The Heart Has Reasons (60 page)

She
paused from flicking her tongue up and down his shaft.  “I will have my
revenge for last night.”  She reached up to grasp his nipples and roll
them between her fingers.  He winced, the sensation balanced perfectly
between pleasure and pain, and his cock throbbed in response.  He arched
his back as she drug her fingernails across his chest, down his abdomen, his
thighs.

When
she took him in her mouth once again, his body disintegrated into nothing more
than a mass of nerve endings.  “The next time you stop,” he gasped, “I’m
going to throw you onto your back and fuck you.”

Her
response was to grasp his balls firmly in one hand, and wrap the other around
the base of his cock, while her mouth and tongue were suddenly relentless on
his cock.  With his orgasm approaching as fast and unstoppable as a
freight train, he warned her, “I’m going to come!”  Then, a moment later,
he
was
coming, and still she didn’t pull away and —
Oh, sweet Jesus
—
he was coming in her mouth.  He reached down to thread his fingers through
her hair as his eyes rolled back in his head.  Someone was yelling, and he
was only faintly aware that that someone was him.

As
the final tremors shook him, the movements of her mouth grew slower and gentler
and, when his arms fell limply to the bed, she stopped.

When
she moved up to straddle him, he opened his eyes to find her licking her lips
like the proverbial cat who’d eaten the canary.  “Jesus, you took me by
surprise, Larissa.  I wasn’t expecting you to swallow.”

“Actually,
there was nothing
to
swallow.  You shot a blank.”

His
eyes widened in mock horror.  “You’ve drained me dry?  You
succubus!
”

She
grabbed a pillow with both hands and plopped it onto his face, trying to
smother him.  He yanked it from her grasp and hurled it from the
bed.  They wrestled, laughing like children.  Still giggling, she
finally relaxed atop him, her head on his chest.  “Next time I’m going to
tie you up.  Then I’ll be able to torment you as long as I want.”

“If
anyone gets tied up, I guarantee it won’t be me.”

“That’s
not fair.  Why do you always have to be such an alpha male?”

“Admit
it — that’s what you like about me.”

He
could feel the curve of her smile against his chest.  “It is indeed.”

CHAPTER
42

Through their combined efforts, Larissa
and Chase forced themselves from the sanctuary of her bed.  Chase had
retrieved his suitcase from the trunk of his rental car and was now in
Larissa’s sewing room, ironing.

Larissa
donned a sleeveless calf-length blue sundress with traceries of yellow flowers
and green leaves wandering over the fabric.  She was just slipping her
stockingless feet into a pair of white leather sandals when he strode into the
room.  A pair of impeccably pressed khakis clung to the long muscles of
his thighs, and a white tee shirt hugged the broad expanse of his chest, doing
nothing to disguise the muscles beneath.  His sockless feet were clad in
leather huaraches.  For several beats they simply stared at each
other.  When he twirled a finger in the air, a silent command for her to
turn, she obediently did so.

Finally,
he broke the fervid silence.  “Jesus, you are sexy as all hell.”

“I
was just thinking the same about you.”

He
gave her a lascivious grin.  “Maybe we should stay in today.”

“That’s
actually a very tempting suggestion but, since you’re thinking of moving here,
you should see the city.  It’s supposed to rain all day tomorrow, so we’ll
stay in then.”

Holding
the puppy on her lap, Larissa directed him to the sixty-acre Hampton
Park.  With the leashed puppy bounding before them, they strolled
hand-in-hand along the trail that ringed the park.  She inhaled deeply,
savoring the heavenly floral scents drifting from the rose gardens.  The
sun seemed brighter, the sky bluer, the air sweeter than she could ever
remember it being.  Although Chase seemed to be enjoying himself as well,
he constantly scanned their surroundings, as if searching for something or
someone.  When they stopped by the lake to feed the ducks with bread
scraps she’d brought from home, she remarked on his distraction.

