19

Despite his dirty promise, Chase did not, in fact, keep her in the bedroom—tied up or otherwise. So far, they’d yet to make it to the bedroom. But they had made love on the living room floor in front of the fireplace before they’d even unpacked because Vivien told him that was a fantasy of hers.

Afterward, they’d headed to dinner at a cozy Italian place down the coast. Candlelight flickered against her face as she leaned in close over plates of pasta that smelled amazing.

“You give a good date, Corporal Fisk.”

Chase smiled at her approval. “I try, Private.”

She twirled her pasta in the white cream sauce before placing it in her mouth. “This is insanely good,” she said when she’d swallowed. “Like, every other Italian place is pretty much ruined for me now.”

LaVoy’s was a family-owned place Luke had recommended. Chase was planning to buy Luke a steak and a case of his favorite beer as a thank-you. He wasn’t sure he was ruined for other Italian places, but watching Vivien enjoy her food with reckless abandon—while it became clear that he’d rather watch her eat than eat his own food—definitely indicated that he was ruined for all other women.

You got off on watching her grocery shop, dipshit. Of course you’re ruined.

His subconscious had caught onto the severity of his feelings for this woman long before he had.

After dinner, Vivien demanded they share a dessert. It was a homemade tiramisu that blew his mind. Not necessarily because of the ingredients, but because Vivien sat on his lap and fed some to him. He licked espresso-flavored cream from her fingertip before kissing some off the side of her mouth.

“It’s so, so good,” she practically moaned, “it should be illegal.”

Chase gripped her thighs. “If we don’t leave soon I’m going to do something that’s probably illegal to do in public.”

Vivien filled the spoon with the last of the dessert. “In that case, eat faster.”

Chase laughed through the mouthful she’d forced on him. “You’re a handful, Private Brooks.”

He nuzzled her neck, but she pulled back. “Well then it’s a good thing you have two hands.”

That it was.

He could barely keep them off her the entire drive back to the beach house.

The ocean waves could be heard through the open windows once they were inside, and Chase felt disoriented as if he were drowning. In a way, he was. Drowning in his need for this woman. Falling deeper with every touch, kiss, and slide inside her warm, welcoming heat.

Without a word, he tossed their leftovers onto the counter and backed her into the bedroom. She remained silent as he removed every stitch of clothing from her body.

He explored her erogenous zones in stages. First with his hands, skimming his fingertips over her flesh in her most sensitive spots. Then his lips, kissing and caressing her breasts, stomach, hips, and thighs, before he allowed his tongue to delve into her pulsating center.

The sounds she made became a song, a chant of sorts, propelling him onward, setting the pace for the way their bodies would respond to each touch.

“Chase,” she breathed, and he knew. Knew it was time to take her as high as he could get her to go. The fuse had been lit with them the night they met. Each time she’d come around his cock had been a detonation more satisfying than any other.

Her turned her away from him, admiring the hourglass shape of her full, feminine backside, thankful that she wasn’t a skinny twig of a woman he’d have to be careful not to break. Vivien was strong and sturdy and could handle him as if she were made for him.

He positioned the tip of his dick at her entrance.

She arched against him. Ready. Willing to go where he was taking her.

The deeper he drove into her, the more their sweat-slicked bodies slid against each other in an erotic rhythm, the more he felt connected to her in a way that surpassed anything he’d ever felt before.

Before reaching around to slide his fingers along her clit while he worked himself in and out from behind, he paused to turn her head and kiss her mouth. She kissed him back hard, aggressively and recklessly. Her teeth slammed against his as her tongue took no prisoners.

The only thing his brain could conjure was the repeating thought that, God, this woman was perfect.

When the swelling wave of her orgasm approached, he slowed his motion, grinding harder into her pussy and slamming her G-spot with everything he had. She screamed, for him to stop, to not stop, to go harder, and several ohmygods, but Chase was gone. He’d left his humanity behind and now existed in an animalistic state in which his sole purpose was to please her, to wring every ounce of pleasure from her body. Still impaling her on his shaft, he growled a possessive command in her ear.

“Come again for me, sweetheart. Show me how good I make you feel.”

“Chase.” There was both panic and peace in the way she moaned his name.

“Let go, Vivien. I’m here. I’m right here with you. Come for me, baby.”

His entire body felt in serious danger of bursting apart at the seams. He wouldn’t give in to his own release until she was completely spent.

“Oh God, Chase.”

“I’ve got you. It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

His arms wrapped around her waist as she came so hard he had to hold her up. He surrendered to his own release right along with her, continuing to whisper the promise that he had her in her ear as he helped her limp body into bed.

He had her all right.

But as he lay there with her naked, sated body curled around his, feeling himself dropping into a free fall akin to jumping out of a plane with no parachute, he couldn’t help but wonder who the hell had him.

Her steady, even breathing soothed his concerns. Maybe, just maybe, for the first time in his life the universe was smiling on him. Maybe they would have each other’s backs.