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‘What do you want, Chase?’
‘You. Just like you want me. But I think we have very different definitions of just what that means.’
She dragged a breath into her constricted lungs. Spots danced before her eyes. She was in way over her head now; she was drowning and she had no idea how to save herself. ‘I think we must,’ she finally managed, and Chase just grinned.
Chase watched Millie process what he said and wondered if she was going to pass out. She’d gone seriously pale. And admittedly he’d laid it on pretty thick. He didn’t even know why he was pushing so hard. He’d thought last night had been too intense, and yet today he’d upped the ante a hundred fold. He’d acted on instinct, telling her he was going to call the shots, not just because he didn’t want to be her toy-boy but because he knew on a gut level she needed to let go of that precious control. And he wanted to be the one to make it happen.
As for what was between them... She was right. There was nothing between them, not really.
Yet.
So what did he want?
He took another long swallow of water, desperate for a cold beer. A distraction. He was scaring himself with all this talk. Asking for more than he’d ever intended to want, never mind have.
Maybe he was acting this way because ever since his diagnosis everything in life had felt important, urgent. Precious. And if he felt a connection with a woman well, then, perhaps he should just go for it. Take it as long and far as he could.
Except did he even know how long or far that could be. He didn’t have a lot of options here. A lot of freedom.
He was, Chase reflected, a lousy deal.
Yet Millie only wanted this week, and really that should suit him perfectly. A week, he had.
A week, he would give.
And it would be the most incredible, intense week either of them had ever experienced.
‘You OK there, Scary?’
She glanced at him, still looking dazed. ‘Are you doing this on purpose?’
‘What?’
‘Pushing my buttons. Making me uncomfortable.’
He paused as if he had to think about it, which he didn’t. ‘Yes.’
She shook her head. ‘OK, let me spell it out for you, Chase. I don’t want to be pushed. I don’t want buttons to be pressed. I want a week-long fling, some really great, mind-blowing sex, and that’s it. And, if you don’t think you can deliver, then maybe you should just take me back to shore right now.’ She was trembling.
‘Mind-blowing, huh?’
‘Yes. Definitely.’
‘I think I can deliver.’
‘And nothing more than that,’ she stressed, as if he didn’t get it already.
‘That’s a problem.’
She blew out an impatient breath, pushing her hair behind her ears. She looked younger when she did that, although he guessed she was about his age, maybe a little younger. Mid-thirties, probably. ‘Why is that a problem?’
‘Because I don’t think sex can be mind-blowing if a few buttons aren’t pressed. In a manner of speaking, of course.’
She looked so disbelieving he almost winced. ‘Are you telling me you haven’t had cheap sex before? One-night stands? Flings?’
‘No, I’m not saying that.’ He’d had more than his share of all the above. He wasn’t particularly proud of his past, standing on this side of it, but he’d own up to it.
‘Then why are you insisting on something more now?’
He stretched his legs out in front of him, laced his hands behind his head. ‘I suppose it depends on what you think of as more.’
‘Stop talking in riddles.’
‘OK, here it is, totally straight. We’re both here for a week, right?’
‘Right.’
‘A week out of time, out of reality, and we’ll never see each other again in New York or elsewhere. Yes?’
‘Yes.’
‘See, we are on the same page.’
‘Spit it out,’ she said, her teeth gritted, and he couldn’t keep from grinning. He loved riling her.
‘So you give me one week, and I give you mind-blowing sex. Deal?’
‘I’m not signing until you tell me the fine print,’ she said tautly, and he laughed aloud.
‘You give me one week,’ he repeated. He leaned forward, the urgency and excitement he felt coming out on his voice, his body. He felt it thrum between them with the pulse of an electric current. ‘One week. Seven days. But you give me everything, Millie. You give me all of yourself, no holding back, no hiding. All in. And in return I give you mind-blowing.’
She stared at him silently for a long moment, her eyes wide, pupils dilated—with fear or desire? Probably both. Hell, he felt both. He couldn’t believe he was doing this. He couldn’t believe how much he wanted to.
‘That,’ she finally said, ‘is a lousy deal.’
‘You really think so?’ He felt a tiny flicker of disappointment, but still that urgent hope. She was here. She was still talking, still wanting.
And, God knew, he wanted her. A lot.
‘I told you I didn’t want to get into messy emotional stuff. I don’t want to know you, Chase.’
The flicker of disappointment deepened into actual hurt. He pushed it away. ‘Except in the biblical sense, you mean.’
She let out a huff of exasperated breath. ‘You’re totally reneging on what we agreed on.’
‘Nope. You are. My terms, remember?’
Her lips parted, realisation patently dawning. He waited. ‘I thought you meant—well, the physical aspect of—of things. Like, maybe something a little bit kinky.’ A beet-red blush washed over her face like a tide.
‘We could go there if you like,’ Chase offered. The prospect held an intriguing appeal. ‘And I did say the when, where and how, it’s true. But now I’m giving you some of those need-to-know details.’
She said nothing, just turned to stare out at the sea. They were in open water, the wind starting to die down. He should tack again, but he just waited. This moment was too important.
‘I don’t want to talk about my past,’ she said slowly, forming each word with reluctance. ‘I’ll give myself in other ways, but not that.’
‘That’s kind of a big one.’
