Pick Your Pleasure (9 page)

“Show me.” Curious about his
desires, she followed him to a landing in the middle of the run of stairs.

“This part.” He angled his chin
toward a vignette highlighted by a halogen spotlight. The artist had paid a lot
of attention to detail in this section of the lascivious landscape. Clearly it
had been a passion of his or hers as well.

A pale woman stretched out on a
bed of wildflowers, her hair cascading behind her like a waterfall of silk.
Vines wrapped around her wrists and ankles. They held her snug to the lush
meadow, open for her lover, who crawled between her legs. An impressive
erection made it clear he’d enjoy the feast laid out before him.

“Does it look good to you,
Linley?” When had he come so close behind her?

Chase’s breath washed over the
curve of her neck. His hands wrapped around her waist. No matter how hard she
tried, she couldn’t help but squirm in his hold.

“I wouldn’t turn it down.” The
catch in her sassy retort highlighted her false ennui.

The clear ring of his laugh
echoed off the vaulted ceiling of the way Downstairs. “Of course not. I’ve
spent a hell of a lot of time practicing my technique. I promise satisfaction
is guaranteed. Both of ours.”

As they proceeded, scenes
flashed before her eyes. Delights she’d never imagined along with some she’d
dreamed of plenty. Sex in every position imaginable. Play with toys. Sex as a
spectator sport. Even a sketch of a woman taking her partner in her ass.

“Not that.” She pointed. “Not
tonight. Or maybe ever.”

“Your call, love.” Chase kissed
her cheek. “I could make you like it, but I respect your boundaries.”

The closer they came to the
curtain looming before them, the more daring the depictions got. Several made
her uncomfortable. For sure, she was a lightweight. At least to start. What
would the Basement have been like?

Too much for her. She was sure
she’d made the right choice.

Maybe that’s what Henry had
meant earlier.
Just…pick your pleasures
wisely
, he’d cautioned.

With Chase studying her while
she deliberated, she knew the time had come to decide again. What did she want
this night to be like?

“You know, I meant what I said
earlier.” Her date paused, becoming serious. The chivalrous side of him turned
her on even more than some of the drawings. “I’m not the kind of man who
insists on limiting my relationships to the confines of the club. It’s just
that this environment is more expedient most of the time. Real life
circumstances can make it difficult to find what you need on the outside.
Skipping this is still an option. If you’d prefer something more
traditional—private—I’d be glad to escort you home. I hope you’ll invite me in,
but you don’t even have to go that far. If you’re not ready, we can try this
some other time. I can already tell you’re worth waiting for, love.”

Linley couldn’t stop her gaze
from ping-ponging between Chase’s sincere smile and the fragments of
silhouettes that peeped from between the crack in the rich velvet curtain
before her. Soft moans and deep male grunts of pleasure drifted from the other
side of the barrier.

It might as well have been a
different world from the one she’d lived in her whole life.

Was that good? Or bad?

“Which would you prefer,
Linley?” Chase tucked an errant curl behind her ear. “Do you want to stay here?
Or shall I take you home?”

If Linley said
Home
click
here
or search for
3A - Happiest At Home.

If Linley said
Downstairs
click
here
or search for
3B - Stay Downstairs.

“That combo is one of my
specialties, love.” Chase smirked. He tugged the knot of his tie, loosening it
until he could slip the silk free. He dragged the end of the material across
the tops of her breasts, teasing and tempting her all at the same time.

She wriggled a little beneath
both the barest brush of softness and the intensity of his regard. “How about
hurrying? Is that one of your strengths?”

He laughed as she’d intended.
“Not so much. I like to savor my pleasures.”

“Damn it.” She giggled. The
sense of humor they shared acted as insulation against the intensity they also
generated.

“Let’s get that dress off you.”
He lifted the hem an inch or two. “How’s that for a start?”

“The right direction.” Linley
would have torn it off in a second flat if he’d allowed it. Instead he held her
down with a palm on her sternum. The sides of her breasts hugged his hand.

