Free Blackmailed Into Bed by Heidi Betts Page A

of the nightie feel rough against her bare skin.
    “ You didn’ t have to get dressed on my account,” he quipped.
    She smiled somewhat nervously, curling her painted toes into the soft, thick carpeting. “ I’ m not used to lying around in the altogether.”
    “ Too bad,” he said, striding forward and stopping directly in front of her. Using the knuckle of his index finger, he tipped her head up until she had no choice but to meet his crystal blue eyes. “ That’ s something I’ d pay money to see. Besides, we weren’ t entirely finished with our dessert. We still have champagne and quite a few strawberries to get through.”
    “ Well… ” she said slowly, butterflies flapping sensuously in her belly, her courage growing in direct proportion to the longing heating up his gaze. Hooking her thumbs under the thin spaghetti straps at her shoulders, she slowly began to peel them down her arms. “ It’ s just a teeny, tiny scrap of satin. You could get it off again in no time, if you really wanted to.”
    Desire flashed across his face, followed by the wicked lift of one dark brow. “ Really?”
    He replaced her thumbs with his own fingers and finished the job of sliding the top of the nightgown down, uncovering her chest, then her breasts and ribcage. As soon as the straps were free of her arms, he released them, letting the garment drop to the floor where it pooled around her feet.
    “ Well, will you look at that,” he murmured in mock astonishment. “ You’ re naked again. Just the way I like you.”
    She squealed in surprise when he wrapped his hands around her waist and bent slightly to lift her onto one shoulder.
    “ Chase! What are you doing?”
    “ Turning caveman,” he responded without apology.
    Stalking to the bed, he flipped her over and dropped her unceremoniously in the middle of the king-size mattress. She bounced on the tight springs and giggled as she couldn’ t remember doing since she was a little girl.
    Taking two steps to the side, Chase grabbed the bottle of Cristal by its long neck and then hopped on top of her, pinning her in place.
    “ This time,” he said, his tone leaving no question of his intent, “ I want to see how champagne tastes when I sip it from your belly button.”
    “ All right,” she agreed, stretching out, ready to once again be a part of this man’ s dessert. “ As long as I can do the same to you.”

    Six
    T he next morning Chase got up even earlier than usual, slipping out of the bedroom while Elena was still asleep. He closed the connecting doors so nothing he said would be overheard, then set about rescheduling his appointments for the day. It wasn’ t an easy task, considering most of the meetings had been set up weeks in advance and it was earlier than most of his associates’ offices opened.
    But by the time Elena made an appearance— once again wearing the short, sexy green nightie and matching robe that accentuated the emerald of her eyes— his day was clear and he was ready to put his plan into motion.
    Although he was chomping at the bit to get going, he tried his best to act normal. He sipped his coffee and read the paper. When she pressed him to eat breakfast, he grumbled, but managed to down a couple of sausage patties and half of the western omelet she transferred from her plate to his.
    An hour later, he rose from the table and repeated his speech from the day before, telling her he would be busy until dinnertime and that she should go out and have fun, at his expense. He handed her the same gold card and pile of cash she’ d left on the dresser yesterday.
    Out in the hall, he took the elevator to the lobby, but instead of leaving the hotel the way he normally would, he found a spot behind a bank of slot machines where he could keep an eye on the entrance without being seen.
    He waited longer than he’ d expected, checking his watch every few minutes. It took more than an hour for Elena to finally step off the elevator and head for the