I wasn’t embarrassed. With Aaron, I would have been begging him to stop, but I loved the way Chase watched me. It wasn’t critical and there was no smirk. “You look so sexy right now. I wish I could take a picture.”
“Only the mental kind’s allowed.”
“I know.” He kissed my breast before replacing his lips with his teeth, lightly grazing me. I moaned at the contact.
He moved his hand between my legs. My first instinct was to close up.
“Relax, it’s just me.” His words were whispered in my ear, and without conscious thought, I opened up to him.
“Nice to know you’re ready for me.”
“I’ve been ready for you for weeks.”
“Glad I can finally take care of you.”
“Take care of me now,” I pleaded. I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted someone before.
“Right now?”
“Chase.”
“I’m just checking.”
“Chase. Please.”
“All right, it’s not like you have to beg.”
He bent down to slide my jeans and panties the rest of the way off. Even though my wrists were free, I didn’t move them an inch. I had no desire to.
He unbuttoned his pants and shrugged out of them and his underwear before picking me up and carrying me down the hall to a bedroom. He pulled back the covers and gently laid me down and settled next to me. “How do you want it, Cara? How do you want me?”
Something was different about him. He seemed so much more forward, so much less careful. That made me want to be the same way. “I want you on top. I want to feel the weight of you on top of me.”
“Your wish is my command.”
“A little cocky today, aren’t you?” I tried to control my racing heart. This was finally happening again.
“A little high—on you.” He unwrapped a condom and put it on before moving above me. “Now all I want to do is get inside of you.”
“Guess what? I want you inside me. That makes this convenient.”
“Oh, such dirty bedroom talk.”
“You want dirty talk?” I thrust my hips against him, wanting him to see how much I needed him.
“I’d love to hear you talk dirty, Cara.”
Maybe it was because the whole thing started as a joke, but I suddenly had limitless confidence. “Take me, Chase. Take me until I forget everything else but you.”
His eyes widened as he thrust inside me so quickly I barely processed what was happening. He didn’t start slow, he didn’t start gentle. He moved fast in deep and hard movements that left me grabbing onto the bed post behind me to keep myself anchored. “Is this what you wanted?”
“Yes.”
“Is this enough?” He thrust harder.
“More.”
He listened, and I could barely tell which way was up. I couldn’t concentrate on anything but Chase and the way he made me feel. I was lost in him, and I never wanted to be found.
“Chase!” I yelled out his name, glad I didn’t have to worry about anyone listening.
“Oh, Cara.” He shuddered, groaning as he found his release.
I kissed him hard on the lips. “I should talk dirty to you more often.”
He laughed. “That was unexpected, but really good.”
“Unexpected? You knew what we were going to do when you brought me here.”
“I knew we were going to have sex—but that. That wasn’t just sex.”
I laughed. “That was the result of pent up sexual frustration.”
“Let’s hope we both have more of it. I want at least a dozen repeats tonight.”
“A dozen? Aren’t you pushing your luck?”
“I already admitted to being cocky.” He kissed my neck.
“At least this time I don’t feel guilty about us having sex before talking.”
“We’ve done plenty of talking—but we still need to do more.”
“Oh? About anything in particular?”
“About you. About what happened, about how you’re feeling.” He repositioned me so that I was resting my head on his chest.
“Do we have to talk about that now?”
“Yes.” He rubbed my back. “I don’t want to be pushy, but I need to know you’re taking every step necessary to protect yourself—physically and emotionally.”
“I’m fine. Completely fine.”
“Your ex-boyfriend assaulted your friend. What would have happened if you’d been alone?”
“Nothing. He wouldn’t have hurt me.”
He put a hand under my chin so I’d look up at him. “How do you know?”
“Because he’s not the kind of guy who hits girls.”
“First of all, I didn’t just mean hit.”
I shivered at the implication in his words.
Chase wrapped me up tighter. “I’m sorry to worry you, but I’ve seen this enough. And are you sure you know what kind of guy he is? When you were together, would you have expected him to punch a guy?”
“No.” Chase was making complete sense, but that didn’t mean I wanted to hear it.
“Riley offered to walk you through the restraining order process.”
“I can’t do that. I just can’t.”
“Then what can you do? I care about you, Cara. How am I supposed to leave tomorrow if I don’t know that you’re protected?”
“Reed’s going to keep him in line, and I never walk anywhere alone at night. Besides, he wants to go to law school. Harassing me isn’t worth not getting in.”
“Will you promise me you’ll be careful? And you can always crash at Riley’s if you feel safer there. He wants you to know that.”
I ran my hand down Chase’s chest. “I’m going to be fine. I live in a house filled with people. I’m safe.”
“Will you do something else for me then?” He looked at me nervously.
“What?”
“Please don’t get mad and say I’m sexist and controlling or anything like that. Remember, I’m saying this as your boyfriend who cares about you.”
“Boyfriend?”
“Yes. What else would I call myself?”
I grinned.
“Okay, now that you’re in a good mood, I’ll continue. I know we talk every night at some point, but could you just call or text me when you’re in for the night?”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Even just to say you’re home.” His face was so open and honest.