“You
know that feeling you get when you’re being watched?  I’ve had it since I
arrived yesterday.”

Despite
the oversized sunglasses, people had been pointing and whispering. 
“People
are
watching us, Chase.  They recognize me from the news.”

“I’m
aware of that.  This is different.”

Shading
her eyes against the sun, she did a slow 360 to scan the collage of dog
walkers, joggers, and picnickers all availing themselves of the park’s
landscaped beauty.  Spotting nothing out the ordinary, she raised up on
tiptoe to kiss him.  “You’re just paranoid.”

“I
hope that’s all it is.”

They
left Hampton Park and headed to the Market area.  As they strolled among
the colorful souvenir stalls, innumerable people took advantage of the
opportunity to congratulate her for having survived a serial killer.  As
if it wasn’t enough that everyone in Charleston recognized her, many addressed
her by name as well.  Chase stayed protectively by her side, his looming
presence discouraging anyone from overstepping the bounds of propriety.

When
they stopped at a stall to look at sweetgrass baskets, Chase leaned down close
to her ear.  “Should I keep people away from you?”

“All
the attention is rather unsettling, but I don’t want to be rude, especially
when everyone means well.  Once the news about Sparrow dies down, they’ll
forget all about me.”

A
little after one o’clock, they stopped for lunch at a sidewalk café. 
Ignoring the sparrows policing the ground for crumbs, the puppy sprawled in the
shade under her chair and fell promptly asleep.  When their server arrived
with menus, it took all of Larissa’s willpower to keep from banging her head on
the table as the young woman nearly shouted, “You’re Larissa Santos, the woman
who was kidnapped!”

To
her immense relief, Chase diverted the woman’s attention by relieving her of
the two menus she still clutched.  “What would you recommend today?”

The
young woman immediately forgot about Larissa as her heavily mascaraed eyes
unabashedly roved over Chase’s body.  Clearly appreciating the view, she
bent forward to
point out and comment on various menu selections while
providing him a generous and unobstructed view down her pink scoop-neck
tee.  Barely daring to breathe, Larissa watched this little tableau,
almost afraid to see how Chase would react.  Intent upon the menu, he
appeared oblivious to both the young woman’s gawking admiration and her
physical charms.

When
he decided upon the fried fish, the waitress turned to Larissa as if finally
remembering her presence.  “And what would you like, Miss Santos?”

“I’ll
have the same.  And a plain hamburger.”

From
down the street, a loud feminine voice proclaimed, “Hey!  Isn’t that the
woman who offed that serial killer?”  Blowing out an irritated sigh,
Larissa shifted her gaze past the waitress to where four overweight,
middle-aged couples sporting souvenir straw hats and tee shirts had paused to
point and gape.  Once they’d agreed that Larissa was indeed the woman from
the news, the first woman said, “Let’s go get some pictures.”

Fumbling
cameras from fanny packs, the group barged toward them with an abundance of
alcohol-fueled enthusiasm
. 
A beseeching glance at Chase had him on
his feet and planted in front of her, an
immovable barrier. 
Folding arms across his chest to make carved biceps bulge, he shook his head
slowly from side to side.

The
group paused.  After some quick, whispered consultation, the women
apparently decided they could
cajole their way past Chase and started
forward once more.  The men, however, were still sober enough to realize
that
they
would be the ones to bear the brunt of his ire.  Taking
firm hold of the women’s arms, they steered them back in the direction from
which they’d come.

As
Chase retook his seat, the waitress gaped at him with fawning admiration. 
“Wow.  That was, like, the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.  I mean, you
didn’t even have to
say
anything.”  Clearly, hoping it was the
extent of their relationship, she asked, “Are you Miss Santos’ bodyguard?”

Chase
turned to regard Larissa with a look so steamy that Larissa’s cheeks flooded
with heat.  “I’m anything Miss Santos wants me to be.”

