“That’s true,” I whispered.
“It is,” he agreed.
“Chace?” I called. I did it softly but I did it like I didn’t have his attention when he was so close, he was practically all I could see and it couldn’t be argued that I had his complete attention.
“Yeah, baby.”
“I don’t know if you heard the talk. Or I don’t know if someone talked to you about the talk going around town. But you should know that everyone knew something like that happened. And you should know no one blamed you for what you did when you were married to Misty. You should also know everyone always liked you. They wanted better for you. Including me.”
I watched in awe as something washed over his features, something warm yet raw, beautiful but hideous and I felt my chest burn witnessing it.
Then he closed his eyes and pulled me to him so our foreheads were touching.
That felt sweet.
Way sweet.
Beautiful.
I kept talking and he opened his eyes and moved me an inch away as I did.
“You should also know that no one liked Misty but they all agree. They didn’t like her. They figured she trapped you. Everyone knew she lied about Ty Walker. They thought that was crazy and mean and they couldn’t wrap their heads around it. But no one wanted her shot dead.”
“Good to know,” he murmured.
Since his voice was quiet, his hands were warm and strong and we were so close, I felt it safe to keep going.
So I did but haltingly.
“I can’t… I don’t… I mean, I don’t know all that went on and I can’t imagine what it feels like, to be trapped like that, and I really hope I never do. But pretty much anyone in your position would do the same thing so if you’re blaming yourself or feeling guilt about any of that because Misty came to an unexpected dire end, you really shouldn’t.”
“Wish it was easy as that, honey,” he whispered.
He felt guilt.
Frak.
“I do too,” I whispered back then forced a smile at the same time I gave his thighs another squeeze and shared, “But I’ll let you in on a girl secret. A lot of things feel better after a chocolate sundae. So, I bet, you add peanut butter, chopped peanuts and a cherry, it might not sweep all that clean, but it’ll help if only for a little while.”
I hardly got the “ile” out in “while” before one of his hands slid up into the back of my hair and instead of us just being super close, we were super, ultra close because he was kissing me.
Chace tasted of beer. It was the only time I’d ever tasted beer that I absolutely loved it.
I leaned into the kiss, letting the happy haze Chace created whenever his mouth was on mine drift over me. When he ended it, one of my hands was holding tight to the side of his neck, the other pressed deep into the hard wall of his chest and I was breathing heavily.
It seemed to take a year for my eyes to open and I did not care even a little bit because when they finally did, Chace was smiling a small, warm, beautiful smile at me.
Then he was speaking.
Or, in his Chace way, gently ordering.
“Eat your pizza, baby, so I can make you a sundae.”
What could I say?
Except, “Okay.”
Which was exactly what I said.
Then I did exactly what I was told.
And I did it knowing that it was no skin off my nose to eat the pizza so he could make me a sundae since his sundaes sounded awesome.
But I also did it knowing I’d walk to the ends of the earth hand in hand with Chace Keaton and all he had to do to get me to do it was kiss me deep, smile at me, hold my hand and call me baby.
Chapter Six
Do You Like My Dress?
Six oh three in the morning, the next day
I struggled up from sleep when I heard my house phone ringing. My heavy eyes shifted across the expanse of my piles of pillows to peer groggily at my alarm clock and see it was three after six in the morning. I didn’t have to be to work until nine thirty. Therefore, unless I went to work out before work, I was never up this early and everyone who knew me knew it.
This could mean bad things and, with drowsy trepidation, I grabbed the phone out of its charger, beeped it on, put it to my ear and mustered up a, “’Lo.”
“Mornin’, baby.”
Oh my. It was Chace sounding drowsy too. No, correction. That would be, it was Chace, his deep voice sounding husky, soft, sexy drowsy.
Wow.
“Hey, Chace,” I whispered. “Is everything okay?”
“Just wanted to know what you sounded like when you woke up in the morning.”
Oh.
My.
Even still sleepy, I felt my blood start to fire and my belly dropped which caused a tingle between my legs that also tingled down my thighs.
He went on, “And sounds like I woke you up.”
“Yeah,” I told him, still, for some reason, whispering. “You did. I’m never up this early.”
“Never?”
“Well, never if I’m not working out. But I usually can’t muster up the energy to get out of a warm bed in order to go work out so I turn off the alarm, go back to sleep and go to the gym after work.”
He said nothing.
I kept talking.
“I have good intentions though.”
He again said nothing.
So I called, “Chace?”
His voice was deeper, huskier, softer and way, way sexier when he told me, “Sorry, baby, I’m back at you in a warm bed. What else did you say?”
My vaginal walls contracted and my nipples started tingling as I whispered in answer, “I forget.”
That was when I heard his deep, husky, soft, way, way sexy chuckle.
God. I was going to have an orgasm just listening to him chuckle!
“You staking out today?” he asked and I wasn’t following. I was concentrating on my body and memorizing the sound of his voice in the morning.
“Pardon?”
“Our kid, honey. After you lay out the stuff, you staking out?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll bring the coffees.”
My heart fluttered.
He’d bring the coffees.
This meant I’d see him again. And soon.
“Eight thirty?” he continued.
“Sounds good,” I replied in a vast understatement.
“See you soon, darlin’.”
“Soon, Chace.”
I listened to him disconnect. Then I put the phone back. After that, I smiled at my pillow. It was then my body caught my attention again and there was nothing for it. I reached to the drawer of the nightstand. As I was doing this, it occurred to me that I might have had the same effect on Chace as he had on me. It also occurred to me that he might do much what I intended to do because of it.
This meant when I pulled out my vibrator, my self-induced orgasm was off the charts.
The best.
By far.
After I was done, I put my toy away, stretched languorously and smiled again as I snuggled into my pillows.
It was early. I was awake. I had time.