Christmas Diamonds (12 page)

He grinned with satisfaction. “I’m sure you’ll turn it into something I can really brag about.”

“I hope so.”

“You’re two for two thus far,” he reminded her.

She grinned and ran her pinky down his bare chest. “And I get you as a bonus.”

He was only too happy for that. “I’m all yours to do with as you please.”

“Are you sure you’re ready for that?” Paula asked.

Chase considered the question. He’d been alone longer than he cared to be. He didn’t want to go back to those dark and dreary days, not when there was someone who had suddenly given his life new meaning, filling him with optimism.

“I’m ready,” he promised, pausing. “Are you?”

Paula unbuttoned the shirt and allowed it to fall to the floor, revealing her graceful nakedness. She moved closer, rubbing herself against him. “Does that answer your question?”

He grinned. “Sure does.”

“Thought so,” she cooed and puckered her lips.

Chase kissed Paula’s waiting lips. He sucked hungrily on her lower lip and slid his tongue in her mouth, searching till he found her tongue. “I can’t seem to ever get my fill of you.”

“Hmm…” She pressed her breasts against his chest. “Then you’ll just have to keep coming back for more.”

“I sure will.” He kissed her again, taking delight in the meeting of their mouths before needing even more to satisfy his growing appetite for the lady.

Chase carried Paula to the couch and laid her down. Dropping to his knees, he held her breasts, which were like well-rounded, beautiful melons. The nipples were taut and tempting. He ran his tongue across one, then the other, and back again. Chase focused entirely on one nipple, wrapping his lips around it and sucking, then licking. Paula’s breathing quickened and her body trembled. He moved to the other nipple and did the same as she reacted, causing his libido to soar.

“That feels so good,” she uttered. “So very good….”

Chase continued to kiss her breasts and nipples, getting more and more aroused. He wanted to take it to another level for them. He moved down Paula’s appealing, smooth body, peppering her flesh with kisses, leaving chill bumps in his wake. Opening Paula’s thighs, Chase homed in on the triangle of dark, curly hair. He touched her moist clitoris, gently moving his fingertip back and forth. She tensed and murmured. He put
his face there and inhaled her tantalizing scent, stirring his emotions. She was wet, and he began licking her. His mouth covered her most sensitive spot, and he used his tongue expertly, provoking cries of appeasement from Paula.

Chase clutched her quivering body while continuing to flick his tongue. He flinched as Paula dug her fingernails into his shoulders. She moaned loudly when the peak of her climax claimed her. Chase enjoyed gratifying Paula and was now ready to satisfy her again.

He lifted up, and she held his cheeks with trembling hands. “Give me your lips,” she pleaded urgently.

Chase was only too happy to oblige, for he needed the fullness and joy of her mouth upon his at this moment even more.

The next day, Paula was home alone while Isabelle was visiting a friend. She’d thought about phoning Chase to come over for some fun and frolic in bed, but didn’t want the man to think she was a raging sex maniac.

Or was it more the other way around?

Whatever the case, Paula cherished the intimate time they were spending together and had come to believe that she might actually have found someone to build a future with. Maybe that diamond ring on her finger was no longer just a fantasy with little chance of ever coming true. Chase could be the man who would one day pop the question. She had a good idea what the answer would be, too, given the way she was starting to feel about him.

Her reverie was broken when Paula heard the doorbell ring. She went downstairs and opened the door. Standing there was her ex, Sheldon Burke.

“Hello,” he said, standing tall in a black pinstripe suit that filled his husky frame nicely.

She frowned with annoyance. “What are you doing here?”

He brushed aside his dreadlocks. “I came to see you.”

“There’s nothing left to say.” Paula wanted to make that perfectly clear.

Sheldon’s nostrils flared. “I disagree. There were a few things left unsaid when you decided to just end our relationship out of the blue. I only want to clear the air.” He paused, looking at her. “You owe me that much.”

Paula eyed him warily. Her first instinct was to not add fuel to the fire by giving in to his request, but she feared he’d simply keep harassing her if she ignored him. She preferred to get this over with once and for all.

