda was her best friend, but even she could admit that she enjoyed stretching the truth when it suited her.

"I'd love to talk about this Amanda, but I'm heading to Chase's now, there's been a family emergency.  I'll have to explain the details after I talk with him about it." 

"Oh," Amanda's attitude changed immediately.  "Well I hope everything's okay."

"I'll let you know later, and tell Jessie I'm sure with everything going on he just didn't think to call her.  I really need to run, we'll talk soon."  Carolyn hung up the phone.

"Apparently something's going on with Chase's family and Carolyn is headed over to discuss it with him.  She said to let you know that it wasn't you, he just had a lot on his mind." 

She was more than a little relieved knowing he hadn't just blown her off, but now she was worried about him.  They didn't know each other well enough for her to call Carolyn back and ask for answers, but she hoped everything was alright.  She didn't know him well enough.  That really struck home.

With the missing phone call issue solved, she and Amanda finished off a bottle of wine and Amanda insisted she stay over since she was obviously too inebriated to drive.  Jessie wasn't about to argue with her since two cups of wine were usually her limit. 

The wine made her feel a little more open.  "So what do you think about Chase?" She considered Amanda an expert on the subject of men, so she trusted her opinions.

Drinking another sip of wine, she tapped her finger to her chin.  "I can't put my finger on that one honestly.  Knowing about his desires, I would like to label him as a womanizer, but after seeing how respectful he acted, both at the dungeon and the book club meeting, it doesn't fit."

"He's treated me with nothing but respect, of course we've only met two times."  Her head feeling light from the alcohol wasn't really allowing her to use her reasoning skills at the moment.

"There's no doubt he's hot as hell to look at," laughing at Jessie she waggled her eyebrows.  "I think he's complicated.  That definition seems to fit, yes complicated."

"In other words you don't know what to think about him, other than the fact he comes in a pretty package," giggling at the thought of her best friend being confounded over a man made her heart feel a little lighter.

"I'm sure it's just the wine," she smirked taking another long drink.  "Bad boy with a heart, that's how I'll label him." 

Amanda always enjoyed categorizing men.  It was something of a hobby for her but bad boy just really didn't fit Chase.  "I don't know, I mean I basically offered myself up to him and he encouraged me to go home and think about it, bad boy?"

"Well considering the things he does for pleasure, I wouldn't call him an altar boy," snorting wine out her nose, as she laughed so loud she could barely breathe.

Jessie couldn't argue with that, and the sight of her friend with wine all over her face had her giggling hysterically.  That and the overindulgence in wine was almost too much.

Amanda stood and walked to the bar, still laughing as she pulled out a napkin, wiping her face.  "So seriously, were you really going to allow him to do some of those things to you?" Her expression grew serious as the words were spoken.

The look on her face was enough to stop her own laughter.  "The thought of him touching me was enough to make me not care what he did."  Gazing back into her best friend's face she wondered about her own sanity for a moment.

"He turns you on that much?" Amanda's eyes widened.

Shaking her head at the surprise in her eyes, she nodded.  "I know it's crazy but when he's near me, I want to fall into his arms and just give in to every ounce of pleasure he can make me feel."

"Damn you've got it bad." Grinning again, she sat down on the couch.  "Have you ever thought you just might need to get laid?"

Slapping her friend on the arm, she laughed again.  "You know my feelings on that, I want more than just casual sex."

"Yeah but tied up having your ass spanked to get it?" Cringing, she wrinkled her nose.

"I think it's not having to tell him what I really want.  Does that make sense?" She wasn't sure she understood why she was suddenly willing to experiment with this.

Amanda nodded.  "I guess there's that.   I could see you not being able to put into words what satisfies you.  From what you've told me about your relationship with Greg, you never experimented outside of a little petting."

"Exactly, so the thought of him taking control in that aspect isn't all that frightening to me.  Now the other stuff like we saw in the dungeon, that makes me want to tuck my tail between my legs and never find out if the other stuff is worth it." 

