Wicked Ties (Steele Security Series) (12 page)

“Bull, you go on to Alabama.  I’m taking her home with me,” Rebel teased.

“The hell you say,” Bull challenged, positioning his body between the Rebel and Chaise.  Rebel grinned, knowing he’d hit a nerve with Bull.

“Let’s eat,” Chaise called out to no one in particular.  She only wanted to quickly diffuse the tension in the room.

Brad walked in with the surveillance recording so Chaise could identify the man who’d been watching her all day.  As they ate, the recording played and she watched herself move around the office as if she were watching a movie. 

“That’s him,” she said as she pointed to the screen. 

Brad stopped the video, isolated the sinister man, and uploaded his image to the facial recognition software.  The software used specific facial features, such as the width between the eyes, width of the nose, and depth of the eye sockets to identify subjects to people already housed in a database.   Once a match was made, the system returned a name and last known address.

“This could take a while to identify him.  I’ll let it keep running and contact you when it returns a hit,” Brad told Bull.  “We can start checking him out while you’re in Alabama.”

Bull nodded, “Thanks, Brad.”

When the soup and sandwiches were gone and the guys
had left, Bull sat on the couch with the phone in one hand and his head in the other.  He had to make the dreaded call to his mother to let her know he was coming home.  But he didn’t want to tell her why just yet.  He wanted to see her face when he told her he’d seen his father.

The couch dipped beside him when Chaise sat down and put her arm around him.  She lightly stroked the back of his neck and he let her touch help ease the dread inside him. 

“Do you want to talk about it before you call her, Colton?” Chaise asked supportively.

He didn’t move other than to shake his head no.  Her touch helped to calm him, her presence gave him strength
, and he could feel her unconditional support.   Without raising his head, his hand found hers and he lightly squeezed it, thankful that she was beside him.  He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her palm. 

Chaise moved closer to him, aligning her body with his and wrapped her other arm around him.  She kissed his cheek and then nuzzled her face against his.  Inhaling the heady mixture of his masculine, musky cologne and the all-male scent that was inherently Bull, Chaise had to willfully fight the impulses he ignited in her.

Bull felt the change in the air and shifted his gaze to meet hers.  He recognized the desire building in her eyes and knew his eyes mirrored hers.  They’d slept together every night, but spooning had been the extent of their physical contact.  With all the ambiguity in Bull’s life at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to put it all behind him, take Chaise in his arms, and take her to his bed.

Bull tossed the phone onto the coffee table and pulled Chaise into his lap, straddling him so she was facing him.  He crushed his mouth to hers, taking what he needed in a bruising, possessive kiss.  There was no tenderness in it and he possessed no capacity for waiting.  A voracious thirst had overtaken him and Chaise was the only one who could quench it. 

His hands hungrily and eagerly roamed over her body.  His palms covered her breasts, greedily kneading them before his thumbs found her already taut nipples.  He groaned into her mouth as his tongue swept over hers.  Bunching her shirt up in his fist, he quickly yanked it over her head and threw it on the floor. 

Pulling the cups of her bra down, her breasts sprang free as he quickly covered one nipple with his mouth.  Licking, sucking
, and biting, he quickly had her worked into a frenzy.  Chaise pulled his shirt over his head, leaned into him, and ran her tongue over his chest.  His hands threaded through her hair and gently pulled her mouth back to his. 

“Chaise,” he said between kisses, “I can’t wait, baby.”

“Then don’t,” she purred.

She was instantly flying through the air and landed on her back on the soft, extra-wide couch.  Bull grasped her pants and had them in a pile on the floor before she could blink. 
After removing a condom from his wallet, his pants soon followed and he covered her body with his.  As her arms moved to wrap around him, he grabbed them and pushed them above her head.  Holding both of her wrists in one of his hands, he positioned himself at her wet, waiting entranced and swiftly thrust into her.

She screamed out in pleasure at his sudden intrusion.  He hooked his arm under her leg, bringing it straight up to rest on his shoulder as he straightened his body, and continued to surge into her, harder and harder with each thrust.  Chaise was writhing in bliss beneath him as each plunge
took him deeper and deeper inside her. 

When she reached out to touch him, he captured her hands and used them as leverage to increase his drive.  He felt her inner walls tighten around him, rippling and quivering as they squeezed him in the most erotic dance. 

“I know you’re close, baby.  Give it to me—it’s mine and I want it,” he growled at her.

His words were all she needed to push her over the edge
. Her orgasm felt like something akin to a tsunami.  They rode the waves out together, until he had drained every last drop of energy from her body and she had milked him for everything he had.

