CHASED (A Standalone Billionaire Romance Novel) Read online

  He watched as Sasha tipped the glass to her lips, his gaze steely and unflinching. There was a deep hunger in his eyes, and Sasha could hardly believe that she was the one to have caused it.

  Once she removed the glass from her lips, Thomas wrapped his hand around it and took it from her. “May I have a taste?”

  “Of course,” Sasha said.

  But instead of sipping from her glass, he placed it lightly on the bedside table. Then he leaned towards her, took her face between his hands, and licked her bottom lip slowly with his tongue.

  “Hmm,” he said. “Just as I thought. Delicious.”

  Sasha sat stock still, unable to move, barely able to breathe. The feel of Thomas’s tongue running along her lip had sent a spasm of desire through her entire body. She felt as though her limbs were turning to putty.

  “You’ve never had an encounter like this, have you?” Thomas said.

  “With a famous actor?” Sasha said. “No.”

  “With anyone,” Thomas countered.

  She glared at him. “I’m not a virgin if that’s what you were hoping for.”

  Thomas threw his head back and laughed. “That wasn’t what I meant.” He traced his fingers across her collarbone. “I meant no one’s ever made you scream with pleasure. No one’s ever made love to you for hours on end, giving you orgasm after orgasm after orgasm. No one’s ever taken you to such heights of pleasure that you’ve begged them not to stop.”

  Thomas pressed his lips against her neck. Sasha couldn’t speak. She didn’t want to. She wanted to feel everything that Thomas was offering to her.

  But the interview…

  There was no way she could succumb to her desire. Thomas had promised her a life-changing interview. If she went back to the Atomic boardroom with nothing, then it would all be over. Surely, she’d lose her internship. She couldn’t throw that all away on Thomas Lloyd, no matter how much she wanted to.

  “We need to talk,” she said, pushing his head back and away from her.

  His breath was heavy. “After…” he gasped.

  She could see his erection straining against his pants. “No,” she said. “Now.”

  He paused, then smiled. “I love it when you boss me around,” he said. Then he reared back and flopped against the pillow with a sigh. “Fine. Let’s do it.” He turned his head to face her. “The interview, I mean.”

  Sasha tried to compose herself. She took a deep sip of the wine to give herself time to collect her thoughts. “What story is it that you want me to tell?” she said.

  Thomas was silent for a moment. “I want you to tell me as I am,” he said. “Rather than how I’m perceived to be.”

  “And how are you?” she said.

  “There’s only one way you can find that out.”

  He reached up and swept her hair from her shoulder. Tingles raced across her bare collarbone. Without meaning to, Sasha grabbed his fingers and pressed them to her lips.

  Thomas’s eyes were dark pools of desire. Looking into them, Sasha couldn’t help but feel her ambition melting away. She took his fingers and moved them to her breast. Thomas’s eyes darted towards her, the hunger in them transformed into aching desire.

  “Tell me what you want,” he said.

  “What I want?”

  “Tell me.” He circled her nipple with his thumb. Even through the fabric of her dress, she felt arousal gripping her.

  She tipped her head back and spoke in a great rush of air. “I want you to fuck me.”

  Almost as soon as it was from her lips, Sasha felt alarmed. She wasn’t this person, the sort who said things bluntly and crudely, who made demands.

  Thomas massaged her breast and whispered, “How do you want me to fuck you?”

  She heard herself reply, “I want you to fuck me like an animal.”

  That was all the invitation Thomas needed. He raised himself onto his knees and unzipped her dress so that the fabric fell loosely on either side of Sasha, leaving her chest and bra exposed. Her pulse raced, her heart thudded, and she felt heat race between her legs.

  “Take it off,” Thomas said, his eyes on her covered breasts.

  Sasha did as he commanded. The whole time she kept her eyes on him, watching for his reaction, reveling in the way his mouth quirked to the side and his tongue darted against his bottom lip, feeling empowered by behaving in ways she never thought she could—being sexually bold, being uninhibited, allowing herself to experience the sex she wanted rather than the sex that was expected of her.

