Chameleon Soul (Chequered Flag #1) Read online

  “Well good luck with him, sweetheart. He’s been around the grid a few times if you know what I mean. It also takes a certain kind of…activity to get him to perform. Although you probably already know about his secret ass fetish being his girlfriend, don’t you honey?”

  So much for taking what happened between us to the grave.

  Before Rosanne could dig me an even deeper hole, I swung Raine around towards the exit. Glancing over my shoulder, I caught sight of Rosanne’s smug expression.

  “It’s never a pleasure, Rosanne,” I said.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Three

  Raine

  I remained silent until we were back in the car, but finally I couldn’t hold back my laughter any longer. As soon as Teo shut his door, I burst into an uncontrollable fit that made me look like a crazy person. I clutched at my stomach, which was suddenly feeling too tight and beginning to ache from the giggles.

  “What’s so funny?” Teo asked warily.

  My laughter subsided enough for me to get some words out. I glanced across at Teo with a teasing expression. “You have a secret ass fetish, do you? I never noticed that when we were together.”

  “That’s not funny, Raine.”

  “I beg to differ.”

  I knew Rosanne had been lying, though that wasn’t going to stop me teasing him about it. It served him right for being a man-whore.

  When I’d first seen them I had pegged her for a fan, but she was too close for that to be it. For reasons I still couldn’t understand, her presence hadn’t threatened me. All of her attempts to belittle me had flown straight over my head. In fact, they worried Teo more than me. I think the nervous glances and uneasiness in his body language were what had me able to stay so calm. It had been obvious there was nothing between them, and I knew Teo only had eyes for me. He’d been loyal for two years until I broke up with him.

  “What’s going on inside that head, baby? What are you thinking?” Teo asked, glancing at me then returning his eyes to the road.

  “What happened between you two if you didn’t sleep with her?”

  Teo winced. “Do you really want to know that?”

  As if I was going to allow him to sweep everything aside. There was too much comedic potential and I needed a good laugh.

  When I nodded, Teo let out a strangled groan.

  “We were going to hook up, but she was into some weird shit. How much detail do you actually want?”

  “Everything.”

  Teo puffed the air from his cheeks. “If you tell anyone this—”

  I giggled. “Get on with it.”

  “We were in my hotel room and she was sucking me off when her fingers started probing my asshole. I couldn’t get out of there quick enough and ended up crashing in Zeke’s room. He wasn’t happy I interrupted his night.”

  Was it weird that story gave me a minor amount of satisfaction? It was like his punishment for sleeping around.

  “You know I never loved any of them, right, Raine? They were there as a distraction. I wasn’t coping well and kept losing races I should have won. Those women enabled me to keep my head in the game and win again. If I knew we’d be at this point a year later I never would have done it.”

  I raised my head, trying my best not to laugh at his obvious nerves. That didn’t mean I could stop my lips from turning up at the corners.

  “Why are you smiling?” His brow crinkled with confusion and it became too much. A bubble of laughter rose in my throat.

  “I knew all of that. I wanted to make you sweat.”

  “That was cruel.”

  I shrugged and picked up the bag of fudge I’d left on the floor. I bit into a chunk of banoffee. “I can have a jealous fit if you’d prefer. Maybe shout and scream a little?”

  Teo rolled his eyes. “You’re unbelievable. Why aren’t you freaking out though?”

  “How can I be mad at something I made possible? Do I like that you were with all of those women? No. However, it’s in the past. I know you’d never cheat on me, so why should I feel insecure? On the list of things I have to worry about, it’s down pretty low.”

  All of the tension drained from his body, his shoulders lowering to a natural level. The relief flowing off him was palpable, and when he looked at me his eyes were swimming with emotions.

  “I love you, Raine.”

  He reached for my hand, squeezing it tightly.

  “Love you too.” I squeezed it back. “Do you fancy staying in tonight instead?”

