Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Chance
Ten minutes later, we’re settled in side by side. "Anything I should know about before I get started?" I gesture to her laptop, desperate to break the tension crackling between us.
She adjusts her glasses, the simple movement sending blood rushing south. "Like what?"
"Well, when I helped Eve, tentacle porn was just the beginning. I'm still traumatized."
Her laugh catches us both by surprise—bright and genuine despite everything.
The second it fades, all I can think about is what I’d trade to hear it again—especially if I’m the reason for it.
Focus, soldier.
With our heads down and tension all but gone, I guide her through the steps to isolate the issue, doing my best to ignore the way she leans in, her shoulder brushing mine.
Her clean, sweet scent is everywhere, sneaking into my lungs like it belongs there.
It doesn’t.
But damn, it’s hard to remember that.
And then the clues emerge. One by one, each a revelation making my blood run cold.
My mood sours, tension swells, all filling me from the inside out until I’m choking with it.
I shove to my feet, heading for the door. Time to have a talk with murder muffin.
She’s out of her chair right after me, curling her fingers over my forearm. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“The fucker’s hacking your computer.”
“Wait, who?”
“Blake."
She jerks back. "What?"
“Look.” I head back to my computer and point to the connection attempts, explaining technical details while rage builds in my gut.
"You work on my network from now on. Stay here.”
Riding the fury fueling me, I’m at her door, hand turning the handle, in four strides.
“Your dad’s protege and I are going to have a little chat."
“Oh, no you don’t!”
Faster than I expect, she slips between me and the cracked door.
“Chance—no. He’s not worth it.” Her voice is soft, but steel-edged. Her fingers curl against my shirt. No longer flat, but a tiny act of possession by holding on.
We freeze, our gazes falling to where her hand is now over my thundering heart.
Her chin tilts up, defiant, that same stubborn determination that always set my blood on fire.
Little Holly lived for pushing every last button I had.
Grown up Holly, she found a whole new set.
"If he gets my files, he wins. If he takes my time, my peace of mind, my confidence... he wins.” She sucks in a breath and squares those surprisingly powerful shoulders. “And I’m not letting him win."
“Holly, he hacked your camera.”
“Then I guess it’s good I watch my porn on a smart TV like a fucking adult then isn’t it?”
The air whooshes from my lungs and an immediate picture forms in my head.
Vibrant blue eyes glazed with building pleasure focused on a large screen. Breathy moans spilling from her lips joining those from the scene she enjoys unapologetically.
Her fingers boldly cruising along her skin, chasing pleasure with absolute confidence she deserves it.
My skin flames hot, but I force my hands to stay at my sides. “I don’t like it." My voice is tight, gritty, tortured.
"You don’t have to." Her eyes lock on mine. "But you’ll respect it."
So much determination in such a small package. “Yeah, I’ll respect it.”
“Thank you.” Her hand slides into mine with the soft spoken words.
Something just changed. Changed huge. I’m just not sure what.
Settling in beside her, I’m hyperaware of every breath. Fixated on every movement. The gentle slope of her neck as she bends over the keyboard. The way her sweater slips off one shoulder, revealing golden skin that begs to be touched.
Even with the distraction, I have her computer scrubbed and connected to my network—the only way she’ll connect until we leave.
Where I can keep a close eye on that fuckwit sniffing around her father’s company.
Days on dickhead duty and nights in close proximity that doesn’t have disaster written all over it. Not at all.
Not when she shimmies in her chair when something goes right, a little wiggle that makes her breasts sway gently under her sweater. The no-bra discovery pegs the hard-on to 100% leaving me struggling for air.
An hour passes in a haze of technical jargon and stolen glances. As she fades, her responses come slower, movements less precise, and the yawning starts in heavy rotation.
“I should go." The words feel wrong even as I say them.
"Stay?" She looks up at me through those lashes, uncertainty written all over her face.
“You’re wiped out.”
"Please?"
Say no. Maintain defensive positions.
No matter what I tell myself, it’s, the "Okay," slipping from my lips.
We end up on her bed. Leaning back against the headboard, I stretch my legs out before me. She on the other hand curls into a ball, tucking into herself, propping her head against my shoulder.
“Chance?”
“Yeah?”
“It does matter. So are you finally going to tell me?
She blinks up, the soft glow of the lamp catching on those little gold frames. Fidgeting with the edge of the socks, she runs her finger back and forth rhythmically. Completely unaware how fucking sexy that one little move is by itself, but combined with the socks, devastating.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Holly.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t, but let me tell you…” I let it pour out. Unfiltered. More than I’ve ever told Nick even. About Noelle. My father.
About trying so hard to be perfect that I forgot how to be real.
"She looked good on paper," I say peering down at her, my voice rough. "The perfect military match. Colonel's daughter who understood the life, respected the rank..."
Holly shifts beside me. "So what happened?"
"Paper burns." I release a long, shuddering breath. "Just like anything else."
The silence stretches between us, heavy with the truth of those words. "Six months of pretending to be the man my father wanted, the husband she deserved... turns out paper can't hold up against who you really are."
"And who are you, soldier boy?"
"Someone who's tired of running." I pause, the weight of everything unsaid pressing against my chest. "Someone who's done making the same mistakes."
Her breathing starts to even out, a quiet rhythm that tells me she’s drifting off. "I should have told you about Noelle. But talking about her means admitting I was a coward—that I let my father decide who I should be, instead of being who I am."
She doesn’t respond, only the soft, steady sound of her breaths breaking the silence. I stay awake, watching over her, each inhale a reminder of everything I stand to lose if I screw this up again.
“Something someone as strong and unstoppable as you would never do.”
Her lips move, words lost to the haze of sleep as she curls into me, fitting like she’s always belonged there. Maybe she does.
Careful not to wake her, I remove her glasses, setting them on the nightstand. She burrows in deeper with more mumbling, tucking perfectly under my arm.
My phone buzzes.
NICK
Get it figured out?
The double meaning isn't lost on me. I trace my thumb over the velvet-soft skin beneath her eyebrow, marveling at how someone so fierce can be so delicate.
ME
Working on it.
The simple truth is, I feel more for this woman sleeping in my arms than I ever did for the one I promised vows to. The realization terrifies me to my core.
Brushing my fingers along her cheek, I study the sweep of her lashes and the soft curve of her slightly parted lips. "What the hell am I going to do with you, Holly?"
I already know the answer. I’ve been lost since the closing arguments in the trial of reason versus risking it all—the moment her curious touches, while she thought I slept, cherished me more than anyone ever has. More than anyone’s even professed to.
The jury began deliberating our fate with that first kiss under the mistletoe.
She sighs, her arm wrapping around my waist. Burrowing her face against my ribs, she wiggles her nose back and forth before settling into just the right spot.
And the verdict?
Every broken and bruised part of me—my regrets, my desires, every scar and sharp edge—they shift, turning over and locking into place. Not just fitting, but finding the answer that’s been there all along. The one I was too blind to see until now.
A life sentence, sure. But it’s not confinement—it’s freedom I didn’t know I was capable of feeling.
The scary part isn’t how I might fall for her.
It’s that I already have.