Chapter Six
C hase added Baileys to the two mugs of coffee on the counter, grateful for the short time he had alone in the kitchen to recenter his mind and emotions after Lauren had shifted their conversation to his father, which was always a touchy subject for him. He didn’t discuss that part of his past with anyone, ever . The day his dad died was the day Chase swore he’d keep those terrible and painful memories locked up in the past, where they belonged.
But leave it to the persistent woman sitting out on his terrace to press the issue. She’d been nice about her inquiry, but her question had been equivalent to her shaking up a bottle of champagne (him), to the point that all that pressure he’d been suppressing for so many years had popped the cork he’d shoved into the bottle, and his anger had flared. He’d only told her a small fraction about his past, but there had been a moment when he’d wanted to spill everything , just to release all the bitterness and resentment festering deep inside.
He hated that he’d lost his composure when he was a man so in control of his emotions. Most of the women he’d dated would have been insulted or hurt that he’d snapped at them, but not Lauren. No, this woman wasn’t offended by much, and knowing he didn’t have to put on any pretenses with her made him feel relieved, and too damned comfortable around her. Which was why he’d probably allowed himself to slip and say anything about his relationship with his father.
He exhaled a deep breath and grabbing the two mug handles with one hand, and the plate with the dessert in the other, he walked out onto the terrace. Lauren watched him approach with a smile that soothed the last frayed edges of his emotions. He set the coffees and cannolis on the stone table built around the firepit, then took a seat next to her on the couch.
He handed one mug to her, then took the other for himself, waiting while she took a drink of the Baileys-infused coffee before broaching the subject of her ex marrying her sister.
And yeah, he was well aware that it made him a hypocrite that he was about to make her talk about her past, but she didn’t have much of a choice if she wanted him in the loop of what happened between her and her ex. And, if he was being honest with himself, he was curious to know what idiot would let a woman like Lauren go, then turn around and backstab her by hooking up with her sister. Totally fucking classless, in his opinion.
“So, tell me about your sister’s situation with your ex, so I’m aware,” he said.
She scrunched her freckled nose, as if she were about to discuss something distasteful. “I guess explaining things from the beginning would help. My ex, Greg, is one of the veterinarians in town and I worked as the front-end manager of the place. We also pretty much grew up together, considering what a small town Fairview is.” She took another drink of her coffee. “Anyway, we dated for about a year, then got engaged. It was just how things worked in such a small town,” she said with a shrug.
She put her mug down and pulled the blanket higher up on her lap before continuing, her gaze on the firepit’s flames. “My sister also worked at the vet’s, helping to take care of the animals while they were kenneled for the day, or a few days if they had surgery and were recovering. One evening, after I’d left the office for the afternoon, Greg called to tell me that there was an emergency surgery on a dog that came in and he was going to be a few hours late. So, I thought I’d take him dinner.”
Chase inwardly cringed, already sensing where this story was heading.
She shifted her gaze back to him, a wry look in her eyes. “There was no emergency surgery. Instead, I found Greg and Ashley in his office, going at it pretty hot and heavy until I cleared my throat and interrupted them.”
Shock at her calm response rippled through him, when most scorned women would have gone ballistic and thrown dinner at them, or worse. “That’s all you did?” he asked incredulously. “Just cleared your throat?”
She laughed lightly. “Shockingly, finding them in that passionate embrace didn’t devastate me, and I saw no reason to yell and scream and make a scene. So, I put the dinner on his desk along with my engagement ring while my sister was trying to straighten her blouse and refasten her bra, and then I left while Greg was sputtering out an apology.”
Of course, Lauren would be the bigger person. “You weren’t… upset?”
“I think I was more disappointed, and even relieved, which told me a lot about my true feelings for Greg,” she said with a shrug. “And that marrying him would have been a huge mistake.”
He couldn’t detect any real pain or hurt, which was good because Chase was starting to feel protective of Lauren. And he didn’t want to have to kick the groom’s ass when Chase met him.