  It took a second for him to answer. I assumed he was trying to compose himself since his Adam’s apple kept bobbing as he swallowed and his breaths were long and drawn out.

  “Sure,” he finally said, “but there’s one condition.”

  I arched an eyebrow and waited for him to continue.

  “You have to wear the new dress. You’re not getting out of wearing it because we’re staying in.”

  “I can live with that.”

  “With no underwear,” he clarified.

  I stared at him sceptically. “Why does it matter what I do or don’t wear underneath? Who said you’re going to be able to check?”

  “That’s the deal, take it or leave it.”

  “Fine, but you can’t wear any either.”

  “Who said I’m wearing any now?”

  “Uh…I…I…” I stuttered, not sure how to reply to that as I pictured what was—or wasn’t—beneath his denim jeans. It took me a minute to realise I was staring right at his crotch and the noticeable bulge there. Heat pricked at my cheeks and I turned to look out the window while Teo’s deep, rich chuckle filled the car.

  * * *

  In hindsight, a restaurant may have been the safer option. It would have limited the amount of touching Teo could bestow upon me, unlike in his house where he used every opportunity to brush up against me, wrap his arms around me, or kiss me.

  Now we were both curled up on the sofa watching a movie. If I was honest, for the last half an hour my focus had been solely on Teo’s hand running languidly up and down my body rather than the TV. The warm trails he left behind raised goosebumps, making it the only sensation entering my mind. It was especially difficult when his fingers dipped under the thin spaghetti straps of the dress he’d bought me.

  His hand slipped around my front, pulling me back further into his body, and he placed kisses behind my ear, moving down my neck. Every time his lips touched me, my breath caught and it transformed the simmering heat within me into a raging fire that pulsed with need.

  I could feel every inch of him against me, and I don’t mean those kinds of inches, although I could feel that too. Every hard ridge of his body pressed against my back as he held me, wrapping me in a warm cocoon of safety and pleasure.

  When his hand started travelling lower down my body to my hip I tensed, knowing what he was about to find.

  “Raine…” He punctuated my name with a kiss to my bare shoulder, disabling my ability to form anything other than a hum in response. “What’s this?”

  I gasped when he snapped the waistband of my underwear against my hip through the dress.

  “I thought we had a deal,” he mumbled, his words muffled against my shoulder.

  I broke the contact to twist in his arms. We were then face-to-face, our noses almost touching.

  “Who’s to say you kept to it?” My voice came out husky, breathless.

  Teo fixed me with a challenging and heated stare. Taking my hand, he guided it down between us and placed it at the waistband of his jeans. “You can check if you want.”

  My body responded to him like it always had. The velvet timbre to his voice had desire shooting through me, need for him overpowering every other thought. Without hesitation, I dipped my hand into the waistband and gulped when my fingers grazed bare, hot flesh.

  Teo let out a breathless moan at my touch, encouraging me to be more daring. I undid the button on his jeans and lowered the fly. Then, dipping lower, my hand encircled his shaft, hard and
rigid beneath my touch.

  I moved my hand gently up and down, stroking him. Teo flexed his hips against me, pushing himself into my hand, and his lips descended on mine, crushing into me demandingly. I opened my mouth for him, allowing his tongue to enter. The taste of the chocolate we’d eaten after dinner still lingered on his tongue.

  He pulled on my bottom lip, drawing a whimper from me as I arched into his body. I removed my hand from his jeans, running it up under his shirt to feel every contour of his chest. Teo’s hand moved up to my cheek. He tilted his head to the side and plunged into my mouth again. I matched his movement, the burning fire within me growing stronger with every second.

  I wanted him.

  I had never stopped wanting him, and he’d rekindled the intense desire and need that I’d ignored for the last year. It returned with a fierce intensity and I couldn’t stop it.

  Teo shifted so he lay on his back and lifted me on top of him. I straddled his body, the wet spot on my panties aligned perfectly against him. Rotating my hips, I ground against his arousal, which became even more obvious in this position.

