Never Say Never (The Price of Fame Series) (19 page)

She propped herself up on her hands and looked down at him, but his attention was focused on her core. She wanted to squirm, or cover herself up, but he didn’t give her a chance to do either. He leaned forward, ran his tongue from her clit all the way down then pushed his tongue inside her.

“Oh God!”

She grabbed his hair and pulled him closer, but he retracted that beautiful, talented tongue and focused its attentions on her outer lips.
Teasing sod.
After a few infuriating minutes, Chloe lay back against the silky sheets and fought the urge to thrust her hips toward his face.

Sliding a finger into her entrance, he licked and nibbled her swollen clit. Pleasure ripped through her and she couldn’t hold still anymore. His finger explored the sensitive walls until a fresh burst of heat roared in her pelvis and she had to clench her muscles to stop from letting it all be over from one touch.

But he wasn’t having any of that. Nope, Sander sucked her clit with so much force she had to grab onto the sheets for support. His finger swept over the tender spot inside that was making it hard not to writhe around in the pleasure it caused her. Lapping at the tender nub, he slid another finger inside and curved them both just right. The pressure built, twisted, and then crashed through her like a heavy wave. Pinned to the bed as the heat coursed through her, panting, a thin sheen of sweat breaking out over her skin, all she could think was
bloody hell
.

* * * *

Sander kissed the skin on her hip and felt her shudder all over. Fuck, that had been one of the most intense moments of his life. Watching Chloe give herself up and come apart under his touch had made him feel like he was about to explode.

Sliding up to lie beside her, he reached out and pulled her close. She shook against him as he stroked her back, her arms, her shoulders.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

His eyebrows rose, but she’d closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. No one had ever thanked him for sex before.

“Hey, that’s not all I’ve got up my sleeve,” he teased, hoping she wasn’t nodding off.

Chloe pulled her head back to look at him. “I feel all drugged up and lightheaded, like I’m floating.”

Flashing her a smile, he said, “Glad to be of service, but the best is yet to come.”

A smile curved her lips, and he prayed he could hold on long enough to back up his words. With her naked body pressed against him he was having a hard time reining in some kind of control. He pressed a kiss against her swollen lips, then down the side of her neck. She smelled like a garden, and he could still taste her sweet essence on his tongue. It screwed with his head.

Unable to wait any longer, he rolled her onto her back and settled between her thighs. He’d tried to stop this earlier. After Paul, thoughts of Chloe meeting someone who could give her all the things he couldn’t then watching that bastard, Dane, kiss her, his head had been well and truly fucked. His primal instinct kicked into gear, as did the need to prove she was his. To bask in her warmth, damn the consequences.

But never at the expense of hurting her. When she’d told him she wanted tonight, he believed her and even if they couldn’t have more, they’d have this and he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to make this night special.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and he thrilled at how perfect they fit together, like two pieces of a whole. Her eyes were open, gazing into his with the same hunger and emotion he figured she would see in his. Grinding her hips, her soaking wet sex slid against his dick and he trembled. Fuck, every muscle in his body tensed at the need to bury himself inside and drive them both mindless.

“Sander…” Chloe panted and shifted her hips again.

He knew he should get the condom he kept in his wallet for emergencies, but he was clean and knew she would be too. Chloe was too responsible not to be. Plus, it wasn’t like he could get her pregnant. His heart squeezed, almost taking his breath away, and he closed the distance between them and kissed her hard so she wouldn’t see how he felt.

Squirming beneath him, Chloe’s heels dug into his ass and he didn’t think, just acted. He reared his hips back and slid into her in one move. Her body fisted around him and he pulled back to read her expression. She was gasping, but her hold on him only got firmer, and she slid her hands down to his ass and dug her nails into his skin.

His breath caught as he slid deeper still, and her body clenched, teasing the fuck out of him. He grinned down at her, though all he wanted to do was connect his lips to hers and thrust into her like a horny teenager.

“Is this okay?” he asked, because her muscles were tight and his dick wasn’t exactly pencil thin.

“It’s better than okay,” she replied. He rotated his hips and she gasped, her eyes opening wide. “Do that again.”

