Page 10 of The Heartbreaker (Chandler Brothers 3)
“I know what would really help me sleep,” she said, wriggling her hips beneath him, before clenching her legs, capturing his erection between them.
Her desire was obvious. “You want me to exhaust you, huh?”
“Oh yes.”
Chase didn’t need a second invitation. He reached for the condom he’d left on the nightstand earlier, just in case, and quickly sheathed himself before poising himself to enter her. “Like this, okay?” he asked, his face buried in the nape of her neck as he slowly entered her moist femininity.
“Oooh,” she said on a slow moan. “This is perfect.”
And it was. Chase didn’t understand it, this inherent trust and understanding between them, nor did he question it. He figured it had everything to do with his decision to live life for himself, and her decision to do the same, if only for one night.
After they’d sated their desire once more, she fell asleep beside him, hair sprawled on the pillow, completely relaxed. He’d done that for her. Just as she’d done something for him. She’d helped him take his first step in setting himself free of responsibility and constraint.
Tomorrow they’d part ways, but not before he ordered them room service, shared breakfast, and feasted with her, and on her, one last time.
But when he awoke, courtesy of the sun streaming through the windows, bathing the room in light, his visitor was gone. Chase rubbed a hand over his eyes, wondering if he’d imagined the entire affair.
But her scent lingered in the air and he’d woken up aroused, ready to reach for her again. He hadn’t imagined her or the incredible night they’d shared. She’d left him with a damn good memory to take with him as he went after his dreams and started his new life.
But a part of him was disappointed they didn’t have more time. That same part of him wished they’d met at a different point in his life, under other circumstances. If he were a different person and hadn’t had to raise his brothers, he wondered if they would have stood a chance. He pinched the bridge of his nose, lost in ridiculous thoughts.
“Snap out of it,” he muttered. As he rose and headed for a hot shower, he couldn’t shake her from his mind.
Recalling the first time she’d tried to slip out on him, Chase forced himself to laugh now. She’d managed to avoid the awkward morning after, after all.
Chapter Three
Sloane returned home to her apartment around seven A.M. A quick shower and change and she was on her way back to the hotel where her life had been altered so drastically. And not just because she’d discovered Michael Carlisle wasn’t her father, but because she’d finally begun freeing herself from the constraints in her life. She’d allowed herself to act on her own impulse and desire. And in doing so, she’d found Chase.
A man with whom she’d spent just one night, but one she’d never forget. Sloane wasn’t into one-night stands. She didn’t have sex for sex’s sake. And she hadn’t planned to pick up a man at the bar last night, at least not until she’d looked into Chase’s slumberous blue eyes. With a glance, he’d compelled her to disregard her usual reserve. By ordering the same drink she had, despite the fact that he had a full beer sitting in front of him, he’d intrigued her. By offering to listen, he’d won her over. Whether or not that had been his intent, she didn’t care. He hadn’t struck her as a guy on the make, and after spending the night in his arms, she knew her first impression had been right.
Not only was he gorgeous, but he had an innate understanding of her needs. How else could she explain the champagne they’d never drunk? The way he hadn’t let her leave? And then there was the Karma involved. Fate had paired her with a man who, by his own admission, had always done the predictable thing. Lived his life for others. Like she had. Even not knowing more details, Sloane realized they had more in common than she’d have expected from a one-night stand.
But it was a one-night stand, and though she’d have her memories and fantasies to relive later, for now she had to put him behind her. More pressing family matters called to her now. But she wished Chase well on the start of his new life and knew she’d think of him often as she forged ahead, trying to decipher hers.
She paused at her parents’ hotel room door, unsure how to handle this confrontation. Her father would be in last-minute meetings and reviewing his speech, but Madeline would be inside.
Her stepmother was a beautiful woman, both inside and out, and with her normally calm demeanor, she was the perfect politician’s wife. She’d also been a wonderful mother, stepping in upon Jacqueline’s death, when Sloane was eight. To Madeline’s credit, she’d never treated Sloane any differently than her real daughters—Sloane’s twin sisters, Eden and Dawne—and Sloane adored her in return.