  “Raine,” Teo groaned, his voice gravelly and his breaths laboured. His hands found my hips, stilling my movement as he gazed up at me through hooded eyes. They were dark with hunger and it took every bit of strength to stop me. “If you don’t want to go further, you need to stop.”

  I wiggled my hips teasingly, a sultry expression on my face. I knew exactly what I was doing and I had no intention of stopping.

  “Raine, seriously, you’re going to have to stop now…if you don’t want this to go further.”

  The change in his voice sent even stronger bursts of pleasure through me. That I could have such an effect on him had sparks of elation flowing through my body.

  I placed a hand on either side of his head, lowering my body down to rest against his chest. My face burrowed into the crook of his neck and I placed a series of kisses along it, slowly moving higher until I could nip on his ear.

  “Who said I want to stop?” I whispered and his whole body tensed beneath me.

  “Are you sure?”

  I pulled back to gaze down at him. “I’ve always been sure about you, Teo. I want to be yours completely again.”

  Within seconds we were both off the sofa. My legs were wrapped firmly around his waist and my arms locked around his neck as he carried me up the stairs. He moved faster than I thought possible, until we were in his bedroom.

  Teo lowered us both to the bed so I was lying on my back and his body settled between my legs. He supported himself over me with an arm, using the other to brush away the strands of hair that had fallen into my face. The love pouring off him was indescribable. It shone in his eyes, and showed in even the tiniest of caresses as he inched towards me. When his lips touched mine softly, it was such a contrast to how he’d kissed me minutes ago.

  “I love you, Raindrop,” he murmured against me, the vibrations tingling and causing me to shiver.

  “I love you too.”

  My vision was suddenly filled with his taut chest. Stretching up over me, Teo reached into the drawer beside the bed and pulled out a condom. He placed it next to us and then he rested back over me.

  With deliberate slowness he moved towards me until his lips caressed my skin. Using soft, feather touches he travelled over my jaw. At the same time he used one hand to slide my dress up over my body then his lips disappeared to trace the same line. Moving over my stomach, his lips left a fiery trail behind his hands as he inched towards my breasts.

  “Lift your arms,” he ordered and I complied without hesitation. Teo pulled the dress off over my head and dropped it to the floor. Immediately his lips were back on my body, his hand dipping lower between us as his nose skimmed over my nipple and I gasped. When he drew it into his mouth I arched my back, rising off the bed to meet him.

  “Teo,” I called out, breathless. I didn’t want slow. That could be next time. At that moment I wanted him to take me…for us to be together totally again. I couldn’t stand the building pressure inside me, the fire consuming my body.

  “I know, baby,” he whispered, his voice hoarse. He crawled down my body until he was between my legs. His stubble scraped against the inside of my thigh as he tilted his head, the burn replaced by pleasure when his lips followed. My legs fell open, allowing him better access, and his mouth skimmed over my panties.

  “Teo, please,” I begged, relief flowing through me when he reached up to my hips to slide the frustrating scrap of fabric down my legs. He drew back to remove his shirt and kick off his jeans. There was no show made of it; he ditched them as quickly as possible, and his erection sprang free. When he crawled back up my body to reach for the condom, I didn’t think I could wait a second longer.

  He tore the packet open and rolled it down his shaft with ease. Within seconds he was back on top of me, his tip pressing against my entrance. Meeting my gaze, his eyes shone in the setting sun as he thrust into me, filling me completely.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Four

  Teo

  I lay in bed watching Raine sleep. She’d drifted off around half an hour ago and I couldn’t bring myself to close my eyes and shut her angelic face out. We’d made love a further two times, neither of us realising nor caring that it was nearing two a.m. by the time we stopped. The first time had been hurried and over much too quickly. We’d both been lost to a frenzied need that had built up over the year. The next two rounds were slower. We took our time exploring each other’s bodies again, reconnecting, and drawing pleasure from each other. Raine had a sated smile when she started to drift off, and I imagined I looked the same.