“I’ve got this.” He kissed her,
but didn’t linger. They both knew they’d fall into endless explorations if he
let them. While part of her wouldn’t have objected to an epic make-out session,
the majority of her mind and body called out for more.

She planted her feet on the
mattress and lifted her ass, unconcerned about the peep show she gave him
between her spread thighs.

“So pretty.” He caressed the
inside of her knee up her leg. “I can see the lace of your panties from here.”

“Hurry. You can probably admire
the details better when they’re flung on the floor. If you really care to.” She
grinned. He made it easy to ask for what she wanted without artifice or social
pleasantries.

“Pass. The best part is catching
a glimpse in the shadows and knowing soon I’ll be beneath them.” He teased
higher on her leg, his lips following the path of his hand. “I can smell you
from here.”

A whimper escaped when he
burrowed along the edge of her hem.

“Okay,” he chuckled. “I’m
speeding it up. But next time, after you’re more relaxed, we’re going to take
this slow. Really, really slow.”

“Deal.” The effort to pronounce
that single word with her brain addled felt tougher than delivering an entire
press release when she uttered it. “Get busy.”

“Bossy, huh?” He fisted his
fingers in the dress and yanked. The material easily rose above her breasts. It
gathered there, ringing her torso just below her collarbones. Completely on
display, she constricted in on herself a bit.

A man as handsome and charming
as him had to have been with oodles of beautiful women. How would she stack up?
It’d been a long damn time since she had reason to doubt herself. She shouldn’t
have bothered this time.

“Hell.” Chase laid reverent
strokes along her mostly flat stomach. “You’re flawless. I’m glad you’re new to
Underground. Selfish but…I like having you to myself.”

“Same goes.” She smiled up at
him. “At least for tonight, you’re mine.”

His smile pressed to hers before
he began to manipulate her lips and tongue with his. Meanwhile his hands roamed
over her bare skin, making her wish she could do the same to him. The firmness
of his muscles beneath his clothes tempted her to start ripping and worry about
his buttons later. Much later.

Linley didn’t have to hope for
long.

They broke apart, both
struggling to draw in a deep breath.

When Chase separated them, he
finished stripping her dress from her arms. Drawing the fabric over her head,
he fanned her hair out on the pillow. She could tell the rumpled mess turned
him on by the growing bulge in his slacks.

Before she could reach for him,
he’d tugged his shirttails from his trousers and destroyed the garment himself.
Hopefully it could be repaired. It had fit him perfectly, hugging his broad
shoulders, which tapered to his trim waist in an inverted triangle of ridges
and valleys that had her drooling.

Next he unbuckled his belt and
yanked the leather from around his hips. He ditched it on the floor beside the
bed, where he stood to shuck his pants before she could finish taking in the
striking lines of his form. And when he paused, modeling his gray boxer briefs,
she silently begged him to shove them off, revealing what looked to be some
pretty impressive equipment.

“Ladies first.” He caught her
wide-eyed stare and grinned.

“You don’t want the honors?”
Linley decided to fight fire with fire. She fondled herself, first cupping her
breasts in her hands, enhancing her cleavage by exaggerating the support of her
bra. Then she rubbed down her abdomen to lay one hand over her pussy.

The mewl that burst from her
throat surprised them both.

And pressed Chase into action.

He growled as he stalked nearer
and divested her of the scrap of black lace protecting her mound before she
could blink. Next he wedged his hand beneath her and flicked the clasp of her
bra open faster than she could have done it herself. Clearly an expert, he
peeled the lingerie from her shoulders. He lifted it from her chest as if it
were the lid of a box housing an expensive present.

He scanned her naked body from
her pink-painted toenails to the waves at the end of her hair. Just when she
thought he’d explode in a flurry of seductive motions, ramping their interlude
up to the next level, he surprised her by backing off.

“Would you mind if I lit some of
those candles?” The flick of his chin toward her mantle and the side tables
helped her understand despite the fog in her brain.

“Of course not. Go ahead. There
are matches in the dish beside the pillars.”