  She discarded her bra to the floor and the nipples of her breasts stood erect. Thomas couldn’t tear his hungry eyes away from her supple body.

  Though Sasha knew he’d seen a thousand women in this state of undress, she still felt powerful as she shimmied out of her dress and flung it to the floor. Perhaps it was because he was so experienced, accomplished, and wealthy that she felt such a surge of confidence.

  Emboldened, she lay back—now in nothing but her panties—and spread her legs.

  With her newly found confidence, she narrowed her eyes and locked her gaze on him. “Why am I not screaming yet?” she purred.

  Still fully dressed in his suit, Thomas plunged forward, pulling the lace of her panties to the side. He pressed his beautiful lips against her labia, sucking and licking the sensitive skin. Sasha tipped her head back and let a moan escape from her throat.

  His wet tongue roved over her clit, and she gasped with pleasure. Thomas seemed to know just by the sounds she was making how fast or slow he needed to go to bring her closer to the point of no return.

  He moved away and pulled her towards him. She hitched her bare legs up either side of him and groaned as he pressed his erection against her. There was nothing but fabric keeping her from his dick, which she could now feel was, indeed, as large as his ego. He didn’t seem to care about her wetness staining his expensive suit.

  She pulled back and began fumbling with his belt. “Take them off,” she demanded, her voice slurred with desire. “I want to see your cock. I want to taste it.”

  He pushed her hands away, making her squeal with need. “Not until I’ve made you come.”

  He wedged himself again into the space between her thighs and slid his hand into her panties. She gasped and threw her head back.

  He pressed his lips against her neck, as his fingers explored inside of her. With his spare hand, he massaged her bare breast.

  Sasha clung to him, her hands squeezing the muscles of his arms. She could hardly breathe. She’d never felt anything this intense with Chris. In fact, in plenty of her sexual encounters with him, she hadn’t come anywhere close to orgasm. Yet, now, she felt she was barely seconds away. Just from his fingers. He wasn’t even naked yet.

  “Let me suck it,” she said again, desperate to feel his erection in her mouth.

  “No,” he said. “I want you to orgasm first. Tell me how to make you scream.”

  Sasha didn’t know the answer to his question, but some instinct inside her told her to turn around and lie face down against the mattress. She stretched her arms above her head. Some kind of reckless abandon came over her. She didn’t care how many women he’d been with in this very bed, whether it had been last night or even earlier that morning. She knew what she wanted and she was going to get it.

  “Fuck me,” she said.

  She heard the clinking sound of Thomas’s buckle being undone, followed by the zip of his fly. The noises made her heart race with anticipation. His hands rubbed up and down her back, then rested on her hips. He pulled her back and up. She wriggled onto her knees, posturing herself, welcoming him in.

  “What do you want me to do?” he said.

  “Fuck me,” she replied. The excitement she felt was so intense she could hardly contain it.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw his hands reach out to the bedside table drawer and pull out a condom. The sight of it made her even more aroused.

  “Please, Thomas, don’t make me wait,” she whispere
d.

  She saw the empty packet flutter to the floor and pictured the sight of him rolling the condom down his erect cock. Then, suddenly, his hands were on her breasts. She cried out as they roved over her wanton flesh.

  “What do you want me to do?” he said again.

  “Fuck me.”

  His fingers traced down the flesh of her stomach, then pressed into her clit.

  “You’re so wet,” he whispered into her ear.

  She bit her lip to stop from screaming out. Then she felt his tip against her entrance.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  She couldn’t hold it back any more. “Fuck me!” she screamed. “Fuck me now!”

  In a split second, she felt his cock slide into her. She was so ready, so open and inviting. “Fuck, yes,” she groaned.

  “Like that?” he moaned, as he slid deeper inside of her.

  She felt the full force of his manhood inside her, powerful, strong, and hard.

  “More,” she said.

  He pushed again, and the sensation was so intense she couldn’t help but cry out. She’d never lost control like this, never felt unable to hold back her own vocalizations. But now, with Thomas, she was completely at his mercy.

  From behind her, she heard Thomas let out a laugh of abandon.

  “Intern...,” he murmured.

