Chapter 11
Harper
Ican’t sleep.
Even with the headphones and the sleep mask, I can’t settle my mind after all the excitement tonight. But it’s not the paparazzi and the threat of the stalker that’s got me all worked up.
It’s Chase. I can’t stop thinking about the way we were dancing together.
How he was moving on that dance floor. He could feel the music the same way I feel it.
Like it was in his bones. Even the male backup dancers we use in the show can’t do what he was doing with me.
He oozed sexuality. Smooth and confident.
And when the two of us were moving together, we were unstoppable.
He held my hips as we danced, and I felt a sizzle between us. Pure electricity, and there was no mistaking the fact that he felt it too. When the song was over—when he bent to kiss me—the heat in his eyes was searing.
I wanted that kiss. So badly.
I still want it.
I’ve never had a connection like this with anyone before. It feels deeper than a new friendship or some silly hookup.
It feels real.
And yet, here I am, alone in this bed. I wasn’t coy about the fact I wanted to be intimate with him tonight. But he shot me down. If he felt the same, he’d be here with me right now. There’s nothing stopping him.
Unless it’s his sense of duty and responsibility getting in the way.
But even if that were the case, how could it ever work between us? I leave tomorrow, and his life is here. I already know my life isn’t compatible with romance. I’ve proven that over and over again.
I toss and turn for minutes on end, then give up and throw the blankets and everything else off to go make another cup of tea—Garrett brought back the kind Chase bought me.
But when I step out of the room, Chase is in the shower.
He’s playing music in there, but I can’t hear well enough to tell what it is.
Hmm. I wonder what he’s into?
I tiptoe closer, pressing my ear to the door to see if I can tell. And… It’s me.
Chase is in that bathroom right now listening to the biggest hit off my last album: “Maybe You Didn’t Know.”
I’m in shock. He said he’d never even heard my music. But is he secretly a fan?
Huh.
I start back to the kitchen but stop in my tracks when Chase starts singing. Not the humming along kind of singing—he’s belting out the chorus like a fricking boss. I can’t believe my ears.
He’s incredible.
His pitch is nothing short of perfection. Professional singer–level perfection. There’s something tender about his voice. He has a certain quality, the way he moves into his upper register effortlessly.
I tiptoe back to listen again. He’s giving me chills. But also…
I know that voice.
I bring my fingers to my temples. Why do I know that voice?
It’s on the tip of my tongue. I can almost place it. He’s reminding me of someone in a pop group. Maybe with a bunch of guy singers? Like a boy band?
Wait. That’s it!
Chase sounds like Baby C from 6ixPack! Like if Baby C grew up and had a deep man’s voice. Nobody else hits trills like that.
Err—hold on.
When I first saw Chase in the gym, I thought he looked familiar. That’s the resemblance. Chase looks like Baby C, except Baby C was short and almost…babyish? I mean, he was sexy, for sure. He was the fan favorite, with his incredible voice and super suave dance moves.
Could it be? I’m trying to remember if Baby C had a mole on his cheek.
No. I don’t think so. And besides, Chase is not at all babyish. He’s tall and strong. Well built, with a wide jawline and broad shoulders.
I strain to listen once more, to see if I can pick out more distinctive features in his voice, but he’s stopped singing. It’s just the sound of my own music playing over the shower now.
I’m sure if Chase were Baby C, he would have told me by now. Tonight I straight up asked him if he was secretly a rockstar—though I meant it as a joke—and he said no.
He wouldn’t lie to me about something like that. Would he?
Hmm. Maybe I need to do some sleuthing.
His phone is in the bathroom with him, so I look to my bag in the bedroom. The whole world knows I’m in Cupid City. Tony and his team are probably on their way here already. I don’t see what difference it makes if I use my phone at this point.
I dig it out, then sit on the bed to turn it on. Again with the cacophony of sounds as hundreds of alerts pop up.
“Shush!” I mute it. I don’t want to see any messages until I’m ready to go back. I swipe everything away, then search for what I need.
Baby C.
OK, here it is. The picture on 6ixPack’s last album cover, with Baby C featured right in front. I zoom in. And…
Holy shit. He has the mole.
He has the fricking mole right there on his cheek!
I stand up straight.
Chase is Baby C!
I turn my phone off and throw it on the bed, spinning toward the bathroom.
He worked in the music business, all right. Only it wasn’t as a security guard. He was up on that stage, singing and dancing in front of millions of fangirls in the world’s most incredible boy band!
I crank the doorknob hard, bursting into the bathroom. “You’re Baby C, you asshole!” I throw the shower curtain wide open, and he’s there.
Naked and freaking glorious.
But his eyes are heavy with lust, one hand wrapped around his generous cock.
Oh.
“Fuck, Harper,” he grinds out, gripping me by the back of my neck and tugging me over the low threshold into the small shower stall with him. Then his hands are at the sides of my face, and he’s kissing me, his lips pulling and dragging against mine.
Warm water streams down my cheeks and my neck, running between my breasts and soaking through my nightgown as I open for him, and when he thrusts his tongue into my mouth, I feel it everywhere.
Strong hands caress my breasts through the wet fabric.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I whisper between kisses.