She turned to face him, and he felt as if a fist had struck his soul. She looked incredibly, unbearably bleak. ‘Then you can take me back right now.’
Chase held her gaze, felt a twisting inside him. She was truly beautiful, he realised, but it was a stark, severe beauty, all clean angles and pure lines. And sadness. So much sadness. ‘No need for that,’ he said as lightly as he could. ‘I agree.’
Her breath came out in a rush. ‘Good.’
‘So it’s a deal?’
Her mouth trembled in an almost-smile. ‘I guess it is.’
Chase stood up and walked towards the rigging. It was time to change direction. ‘Then let our week begin.’
CHAPTER FIVE (#u05679086-c80e-5dc4-ba86-e2c794dd1af8)
MILLIE watched Chase steer the boat—he’d done something with the sail again—and tried to slow the hard beating of her heart. It was impossible.
She couldn’t believe she had agreed. She couldn’t believe she’d wanted to agree. They weren’t her terms, not by a long shot, but maybe she could live with them. One week. No talking about the past. Mind-blowing sex.
Yes, she could live with them. Even if she felt a kind of numb terror at the thought of what lay ahead.
‘So, are we going somewhere now?’ she asked, rising from the bench to join him at the sail. This time she watched for the boom.
‘Yep, land ahoy.’ He pointed straight ahead to a crescent of sand amidst the water. It didn’t look like much.
‘What is that?’
‘Our own version of Survivor.’
‘You mean a deserted island?’
‘I knew you were quick.’
‘What are we going to do there?’
He gave her a knowing look. ‘What do you think?’ Millie gulped. Audibly. ‘Relax, Millie. We’re going to eat lunch.’
‘Oh.’ Another gulp. ‘OK.’
‘Although,’ Chase mused as he navigated the boat towards that slice of beach, ‘I almost think we should just do the nasty and get it over with, so you stop looking at me like I’m going to jump you at any second.’
She felt a flare of anticipation—and relief. ‘Maybe that would be a good idea.’
Chase gave her another knowing look. ‘I said almost.’
She folded her arms. ‘Well, when are we going to—?’
‘Need-to-know basis only,’ Chase reminded her breezily. Then he was mooring the boat and the island—it really wasn’t much—loomed before them.
He jumped out first, splashing through the shallows to moor the boat more securely, before turning to her and holding out his arms. ‘Want to jump?’
She stood on the deck, one foot poised uncertainly on the railing, unsure just how she was going to get out of this thing. ‘No, thank you.’
‘I’ll let it go this time, but remember our terms, Scary—you’ve got to give me everything.’
She stared at him, saw him looking both serious and smug, and then without warning or even thinking she took a flying leap from the boat and landed right on top of him. With a startled ‘Oof!’ Chase fell back into the sea, pulling her with him. She was soaked instantly, and she felt the hard lines of his body press into her own soft curves. Excitement and awareness flared like rockets inside of her, obliterating thought.
Then through the sudden haze of her own desire she saw that Chase was wincing in what could only be pain. Mortification replaced lust and she tried to clamber off him. ‘Did I hurt you—?’
‘No.’ He held her still on top of him and sucked in a breath. ‘Surprised me, though.’ He adjusted his arms around her, sliding his palms down her back so her hips rocked against his. ‘Not that I mind.’
The water lapped around them, salty and warm. Her face was inches from Chase’s and she could see droplets of water clinging to his cheek and lips. Unable to resist touching him—and, really, why should she resist now?—she put the tip of her finger to one of the drops on Chase’s cheek. He sucked in another breath, his gaze holding hers like a vise. Daringly, Millie touched another droplet on his lips. His mouth felt soft and warm, hard and cool all at the same time. Sensation zinged through her, frying her senses. Just one little touch and she was already drowning in a sea of desire.
Chase hadn’t moved, just kept his hands on her hips, cradling her with aching closeness. She felt the hard thrust of his arousal against her thighs and instinctively shifted, though whether to bring him closer or farther away she didn’t even know. Couldn’t think.
The moment spun out and Millie felt the breath dry in her lungs as she waited for him to move.
And then he did.
‘So.’ Slowly, smiling, he eased her off him. ‘Lunch.’
So they weren’t going to go for it right then. She felt a bewildering mixture of disappointment and relief. Of course, he had said he preferred the moment before rather than after. There was still so much to look forward to.
Millie struggled up from of the water, watching as Chase rose out of the ocean like some archaic deity, water streaming in rivulets off the taut muscles of his back. He sluiced the water from his face and hair and then turned to her. ‘You got a suit under there?’
‘A suit?’ She glanced down at the now-soaked striped top and capris her secretary had ordered her as part of her holiday wear. She hadn’t had time to go shopping. ‘Umm... No.’
‘Shame. I was looking forward to seeing you in a string bikini.’
‘I don’t own a string bikini.’
‘Let me guess—sensible one-piece.’
‘I burn easily.’
‘Remind me to apply another layer of sunscreen on you after lunch. But first, we dive.’
‘Dive?’ she repeated incredulously. ‘But I just told you I don’t have a swimsuit.’
Chase shrugged. ‘You’ll have to swim in your underwear. Or naked, if you prefer.’
‘What?’ This came out in a screech. Chase raised his eyebrows.