"I don't know, I think I might enjoy a little experimentation in that area.  Speaking of, I got an offer from one of the
men at Chase's club."  Waggling her eyebrows, her mouth lifted in a smile.

"And you were going to tell me when?" Amanda never held out on telling her about her dates before.

"We only went out to dinner, but he was a first-timer at Sensation's the night we were there.  He seems like a decent enough guy, so we'll see."

"Tell me more," Amanda's face was harboring a secretive little grin and she was intrigued.

"He's a lawyer at one of the firms' downtown, and says that he's been curious about this for a while.  Honestly he just seems like an average guy, of course he's drop dead gorgeous." She shrugged.

"So when are you meeting him again?" Maybe this was the one for Amanda, she really hoped for once this was a nice guy.  She always dated the nice looking ones, but so far they'd all failed to strike a spark in her heart.

"He's cooking for me at my place this weekend.  A man that can cook, now that's a first for me.  We know the same people, his company has even done business with daddy.  It's odd we haven't met before now."

"B
e careful, I mean just because the guys a lawyer doesn't mean he isn't a closet jerk."  It was funny to be giving advice to Amanda when she really didn't have any past experience with dating outside of Greg.

"I will but he's a professional, I'm sure he's just as worried about his career as I am about daddy discovering I went to Sensations." Laughing, she rolled her eyes.

Yawning, she realized the wine was really catching up with her.  "Still, be careful all the same." Standing up she stretched.  "I think I'm going to call it night."

"Same here, I've got the guest room all made up." Waving, Amanda walked off to her bedroom.

Knowing her way around her friend's house by memory, she found the other room and quickly undressed.  As her head found the pillow, she fell asleep, dreaming of Chase making love to her underneath a waterfall.

7 Details

Chase had explained the situation to Carolyn when she'd arrived last night.  After hours of discussion, he was pleased that she would be running his company for him.  There was no one better suited for the task, so at least that was one worry he could take off his mind.  He was meeting with the lawyers today to sign papers on his father's company, and have other's drawn up for Carolyn for his.  Stress was a mild word for what he was dealing with at the moment.

The message from Jessie wasn't found until after Carolyn had left, and he thought it would be rude to call her back so late, so he decided to try her after all the meetings today.  He wasn't really in the frame of mind to start a relationship with all the changes going on in his life, but the thought of not seeing her didn't sit well with him either.

Signing the papers with the lawyer made everything seem so final, and his emotions were strung tight.  There were so many things to take care of, many of which he still didn't understand especially when it came to taking care of his father's needs.  He knew his father needed fulltime care, and if he was going to run the company, unfortunately it couldn't be him.  He thought of hiring a private nurse, but knowing his dad, that idea was going to get shot down pretty quickly.

In the course of a day his entire life had been turned upside down, and he needed to find a way to keep his thoughts organized.  Driving back to his father's business, he decided to at least call Jessie and let her know what was going on.  He owed her that much, he thought.  Using his overhead phone system in the car he spoke her number out loud for his car's hands free device, and waited for her to answer.  When she picked up, the sound of her voice was enough to make his day a little less despairing.  "Hey Jessie, I'm really sorry about not calling back last night, I had some family issues."

"Carolyn told me something was going on, are you okay?" 

He didn't want to burden her with his problems, but it was nice to at least hear her voice.  "I'm fine.  My dad is having some medical issues."  That was giving enough information without burdening her.

"Oh Chase, I'm so very sorry, what can I do to help?" 

"Honestly there's not much anyone can do, he's refusing chemotherapy so it's just waiting on the inevitable I guess." 
As much as he hated to admit it, it was nice being able to share his problems with someone else.

"Cancer? Oh Chase, you must be going through hell right now." 

"It's not one of the better times in my life," he spoke solemnly, the kindness in her voice made him want to continue talking about it, which shocked him somewhat. 

"Do you want to have coffee and talk about it?  I know when I lost my mom, if it weren't for Amanda I'm not sure I could have lived through it."

