you find out?”
Laughter—rich, low and deliciously male—rumbled in response. It vibrated through her body along with an insane amount of need. It was all Ella could do to keep from screaming out, “Yes!” when she felt a tug at her waist and the belt went slack.
Their surroundings faded into oblivion. Everything faded, so that what stood out in stark relief was a need as basic and essential as breathing.
Chase whistled as he peeled back the jacket, which rested on her shoulders only briefly before slipping down her arms and falling to the floor. Neither of them made any move to retrieve it. The jacket was as forgotten as their surroundings.
“This cami is a little plain. But the lace is enough to make me look and feel like a girl despite the boring suit.”
He made a humming sound. “I’ll say.”
She glanced down to find both of her nipples standing at attention, straining against the silk. Chase brushed the backs of his knuckles across one before placing his mouth over it through the fabric. Ella moaned and glanced askance at his desktop. Clear off the blotter and it would do in a pinch. So would the floor. Heck, even a wall...
The ding of the elevator, along with Chase’s uttered expletive, breached the haze of her hormones. Someone was coming.
Both she and Chase reached down at the same time to retrieve her jacket from the floor. Their foreheads smacked together with enough force that she saw stars.
“God. Sorry.” He held Ella’s jacket so she could slip into it. “Are you hurt?”
“Nah. Slight concussion maybe. You?”
“Same,” he replied.
She’d just finished tying the belt when Elliot poked his head in the office. His eyes lit up when he saw her. “Isabella, my dear. You look even lovelier than I remember. God, how I’ve missed you.”
“I’m Ella,” she corrected gently. “Ella Sanborn.”
A knot formed in her throat at his confused expression.
“Isabella was his wife,” Chase whispered, his expression forlorn.
Owen came into view then. He’d heard the exchange, too.
“Ella, hello.” Owen’s tone was gentle when he told his father, “You hired her to plan your party, remember?”
“Party?”
“Wake.” Chase supplied.
“Right. My wake. Exactly.” Elliot nodded vigorously, his gaze once again focused. “You’re here to discuss the plans.”
“Yes. Why don’t we go to your office?” Her gaze slid briefly to Chase as she started for the door. “What you have in mind is very large and will require a lot of expertise to carry off. I’ve been doing some thinking...”
That was all Chase was privy to before he heard Elliot’s door close. Alone in his own office, he sank down in the leather chair behind his desk, thankful to be alone. He needed a few minutes of privacy to collect his thoughts and get both his breathing and his body under control.
This was a place of business, not a hotel room, but if not for Owen and Elliot’s untimely interruption, Chase couldn’t say for certain that things with Ella wouldn’t have progressed to their logical conclusion.
That thought had him scrubbing a hand over his face. There was nothing logical about having sex in his office with the door half open. He’d fired people for less egregious breaches of professionalism. But damned if he wasn’t still as turned on as all hell when he glanced to where Ella had stood minutes earlier, her top discarded along with his own good intentions.
She deserved better than that.
Half an hour later, when he heard her voice outside his office, he felt composed enough to join her and his uncle in the reception area. Owen was there, too.
“Did everything get sorted out?” he asked Ella.
“It...did.”
“Good.” It really was for the best that his uncle’s huge undertaking would soon be in more capable hands. “I took the liberty of compiling a list of more established party planners,” he told his uncle. It included some of the city’s most elite and well-respected
Laughter—rich, low and deliciously male—rumbled in response. It vibrated through her body along with an insane amount of need. It was all Ella could do to keep from screaming out, “Yes!” when she felt a tug at her waist and the belt went slack.
Their surroundings faded into oblivion. Everything faded, so that what stood out in stark relief was a need as basic and essential as breathing.
Chase whistled as he peeled back the jacket, which rested on her shoulders only briefly before slipping down her arms and falling to the floor. Neither of them made any move to retrieve it. The jacket was as forgotten as their surroundings.
“This cami is a little plain. But the lace is enough to make me look and feel like a girl despite the boring suit.”
He made a humming sound. “I’ll say.”
She glanced down to find both of her nipples standing at attention, straining against the silk. Chase brushed the backs of his knuckles across one before placing his mouth over it through the fabric. Ella moaned and glanced askance at his desktop. Clear off the blotter and it would do in a pinch. So would the floor. Heck, even a wall...
The ding of the elevator, along with Chase’s uttered expletive, breached the haze of her hormones. Someone was coming.
Both she and Chase reached down at the same time to retrieve her jacket from the floor. Their foreheads smacked together with enough force that she saw stars.
“God. Sorry.” He held Ella’s jacket so she could slip into it. “Are you hurt?”
“Nah. Slight concussion maybe. You?”
“Same,” he replied.
She’d just finished tying the belt when Elliot poked his head in the office. His eyes lit up when he saw her. “Isabella, my dear. You look even lovelier than I remember. God, how I’ve missed you.”
“I’m Ella,” she corrected gently. “Ella Sanborn.”
A knot formed in her throat at his confused expression.
“Isabella was his wife,” Chase whispered, his expression forlorn.
Owen came into view then. He’d heard the exchange, too.
“Ella, hello.” Owen’s tone was gentle when he told his father, “You hired her to plan your party, remember?”
“Party?”
“Wake.” Chase supplied.
“Right. My wake. Exactly.” Elliot nodded vigorously, his gaze once again focused. “You’re here to discuss the plans.”
“Yes. Why don’t we go to your office?” Her gaze slid briefly to Chase as she started for the door. “What you have in mind is very large and will require a lot of expertise to carry off. I’ve been doing some thinking...”
That was all Chase was privy to before he heard Elliot’s door close. Alone in his own office, he sank down in the leather chair behind his desk, thankful to be alone. He needed a few minutes of privacy to collect his thoughts and get both his breathing and his body under control.
This was a place of business, not a hotel room, but if not for Owen and Elliot’s untimely interruption, Chase couldn’t say for certain that things with Ella wouldn’t have progressed to their logical conclusion.
That thought had him scrubbing a hand over his face. There was nothing logical about having sex in his office with the door half open. He’d fired people for less egregious breaches of professionalism. But damned if he wasn’t still as turned on as all hell when he glanced to where Ella had stood minutes earlier, her top discarded along with his own good intentions.
She deserved better than that.
Half an hour later, when he heard her voice outside his office, he felt composed enough to join her and his uncle in the reception area. Owen was there, too.
“Did everything get sorted out?” he asked Ella.
“It...did.”
“Good.” It really was for the best that his uncle’s huge undertaking would soon be in more capable hands. “I took the liberty of compiling a list of more established party planners,” he told his uncle. It included some of the city’s most elite and well-respected
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