Favorite Places (A TroubleMaker Novel, #2) (6 page)

At first, the
comment confused her, but then she caught on. “You mean my comfort zone?” she
squeaked, sharing a bed went way beyond her three-foot radius needs.

“Yeah sure.
Whatever you call it.” He gave her a fleeting glance before hitting the
keyboard with the tips of his fingers. “The doctor said I’m not to leave you alone
for the next forty-eight hours, and there’s no way I’m sleeping in that chair
or on the floor. If it makes you that uncomfortable, the only solution I can
offer is for you to draw an imaginary line that I won’t cross. It’s a big
enough bed,” he suggested, still clicking away on the keys, not even having the
decency to look her way.

“My imaginary
line is at the door, with you outside of it!”

The clicking
sound seized, and with his fingers suspended over the keys, his head turned as
he viewed her from the corner of his eye. “What’s the matter? You’ve never
slept with a man before?”

“Of course I
have!”

“I said a man, a
real
man.” He winked.

My
God. How can someone be so gorgeous and so annoying at the same time?
“I’ve made the mistake of sleeping with men who certainly thought they were
real, and if you stay in this bed, I have no doubt that I’ll be making that
same mistake again!”

“Sweetheart, I
didn’t say we’re gonna have sex. Sorry, but that’s not part of the deal.” His
smug grin broadened.

“I hope not.” On
second thought, “You’re not gonna try to toss it in there as part of our deal,
are you?”

His dark eyes
landed on her, and her heart stopped mid-beat.

“I’ve never paid
for sex, and I’m not about to start now.” He closed the laptop, placed it back
on the nightstand, and got out of the bed. He stood for many seconds prior to
making his next move, which was walking around the bed to her side.

Her familiar
companion, Panic, was knocking. It wanted to come in, but Jessina refused to
open the door. She had to stay strong.

“Although I
never pay for sex,” he said, probing every inch of her body through hooded eyes.
“It doesn’t change the fact that I do want you. Let me clarify that,” his voice
deepened, “I want to have sex with you. And do you remember what I said
before?”

He waited, but
there was no way he was going to get a response from her. She was still in shock,
astounded by the blatant declaration that he wanted her. He bent down closer to
her stunned body. “If you don’t recall, allow me to remind you. What I want
always comes first.” Dark eyes skimmed over her lips before they rose back up. “And,
you might also recall that I mentioned before, I never want anything that I can’t
have.”

“Well, ahem…” She
gulped down her uneasiness, recalling the egotistical man who’d made that
statement in the restaurant. “I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but
your theory is seriously flawed because you can’t
have
me, Mr. Lennox.”

“No?” He arched
an eyebrow, swaying forward. “I also don’t make it a habit to be attracted to women
who are not equally attracted to me. I’m just not built that way.”

“And what’s that
supposed to me?”

“It means,
Jessina, that if I want you, then you must want me too, even if you don’t want
to admit it.”

“You arrogant,
cocky…ugh! You must think you’re God’s gift to women. God! I know all about men
like you!”

 “Stop right
there.” His hand went up as his handsome face hardened. Obviously, she’d hit a
nerve. One, she wasn’t too sure she’d recover from. “That’s the second time you’ve
done that.”

“Done what?” she
responded, feigning innocence.

“Compared me to other
men, and I don’t take it lightly. If you’re gonna make accusations like that, then
I’m sorry, but you had better brace yourself for the consequences.”

“For the wh-what?” she stammered, his words not entirely
registering. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’m coming
in.” One large hand hit the mattress while the other moved toward her. It scraped
lightly over her shoulder. She froze when his warm palm rested on her neck and strong
fingers grasped her skin.

“Wh-what are you
gonna do?”

His eyelids
lowered. “Well, apparently you require a little proof that I’m not like other
guys.”

And from that
little comment, her palms started to sweat. She knew exactly what he meant to
do. “No,” she barely whispered the word, trying to convince herself to put up a
fight, as she watched his mouth pivot downward.

