Seducing Chase (13 page)

“Want to grab some dinner?”

Val thought about how nice lunch had been, but then also considered how things usually ended up when they went out at night. She bit her lip, not sure it was a good idea to tempt them both.

“Come on. Eating alone isn’t fun. I’ll treat. I’m in the mood for a big steak.”

Her mouth watered. Val loved steak, as she’d mentioned to him, and he’d no doubt remembered and used the knowledge against her, the conniving man. “All right, you win.”

Nate grinned and her belly dropped. Why did she respond to him that way? He stepped back and made a sweeping motion toward the exit at the end of the hall. “After you.” Throwing a quick glance his way, Val gathered her stuff. As she passed him, he whispered, “You can drive the Porsche.”

She couldn’t help the shiver that ran down her spine, both from his smooth-as-silk voice in her ear and the prospect of driving that beautiful machine. Nate chuckled behind her. Holding her head high, she walked out of the doors to the department and headed for the parking garage.

They reached Nate’s Porsche and she couldn’t help running her hand down the side of it, her fingers fluttering over the flare of the back quarter panel and up the sloping roof. Nate tossed her the keys. “Stop fondling her and get in.”

After stowing her things in the tiny area behind the seat, Val climbed into the car. She was a beauty, all right. Val was enamored of the black leather seats, cherry red console, and bright chrome steering wheel. Placing her hands on that shiny wheel, she checked out the controls in front of her. Nate snickered and Val turned to glare at him.

“What?”

“You’re like a kid in a candy store.”

“You know I like cars.”

“Yes, I do, but I had no idea it would consume all your attention.”

“What do you mean?”

Nate shook his head, a mocking grin forming on his delectable mouth. “I’ve asked you twice where you suggested we go for steak and you’ve completely ignored me.”

“You did not!”

“I did. Swear to God.” Val’s neck and face grew hot. Nate’s eyes darted down briefly before returning to hers. “So are you ready or do you want more time to stroke the steering wheel? I have to admit I’m getting pretty jealous, between that and your treatment of the outside.”

“I was not–” Val reached over and shoved him. “Shut up!”

Nate put his hands up in mock surrender. “Okay, okay.”

“Anyway, let’s go to EB Green’s. They have this great New York strip steak that’s sliced up and topped with a cabernet demi-glace. It’s a two-person entrée, but if you want something else that’s fine too.” She’d rushed more as she’d kept talking, and had to force herself not to fan her hot face.

“That sounds absolutely divine.”

“Oh. Okay. Then, um, let’s go.”

Val drove the short distance to the restaurant, silently cursing herself for having chosen one so close to the hospital. If she’d thought ahead more she would’ve chosen the excellent steakhouse in the casino way up in Niagara Falls. She considered asking him if he wanted to go there instead, but decided that was stupid. Getting a good night’s sleep had to take precedence over indulging her love of classic cars.

When they arrived she turned to Nate. “Do you want to valet the car or park it yourself?”

Nate looked around. “Where’s the valet parking lot?” Val pointed at a parking garage across the road and waited for his decision. He considered for a moment and then nodded. “We can valet. I’ll just watch them drive the car away to make sure I don’t hear a sonic boom.”

Val laughed. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

They gave the keys to the valet and, after Nate was satisfied the car was in good hands, he held the door to the restaurant open. It was actually part of an opulent hotel in downtown Buffalo, and Val took a moment to appreciate the understated elegance of the lobby before making the right-hand turn into the hallway leading to the restaurant. Once inside, she glanced around. On weekends an ancient man who seemed to know every song ever made played the piano, but tonight the instrument sat silent in the corner. Val wasn’t surprised, but she wished they could’ve listened to the man. He was simply amazing.

The hostess showed them to a cozy booth on the side of the dining room and Val settled into the plush leather upholstery with a contented sigh. Nate grabbed the wine list and ordered a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, telling Val, with a sheepish smile, “I figured it would go well with the Cabernet sauce on the steak.”

Val couldn’t help but smile. “I would think so.”