Torn between taking advantage of her generous heart, and needing to be a strong man, he couldn't deny wanting to see her.  "Could we do it at my place later tonight?  I'm really not interested in being around a crowd of people at the moment."

"Of course, just give me directions and a time." 

He gave her directions, "Would eight be alright?  I've still got to sort some things out at my father's office, and I'm not sure how long that's going to take."

"Eight sounds fine, and if you need to make it later, give me a call."

"Thanks Jessie, I really appreciate this, to be honest I don't want to be alone right now."  How weak and pathetic did that sound, he shook his head. He was supposed to be a dominant male and here he was acting like some little boy who needed to be broken from the teat."

"I'll see you then, and if you need me to pick up anything on the way in, let me know."

"Your beautiful face is all I need," he tried to force himself out the funk he was in at least long enough to hopefully make her smile.  "I'll see you tonight."  Ending the call he breathed a sigh of relief.

Driving back to his father's offices he smiled for the first time today.  It was amazing how just speaking to her made the dark cloud that seemed to be surrounding him at the moment, dissipate.  Dealing with all the paperwork that afternoon wasn't as disheartening as he thought about seeing her tonight. 

Several of his father's employees stopped in the office as he was organizing to give their condolences.  He appreciated their gestures, but it almost made him feel like his father was already gone.  At least all the records were organized to perfection. He smiled weakly remembering how meticulous his father had been about his business affairs.

He needed to set up consultations with the heads of the departments, but just didn't have it in him to arrange that yet.  The next few months would require all the staff to grow accustomed to his different attitude in management, but in truth he wasn't sure they'd see that many changes.  Most of what he knew about business was because of his father.  

By the end of the day his head was pounding, and all he could think about was taking his mind off things for a while.  He'd already called his father, and for the moment he was dealing as well as could be expected considering the circumstances.  He even got him to agree to a fulltime nurse.  That shocked him beyond belief.  His thoughts turned back to the petite beauty joining him later tonight.

Closing his eyes, rubbing his temples to ease the ache, he imagined her blue-green eyes filled with longing looking his way.  His mind conjured up a fantasy of her wearing nothing but a smile.  Her small hands reached out to him, begging to be filled.  His cock instantly hardened, and his hand moved to it without thought.  The thought of her hand stroking him was so intense his eyes opened immediately.  "Shit," he cursed, getting off at work was not an impression he wanted to give. 

Standing up, he quickly gathered his briefcase and walked out of the building.  Shielding his erection with the case, he shook his head.  The woman was coming to his house as a friend.  That was all.  His mind made up, he found his car and drove home. 

8 Feelings

Finishing up the work the office had sent over, she spent the rest of the afternoon looking up information on Mesothelioma.  When she arrived at Chase's house tonight, she wanted to understand a little more about what his father was dealing with.  She wasn't knowledgeable when it came to healthcare, so everything she read just seemed horrific.  After her research she wondered if she were in Chase's father's position, if she wouldn't have refused the option of therapy as well.

Dressing in a pair of jeans and t-shirt, she considered comfort first. Tonight wasn't a date, she reminded herself, but an opportunity to offer some moral support to someone in need.  He hadn't called back to delay the time, so she followed the directions to his home, and when she arrived she was floored at the beauty that met her eyes. 

She hadn't thought about his financial status, so discovering that he lived in such opulence was a little overwhelming.  She was definitely feeling underdressed as she guided the car into the circular driveway.  Parking in front of the
three story brownstone, she reminded herself that she wasn't here in a romantic capacity so it didn't truly matter. 

Walking up to the door she was greeted by another woman.  Smiling into the elderly face, she tried not to appear as nervous as she suddenly felt.  "Um, I'm Jessie.  I'm here to meet with Chase?" 

"Chase is expecting you dear, please follow me."  Smiling warmly, Louise guided her to the study.