“Yes,” he rasped
right before his mouth fell gently upon hers. His lips were strong but soft, the
contact sensuous, unlike any touch she’d ever experienced. He pulled back, and
eager hands reached for him. But he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Huh…” He ran
his tongue over his bottom lip and then bit it. It was quick but hot. “You
liked that, didn’t you?”

Provocative eyes
flicked up to hers before he leaned forward for another small, tantalizing
kiss. Her hands grabbed the hard muscles of his biceps needing, wanting…

“More?” he wickedly
asked.
Damn it!
Mr. Hot Lips had done it again. He’d read her mind. His
fingers tightened on her neck. “Come on then,” he nudged. “Come and get what
you want, sweetheart,” he dared as his lips lingered just above her mouth, tempting
and teasing her.

Jessina fell for
it, for him, and for that hot mouth. She leaned forward. His lips brushed hers
until those subtle kisses intensified and turned aggressive. And rough. He crushed
her body to his, and a little moan vibrated from her. His tongue slipped into
her mouth, swiping the cries of pleasure before they had a chance to escape into
the air. He trapped the sounds inside of her just like those kisses, so deep
inside.

Her back arched,
breasts swelled, and nipples stiffened. Her body was out of control. She had to
stop the madness, or she’d be nothing but a of pool liquid surrender, offering
herself into his capable hands.

“Okay,” she
partly said, partly breathed, partly moaned. “You’re right,” she fully panted
as she pressed her hand against his chest to push him away so she could clear
her sex-addled brain.

It worked, at
least a little. Their touch separated, but he didn’t retreat. Instead, he ran a
finger over her pulsating mouth. “I’m right about what?” he clandestinely asked
while toying with her moist bottom lip. The twinkle in his eyes told her he was
wholly aware of what she was speaking of.

“No more comparing you
to other guys,” she hissed at his cavalier grin.

“Uh…Chase?”

“I know, I know.”
He cringed. “I crossed the imaginary line.” He was in bed, spooning his pretend
wife, his fingers gripping a soft, supple hip while his arm rested against an
even softer belly. Hair tickled his nose, and a flowery scent filled his senses.
There was only his soap in the bathroom, so he couldn’t understand why she
smelled so damn botanical. “It appears my subconscious has deceived me,” he
surmised more to himself than to her. “It must have realized I was lying next
to a female and reacted accordingly.” It had been months since he’d been so close
to a woman.

“Really?” She
sneered.  

“Really,” he easily
returned, nuzzling closer to her and her blossoming sweet aroma.
Damn, she
smells good enough to eat. Why not enjoy it a little longer?

“And what about
this?” She wiggled her ass.

“That?” He
cringed again as his cock branded her lush, wiggling ass. “Don’t take it
personally, sweetheart, but
that
happens every morning.”

She bounced against
his morning stiffy once more. And he groaned on the inside, acknowledging that the
damn thing was exceptionally hard on that particular morning. “Well, take it
someplace else!” she snapped.

He pulled her closer
and whispered into her ear, “Tempted, huh?”

“No way!”

“Yes you are.”

“Get off of me!”
She jabbed him with her ass as she said each word.

He laughed. “Do
you think that’s wise, bumping your sweet little ass against me like that?” He pressed
his lips close to her ear, feeling the heat of his own breath lingering over
her skin. “I can guarantee that if you keep it up, we’re gonna have a problem. Conscious
or not, I’ll react as any
real
man should.”

“Off! Now!”

He chuckled
again. Enticed and unable to trust himself not to seduce his pretend wife, Chase
rolled over and got out of bed. As ritual, he stood and arched his back, giving
his body a good, full stretch. He glanced down at Jess, who was staring at his
crotch. Following her fixed gaze, he noted his morning glory was stretching
too. It was stiff and pressing proudly against his lounge pants.

She shot him a wide-eyed,
caught-guilty look.

