Thrill of the Chase (Dangerous Love) (14 page)

C
hase knew that it would be difficult to leave her that morning, but he was overwhelmed with the feelings that he had experienced after he dropped her off at work. It wasn’t fear that seemed to cripple him, but something much deeper, and he wondered how he would go without seeing her, feeling her, for the next forty-eight hours. It was this emotion, which he didn’t recognize at first, that convinced him that the plane trip to California was absolutely necessary.

Chase sat back and dialed Andrew Moore, a man who came highly recommended by Sam and with whom Chase would now be speaking frequently. Chase had been completely serious when he told Erin that a bodyguard would be accompanying her from now on. He had expected her to fight him on that, maybe declare that it was absurd and over-the-top. But she conceded, which only made it more apparent that she thought the situation warranted extreme security measures. To add to his worry, Sam had called him earlier and told him that the text in Erin’s inbox could not be traced.

Chase looked down at his watch as he waited for Moore to answer. “Marcus, we have a little time before my flight. Turn the car around. There’s someone I need to see before I leave.”

“Mr. Whitley, I have a Mr. Chase Montclair here to speak with you.”

Paul stared down at the phone as if he didn’t recognize the voice coming through the speaker. A few too many seconds must have passed, because his secretary said, “I can tell him to make an appointment if you…”

Paul regained his composure and overcame his initial surprise that Chase Montclair had come to see him. “No, send him in,” he said rather curtly. He recognized that his tone probably came off as harsh, and followed it up with, “Thank you, Laura.”

It was nine o’clock in the morning on a work day. Why the hell was Chase paying him a visit, and at his office, no less? Clearly, Erin had no idea that Chase was coming to see him. She would have called, texted him, warned him somehow of Chase’s intentions. Was it possible that Erin had told Chase about that night, about the rapist?

Paul recalled what Erin had said to him while they had lunch at Monty’s. He understood why she didn’t want to tell Chase this early on in their relationship that she had been raped. But what he didn’t agree with was his sister’s decision to withhold the crime from Chase indefinitely. Not that the rape defined who Erin was, but it was a part of her past and, unfortunately, her present. Although she had made significant progress over the course of the year in regards to taking back her life, residual fears obviously remained. The fact that she felt that Chase would view her differently or distastefully if he learned of her secret only confirmed that the battle with her demons still raged on.

Paul was in midthought when Erin’s new boyfriend strolled into his office.

Paul stood up and walked around his desk to shake Chase’s hand. In the few seconds Paul had to prepare for Chase, he’d decided to appear casual, right where they had left off in Erin’s apartment when Chase had offered to take Paul to a Phillies game. But Chase was the one who would set the tone of the conversation as he uttered his first statement. “Erin doesn’t know I’m here and I’d prefer it remain that way. But I understand if you must tell her.”

Paul thought it was best to just listen. Besides, it was obvious that Chase had his own agenda.

“What’s on your mind?” Paul asked.

Chase took a seat and leaned back in his chair, his hands folded. “Erin’s ex-boyfriend.”

Paul hoped that his lawyer face was secure. Usually, he had no problem remaining calm. Clients could tell him some horrific things, things that would give him nightmares, and he would sit there and listen, unfazed, never rattled. But this was different. His sister was the topic of conversation, and he wondered if his mask would be able to withstand this encounter with Chase.

“What would you like to know?” Paul asked.

“Erin will not tell me who he is. I suspect she’s withholding his name from me because she thinks I’ll take matters into my own hands…which is absolutely correct. I know that she fears him. So much so that she has allowed me to assign a bodyguard to her.”

Paul could feel Chase’s eyes boring into his. He suspected that Chase was searching for those nonverbal cues that would indicate Paul was withholding information. But again, Chase surprised him and as he continued, Paul realized that Chase was here, though he was asking a shitload of questions, because he cared for Erin.

“I’m leaving town on business for the next two days. I need to be certain that she is safe.” Chase handed Paul a card with the name “Andrew Moore” printed on it and a phone number scribbled beneath. “He is a former secret service agent. His experience in the field is extensive.”

