Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Chase woke up in bed and rolled over to look at Ruby. Her dark hair fell across her cheek, and her eyelashes were splayed. Her pink mouth looked soft and pouty and kissable.
Usually in the mornings, he’d resisted the urge to watch her sleeping. It had seemed creepy. But after what they’d done last night?
Unless that had been a dream. The best, most vivid sex dream of his life.
Chase moved onto his back, staring at the ceiling.
His dick was achingly hard inside his pajama pants. And his memories of last night weren’t doing anything to remedy that situation.
If she really wanted to do the friends-with-benefits thing, he was game. And he sure as hell hoped she hadn’t changed her mind. Their chemistry last night had been explosive. He’d come so hard he was surprised his balls had anything left.
He’d tried to hint at his true feelings, and that hadn’t gone so well. He’d chickened out before confessing the true extent of it. And it was probably a good thing, because Ruby had made it clear she still viewed him as a friend.
But now, he was a friend she wanted to fuck. It was more than he’d ever hoped for.
Ruby was the strongest, bravest, most beautiful woman he’d ever known. But she’d been willing to submit to him, and he couldn’t imagine anything hotter. Then being able to cuddle her and take care of her afterward had almost been better than the rest of it.
Almost.
No way could he turn down more of that. His cock was far too greedy. Even if it meant the rest of him could get hurt. But he was the one who risked getting his heart broken. That was his problem, not Ruby’s.
Speaking of his greedy cock, he needed to deal with this hard-on before he could do anything else.
Chase went to the bathroom, stripped off his pajamas, and jumped under the cold spray of the shower. He could’ve jerked off. But going solo didn’t sound nearly so appealing when Ruby might help him out with that later. He figured he should be optimistic.
After he’d cleaned up and dressed, Ruby was still sound asleep. He wanted her to get all the rest she needed. She probably thought he hadn’t noticed how poorly she slept most nights, but he had.
Chase heard Haley babbling in her room. He opened the door and went inside. “What do you think you’re doing, huh?”
Haley had one leg over the side of her crib, trying to climb out. She looked at him and smiled ear to ear. “Chay-Chay.”
“You’re in the middle of a jailbreak, and that’s all you have to say for yourself?”
She was all bright eyed, like she hadn’t been up in the night at all. Maybe she didn’t even remember it. Chase was pretty sure the good stuff sunk in a lot more with Haley than the bad.
He picked her up, and Haley patted his cheek, giggling at how his whiskers felt against her hand. At least, he was pretty sure that was what she was giggling about. That, or she thought he looked funny.
He set her down on the floor, and she ran over to her cubby of books. Chase sat, back against the wall, and watched her play.
She brought a book over to him. “Dis one.”
“Can you use the magic word?”
“Peas read dis one.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Four-word sentence? Harvard, here we come.” Haley plopped down into his lap, and Chase read to her about dinosaurs having a tea party. After a while, she lost interest and went to push the buttons on a noisy plastic toy instead.
“I really like your mom, princess,” he murmured. “A lot. More than a lot.”
Haley looked at him, big brown eyes blinking.
“But nothing that happens between me and your mom will ever change how I feel about you. I’ll always be your Uncle Chase. I’m going to take care of you, and I’m going to keep my promises. No matter what. Okay? Got it?”
He held up his hand for a high five. Sometimes Haley understood, and sometimes she didn’t. Or just chose to ignore him.
But today, she toddled over and rested her tiny hand against his.
The door opened. Ruby stood there yawning, hair a wild halo around her head. “You started the fun without me?”
“We were just getting some reading in. She’s almost ready to ace her SATs.”
“I expect nothing less.”
“Coffee?” he asked.
“Dying for some.”
“Didn’t you sleep well?”
“I slept great. Did you?”
“Never better.”
They smiled at one another. Chase’s blood pumped like he’d already had his caffeine.
He could feel the changed energy between them as they made breakfast, like there was an electrical charge in the air. It was in Ruby’s coy smiles, the way their eyes kept meeting.