He did, barely sliding out and twisting his hips as he rocked forward. He felt her muscles clench, felt her shudder as he did it again and again. Sweat broke out over his skin and he wore down his teeth trying to keep the burning in his balls at bay.

Every stroke, every twist, made a euphoric glimmer shine from her eyes. Part of him was entranced, wanted to keep that look on her face for hours, but the part of him about to snap knew he couldn’t. As the first throes of her orgasm rippled through her, clenching his dick like a hot, wet fist, his control snapped.

Mindless, he rose on his knees and pulled her legs straight to rest on his chest. He could see from her smile and distant eyes that she was still reeling from her orgasm and Sander had a burning ache to bring her there again, only this time he wanted to join her. Wanted to spill himself inside her wrapped in her pulsing sex.

He began to thrust hard and fast as he held her hips in place. Warmth flooded down his spine and burned in his balls. Their sweat-soaked flesh slapping together drowned out the sound of their harsh breathing. Chloe’s moans told him she wasn’t far away, but he was ready to explode.

He slid a hand around her hips and plunged a finger and thumb into her soaking slit, aiming for her nub. Squeezing the flesh, he thrust harder, rotating his hips and rubbing the sensitive flesh.

Chloe screamed out his name, and as she convulsed around him, his balls burned hotter, then exploded. He continued to thrust, come still flowing into her as her body trembled around him, milking him for everything he had. When he was sure he was drained, he carefully slid from her and lay down on the bed beside her to catch his breath.

But now that his mind was clear and his defenses at an all-time low, his heart seemed to rip open and swell unbearably. He loved her, more than he thought he could, and after making love to her he knew no one would ever satisfy him the same way again. But love wasn’t enough, not by a long shot. Chloe deserved it all—marriage, babies, the works.

Fuck, this had been a mistake.

Chapter 11

Chloe didn’t know how long she’d dozed for, but she woke with her cheek pressed against Sander’s naked chest and the sky outside was pitch black. She lifted her head, the skin sticking a little, and realized with a start he wasn’t asleep.

Cold Sander was back, and the pain in her chest seeing that look after what they just did made her eyes burn.

“Don’t,” she whispered.

She couldn’t handle it if he told her what they’d done meant nothing. To her, it had been so much more than what she’d imagined. Being with him, intimately, was perfect. It felt like they had been made for one another, and when they came together a mind-numbing, muscle-liquefying pleasure was their reward. She knew he felt it too. It was there in his eyes when he rocked into her, but from his cold expression now she figured he still wasn’t ready to admit it.

But his fingers still stroked her back, despite his attempt at an emotionless persona. As she sat up to see him better, moisture seeped from her sex, and what they did came flooding back. “We didn’t use a condom!”

“Chloe—”

Panic tightened her chest and she rose. Her gaze darted around, but she couldn’t find a bathroom anywhere. The moisture spread to her upper thighs, and her eyes burned.

“It’s okay. I promise.”

She whirled on him. “It’s not okay, Sander. I’m not on the pill! I wouldn’t be able to cope if we had any accidents. How could I look after my mum
and
a baby?”

She knew she was overreacting, the chances were slim, but there was still a chance. She got down on all fours at the foot of the bed and felt around the dark carpet for her thong. The crappy light from the lamp really didn’t help speed the process along.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

She didn’t look at him until her hands found the tiny scrap of material. She stood and tugged them on. Now she needed to find a bathroom.

“Chloe, calm down.” He sat on the edge of the bed, studying her expression intently. “You’re not going to get pregnant, trust me.”

“Stop trying to placate me. I know it’s a small chance, but—”

“Fuck.” He raked a hand through his hair and his gaze locked hers. The pain and frustration in his eyes made her forget her worries for a minute. “I can’t have children. My sperm count’s non-existent.”

She stood there, wide-eyed as she tried to grasp what he’d said.

“Say something.”

Chloe searched for something, anything. “How do you know?”

Sander raked a palm down his face and the mask slipped, showing all the pain he’d tried to hide earlier. Her heart cracked open.

