Chapter 13
Holy shit, I’m going to die.
I bolt up in the bed, yanked out of a dead sleep, my right calf cramping and seizing so bad, I’m sure that this is it.
This is how I go out.
“Shit. Shit. Shit,” I moan as I try to rub the cramp out of the tight muscle. When that doesn’t work, I stand up and try to walk it off, stretching it out. At first, it’s absolute agony, but after a few minutes, the muscle starts to relax, and I’m left with an ache and I’m pretty sure a little PTSD.
Suddenly, it occurs to me that Chase isn’t in the bed. I frown at the clock and see that it’s just past three in the morning, and when I run my hand over the sheets, they’re cool to the touch.
He hasn’t been here in a little while.
We got home from the wedding late. Not only did we stay for cake, but we danced and enjoyed everyone for hours, and we ended up being some of the last to leave. Despite being exhausted, we still managed to strip each other naked and make love.
One thing I’ve learned since I’ve been with Chase is that the man is almost insatiable, and he’s patient. He’s teaching me things about my body that I never would have known before.
Bless his cowboy heart.
Wrapping his white dress shirt around me, I go searching for him, frowning when I don’t find him in the house at all.
Even my dog is gone.
“Did they go for a walk in the middle of the night?”
I prop my hands on my hips, and that’s when I see the light on in the garage. Slipping my feet into some flip-flops, I make my way outside and spot the man, dressed in jeans and a plain, green T-shirt, bent over a piece of furniture, sanding it by hand.
The lights in the garage cast a soft yellow light, and it’s quiet out here, with just the sound of crickets setting the tone of the soundtrack. Lily’s head comes up from where she’s curled up in a little bed that Chase must have carried out here for her, but at first, Chase doesn’t notice me.
He’s obviously deep in thought, running that sandpaper back and forth rhythmically. I wonder what’s going on in his head. He even seemed lost in thought at the wedding reception tonight, and when he made love to me when we got home, it was intense. Almost broody.
And that’s not like him. I’m not worried. It doesn’t feel like it’s something bad, or about me, but just…something.
I step inside the doorway, and his gaze lifts to mine, but he doesn’t smile.
“Did I wake you?” he asks, his voice soft.
“No.” I take a deep breath, inhaling the scent of pine, and shake my head as I walk further into his workshop. “I had a leg cramp. Woke me up out of a dead sleep.”
“You’ve worked your ass off for a few days now and probably haven’t had enough water.” He sets the sandpaper aside and crosses to me, cradles my face in his hands, and kisses me tenderly. “Which leg?”
“Right calf.”
Taking my hand, he leads me over to a dresser and boosts me up onto it so I’m at eye level with him.
“Are you okay?” I ask him, taking his face in my hands now. He doesn’t look troubled, but he does seem somber. “What’s wrong?”
“I just couldn’t sleep,” he murmurs, and I lean in to kiss him. “Brain wouldn’t turn off.”
“Maybe you’re too tired. That happens to me sometimes.”
“Maybe.” His lips tip up into a sweet smile, and he runs his big hands down my thigh and to the calf in question. “Is it sore?”
“Oh, yeah. Still a little pissed off.”
He rubs gently, and I sigh. Yes, the muscle is tender, but it’s loosening up even more under his touch.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help,” he says.
“It’s okay.” I brace myself on his shoulder as he continues to work on the muscles. “I see that you kidnapped my dog.”
“She came willingly,” he replies with a grin. “I like having her around. She’s a sweet little thing.”
“I’m glad she likes you. So, what was your busy mind thinking about so hard that you couldn’t sleep after all that fun we had tonight?”
He keeps his eyes on my leg, and just when I think that he won’t answer me, he says, “I didn’t think Rem would ever get married again. Losing his first wife was hard on him. Add in being a single parent, and not wanting to get hurt again, I never thought I’d see the day that he’d fall in love, that he’d open his family up to someone new.”
“I’m glad they found each other,” I reply. “They’re really good together, as if they should have been a family all along. And I don’t mean that to sound disrespectful to his late wife.”