“I’m so sorry.” His fingers slip under my straps as he slides them over my shoulders, revealing my breasts. “I’m so sorry, baby.”
Did he just call me baby? God, I love the way that sounds.
He’s gazing at my naked breasts, and he cups them in his palms. His thumbs slide over my nipples, and his eyelids grow heavy. His stiff cock is wedged against my belly, and I don’t even care about the deception anymore. I just want him.
Right now.
“Fuck, you’re beautiful.” His words send a thrill up my spine. Maybe he feels it too. The electricity between us.
He covers my neck in kisses, then crouches, his hands gripping my thighs as he licks my breasts.
He nips me there before smoothing it over again with his tongue, soothing the sting.
When his mouth finds my firm nipple, the sensation is so sweet.
It sends heat swirling into my core, and when his fingers find my pussy through the damp satin, I’m tingling with anticipation.
Dark eyes come up to meet mine, and there’s a hunger there. “I need to touch you. Just this once.”
“Yes.” I want him to touch me everywhere. But…
“Why just once?” Is this not something special for him, the way it is for me?
“I can’t keep you safe like this.” His voice is low and gravelly, and I feel the rumble in my belly.
He wants this as much as I do. He’s just worried about keeping me safe, but I’m right here in his arms.
Strong hands tug my nightgown down past my hips to the floor. Then his fingers twine into my panties, and he drags his thumb back and forth over the thin fabric between my legs, teasing me until I’m aching with need.
“Fuck, Harper.”
My breath hitches as he peels my panties down, running his thumbs along my inner thighs as he exposes me. Then his hands slide back up to spread my knees, and I feel the press of his lips at my inner thigh.
“Ohh my God, Chase—” I close my eyes as his kisses move further up, teasing me, until he licks along my slit, making me gasp.
His tongue slides around my clit, then he’s licking and sucking my delicate flesh so gently it’s making me dizzy with need.
His fingers swirl at my entrance, and I realize I’m moaning.
I don’t even know what he’s doing down there anymore, but whatever it is, he feels incredible.
Everything is blurring together in a whirl of tension and arousal, and I know he’s going to make me come if he keeps moving his tongue like that.
His thumb slides inside me, where I’m swollen and ready, and it only heightens the sensation.
I’m desperate to feel his beautiful cock deep inside me now, but I can’t speak anymore, and he’s doing that thing with his tongue on my clit again, the tension mounting.
My legs are trembling, and when he groans against my pussy, I can’t hold back.
I tip over the edge, crying out and thrashing against him as my climax strikes, sending every muscle in my body seizing straight down to my toes. He grips my hips hard, anchoring me as I come, and his mouth stays right where I need him until he’s coaxed every last flutter of ecstasy from me.
“Ohhh… Wow.” My whole body is trembling now as I touch along his jaw, the aftershocks still moving through me.
“That’s right, baby,” he whispers, then he licks all along my pussy once more, and I’m trying to will him to stand. I need to kiss his beautiful mouth, but my body is too racked with pleasure to pull him up or stoop down to him.
“Chase,” I beg, and when he finally stands, he cups my face in his hands and his lips drag across mine—wet and warm and wonderful. I taste myself on his tongue as he pulls us back under the running water.
I wrap my fingers around his slippery cock. He’s rock hard—thick and beautiful—and he groans as I slide my palm along his shaft, feeling every ridge under my fingertips. The sheer weight of him in my hand has the heat spreading low and heavy inside me.
He brings his hand over mine as I stroke him. “You want my cock?”
“Yesss.”
It’s glorious. I want him everywhere.
I slide to my knees, grasping him in both hands and taking the fat crown in my mouth.
“Oh, fuck.” He groans. “Harper… Baby.” He wraps his fist in my hair, and my pussy throbs in response. His taste is clean and salty and thrilling, and I slide my tongue all around his tip before swallowing him down as best I can.
I assume that low groaning sound he’s making means I’m doing something right, so I let myself relax into the moment, enjoying the sensation of his cock moving inside my mouth.
“Aw, yeah.” He thrusts his hips gently, pushing in deeper, but every time he nudges the back of my throat, I feel it in my pussy. Like he’s fucking me everywhere all at once. And when his hands come to the sides of my face, there’s something tender in his touch as he guides me over him.
His breathing intensifies, so I add some suction, letting him slide along my tongue until I taste the tang of his precum. He slips a hand under my chin, pulling me up and claiming my mouth with his, and I know he’s going to give me everything I want.
“God, I can’t keep my hands off you.” His voice is a low growl as he pushes me back until my ass is flat against the cool tile.
Then he’s hoisting me up as if I weigh nothing at all, setting me on the six-inch ledge in the stall and spreading my knees wide with his hands.
It’s barely wide enough for me to balance, but he crowds me with his body, anchoring me.
Then he takes his cock in his hand, guiding himself along my seam.
I’m slippery, wet, and swollen with need, and I don’t want to wait any longer. “Do it,” I beg. “Please, Chase.”
His eyes are intense on mine, his upper lip curling as he points his thick tip at my entrance and I feel him right where I need him to be.
“Do it,” I whisper again, and he fills me full in one thrust.