12

The answer to her question was apparently no, judging from Chase’s behavior the moment they arrived at the barracks. He helped her out of the truck and opened the door to her room for her. He’d thoughtfully taken the stairs even though she could feel the anticipation rolling off him in waves.

“The elevator would’ve been faster,” Vivien told him once they reached her floor.

“Some things are worth waiting for.” His eyes gleamed with the promise of dark fantasy fulfillment.

Suddenly the weeks in his classroom seemed so very long. The restraint they’d both held tightly to seemed needless and painful.

But no matter how badly her body ached for the kind of pleasure she knew only he could give to her, something slowed her progress to the bed in the corner of the room.

Nerves.

For the first time in a long time, Vivien was nervous about sleeping with a man. Which felt ridiculous since it wasn’t even the first time, but there it was. Ignoring her trembling hands, she bit down on her lip and turned to face him.

The heaviness of the moment weighed on her—the aching need for him, the risk they were taking, the possible consequences, the fear that this could be both the worst and the best thing that ever happened to either of them. All of it pressed heavily on her chest, keeping her completely still.

“Chase . . .” There weren’t words to describe how she was feeling so she didn’t attempt to speak any. She looked up into his eyes and hoped somehow she could convey her tumultuous thoughts and feelings telepathically.

“Every day I tell myself I’m going to behave. I’m going to focus on being your CO and nothing more. Every. Damn. Day.” He stood before her practically vibrating with barely contained restraint. “But I’m weaker than I thought. I fucking crave you. Your taste, your scent, your skin. All of it. It takes every bit of willpower I have not to pick you up over my shoulder and carry your sexy ass into my office.”

His words warmed her from the inside out, easing her worries, and melting the rigid muscles in her body.

“And what would you do with me once you had me there, Corporal?” She arched a wicked eyebrow and grinned at him.

Chase’s gaze seared into her as his fingers reached forward to unfasten the top of her ACU. He moved with painstaking slowness. “First, I would remove every single stitch of clothing from your delectable body.”

Vivien watched his expert hands as they undressed her. Once she was down to only her panties she straightened her shoulders—surprisingly she felt empowered by her nudity rather than bashful or overexposed. Her nipples were taut and high, practically saluting him as she stood at attention.

“And then . . .”

Chase dropped ceremoniously to his knees, skimming strong, warm fingers down her sides. She shivered when his caress lightly tickled her rib cage.

“Then,” Chase continued, gently lowering her panties to the floor, “I’d finally give in to my craving.”

Without waiting for her to respond, he leaned forward and placed an open-mouthed kiss between the apex of her thighs. Vivien held her breath until his tongue darted out to part her sensitive flesh.

“Oh, oooh, God,” she moaned shamelessly, backing up a step so that she could sit on her bed before her legs gave out.

Chase moved with her as if he’d anticipated her needs. With a firm grip, he parted her knees and continued his slow, mind-shattering torture.

She could come like this. That much she knew from their previous encounter. But she needed him—all of him—this time. Wanted the connection, the intimacy of it. Lust blanketed her common sense in complete darkness until she was suspended somewhere between being consumed with emotion and being completely emotionless as animalistic need took over.

“Please . . .” she panted while writhing shamelessly against his mouth. “I need . . .”

“I know, baby,” Chase soothed her, coming up to place deliciously dirty kisses on her mouth. “I need it too. So fucking bad.”

She kissed him back hard and punishingly. She wanted him that way. Wanted to feel what they’d done for days afterward. Wanted to make the risk worth it.

Chase began to ease her onto her back but then froze. “Do you need to be on top?”

Those seven simple words jolted her from her mindless existence.

Maybe being overly exposed was making her sensitive at the moment but something about his caring about what she needed, not just taking what he wanted . . . that did it for her. No matter what she wanted to tell herself, something more than just a hot hookup was happening between them.

“I trust you,” she said quietly, shocked to find her words were true.

He nodded without saying another word but when he leaned down to kiss her, it was gentler than before. Warm and thorough and exploratory.

In a sleight of hand magic trick she hadn’t known he was capable of, Chase produced a condom from a gold packet and rolled it over his massive length. She watched hungrily, anticipating the feel of him stretching and filling her.

“Tell me what you want, Viv. I know you know. Tell me,” Chase urged as he braced himself above her and placed the tip of his cock at her entrance. “Tell me how and where and—”

She broke off his plea with a sensual kiss then raked her hands over his sculpted stomach and chest before bringing them to the back of his neck. He was a masterpiece of perfection and she wanted to indulge in every single inch. “I want you everywhere. Every way that I can have you.”

Her entire body ached for his touch, her nipples peaking toward his mouth, her hips feeling cold without his warm hands gripping them, her throbbing pussy clenching desperately on emptiness.