Paul took the card and placed it on the desk in front of him. He stared at the card, buying time to gather his thoughts. Chase had come here for some answers, or at least insight into Erin’s past relationship. Paul understood why Erin had conjured up this fictitious ex-boyfriend, but she had to have known that a man like Chase wouldn’t let go of the fact that a man had sent Erin flowers to
his
penthouse.

Paul decided to stick to the truth as much as he could. “I don’t know his name or what he looks like.”

“I thought she would have shared that with you. You two seem very close,” Chase said, his voice sounding more curious than disbelieving.

“Erin is my world. We have always been close, even before our parents’ accident.”

Chase’s eyes seemed to soften. “I heard about your mother and father. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you,” Paul said, silently taken aback by the genuine concern in Chase’s voice. Paul picked up the card Chase had given him and stared at the name, though it was just a stalling tactic. He wanted to give Chase a little more information, just enough so that it appeared he wasn’t hiding something.

“I’m her brother, Chase. And that is probably the reason why she didn’t tell me that she had a boyfriend who wasn’t very kind to her. If I had known, if I had caught wind that she was dating someone who treated her badly, I would have…intervened.”

The two men looked at each other, as if they were reading each other’s thoughts. From the dark look on Chase’s face, Paul gathered that it was possible Chase was wondering just how
badly
this ex-boyfriend had treated Erin. But as quickly as that menacing stare appeared, it evaporated and was replaced by a neutral one.

“Well, I hope you don’t mind that Erin is going to have an escort…indefinitely, if need be,” Chase said.

Paul smiled and leaned back in his chair. “Mind? Not at all. I just want to know how you got her to agree to have a babysitter. She blasted me when I proposed the idea of a bodyguard after the flower incident.”

“Honestly, I have no idea. It’s not like she’s afraid to give me a piece of her mind.”

Paul couldn’t help but like Chase. He might be wealthy and a CEO of a major company, but in Paul’s presence, in an office Chase had come to this morning before he left for a business trip, he was just a concerned boyfriend who cared for Paul’s sister. Paul also gathered that Erin hadn’t lost herself, that her stubborn streak and her ability to stand up for what she believed in were both alive and well in her relationship with Chase. But what made Paul even more pleased was that Chase didn’t seem to believe that there was any need to snuff out that fire, the passion that always drove her.

Chase stood up from his chair and adjusted his tie. Paul also rose and then shook Chase’s hand. “I’ll look after her while you’re gone,” Paul said.

“I was counting on it,” Chase said. He smiled and then walked out of Paul’s office.

E
rin was beyond busy preparing for her presentation on Friday, but she still seemed to find the time to miss Chase…and count the minutes until she was back in his arms.

Pining for a guy was foreign territory for Erin. It wasn’t like she was a nun during her college years. Erin appreciated a rock-hard body when she saw one and was thankful for her vivid imagination, quelling lustful thoughts when they overtook her through the release of her own hand. But she didn’t expect to feel so empty without Chase, knowing she couldn’t take the elevator up to his office and salivate at the sight of him behind that regal-looking desk that Erin loved.

Her cell phone rang and she looked down at the incoming call. Chase seemed to know when she was running on empty. He had called her every few hours since he had left for his trip. It was as if her body refueled every time they spoke on the phone and then started to drain with each passing moment until the next time she heard his voice.

“I miss you,” he said.

No hello, just a declaration of how he felt. Erin loved that.

“I prefer that you not go on any more business trips. Can’t you hire someone to go in your place next time?”

“Erin,” he said, his voice so serious that she knew he’d misunderstood the comment, which was truly meant to be lighthearted and playful.

“I’m sorry, I was just…”

“Don’t apologize. I want you to know how difficult it is for me to be away from you and that any future business trips I may need to plan will require your attendance.”

Her spirits were somewhat rejuvenated, yet she couldn’t determine why his tone seemed so intense. Erin said, “Mr. Montclair, I must admit that your attempt to establish control is a real turn-on.”

“My attempt?” he asked. Erin detected a combination of surprise and a touch of humor in his voice, and she knew that he was no longer in that dark place in his head.

Erin sighed and let a small whimper escape by accident as she thought about his lips curving up to form that sly, sexy smile.

“Erin, are you intentionally trying to get me hard?” he asked. That serious tone was back, but now it had a very naughty and delicious edge to it.