  He pushed into her, then pulled out of her. In…out…in…he was seemingly able to read her mind, to know intuitively how far to push, how fast to thrust.

  “Christ,” he groaned. “God that’s so good. You feel so good.”

  Hearing his words made Sasha race towards climax. She was so close. So close to what was surely going to be the best orgasm of her life. “You’re so hard.”

  “You’re so fucking beautiful.”

  She could tell he was speaking between his teeth. He was as close as she was. But there was no holding back. The orgasm was coming fast. She squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath. It felt like every part of her was clenching, like every part of her was standing at a precipice ready to jump.

  “There!” she screamed. “There! There! There!”

  A thousand stars burst into her vision as a guttural sound like nothing she’d ever made before ripped itself from her throat. Her climax was hard, powerful, and all-consuming.

  “Fuck,” he said. “I can feel you coming.”

  She couldn’t speak. Her body moved on instinct, pressing into him, maneuvering him inside of her in a way that would intensify her pleasure.

  Finally, the pulsing began to slow. She flopped forward onto the bed.

  Thomas fell into the space beside her.

  “That was…wow,” she said, panting hard.

  “Told you the orgasm should come first,” Thomas murmured in reply.

  Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

  “Shit,” Thomas said.

  “What is it?” Sasha gasped.

  Thomas pulled himself up from the bed. “The next journalist.”

  “It can’t be,” Sasha replied. “I had an hour slot.”

  “I must have miscalculated.”

  “But I haven’t made you come yet!” Sasha gasped.

  “I’ll live,” Thomas replied. “More importantly, you haven’t got your interview yet.”

  “Shit,” Sasha gasped. She’d completely forgotten she was there to work.

  There was another knock at the door.

  Sasha fumbled with the hook of her bra. “Now what?”

  “Now you give me your number. And at precisely ten o’clock tonight I’ll pick you up for dinner. Then you’ll get your interview.”

  Sasha shimmied out of the silky bedsheets and back into her dress. “But I’m meant to be working on it this afternoon. What am I supposed to tell Kelly?” Panic began to race through her. How had she let herself go so astray?

  Thomas fastened his pants. “Tell Kelly it’s going to take you longer than you thought.” He smoothed down his hair and sidled up to her. “You’re good at getting what you want now, remember?”

  He kissed her, his mouth warm. Sasha let her trepidation melt away as the memory of their encounter echoed in her mind and groin.

  “You’re really going to call me? I’m really going to get the interview?”

  Hadn’t this just been sex? A one-off fling? Hadn’t she just joined the ranks of a hundred other gullible journalists who’d fallen for the charms of Thomas Lloyd?

  “Let’s not go through that whole rig-ma-roll again,” Thomas said lazily. “You deserve to take what you want.” He slapped his hands against his chest. “You want me. So take me.”

  “How can I trust you?”

  “Why would I let a kinky thing like you get away?”

  “Me?” she said. “Kinky?”

  “Didn’t you realize?”

  Sex with Chris had always been nice. Nice but…standard. Predictable. Nothing out of the ordinary. They’d both enjoyed orgasms, but Sasha had never really felt that sex with him reached the frenzied heights portrayed in the media. Maybe she was kinky but had never had a chance to explore it.

  Sasha slipped her heels back on and scooped up her notebook, feeling the blush in her cheeks. “Well, okay then.” She quickly scrawled her phone number on a piece of paper and sidled up to Thomas. “Here.” She slipped it into the pocket of his trousers, making sure her fingers collided with his penis.

  He let out a gasp. “Intern…”

  Sasha whisked away and hauled open the door. A blonde woman was standing in the hallway. She regarded Sasha suspiciously.

  Sasha pointed to her name tag. “Sasha Jones,” she said brazenly. “Atomic Magazine.”

  The woman smirked. Her eyes tipped over Sasha’s shoulder and rested on the disheveled bed. “Sure, honey,” she whispered. She pointed at her own breast and the complete lack of name tag. “Crystal Carpenter. Escort. I think it’s my turn now.”