“I know what you mean. I’ve never seen him so happy.” His eyes find mine now. “Never. And that makes me happy for him, too. Rem and those kids deserve to have someone amazing like Erin in their lives.”
“I agree.” I sigh, feeling the loss of his touch as he lets my leg hang loose and wanders over to the table he was sanding. He leans on it, sighing. “Why does it make you sad, Chase?”
“I’m not sad.” His voice is matter-of-fact, completely calm, as he shakes his head. “That’s not it at all. I guess I was just thinking about them and how well they fit together. How sometimes, things just fit, like a puzzle. Even when you didn’t realize that a piece was missing.”
I tilt my head to the side, listening. I’d say that’s how I feel about him. He’s the missing piece in my life, and now that he’s part of it, I can’t imagine not having him in my world. The thought of going back to my life without him makes my heart ache.
“Sometimes, the trick is to stop fighting with the piece,” I whisper, and his gorgeous hazel eyes find mine again.
“There’s that.” He inhales, lets it out, and his eyes travel down my torso. “What’s under the shirt?”
With a grin tickling my lips, I let the fabric fall open, exposing about three inches of flesh down the middle. I’m completely naked beneath the cotton, and Chase’s hands immediately fist when he realizes it.
He doesn’t rush to me. He stays planted where he is, under the soft glow of the lights, watching me with those sober eyes. Chase is usually so fun-loving, so full of humor, but tonight, he’s serious and wrapped up in his feelings, and it’s a side to him that I haven’t seen before. It’s just as sexy as his fun-loving side.
As he watches, I slowly spread my legs on the top of the dresser, and his jaw tightens, that sexy muscle on the side of his face twitches, and it fills me with feminine satisfaction.
“Chase,” I whisper, and that’s the invitation he seemed to be waiting for because he pushes off the table and slowly walks over to me, his eyes pinned to mine. He stops about three feet away and lets those eyes travel down my body and back up again, and then he licks his lips.
“This,” he says. “Exactly this, how you look right now, is my favorite.”
He brushes his thumb across my bottom lip, and I poke my tongue out so I can lick him. His eyes narrow on me as he pushes his thumb further into my mouth so I can lick and suck him. No, I haven’t seen this side of Chase before. This broody, intense side.
And I absolutely want him.
Once again, he drags his now-wet thumb over my lip, then down my chin and between my collarbones and cleavage. He still can’t see my breasts because they’re covered by the shirt, but my nipples are almost painfully hard from this intense, quiet foreplay.
I glance down, but his hand is on my chin in the blink of an eye, forcing my gaze back to his.
“Eyes. On. Me.”
The intensity makes me swallow hard and the ache between my legs pulses. “Okay.”
“It never fucking stops.” His voice is rough but still calm as he holds my gaze and rubs his fingertips over my clit. “This yearning for you. This absolute need for you, it never goes away. When I’m not with you, I’m thinking about you. If you’re in the room, it’s like you’re a fucking magnet. I have to be with you.”
“I’m right here.”
With my eyes still on his, I reach for the waistband of his jeans. His eyes narrow as I unfasten them, nudge them down over his hips, and feel him spring free. I take his thick, heavy cock into my hand and pump him twice before sweeping my thumb over the crown and feeling the wetness already there.
“I’m right here, Chase. I’m not going anywhere.”
He fists his hand in the nape of my hair and crushes his mouth to mine, kissing me almost desperately as I guide him to me, and he slips inside of me, one agonizingly amazing inch at a time, until he’s seated fully, and we’re both breathing hard, staring at each other.
“Mine,” he growls. “This is mine.”
“Yours,” I agree before he kisses me again and begins to move. The thrusts are slow but hard, as if he’s hammering the point home that I belong to him, and just like always, he surprises me with not just how he can make my body feel, but the way he makes my heart feel. So full, so freaking happy, that I’m surprised light doesn’t shoot out of my pores. Even when he’s buried so deep inside of me, I can’t get close enough to him.
He picks up the pace, and I lift my legs higher on his sides, feeling the orgasm moving through me. As I let go, he pumps into me twice more and follows me over the edge.