“That doesn’t excuse the fact that they were messing around behind your back,” he said, stunned by the heated tone of his own voice.
“No, it doesn’t,” she agreed, absently pleating the blanket between her fingers. “Honestly, it wasn’t the affair that was humiliating, because to this day no one in town knows what transpired that night at the office, but only what happened after that day.”
He almost hated to ask. “Which was?”
She shifted on the couch, turning her body more toward his, bringing them in closer proximity. “Clearly, when I walked out of Greg’s office, we were done. That was a given, but everyone in town just assumed that Greg ended things with me , not knowing what I’d walked in on.”
He tried to wrap his mind around what she’d just said. “And what about your parents? Do they know the truth?”
“Yes, I told them,” she said, her tone layered with sadness. “They were obviously upset on my behalf, but considering Ashley is their daughter, too, they were torn. Of course they supported me, but they weren’t going to disown Ashley, either, and I didn’t expect them to. I mean, I could have made the truth be known to everyone , but the last thing I wanted was to cause even more drama, or make things even more uncomfortable within the family, or have everyone in the town label Ashley as the other woman , even though she was. I’m not the spiteful type, and it was just easier to let everyone believe the lie, except…”
He heard the hitch in her voice as that last word trailed off, and he was too invested in the story, in her , not to know what had caused that emotional falter. “Except what?”
Her lips pursed. “Except when Greg and Ashley started openly dating a week later, I became fodder for town gossip.”
“How so?” he asked, setting his coffee mug next to hers on the firepit table.
She bit her bottom lip before answering. “Because Greg had chosen the beautiful beauty pageant sister, over the plain-Jane tomboy sibling. Truthfully, out of everything that happened, the looks of pity from the people in town were the most painful to endure.”
He swore beneath his breath. Yet endure it, she had, to keep the peace in the family. “Is there animosity between you and your sister?”
“No, not really,” she said softly. “But we were never really close to begin with, as I’d told you earlier. We’ve never even talked about what happened. And yes, the few times I’ve been home it has been awkward between us, and she’s done her best to keep any interactions between us to a minimum, which of course everyone thinks is because, again, I was the one who got dumped and they feel sorry for me.”
She exhaled a deep sigh and met his gaze. “You know, as hurt as I was about the situation, I can live with the fact that it happened, because I don’t think it was vindictive on either Greg’s or Ashley’s part. But , it would have been nice if my sister had apologized, instead of always avoiding the big elephant in the room when we’re together.”
He winced, unable to imagine how uncomfortable that had to be for Lauren. And unfair, too.
“I know my parents and Gramps have worried about me since the breakup, and as much as I’ve promised them that I’m okay, I’m not sure they really believe it,” she went on. “So, that’s another reason why I wanted to bring a ‘boyfriend’ home for the wedding. That hopefully seeing for themselves that I’m happy and that I’ve moved on with someone else will ease their concerns. All I really want is for things to be normal and not have that one incident hanging over us for the rest of our lives. I don’t think I’ll ever have a close relationship with Ashley, but I want to keep things in the family copacetic.”
As she opened up and shared the painful details, Chase couldn’t help but feel empathy toward Lauren, and the entire situation. Now he had a much clearer understanding of why she’d bought him at the bachelor auction. Not just to keep any attention on her being single and alone to a minimum, but to alleviate her parents’ worries, as well.
“The way things happened wasn’t ideal, and I would have appreciated not being blindsided by their affair,” she went on. “But honestly, the breakup was the push I needed to leave Fairview and pursue my dreams.”
The smile that curved her lips now lit up her eyes, too. “I’ve always wanted to live in a big city and be an event planner like I am at the Meridian, and I’m genuinely happy here in New York, more than I ever was in Fairview. The whole thing with my sister and Greg was really a blessing in disguise, because looking back, I know for certain I would have been miserable being married to him. At least I saw real passion between him and Ashley that night at the office. I couldn’t remember a time that Greg was nearly tearing my clothes off to have his way with me.”
