Chapter 20 The Chase
The Chase
The cool ocean breeze blew through my hair as I stretched out on the blanket I’d laid out on the grass. Hiding away from the hot sun, I stayed in the safety of the shade provided by the trees near the “forbidden” tree line.
I sat comfortably in a front split, waiting for Camaro to return with the Frisbee in her mouth that I’d been throwing for the past ten minutes. She was so damn good at catching it, so I made a point of trying to throw it as hard as I could to see how far it would make it before she caught it.
“Good girl,” I praised, rubbing the top of her head and tousling her ears. “Go get it,” I teased and whipped the Frisbee back into the air, smiling as Camaro barked and raced after it.
Switching positions, I shifted into a middle split and leaned forward until my forehead was resting on the blanket. I was happy to find that my flexibility had returned so much faster than anticipated, and my muscle atrophy improved steadily each week.
Taking in a deep breath, I lifted my head and reached my arms out to fold them under my chin, stretching my back as I watched Camaro race back with the Frisbee between her teeth.
She was maybe fifty feet in front of me when a sharp whistle sounded from behind, changing her trajectory entirely with a muffled bark.
Frowning, I turned my head to watch my dog race toward the direction of the whistle, my frown deepening when I saw her present the Frisbee to Darren’s open and waiting hand.
Taking the Frisbee in stride, he continued to head my way as he smiled down at Camaro, wearing noticeably casual clothes this afternoon.
With a grey form-fitting T-shirt and dark jeans, Darren’s laid-back vibes were deliciously noticeable but so damn misleading. I knew better than to trust them. Still, I couldn’t help but desire the comfort of that kind of disposition, even if it was just an illusion.
When he was a few feet away from the blanket, he taunted Camaro with the Frisbee, making her jump up and down with an excited bark. He then flicked the Frisbee into the air so swiftly, I nearly lost track of it before I saw it disappear from my visual completely.
I grumbled under my breath at how far he was able to throw the damn thing, wincing as Camaro took off after it. She was going to be gone for a while.
Darren then turned his gaze down at me, taking in my unmoved split position, a warm grin on his face.
I cocked a brow at him. “I hope my dog doesn’t get lost,” I commented.
He released an easy sigh as he lowered his body to the blanket, laying on his side with his elbow propped up. “I’m sure she’ll find it eventually.”
Yeah, in a tree, maybe.
Darren then reached out and lazily dragged his finger down the length of my bare leg, sending shivers up my spine that I had to fight to keep from revealing.
“How are you feeling today?” he asked, his eyes following the trail of his fingertip.
I hummed a little in consideration. “I don’t know, you tell me.”
On a whim, I sat up, placed my weight on my hands, and carefully lifted my hips into the air. My arms strained under my weight as I shifted my legs all the way up until I was balancing entirely on my hands.
It had taken me another two weeks since the Stairway Challenge to master it again, but now it was as easy as breathing.
Bending my knees, I held the zig-zag handstand for a good ten seconds before easing myself back down onto the blanket in a sitting position. I then turned back to Darren for his appraisal, raising my brow expectantly.
He nodded with approval, then rolled onto the flat of his back, linking his fingers behind his head. “Let me know when you can hold it for sixty seconds.”
I huffed a breath of annoyance, then noticed Camaro finally running back with the Frisbee in her mouth.
“And what happens when I can? Will you consider me recovered then?”
Darren snorted. “No.”
Scoffing, I stood and practically yanked the Frisbee from Camaro’s teeth before whipping it back into the air. It didn’t go as far as Darren had thrown it, but it went farther than my last throw had.
“Then what the hell is it going to take, huh?” I griped, plopping back down on the blanket. “I haven’t left the house in six months, and it’s making me crazy.”
“Yes, you mentioned that before.”
“Yeah, well, it hasn’t improved.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“You’ve noticed, yet you continue to ignore it like my mental health has no bearing on my physical health.”
He groaned quietly. “Do we have to argue every time we have a quiet moment together?” he snipped, his hard eyes locking with mine. “I was hoping to enjoy at least five minutes of peace before your claws came out.”
I glared down at him. “Happy wife, happy life, Darren. Haven’t you ever heard of that before?”
He sighed heavily, his eyes closing for a moment as he lay there quietly. Camaro returned with the Frisbee, but instead of dropping it within my reach, she laid on the grass several feet away, likely tired from all the chasing.
