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“I’ll have Jack pick you up from work and bring you to my office here. I have a late meeting on Friday.” He doesn’t ask to see me and if I wasn’t so downright needy for him, I’d likely tell him off. But I can’t. I want him too much.

“Okay,” I agree without question.

He sighs deeply into the phone. “Baby, I look forward to being with you,” he says seductively. It’s like the flame lighting on a gas stove. Chase can turn me on with a few breathy words.

“Me, too.” I barely get the words out. His tone, the sound of his frustrated sigh does wicked things to my lady parts.

“I can’t wait to kiss you, run my tongue along your skin,” he adds. “I can almost taste you from the other night.”

I bite back a moan. “Jesus, Chase.”

“I can’t wait to make you mine, Gillian.” What does that mean to a man like him? Mine for the night? For the weekend? Forever? A chill runs through me at all the possibilities. “And Baby?” he says in a deep gravelly voice. I shudder and heat fires down my chest to settle heavily between my thighs. An ache for him starts deep in my core and I squeeze my thighs together and start to tickle the bare skin above my panties.

“Yes?” I hang on his every word, slipping my hand under the lace fabric.

“Don’t masturbate.” What the hell? I pull my hand out of my underwear as if it has been zapped by lightning. “I want to be the one to make you come from now on.” His voice is thick, sexy and dominant. Chills run up my spine and goose bumps break out across my skin.

“Oh, God. You’re killing me, Chase.” I admit. The man has had me on a slow scalding burn since the moment we exchanged glances at the bar a few days ago.

“Friday,” he finishes in a husky timber. “Sweet dreams.” He hangs up without saying goodbye. Maybe he never waits for people to say goodbye. So strange. Smart, sexy as hell, and devastatingly hard to ignore.

He asked me not to masturbate. After a conversation like that, the only thing I can think about is rubbing one off quickly to relieve the intense pressure he’s built up in me. I’m strung so tight, one strum of my clit, and I’d be humming in orgasm.

Sleep. It’s the only defense I have against the raging desire for him. After these stitches are removed, I am not leaving his side until he puts me out of my misery. I don’t care if I have to strip naked and beg.

***

Monday comes fast, and I’m back in the real world. Fundraising, donor testimonials and event planning is on the docket this week and I jump in with a flourish. Taye and I meet for lunch. We discuss what happened in Chicago in detail. I confide in him that I’m seeing Chase this weekend. To put it lightly, he is not impressed. He’s worried about me and my career.

It’s not as though he is telling me anything I didn’t know. I’ve already been over the pros and cons a million times. Really, though, when it comes down to it, it is none of his business.

Chase and I share a few texts throughout the week and he calls me Tuesday evening to tell me he’ll be out of town the rest of week, returning late on Thursday. I welcome the time to truly collect my thoughts, knowing he’s not just a short drive away. I know the situation with Chase is ill advised. All the warning signs are going off, but the silk of his voice over the phone and the memory of his hands on my body crush those blaring signals, leaving nothing but anticipation in its wake.

Friday morning at seven, someone knocks on the door. Maria springs off the couch like an Olympic runner. She opens the door before I can set down my coffee cup. I snicker at her exuberance. She’s on a mission to meet this man and nothing is going to get in her way. I figured she’d have to wait. Chase typically sends his linebacker.

I’m surprised when Maria and Chase enter the living area, arm in arm speaking in Spanish. Chase is wearing a pristine black suit, pin-striped blue dress shirt with a crisp white collar. His French cuffs peek out of his suit coat and the light from the kitchen bounces off his silver cufflinks, blinding me.

“Cuándo aprendiste a hablar español?” Maria asks.

“Yo aprendí en la universidad, pasó un período en el extranjero,” Chase responds.

Maria’s clearly impressed. Her smile is huge and she’s using her hands animatedly as she speaks. That’s a clear signal she’s been sucked into Air Davis where there are no stops and everyone collects two hundred dollars.

“Hello? Remember me? I speak English,” I chastise them.

“She asked me when I learned to speak Spanish, and I told her in college. That I spent a term abroad.” He makes his way to me and leans down to kiss me. His hand snakes into my hair and tilts my head to the side to gain deeper access. I open for him, enjoying the taste of his peppermint tongue.

A long wolf whistle from behind us makes me pull away and Chase grins. His eyes bright with merriment.

“Damn, you didn’t greet me like that,” Maria complains with a pout.

Chase puts his arm around my waist and pulls me against him. I curl into his side. “Sorry. I’m a one woman kind of man,” he says then dips down for another scorching kiss. Damn he’s pretty, and distracting. I push him off me and he chases my lips then settles for a quick nip on the bottom one before bringing his attention back to our admirer.

Maria winks as a wicked grin slides into place. “Gigi, call me later. Let me know whether or not you’ll be coming home this evening.” She’s about to head to her room to change for rehearsal.

“She won’t be coming home,” Chase answers, a hand at my nape, his preferred swooping circles drawn into my skin, send shivers to race along my spine.

We both turn and he shrugs nonchalantly. Maria grins at me and waggles her eyebrows.

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