  Even asleep she still looked content. Her lips were curved at the corners and her face was free of any lines. Her hair hung loosely around her, folding under her chin and fanning out behind her.

  Tentatively I reached over to swipe it back behind her ear. When she stirred and mumbled something unintelligible, I paused until her breathing settled again. I couldn’t help allowing my finger to linger on her jaw as I pulled back.

  One of my favourite things to do when we were together originally was watch her sleep. Having her in my bed and looking so relaxed warmed my heart. It made me never want to leave the room and remain there forever with her. It was only now I had Raine again I realised how empty my life had become. There’d been no emotions other than a desperate need to forget with the women I’d fucked over the year. I’d used them, and they’d used me.

  With Raine it felt completely different. It was all about her. Everything had always been about her. Even when I had been screwing others to distract myself it was because my mind refused to forget her.

  Now that I had her back I refused to let her go again. I wanted to pleasure her in every way possible. And I didn’t just mean sexually, although that was near the top of my list. I wanted to give her everything, be the one to make her smile and laugh. I never wanted her to feel pain again.

  I was watching her so intently I noticed the second her features changed. At first her eyebrows drew together into a frown then her mouth twisted. Gone were all signs of relaxation as she flipped onto her back. Her body started to convulse violently like she was having a seizure and the first strangled cry ripped from her throat. It was a million times worse than what I’d heard while at Dustin’s, having no walls to muffle the sound.

  Her hands clawed at the duvet, pushing it off her and fighting with it.

  “No, please, no.” Her voice filled with anguish and she sobbed in her sleep.

  Like someone had taken a sledgehammer to my heart, it shattered into tiny fragments as I watched her struggle, unsure of what I should do. Never before had I felt so helpless.

  I reached for her wrists, only realising they were shaking when mine were inches from her. As gently as possible, I moved to close my fingers around her, hoping to still her movements and prevent her from hurting herself.

  The second my skin made contact with her, she ripped them viole
ntly from my grasp as if she was awake.

  “Please don’t hurt me. I won’t say anything, just let me go.”

  My heart clenched at her words.

  “Raindrop, I need you to wake up. You’re having a nightmare,” I said, thinking it best not to touch her again.

  She tossed and turned on the mattress. Beads of sweat were forming on her forehead and then a tear broke free from her closed eyes. It rolled down her cheek, reaching her ear before she bolted upright, her chest heaving.

  She glanced around the room with wild eyes and slowly, so as not to startle her, I raised myself up until I was sitting behind her.

  “Raindrop?” I kept my voice low, my tone cautious but placating. “It’s me, Teo. You had a nightmare, baby. You’re safe.”

  I had to battle every instinct to reach out and touch her. Every fibre of my being itched to draw her into my arms, and I would have if I wasn’t afraid of hurting her further.

  “Can I touch you, Raine?”

  She turned her head to look at me through glazed eyes and I thought she was staring right through me until she whispered, “Teo?”

  “It’s me, baby. I’m here.”

  She threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck in a deathly grip. I wound my arms around her waist, keeping her tightly against my chest as her body began to tremble with sobs. Her tears coated my neck, only making me hold her tighter.

  With one arm I fumbled for the switch on the bedside lamp. When it clicked on, I returned to holding her, allowing her to cry when I remembered what Nadine had done back in the factory on that first day.

  It took an enormous amount of effort, but I managed to undo her grip and separate us so I could hold her at arm’s length. She fought me every step of the way, trying to claw her way back into my arms and bury her face in my neck.

  “What colour are the walls, Raine?” Her body stilled in my arms, her shoulders and arms tensing beneath my touch as she focused on me.

  “The walls, Raine. What colour are they?” I repeated, trying to mimic the clear and forceful tone Nadine had used.