But he’d decided to play it cool. He wasn’t going to mention last night until Ruby did.
They sat down with mugs of brewed coffee and plates of toast. Chase put peanut butter on his for some protein. Haley smeared grape jam all over her mouth and nose, which made Ruby laugh. That sound fed him even more than his breakfast. He felt so damn lucky to be a part of their lives.
Chase set down his coffee. “I thought we’d get out of the apartment today. Take Haley to the beach.”
Ruby perked up. “Yeah? I haven’t been to the beach in ages.”
“Then let’s do it.”
“What about the car from Bennett Security?”
“They can come too.”
He couldn’t imagine a better way to spend the rest of his weekend. And he knew Ruby had been feeling stuck lately. She deserved a day of fun without any worries. No lawyers, no fears about anyone following her.
Chase wanted to give that to her.
They changed into bathing suits, packed up toys and towels, and slathered on sunscreen. He took a moment to check in with the Bennett Security guys, who hadn’t seen any sign of the man with the shaved head or the blue Kia.
They headed out, and their extra security followed and found a parking spot with a view of the water.
The beach was quiet, which made sense because it was a Monday.
His patrol schedule changed about every month, but at the moment he had Sundays and Mondays off, no graveyard or swing shifts. The ideal combination.
Ruby staked out a spot where parents and kids had already gathered. Mostly there were moms, but some dads too. Other toddlers were already playing in the sand. Haley dug right in, squatting down with her pink plastic shovel.
Chase put out beach towels for them to sit. His eyes traced Ruby’s curves as she took off her cover-up. She’d worn a dark green bikini and looked so good his mouth watered.
At ease, Marine, he told himself. He didn’t even know yet what she wanted.
But after he pulled his shirt off, he found her checking him out, too. Chase took that as a sign of encouragement.
“So,” he said. “The stars on your hip.”
She rested her hands behind her on the towel. “We all have secrets, don’t we?”
“Not so secret anymore.”
Ruby looked him up and down, her tongue at the corner of her mouth. Her gaze was so heated that he had to look away.
“Careful,” he said. “You’re going to get me worked up again. Tell me about your tattoo. Is there a story behind it?”
“I got it done after I had Haley. I wasn’t feeling very beautiful, and I wanted to have that back. But it was something just for me.”
He was surprised at her explanation, but not her honesty. “There’s no way you were ever not beautiful.”
Ruby rolled her eyes. “I said I didn’t feel beautiful. And you didn’t know me then. Maybe I was gross.”
“Not possible. But I understand your point. Did the tattoo help?”
“It did, yeah. I chose a trail of stars because it reminded me that I was on a path, even if I didn’t know where I was going yet.” She stretched out her legs, dipping her toes into the sand. “Except for the artist and my doctor, you’re the only other person who’s seen it.”
The sun was beating down on them, but there was a warm glow inside of Chase too.
“I have a tattoo,” he confessed.
She glanced over. “You? I didn’t see any ink on you last night.”
That warm glow turned to fire at the reminder of being naked with her. Of Ruby on her knees for him. “That’s because I didn’t turn around.”
Her eyes narrowed. She leaned so she could see his back, though of course he’d had his shirt off around her before.
“It’s not there,” he said.
“Wait. Is it on your butt?”
He nodded. “I was nineteen, right before my first deployment. Got drunk off my ass with my buddies, which is fitting, since my ass is where the tattoo ended up.”
“Chase has a secret butt tattoo. This is too good.” She cackled, kicking her legs. “What’s it of?”
“Maybe I’ll let you see it. If you really want to.”
“Are you kidding? Of course I want to.”
“You sure about that?”
Ruby’s expression changed, the humor disappearing. When she spoke, her voice had lowered. “I want to. I thought we agreed.”
He knew they weren’t just talking about the tattoo. “I didn’t want to assume. But last night was…fuck, I don’t think I’ve come that hard in my life.”