He leans his forehead against mine as we both work to catch our breath, and then he kisses my forehead sweetly. Tenderly.
Lovingly.
“Did I hurt you?” he asks.
“Never.” I shake my head, and, with him still seated inside of me, I take his face in my hands and kiss him. “You could never hurt me, Chase Wild.”
“I love you,” he murmurs, those serious eyes so full of emotion. “I’ve been gone over you for years, Summer.”
“I’m really glad I stopped fighting it,” I reply as love and joy fills me to almost bursting. “Because I love you, too.”
He sighs and closes his eyes, resting against me. I can see the lines of exhaustion on his face. Is this what he was out here agonizing over all night?
“We should go to bed.”
He nods and pulls out of me, then moves over to his washbasin and takes some paper towels from the roll, hurrying back over to clean me up before helping me onto my feet.
“So, what’s the story with this dresser?” I ask him, gesturing to the one I just hopped off of. “Did you make it?”
“Yeah, for Bridger Blackwell.”
“Brooks’s brother?”
“That’s him. He’s not getting it now, though.”
I frown up at him. “Why not?”
“Sentimental reasons. That one stays here. I’ll build him another one.”
I laugh and then sigh a little when Chase lifts Lily into his arms to take her up to bed. I follow behind them, turning off the lights and locking the garage behind us, and then we’re inside, walking up the stairs to the bedroom.
Lily, with a big yawn, curls up in her bed and goes right back to sleep, and Chase snuggles up behind me in the bed.
“Were you out there worried about telling me you love me all night?” I ask him and wiggle around in his arms so I can see his face.
“No.” He kisses my hand and finally offers me a small smile. “No, I really was thinking about Rem and the wedding and all of that stuff. I guess big life events will do that to a person. Telling you I love you isn’t something I struggle with because, like I said, I’ve had strong feelings for you for a while. A long while.”
I grin and kiss his chin.
“I might have had a bad moment or two, wondering if you felt the same.” He sighs with the admission, and I can see the vulnerability in his eyes, and it makes me love him even more.
“I’m catching up. And I’m going to be frank here for a minute.”
“We’re in the dark, in the middle of the night. There’s no better time to be perfectly honest.”
That makes me smile. “You’re right. I’m actually glad that we came together when we did, and not several years ago when you first approached me because I wasn’t ready for you yet, Chase. I was still bruised and determined and just not in the right place for this relationship. It never would have worked out between us if we’d dated back then.”
“Well, then I’m glad that you turned me down, even if it was a blow to my ego.”
With a chuckle, I move in to rest my cheek against his chest and snuggle in. “Your ego’s just fine.”
Chase:Hey, beautiful. Lunch should be delivered in about ten. I couldn’t get away.
I grin at his words and bite my lip as I type out a reply.
Me: I hope everything is okay. I missed waking up to you this morning!
By the time I woke up today, Chase had already gone to work. With wedding season wrapping up, I’ve had the luxury of coming into the shop a little later each morning, and it’s been glorious. In the two weeks since the Wild wedding, things have slowed down considerably. And while my stress levels appreciate that, I know that in a couple of months, I’ll be wishing for the additional income.
But, I’ve learned to make the busy months make up for the slow ones.
I’m just placing the last sunflower into a bouquet when my phone pings with a reply.
Chase: I got to see your gorgeous face this morning and kiss your lips before I left. Whose amazing life is this, anyway?
I laugh and shake my head. He’s just so damn sweet.
“Oh, Lord, she’s sexting again,” Sharla says and makes a gagging noise from across the room.
“I am not.”
“I can totally tell,” she insists. “You get this goofy grin on your face while you tap away at your phone. It used to be really sweet, but now it’s just…ew.”
I laugh and set the phone aside, returning to the task at hand. “We do not sext. We just flirt a bit, that’s all.”
“I think it’s great,” Ida says, winking at me. “And you seem happier than ever.”
“We are.”
And it’s true. The past few weeks have been…bliss. There haven’t been any more scary issues at my place, but I still sleep at Chase’s every night. In fact, things have been quiet and fun and very sexy.
