Jo Leigh - Going For It

She put up her hand, stopping Marcy mid-sentence. “All right.”

“What?” Marcy headed back to her chair. “Jamie—”

“I said all right. I’ll do it. But I’ll only do it on the up-and-up.” She turned her head so she could see Chase.

He looked at her with a curious smile. “You’re sure about this?”

She nodded.

He stood. Walked slowly over to her. She almost bolted. With each step he took, her heart beat faster and her thoughts grew fuzzier. He was so big. So imposing. So unbelievably handsome. The truth was, he scared the hell out of her.

He stopped, but only when he was very, very close. He took her hand and pulled her gently to her feet. His fingers went to the bottom of her chin, and he lifted her face, forcing her to meet his gaze.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded, even though she wasn’t sure at all—especially now that she could see his eyes. They were dark, mysterious, and they saw too much. That was it, of course. Why he frightened her. It was the way he looked at her, as if he could see all her secrets.

Still holding her chin, he leaned forward, and she understood what his intention was seconds before his lips touched hers. She didn’t jerk away. She didn’t push him back. She just closed her eyes.

Soft at first, teasing. His breath, coffee with a hint of peppermint. His size, imposing, almost threatening. But his lips were tender, even as the kiss deepened.

Somewhere out there, she heard Marcy’s voice. Then the sound of her own heart beating drowned out even that.

Her lips parted, and he slipped inside her. Still soft. Achingly soft. He found her tongue and touched it, letting her taste him, igniting a tingle that spread through her like molten lava. Before the heat dissipated, he was gone. His tongue, his lips, his fingers. All gone.

She heard him chuckle, then she opened her eyes. He hadn’t moved away.

“I’ll give you tonight,” he whispered so that only she could hear. “But tomorrow, you’re mine.”

“We, uh, need to discuss this,” she said, surprised at how slurred her words sounded. As if she were drunk.

“We will. Tomorrow.” His gaze roamed over her from face to breasts, then back again. “And put on your good underwear.” He winked, then he was out Fred’s door.

“Jamie?”

As she came out of her daze, the sounds of the room became clear again and she turned to Marcy. “Yes?”

“Honey, you don’t need to do this.”

“Yes, I do.”

“He’s dangerous.”

“I know.”

Marcy shook her head. “It’s a mistake.”

“Probably. But don’t worry. I’m not helpless here. I can take care of myself. You know, it’s not all just talk. I do believe what I say on the air.”

“I know.”

Jamie smiled, although Marcy’s doubt sat heavy in her chest. Who was she kidding? She knew books, not men. Definitely not men like Chase Newman.

She wasn’t one to cuss. She’d always believed that if people tried, they could come up with better words, more exact words. But for the second time that night, all she could say was, “Holy f—”

CHASE SETTLED more comfortably into the black leather armchair and cradled the phone between his ear and shoulder. Rupert Davidson, his business manager, did like to talk. And talk. If Rupert wasn’t so good with money, Chase would have fired him years ago. No, that wasn’t true. Rupert had been part of his life for too long. He had been his father’s closest friend, and he’d taken care of Chase and his mother after Jack had died. What everyone except Rupert knew was that he’d fallen in love with Chase’s mother. Nothing would be done about it until after a proper mourning period, of course. Rupert would never disgrace Jack’s memory.

Chase almost thought of Rupert as his stepfather, which he could have been if he’d only asked. But his mother couldn’t or wouldn’t urge him on, preferring the romanticism of an unrequited lover to anything real. It was an odd drama, played out over the years, one which he’d learned to accept.

“…I want to roll the CDs over. I’ve done some investigation about GF Labs, and it’s risky, but I think it might be worth it—at least for a few hundred thousand.”

“Do it.” Chase looked at his coffee. It was on the ebony-and-teak coffee table, out of his reach. He’d have to move to get it, and he’d just gotten comfortable. So what was more important? The way the chair molded perfectly to his back and shoulders? Or caffeine?

“Have you read the prospectus?”

“I don’t need to. I have you.”

“Dammit, son, don’t you think it’s time you accepted some of your responsibilities? Even one? You’re thirty-one. You can’t keep living like this forever.”

Chase disagreed, but he didn’t say so. He grabbed hold of the phone and leaned forward, bringing his coffee back with him. He tried to find the same position as before, but it was gone. He sipped the Kona blend, disappointed to find it was lukewarm. “Rupert, do we have to talk about this now? It’s not even nine o’clock. I promise I’ll call this afternoon, and we can fight all you want.”

“I don’t want to fight.”

“Right. You just want me to do things your way.”

“Not my way. The sensible way.”

“Rupert, you’re the most goddamn sensible man in New York.”

“That’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” He liked Rupert, in his old-fashioned suits, with his antiquated sense of honor and obligation. He was refreshing, in an odd sort of way.

“How long are you here for this time?”

“A couple of weeks. Just till the racing season starts in Europe.”

“You’re going to see her, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“And not just for an hour. She was hurt by that, Chase.”

He closed his eyes, remembering the last visit with his mother. He loved her, but sometimes it wasn’t easy to like her. To say she wasn’t thrilled with his lifestyle was an understatement. She wanted him to be like her, like his father. To get married, have some kids. She’d told him he embarrassed her. That he was disgracing his father’s name.

“I’ll try, Rupert.”

“Don’t try. Do it. She’s the only mother you’ll ever have.”

“Okay, Yoda. I promise.”

“Yoda?”

“Never mind. You go ahead and put my money where you think best. I trust you, Rupert. You’ve never steered me wrong.”

“Thank you, Chase. But I’m not crazy about doing so much without your input.”

“I know about fast cars and women, old man. You have a question about either one, I’m the guy you come to.”

“Amusing. Very amusing.”

“You take care, Rupert. And, for God’s sake, propose to my mother already, would you?” Chase smiled as he heard the sputtering on the other end of the line. He decided to do Rupert a favor and hung up.

Cars and women. He’d said that last night, hadn’t he? It was true. He’d put restrictions on his life just like his mother had put restrictions on hers. No wonder they clashed. They were too much alike.

He got up and went to the window. He liked to watch Manhattan wake up. His suite was on the top floor of the Four Seasons hotel, and he stayed here every time he came to New York. They knew him here, and they made sure he was comfortable. It was easier this way. Maids, room service, desk clerks. That’s what he was used to. He had a place just like it at the George V in Paris, and another at the Chateau Marmont in L.A.

His gaze moved to the park. He loved it there, with all the kids on roller blades and the pigeons and the women with their strollers. Central Park always made him feel better, regardless of the season. Some of his favorite walks had been in the snow among the naked branches.