Gage followed him away from the group, cornering him against a doorway. "Something happened." Gage knew him better than anyone, and knew there was a reason for his renewed energy.
Chase shrugged into his coat and moved to push past him. "Yeah, something happened. I'll catch up to you guys."
Gage narrowed his eyes, blocking Chase's exit. "You've doing better recently. Since you've been with Tess. The guys need you on point, man. I don't know what's going on with you, but something's changed."
"Tess broke up with me."
Gage rocked his head back on his shoulders, eyes closing, scrubbing his palms down his face. "Shit."
"It's okay, though. It had to happen. I knew it, she knew it. It's better this way."
"You don't seem real broken up about it." Suspicion crossed Gage's face, his pale blue eyes searching Chase's.
"It's complicated. We're in Milwaukee next, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
Chase shrugged, going for nonchalance. "Go without me. I'll meet you there. I've got some shit to take care of."
Gage's lips quirked. "Does the shit you're taking care of happen to have curly red hair?"
"Might."
Gage shook his head slowly and blew out a long breath. "Just be on stage in Milwaukee on Wednesday, man," he said. "That's all I ask."
"I will. You know I will."
Gage clapped Chase on the shoulder and turned away, then stopped and gave Chase a long, level look. "Also, because you're my best friend...be careful, okay? When everything happened with Anna, man, you were a hot fucking mess. Having you on an even keel makes everything better for all of us."
Chase nodded and gave Gage a man-hug, their right hands clasping as if arm-wrestling, then bumping chests and right shoulders. "I know. That was kind of a shitty time for me. Thanks for putting up with my bullshit. This thing I've got going on now...it could be good. Really good."
"And if it doesn't go the way you're hoping?"
Chase didn't answer immediately. "It will. It has to."
Gage gave Chase a hard shove toward the exit. "Go. And good luck."
I don't need luck, Chase thought. I just need her.
He found her on the same stool where he'd left her, finishing a side of cheese fries, dipping the last one in ranch. She had a nearly empty glass of red wine in front of her, and she tossed the last bit back as Chase approached.
"That was a seriously great show," she said, standing up and putting on her coat, then slipping her palms around to the backs of his shoulders. "You kicked ass."
The familiar affection in the way she touched him sent a thrill of excitement through Chase, the kind of upwelling of emotion that had his throat closing and his heart pumping harder. He fitted his hands to the swell of her hips, holding her tight against him.
"Thanks," he said. "I was pumped. I felt good. Knowing you were watching...it just gave me this jolt of energy."
Jamie pressed even closer to him, crushing her breasts against his chest and gazing up into his eyes. "So now what do we do?" She curled her fingers into the muscle of his shoulders, nails raking through the thin cotton of his T-shirt, sending chills of arousal shivering down his spine and into his balls.
"Now...we have three days to ourselves. My next show isn't until Wednesday."
Her lips touched his jaw between ear and chin, then his throat; Chase had to focus on catching his breath each time a kiss planted fire on his skin. "And what could we possibly do for those three days?" Her voice was low and sultry and thick with overt suggestion.
Chase let his fingers crawl down to caress the upper curve of her ass, scratching the denim. "Hmmm. I might be able to think of a few things."
"Less thinking, more doing." Jamie bit him, a sharp nip of the skin on his neck near his shoulder. "I can't take the waiting anymore. I need you. Right now."
Chase rumbled a husky laugh in reply, turning away and taking her hand in his. He pulled her into a swift walk, leading her out of the club and into the cold Chicago night. The air was still and thin, cold as the upper atmosphere, dark as space. A yellow cab drifted by, its light off, tires buzzing against the road. A few isolated flecks of snow skirled through the street, blown from some secret place. The sky above was clear and cloudless, blackest black between sky-scraping towers. A sliver of gibbous moon glinted low in the sky, and Jamie's hand was warm in Chase's.
He took a deep breath of the frozen air, glanced at Jamie. "There's a hotel just around the corner. We can go there."
"The closer the better."
Chase pulled her into a walk in the direction of the hotel. "Eager, much?"