The waiter came back and Nate ordered their entrée while Val looked for an appropriate side dish. The sides were served family-style and fed two or three people, so she figured one would suffice. She picked the twice-baked potato and impulsively also ordered the iceberg salad with crumbly bleu cheese. Val knew it hardly qualified as a salad, but she loved crumbly bleu cheese and she hadn’t had it in months. Nate ordered a Caesar salad, which was prepared tableside, and they sat back to wait for the wine and their salads.

When the wine came, Val swished it in her glass like she’d been taught on countless trips to the wineries in the Finger Lakes. After taking a few sips, she put her glass back down again and looked up. “Do I have wine on my face?”

“Um, no.”

“Why are you looking at me so funny?”

Nate blew out a loud breath. “I’ve never been jealous of a wine glass, but I’m reconsidering my stance.”

Val’s eyebrows rose as heat suffused her face. “Okay, I didn’t expect that…”

“It’s the truth.”

The waiter arrived with the cart to make Nate’s Caesar salad. “Saved by the bell,” she mumbled. They both watched as the ingredients for the dressing were expertly mixed before the man added the romaine lettuce, parmesan cheese, and croutons. He tossed the entire concoction and then piled it high on a plate, presenting it to Nate with a flourish. Val wasn’t sure if they were supposed to clap or just tip the guy, but Nate smiled and discreetly handed a bill over. The waiter nodded in acknowledgment and left, and soon Val’s iceberg salad appeared. She took a bite and let the tangy taste of the cheese settle on her tongue.

“I love bleu cheese. It’s so bad for me, but I love it anyway.”

“I can see that.”

She gestured toward his half-empty plate with her fork. “Looks like yours wasn’t too bad either.”

“Best Caesar salad I’ve ever had.”

“Really? But you live in Manhattan.”

“Yes, and I’ve been to LA, Las Vegas, even Paris, and haven’t had a better one.”

“Wow. You should tell someone here. I bet they’d like to know.”

“Maybe I will,” Nate answered. “So tell me about Buffalo and why you like it so much.”

Val smiled. “It’s home. Always has been.”

“But there must be more to it than that.”

“Sure there is.” She went on to describe the many attractions of the area and how great the people were. Nate just watched her as she talked, nodding and interjecting the occasional word. After a while Val fell silent. “I feel silly going on and on about Buffalo. It’s just home.” She shrugged and Nate grinned.

“Don’t feel silly. I think it’s great there’s somewhere you feel so comfortable.” Nate leaned back so the waiter could take away his plate. “So you’d never want to leave? Explore the big, bad world?”

“No, not really. I love it here. I think it’s a great town.” She stabbed another piece of lettuce drenched in bleu cheese and continued. “Besides, my whole family and most of my friends are here.”

“That does count for something.” Conversation turned to more mundane topics until their steak was served on a sizzling platter. Val took a couple of pieces, not wanting to look like a huge pig after having already downed the whole iceberg wedge, but Nate rolled his eyes. “Take more.”

“I’m fine. If I eat these and I’m still hungry I’ll have some more.”

Shaking his head, he loaded up his own plate. “Women…”

Val laughed. She cut into the succulent steak and popped the first bite into her mouth. “Man, I
love
steak.”

“Glad you’re enjoying it.”

“Thanks for suggesting it. I haven’t been here in ages.”

“Surely that’s not true. Where do your dates take you?”

Val snorted. “What dates?”

“Val, honey, don’t think you’re fooling me. What red-blooded man is dumb enough not to take the opportunity to ask you out?”

“Um, most of them?” She didn’t want to have this discussion with him, but he looked disgusted.

“Then the men of this town might be nice, but they’re idiots. Oh well, less competition for me.” He winked and she squeezed her thighs together. Feeling her face heat again, she took a big gulp of the wine to try to cool herself off, but it went down the wrong pipe and she began to cough. “Val?”

“I’m fine,” she managed to wheeze out.

“Are you sure? Are you choking?”

“Wrong pipe.” She picked up her water glass and found it almost empty.