Chase pressed forward between her thighs, groaning as her tightness enveloped him. Her answering moan of approval was lost as he covered her mouth with his. His tongue mimicked the motion of his cock and by the time he lowered his head to lavish his attention on her breasts, she was coming.

The wave hit her hard and hot but Chase wasn’t slowing his pace. He was fucking her straight through her first orgasm and into a second one. Her body bowed unexpectedly off the bed but Chase didn’t miss a beat. He pulled her upward and wrapped her legs around him so they were fucking in an upright sitting position. She whimpered in both pleasure and panic, unsure if her body and mind could withstand the flood of ecstasy.

“Stay with me, sweetheart.” He ground his cock deeper and harder against her most sensitive spot. “It’s going to be a long night.”

***

Vivien couldn’t remember the last time she’d woken up feeling so well rested. With warm arms wrapped around her midsection and a human space heater at her back, she smiled and wiggled her bottom against him to see if he was awake yet.

“The sun isn’t even up yet, woman. Go back to sleep,” he mumbled against her ear while tightening his grip on her body. So Chase wasn’t a morning person like she was. But part of him was waking up just fine, judging from the way his hard length pressed into her.

The night came back to her in a flood of erotic images. Every position they’d explored, every orgasm that had rocked her body beyond comprehension, every dirty promise he’d made while buried deep inside her. She would be sore; that was a given. But it was a necessary soreness, one she would miss when it was gone.

“I don’t like to waste the day,” she informed him, turning to face him. She studied his features for one precious moment, noting that she would kill to have eyelashes as naturally dark and thick as his, before rubbing her nose into his neck. “I don’t have a kitchen but I have a blender. I can make us protein shakes, but then I have to run.”

“Run where?” Chase mumbled without opening his eyes.

“Nowhere in particular,” she answered, linking her bare leg with one of his. “I run six miles around base every morning. I take a different route every week.”

“It’s Saturday,” he said, giving her backside a squeeze. “Do you not even sleep in on Saturday?”

“I was an Army brat, Corporal.” She paused to bite his shoulder lightly in an attempt to rouse him and to let him know she was just teasing by using his rank. “I’m always up before the sun.” She gave his ass a light smack before maneuvering out of his grasp.

Chase answered this with a loud groan.

“Plus,” Vivien continued in a less playful tone, “we’re on base so maybe you should leave earlier rather than later when everyone is up and around.”

At that, Chase’s eyes snapped opened. “Shit.”

Vivien watched his gloriously naked body rise from her bed. He dressed so quickly—pulling the pants of his ACU over his muscular thighs and sculpted backside—she wanted to kick herself for not taking the time to fully bask in the ambience of nude Chase Fisk in her bed before getting up and at it. Old habits die hard, though, and she’d always been an early riser.

She sighed as she pulled on her own clothes—a black dri-FIT sports bra and running shorts.

“You could come with me,” she said, not wanting to leave his company so soon and yet not wanting to sound like a stage-five clinger. “I don’t think anyone would see anything wrong with us taking a morning run together.” She was pretty sure half her unit would eventually see him working with her after class anyway.

He paused, then gestured to his uniform. “Not exactly dressed for running.”

After he’d laced up his boots, he moved toward her. “Thanks for last night.” He placed a featherlight kiss on her lips then another on her forehead.

Vivien had never been one to be at a loss for words, but for the life of her, she wasn’t sure what to say. You’re welcome seemed inadequate. It was amazing; let’s do it again ASAP came off a little too desperate. She finished lacing her running shoes and followed him to the door.

“So . . .” Chase’s eyes lingered on her lips.

“So . . . I should probably make sure the coast is clear before you walk out.”

He nodded. “And maybe wait a little before you come out. Just in case.”

Vivien swallowed the lump of unidentifiable emotions forming in her throat. She wasn’t sure why she suddenly felt so off-kilter. They’d both known the score. He was her CO. They couldn’t date. So they’d snuck off and scratched an itch. No big.

Except it felt big. The moment felt entirely too big for a simple “thanks for last night.” But that’s what he’d said.

So maybe it only felt big to her.

Swallowing her pride, she opened the door and stepped out. The hallway was a ghost town.

“You’re free,” she told him. “No one else is probably even up yet.”

Chase grinned. “Because normal humans sleep in when they can.”

Vivien shrugged. “Normal is boring.”

She didn’t know if last night had been as amazing for him as it was for her, but she knew it sure as hell wasn’t boring.

He chuckled. “Good point. You’re definitely nowhere in the neighborhood of boring.”

She forced a flirtatious smile. “Well you didn’t exactly bore me to sleep last night either.” More like orgasmed her into a coma. “Have a good day,” she said quietly, wondering if she should’ve wished him a good weekend instead. Maybe she wasn’t going to see him until class on Monday. She honestly had no idea what the protocol was on how to proceed after a second-night stand.

“You too, sweetheart,” he said with a tenderness she hoped she wasn’t imagining. Another quick kiss on her head and he was out the door.