When she moved her leg, he released her hands and fell forward on her body.  She wrapped her arms around him, her body completely spent and sated, but her mind whirred and buzzed at what just occurred.  They had agreed to take it slow
, but the sexual chemistry between them was stronger than a magnet to steel.  

While she tried to not read too much into it, his apparent aversion to her touching him during sex really bothered her.  He didn’t try to keep her at arms
’ length any other time.  Like at that moment, as his body perfectly crushed hers into the couch, she gently stroked his back with her fingertips.  But when they were at their most intimate, his walls were fully in place and she felt like she was firmly placed on the outside of them.

Bull turned his face
toward her and brushed sweet kisses on her cheek and jaw.  He rose up on his elbows and gently stroked her cheek with his thumb.  His eyes searched hers intently but she didn’t know what he was looking for yet.

“Did I hurt you?”
he finally asked, concern laced his words and his expression.

“No, Colton, you didn’t hurt me,” Chaise whispered.

He lowered his forehead to rest on her shoulder.  Chaise could feel the tension rolling off his body.  The physical contact had only momentarily relieved his stress and it was coming back full force.  Whatever he was dealing with, he wasn’t telling Chaise.

With a deep breath, Bull stood up and pulled Chaise up with him.  Wrapping his arms around her, they stood in the living room, stark naked, and just held each other for several minutes.  Chaise felt the tears welling up in her eyes and fought to hold them back.  She had no doubt that she was in over her head with him.  There was no going back, no taking it slow, and no living in denial. 

She had strong feelings for him and she was afraid of getting her heart broken.  Or more accurately, of breaking her own heart when she finally told him the truth about her true identity.  Every day she berated herself for not telling him sooner.  Every day she knew she was a day too late in telling him the truth.

“We’ll leave tomorrow on the Steele Security jet and go to my mother’s.  I just can’t deal with calling her tonight,” Bull said into her hair.

“Okay.” 

That was the only word Chaise could choke out without risking a total breakdown.  She had to remain strong to help Bull with the turmoil in his life.  He’d protected her and saved her life and
it was the only way she knew to help him in return.  At least, that was her rationalization.

Bull released her from his embrace and led her with his hand on the small of her back, as he always did, down the hall to his bedroom.  She knew the moment he fell asleep, curled up with his front to her back, his arm protectively and possessively draped over her as he held her close.  His breathing was deep and steady, his body relaxed, and she felt the tension seep from his muscles to be replaced with peacefulness. 

Chaise silently cried herself to sleep.

The Steele Security jet was celebrity worthy.  It had every opulent amenity anyone
could possibly want, including a full-size bedroom and bathroom in the back of the jet.  The front part of the Boeing Business Jet had one wall lined with soft-leather couches and small tables. 

The other side was lined with cushioned leather captain chairs arranged in sets of four, positioned around a small table that was perfect for in-flight meetings.  On the back wall, beside the hallway leading to the bedroom, was a large, flat screen plasma TV that was opposite a fully stocked bar.  Chaise thought that Noah and Steele Security must have been doing very well to be able to afford
such a luxurious asset.

Bull chose a small couch in the middle of the plane and patted the seat next to him, motioning for Chaise to sit with him. She took her seat and he immediately wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close to him. 
He always does that
, she thought with a smile.

“What are you grinning about?” Bull asked.

She looked up at him, not realizing that she had an ear-to-ear smile plastered on her face until he pointed it out.

“I was actually thinking that you always do
that—pull me into you when we sit down,” she answered truthfully, then watched his face to gauge his reaction.

His smile remained in place, “I guess I do.  Huh. How about that?  Does it bother you?”

“No, it doesn’t bother me at all.  I like it—it’s almost like I was made to fit next to you,” Chaise blabbered before realizing that had just vocalized the very thought she meant to keep to herself.

Surprise registered in his eyes, but she didn’t see any sign of panic.  Nothing that indicated he was ready to parachute out of the jet to get away from her and her reference to them being made for each other.

“Maybe you were made to fit with me,” Bull said, partly teasing and partly serious.

Chaise desperately wanted that to be true.  Bull was not the type of man who would try to feed her a line just to string her along.  But she didn’t think he was the type of man who wanted long-term committed relationships
, either.  His tone of voice and the softness in his eyes when he said that made her think that something more could come of their relationship.  It made her hope that she wasn’t just a temporary distraction for him that would be tossed aside as soon as the case was closed.

“What if I was, Colton?  Would you keep me?” she asked with baited breath. 

