His to Command #1: The Chase (2 page)

Her insides quivered at his masterful intensity, and his eyes held her mesmerized.

“To lick your hard nipples? To suck them into my mouth?” he asked.

She sucked in air, inhaling the spicy, male scent of him, desperately wanting him to do all those things.

“Do you want me to be soft and gentle?” He nibbled the base of her neck, sending electricity jolting through her. “Or would you like me to back you up against this wall and take you now, hard and fast?”

She could feel his erection against her hip. Thick and hard. Longer than she’d ever imagined. Her insides clenched in need. She wanted to feel it inside her.

Kate lay panting and tried to shake the memories from her mind. Damn, now she was frustrated, and longing for him in her bed. Damn Matt for showing up and stirring these feelings in her. Every time he came into her life, even at a distance like now, it messed her up. The sex with him had been mind-blowing, but she had been shocked and surprised at her own behavior. Her will had melted away at his authoritative words, until finally she had begged him to take her. To control her. Her willingness to become completely submissive to him had unnerved her. She had never behaved that way before.

She never would have thought she’d allow a man to dominate her. To
want
a man to dominate her. But she had. With him.

The extent of her submission, of her willingness to beg and to give over complete control to him, had disturbed her deeply. What did that say about her?

A chill quivered through her. Then she’d found out just how disastrous it had been to trust a man like Matt Pearce.

Gripped by claustrophobia as swarms of people pressed by her, Kate zigzagged through the crowd of busy shoppers at Cavendish Mall. After her conversation with Ellen last week, Kate had wondered whether she really should rethink her social situation. It was the start of a new year—a good time to embrace some changes. To try and find some happiness. Loosening up and taking some time away from work would be a good start. She’d even thought about giving the handsome doctor Ellen had told her about a chance, but ultimately she had turned down Ellen’s suggestion of inviting him to her New Year’s Eve party because she wasn’t quite ready.

Ever since she started her own company, all she seemed to do was work 24-7, which allowed very little opportunity to meet people. Plus, about two months ago, her business partner had informed her he’d been offered a great job in Los Angeles and he wanted to exercise the clause in their partnership contract to have her buy him out. The problem was, unfortunately, they were only starting to see a profit and she didn’t have the kind of money she needed to pay what was required. So she was in search of an investor, and until that was sorted out, her personal life would have to stay on hold.

She climbed aboard the crowded escalator, heading to the third floor. A few moments later, she stepped toward a stylish shop with several female mannequins dressed in formfitting business suits.

Walking inside was like leaving a raging river to step onto a quiet shore. The thick carpet cushioned her feet, a welcome relief from the marble flooring outside, and soft, peaceful music drifted around her, soothing the rapid rhythm of her heart.

The elegant, wood-framed mirrors, smoked-glass tables, and cushioned chairs told Kate this was not the kind of store she was used to shopping in. She didn’t let that intimidate her, however. If she was going to meet with potential investors, she needed to look confident, in control, and successful. Her budget was tight right now, but this was a necessity…and the suits were on sale this week.

She meandered past racks of blouses and dresses and made her way to the back of the store. She glanced through the racks until she found some gray suits. Several sizes hung lifelessly on the hangers. She riffled through the selection and, finding one in her size, pulled it from the rack.

“May I help you, madam?”

Kate glanced around to see a tall woman, impeccably dressed in a tailored black suit with a white silk blouse, watching her.

“Yes, I’d like to try this on.”

The woman smiled and took the hanger, then led Kate to a changing room. She hung the suit in the small room and stepped aside. “Would you like me to bring a few more selections? We have a very nice royal blue that would go fabulous with your lovely auburn hair.”

“No, thank you.” Kate didn’t want to wear anything that bright. “Maybe something in charcoal, though.”

“I could bring some blouses, too.”

Kate nodded, then closed the door of the changing room. She enjoyed the next half hour of being pampered and persuaded to splurge. The saleswoman, generous with her flattery, regaled Kate with compliments about how the fitted jacket accentuated her lithe figure and how the slit over the right leg added a hint of the seductive without being too daring. Kate clung desperately to common sense while the woman suggested a beautiful silk blouse to go with the suit, along with a delicious assortment of lacy lingerie to wear underneath.

The blouse was gorgeous, but she had several good, serviceable blouses at home. Pretty lingerie, however, was a different story.

At first, she refused to try any on, until a pretty red and black lace bustier and matching thong caught her eye. She couldn’t resist trying it on. As she studied herself in the mirror—her breasts hiked up high, her long legs bare, the bustier making her body look shapely and sexy—she couldn’t help thinking of Matt. He would love this on her. She could just imagine his blue eyes darkening as he gazed at her.

Heat washed through her. And she would love him taking the lingerie off her.

Oh, God, what was she thinking? Matt wasn’t in her life anymore, and for good reason. If she saw him again, she would avoid him. She did
not
want to see him again. She did not want to talk to him. The man was dangerous.

