A surge of male pride blasted him. It was wrong, considering how she was reacting now, but he’d been the first guy she’d slept beside and fuck if no one could take that from him.
He wasn’t going to let her run. That shit stopped now. “You’re staying here.”
Anger flashed in her eyes, turning them nearly black. “Are you telling me what to do?”
“Yes.” He flashed a quick grin. “Someone has to.”
“No one needs to.” Her hands dropped to her sides, balling into fists.
“I disagree. See, that’s your problem. You’ve spent your whole life bossing people around and taking care of other people’s lives.” Pointing out that she also spent her life running from intimacy was so not a good idea right now. “That changes today. I’m telling you what to do and I’m going to take care of you.”
Her mouth dropped open as she stared at him. Then she swallowed. “I don’t know if I should be pissed off or flattered by that statement.”
“I say we go with flattered.”
Turning away, she lifted her arm and pressed her palm to her forehead. “I…I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I need to go to work.”
“That’s the last thing you need to do.” He took another step, catching the scent of lilacs and vanilla. “Come on, don’t fight me on this. Anything but this. You were shot yesterday, Alana. For crying out loud, let me take care of you.”
Her chest rose swiftly. “Why…why would you want to?”
Had she really just asked that? “Why wouldn’t I want to?”
As she watched him wryly, her lower lip trembled. It was the only real emotion she showed and for a moment, he thought she was going to cave, that the woman would finally listen to him, but then she shook her head and started reworking the buttons.
Reaching deep inside for a patience he didn’t really have but seemed to grasp whenever he was around Alana, he crossed the distance between them, then stopped short when he saw the tiny drop glistening on her face.
Like someone had reached in and squeezed his heart, he closed his hands around empty air. “Alana, baby…”
She blinked rapidly as she backed away, hitting the edge of the bed. “No. I’m fine. I can go to work.”
He was at a loss as to what to do, so all he could do was try to understand. “Why? Why do you have to do this?”
Her fingers shook as she lowered her hands. “Because it’s my job.”
“That’s not a good enough reason.”
Her throat worked and when she blinked again, her lashes were damp. “It’s the only thing I have. Is that a good enough reason for you, Chandler? My job is it. There’s nothing else and focusing on my job, well, that allows me not to really dwell on the fact that I have no one. I’m not like you. I don’t have brothers and I don’t have a surrogate family. I…” She broke off, the tears welling and spilling over her cheeks. Frustration pulled at her lips as she squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t know what else to say, and I don’t want to think about this. I don’t want to think about anything.”
Chandler did the only thing he could think of in that moment, because all he wanted was for her to stop crying. Cupping her cheeks, he smoothed away the tears. Their eyes locked, and the flicker of arousal in her stare was greater than the distrust he also saw.
“You have me,” he said, meaning it. The moment he said those words, he knew how true they were. She had him.
Her mouth opened, but he snaked an arm around her waist and carefully hauled her up against him and kissed her.
He kissed her in a way he’d never really kissed a woman before.
It was a sweet brush of lips and tender pressure, a kiss of reverence, and it shook him to the core. His hand shook as he smoothed his palm over her cheek, slowly deepening to the kiss. He expected her to fight him, but her lips parted and her tongue flicked over his first. His arousal surged hard and heavy, but he slowed it down, not wanting to hurt her or to send her running again.
But she wasn’t running now.
Alana looped her uninjured arm around his neck, her hand delving deep in his hair, holding her to him. The kiss turned fiercer, harder, and it was all her.
“Stay here,” he coaxed, letting his hand slip down, over the curve of her breast, to her hip. “Stay here and I’ll make sure you don’t think about anything.”
Alana shuddered against him and her damp lashes lowered.
He kissed the corner of her lips. “Let me take care of you, Alana.”
Her fingers tightened in his hair, causing sharp, delicious sparks of pain in his scalp. Yep, that turned him on. “Why?” she whispered against his mouth. “Why?”