“You’ve got five minutes,” she said tersely, glancing at her watch.

Sheldon walked past Paula coolly and went into the living room. She followed him, deciding not to ask him to sit down.

Paula put her hand on her hip. “So, what do you have to say?”

“Did Isa tell you I dropped by the other day?” Sheldon asked.

“Yes, she mentioned it.”

“I tried calling you, too, more than once. I even sent you a couple of text messages.”

“I know,” Paula said, realizing there was no need to say otherwise. “I’ve been really busy.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, haven’t we all.”

She looked at her watch. “The clock is ticking….” Maybe it was a mistake to let him in.

Sheldon walked up to her and put his arms around her waist. “I’ve missed you…. Missed us.”

Paula could smell alcohol on his breath. “I haven’t missed you, and there is no us.” She removed his hands and backed away. “I thought I made my feelings very clear. It’s pointless to rehash this.”

“That’s not how I see it.” He took a step toward her. “We were really great together.”

“We were never that great together,” she retorted honestly. “We tried to make it work, but we just weren’t clicking.”

“You say that now, but I never heard any complaints from you before, especially in bed.”

Paula curled her lip. She wondered now how she had ever allowed him to touch her. “I guess that was my
mistake,” she spat. “Now, if you’re done, I’d like you to leave.”

Sheldon frowned. “If you wanted out, why didn’t you just say it to my face instead of leaving me a damned voice mail?”

She sighed. “You know perfectly well that I left the voice mail only
after
you refused to listen to what I was telling you face-to-face. I simply didn’t want it to become confrontational. I never meant to hurt you. I just felt we were better off going our separate ways.”

“I don’t agree with that,” he said tersely.

Paula backed away from him. “We can agree to disagree. Either way, it’s over between us and has been for a while now.”

“Are you seeing someone else?” Sheldon asked point-blank.

Paula thought about her relationship with Chase and wondered if it would help or hurt her cause by making it part of the conversation. She decided Sheldon was only trying to stir up trouble, which she wanted no part of.

“That’s none of your business,” she responded tartly.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

Paula held her ground. “Take it any way you like.”

Sheldon sneered. “Is that why you broke up with me, so you could be with another man?”

Paula blinked. She would not allow herself to be intimidated by him, and she certainly wouldn’t let him make her feel guilty, knowing that their relationship had been completely over before she ever laid eyes on Chase.

“You’ve been drinking.”

He ran his hand across his mouth. “Can you blame me? I thought we had something. Then you just leave me high and dry.”

She scowled. “Let’s get real here. You’re a nice-looking guy and successful, too. If I bruised your ego, I’m sorry. I’m sure there are plenty of other single, available women you can hook up with if you want to.”

Sheldon reached out and touched her face. “That’s just it. I don’t want anyone but you.”

Paula slapped his hand away. “You can’t have me.”

“You’re sure about that?” he challenged.

“I think you know the answer.” She could feel her heart racing. “Your five minutes are up. You need to leave now!”

Sheldon grunted, stepping closer to her. “This isn’t over.”

Paula cringed, seeing the coldness in his eyes. “You’re scaring me.”

He took a breath, and his features softened. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just want us to—”

The front door opened at that moment, and Isabelle came in. She raised a brow when she saw Sheldon.

“What is he doing here?” she asked nervously.

Paula locked eyes with her ex. “He was just leaving. Weren’t you?”

Sheldon contorted his lips. “Yeah, I was.”

“Have a nice day,” Isabelle told him tartly. “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

He looked at Paula with a hard gaze. “See you later.”

She said nothing in response, hoping his words were merely a figure of speech. Obviously, any chance of them remaining platonic friends had ended today. He had seen to that.

After Sheldon left, Isabelle asked Paula with concern, “Are you all right?”

“Yes.” Paula felt her nerves begin to calm down. “I thought if I let him say his piece, he’d leave me alone.”

“So what did he want?”

“To get back together,” Paula moaned.

Isabelle grimaced. “What did you tell him?”