The thought of his cock becoming stiff, the head throbbing, made her wet with need. Erin was not as brazen now as she had been a moment ago, and she was thankful that he couldn’t witness her face turning multiple shades of pink. “Um…no…I mean, are you?”

She must have sounded like a real idiot, but he had taken her by surprise. Erin thought she heard him groan, as if he was frustrated, and then he said, “I want you to end this call and report to my office. When you are inside, close the door, sit on my leather chair, and then call me back.”

Erin waited a moment, unsure if he was really serious.

“Now, Erin,” he said, his voice firm.

Yeah, he wasn’t kidding.

Erin ended the call and took the elevator up to his office. She had no idea what she was going to say to Lydia. Erin had no reason to be in Chase’s office while he was a million miles away. And just as she was about to give some lame excuse for needing to gain access to the CEO’s office, Lydia smiled and said, “I just spoke with Mr. Montclair. Take all the time you need, Ms. Whitley. You will not be disturbed.”

“Um…thanks.” Erin didn’t want to imagine what Lydia could be thinking right now. Hell, Erin had no idea what she was doing here!

The office smelled of him, and her heart—and the sensitive flesh between her legs—ached for him. Erin closed the door behind her. She walked around his desk and sat down, feeling cool, comfy leather cradle her bottom. Erin dialed his number and sat back in the seat. “Chase?”

“I’m here, sweetheart.”

Erin practically melted, her insides turning to goo at the simple term of endearment.

“Did you follow my instructions, Erin?”

She looked toward the closed door and then said, “Yes.”

“Very good. Now, I want you to tell me what went through that naughty little mind of yours the first time you were in my office.”

Holy hell. How in God’s name did he know that she had wanted him even then? Just thinking of that night, when she sat across from him, his searing gaze making her want to reach over and tear the clothes off his body and beg him to fuck her on top of his desk, made her folds hot and slick.

“How did you know I…”

“I’ll share first,” he said, interrupting her. “I watched you enter my office, enjoying the view from my seat.”

“Yes, I remember that you didn’t stand, or shake my hand,” she said, recalling how peculiar that was for a man of business.

“I didn’t neglect to stand in your presence. I just couldn’t perform such a feat without you knowing how aroused you had made me, how much I wanted to be inside you.”

Oh.

Erin was momentarily in a state of shock, her breath leaving her. Erin felt her heartbeat quicken as she digested his words and the erotic tone of his voice. There was nothing she could do to suppress her overwhelming desire to be with him at that moment, to feel his hands caress and claim every inch of her body.

“Why are you so far away?” she asked, barely a whisper.

“I’ll be home soon, baby. I plan to make up for lost time, but it seems you may not be able to wait.”

Erin swallowed, definitely loud enough for him to hear through the phone, but he didn’t mention it. Could he sense just how much she needed him? How responsive her body was just to the sound of his voice?

“Tell me what you were thinking when we first met in my office,” he said again.

Erin remembered how he had looked at her from the very chair she was sitting in. She pushed her knees together to quell the relentless throbbing between her legs. “I…I wanted you,” she said.

It wasn’t that Erin was out of practice when it came to phone sex; she simply had zero experience. Chase, on the other hand, seemed quite comfortable. Erin didn’t want to think about how many women had been on the receiving end, listening to him speak so openly and getting heated at just the stroke of his voice. Erin pushed that thought aside, knowing that thinking about Chase with another woman would drive her insane.

“Erin, are you wearing one of those skirts I admire so much?”

“It’s a warm day. I thought I’d forgo pants and stockings,” she said. Her hand slid to her lap, coming to rest between her thighs. “I’m wearing a black dress…and those black panties that you gave me.”

She heard him release a gentle groan. “Take them off, Erin.”

Erin didn’t hesitate. She reached beneath her dress and pulled off panties that were already soaked through.

“Now, lift your dress up, high enough so that sweet ass of yours is bare against the leather.” The sudden chill of cool leather against her heated skin sent shivers through her body. Her sex was now exposed and dripping wet. She needed some relief.

He must have read her mind, though miles away, because he said, “No touching…not yet.” Her hand froze as it hovered over her cleft, needing to put pressure on a clit that was already beyond aroused. “Not until you tell me how you wanted me. What did you want me to do to you?”