Perceptive
enough to realize that Chase’s relationship to Larissa was more comprehensive
than that of mere bodyguard, she cast him a wistful glance before disappearing
inside.

“It
really
was
impressive, Chase.  Thank you.”

“Has
it been like this since you’ve been back?”

“Until
now I’ve avoided going out in public, so I’ve only had to deal with it at
work.  You have no idea the sorts of questions people will ask.”

“Jesus,
Larissa, I am so—”

“Don’t
say it!”

“—sorry,”
he finished.

He
looked so downcast that she added, “It hasn’t been all bad.  Despite the
fact that I raised my prices by twenty percent, I’m booked solid for the next
three months.

The
waitress returned with their iced teas and flirted with Chase a little more,
her eyes issuing an open invitation every time she looked at him.  When
she finally departed to wait on another table, Chase remarked, “Charleston’s so
different from L.A.  It’s so much more laid back here, and everyone’s so
friendly and polite.”

“Although
Charleston has the reputation of being the most mannerly city in America, I
couldn’t help but notice how people have been particularly welcoming to
you.  I’m sure it was mere coincidence that the majority were
women.”  She allowed a mischievous smile to lift the corners of her
mouth.  “Our waitress, especially, lavished you with fervent
hospitality.  She was practically drooling over you.”

Blue
eyes searched her face.  “It didn’t seem to trouble you.”

“It
was actually somewhat entertaining.”

“No
jealousy?”

“The
way I see it, if a relationship is sound, no outsider can sabotage it.  If
a man gives me reason to believe that he’ll cheat on me, I’m not going to
stress about it.  I’m simply going to kick him to the curb and find
another who’s — hopefully — more trustworthy.  How about you?”

“Jealousy
stems from insecurity.”  He grinned wolfishly.  “I like being with
the woman other men lust after.”

The
puppy awoke with the arrival of their food.  Larissa cut the burger into
tiny bites and surreptiously sat the plate on the ground.  As she and
Chase started on their fish, she asked, “If you do decide to move here, what
will you do about your business?”

“My
partners will buy me out.”

“They
must think you’ve lost your mind.”

He
paused in the act of dipping a French fry into ketchup.  “Because I’d sell
my part of the business?  Or because of what I did to you?”

“Because
you broke up with a supermodel to be with a hairstylist.”

“They
consider that the most intelligent decision I’ve made lately.  Although no
one ever came right out and said so, a man can tell when his friends dislike his
woman.  And they all agree that you’re much hotter than Cheyenne.”

“Yeah,
right.”

Reaching
across the table to grasp her hand, he locked eyes with her.  “Larissa,
I’ll never lie to you.  Not only are you more beautiful than Cheyenne,
you’re
much
sexier.  Cheyenne has what it takes to be a good model:
She’s
extremely
photogenic.  Give her a professional makeup artist
and a half-decent photographer, and the resulting photos will be absolutely
stunning.  But without makeup, she’s barely more than passably pretty.”

Conscious
of the other diners surrounding them, Larissa lowered her voice to just above a
whisper.  “But she has those breasts.”

“Which
look absolutely ridiculous on that tall, skinny body.  Plus, the skin’s
stretched so tight over those huge implants that she no longer has any nipple
sensitivity.”

Larissa
crinkled her nose.  That would really suck.  “How’d you meet?”

“She
was modeling several million dollars’ worth of jewelry at a photo shoot on the beach. 
The jewelry company hired our firm to guard it.  To be honest, she really
wasn’t my type but...”  He finished with a shrug.

“But
she was a model and you’re a man.”

He
at least had the grace to look slightly chagrined.  “What can I say? 
Men are stupid like that sometimes.  You’re not intimidated by her, are
you?”

Was
she?  She considered the question for a moment, then answered
honestly.  “When Jarvis first told me about her, I was.  And then
again, when I saw her on television talking about you.  But now that
you’re here?”  She smiled at him.  “Not at all.  Especially not
after last night.”