Nate signaled and the waiter scurried over. “Water.” When the waiter returned, Nate knelt next to her. “Drink it, sweetheart. It’ll help.”

Taking the glass from him, she forced a little down in between coughs. Now
she
really felt like an idiot.

Smooth, Val, very smooth.

“I’m all right.”

“Are you sure?” Nate looked unconvinced, but she motioned for him to take his seat again and after a brief hesitation, he did. They ate in silence for a while, and then Nate said, “I wish I could eat this entire thing, but if I do they’ll have to roll me out of here.”

Val smiled at that image. “I’m full too.”

Nate asked for the check and, after he paid, they left the restaurant. Val could feel the warmth from his hand on the small of her back. She knew what those hands could do and shivered.

“Cold?” He moved closer and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Better?”

Not even a little bit.

“Yeah.”

“Good.” Nate smiled down at her, and she thought for a minute he was going to close the space between them and kiss her, but then he turned and began walking again. She hurried to keep up with his long strides. The valet brought the car around, and Nate went to the driver’s side. “I only had one glass of wine early. I’m driving.”

“Hmpf.”

Grumbling to herself, Val got into the passenger’s seat. She pivoted to complain good-naturedly to Nate, but his hand came up to knead the back of her neck. He pulled her closer. “I have to. God, I have to right now.”

His mouth covered hers and a million points of light zinged around the car. She shouldn’t want this, shouldn’t want him. But, oh, how she did. Nate’s masculinity, his absolute sense of self overwhelmed any objections. His tongue demanded entrance and she opened for him on a soft sigh. Nate growled in response, tilting her head to his liking, as he pushed into her mouth again and again, simulating a far more intimate act, and Val’s hands scrabbled for purchase around his neck. After several moments he pulled away, panting, and she realized they’d been making out in the car right in front of the hotel. For how long, she had no idea. Val had never lost herself the way she did around Nate. It was a toss-up whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Please tell me you’re as into this as I am. It’s killing me.”

She nodded, too overcome to form a coherent sentence.

“
Thank God
.” He put the car in gear and swung out of the parking area in front of the hotel. Val grabbed for the door handle as the Porsche careened around the corner. She prayed Nate wouldn’t get pulled over or kill them both. In what seemed like mere seconds they had arrived at the parking garage adjacent to both the hospital and the hotel Nate was staying in, and he took Val’s hand, rushing her across the street.

“Slow down, Nate!”

He looked down at her and frowned. “Sorry.” Slowing his pace, he nonetheless kept a solid grip on her hand. When they got into the elevator to take them to the wing with the hotel, he pushed her against the stainless steel back wall and gave her a brief, hard kiss. “I want you so much. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I literally feel like I’ll lose my sanity if I don’t touch you.”

They crossed the hotel lobby and entered another elevator. Nate punched the button for his floor and she watched as he shifted his weight from side to side. His intensity both scared and thrilled her. Once inside his room he picked her up and tossed her onto the bed, following closely behind so he was lying fully on top of her, his weight pressing her into the mattress. She’d hardly caught her breath before he was kissing her again.

Before long they were tearing at each other’s clothes, desperate for skin-on-skin contact. When they were finally naked Nate rolled on top again, pushing his hands into her hair to hold her still for yet more deep, searching kisses before turning her head to the side so he could lick, bite and suck his way down her neck to her collarbone.

She arched her back, drinking in the unique scent that was Nate. Val had never been a huge fan of cologne, but he wore just enough to intrigue and yet not overwhelm her senses. Underneath that was a hint of sweat and pure man. Why did the man’s smell turn her on so much? It was weird.

Nate worked his wicked lips over the pulse point in her neck. “You taste so good,” he murmured. Val grabbed his short hair and tugged him down to her breast. “Oh yeah, baby, show me what you want,” he got out before taking her nipple into his mouth and suckling hard. She gasped, biting her lip, and Nate looked up at her. “Let me hear you. Let me hear your reactions. So sexy…”

He moved to her other breast, as his hand rose to pull and tweak the nipple he’d just abandoned. “I need you, Nate, please,” she begged, both never wanting his exquisite torture to end and needing to feel him inside her as soon as possible.

