The Sex Surrogate(11)

I forced a wobbly little smile. “Hi.”

“I like these,” he said, running his hand down my hip, over my thigh, my calf, the sensation on the stockings so smooth and sensual, my body happily made the small leap into arousal. “Did you wear them for me?”

Hell yeah I did.

“Yes,” I admitted, watching his hand continue its lazy exploration.

“You're so sweet,” he said, his head leaning in, then starting to plant small kisses across my jawline. I closed my eyes, exhaling on an unexpected sigh, because the nerves were settling and all that was left underneath was the desire. There. Foreign, but familiar at the same time. “Ava,” he said, softly, his kisses stopping and leaving me unreasonably disappointed.

“Yeah?” I asked, eyes still closed.

“Kiss me.”

My eyes opened, finding his. Close. So close. I looked down at his lips for a second, my own opening in anticipation, then back up to his eyes. And I knew with blinding clarity that he wasn't going to let me get away with not doing it. If I didn't kiss him first, there would be no kissing. And, damn, I just... needed to taste him one more time. Just to see if it was as earth-shaking as it had seemed the last two times.

So I leaned in. My arm moved from where it was in a fist on my thigh and reached up toward his neck, the fingers dancing across the skin at the side for a second before settling at the back of his neck. His eyes closed for a second as he took a deep breath, then opened his gorgeous blue eyes to watch me. I tilted my head up toward his, slowly closing the space between us, my lips on his softly, my eyes falling closed. Because it was barely a touch and I felt like I was freaking drowning in it.

His hand around my back dug slightly into my shoulder, but he stayed pliant under me, waiting for me to deepen the kiss, letting me have control. So I did. I pressed my lips harder into his, taking his lower lip between mine and nipping slightly.

Then he was moving, his arms grabbing my back and hips, pulling me until I moved to straddle him, lips never losing each other. Both of my hands went up, cradling the rough stubble at his jaw as I slipped my tongue between his open lips. His hands were at my hips and the second my tongue found his, his fingers dug in hard to my skin. Emboldened, I wrapped my arms around the back of his head, deepening the kiss. Trying to get completely consumed in it.

It seemed to last forever.

And I wished it would.

I would happily kiss him until the end of friggen time.

But then his hands went to the sides of my face, pulling gently until our lips no longer touched. “Open your eyes baby,” he said, his voice sounding husky.

I opened them slowly, the lids suddenly feeling incredibly heavy, and I watched him from underneath them.

“Jesus Christ, you're beautiful,” he said softly, his thumb stroking over my cheekbone. “I want to see more of you,” he told me, the idea barely breaking through the happy little fog in my head. “Take off your dress, sweetheart.”

Those words broke through.

I felt myself straighten, my eyes opening wide.

“Don't freak out,” he said, his hands sliding back down to my hips, grabbing the material of my dress and scrunching it up in his hands. “I want to take this off you so badly,” he said, looking down at his hands, “but you need to be the one to do it.” His eyes drifted back up to mine. “Please take it off for me.”

Holy crap.

Okay.

Could I really refuse?

With him looking at me like that?

I took a slow, steadying breath, letting my hands reach down and land on top of his, squeezing until he let go, moving down to rest on the outsides of my knees instead. I could do it. That was why I was there. To test my limits. To push past them. To stop living in my comfort zone. Besides, I had spent hundreds on the pretty lingerie. It would be a complete waste if he didn't see it all.

I exhaled slowly, my eyes watching his face as I grabbed the material and quickly pulled it up over my head and threw it to the side. There. Done. I did it.

Chase's breath hissed out of his mouth. “Fuck me,” he growled, shaking his head. His eyes raked over my body. And, normally, I would want to squirm, to cover, to fucking run away. But all I felt was a slow, growing heat, covering my body, settling in my core. Because his eyes looked full of wonder, they looked like they were trying to memorize every inch of me.

His eyes slowly made their way up to mine. “Was this for me too?” he asked. I nodded, attempting a smile. “Baby, stand up,” he told me, his hands pushing slightly against my knees until I slid off of him, suddenly self conscious. His hands settled at the tops of the thigh-highs.