She changed into her own clothes again and left the changing room. The saleswoman already had her new purchase in a suit bag hanging behind the counter. Kate looked at the black and red lingerie on the hanger in her hand and waffled for a moment, then drew in a deep breath and laid it on the counter.

“This, too.” She pulled her credit card from her purse.

Matt Pearce wasn’t the only man in the world. She deserved to have something sexy and feminine to wear, just for herself. And who knew? Maybe things would work out between her and that handsome doctor.

“Would you like a pair of black stockings to go with those?” the saleslady asked.

Kate nodded. Why not?

Once the transaction was complete, the saleslady handed her the suit bag, which Kate draped over her arm, and a small black and gray paisley bag with her new undergarments and stockings.

She returned to the flow of intent shoppers, beaming with thoughts of the possibility of meeting a new man. Going out to dinner, maybe seeing a show. After she got things sorted out with her company, she would make a point of ensuring she took time for a social life, and going out and having some fun. And definitely finding a man she could show off this new lingerie to.

With a big smile on her face, she stepped onto the escalator, descending to the second floor where she would slip into the department store at the center of the mall to treat herself to a new nail polish.

“Kate!”

Her breath caught in her throat. That voice!

She swung around and saw what she feared most. Matt Pearce, staring directly at her. He leaned over the third-floor railing overlooking the escalator, only three yards away—straight up.

She gasped and glanced desperately at the press of people in front of her. Panic exploded through her. She pushed past the teenage couple in front of her, excusing herself, then continued past the next few people, ignoring the dirty looks she received along the way. Mutters of discontent behind her made it clear Matt had decided to pursue her. At the bottom of the second floor, she hopped off the escalator and slipped into the throngs of people.

“Kate. Wait!”

He was much too close. Kate hazarded a glance over her shoulder and saw Matt only several yards behind her. His height made him visible over the crowd. Dodging back and forth amid the clumps of people, she headed toward the center of the floor. Would she perhaps be able to duck into one of the service hallways, under the obscurity of the crowd? Matt would assume she’d head for the set of stairs and continue that way once he lost sight of her.

Before she could swing around the corner, she felt a tug on her arm. She yelped and stumbled. The bag with her lingerie had caught on an information display as she’d rushed past. A quick yank didn’t free it and a quick glance back told her she didn’t have time to struggle with it, so reluctantly, she let go and forged ahead.

“Kate!”

She actually thought he had reached her when she felt a hand brush against her arm through the sea of people as she surged forward. But it hadn’t been Matt. The mirrors on a nearby wall showed that someone had tried to grab her attention, holding up her precious paisley bag. But Kate couldn’t stop. Matt was closing the distance rapidly.

Suddenly, through the throng, she could see that the mirrors surrounded an elevator only a few steps in front of her. And the doors were closing. She sucked in a lungful of air and raced forward. She made it inside but she’d caused the doors to whoosh open again. Glancing back, she saw Matt burst through the crowd. She jabbed the
CLOSE DOOR
button.

As though in slow motion, the next moment stretched on forever. Completely helpless, her breathing stopped and every part of her body froze while the opening between the doors shrank as Matt raced toward it. With his arm flung out in front of him, he strained to reach the barrier before it closed between them. Kate’s throat tightened. Anxiety ripped through her at the thought of being trapped in the tiny elevator with no possible escape.

Face-to-face with Matt.

Her heart thumped loudly as the doors finally closed. The elevator began to move downward.

Panting, Kate leaned against the wall, the rasping sound intensely loud in the silent elevator. The other shoppers made a concerted effort to ignore her and she edged toward the doors, ready to flee once they parted.

Until this moment, she’d always hated the layout of this mall. The stairs and escalators were placed at each end of the single straight corridor, while the elevator she rode was in the center. She knew Matt couldn’t dodge his way to a set of stairs and get back in time to catch her, especially through the crowd of Saturday shoppers.

The doors whooshed open and she dashed through the crowd and out the mall’s main door. Within moments, she had reached her car, unlocked it, and hopped inside. As she started the ignition, she had trouble controlling her breathing as she deeply gulped in the frigid January air. As she pulled into the main traffic area of the parking lot, she gasped as she glanced in her rearview mirror and saw Matt tear out the main entrance, scanning the parking lot with an efficient eye. A line of tightly packed traffic in front of her prevented her escape, and she was confined between a concrete pillar and a narrow walkway.

Trapped.

Her heart thundered in her chest. Any second now he’d recognize her car and there’d be no escape. But then Matt marched past the cars behind her and into the parking area.

Not toward her.

The car in front of her started to move. She pressed the accelerator, moving slowly ahead with the traffic. She watched in her side mirror as Matt walked toward a gray van and glanced inside. She giggled nervously as realization struck. Last week, he had seen her driving Ellen’s van. She sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly.

He thought she drove a van.

Five minutes later, she drove onto the highway and sped away from the mall.

If she’d thought it would help, she’d have gone faster.

She frowned. Matt knew she was a creature of habit, and typically went out shopping every Saturday around the same time. She wasn’t sure why he had been at the mall last week, but she was sure this week it was because he’d been watching for her.

But why?