“Because I want to.” He pressed his lips to her temple. “It’s as simple as that. I want to. And if you let me, you won’t regret it. You won’t think about a thing. I promise you.”
She was silent and still and then she removed her hand from his hair. His stomach tightened and he prepared for another bout of fighting.
But she placed her cheek against his bare chest and let out a deep, troubled sigh. “Okay,” she whispered. “Okay.”
Not one to waste time, especially with this woman, he slid his arm under her knees and picked her up so that her injured shoulder wasn’t placed against his chest. She didn’t say anything, just turned her cheek farther into his chest. His heart thumped heavily when he felt her lips pressed against his skin.
Oh yeah, she wasn’t going to be doing any thinking any time soon.
Carrying her back to his bed, he laid her down gently. He hovered over her, his fingers lingering above the buttons on her blouse. “How is your shoulder?”
She stared up at him, her cheeks flushed. “It burns a little and is tender to move, but seriously, it’s not bad.”
“Good.” He made quick work of the tiny buttons, parting the soft material. Sliding an arm under her back, he sat her up, and it did strange things to his heart when she rested against him. “Wait until you’re healed. The things I want to do to you…”
He carefully removed the shirt from her shoulder, sliding it over the small bandage covering the patch of skin. Dropping the material aside, he reached around her, unhooked her bra, and placed a kiss to the side of her neck.
“Is this how you’re going to take care of me?” she asked.
“One of the ways.” Guiding her down, he leaned over her, soaking in the way she looked in his bed, only in her panties. She started to cover her chest, but he caught her arms, easing them back to her sides. “You’re absolutely beautiful. No reason to hide yourself.”
A flush traveled down her throat and over her chest. Her nipples tightened under the intensity of his gaze. He smiled and then dipped his head, flicking his tongue over each nipple before sucking one into his mouth. Her moan reverberated through his skull, an erotic cocktail that made his arousal almost painful.
Her hips shifted restlessly, drawing his attention. Grinning, he kissed his way down her belly, lapping and nipping as he went. By the time he pulled off her panties, she was ready for him. He licked into her sweet hotness, groaning at the taste of what he’d been craving since yesterday. Some men thought this was a chore, but with Alana, it was a fucking blessing. Delving in with his tongue, he watched her.
Her lips parted and her breasts rose and fell seductively. When his tongue circled her clit, her head fell back against the pillow and a soft, mewling moan escaped her rosy lips.
“Goddamn,” he groaned, his eyes riveted to her face. His body ached to be inside her. There was a good chance he was going to lose it without even getting his pajama bottoms off. Release was burning through him, already on the brink of an orgasm. He’d never been this hot for a woman before. He’d never fucking cared this much.
The L word was forming in his thoughts, and what did ya know, it didn’t freak him out. It didn’t make him want to run for the hills screaming. On the other hand, it made him want to mark her, to claim her. It made him want to please her and to hear her say those words.
/>
When had it started? He didn’t know. Was it the moment she’d burst through the door at Leather and Lace or further back, when she’d come to the house the very first time? Or was it the first time she’d cried out, coming in his arms? It could’ve been on the ride to dinner afterward or in her office, her sweet ass up on her desk. Maybe it was when she’d opened her eyes in the hospital, concerned about not wearing panties? Last night, when she’d finally curled up against him? Or just now, when he’d walked in on her, finally seeing her vulnerable.
All of his brothers had fallen hard and fallen fast, so why would he be any different? Honestly, he didn’t care what moment had made it happen.
Chandler slipped a finger in her wetness and was rewarded with a breathy moan. Taking deep breaths and putting the brakes on the way his hips unconsciously followed the movements of his fingers, he worked slowly. He was captivated by the flicker of emotions whirling across her face and drawn in by the way she rolled her hips, coaxing him deeper and faster.
“Please,” she said. “Chandler, please.”