Jamie shoved him playfully. "Yeah. You're not? Maybe I misjudged the situation, then."
Chase pulled her into him and grabbed a handful of her ass and kneaded it roughly. "I'm about two seconds away from bending you over that car and taking you right here," Chase growled, "so don't tempt me."
Jamie gazed up at him with serious eyes. "You don't hear me protesting, do you?"
Chase just shook his head and pulled her back into a walk. They reached the hotel soon, and Chase stood at the concierge desk arranging for a room. The lobby was deserted except for the concierge. As he worked with the young woman behind the desk, Chase felt Jamie's fingers slide down over his stomach and down to his groin. She found the shape of his cock behind his zipper and traced its length with her fingers. Chase gave her a look in warning, but she only smiled innocently at him. The concierge named the total for the room, and Chase dug his wallet out of his coat pocket, working to keep his expression neutral and his hips still. Jamie's stroking of his shaft through the leather increased in tempo as he waited for his card to be run, and then as he signed the slip. He was growing harder with every stroke, burgeoning, thickening. He felt pre-come gather at the tip, soaking the cotton of his boxer-briefs. He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, turning away and pushing Jamie in front of him to hide his arousal. They stood back to front at a bank of elevators, waiting for a car to arrive. As they stood, Jamie pressed herself back against him, subtly writhing her hips to rub her ass against his cock.
Chase hissed between his teeth, finding it ever harder to contain his arousal. He was nearing the point of having to physically hold himself back. He'd been so turned on for so long that he was near to bursting. He'd been turned on and ready to go since the moment Jamie slammed into him on the street, since she kissed him, since her body pressed against his. His arousal had only kind of gone away during the show, and every time he'd glanced at Jamie from the stage, he'd felt a bolt of desire.
He was so hard, so ready...and she was making it impossible to hold back, reaching behind herself to cup the back of his head, turning her face sideways to plant desperate kisses on his cheek and lips, writhing against his cock shamelessly. There was no one in the lobby at all, the concierge having vanished, but Chase still felt exposed.
"Goddamn, Jamie. You have me right on the edge," he said, whispering in her ear. "I'm close already. You'd better back up and give me a chance to get myself under control, or I'm gonna come in my pants right here."
The elevator doors opened right then, and they stepped into the car, pushing the button for the seventh floor. The doors swooshed closed, and as soon as the car began moving, Jamie turned to face Chase.
"Maybe I don't want you to have control..." she said, fumbling with the button of his pants. "Maybe I want you to come, right here, right now."
"That could be messy."
His pants were open now, and she was pushing his zipper down, freeing his rigid shaft and taking it into both hands. Chase couldn't breathe suddenly, could only hold himself absolutely still, every muscle tensed and locked, focused on holding back. Her hands were hot on his skin, soft and tender and greedy, working him steadily, her body pressed against his, backing him into a corner.
He felt himself rising then, against his control. Her eyes were on him, searching him. He had to close his eyes then, squeezing them shut and gritting his teeth, suckin
g in a breath and holding it, ducking his head and straining with every fiber of his being.
She didn't relent, kept up her slow, intimate ministrations, both fists on his length, gliding up and back down, rubbing his crown in her palm now as she pumped his base, then moving her fists on him hand over hand.
He gasped raggedly, then ground out the warning: "I can't...I can't hold it back. Goddammit...fuck." He clawed his fingers with crushing force into the denim and muscle of her ass, squeezing so hard she gasped. "I'm gonna come, Jamie. Right now."
She sank quickly to her knees and took him in her mouth, one hand stroking his cock at the base, the other cupping his balls, middle finger pressing against his taint and massing the muscle there. She sucked hard, taking him deep. Chase came with a soft grunt, fisting his hands in her soft curls, holding her but not pushing at her. She drew him out of her mouth to lick his tip, then sucked him deep again as his muscles clenched once more, releasing a second stream into her mouth. She was grinding her fist on his base in a furious rhythm, drawing his orgasm to a wild frenzy, her finger pressing against his taint and spurring him to a third spasm, her mouth bobbing on him, taking him deep and then backing away.
