Chapter 8 #2
The elevator reached the top floor, and the doors opened.
Standing just outside the apartment door were two men, both dressed in black suits, black tie and white shirts.
A single button closed the jacket, which was open now.
Both of them had a hand inside the jacket coat, which they removed as soon as they saw Chase.
“Mr. Harper,” said the taller of the two dark-haired men.
Chase placed a hand on Meri’s back and waved the other toward the man. “Josh, this is Ms. Anderson. She’ll be staying with me for a while. Please extend her the same courtesy you would me.”
“Yes, sir.” He dipped his head toward Meri. “Pleased to meet you, Ms. Anderson. I’m Josh and this is Zed. We’re here until morning when another two guards will arrive. If you need anything when Mr. Harper is not here, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you, Josh.” She looked at the other man and nodded. “Zed. Is that short for Jedidiah?”
“No ma’am. Just Zed. After eight kids, I guess my parents were done trying to come up with names.”
Her eyebrows rose. “You’re the youngest of nine children?”
“Second youngest.” He grinned. “I guess they weren’t quite done, after all.”
Meri laughed. At least, these men had a sense of humor.
After shaking her hand, both men stepped back, one on either side of the closed double doors into the apartment.
Chase flicked on a light switch and the room flooded with ambient light from the lamps on the tables at each end of the sofas.
And it was a truly awe-inspiring sight. Meri stepped into a foyer that opened into an enormous living room. The room had been divided into two conversation areas, but she saw they were tied together with small things like matching lamps.
Then she noticed the table and chairs next to the floor-to-ceiling windows. The perfect place for an intimate dinner for two.
He held out his left hand.
She grasped it with her right. He was careful with her, and she liked that.
His hands were still warmer than hers.
Meri wanted to wrap his arm around her and cuddle up next to him. Preferably in his bed. What in the world has gotten into me? You’d think I’d never had sex before. I bet with Chase it would be like nothing I’ve ever had before.
She’d never been this turned on by any man, including Jared.
Her stomach was being bombarded with butterflies any time Chase was around.
Now she knew she’d never loved Jared. He’d been the simple solution for her wanting to start a family before she got too old.
Being here with Chase made her thrilled she hadn’t married Jared.
Oh, he’d wanted to marry. Promised he’d never cheat on her again, but he’d betrayed her and she could never marry a man she didn’t trust. But she placed complete trust in Chase. She knew, in her heart, he would never cheat. Never have another woman if he was interested in her.
Chase crossed the room to a hallway.
Meri followed.
“The guest room is right down this hall.” He stopped at the second door on the right and opened it, holding it open for her to enter.
The room was incredible. A king sized bed on a raised platform dominated the space.
The posts on each corner had to be six feet tall.
Each was worked on a lathe until perfectly rounded and formed into three segments.
The top and bottom segments were cut lengthwise, and the cuts rounded so they weren’t sharp.
The middle was left perfectly smooth. It was as though the bed was straight out of a fairy tale.
On either side was a nightstand with four drawers.
And on them stood tall, matching lamps with dark green shades.
The bedspread-comforter was pale gray-green with pinch pleats in a series across the top and bottom.
A pattern of delicate flowers covered the main part of the spread, and it seemed to be silk with a slight sheen.
The pillow shams matched the flowered part of the bedspread, and a large square pillow had pleats that matched those on the comforter.
The bed was high, with a thick mattress that looked like she could sink into its depths.
She thought she might need a ladder to get into it.
The rest of the room had minimal furniture. The nightstands matched the dark wood of the bureau, which had an attached mirror and was on the wall across from the end of the bed. Open double doors on the wall across from the entry door showed a large walk-in closet.
Meri walked over to the closet and peeked inside. A chest of drawers was under the window, which allowed the room to be flooded with sunlight. The vertical blinds on the window were pulled to one side.
She turned to Chase. “This room is incredible. Where is your room?”
“Right across the hall. It’s a little larger than this one, but the setup is the same.”
“I’ll be living like a queen while I’m here. I might never want to go home.” She chuckled.