Taking his time,
he finished his arm stretch, then put his hands on his hips, and smiled at her.

Her face skewed
and eyebrows narrowed. “Have you no shame?”

He glimpsed down
at his erection. “Hell no, not when it comes to that.” He looked back at her, unable
to hold back the pride he held for his manhood. “Believe me, there’s nothing
down there that I need to be ashamed of. I’ve been told it’s just the right
width, length—”

“God! Enough!” Her
hand shot out, and her face flushed red.

“Hey,
you
brought it up,” he innocently defended with a chuckle.

“No, Mr. Lennox,
that
happens every morning, remember? I had absolutely nothing to do
with bringing that up!”

“But you wanted
to, didn’t you?” He winked.

She groaned and
threw the blankets over her head.

Chase laughed
all the way to the bathroom.

Jessina rolled up the
bottom of the too-big pants so she wouldn’t trip over them. Chase waltzed out
of the bathroom ten minutes earlier, steam following him. Hair wet and dark
from the shower, he was dressed in jeans and another form-fitting shirt. Damn,
the man could wear the hell of out a cotton t-shirt. He gave her a small, sexy smile
before he told her to come out to the kitchen for breakfast whenever she was
ready.

After finger-combing
her hair and gurgling with mouthwash, she tugged her pants up and wandered into
the hall, peeking around each corner in search of the kitchen. How she ever got
herself into this situation was beyond her. Sure, a piece of paper said that
they were married, but she barely knew the man, and now she was sleeping in his
bed, eating his food, and wearing his damn clothes.  

Two days ago,
she could have called him and explained their predicament over the phone.
Instead, she’d jumped on the first bus out of town. Part of her wanted to get
away from her despondent mother, and another part just wanted to forget about
the upcoming trial. Even Shelby’s daily phone calls were getting on Jessina’s
last nerve. She needed a break from it all. Fearing if she didn’t get one, she’d
assume her mother’s role, lock herself in her small apartment, and try to
forget about the world. And like her mother’s sibling, everyone would disown
her. Jon included.

Jessina refused
to let Lance and her foolish mistakes bring her down. Still, the guilt ate away
at her daily. Blinded by love, that’s the lie she told herself. She never loved
Lance, but he’d still managed to fool her into being a part of destroying so many
lives, including many of her friends. In less than two weeks, she’d have to
face her mistakes and Lance again.

But, she
couldn’t bear to think about any of that now. The truth was, she wanted to tell
Chase to his face because she wanted to see his face again. When Jon had hopped
on Google and shown her a few pictures of the man she was married to, Jessina
had recognized Chase right away—her five-minute, trolley-ride crush. At that
point, everything fell into place. Her wallet in his bag, why he thought she’d
taken his suitcase, and everything else. She even understood his manic behavior
now. Chase had been on his way to an important meeting at the time. A deal he
so desperately wanted to close that he was willing to pay her to portray his
wife to get it. Jessina just wasn’t sure if she was ready to be another man’s
puppet. However, the money Chase had offered for the little off-Broadway
production could help fix the Lance problem so she could finally cut the
marionette strings that tied her to him.  

She rounded the
corner to find Chase holding a plate full of bagels and cream cheese in one
hand and a pitcher of orange juice and two flutes in the other. Wedged between
his arm and his side was a newspaper.

His steamrollers
bulldozed over her flannel-enclosed body before he flashed her that
award-winning smile. “Grab the fruit,” he instructed with a nudge.

She picked up
the bowl of melons and strawberries and followed him into a huge white room with
a fireplace, a leather sofa, and a fifty-inch flat screen. It was simple and
minimalistic but welcoming nonetheless.

He nudged one of
the sliding glass doors open with his foot and elbow. And when it moved Jessina
realized it was sunny out, not at all gloomy or dark. At that point, she
realized all the windows in the house were tinted. That’s why she was awakened
by Chase’s stiff morning salute rather than a bright burst of morning sun.