As he shot the last of his seed into her mouth, the elevator came to an unexpected stop on the fifth floor, the bell dinging and the doors sliding open. Jamie jumped to her feet at the ding of the bell, tugging his pants up. She pressed Chase into the corner, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face against his cheek, shielding his still-throbbing cock from the view of the elderly couple who got onto the elevator with them.
Chase heard her giggling, then heard her swallow and giggle again, her shoulders shaking. Her hands were cupping the back of his head, stroking his stubble, her breath huffing on his ear.
"You came a lot," she whispered, her voice so quiet as to be barely audible.
"I can't believe you did that," he said, his voice equally low.
The couple in front of them were whispering to each other as well, muttering and casting disapproving, disgusted glances at Chase and Jamie.
"I told you I needed you," Jamie whispered. "And I still do. That was...just a taste."
Chase chuckled helplessly at her turn of phrase. "Well, you did get quite a taste."
"You taste so good," Jamie said. "And your cock...it's perfect."
"Think we could get away with me tasting you on the elevator?"
Jamie laughed. "Maybe if I was wearing a skirt."
"You mean I have to wait?"
"Only a few more seconds."
The elevator dinged again, letting them off on their floor. As they exited, Chase still pressed against Jamie's front, they heard the man on the elevator mumble, "Damn kids. Smells like sex in here."
They broke into laughter as the doors closed. Their room was only a few feet away from the elevators, and as Chase reached past Jamie to slide the keycard into the slot, Jamie tilted her head back to whisper in Chase's ear.
"I need you inside me." She reached back and stroked a finger against his soft shaft, causing him to twitch and harden. "Hurry up and get the door open."
Chase was fumbling, inserting the key and pulling it out either too fast or too slow so the light wouldn't switch from red to green. Finally, after a few muttered curses, he got it open, and they stumbled into the darkened room. The door snicked closed, and Chase flipped on a light.
He stopped, pants unzipped and unbuttoned, his cock thickening in anticipation as he watched Jamie turn in place to face him, a hungry look in her eyes. She licked her lips, breasts heaving as she sucked in several deep, steadying breaths. She bit her lower lip, then crossed her arms and peeled her shirt off, revealing her full, ivory breasts pushed up in a violently purple front-clasp bra.
Chase felt his cock twitch and grow harder, and Jamie's eyes flicked down to it, a grin spreading across her face.
"I didn't really get to see it before," she said. "It's so pretty."
Chase glanced down at himself, then back to her. "If you say so." He took a step toward her, then another, stretching out a hand to caress her waist. "You're so fucking gorgeous, Jamie. You take my breath away. I get hard just looking at you. You're incredible. You're perfect."
Jamie shook her head, ducking her face to glance at the carpeting. "No. But I'm glad you think so."
"You are. You're perfect. Not just perfect to me, but actually perfect." He stepped closer yet, and his naked cock pressed hot against her warm, silk-soft belly.
"Perfect? I'm not, I'm--"
Chase shut her up with a kiss, a deep, endless, claiming of her mouth. She melted into him, digging her fingers against his back and pushing his T-shirt up, breaking apart to rip the cotton away and toss it aside before reclaiming his mouth with hers. Her hunger for him made Chase dizzy, wild with disbelief, breathless with anticipation.
She explored his body with her hands, roaming from his bare shoulders to his chest, his back to his stomach, scrubbing her palms over his bald scalp in a now-familiar gesture of affection that had Chase's heart seizing.
Jamie pushed his pants down, sinking to her knees and brushing his torso with hot kisses as he did so, then caressing his leg with her hand and lifting his foot from the leather, peeling it off one leg at a time, kissing each thigh as it was bared. Chase tried to lift her to her feet, uncomfortable with the kind of attention she was paying to him, overwhelmed by the sheer potency of the emotions she was displaying. She cupped his balls in both hands, pressing kisses to his belly, his thigh, the crease of his leg beside his sack, then touched her lips to his shaft. He gasped, and she turned her face sideways to take his length in her mouth, sliding her wet lips across his skin, tongue tasting his flesh. She wasn't giving him oral sex, he realized. She was kissing him, arousing him, showing desire for him. As if he needed further arousal.
