I tensed as she moved her hand down my body and wrapped her fingers around my stiff cock.

  “The slightly cocky, argumentative, gorgeous one with a very large appendage that I desperately want to taste right now,” she whispered against my ear.

  “Dammit, Vanna,” I groaned as she stroked me. “I wanted to discuss what happened to you today.”

  I honestly did, but I’d known I was screwed the minute she’d wrapped those clever fingers around me.

  Not that I was complaining.

  But I didn’t want to talk about me anymore.

  I needed to make sure she was okay with the stunt Deadline America had pulled today.

  She nipped my ear, and ran her tongue down the side of my neck as she murmured, “Later. I’m busy with something very important right now.”

  I swallowed hard and closed my eyes, knowing that every day that I’d waited for this woman was all worth it.

  Being adored by Savannah Anderson was mind-blowingly incredible, and I was still a little worried that I was in the middle of some fucking fantastic dream.

  “Ride me,” I ordered roughly.

  “You’re not getting your way. Not this time,” she argued as her mouth skittered across my chest. “My turn to get to know this gorgeous body.”

  Jesus! That was likely to kill me.

  “Vanna,” I cautioned, my voice heavy with lust.

  “Up,” she insisted.

  I pulled myself onto the edge of the hot tub, my lower legs still in the water.

  She looked up at me as she pronounced softly, “I think you’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen, Chase.”

  Our eyes met, and the sensual, scorching gaze she shot me sent my pulse out of control.

  Sure, she was going to kill me, but damned if I wasn’t going to die a happy man.

  I watched when her eyes left mine and she wrapped those gorgeous lips around my cock.

  “Holy fuck!” I rasped as she took as much of my cock as she possibly could, and then backed off as she sucked.

  My balls tightened as she found a slow, hypnotic rhythm that drove me nearly mad.

  Her lips…

  Her hot, hungry mouth…

  The way she seemed to be thoroughly savoring my cock was so damn heady and erotic that I nearly exploded on the spot.

  “Vanna,” I said, my voice throaty and hoarse. “Dammit, Vanna!”

  Never in a million years could I have imagined being this intimate with a woman after my injuries, much less being laid bare and raw emotionally and loving every damn second of it.

  I fisted her hair and guided her mouth exactly where I needed it.

  She shifted, accommodated, and devoured.

  She wanted to please me, and she didn’t seem to care how that was accomplished.

  I wanted to relish every single stroke of her tongue, but I knew I wasn’t going to last very long.

  I tried to slow it down.

  I was afraid if I got too enthusiastic, she’d choke.

  She was having none of that.

  Vanna Anderson was determined to make me lose my mind, and once I realized that, there was no way I was able to control the frantic pace.

  “So. Fucking. Good,” I groaned, fisting her hair harder than I should have.

  When her fingers started to play gently with my balls while her mouth sucked me at an almost frenzied pace, I completely lost it.

  The tension that had been building reached a level so intense that every muscle in my body was tight.

  My balls tightened to the point that it was almost painful, and the tingling in my groin spread to the base of my spine.

  My heart was pounding like I’d just run ten miles uphill with a ton of weight on a sweltering summer day.

  Son of a bitch! I had zero control when Vanna went after something she really wanted, especially when that something was me.

  “Point of no return is happening in about two seconds,” I warned Vanna as I tried to hold onto the feel of her mouth on my cock and the all-consuming pleasure it was giving me.

  My dick was so fucking sensitive that every movement she made was euphoric.

  I’d never felt anything like it, before or after the scars.

  “Fuck! Vanna!” I growled when I suddenly detonated and realized that she wasn’t going anywhere.

  She stayed, apparently relishing the task of swallowing every drop she could possibly wring from me.

  I loosened my death grip on Vanna’s hair, my chest heaving as I felt the most exhilarating rush of testosterone I’d ever experienced in my entire fucking life.

  I felt like I was literally floating, my legs and arms almost numb as I lowered myself back into the water and pulled Vanna on top of me.

  “You almost did me in,” I said hoarsely before I pulled her head down to kiss her.

  Truthfully, I was annihilated, physically and mentally, but I didn’t give a flying fuck.

  Vanna could massacre me every day and twice on Sunday if this was what it was going to feel like.

  After that, I’d start another week feeling like the luckiest bastard on Earth.

  Savannah

  “Stay with me, Vanna. Screw those assholes at Deadline America. Finish your article on the Darien Gap crisis. Do whatever makes you happy. Hell, I’ll buy that fucking network if you want your show back.”

  “Oh, no, you won’t,” I said firmly.

  I picked up a piece of cheese and eyed Chase to figure out what he was thinking.

  Once we’d gotten out of the hot tub, we’d taken another shower. After that, we’d come downstairs because Chase had declared he was still hungry.

  He’d cut up some fruit, cheese and pulled out the crackers before pouring us both a glass of good wine.

  We were currently seated at the kitchen table in the middle of the night sharing the food and wine. I’d explained that I wasn’t really that horribly upset about the way I’d been treated by Deadline America anymore.

