Free Billionaire's Black Runaway Love (BWWM Romance) by Ciara Cole Page B

her on when he looked so effortlessly dashing.
    I wish he was mine, all mine . But it was no use nursing such hopes even for a moment, Emily told herself sternly. No one spelled “inaccessible” more than Chace Hammond, especially to her. She had far too much to lose to a man like him.
    What came as a surprise, though, was that Chace didn’t bother hiding his appreciation as he regarded her now in her dress and heels.
    “I never got to fulfil my promise to peel this off you,” he mused, running a knuckle along the sweetheart neckline. Emily sucked in a breath, butterflies summersaulting in her stomach, thinking how he more than fulfilled many other promises last night.
    Speech was out of the question for Emily, who could only berate herself for getting so tongue-tied each time Chace drew on his silken charm. His head tilted to hers, till their faces were only inches apart. Emily should have backed away, not ready to be drawn into his spell again. Chace, too, seemed reluctant, as just at the last second he pulled back sharply.
    “Shall we?” he asked with far more composure than Emily felt.
    Emily had to fight down her disappointment. They headed for the door, and Emily’s feet felt like lead. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? Chace had confirmed he was looking for more, and it had been her choice to keep him at bay. She’d held on to her pride and even as much as she longed to stay, she’d overcome her momentary weakness.
    It was better this way .
    Convinced of that one fact, Emily’s shoulders squared as the front door opened and she stepped out without a second thought. Only to have camera lights flashing in her eyes, blinding her for a moment as she reared back.
    Chace’s solid frame was there behind her, keeping her from stumbling. He steadied her with his hands on her shoulders. “What’s wrong?” he asked when more lights flashed. He looked up in anger and in front, just beyond the entrance stairway, was a slight figure in a hooded sweatshirt and jeans. Emily had turned her face into Chace’s shoulder, but it was too late, the photographer had taken another few shots before dashing off to a waiting car.
    Chace swore under his breath, pushing Emily behind him. However, there was no other nosy photographer around while that familiar figure in the hood backed the car up and did a U-turn before disappearing down the drive.
     

Chapter 10
    Emily stared down at the platter of cupcakes Ciara had placed in front of her. Red velvet with cream cheese icing . Now here was some curvy girl kryptonite if there ever was one , thought Emily. Especially with the butter cream frosting shaped into pretty little flowers atop each cupcake. Emily’s sweet tooth didn’t stand a chance.
    “Why do you do this to me?” Emily groaned while biting into one with a look of sheer bliss.
    Ciara laughed. “We all need our guilty pleasures.”
    Don’t I know it , thought Emily shifting in her seat while trying not to think about Chace. He was one hell of a guilty pleasure, alright. Had it been just twenty four hours since she’d seen him?
    Emily concealed a shudder, thinking about that last time in the front doorway and getting surprised by that crazy fool of a reporter Amanda Weeks. What the hell was that ? Chace had shielded her, but the photographer had definitely managed to get some shots. What did she intend to do with them and why did Emily seem to be getting caught up in all of it?
    Emily chose not to blame Chace, though. There was no way he could have known there’d be someone with a camera right in front of his door, unless this happened all the time with his other conquests. Did those other women at some point get surprised by a lurking “photog” ready to shoot incriminating pictures? Yikes.
    Ciara had her laptop open on the table with them and she was clicking through webpages. “So how’s the new blog coming along?” Emily asked between bites.
    “Awesome. I never knew it would be this much fun. But since