“What I’ve told him before—that it’s over for good.” She drew a breath. “It just goes in one ear and out the other.”

“The man’s becoming a stalker,” Isabelle asserted. “Can you get a restraining order before he does something really stupid, if not downright dangerous?”

“I think he got the message,” Paula said unevenly. After all, she had given it to him straight this time, whether he liked it or not; the Sheldon she knew was not foolhardy when it came to assessing the situation squarely.

Isabelle batted her lashes dubiously. “And what if he hasn’t? You can’t live your life in fear, wondering when he’ll show up next.”

“I know that.”

Paula wondered if Sheldon could be dangerous. She wanted to believe he was just blowing off steam as his way of dealing with rejection. He had never really displayed jealousy or aggression during their relationship, so where was this coming from now?

She didn’t want any of this to spill over to her involvement with Chase. The last thing she needed was for him to see her as wishy-washy, or playing with a man’s emotions. The reality was, she’d been looking all her adult life for a man like Chase. He had the right combination of good looks, strong character, sex appeal, hard work ethic and old-fashioned values that spoke to her.

Hopefully, Sheldon would turn his attention to someone else, and she could continue her romance with Chase without unwanted distractions. Sheldon would just have to accept that their relationship was over.

Chapter 11

C
hase made the rounds of McCord Diamonds’ jewelry stores, checking inventory, assessing needs and giving a pep talk to employees. They were now in the midst of the holiday season, and despite a struggling economy, diamonds and other precious gemstones remained popular items to purchase. In fact, Chase expected the sales figures for this year to be better than ever. It was something he hoped to build on in the future by introducing new products and having an aggressive sales campaign.

Back in his car, Chase headed for the office with Antwerp on his mind. He would be making the trip to Belgium next week. He wondered if it was too soon to ask Paula to accompany him on such a journey. Yes, they seemed to be establishing a real relationship that was bordering on serious, but was he ready to take her to the land of diamonds for a romantic getaway separate from his business trip? Maybe she wasn’t ready to take things to such a level until they got to know each other better outside of their sexual relationship.

I don’t want to mess things up or take away from the strides we’ve already made
.

Chase also didn’t want to sit back and let life pass him by. Rochelle’s death had proven to him that you had to make every minute count, for the future was always in doubt. With Paula, he wanted to embrace the present and experience as much as they could together. That included spending time away from their comfort zone. But she had to want it, too. Wherever they were headed, it would take the two of them to make it work.

Chase pulled into his private parking space in the garage. He checked his cell phone and noted that Paula had sent him a text message.

Hi. Thinking about u. Call me. P.

A smile crossed his face. He couldn’t help but recall their last hot and heavy sexual escapade. Everything about Paula was driving his libido crazy.

He punched her number on his speed dial.

“Hey, there,” she said in a sugary voice.

“Hey. I got your message.”

“What are you up to?” Paula asked.

“I just got back from visiting some of our stores,” Chase told her.

“I see. So you go around checking on everyone to make sure no one’s slacking off on the job?”

He chuckled. “Yeah, something like that.”

“And did you make anyone sit in the corner?” Paula teased.

Chase laughed, loving her sense of humor. “Fortunately, it didn’t come to that.”

She chuckled. “That’s good.”

“Are you working today?” he asked.

“Nope. Not officially, anyway. I’m just hanging out with Isa.”

“I’d love to meet your grandmother sometime, if I’m not being too presumptuous,” Chase said.

“I’d like that, too,” Paula said keenly. “And I know Isa wants to meet you. I’ll talk to her, and we’ll set up a meeting.”

“Sounds good.” He saw this as a perfect opportunity to set up his own introduction. “Speaking of which, I’d like you to meet my best friend.”

“Oh, I’d love to. Just name the time and place.”

“My house on Wednesday at seven.”

“I’ll be there,” Paula promised.

Chase smiled. “Great.”

“By then, I should have some ideas on paper for your den.”

“I’m sure you’ll come up with something that will transform it into another room I’ll want to spend more time in.”