The flight attendant saved him from answering her question.  “The pilot has indicated we are ready for departure.  Please buckle your seat belts until we are at cruising altitude,” she politely instructed.

Chaise moved out from Bull’s arms to secure her seatbelt.  Bull’s first instinct was to pull her back to his side.  She did fit him perfectly.  Her body fit perfectly with his.  He thought about how well they got
along—their playful banter, their deeper conversations, and their red-hot bedroom trysts.  Chaise was the first woman Bull could see himself with for the long haul.  That fact alone should have him running as far in the opposite direction as fast as he possibly could go.

In less than two hours, they would reach the airport in Mobile, Alabama.  While there were special circumstances, Chaise would be the first woman he’d ever introduced to his mother.  The implications of that fact were enormous to
Bull.  It signified that he cared enough about her to take her with him instead of leaving her with Rebel or Shadow.  It meant that he had to share his most private life with someone he didn’t fully know.  It meant that he had to let her see him when he was at his most vulnerable.

For the first time in many years, his head and his heart didn’t agree.  His head told him there were still too many things he didn’t know about her.  His logical reasoning and training told him
it could never work and that she was bound to betray his trust.  He still didn’t know her last name, despite the intimate moments they’d shared.

Did that make them less real?

Not according to his heart.

His heart said there was more to them than their physical compatibility.  When his mind said to walk away and leave her behind, his heart made sure he knew that wouldn’t work.  He couldn’t say he was in love with her.  He didn’t believe in love at first sight.  He believed love took a lifetime to cultivate and nurture. 

But somehow she had found a way to break past his defenses and securely root herself deep inside him.  When he looked at her now, he couldn’t remember what he did with his free time before she came into his life.

Just a couple of weeks ago.
 

And there was his rational mind again, raging a war inside him and making him question what he thought he always wanted.  He sat silently on the jet, arguing with himself over what he should do next.  She was still beside him, oblivious to his entire inner monologue.

When his hand reached up to caress her cheek, he knew the instant he touched her that he wouldn’t walk away.  The battle had been decided and the war had been won.  He walked into the situation knowing that she had secrets she was afraid to tell him.  But he was a good judge of character and he could read people like a book.

At his touch, she leaned her face into the palm of his hand.  She closed her eyes and hummed in pleasure at such a simple touch.  He could see it on her face, he saw it in her eyes when she looked at him, and he could feel it in her every touch.  He knew she felt it, too.

She was the culmination of exactly what he thought he would never want, the very thing he could never have, and now that he’d had a taste of it, he didn’t think he could give it up.  She trusted him, she believed in him, and she made him feel protective and possessive like no other.

Bull leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on her lips.

“Mmmm, you taste so good.  I don’t think one kiss is enough,” he murmured against her lips.

“By all means, Colton, if you’re still hungry
…” she intentionally let her voice trail off so he would fill in the rest with whatever he wanted from her.

The seatbelt light dinged off just as he was about to unfasten hers and pull her into his lap.  The flight attendant appeared and asked if they wanted anything to eat or drink.

“No, thank you.  Ms. Martin isn’t feeling well so we’re going to lie down for a while.  We’d appreciate no interruptions until it’s time to land,” Bull responded.

Chaise tried to hide her surprise at his statement of her not feeling well.  When Bull mentioned the bed, she knew exactly what he had in mind.  Even so, after he helped her up, the goose bumps covered her body when he bent his head to her ear and whispered with his bedroom voice.

“Ready to join the
Mile High Club
?  You’ll be my first.”

Her knees were suddenly weak and her panties were wet. 
How can he do that to me with just his voice? 
There was no way in hell she wouldn’t follow him to the bedroom.  She was suddenly looking forward to becoming a member of the elite group of
mile-highers
…with Bull.

“You’ll be my first, too.”  She couldn’t stop the slight blush that crawled up her face.  Bull smiled and placed his hand on his spot at the small of her back to lead her past the small galley kitchen and into the private bedroom area.  He closed and locked the door behind him.

Bull wrapped his arms around her from behind.  Using his chin, he moved her hair aside enough to gain access to her neck.  He licked and nibbled in the erogenous zone at the base of her neck.  Chaise’s hand lifted and wrapped around the back of his head as he continued.

“Everything about you is so beautiful, Chaise.  I can hardly take my eyes off of you.  I can’t keep my hands off of you.  I’m falling completely under your spell,” his lips whispered against her skin.  His words sent shivers down her spine.  She wanted to believe them.  She had no reason to believe he would lie to her.