Chase stepped forward and took her in his arms. “That’s all right with me.” Then he leaned down and kissed her.
After a moment of enjoying herself, she broke the kiss, but kept her good arm around his waist. “We shouldn’t be doing this, but I can’t seem to resist you.” Then she lifted on her tiptoes and kissed him. When she broke the kiss, she was breathless.
He seemed as affected as she was, but he didn’t release her.
“Right, we shouldn’t do this. I shouldn’t want to kiss you, but I can hardly think of anything else.
” His eyes were dark, the pupils huge. He lifted a hand and cupped the back of her head while he lowered his lips to hers.
Then he kissed her, drank from her like he was a dying man and she was the last water on Earth.
Meri responded. The last couple of weeks had been the best she ever had, getting shot notwithstanding.
But even the incident at the ice show had brought her here, and she enjoyed being this close to Chase.
She wanted to be closer, but as much as he liked or cared for her, he’d never consider marrying a nobody like her.
Still, she would enjoy his kisses for as long as she could.
When she no longer felt his lips, she followed him, not ready for the kiss to end.
He chuckled.
She stopped, realizing what she was doing, and looked down, her cheeks flaming hot.
“I’m sorry. I’m not usually so…so—”
“Forward? I’m glad you know what you want. It’s refreshing to find someone who is as passionate about…everything. And I’ve never seen anyone who is as good at what they do as you are. Besides the mural, I’d like to commission paintings for my office and some others in the building.”
She swung her gaze to his. “Really?” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Yes, really.”
Meri pulled away.
This time, he let her go.
“That would be amazing. I’m too tired to think about it right now, but I’d like to do something different in each room. Would you make a list of themes you want me to use?”
“I haven’t given it much thought. Now, I might like something that would tie into the mural you’ll create.”
“I can do that. Since the mural will be of the Rockies, I think a mountain scene in each office would work. Hundreds of mountain views are available to use as inspiration.”
“Well, first, let’s get you settled. Do you need my help to unpack?”
She shook her head. “I just need the suitcase on the bed, if you wouldn’t mind.”
“Not at all.” He left to retrieve the bag from the foyer where he’d set it when they came in. Returning quickly, he placed the piece of luggage on the bed. “Here you go.”
She opened the suitcase. “Thanks. I’ll put this stuff away and be out in a minute. Then you can show me the kitchen and the rest of the apartment.”
“Deal.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead before pulling her close, careful of her injury, and kissing her lips.
She pulled her head back and gazed up into his eyes, which were dark as the sky at midnight. “What was that for?”
Smiling, he gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Just a reminder that I’m waiting with bated breath for you to return to the living room.”
“Believe me, I won’t take long.” With her heart beating a mile a minute, she wasn’t about to forget where he was.
He turned and left.
She unpacked in record time. Of course, she didn’t have that many clothes to put away.
She discovered the attached bathroom with a separate shower and bathtub.
The shower had two shower heads across from each other and a bench along the back wall.
She couldn’t wait to try them all. But that would be later.
Meri hurried out to the living room and saw Chase sitting on the sofa holding a glass of red wine.
“I could use one of those.” She jutted her chin toward the glass. “Maybe it will relax me.”
“Sit and I’ll get you one. Do you have prescription meds you need to take?”
“I do. So, maybe I better stick to water for now. I’ll go with you. I’d like to look at the kitchen, anyway.”
He set his glass on the table and stood, then walked toward the kitchen.
And what a kitchen. It looked over the living room and the floor-to-ceiling windows with a subtly different view than from the living room.
The counters were golden granite, polished to a high shine, with black streaks running through it.
The cabinets were white with opaque glass in the upper doors.
The island had four high-top stools with black cushions and the appliances were black and looked as polished as the countertops.
Along with the double sink in stainless steel, the island contained more cabinets, a dishwasher and trash compactor.
“This is beautiful. The meals I could make here…” her voice trailed off.
He cocked his head to one side and smiled. “So, will you cook for me?”
She leaned her elbows on the island and looked across it at him. “I love it. If I hadn’t gone into art, I would have been a chef. I’ll have to prepare a meal for you while I’m here.”