“When we moved to London, Sienna went on the pill, but she was awful at remembering to take them. Still, she never got pregnant and it started to eat at me, especially since I found half taken strips in the bathroom cupboard. I went to the doctor and he said the count was so low I was most likely infertile. He couldn’t figure out a cause, sometimes these things just happen.”

He shrugged, but she could hear the pain in his voice. Tears streamed down her face.

“I told Sienna, and she said that suited her fine. She didn’t want kids, she wanted a career and getting pregnant would ruin her figure. I…my head was fucked. I proposed to her a few months later. I thought I could give her what she wanted, and that didn’t include kids. But things changed for her. She changed her mind, but she didn’t tell me. Instead she waited until I found her in my bed with my best friend.”

Chloe choked out a sob and he pulled her onto his lap.

“Don’t cry for me.” He stroked her cheek with his fingers, and she snuggled into him, trying to hold back the tears but more fell. “I do okay.”

“She’s awful.” She lifted her head to look at him through blurry eyes. “I could never do that to someone.” Then she remembered his reluctance to take things further, even though she knew deep down that he had feelings for her. “I’d never do that to you, Sander. Ever.”

He swallowed and framed her face with his big hands. They still smelled like her arousal, but she didn’t care. His eyes were tender as he said, “I told you, sweetheart. Never say never.”

“But—”

His thumb pressed against her lips. “This changes nothing, Chloe. I’m sorry, but I can’t be with you the way you might want me to be. I can give you tonight, we can stay here and I’ll get you home in the morning.”

Fighting back tears, pain lanced in her chest and she tried very hard not to break down. Of course she understood now, he didn’t think he was worth staying with, but there were other avenues. If he wanted children so much, why not adopt? Chloe wasn’t ready for that now, she didn’t know if she ever would be, but he didn’t know that.

Still, she could see the resolve harden his eyes, tense his jaw, and she knew there would be no arguing with him now. She needed to regroup. Think about all of this when she wasn’t perched half-naked on his knee.

“I’d prefer to go home now, if that’s okay.”

She didn’t know where the strength came from, but was glad it was there. His face crumpled and his eyes squeezed shut. When he opened them, he’d pulled himself back together and his hands slid from her face.

“I’ll take you home.”

She forced herself to smile as she rose, even though she wanted to cry again, or call him an idiot. In a daze, she ducked down and pulled her dress off the floor. Slipping it over her head and still feeling the moisture between her thighs, she wished she had access to a mirror and something to clean herself with, but that was the least of her worries.

“There’s a bathroom by the door if you want to clean up.” He gestured around the corner and she nodded.

Facing the press looking like she’d been screwed then had her heart broken wasn’t the most tempting thing in the world. She managed to fix her hair and makeup, and clean the stickiness away.

By the time she emerged, Sander was fully dressed and on the phone to who Chloe assumed must be his driver. After a minute, he slid the device shut and dropped it into the inner pocket of his suit jacket.

“Do you want to pick up your things from my house tonight or wait until tomorrow?” he asked, his voice emotionless.

It cut through her hard, but she pretended not to notice. She knew he was only trying to keep himself from being hurt. It’s what he’d been doing all along, with her, with his parents, and probably Sienna. But did anyone ever care about him enough to look past it to the man he was? Chloe doubted it, and that hurt more than the fact he wasn’t ready to admit how he really felt.

“I can get them another time, no rush.” Which meant she had an excuse to see him again. Her heart leapt at the thought.

He inclined his head and held the door open for her. They made their way to the back of the hotel in silence. Sander’s driver was waiting for them and there wasn’t a camera man in sight. Chloe guessed he didn’t want to face them, and she could hardly blame him. Not only had they caused a bit of a scene at Sienna’s party, but if he was feeling half as crappy as she was now, she could only imagine he wanted to avoid people.

The silence didn’t lift as they made their way to Chloe’s house. She couldn’t think of anything to say really. Her mind was numb and the wound in her heart too raw. The only thing keeping her together was the knowledge she would get to see him again to get her stuff back. By then she would have time to regroup, and would be able to deal with everything better.