Feeling tense, I swallowed. The silence was becoming uncomfortable. “I... ah... wanted to say thank you,” I mumbled.

His eyes shot back up to mine. “Babe, what do you have to thank me for?”

“Because,” I said, feeling like whatever words I would come out with would be wrong. “Because... you're helping me so much.”

“Oh, baby,” he said, smiling a little. Then he leaned forward, shockingly, resting his forehead against my belly. “You're so perfect,” he said and the words sent a shock through my system.

His praise did something to me.

Normally I fought compliments. I denied them. I certainly never believed them.

But I believed Chase. His words settled into my chest and belly, filling places I hadn't realized were empty. And amazing, flawless Chase Hudson thought I was perfect.

Feeling clumsy, my hand reached down, settling into the hair at the crown of his head. His face tilted slightly, planting a kiss right below my navel, before twisting his face up to look at me. He looked like he was struggling for something to say. Amazing, eloquent, confident Dr. Chase Hudson at a loss for words.

“Well, you're welcome,” he said, smiling up at me.

I was so surprised I laughed. No. Not laughed. Giggled. Like a freaking school girl. Which only made him smile wider, the ends of his eyes crinkling up slightly with the motion. Then his hands moved to my hips, pushing me backward so he could slowly stand. With barely a breath of space between us, he reached up and removed his jacket, sliding it off his shoulders and arms then throwing it to the floor on top of my dress. Then, watching me, he started to unbutton his shirt.

Oh, my god.

Okay. He was getting naked.

Like... right in front of me.

And I wasn't absolutely terrified.

Stressed, sure. But more than that, I was actually... curious. I wanted to know what he looked like underneath all the clothes.

His shirt went the way of his jacket, but my eyes stayed on his. To... I don't know... protect his privacy? Which was ridiculous. “Ava, look,” he said, watching me. “I want you to look.”

I felt my sex tighten at that. Tighten. Hard. Like there was a coil pulled too tight for a moment, almost painful, before it released.

My eyes drifted slowly down, looking at the wide line of his shoulders. Strong. The kind of shoulders you knew you could always lean on. Then down to his strong chest. Lower. The lines of his abdominal muscles, strong, deep. Not the puny kind you can barely make out underneath the skin, these were etched. Lines I could sink my fingers into. His hands were at his belt, paused, until my eyes landed on them and they started working, pulling out of his belt loops and then throwing it to join the pile of discarded items on the floor. His hands went automatically to the button of his slacks, pushing it out, then sliding the zipper down. The backs of his hands pushed against my belly as he did so and I took a step back so he had room to take off his pants. They went down quickly and he stepped out of the legs, somehow pushing his shoes and socks at the same time. My eyes drifted, just a little, pausing right at his adonis belt, that deep, deep V that led into his black boxer briefs.

But I couldn't let my eyes go below the waistband, so I let my eyes drift back upward until I found his face again. He gave me a small smile. “What do you want to do?” he asked, surprising me.

What did I want to do?

Honestly, I had no freaking idea.

But what I wanted, what I needed, was a little comfort. A little reassurance.

Without thinking about it. Truly, without even knowing my real intention, I walked into him, wrapping my arms around his back and settling my face underneath his chin. There wasn't even the slightest hesitation before his arms went around me, pulling me close. And it didn't even matter that his arms were on top of mine, trapping them under his strength. For the first time in my life, I was being legitimately trapped, and I wasn't freaking out.

Underneath my ear, Chase's heart was beating, faster than it would normally be. His skin felt warm and cozy. And it absolutely did not escape my notice that his hard cock was pressed into my belly. But it didn't matter. I trusted him to stay true to his word. There would be no sexual contact.

I just... trusted him.

And it was the first time I had ever fully trusted anyone.

His hands went to my arms, rubbing up and down. “I'd like to stay like this all night too, baby,” he said, his voice low, “but it's time.”

“It's time for what?” I asked against him, almost sleepy. I tilted my head and planted a kiss on his chest.

“It's time to take the rest of our clothes off.”

Oh.

Shit.

Yeah. I forgot about that.

“Don't stiffen up,” he urged, hands stroking as he pulled me away from him. “It's okay. You can take as much time as you need, okay?”