After a few silent moments, Darren rolled back onto his side, propping his elbow up to rest his head in his hand.
His features softened for a moment, the ghost of a boyish grin gracing his lips.
I narrowed my gaze in suspicion, bothered by how easy it was for a single sweet look from him to be so damn disarming.
The comforting illusion completely contradicted the hard and violent man I knew him to be. But that was the thing I had to always remind myself of—it was just an illusion.
“Okay, Jaden, I’ll make you a little deal,” he offered, his voice light with amusement.
“I’ll give you one challenge, and if you can successfully complete it within the allotted time…
” He hesitated, like the next words out of his mouth were actually painful to speak.
“I’ll let you drive one of my vehicles of your choice. ”
I paused in utter disbelief, my eyes swallowing up his facial expressions to see if he was actually pulling my leg or not. And then I decided he had to be.
“Yeah, right,” I retorted. “You won’t let me leave the house in the back seat of a car. You expect me to believe you’ll let me leave in the driver’s seat? Come on.”
He frowned at my dismissal. “I’m serious,” he deadpanned. “Driving is an easy non-physical activity that will allow you to leave the house without requiring you to actually be out in public.”
While he had a point, I still had a feeling he was being fictitious in some way.
I narrowed my eyes in consideration. “For how long?”
He cocked a brow. “How long what?”
My breath came out in a quick huff, blowing a stray strand of hair from my face. “How long do I get to drive? For all I know, you could be offering me only five minutes.”
His stoic gaze met mine as he considered the term. “Half hour,” he finally relented.
I shook my head. “One hour.”
Furrowing his brows, he sharpened his gaze.
“Out of the question.”
I tried not to roll my eyes. “Sorry, but fifteen minutes out and fifteen minutes back is not enough to entice me into whatever game you want me to play with you. You’ll have to do better than that.”
I then lay back and placed my folded hands at the back of my head, waiting patiently for him to cave. If he truly wanted me to play, he knew the stakes would have to be worth the high probability of me failing. I wasn’t going to play a losing game if the reward wasn’t even worth my efforts.
He sighed, and I knew I had him. “Fine, forty-five minutes. Take it or leave it.”
I rolled over with a smile, matching his position. “Okay, now where? I don’t want to drive for forty-five minutes in just a residential neighborhood.”
He smirked, shaking his head slightly as his eyes took on a playful glint. “What do you want, princess?”
I grinned. “I want freeway access.”
He huffed a laugh, rolling his eyes. “Of course, you do.”
Like I was going to waste this opportunity just to drive Miss Daisy around. I wanted to put one of those bad-boy engines to work.
“So we know your terms if you win. Now you need to hear mine,” he said, his tone playfully dangerous, a devilish twinkle in his eye.
I leveled my gaze, waiting for him to lay down the nuclear bomb.
The man could literally make me do anything he wanted.
He didn’t have to resort to bets like this.
Which meant he had something rather interesting in mind.
“If I win, you have to babysit Ella alone for eight hours.”
My face immediately dropped.
“I’m sorry, what?”
Had I even heard him correctly? That was not the winning spoils I expected him to pursue.
The grin clawing up his face was almost disturbing. “You heard me.”
“You want me to babysit a toddler? By myself? For that long?”
“Yes.”
I stiffened in disbelief, my brows practically raised to my scalp. “Why?”
“Why not?” he explained with a shrug. “What? Are you afraid of a toddler?”
I scoffed. “I’m not afraid of a toddler. I’m afraid of accidentally damaging a toddler.”
He cocked an unimpressed brow. “I think you can handle it.”
“What about Katherine and Daniel? Would they even allow me to babysit their daughter? I’m pretty sure they get to decide who watches their kid.”
Darren shrugged. “Daniel has already agreed, and Katherine trusts you.”
I looked away from him and stared off into the distance to think.
Clearly, this was just another devious attempt to warm me up to the idea of motherhood, as if spending time with a toddler would cause my last working ovary to burst with maternal yearning.
In reality, it would probably do the opposite.
I rolled my eyes internally at the thought. I had no objections to motherhood. I had objections to forced motherhood, especially to children bound for a violent life under the close instruction of their sadistic father.
But fine, I could handle hanging out with a toddler all day just to prove to Darren he couldn’t influence my biological desires, no matter how hard he tried. And Camaro would probably have a blast with Ella.