  She shoved her way into the room, elbowing Sasha as she went, and slammed the door in her face. Sasha stood there breathless, feeling ice creep into her cheeks. Escort? Surely not. Thomas couldn’t have invited a hooker to his room. Could he?

  Sasha felt her stomach sink. As she rushed down the corridor, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed a cab. After hanging up, she noticed a message on her phone. It was from Kelly. It read simply: Warning. Whatever you do, don’t sleep with him.

  Chapter Two

  “Wow,” Kelly said, as she finished off the last sentence of Sasha’s interview. “You literally hate this guy. Are you sure you want me to print this?”

  An image of Crystal’s platinum hair flashed through Sasha’ mind. “Yes,” she said, boldly. “I’m not afraid of a backlash. Bring it on.” She realized her hands were in tight fists.

  She’d spent the taxi journey back to the Atomic office in something of a daze. Her body had been heightened with sensations, amazing sensations, but her mind was a blur of emotion. How could she have let herself get used like that? How had she let herself forget that Thomas Lloyd was an actor, that he made his living—and millions of dollars—from making people believe that what he was saying was genuine? If he just wanted sex from her, why bother insinuating that there was more going on? What kind of pointless mind game was he playing?

  As she mulled the experience over in her mind, she flitted from anger at him to confusion over her own behavior. It wasn’t strictly true that Thomas had manipulated her. She’d known what she was getting herself into. Hell, she’d even known that had she not been there, the exact same thing would have happened with Alicia. But she’d still chosen to go down the same path. She’d wanted it just as much as he did. So what was it about the encounter that bothered her so much?

  She could only come to one conclusion: Crystal. To have casual sex with a man was one thing. To have casual sex with a man who paid for it was another. To have casual sex with a man who paid for it and had the next woman lined up already was the kicker. He’d made Sasha feel like a prostitute. He’d placed her in a queue,
a conveyor belt of women. Maybe he had a fetish for being interrupted by his next lay. Maybe he got his sordid, little kicks out of moving from one to the next to the next, all day long.

  The whole encounter felt suddenly dirty. Not empowering at all. Just part of a spoiled, sick man’s needs.

  Once back at her Atomic desk, Sasha had gotten to work immediately. The piece had practically written itself, her fingers flying across the keyboards. She’d been so absorbed in getting the story down that she hadn’t even noticed the sky darken and her colleagues start clearing off for the night.

  It was seven by the time she was done and satisfied with the piece. Thomas had told her to portray him as he was. So she did. Her piece was entitled: Hollywood’s Most Eligible Bachelor’s Sex Addiction Hell.

  From across the boardroom table, Kelly stubbed out her cigarette and immediately lit up another. “How did you get him to open up about this stuff?”

  Sasha shrugged. “He liked the fact I didn’t have any preconceptions about him. He said he wanted an honest portrayal, so…”

  Kelly waved the hand holding the cigarette, making trails of smoke waft across Sasha’s face. “I get that, but you come across as angry. What was it about his sex addiction that pissed you off so much?”

  Sasha slunk down in her seat, embarrassed that her own feelings were so evident in her writing. She gritted her teeth. “Nothing. I just…the man’s a jerk.”

  Kelly narrowed her eyes. Then a flicker of understanding flashed in them. Her mouth dropped open and her cigarette fell onto the shiny boardroom table top. “You fucked him.”

  “What?” Sasha said, feigning insult.

  “You did!” Kelly leapt up. “I know that face. It’s the face Alicia always had after she interviewed him. You slept with Thomas Lloyd.” She sat back down in her seat, gob-smacked. “I thought you were too smart for that.”

  “Thanks. He was…”—Sasha ran her hands through her hair—“…persuasive.”

  Kelly looked suddenly concerned. “He didn’t…?”

  “No, no,” Sasha clarified. “It was all consensual. Perhaps a little too consensual,” she added under her breath.

  Kelly sucked air between her teeth and shook her head. “I bet.” She picked her cigarette back up and re-lit it. She took a couple of puffs, her eyes fixed on Sasha, then spoke through her exhalation. “Having sex with the guy doesn’t make him a sex addict. You know that right?”