I’m in love, truly in love, for the first time in my life, and I’m having a damn good time with it.
The bell over the door rings, and in comes Heather, the owner of Old Town Pizza, carrying two large boxes and one smaller box on top.
“Delivery,” she announces with a happy grin. “Chase sent me in with two large pies and an order of bread sticks.”
“I love that man,” Ida says, “but my hips do not.”
“I love that he sends you food so often,” Heather says with a wink to me. “I mean, how romantic is that?”
“You know about it?”
“Honey, all of Bitterroot Valley knows about it. And let me just say, we’re all rooting for you because that Chase Wild is just…” She fans her face with her hand, making us all laugh.
“I won’t disagree with you there.” I open a box and take a sniff at the pepperoni with olives that Chase knows I like. “This looks fabulous. Thanks, Heather.”
“Anytime, sweetie. You all enjoy, and I’ll see you later.”
She offers us a wave, and then she’s off, and Ida, Sharla, and Vickie join me to devour a pizza. Margie is out on some deliveries, but we’ll be sure to save her some.
The afternoon moves by quickly, all of us taking turns with the phone, printing off online orders, and making bouquets.
It’s approaching five when the bell above the door rings again, and I turn to see Evan walking in. I haven’t seen much of him in several weeks.
“Well, hi there, Evan. How’s it going?”
“Just fine. It occurred to me that I haven’t seen much of you recently, and I was walking by, thought I’d stop in and see how you are.”
“You know, I was just thinking the same. I’m doing well, thanks. What have you been up to?”
“Oh, you know, slaving away in the office by day and soaking up the last bit of summer when I finally manage to escape.”
I grin and nod at him as I walk around the counter and set a plant that I just unboxed on a shelf for sale.
“I hear you. The days are getting shorter and shorter, and soon, it’ll be winter.”
“Don’t say that word,” he says with a frown. “Don’t tempt the snow gods.”
I chuckle and tuck my hair behind my ear. “You’re right, I won’t say it again. So, business is good?”
“Someone’s always suing someone else,” he says. “And I saw your father not long ago.”
That has my back going straight, and I’m immediately reminded why I’ve always kept my distance from Evan.
“Oh?”
“I was in Helena last weekend for a political party thing, and he was there. He said to tell you hello.”
“Interesting.” That’s about all I have to say about that. Evan has political aspirations, and that’s why he wanted to date me in the first place.
It reeked of Dennis, and I wanted nothing at all to do with that.
“It was fun. You should go with me next time, see your folks, and spend some time with me.”
His hand snakes out to move down my hip, just as the bell sounds over the door and Chase walks in. He takes in the scene before him, narrows his eyes when they land on Evan’s hand on my hip, and he snarls, “Don’t make me draw my weapon.”
I laugh, but Chase doesn’t move his gaze until Evan removes his hand.
“Oh, hey, Chase.” Evan’s all smiles. “Summer and I were just talking about getting away to Helena together.”
“Whoa.” I hold up a hand as Chase’s jaw tightens. “We were absolutely not saying anything of the sort. I have no intention of going to Helena anytime soon, Evan.”
His eyes turn cold as he looks between me and Chase, and I reach for Chase’s hand, linking our fingers.
“I hadn’t heard,” Evan says stiffly.
“I find that very hard to believe,” is all Chase says before Evan turns and walks out the door.
“Men,” Ida says, rolling her eyes.
“He had his hands on you,” Chase says.
“And in about two seconds, I was going to tell him to take his hand off me. What are you up to?”
“I’m here to collect my girl.”
I frown up at him. “I’m sorry. I can’t leave for a while yet.”
“Well, yes, you are my girl, but I didn’t mean you. I thought I’d pop in and get Lily and take her home with me.”
And just like that, I get all gooey. “That’s really sweet. She’d like that.”
“I figured I’d fix her dinner, and she and I can stretch out on the couch together.”
I laugh as I hook Lily up to her leash, and when Chase takes it from me, he leans in to kiss me.
“I’ll see you in a few hours.” I grin up at him.
“We’ll be waiting.”