Linley watched him stalk from
cluster to cluster of the pretty votives, jars, and sticks. She adored candles
of every variety.

Flame caught as soon as he
touched the head to the striker. She could sympathize with the poor bit of
tinder. He’d set her ablaze with as little effort. When he’d finished ringing
them in the warm yellow glow of flickering light, he extinguished the overhead
lamp and returned to their nest.

“Need some dim lighting to hide
the imperfections?” The bit of disappointment winging through her didn’t
improve her mood. How could he have the ability to hurt her after just a few
hours? Why did his opinion matter? She couldn’t say, but it did.

Chase blinked at her. Then
understanding dawned across his face with a grimace. “Are you kidding me,
love?”

She reached for him but he’d
already abandoned the bed, and her, once more.

“Does this look like I’m
struggling to get in the game?” He shoved his thumbs beneath the waistband of
his briefs then maneuvered the elastic over his bulging cock.

“Um.” Something more coherent
refused to come to mind. “Nope.”

“Damn straight.” His nostrils
flared as he gave the long, thick erection a few strokes from root to tip.
“More like I needed a time-out to collect myself. Pouncing on you and ravaging
you like a Neanderthal isn’t exactly my style. That’s more Ryder’s thing, if
that’s what you were hoping for.”

“No, no. Sorry.” She snorted
when he rolled his eyes. “My mistake.”

“I’m not opposed to convincing
you of how much I like what I see.” Lowering himself onto the bed again, he
tucked himself into her open arms and descended until they were pressed
together from head to toe—skin on skin.

Linley gasped.

He took the opportunity to kiss
her, this time with more hunger than he’d allowed free rein before. The heavy
shaft of his cock rested on her belly. If only he were inside her instead, she
might be able to work off some of the pressure driving her mad.

“I think I need to teach you a
lesson, love.” He speared his fingers into her hair, fisting a handful of waves
that he used to angle her head as he pleased. “About just how lovely I think
you are.”

“Does it involve you fucking
me?” Her wistful tone had them sharing a laugh again. “I’m a quick learner if
it does.”

“Eventually.” Chase delighted in
her needy fidgeting beneath him. About the time she figured out how to position
herself to rub against his corded thigh and grant herself a measure of release,
he shifted. “No cheating. Bad girl.”

Before she could object, he’d
retreated. His hands spanned her waist as he flipped her over. Lying on her
stomach, her face turned so that her cheek rested on the high-quality linens,
she wriggled, knowing her ass was prominently displayed for him.

Still, she didn’t expect the
crack of his palm meeting her rounded flesh. The sound more than the
corresponding sting made her flinch. And when the brief spark of pain fizzled
into something warm and very pleasant, she sighed.

“You like that?” He had to be
able to tell when she spread her legs for him, hoping to gain some relief for
herself.

The rubbing of his finger over
her slit from behind proved he hadn’t missed the glistening arousal there.
“Mmm.”

“Say it.” This time his
directive didn’t brook any argument.

Except that her overwhelming
horniness made it hard to think. “What?”

“Tell me you know how gorgeous
you are. That you can see how desperately I need you. That the slap of my palm
on your ass makes you hotter than you could have imagined before tonight.”
Without pausing, he tortured her until she complied.

“Yes, yes, yes.” She rocked her
body back and forth as she uttered the word he teased from her. “Now, please,
fuck me.”

“Not sure you understand quite
yet.” Chase
tsked
at her. His grasp
on her waist returned. But this time he didn’t rotate her as she imagined he
would. Instead he lifted, forcing her to bury her knees in the mattress to stay
upright.

Again he treated her ass to
several strong spanks that had to set his hand on fire as much as they did her
ass. The shock of the answering desire that curled through her gut didn’t
lessen any. And neither did the sweet pleasure humming between her legs.

In fact, when he licked a path
from her pussy damn near to her ass, she would have rocketed forward. Good
thing his arm had banded around her waist to ensure she stayed immobile,
directly in line with his talented tongue.