He pulled away from her forcefully, feeling himself rising yet again. Not this time, he thought. This time is about her.
He pulled her to her feet, captured both of her wrists in one of his hands. "My turn," he said.
She let her hands go limp, stood straight, lifting her chin and gazing at him, cool and collected. "Touch me, please," she said.
*
Jamie's heart was pounding in her chest. She had the taste of Chase in her mouth, the musk of his seed from the elevator, the salt of his skin. She couldn't put words to what she was feeling in that moment. Desire, need...these weren't strong enough. She hadn't meant to go down on him in the elevator. She'd just been unable to resist touching him in the street, or in front of the concierge, and then when they were alone in the elevator, she'd simply had to feel his skin in her hands, feel his huge cock fill her fists. And then she'd realized how close he was. She then simply had to feel him come, had to taste him. His cock felt so perfect in her hands, filling both hands and spilling over the top of her uppermost fist. She knew there might be cameras watching, knew someone could get on the elevator with them at any moment, but she didn't care. If he'd stripped her naked and banged her up against the elevator wall, she wouldn't have cared. Nothing mattered in the moment but Chase, nothing but his skin and his heat and his body and his heart, his emotions so potent and completely bared on his face, in his eyes.
She'd tasted him, taken him in her mouth, swallowed him, caressed him and brought him to completion, felt his seed fill her mouth, hot and salty and thick, felt his tip touch the back of her throat, felt his balls seize and clench, and she'd taken more, wanting all of him.
And now she stood in front of him, vulnerable, letting her love show in her eyes, nearly naked and shivering with need. Except...what she felt was so far past a paltry word like "need." Every atom in her body was vibrating with desire for him, with the blood-hot need to feel his hands on her bare skin, his lips on her body, his thickness filling her.
She stood stone-still, shirtless, breath coming in slow, deep gasps, waiting. His eyes were dark and hooded, his chest rising and falling with his desperate breathing. He was naked, gloriously nude
, bared for her perusal. She openly stared at him, taking in his thick arms scribed with tattoos, his hands curling into fists and releasing at his sides, his narrow waist and hard, round ass, his proudly jutting cock, huge and thick and dark, purple-veined and heavy. His thighs were thick and hard, too, quadriceps cut and defined. His bald scalp was beaded with dots of sweat, and one drop trailed down his cheek. Why was he sweating? It was cold in the hotel room, and he was naked.
She forced herself into stillness, wanting to rush over to him, press her body against his and beg him to put his hands on her, his cock inside her, his mouth on her. She'd already asked him to touch her, and now she would wait for him to do so in his way, in his time.
Her hands trembled. She'd tasted him, touched him, given away her feelings. She'd given herself over to him, knowing there was never any going back now. That kiss on the street had done her in. She was his now, for better or worse.
Jamie swallowed hard past the lump in her throat. He wasn't moving, wasn't doing anything but staring at her, his gaze suddenly inscrutable. His hands tightened into fists at his sides, and his jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing.
Suddenly, fear shot through her. Maybe...god, no. Maybe since she'd gotten him off, he was done with her. Maybe all he'd wanted was a cheap thrill, and the rest of it had been a game. Maybe he was about to walk away. He was tensed, hard, almost shut down.
"Chase?" She couldn't help his name from escaping her lips. "I..." One of her hands reached for him, then dropped to her side again. "Was this not what you--"
He crossed the space between them with one bound, lips crushing against hers, his hands curling around her waist and pulling her body flush with his. His cock was a hard rod between them, thick and hot against her bare belly.
"I love you so much it hurts," he whispered.
Jamie's soul clenched. "What?"
"You heard me. I...you're so beautiful. So perfect. You're really here? With me? You're not going to leave again?" His face twisted, and his voice was low and hard. "I need you. Now. Always."
Jamie caressed his spine, then clutched the cool muscle of his ass. "I'm not going anywhere," she said. "I'm here. I'm waiting for you to make love to me. Please, Chase. Is that what you're waiting for? Me to beg you? Please, Chase. Please make love to me."