  Yeah, it had been painful to get dumped by the executives simply because they wanted a prettier face, but I’d been in television for a decade. I knew we were always at the mercy of the whims of corporate, even if they were clueless.

  Nothing lasted forever in television, that was certain.

  Just the fact that I’d been doing Deadline America for so long was unusual.

  My career was going to be in flux, but it was an inevitable move that was eventually going to happen at some time or the other.

  I’d been mourning the sad ending to one phase of my career when Chase had come home from work.

  He’d actually put my pain into perspective by stripping down to his underwear right in front of me.

  Maybe it hadn’t been intentional, but his bold actions had made me realize how small my scar insecurities were compared to someone who’d really gotten kicked in the teeth.

  He’d not only went through the horrific pain in the hospital and nearly lost his life, but he’d also been rejected by a woman he was dating. I couldn’t blame him for not wanting to try again with another woman who might or might not be quite as superficial.

  Not once had Chase ever considered my scars hideous or ugly.

  Did it really matter what some stuffed shirt in the corporate office of a small cable news channel thought about the scars on my face?

  I chewed the piece of cheese and swallowed it with a sip of wine before I asked, “Do you really want me to stay? Chase, I have enough saved to get me through to my next career. I need to know exactly what and where that new career will be, but I certainly don’t have to stay here.”

  “Then do it because you want to,” he said insistently. “If you want me to get what I really want, you’ll stay. Is there a single question in your mind about what I want right now, Vanna? I’m asking you because I know exactly what I want. I’m looking at her and hoping to hell she wants the same thing. I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my entire life. As different as we may be, we fit, Vanna. I want you to stay with me and be my partner in everything.”

  Our eyes locked and my heart skipped a beat.

  Longing welled up inside me as I fell into his beautiful gray eyes.

  It was definitely what I wanted.

  I’d spent the majority of my adult life wandering the planet, continually restless and horribly lonely after I’d lost my mom.

  I’d known something was missing.

  I knew exactly what it was like to be in the middle of a crowd and still feel alone.

  But I didn’t feel that way anymore and probably wouldn’t as long as Chase and I were together.

  He was that something that had been missing, and I finally felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

  For the first time, I wanted to stay in one place because I’d finally found that absent part of my soul.

  Was it a risk because caring about this man was as elemental as breathing for me?

  Yes.

  It was terrifying.

  But I was addicted to being whole and dizzy with excitement about staying here with him.

  “I’m happier than I’ve ever been, too,” I confessed breathlessly.

  I watched as something that resembled relief crossed his face. “Thank fuck!” He took my hand. “I’ll do everything humanly possible to make you so damn happy that you’ll never want to leave.”

  His vow made tears fill my eyes, but I blinked them back. “I want you to be happy, too.”

  Chase had spent enough time serving his country and other people. Somebody needed to work on pleasing him for a change.

  He squeezed my hand. “Just looking at you makes me fucking ecstatic. I’ve never wanted you to go, but I couldn’t make you stay if that wasn’t what you wanted, too.”

  I sighed. I couldn’t say he was a flowery romantic, but everything he said came from the heart, which was even better.

  “I want that, Chase. I want to be with you, too. It might take a while, but I’m going to apply to be a freelance writer for the paper here and maybe a few other bigger publications. I just need to make sure there won’t be any conflict with Deadline America if I try to sell my article on the Darien Gap crisis before I seriously try to sell it,” I shared. “I have a ton of other written stories from previous episodes I’d love to update and sell, too, if there’s no conflict.”

  He grinned. “Sweetheart, I have a whole legal department that isn’t all that busy with Durand issues. And as far as newspapers go, I know a guy—”

  “I’m sure you do,” I interrupted. “You know a lot of guys who could probably solve every one of my problems, but I’d like to do this on my own merit. I’m perfectly capable of putting a portfolio together and submitting. But I might take you up on that legal advice. I’m sure you have the best attorneys on the planet.”

  His eyes sparked with humor as he answered, “You bet your beautiful ass I do. Quality is important, baby, and Durand employs only the best.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I think it might take a while to get used to your idea of quality,” I said drily. “I’m not used to consuming a bottle of wine that costs more than my automobile.”

  “Not all of them are that expensive. Only the rarer ones. And I’m not really a collector. Everything in my cellar is meant to be consumed and enjoyed. I buy them because I like them. When it comes to wine, quality isn’t always synonymous with being pricy,” he explained.

  “Well, thank God,” I teased as I held up my wine glass. “This one is delicious by the way. I probably don’t need to know if I’m drinking thousands of dollars’ worth of alcohol for a late-night snack.”

  I took a sip of wine and rolled it around in my mouth.

  He lifted a brow. “Then maybe you shouldn’t ask. I consider this a very special occasion.”

  I nearly choked on my wine before I swallowed.

  “Then I really don’t want to know,” I said in a rush.

  He shrugged, unconcerned. “If you like it, then it was money well spent. I’m a very wealthy man, Vanna, but don’t get hung up on that. It’s only money. I work hard for our company, and I buy what I can afford, just like anyone else.”

  It’s only money? How many billionaires say that?

