CHAPTER 15
Joanie
Chase showed up at my front door before I got up the nerve to call him. It was already dark out and I’d showered and changed into my pajamas so when I opened the door, I felt bare in just my tank top and silky shorts. I was surprised to see him standing there and my surprise stole whatever manners I might’ve displayed. I just stood there in the doorway, staring at him.
“Can I come in?” Chase’s slow smile was the same one he’d been flashing at me since he’d arrived in town, but it felt different. It was like I’d seen the dirty thoughts which created that cocky smile and I couldn’t see it without thinking about the way he’d taken me.
I cleared my throat and shifted out of the way so he could come in. “Yeah. Sure.”
He moved past me, leaving a hint of his expensive cologne behind. He walked to the middle of my living room and looked around while I shut the front door and turned to face him. “You have a lot more pink in here than I imagined you’d have.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I frowned. “What’d you imagine?”
“Medieval torture devices?” He grinned and moved closer. “Lots of red. Maybe more sharp edges?”
I swallowed and inched backward as he moved even closer. “Sorry to disappoint.”
Gripping my waist, he stopped me from moving away. “I didn’t say I was disappointed.”
My skin burned from his touch. I felt word vomit coming up the back of my throat but I couldn’t stop it. His assessment of my living space had thrown me off. “I was going to call you.”
“Oh?” Chase was close enough that the tips of my toes brushed against the front of his boots.
I squeezed my eyes closed as one of his fingers dipped under my tank top to stroke the bare skin just over my shorts. “Um… Yeah. I thought…”
“I’ve known you for over a year now, sweetheart, and I’ve never seen you at a loss for words. You always have an insult locked and loaded, ready to hurl at me. You’re just full of surprises tonight.”
I rested my hands on his chest, whether to push him away or feel his muscles, I wasn’t sure. “I don’t normally feel guilty when we’re talking. Usually, I feel incensed and ready for war. It’s easy to talk then.”
“What do you feel guilty about?” He dipped that roving finger under the waistband of my shorts but kept a straight face, like he wasn’t slowly driving me insane.
“I slept with Bear.” I looked down at our feet and cleared my throat. “I don’t think we’re dating or anything, so don’t panic. It’s not that. It’s just… He’s your friend and we’d just had our one-night thing. I don’t know why I feel guilty, but I do.”
“Did you think I didn’t see Bear drag you off to the office? I pay attention, Joanie. I pay special attention to the things around me that I’m interested in. Even if I hadn’t overheard part of your office tryst with Bear, I could see he was feeling possessive.” Chase reached up and ran his finger over the bruises on my neck from both men biting me. “There’s not much room left for Smith.”
I jerked away from him but his grip tightened fast to keep me where I was. “I’m not just going around sleeping with everyone, Chase. I’m not… I’m not going to sleep with Smith.”
He pulled me flush against his chest. “Did I say I thought you were going around with every man you see?”
I gritted my teeth. “You insinuated—”
“Smith isn’t every man, sweetheart. He’s like the other part of me and Bear. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. It wasn’t meant as an insult to you, but more of an assumption about Smith’s determination to taste you.” Chase pushed my hair behind my ear and pressed a kiss to my jaw. “You don’t owe me anything. You have nothing to feel guilty for. I’m just glad it was Bear who piqued your interest.”
I had to work hard to keep frowning when his mouth was trailing down my neck. “Why?”
He lifted his face so he could look me in the eye. “Why am I glad it was Bear? The same way your guilt doesn’t make sense to you, my feelings don’t make much sense, either. If any other man had grabbed you like that, I would be in jail right now.”
A breathy gasp slipped out of me. “Chase?”
He shrugged. “Bear or Smith, sweetheart. Any other man and I’ll end him. Understand?”
I almost nodded before my brain kicked in. “You don’t own me, Chase. We had a one-night stand. You can’t decide who I can sleep with.”
His smile was wicked. “You let me in, Joanie.”
My stomach filled with butterflies. I knew he didn’t mean that I’d let him into my house. I steeled my jaw and pulled free of his embrace. With my back to him, I shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Chase. Why’d you stop by? Do you need something?”
He gripped my wrist and spun me back into his arms. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he locked me to him. “Yeah, I need something, sweetheart. I need you to hear me when I say what I’m about to say. We didn’t have a one-night thing. You let me in and I’m not going anywhere.”
I searched his face for any sign that he was just messing with me. When I saw how serious he was, I swallowed audibly. “Chase…”
He ran his hands down to my ass and lifted me off my feet. “Even though I’m not upset about you and Bear, I still feel like I’ll lose my mind if I don’t get inside you.”
I locked my legs around him and shut the door to the thoughts which told me I was making a huge mistake. “This is crazy, Chase.”
He nodded even as he walked me toward the couch. “Maybe so.”
“It still doesn’t change anything. We’re not friends.” I ran my hands through his hair and held his head as he danced his tongue up my throat.
“It changes everything, sweetheart.” He sat down on the couch with me in his lap. “Take your time getting there, though. I’ve got time.”
I tugged at his hair. “Tell me you still hate me and find me infuriating.”
He laughed easily. “I’ve never hated you. You are still infuriating, though.”
“Fine. That’ll work.” I reached between us to grip his hard cock through his pants. “I find you just as infuriating.”
“Thank god.” He flipped us over so he was on top of me and began kissing his way down my stomach. “If you admitted you like me, you’d probably have to murder me to feel better about it.”
I frowned at him. “You’re being this much of a smart ass while you’re between my legs? Sure you’re all that interested?”
He smiled and my breath caught in my throat. “Just consider it foreplay, baby.”