“That’s on him, not on you,” Chase said vehemently, because obviously her ex was an idiot.
“I think that lack of passion was on both of us, because I had no urge to tear his clothes off, either. Sex between us was always just… bland and boring, if I’m being honest. I always wanted something more…” As if realizing what she’d been about to reveal, her cheeks pinkened, and she ducked her head in embarrassment. “And now that I’ve probably given you more information than you ever wanted to know about my sex life, I think I’ll have a cannoli.”
He watched her reach for the dessert, oddly charmed by that rare blush on her face, and what she’d been about to divulge. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting something more ,” he said, his voice low and husky.
She’d just taken a bite of the sweet ricotta-filled pastry, and her pretty eyes suddenly danced with humor as she chewed, then swallowed. “Why, Mr. Gossard, are you offering something more?” she asked flirtatiously.
He felt the breath leave his lungs, because in that moment he had the urge to press her back onto the small couch and show her the kind of passion he could ignite between the two of them. He wanted to swipe his tongue along her bottom lip and lick off the light coating of powdered sugar lingering there, before plundering deeper. He wanted to strip off her sweater and bra and see if her nipples tasted just as sweet before letting his mouth traverse down between her thighs for yet another sample, until she was delirious with pleasure and learned the true meaning of ecstasy.
Fuck. He shifted in his seat as desire shot straight to his dick. All evening long, he’d tried his best to ignore the heated attraction that had been evident between them since day one, and Jesus, now it was all he could do to keep from answering her question with an unequivocal and enthusiastic yes .
He cleared his throat and somehow managed to be a gentleman, and instead tortured himself as he watched her slowly suck the powdered sugar from her fingers after finishing her cannoli. Slowly, deliberately, thoroughly…
“I just mean, you deserve more,” he said, desperate to distract his brain from envisioning his aching cock replacing her fingers as they slid into her mouth and her lips and tongue wrapped sensually around them. “More passion. More lust-fueled encounters. More wild, uninhibited sex.”
Amusement sparkled in her eyes and an alluring smile curved her lips as she leaned much closer, drawing his gaze to that mouth he wanted to kiss and devour. “I do deserve all those things, don’t I?” she agreed, her voice low and sultry.
What. The. Hell. He was suddenly dealing with a vixen, a woman who was clearly seducing him. If it had been any other random female, he would have dove right in and wouldn’t have thought twice about slaking his needs before sending her on her way, without any intention of ever seeing her again, as was his method of operation.
But the last thing Chase wanted to do was take advantage of this woman, who deserved more romance and finesse than a one-night stand, which was all he was good for. Great sex, for sure, but no promises or commitment to go with it, and he respected Lauren enough not to cross that line with her. He wasn’t emotionally equipped to be anything more than her temporary, stand-in boyfriend for a weekend.
Telling himself he was doing the right thing, he abruptly stood and reached for the dessert plate. “How about I wrap up the extra cannoli for you to take home?” he said, then beelined it back into the kitchen so he could fucking breathe without wanting to pounce on Lauren.
Pulling tin foil from a drawer, he ripped off a sheet much too aggressively, thanks to all the pent-up desire waging war inside of him. Forcing himself to exhale a deep breath and calm the fuck down, he wrapped up the pastries more gently so he didn’t crush them to pieces, just as he caught sight of Lauren heading back inside. Feigning indifference, he leaned his backside against the counter and waited for her to join him.
Her ponytail bounced with every purposeful step, and he recognized that determined expression on her face, the one Chase knew from experience didn’t bode well for him. Not when she walked right up to where he was and literally stood toe to toe with him, leaving him no means of escape. She was so close she had to tip her head back to look up at him, but when she did, there was no mistaking the unwavering tenacity shining in her eyes.