Dropping between her thighs, he blew a hot breath over her clit, and she cried out. “I’m here, right here,” he said.
Her breaths came out in pants. “No.”
Chandler froze between her thighs. “No?”
“I don’t want that,” she said, eyes open and fixed on his face. “I want you.”
“You have me.”
A smile raced across her lips, full and absolutely dazzling. Luckiest man alive to be on the receiving end of something so fucking marvelous. “I want you in me.”
Holy shit, had he heard her right? Like being handed a winning lottery ticket and not believing it. “Are you sure?”
Fuck. Listen to him. Are you sure?
She wet her lips, and he groaned. “Positive.”
For a few second, he didn’t move, and then he was up and off that bed faster than any man had ever moved, shucking off his bottoms even quicker. He reached into the nightstand and grabbed a foil wrapper, tossing it on the bed beside her.
A breathy laugh came from Alana. “Excited?”
“You have no idea.”
…
Alana was beginning to get a good idea of how excited Chandler was as she eyed his thick, rigid erection as he rolled a condom on. Good God, he was huge and unbelievably hard, and she was also pretty sure that he was going to fuck every troublesome thought out of her head in a matter of seconds.
When she’d woken this morning, she had panicked. All the things she’d told him last night had felt like bitter ash on her tongue this morning. Never had she talked about her mother or anything with any man, but she had with Chandler, and even though she’d love to blame the pain pills, they weren’t what had done it.
And never had she woken up next to a man before, either.
Walls she had built around her had cracked wide open, and as she’d lain there, gazing at Chandler as he slept, she’d let herself feel what was building inside her. The rush of emotions was nothing short of disastrous. God, she wanted him, and not just on a physical level. She wanted a tomorrow and a weekend. She wanted a next week and a next month. She wanted a future, and she had never wanted that before.
The swelling that had taken place in her chest had been too much. She’d panicked and raced from the bed, needing the familiar—her job—but Chandler, he’d done another thing that no one had ever been able to do.
He’d chased her down, caught her, and brought her back.
And now she was here, and she wasn’t running.
Chandler swooped in, kissing her deeply, and bringing her back to the present. The taste of him lingered on her lips as he got his hands under her hips. As he sat back, he pulled her onto her knees, straddling him.
“Tell me if it hurts your shoulder,” he said, cradling her hips. “Tell me anything, and I’ll do whatever you want.”
Her heart pounded at the words, at the feel of him prodding at her entrance. Air moved in and out of her throat too quickly for her to speak. He kissed her again, tasting her lips and her mouth.
“I’ve wanted this since the moment I first saw you,” he said, running his hands down her front, cupping her breasts. “I would’ve kicked Chad’s ass out of the house and fucked you right there in the foyer.”
At those words, her body went wet and ready. “In the foyer?”
“Fuck yeah,” he groaned against her parted lips. “I would’ve stripped those damn pants off you, flipped you onto your knees, and taken you from behind, my hands holding your breasts as I fucked you long and hard. When you’re feeling better, I’m going to have to live out my fantasy.”
Oh God… “Promise?”
“Cross my heart.”
Need slammed into her core at the images of him taking her roughly on the floor. She reached down between them, gripping him and stroking the hard, hot length, and his hips punched forward.
“God,” he moaned, pressing a fiery trail of kisses down her neck. “You keep that up and I’m going to be inside you in two seconds.”
“I’m not complaining.” She moved her thumb over his head, delighted in the bead of moisture already forming there.
He chuckled deeply but gripped her hand, pulling her away. “I want to savor this.” His gaze crawled over her face. “I want to give you a taste of what it will be like with me.”
She shuddered as she ran her hands up his taut abs. “Is this not going to be like it normally will be?”
A wicked, downright sinful look appeared on his striking face, and she pulsed between her legs. “Oh, it will be like this, but there’ll be other times when I’ll want to tie you up again. You liked that last time, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” she whispered, closing her eyes.