  I eyed him contemplatively, suddenly thinking about the comment Torie had made about Chase leaving his dirty underwear on the floor as a teenager. “There are instances where I have a hard time reconciling the Chase Durand that I know with the powerful billionaire that I know you are.”

  Truthfully, maybe that’s what made him an enigma sometimes. He was so down-to-earth most of the time, but there was also a part of him that wielded a lot of power in an ultrawealthy world I knew very little about.

  Torie was a billionaire, but she didn’t work or spend much time in that world.

  Strangely, Chase managed to exist in both the real world and the circle of the ultrarich without even thinking about it.

  He could wear an outrageously pricy custom suit like it was a second skin, or he could hang out in a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt at home.

  There was an endless amount of facets to his personality, and every single one fascinated me.

  “You know who I am,” he objected.

  I did.

  He was the guy who had bandaged up my knee when I’d fallen off my bicycle as a child.

  He was the guy who had openly wept with profound grief when he’d lost each of his parents, but had still managed to be strong for his siblings.

  He was the guy who would have gladly taken his little sister’s place rather than see her suffer when she was in such bad shape from her kidnapping.

  He was the guy who had rescued me in a jungle when I had very little hope left.

  He was the guy who had stripped down to his underwear, making himself vulnerable just because he hated to see me cry.

  He was the guy who had just given me multiple orgasms until I couldn’t move.

  He was the guy who was now sitting at a table with me in the kitchen, wanting to help because I was switching careers.

  “You’re the most incredible man I’ve ever known,” I told him honestly. “Maybe I’m just a little worried that I won’t fit into that ultrawealthy world when it’s necessary.”

  “You don’t have to fit in, Vanna. It doesn’t matter. Occasionally, I do attend events when it’s important to Durand. You don’t have to go if you don’t feel like playing that game. I’d love to have you with me, but you have to remember that it’s work, not my personal life,” he said gently.

  “I think I’d like to be with you,” I confessed. “It’s not like I’m completely naïve. I’ve had to do some of those work events myself. They were snobs, but not quite the same wealthy crowd you circulate in.”

  “Those parties are incredibly boring. You’d be saving me if I had some company,” he teased. “You know who I hang out with when I have the opportunity. My older brother is probably my best friend, even though he’s a cantankerous, sarcastic asshole some of the time. Torie is your best friend. You also know Hudson, Jax, and their wives. And Cooper is your best friend’s husband. That’s pretty much my inner circle.”

  I’d gotten to know the Montgomery brothers a little better at a barbeque, and I really liked Taylor and Harlow.

  “Sadly, Torie is pretty much it for me,” I told him. “I mostly hung out with my crew because we were always in the same place at the same time. Globetrotting around the world isn’t really conducive with making a circle of good friends.” I paused for a moment before I added, “I’d like to be a Last Hope advisor someday, Chase. I think I’d really like to be part of something that important. I just need some time to get my career nailed down.”

  “Take all the time you need,” he agreed wholeheartedly. “When you’re ready, you can learn the ropes. I’m sure Marshall would be happy to get another advisor to help our victims. It’s a commitment that not all previous victims want to make. In the meantime, I’ll take you into our headquarters and show you what we do and how we do it when you have the time. Now what else can I do to help you?”

  I shook my head as I smiled. “Don’t you think you’ve already done enough? You’ve been there for me for months now as an advisor. I’ve stayed here at your place like an honored guest, too.”

  “It’s our place now, and you don’t need me as an advisor anymore. I want to support you the same way you want to support me, Vanna,” he said earnestly. “Remember, I promised I’d make you so happy that you’d never want to leave.”

  “Right now, I think I’d be very happy if you take me to bed.” I held up a hand when I saw the hopeful look on his face. “Oh, no. We need sleep. We both have to work in the morning. I need to get moving on that portfolio.”

  He stood and then pulled me up with the hand he was still holding. “I called Wyatt a long time ago and told him I’d be late coming in. Probably very late.”

  My entire body shivered and heat crept directly between my thighs as he kissed me, and then nuzzled those sensual damn lips of his against my neck.

  How in the hell was it even possible that I could still crave this man after the gluttony of sex we’d engaged in all evening and half the night?

  One simple touch and I was ready to throw reason out the window.

  I squealed as he picked me up and started toward the stairs.

  “I suppose I could probably sleep in, too,” I said, caving in almost immediately.

  I’d wanted this man for what seemed like forever. Maybe one day wasn’t going to even quench my thirst for him.

  “Excellent idea, baby,” he agreed as he sprinted up the stairs like he was afraid I’d change my mind.

  Savannah

  “Oh, my God, Vanna. He’s really beautiful,” Torie said as she sat watching my new protection trained German shepherd play with her dog, Milo.

  His name was Axel because he had a very long, unpronounceable registered name, and he was gorgeous.

  “Chase wanted me to accept a bodyguard,” I told Torie. “Axel was a compromise.”

  It had been nearly a month since Chase and I had made the decision to live together and be a couple. During those weeks, I’d learned that compromise was necessary when a woman lived with a very stubborn man who was obsessive about her safety.