A Lot Like You

by Lane, Soraya

“Don’t I know it,” Hope muttered. “Chase is about as far removed from my ex-husband as is humanely possible.” She’d known her ex since they were kids in elementary school, but the older he’d become the less she’d actually known him.

  “I’m out,” Chase said, standing up and winking at her across the table.

  “And just like that he’s got you in his web,” Chloe whispered, nudging her with her elbow. “I think they practice that sexy wink.”

  Hope laughed at Chloe, but her eyes were trained on the man standing across from her. His shirt was all crumpled now, sleeves pushed up to his elbows, and a beer bottle was hanging casually from his hand. If he was only one man left on earth, she’d be damn lucky to be the last woman.

  He drained the rest of his beer, left the bottle on the table, and walked around to her, dropping a hand to her shoulder. She shivered at his touch.

  “You see the little guy fell asleep?” His words were soft, low as he bent toward her.

  Hope looked over her shoulder at Harrison, saw him flopped face first on the sofa, a Transformer still clutched in one hand.

  “He’s had a great night.”

  “I know. He’s pretty fun to hang out with, and he seemed to like showing us all up when it came to Transformers.” Chase raised an eyebrow. “And you? Have you enjoyed your night here?”

  The husky, deep notes of his voice sent a delicious rush of anticipation through her. She licked her lips, suddenly aware how painfully dry they were. “Me too.”

  He edged closer. It was like they were the only two people left in the room, the only sound reaching her ears the echo of his breath. She raised her eyes so she was staring into his, no longer nervous of being so close to him, or of seeing the blatant desire in his gaze. She’d consumed more alcohol than she’d planned on, but she wasn’t drunk—just enough was coursing through her body to give her the kind of confidence she’d had the last time they’d been together.

  “Why don’t I show you my new house?” He reached for her, his fingers colliding with her arm. He didn’t move straightaway, but then he ran his hand down her arm, not stopping until his fingers caught hers. “What do you say?”

  “Yes,” she murmured, her lips parting as he leaned in, waiting for his kiss. Screw saying no. To hell with being sensible.

  Chase bent lower, but he passed her lips, his mouth falling closer to her ear. “Let’s go then. Harris will be fine here with the others.”

  Hope let out a breath she hadn’t even known she was holding. She kept her fingers looped with Chase’s as he turned, facing the table they were only a few feet away from. Reality came crashing back when the others all glanced up at them, still consumed by their card game.

  “I’m taking Hope over to see the house,” Chase said. “You guys all right to keep an eye on the little man?”

  Chloe looked straight at her, her smile genuine. “Go for it. He’s safe here with us.”

  Hope returned the smile. “Thanks. I don’t think we’ll be long. But call Chase straightaway if he wakes up.”

  Chase tugged her along tight to his body as they walked. He let go of her hand and slipped his arm around her instead, and she didn’t hesitate to tuck under his arm, her head to his shoulder. He was warm against her, his abs taut where her hand rested against his side.

  “How far away is it?” she asked.

  He pulled open the front door and she went just ahead of him, settling back against him once it was closed.

  “Not far.”

  They walked in silence, the moon illuminating their surroundings. Stars filled the sky, the only disturbance to an otherwise black canopy overhead. Hope kept her head tilted as she walked, admiring the night and trying to stop her heart from hammering so hard it jumped out of her chest.

  “Hope,” Chase said, slowing down, then turning her around to face him. He still had his arm around her, only now it had slid partway down her back, and he’d raised his other to cocoon her even closer to him.

  She watched him, raised her hands to his chest, palms flat to his T-shirt. She grasped the fabric, ready to tug him in, only Chase didn’t need to be told what to do.

  He bent, his body accommodating for her height, head dipping as he sought out her mouth. Chase’s lips pressed to hers, so gently at first that she moaned in his mouth, desperate for more, wanting to strip him right then and there.

  But Chase wasn’t letting up. He kept his lips soft, brushing against hers; even when she tried to yank him closer he held his ground, his body immobile, a statue made from stone. Hope was desperate for more, wanted every inch of him against her, his mouth hard, his body tighter to hers.

  “Slow down, tiger.” His deep whisper against her mouth drove her wild.

  “Maybe I don’t want to go slow,” she muttered. After trying not to think about him sexually or any other damn way all night, she was ready to jump him. She wanted him here, right now, on the grass if she had to. So long as every part of her was touching every part of him, she’d be happy.

  “Come on.”

  Chase grabbed her hand again and started walking. She had half a mind to throw a tantrum and refuse to move, but she didn’t. Whatever the hell he felt for her couldn’t be anything like the way she was attracted to him, because if it was, there was no way in hell he’d have been able to just stop like that.

  Hope followed along blindly, no longer giving a damn about how pretty the sky looked or what they were passing. She was like a doe in heat, desperately following the scent of a stag up ahead. Now she knew how all the poor heifers felt when they were confronted with a magnificent big bull.

  “It’s just there,” he said.

  Hope stopped walking and looked at the big two-level house up ahead. Nate hadn’t been joking when he’d said it was massive.

  “It’s huge.” The others hadn’t been lying when they’d said it was fit for a family of ten.

  “That’s what all the ladies say.”

  Hope thumped him hard on the arm, grinning when he howled with laughter.