Erin could be a patient person when she wanted to be. Right now was not one of those times.

“I wanted…you to take me…from behind,” she said, her voice now unsteady.

He didn’t say anything. And for a moment, Erin thought they had been disconnected. Suddenly, he said, “Press the button beneath the lip of my desk.” There was a sense of urgency in his voice and it made her quiver.

Erin felt for the button with her free hand while she held on to her cell phone for dear life. It only took her a second or two to find and press it. The office was instantly flooded with classical music.

“Put the phone on speaker and set it on the desk.”

Erin complied. But with both hands now free, the temptation to touch herself grew exponentially. “Chase, I need to…” she panted.

“I know what you need, baby,” he said, his voice confident but soft. “I want you to slip one of those gorgeous fingers between your folds while you imagine that it is my tongue licking and stroking you.”

Erin let out a moan and silently thanked Chase for thinking ahead when he’d directed her to turn on the music, drowning out whimpers that would surely turn into screams if she kept going.

“Are you wet, baby?” he asked.

“Yes. Soaked,” she whimpered. “Oh God, you feel so good.”

“But you want more, don’t you?” he said, his voice dark and seductive.

“Ye-yes,” she stuttered, as her finger found its rhythm, one that made her back arch.

“Slide your finger in, my love…slowly.”

Erin could have come right then when he uttered the words
my love
, but she wanted to extend her pleasure, this sensual experience with Chase. She again moaned, saying his name through rapid breaths.

“Add another finger, sweetheart. I know you need more.”

Erin inserted a second finger, stretching her sensitive flesh, picturing his cock thrusting into her tight channel. She was moments from her climax when he instructed her to reach down with her other hand and stroke her clit. Erin found the hard nub and massaged it, moving her fingers in a circular motion. Her orgasm ripped through her, and she cried out.

“That’s it, sweetheart, give it to me. I want to hear you,” he said.

“Oh, Chase, yes…yes…fuck me, Chase!” she yelled. Erin bucked one last time into her hand and collapsed against the chair.

She was still trying to catch her breath when she heard him say, “Beautiful. You’re absolutely beautiful, Erin.”

His reverent tone brought tears to her eyes and she was thankful that he couldn’t see her. Erin wanted to utter those three little words, words that could change everything, for better or worse. But she couldn’t risk scaring him, asking for more than he might be willing to give. Instead, she swapped out the dangerous word for one that was much safer.

“I miss you,” she said, before ending the call.

Erin sat in the leather chair for a few minutes, basking in the afterglow. Her mind-blowing orgasm had left her feeling a little loopy and she needed a moment to regroup before returning to the lab. She also needed time for her face to return to its normal color. Even without a mirror, she knew she must look disheveled and flushed.

When she finally caught her breath and was confident that she appeared presentable, she stood up and walked toward the door. Her phone chimed, reminding Erin that she had left it on top of his desk. She hurried over to read the text that had just come through. Maybe Chase was up for another round of phone sex?

But as she stared down at the text and the phone number she did not recognize, that fear, that feeling of sheer helplessness, overtook her:
“Do you think Chase will miss you while he’s gone? I know I have this past year. I look forward to being inside you again, Angel.”

Every time the bastard reemerged, via flowers, note, or text, it was as if she was violated all over again. He still had control.

Furious, Erin pushed the
REPLY
arrow, but quickly realized that responding to the sick asshole would only feed his addiction. Erin deleted the draft and left Chase’s office in a disgruntled huff. On her way home, she and her new sidekick/bodyguard would be heading to Verizon to change her phone number.

Like she’d told Paul, this monster was a ghost. The police hadn’t been able to come up with even one solitary suspect last year. And last week, when Paul marched her down to the station to report that this freak had come slithering out of his hole, the NYPD had no leads, just like Philadelphia’s finest. Although sympathetic, the kind policewoman who had taken on her case had smiled and told her that they would call her if they learned anything, and that she should inform them immediately if the fucker contacted her again. Well, that wasn’t going to happen. The police had been unable to help her a year ago. Erin’s faith that the men in blue could catch her rapist this time around was, unfortunately, nonexistent.