As time slipped away and the hour grew late, she convinced him to take a pain pill and go to bed.
“Jason’s stretched out on the sofa in your man cave. His gun’s on the table right next to him, so you don’t need to worry. You have to sleep if you’re going to regain your strength.”
Chase didn’t argue. She was right, which he seemed to accept. Yawning, he got up from the sofa, and Harper helped him down the hall into his bedroom.
Chase reached out and gently touched her cheek. “You said you’d stay.”
She wanted to. She was in love with him. No matter how it all turned out, she wanted this time with him. “It’s not a good idea. You need to sleep, and if I’m in bed with you, you’ll be thinking about sex.”
His mouth edged up. “Even if you aren’t in bed with me, I’ll be thinking about you, remembering what it’s like to make love to you.”
She flushed.
“I promise you all we’ll do is sleep. That’s about all I can handle right now.”
He’d been shot because of her. He had risked his life and almost been killed. The thought of what might have happened made her feel ill. “All right,” she said softly. “I’ll stay.”
Chase bent his head and brushed a soft kiss over her lips. Even that light touch brought a rush of heat. Harper helped him strip off his clothes and climb into bed, then changed into the nightgown Shana had brought her, a pretty little blue silk nightie with ecru lace on the front.
She convinced Chase to take a pain pill, though he insisted on only half, then slid into bed beside him.
Chase leaned over and brushed a last soft kiss on her lips. “Good night, baby,” he said, his voice deep and sexy. “Try to get some sleep.”
Harper closed her eyes, surprised at how weary she felt. It had been an exhausting day and she hadn’t slept at all last night, yet worry nagged her. Time drifted past and drowsiness began to slip over her. The rustle of the wind through the trees on the terrace was the last thing she remembered.
It was close to dawn when she started to dream, a wonderful, sweetly erotic fantasy of snuggling spoon-fashion against Chase’s hard body, of touching him, feeling him stir, of moist kisses against the side of her neck and her breasts being softly caressed.
She moaned as her nightgown slid up and her legs parted to welcome Chase’s attentions, the skillful play of his hands, the heat he could stir with the slightest touch. When he slid inside her, she moaned and arched her back, taking him deeper, heard his quick intake of breath.
Not a dream—not even close.The deep, saturating pleasure pouring through her was better than any fantasy she’d ever had.
She opened her eyes as his arm slid around her waist and he lifted her, urged her up on her hands and knees. Chase shifted their intimate position, staying close behind her, gripped her hips to hold her in place and began to move.
Desire burned through her. Harper moaned and took up the rhythm he set, taking even more of him, enjoying his low groan of passion.
“You’re mine,” he said softly, driving hard, demanding a response. “You know it and so do I. Let yourself go.”
The words sent heat sliding over her skin and hunger burning through her. It was true. She belonged to him. Maybe she always had.
Giving in to the needs of her body, Harper did as Chase commanded, and pleasure, sweet and pure, washed through her. She absorbed it, sank into it, drowned in it, let it flow in and out like a tide.
Chase followed her to release, his muscles tightening, his body going rigid as he bit back the growl locked in his throat. With a deep sigh of satisfaction, he pulled her down beside him on the mattress, their bodies still entwined.
For long moments, she just lay there absorbing his warmth, the feel of his arm draped over her waist.
Then her foggy brain began to clear, and she turned so that she could see his face. “Oh, my God, did I hurt you? What about your injury? Oh, my God.”
Chase chuckled and slid out of bed to dispose of protection. “I’m all right. I took the other half of that pain pill. I’m fine.” He bent and kissed her lips. “You were worth it, angel. You always have been.”
Harper closed her eyes. He had promised this wouldn’t happen. But how could she be mad at him when she was fairly sure she was the one who had initiated the lovemaking?
Injured as Chase was, she should feel guilty. Instead, when the bed dipped under his weight, signaling his return, she snuggled against him, careful not to hurt him, and drifted back to sleep.
She didn’t wake up till sunlight shone through the crack in the curtains and Jason Maddox was knocking on the bedroom door.
“You better get dressed,” Jase said. “You’ve got company.”
Chase was already gone, she realized, alarm bells ringing in her head. Harper slipped out of bed, grabbed her robe and shrugged it on.