“All in good time, my sweet.” Val groaned and he covered the sound with a kiss. “I want to make you feel so good, honey.”

“You will.”

He smiled, caressing her cheek. “We’ve got time. Let’s not rush this.”

Val considered throwing her first temper tantrum since she’d been about six years old, but decided instead to make him suffer as much as she was. She pushed at the hard wall of his chest and he rolled onto his back. Following him, she straddled his hips, giving him a cat-ate-the-canary smile that widened his eyes.

*****

Nate stared at Val’s naked body poised over his and was sure he’d died and gone to heaven. Then she sank down a little more, her hot center resting on his groin, and he couldn’t help the decidedly unmanly sound that worked its way out of his chest. He wanted her more with every passing minute and, though he’d vowed to go slow, what he really wanted to do was push himself inside her so far neither kept their wits about them.

Her breasts were front and center, and he used both hands to squeeze and knead them gently. Val threw her head back when he lightly pinched her nipples, and he truly wasn’t sure how long he could hold on without losing whatever shred of his sanity remained. He moved a hand down to her core. Oh yeah, she was more than ready for him.

Nate looked at the goddess of a woman on top of him and his heart tightened.

This is only sex. I’m going back home soon. It wouldn’t be fair to her to stay involved.

No matter what he told himself, though, he couldn’t shake the feeling it was already more than just sex, and with each whisper, each touch, each moan, she was pulling him further and further in. Reaching for the nightstand, he blindly groped for the condom he’d left there when he’d shucked his pants moments before. She took it from him and he held his breath as her small, delicate hands circled him before rolling the latex down. Val rose up and then impaled herself on his raging, throbbing erection and both of them let out guttural cries.

He let her get used to his size, panting as he fought for control. Val began to move slowly, sinuously on him and he closed his eyes as sensation racked his body. She was so tight, so hot around him.

“Open your eyes,” she whispered and, when he did, she leaned down to place a gentle kiss to his lips. This didn’t feel like just sex. It felt like making love. At first they’d been wild for each other, but as soon as he’d slipped inside her everything had changed. He didn’t want to roll her over onto her back so he could pump into her hard and fast; he wanted to feel every decadent slide in and out for as long as possible and then to watch her as she came. What did that mean?

He didn’t have the headspace to consider the weighty question as she tightened down on him and his mouth opened on a wordless moan. She smiled just a little and kept moving, her hands planted on his chest as she took him inside her again and again. Nate wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer and took his hand off her sexily-rounded hip, bringing it to the juncture of her legs and finding her clit, nestled in her folds. Val gasped.

“That’s it, honey. I’m not going over until you do.”

“I-I can’t.”

“Yes, you can. Feel me, Val. Feel me inside you, feel my fingers working you.”

“Oh, God,” she cried, as he sped up his ministrations on her core. Then, with a toss of her head, she came. He forced his eyes to remain open as she contracted around him before letting himself go over the edge. Blinding pleasure stole through him and he was powerless to stop the roar that burst forth from him. She collapsed on top of him and he let her stay there, kissing her hair for a moment before shifting her and taking care of the condom.

He got back into bed and reached for her, fitting her back against his front. “Don’t leave this time.”

“I won’t.”

*****

As Val shifted to lie on her back, trying to catch her breath, she stole a glance at him. Everything was changing, as if the very soil was shifting underneath her without her knowing. Every fiber of her being felt different, and she had no idea what to make of it. She’d told Nate she wouldn’t leave, but there was some force driving her out of the room. At the same time he was so warm, and she took comfort in just lying there with him. Soon his breathing evened out but, even as exhaustion blanketed her like a heavy cloak, she couldn’t fall asleep.

The next morning, she left early to return to her own home to shower and change. This time she kissed Nate good-bye before rushing out of the room. Both she and Nate were due at a meeting and she arrived just in time to throw her stuff into her office and hightail it up to the executive suite. When she got there she immediately knew something was wrong. It was too quiet and the people milling around looked nervous.

