That was all the reassurance he needed. He growled, running his tongue along my lips as he nipped and sucked my bottom lip into his mouth.
I moaned, “Yes, Chase, yes.”
He returned to his punishing pace while the rain pelted off my sensitive skin, only heightening my arousal. I was so close. God, I had missed our connection. He tightened his hands around my hips and ground into my sex. I flew over the edge. I clung to his chest as wave after wave of my climax pulsed through me.
“I’ve missed you so much. Fuck.” He shuddered against me from the sheer force of his climax. “Baby, you have no idea what you do to me.” With sexy heavy lids he looked deep into my eyes. “If just for a second you could see yourself from my eyes, maybe then you would realize just how pure sweet you are to me.”
I didn’t know what to say.
Instead, I snuggled close and decided in that moment I loved the rain.
19
Weight
He was so beautiful. Tonight was mind-blowing. Amazing. I could have watched him sleep all night. He looked so ... peaceful. The harsh rain was no longer lashing against my bedroom alcove windows and now sounded more like a child’s soothing soundscape. It lulled Chase to sleep about an hour ago. That along with his third crushing orgasm of the night. Not surprising, he added double that number to my running tally. Oh, how I missed this man. I longed to relive those hours over and over again. Our connection seared my soul. If there was a doubt about how I felt about this man, it was erased.
Every muscle in my body burned from complete and utter exhaustion, but I refused to close my eyes and let this night end. Tomorrow was the unknown. Was he going to slip away? The lyrics to one of my favorite running songs,
After our explosive reunion in the alley, Chase carried me straight into a hot shower, stripped us out of our sopping wet clothes and gently washed every inch of my body, tending to my scraped knees as if they were gaping wounds. I knew through his soothing words and compassionate gaze he would wash away every bad thing that ever happened to me if he could.
We didn’t really speak again. Not until after he made sweet love to me and we were quietly entangled and caressing each other under the sheets. As much as I loved the comfortable silence, Chase retreating to his head was worse. I wanted him to know he could trust me, that I was his safe place.
Lying side by side, our noses only an inch apart, I whispered, “She was beautiful.” I hoped my attempt to re-engage our conversation didn’t backfire. He must have known I saw the photographs that lined his parents’ library. We never spoke of his sister after he walked in on Asher telling me about the accident.
He exhaled softly and parted his lips ever so slightly, as if the memory just dawned on him. “Yes. She was.” But that was all he said. No more. Instead his fingertips continued their gentle assault over the sensitive skin of my side.
When I got up the nerve to try again, I stopped myself. Chase’s eyes possessed a frailty, imploring me
Now with his eyes closed and breath so soft, I wondered what he was dreaming of. What happened that night of his sister’s accident? Did it haunt his dreams? My gut told me there was more weighing on his soul. I brushed his overgrown hair from his forehead, tracing the healing cut on his temple.
I struggled against my heavy lids, finally succumbing. Daylight was inevitable.
Falling asleep naked in the arms of my amazingly hot lover while listening to
The second time the bed dipped—I was able to lift my eyelids. Chase was showered and in clean clothes, sitting on the edge of the bed. He went home already. What time was it?
I groggily sat up against my headboard, raising the light sheet over my naked breasts. It was insanely hot again. “What time is it?” My voice sounded raspy even to me.
Chase leaned over, grabbed my glasses off my nightstand and sweetly placed them on my face. He gently stroked my cheek and lightly brushed his lips across mine. His intoxicating smell overwhelmed me.
“You’re teasing me,” I whispered.
He looked amused, tenderly tucking my morning bed hair behind my ears. “It’s early, baby. I’m sorry I woke you. I have a case this morning that I already had to reschedule from last week, or else I would have stayed in bed.” His face turned serious, like he was memorizing my features; like I was the most beautiful thing he ever laid eyes on; like it might be the last time he had the chance.
“I understand. I’d never be upset about you having to go to work.” He knew that, so why did he look ... nervous.
He handed me a hot Starbucks cup. “Girl coffee. I think I owe you a few weeks’ worth.” His voice was low, and he looked down at the floor, avoiding eye contact. I didn’t like where this was going.
“Chase? What’s wrong?”
He rubbed his palms back and forth over his knees.
“Chase, look at me.” Nothing. The already sweltering room suddenly got ten degrees warmer. “Chase?” This was not happening, again. Was it? Uncertainty overwhelmed me. I witnessed the same frailty from last night plaguing those beautiful eyes. He was retreating to his head. “Truth, Chase ... truth. You can trust me—I’m here for you. Please.” Something had to give.
He kicked his shoes off and rested his back against the headboard. I laid my head against his chest. An eerie silence pulsed through me; the only sound was his heartbeat beneath my ear. I waited.
“The summer after graduation, a bunch of us were hanging at the beach. Typical Hamptons Saturday. Our parents couldn’t give a shit what we were doing, as long as we were out of their hair. Playing music, had our guitars, plenty of food and too much beer. We all had money. So it wasn’t a surprise to end our night at a beach house party because the kid’s parents were away touring Europe.” Disgust was in his voice. I peeked up as he shook his head. “Kimi, Talia, Asher and I were pretty much inseparable. It’s just how it was. Talia and Kim were best friends for as long as I can remember. Everyone thought they looked alike, I never really saw it. Maybe because they were both thin with long blonde hair. They were both gorgeous, but my sister’s eyes were the color of the ocean. The four of us had a pretty good band for high school, spent a ton of time hanging out, practicing. Kimi and I played guitar, Talia had a pretty good voice and Asher loved to channel his built up energy on the drums. We’d truck our shit to any dive in the city who would listen to us. We ended up playing at a couple bigger places too, nothing too crazy but we had a lot of fun.” The tension in his face softened slightly, obviously remembering a happy time. “Anyway, I remember the sun was scorching on the beach that afternoon and the cold beer was flowing. We didn’t stop there. Back at the house, the liquor came out. We were all wasted. Eighteen and not a care in the world. So fucking stupid. Kimi had a thing for this guy. Total dick. She was so fucking book smart, it was insane. But my sister had a thing for the bad boy. Being the over-protective hypocritical twin brother, I didn’t approve and made it known. She was pissed at me for butting in and we drunkenly had it out, shouting and cursing on the deck, but I let her walk away. She stormed down the beach to find him anyway.” His heart slammed against his chest wall as his arms tightened their grip around me. I was silent; barely breathing for fear he would stop talking. “I went back to partying after that. The music was good and I was throwing shots back left and right.
