Powerful and Proud: Beneath the Veil of Paradise / In the Heat of the Spotlight / His Brand of Passion. Кейт Хьюит

turned to him. ‘It’s beautiful.’

      ‘You’re beautiful,’ he said, a catch in his voice, and she shook her head.

      ‘I don’t need flattery, Chase. I know I’m not beautiful.’ She sounded so matter-of-fact, it made his heart twist inside him.

      ‘Why do you think you aren’t beautiful?’

      ‘Even you called me scary. And I know I’m not your usual type.’ She let out a long, low breath. ‘Look, I’m not asking for something from you that you’re not willing to give. I promise.’

      And he knew he’d driven her to that confession. Knew she thought he’d had cold feet and, hell, he had. Except now he felt his heart twist and turn inside him and he wanted her all over again, in his bed, in his life.

      ‘Come here,’ he murmured, and kissed her, slow and deep. She kissed him back, her hands fisting in his hair, her body pressed hard against his.

      Somehow they made it to the bed, stumbling and tripping, shedding clothes. She pulled him down on top of her, hands sliding over skin, drawing him closer. ‘I want to touch you,’ she muttered against his throat, licking the salt from his skin. ‘Last time I never got to touch you.’

      And he wanted to be touched. He rolled over on his back, let out a shuddering sigh as he spread his arms wide, submitted to her desires. ‘Touch me, Scary. Touch me all you want.’

      She laughed and slowly ran her hand down his chest, across the smooth skin of his hip, and then wrapped her hand around his erection. ‘All I want?’

      ‘Hell, yes.’

      She laughed again low in her throat, a seductress filled with power. He liked—no, he loved—seeing her this way, confident, strong, sensual. She kissed her way down his chest, lingering in certain places, blitzing quick caresses in others, and left his whole body on fire. His hands tangled in her hair as she moved lower.

      ‘Millie...’

      ‘You said all I want,’ she reminded him huskily, and took him in her mouth.

      Lord have mercy. He closed his eyes, all thought obliterating as she moved on him. All he could feel was Millie. All he could think was Millie.

      Millie.

      His hips jerked and he let out a cry; she moved so quickly he barely registered the change as she sank on top of him so he filled her up and she set the pace, her hands behind her, braced on his thighs. Chase didn’t have much left in him. He grabbed hold of her hips and arched to meet her, his eyes closed, his head thrown back, everything in him a surrender.

      A joy.

      ‘Millie,’ he said aloud, groaning her name. ‘Millie.’

      She came on top of him, her body tensing gloriously and then drooping over him as her hair brushed his cheek and she let out a long, well-satisfied sigh.

      Chase let out another shuddering breath. This woman was going to kill him if she kept this up. He felt the thunder of his heart, and knew it was more of a danger than he ever really wanted to admit.

      But it would be a wonderful way to die.

       CHAPTER NINE

      MILLIE gazed out at the ocean, little more than a shooshing of waves in the darkness. A tiny sliver of moonlight glinted off the dark waters. The air felt cool now, chilling her overheated skin. Chase had fallen asleep after they’d made love—no, had sex—and she’d dozed for a bit before, restless, she’d prowled out here and come to sit on the hard, cool sand by the shore, her knees drawn up to her chest.

      The problem, she thought, was for her it had been making love. Love, that dreaded word, that fearful concept. She was falling in love with him and had a terrible feeling it was too late to stop the descent. And descent is what it was, straight down to hell, to that underworld of fear and guilt where every day you wondered if this would be your last one of happiness.

      Plenty of people, she reminded herself, had second chances. Plenty of people were bereaved and moved on with life, found someone else to risk it all for. Plenty of people, but not her. She just didn’t think she was made that way, couldn’t imagine breaking her heart all over again.

      And what about Chase? Even if he was interested in taking their fling past this week, he’d surely want more than she could give. Marriage, maybe even children. The thought had a shudder of both longing and terror ripping through her.

      All foolish fairy-tales, anyway, because Chase wasn’t interested in any of that. He’d wanted the fun back, just like she had wanted, but no more. And she got that now. They’d play by his rules from now on, and they would be her rules too.

      ‘I wondered where you’d gone.’

      Millie stiffened at the sound of Chase’s sleep-husked voice. He made her think of rumpled bed covers and salty skin. The way she’d abandoned herself to him just a few hours ago and how she’d gloried in it.

      ‘I couldn’t sleep.’

      She heard the whisper of sand as he came closer. ‘No?’

      ‘No. I’m afraid I’m a bit of an insomniac. Comes with the job, unfortunately.’

      ‘Have you checked the stock market today?’ Chase asked, only half-teasing, but Millie stiffened in sudden realisation.

      She hadn’t. She hadn’t checked the stock market in over forty-eight hours. Good Lord.

      ‘Of course,’ she answered breezily, but it was a beat too late.

      ‘Liar,’ Chase said softly, and came to sit beside her, clad only in boxers, his bare thigh inches from her own. She’d been intimate with him in so many ways, yet the feel of his leg next to hers still gave her the shivers.

      ‘If I haven’t checked, it’s only because I can’t get reception on your boat.’

      ‘You’re a terrible liar, you know that? You haven’t checked because you haven’t thought of it, and that scares you more than anything.’

      Millie said nothing. She was falling in love with him, and even though her body still tingled from where it had been joined to his she knew it was the last thing he wanted.

      ‘The stock market will live without me for a few days.’