Stepping into Doug’s old office with more than a little trepidation, she called out softly to the administrative assistant, Rose, as if she was speaking to a wounded animal or small child. “Hello?”

The woman spun to face her. “Oh, it’s you.”

“We were supposed to have a meeting before we met with the board, correct? Or did that get canceled when they fired Doug?”

“I’m not sure how Richard wants to handle it,” she answered, referring to the man the board had named interim CEO. Rose tunneled her hand through her short hair and blew out a loud breath. “Is Nate on his way?”

“I would assume so.” She bit her lip, considering. Should she ask Rose if something was wrong? Wait for Nate? Let someone tell them in their own time? Finally she couldn’t stand the suspense. “Is everything all right?”

“No.” Rose’s eyes rolled heavenward, as her head tipped back. “Dear God, no. And I’m not sure I have the stomach for all this, truthfully.”

Val crossed the room, laying her hand gently on the older woman’s arm. “Rose? Talk to me. What happened?” Rose’s face was gray and a fine tremor was working its way through her body. “Sit down.”

Rose fell into a chair at Doug’s old conference table. “The NIH just called.”

Oh, that’s not good.

Outwardly she remained calm. “What did they say?”

“They’re auditing us. The entire hospital, from top to bottom. They’ll be looking not only at every single active grant they’ve issued us, but also our accounting practices, record-keeping procedures, and a bunch more stuff I don’t even want to contemplate.” She looked up at Val, her gaze bleak. “Is it too early to start drinking?”

Val laughed, but the sound was more hysterical than anything else.

We’re screwed. We are so screwed.
CCC ran a tight ship as far as she knew, but an audit like this would inevitably turn up something bad. There were hundreds of researchers; a hundred-fifty thousand patients walked through the door every year. No way could all that be handled perfectly.

Val clenched her stomach. “Now I see what you mean. Do you have any booze?”

“I wish,” Rose answered. “But I should probably keep my head on straight anyway. The board is going to flip out, and if I’m feeling no pain I won’t be good for much. Of course, I don’t have a clue how Richard will calm them down. This is bad. Really, really bad. If NIH pulls their funding we might as well shutter the place.”

Val sat next to the shaking woman, worried she might be working herself into a heart attack or something else equally as awful. “Don’t talk like that. Sure, we’d have to cut services and we wouldn’t have nearly as much money available for research, but we’d survive.” She took a breath. “Wouldn’t we?”

Rose threw up her hands, jumping out of her chair. “Who knows?”

Just then, there was a knock on the door and Nate stuck his head in. His smile faded as soon as he stepped into the room. “What’s going on?” Val remained silent, figuring it was Rose’s news to relate. Nate shot Val a curious look, but said nothing. He sat next to Val and then looked at Rose. “This looks like something I’ll want to sit to hear.”

“The NIH—that’s National Institutes of Health, where we get a lot of our funding—” Rose began, and a flash of annoyance stole over Nate’s face before he was able to school his features. Perhaps Rose didn’t realize how much time Nate had spent in the trenches helping Val and that he would obviously know not only what NIH was but also how crucial their funding was to the hospital. Rose continued. “They’ve decided to audit the hospital.”

“Like a financial audit?”

Val spoke up. “No, like a ‘we’ll look at whatever we want because we’re the NIH’ audit.”

“Well, shit.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Rose mumbled.

Val decided she needed to take charge immediately. Clearly Rose was panicking, and Val was sure she wasn’t the only one. Pulling her notebook closer, she opened it and said, “Let’s make a plan. We can’t let things get any further out of our control. The bleeding has to stop.”

“I agree with Val,” Nate put in. “You need a cohesive plan we can implement immediately.” She glanced over and he gave her a small smile. His support would go a long way toward getting things moving, since people seemed to trust him, most likely because of his supreme confidence and unflappable demeanor.

“Fine, whatever you need,” Rose answered, sinking back into the chair.