He sucked her lower lip into his mouth, and her hips pressed down on his erection. “Say it again.”
Breathless, she rotated her pelvis, wanting and needing him. “Yes.”
“That’s my girl.” He skated a hand down between her breasts, over her quivering stomach to her bottom. A second later, his hand landed solidly on her ass, causing her body to jerk and for every part in her to clench up with need. “Yeah, you like that, too.”
He smacked her ass again, and Alana cried out, her body and mind spinning. “Oh God…”
His hand came down once more, and she kissed him without any inhibition, unashamed at how wet and lush her body became in response to his teasing strikes.
“So we’ll definitely be doing some of that.” His hand trailed over her bottom, soothing away the burn. “And then I’ll take you against the wall. The floor. The kitchen counter. And this?” His finger slid between her cheeks, gently probing her.
Alana’s eyes flew open as the pressure turned to a pleasure with a bite of pain. “Chandler…”
His eyes held a wealth of sensual promise. “Yeah, I can tell you’re going to like that, too.” His hand drifted away, curving over her hip. He tugged her up, over where his arousal stood out, proud and commanding. He gripped himself in his other hand, stroking himself slowly. “Tell me what you want.”
“You.” She placed her hands on his shoulders, ignoring the twinge of pain in her shoulder as she watched his hand move. In response, her body tightened.
“I think you can say it better.”
Her gaze swung up and her eyes narrowed. “You.”
Stroke up. Stroke down. “Better than that.”
“I want…”
His large hand pumped. Chandler groaned as his back arched. “Come on, baby.”
Her mouth watered as she rocked her body closer, feeling him slide through her wetness and then retreat.
“Naughty,” he murmured, his grip tightening on her hip, adjusting her right above him. Just a thrust away. “Tell me.”
She wanted to continue to push, but she was burning up on the inside. Then he shifted and his head pushed in. A spasm lashed through her and she tried to bear down, to take him fully, but he stilled her.
Alana
wanted to punch the guy, but she wanted him inside her more. “I want you.”
“That’s all you ever have to say.”
He thrust up, and Alana cried out as he entered her in one deep and long thrust of his hips. The pressure of him filling her was nearly overwhelming, and he held still as her body adjusted to his size.
“I’ve never felt something so…” He shook his head, eyes opening and fixing on hers. One hand curled around the back of her head, urging her down to his mouth. He kissed her, drawing her in as he moved his hips again. “You’re fucking perfect.”
Alana let those words wrap around her as she braced herself on her knees and started to slowly ride him, matching his thrusts. Pleasure coiled tightly as he withdrew and then eased his way back in. She’d never felt so full before. The slow pace picked up and his hips were pounding up into hers as she held onto his shoulders, matching him. Shards of pleasure hit her. She shouted out as the orgasm tore through her, deep and fast, and wholly shattering.
Her release was still rolling through her as Chandler unexpectedly lifted her. She whimpered at the loss of the fullness, but then he turned her around. In every movement, he was mindful of her shoulder while she had forgotten it. Bullet wound? Whatever. All she was focused on was the man now behind her, whispering things that scorched her cheeks and ears. The man was raw and primitive. He oozed sex and pleasure like most men breathed.
Chandler guided her so that her back was against his chest. He spread her thighs wide and seated himself deep inside her. She moaned at the fullness of the new position and then tensed when he cupped her breast, rolling her nipple and plucking until it ached deliciously. His other hand trailed down her stomach, his fingers easily finding the bundle of nerves at the juncture of her thighs, and then he started to move again.
“Oh God,” she gasped, eyes wide, mouth parted.
The friction of him moving in and out, along with both his hands working her, was too much on her sensitive skin. She wanted him to stop, to speed up, and it was too much and yet never enough. The second time she came, he joined her. As he dropped his head against her uninjured shoulder, his thrusts became irregular, soul searing and deep. She pulsed and squeezed around him as he came, his hard muscles flexing against her back.