A last minute business call had him running late and he smiled and held up a finger as he concluded his conversation.  Hanging up the phone he shrugged apologetically. "Sorry I wasn't there to greet you in person Jessie," walking over he took her hands in his.

"Louise did Jessie introduce herself yet?"  His housekeeper was almost like a mother to him and he treated her as part of his family.  She'd been with him since he was six and had made the move with him from his father's house when he moved out on his own

"She did, and I must say she's a lovely girl." 

Getting the Louise seal of approval was almost a miracle, and he chuckled feeling a little less morbid than he had for most of the day.  Louise had no problem telling him if she didn't approve of someone he invited over, although she did wait until the person had left, to which he was always grateful.  Louise had come to his family from Ireland and she carried that fiery disposition that he simply loved.  No nonsense and honest to a fault.

It was apparent that these two people had more than just a working relationship, and Jessie was glad he at least had
someone taking care of him that cared.  "It's really nice to meet you Ms. Louise," she'd been raised herself to always give proper respect to the elderly.

"Just Louise, young lady, but it's nice to see that some young people still have manners. I'll bring some refreshments in."  Not giving them time to respond, she left the room. 

"She seems really nice," Jessie smiled and looked down at their hands, which he was still holding.

"She's a good woman, but don't let her fool you, she's got an Irish temper if you ever get on her bad side."  He chuckled as he remembered some of the scolding's she'd given him as a child.

His hands felt so good in hers, and she stood awkwardly for a moment when she couldn't think of a thing to say.

Realizing that he still had her hands, he gave a rueful grin.  "So would you like to sit down?"  He was acting like an adolescent, as he rubbed his thumbs over the softness of her hands.  Without warning the thought of how much he'd love to have those hands tied over her head as he made love to her passionately, filled his mind.  He released her hands quickly, not accustomed to letting his other head lead him.

She nodded, and lowered her eyes at the intensity of his gaze.  Feeling her heart race, something she was beginning to think was normal when he was around, she forced a small smile. They sat down together and there were a few minutes of awkward silence. 

Jessie couldn't stop thinking of how good it felt to have his hands hold hers earlier, and he wanted to forget everything going on his life for a moment and enjoy something as normal as desiring a beautiful woman.  He finally broke the silence.

"So tell me how you met Carolyn?" Great idea, he derided himself mentally.  Bring up another woman when he really wanted to know more about her. 

Glad to have something to talk about, instead of wondering what it would feel like if his lips found hers, she smiled.  "My best friend Amanda introduced her to me when she invited me to join the book club."

"The ladies there seem very inquisitive about alternative lifestyles?"  He needed to keep her talking, instead of allowing his eyes to roam over her incredible body.  Hell, just being in the room with her made him ache to touch her.

Feeling a little more comfortable, she nodded.  "They definitely enjoy researching what they read."  That was an understatement after their trip to the dungeon.

"What about you, do you take the same interest they do with all the stories?" He smiled, and shifted on the couch, not sure this topic of conversation was conducive to keeping his testosterone in check.  For reasons he couldn't explain he felt like a randy teenager at the moment.

Flushing, she considered his question for a moment.  "Not really, I'm happy just accepting the fantasies for what they were."  The whole BDSM thing hadn't really been something she'd thought about before walking into his club.  She just accepted at face value that those books were accurate.

"So you never considered the fantasies might be something you'd like to try on your own?"  Definitely not the right way to take the conversation, again he forced a smile as his jeans grew tighter. 

Admitting that until him her fantasies hadn't been something she considered at all, didn't seem like the right thing to blurt out.  She shrugged, and decided to turn the topic over to him.  "What about you? I mean you told the group you got into this after a former girlfriend introduced you.  The female master, was she the reason you wanted to own your own club?

"Dominatrix," he corrected her terminology and grinned.  Resting back on the couch, he allowed his arm to rest behind her back on the top of the fabric.  "I guess in a way she was.  I was living in Chicago while studying for my degree.  Sheila, that's the older woman, took me to a dungeon there."