“Do you still want to slow this down?” Bull asked.  Chaise knew if she said yes, he would comply.  Everything in him was done with honor and integrity and he wouldn’t hold it against her.

But with every fiber in her body screaming for his touch, her only response was, “No.”

As she was turning to face him, Bull placed his hands on her hips to still her movement.  “No, like this,” he crooned in her ear. 

His hand snaked down her thighs to the hem of her skirt and pulled it up.  His fingers traced the lacy edge of her panties to her core.  Pushing the fabric aside, his finger plunged inside her as her body reacted
, saturating his hand with her sweet nectar.

“Your body already knows
this
belongs to me,” his deep voice affirmed.  “Doesn’t it, Chaise?”

“
Yessss,” she hissed in response.

He languidly moved his finger inside her, collecting her wetness and spreading it on her delicate folds.  His self-restraint was amazing to Chaise since all she could think of was pushing him down on the bed and finishing what he’d started.

His finger found her soaked core again as he pumped it in and out of her before suddenly adding a second.  Holding her neck with this other hand, he tilted her head back to cover her mouth with his just before her orgasm took control of her senses.  She moaned loudly into his mouth as his tongue caressed hers in a sensual dance.

Bull jerked her panties down her legs and, using his hands, he positioned her legs a little farther apart.  Chaise looked down at him when his face suddenly appeared between her legs.  His wicked grin made her knees go weak and she grabbed onto the mattress to steady herself.

“That’s probably a good idea, babe,” Bull warned before his tongue delved into her core.  He voraciously devoured her like he was a starved man.  His tongue twisted and twirled inside her, his teeth lightly scraped her sensitive nub, and just when she thought it couldn’t feel any better, he added his fingers to the rousing mixture.

Despite her stronghold onto the comforter, her legs repeatedly dipped as he continued his ministrations.  As he continued to lap her up, her chest heaved with deep breaths and her moans got consistently louder.  When she was able to catch her breath and look down at him, she saw his deep blue eyes watching her intently.  The look of pure satisfaction was all it took to push her over the edge again. 

Before she could move, Bull was once again standing behind her with his expansive chest pressed firmly against her back.  He wrapped one arm around her waist and placed the other hand on her back.  “Bend over for me, baby,” he commanded and she willingly complied.

She heard the zipper of his jeans
, the crinkling of a condom wrapper, and then the rustling of denim as he shoved his pants down his legs.  He then positioned the tip of his erection at the entrance of her wet core.  Chaise waited impatiently for him, slightly pushing her hips back in her attempt to feel him inside her.  She felt a slight chuckle rumble through his body at her insistence. 

His fingers firmly grasped her hips as he slowly pushed into her, inch by powerful inch, until he was fully buried inside her.  The angle in which she was bent only deepened his penetration and intensified her pleasure.  His thrusts were strong and fluid, bringing her closer and closer to ecstasy with skillful precision. 

“Damn, you feel so good wrapped around me,” Bull growled and immediately noticed the flush of wetness.  “Mmmm, you like when I talk to you, don’t you?”

“I
love
it,” Chaise admitted as she gripped the comforter tighter in her fists.

“I know you do.  Your body tells me, shows me,” Bull claimed.  “You’ll be ruined for anyone but me.”

Chaise knew that was already true.  He knew her body’s needs and desires before she even realized.  He navigated her body like he owned its sole road map.  And she was sure that he would completely own her heart and break it just as thoroughly…eventually.

She felt the familiar surge of pleasure and the aching feeling that built and then peaked.  Waves of pleasure radiated through her core as her inner muscles squeezed and drained
Bull dry as he climaxed with her. 

Bull bent slightly to position his arm under her chest.  Then he easily lifted her upper body to stand as he repeatedly kissed the side of her head and her cheek.  He pulled her close to him as he fully wrapped his arms around her and inhaled her sweet perfume.

“That was fucking incredible, baby,” he crooned as he continued to lavish her with affection.  “
You
are incredible.”

“You’re pretty incredible yourself, Colton,” she murmured, still basking in the afterglow of her multiple orgasmic experience.

Bull led her to the adjoining bathroom and she followed without asking what he had planned.  After that last encounter, she decided with no small amount of pleasure that he could have his way every time and she would never regret it. 

Once inside, he wet a washcloth with warm water and gently placed it between her legs
.  Her mint-green eyes grew wider, surprised by his tender touch and thoughtful gesture.  His normally stoic eyes were suddenly hyper-expressive and they held hers captive as he silently finished.  After helping her arrange her clothing, he held her face in his hands and kissed her so sweetly, so lovingly, she was close to tears.