“You wanted to kiss me out on the terrace,” she said, just like a statement of fact, which it was. “Why didn’t you?”
He swallowed back a groan. His hands fisted at his sides to keep from grabbing her, and the truth tumbled out before he could stop it. “Because you, Lauren Connelly, tempt me beyond all reason,” he said, the words coming out on a low, frustrated growl. “And you’re way too sweet and good for someone like me.”
She arched a brow, undeterred. “How about I be the judge of that?” she said, then a sinful smile eased across her lips as she placed both of her hands on his chest. She stepped even closer, brazenly pressing her body right against his. “Besides, what makes you think I’m so sweet and good? Right now, I’m feeling very, very bad.”
As she spoke, she lifted up on tiptoe, so when she said the last word it was against his lips, right before she kissed him. Her mouth brushed across his, her tongue flicking out to tease and taste and challenge his self-control, which didn’t stand a chance against the overwhelming need battling inside him. It didn’t take long for his restraint to crumble, and he reached out and slid his hands along her hips, gripping her soft curves through her jeans with his fingers as pleasure overrode everything else but the desire to take what she was offering.
Her fingers dug into his shoulders and her lips parted in another invitation, and he was the one who took the kiss deeper, exploring the recesses of her mouth with his tongue and earning a series of sexy, approving sounds that purred up from her throat and stroked along his cock like a caress. His brain short-circuited, and a harsh growl of arousal vibrated against their lips as he walked her backward until she bumped into the island. Without breaking the frantic, greedy kiss, he lifted her up and set her down on the granite surface, which was the perfect height for him to fuck her on, if he’d wanted to.
Instinctively, she widened her knees and more than a little out of his mind with wanting her, Chase didn’t hesitate to step in between, right where he belonged. Grabbing her ass, he hauled her closer to the edge, aligning the ridge of his cock right up against the seam of her jeans, his mouth still devouring hers. With a sweet, needy whimper against his lips, she wrapped her legs around him and arched her body, grinding her sex against the length of dick as if there weren’t any clothes separating them at all.
Framing her face in his hands as the kiss turned hotter, wilder, he thrust back, imagining what it would be like to bury every inch of his cock inside her tight, slick pussy and hear her cry out his name. To feel her clench around his shaft and come all over his dick as he pushed her over the edge and straight into a mind-bending orgasm.
The pressure and friction between them was intoxicating, as well as frustrating because it just amplified how much he wanted Lauren. Her fingers were in his hair, tugging on the strands, and even that bit of pain heightened the pleasure coursing through him. Everything about this steamy tryst was raw and unbridled, the complete opposite of bland and boring, and Jesus, he never did this with a woman. Obligatory foreplay was a given, yeah, but he couldn’t remember the last time, if ever, he’d indulged in a lengthy make-out session that had him so close to coming in his pants.
Before he did just that and embarrassed the fuck out of himself, he pulled back, ignoring the soft sounds of disappointment she made as he ended the kiss and untangled her legs from around his waist. Her hands fell away from his hair, and they were both breathing hard as he braced his hands on the edge of the counter on either side of Lauren as he stared into her heavy-lidded eyes.
“We need to stop,” he said, his voice sounding like gravel.
She shook her head, her lips red and swollen from the way he’d just ravaged her mouth. “No, we don’t.”
He groaned at the sultry invitation in her tone, because he was merely a man and she was temptation personified, and he clearly needed to be the voice of reason. He wasn’t going to fuck her, only to end things when they returned from their weekend together, because he was not a forever kind of guy. She deserved so much better than that. Than him.
Settling his hands around her waist, he scooted her off the counter and set her on her feet in front of him. The beguiling way she bit her lip and looked at him said it was just a matter of time before she wore him down.
“This isn’t going to happen,” he said in his best, sternest tone—as much to convince her, as well as himself.
She didn’t look the least bit deterred, the minx. “We’ll see.”