A shudder ran through her. “Me neither. Once wasn’t enough.”
“Nowhere near enough. There’s a lot more I want to do with you.”
Her smile slowly reappeared. “Like getting out that naughty shoebox of yours?”
“Maybe.” Though he’d left the box of bondage gear at his house. If Ruby wanted to try that, he’d order new supplies just for her. “We can work up to that. First, I want to explore every part of you. Find out everything you like.”
Her chest was moving fast, as if she were trying to catch her breath. “If we’re doing this, we need to set some boundaries.”
“Boundaries are good. Such as?”
“We can’t tell anyone else. This stays between us. That includes not kissing or getting frisky in front of Haley.”
They both glanced over at the little girl, who was studying the grains of sand that had stuck to her hand.
“I don’t know how much she understands,” Ruby said. “I don’t want to confuse her.”
“Yeah. Of course.”
“And I need for us both to be sure this won’t screw up our friendship. Even when the arrangement ends.”
His chest clenched with longing. “It won’t change anything.”
“Good.” Ruby sat up, crossing her legs. “If either one of us wants to stop, we stop. No hard feelings.”
“Got it. But if we’re setting ground rules, I get to make one too.”
“And that is?”
“You let me help with the investigation into Mickey’s murder.”
Ruby frowned. “I don’t want to have that fight with you again.”
“Then don’t fight me. I’m insisting. Maybe I’m not ex-special forces like Max or Noah, and I wasn’t a Ranger like Devon. But I’ve been on patrol with major crimes at West Oaks PD for three years. I’ve worked on dozens of investigations, and I know how these things work.”
“It’s not about me doubting your abilities to—”
“Isn’t it? You don’t think I can toe the line at work. But I can. I’ll walk right up to that line and look over. But I won’t go past it. And I need you to trust that I know what I’m doing.”
“I just don’t want you hurt. Or in trouble.”
“Ruby, do you trust me or not?” If she didn’t, then he couldn’t sleep with her. To have the kind of sex he craved with her—that she seemed to want just as much—he had to know that she had complete faith in him.
She watched Haley playing before she answered. “I trust you.”
Chase touched her chin. “You sure about that?”
“I do,” she said emphatically. “But there are things you don’t know yet. And I’m not sure I want you to know.”
He tried not to show how much that hurt. “Why not?”
“I don’t want to change how you see me.”
“That would be hard to do. I think you’re pretty great.”
She sighed. “Okay. I’ll tell you what you need to know. But not here. Later.”
“Then we agree? I can help?”
“Yeah. But don’t get used to me caving.” She smiled sardonically. “I’m not always this compliant.”
He knew that already. Ruby was no pushover, and he didn’t ever want that to change. That spark of defiance in her eyes was one of the things he loved most about her. “Too bad we can’t kiss in front of Haley,” he said. “Because I really want to kiss that smile off your face.”
“And what was it you were just saying about not crossing the line?”
But she was leaning in. Chase wondered if he could sneak a quick kiss if Haley wasn’t looking.
Then a familiar voice rang out, and Ruby jerked away from him.
“There you are.” Devon dumped a beach bag next to them. “Chase, what the heck, dude? You don’t answer your texts anymore?”
Aurora waved from behind him. “We were hoping to catch up with you. Mrs. Murtree said she saw you leaving in your beach wear.”
Ruby held up her hands. “And here we are. Ta-da.”
“Guess my phone was on silent,” Chase said. “Sorry.” Though he might not have answered Devon’s message right away. Not after what he and Ruby had been up to last night.
They were two grown adults. They were married. What they did alone wasn’t anyone’s business.
Or maybe those were just excuses to soothe Chase’s guilty conscience. Because even if Ruby hadn’t asked to keep their arrangement a secret, there was no way Chase wanted to fess up to her brother.
You’re cool with me and Ruby fucking around, right?
Ha. Not likely. That was not a conversation Chase ever wanted to have.