Page 38 of The Heartbreaker (Chandler Brothers 3)
This wasn’t the first time he’d made such a comment and she’d better make sure she did more than listen. She’d better believe and protect herself because she could fall for him way too easily.
He held Sloane tighter. “I’m a man of my word, and if I make a promise, you can be certain I’ll keep it.”
“Was that your backhanded way of telling me you’ll keep my secret about Samson?” she asked.
“For as long as you need me to keep it quiet. But I guess it’s up to you whether or not to believe me.” He pulled her away from him and she met his steady gaze.
The time had come for her to confide in return. And she would. But first she wanted to seal their agreement with their bodies. She needed that emotional connection, to feel him inside her again and to know that he wanted only her for now.
He inclined his head, waiting for her to reveal her secrets. But instead of talking, she leaned forward, sealing her words with a kiss.
Chapter Eight
Chase wanted answers, but when Sloane’s arms came around his neck and her lips brushed across his, his body came alive. When she touched him like this, he found answers of a different sort—and damned if he didn’t like it—but still, he pried her arms apart and held them at her side.
“Samson?” he reminded her.
“I’ll tell you later.” She looked at him with wide, imploring eyes. “After.” She nuzzled his neck with her mouth, her lips warm and soft against his skin. “You have my word,” she assured him. “Just make me feel alive first and I promise to tell you everything you want to know after.”
“Wait.” Her gaze held not just desire but honesty, and since Chase prided himself on reading people, he accepted her answer at face value. But he wasn’t ready to jump into bed. “Needing answers about Samson isn’t all that’s holding me back.” He couldn’t be anything but honest with her.
A slow smile tilted her lips. “I’m sure I know what is. It’s commitment, right? You’re worried I’ll want more than you can give,” she said, reading his mind.
He nodded. Even if she didn’t want more, she deserved more than he could promise or give. “Last time, we knew the rules going in.”
She stroked his cheek, her gaze never leaving his. “And this time we’d know them too. I’m not staying in Yorkshire Falls beyond finding my … beyond finding Samson.”
She’d just given a clue. She’d also given him the reply he thought he needed—the one that would give him permission to release the pent-up passion that had been building all day. Without worrying about commitment. If that were true, why the uncomfortable feeling burning in his gut at the thought of her leaving him a second time?
“Chase?” She licked her finger, then traced his lips, leaving his mouth damp, his body yearning.
He’d be a fool to deny his burning need. In one smooth move, he laid her down on the couch.
“I’m going to have to assume we’re in agreement again.” She giggled, a light, infectious sound that wiped out all the worries and concerns and left him smiling and happy.
Happy. An alien state for him, he acknowledged. “I’d say you’re right.”
He kissed her, hot and deep, thrusting with his tongue, mimicking the movement with his lower body. His erection was thick and heavy between his legs, and he needed the friction of coming inside her with a desperation he’d never felt before.
Taking her hand, he pulled her to her feet and led her into his bedroom, a place he’d always considered his sanctuary. A place he’d come to get away from Gazette business, family pressure, and life in general. His haven. And now that she’d set foot inside, he’d never look at this room the same way again.
“Chase?”
He blinked and realized she’d beaten him to the bed and was sitting cross-legged in the center of the mattress. Her hands slid to the hem of her shirt and she pulled the top over her head. Damned if he hadn’t been right. No bra.
He took a step forward, but she held him off with one hand. “Not yet.” A sexy grin took hold of her lips as she reached for the drawstring on her sweats.
Coming up to her knees, she pulled the bow and released the knot, letting her pants fall below her waist. She wriggled and kicked them off before returning to a kneeling position, giving him a clear view of what she wore beneath her pants. A sheer scrap of material covered her sex, so transparent, it teased him.
He let out a long, tortuous groan. She was baiting him bit by bit, making him wait, increasing his desire. He didn’t know how long he could play by her rules, looking and not touching, wanting and not being able to satisfy his need. He leaned against the high chest of drawers near the wall, welcoming the support, because this woman could bring him to his knees if he let her.
