“A mirrored canopy?” Jade gulped with a glance at the ceiling.
“You’re safe, it’s long gone.” He chuckled. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“Chloe thought you might need breakfast since Teresa and Bob are off on the weekend. But if I’m interrupting—”
Chase pulled her across his lap, settling her fanny on the mattress beside his right hip. Her dress inched up her thighs as her feet dangled over the side of his bed. When she smiled, he closed his eyes and tasted her sweet lips. Her left arm slid across his shoulders, and her right hand flattened to his chest. With his right arm braced against her back, he was torn between caressing her breasts and slipping his left hand between her legs. Doing neither, he broke off the kiss.
“What kind of spell did you cast over me, Jade?”
“The same one you cast over me,” she sounded sincere. With gentle fingers, she brushed a lock of hair across his forehead. “I saw this same somber expression on your face after we danced for the first time. What are you thinking?”
“That you could have any man you want eating out of your hand. Why me?”
“You have women falling at your feet. Why me?”
“You’re the only one who has fallen at my feet,” he teased.
She giggled. “Onlybecause my boot got stuck in the stirrup.”
“Seriously,” Chase said, holding her across his lap. Don’t let her say anything indicating his ranch or money. “Why me?”
“Physical attractions are common,” Jade said. She was right about that. The cleavage tempting him in the scooped top of her sundress made his mouth water. Her pretty legs were slightly spread atop his thighs, so to be safe, he rested his hand on the bed. “But if a physical attraction is combined with a mental connection, you have something rare. When you’ve found both, having just the mental or physical alone will never again be enough.”
“Is that your therapist opinion, or are you speaking from experience?”
“It was only my therapist opinion until,” she looked away, but his finger under her chin brought her emerald eyes to meet his gaze, “I met you.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
She smiled. “I thought your frown was because I was a bad kisser.”
“Your kisses are sweeter than cherry cobbler.”
Scooting her off his lap to the center of the mattress, Chase kicked off the sheet, lay back, and brought her on top of him. He wanted her to feel free to bail out of his bed. Looking up at her, blood pounded hard and fast into his loins as she settled herself between his legs instead of bailing. He threaded his fingers through the thick blond hair on both sides of her head and brought her lips to his. When she slipped her arms under his shoulders, he eased his hands down her sides. Stopping at her hips, he realized he was touching her panties as her dress had flipped up over her shapely derrière. He trailed his hands over the silky fabric, and when a purr escaped her, he caressed her rounded bottom. Jade’s slender arms tightened around his neck, raising her dress and exposing even more of her lower half. His brain suddenly yelled out a warning.
“Yes, Chase,” she moaned.
“Jade,” he sighed, wanting to take her fast, but going slowly for her sake.
Hooking his thumbs into her underwear, he pulled them down to the tops of her thighs. He flattened his palms and fingers to her flesh. The bare skin of her bottom was so soft, he wanted to touch and taste every inch of her. As he gently rolled her off him to her back, she smoothed the front of her full skirt down between her thighs. Hooking a finger into one side of her panties, he peeled them down and off her red boots.
Wanting her naked, he tugged one strap of the sundress off her shoulder and then the other. He realized she wasn’t wearing a bra and braced himself on his elbows. His lips left hers, and he admired the two most beautiful breasts he’d ever seen. Cupping his hand to her right one, he ran his thumb over the cotton-candy-pink nipple. Lowering his head, he savored the tip of her left breast. Cotton candy couldn’t compete.
“Mmm…Chase.” Jade arched her back against his lips. “Do you have on panties?”
“Hell no,” he said, trailing kisses between her breasts. “Boxers.”
“That’s what I meant.”
“Want ‘em off?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
Things were moving fast now. He hoped she was ready in every way. Chase groaned against the tip of her right breast, ready to strip off his boxer shorts, when his brain yelled out the warning again—use a condom. It had been so long since he’d sworn off women, he couldn’t remember where his condoms were. He didn’t think he even had any. After his last relationship ended, he’d recently received a clean bill of health from his physician. But what about Jade? What about birth control? How to tactfully approach those subjects? When he lifted his head, Jade’s eyes stayed closed, but her pink lips smiled up at him.
“Jade, are you on the pill?”
“No.”