  “The house. I was talking about the house, you idiot.” And just like that she was no longer so hot under the collar she was incapable of speech.

  “Ah Hope, you never did like my jokes, did you?”

  “Screw you,” she muttered.

  “Funnily enough, that’s exactly what I’d like you to do.”

  Hope glared at him, ready to call him out. Only when her eyes met his, bathed in moonlight, all sense fled her brain again. Chase went to say something, his lips parting, but instead of uttering a word he lifted her up in his arms so fast she didn’t have a moment to protest.

  “I thought…”

  “What?” he asked gruffly, marching at a rapid pace, his arms locked tight around her. “That I didn’t want you because I didn’t strip you naked just now?”

  “Mmm, something like that,” she responded.

  “Sweetheart, I was trying not to push you.”

  Damn, push away. “You don’t have to go easy on me.”

  “Dammit, Hope, I’m trying to show you that you’re different.”

  “What if I don’t want to be different?” She had no idea why she was saying what she was saying, why she wasn’t just keeping her thoughts to herself.

  “You want me to treat you like a one-night stand, is that it?”

  Chase barged the door open with his shoulder, backing into the dark house. It was all framed up with some of the walls completed, although it was hard to see in the half light. But what she could see was Chase as he stared down at her.

  “Yeah,” she told him, her voice barely audible. “Maybe I do.”

  “You should have goddamn said so before,” he muttered, dropping her to her feet and backing her up against a wall. She barely had time to register what was happening before he had her pinned, his big body not giving her an inch of wriggle space. He pushed his forearms against the timber wall, bracing himself in front of her, his mouth dangerously close to hers.

  “Tell me what you w
ant?” he ground out.

  She gulped. “You,” she mumbled. “I want you, Chase.” Her voice became more confident as she spoke, her eyes trailing their way up his chest until she met his gaze.

  “Well, that’s good.” His voice was as sexy as a shot of whiskey thrown over ice. “Because I want you, too.”

  Hope sucked back a breath as Chase took one arm off the wall and stroked a finger down her cheek, caressing her lower lip before dropping his mouth to cover hers, his hand sliding around her. The moan that escaped her was deep and guttural, responding to the heaviness of his lips, the decadent way his tongue slid into her mouth and teased against hers sending spasms of pleasure through her body. She wanted him so bad it was almost painful, her need for him so deep she wanted to wrap her legs around him right then and there.

  “I’ve been waiting a long time to do this to you again,” he whispered, no longer bracing his weight against the wall at all. Now his hands were all over her, relentless, skimming her waist as he shoved her top up.

  Hope didn’t let his mouth leave hers for a second, her hands wrapped around his neck, tugging him closer. She sucked hard on his lower lip when he tried to pull back before covering her lips with his again, over and over, gasping for breath when he forced her back hard against the wall, shoving her top up high until he could yank it over her head.

  Hope’s fingers fumbled with the buttons on Chase’s shirt. Frustration got the better of her and she yanked hard, no longer caring about undoing them—she just wanted it off. Now.

  “In a hurry?” he asked, laughing as she ripped the rest of his shirt open and forced it back, pleased when he shrugged out of it.

  “Yes.” She pushed up his T-shirt, annoyed he was wearing two layers. His damn cowboy getup was way too hard to get out of. When he was finally bare chested she took a second to admire the man in front of her, ran her hands down his chest, sliding them around his waist. Her eyes had adjusted to the almost darkness, could make out his body. It was then, when Chase gave her a wicked grin, that she realized she was almost naked from the waist up, her lacy bra the only thing left covering her.

  “Pretty,” Chase said. “But it’d look better off.”

  Hope gasped when Chase expertly flicked the clasp at the back one-handed, her bra falling forward. He pulled it away, discarding it, his eyes fixed firmly on her bare breasts.

  “As kissable as I remembered them,” he growled out, dropping lower, his mouth covering one of her nipples as he ran his tongue around her delicate areola before closing harder over her skin and sucking, first soft then hard.

  Hope dug her nails into Chase’s shoulders, her back arching as he continued to pleasure her. But as much as she wanted him to keep going, she also wanted his skin beneath her fingers, to be exploring him at the same time.

  “Chase…”

  “Hmmm,” he murmured, switching his attention to her other breast.

  She tangled her fingers in his hair, loving that it was long enough for her to grip. Hope let him continue, toes curled, pleasure building in her belly like a fast burning fire until it was almost too much to bear. She yanked him up, his hot mouth closing over hers the second his back was straight.

  Hope kissed him back, her lips as urgent as his, her body desperate. She hadn’t been with a man since her marriage had broken up, hadn’t even thought about how deprived she’d been of sex, but now that she was with Chase, the desire within her was impossible to fight. She couldn’t end this even if she wanted to—she wanted Chase, and she wanted him right here and now.

  “Don’t push me,” Chase murmured against her skin, his mouth moving so fast she could hardly keep up with him. One minute he was kissing her lips, the next his tongue was trailing a hot, wet path down her neck.

  “Or what?” she asked, tugging him up by his hair again and forcing his mouth to hers.

  “Or I’ll stop trying to be a gentleman and lose all goddamn control.”

  She laughed, reaching down for his belt buckle and pulling it across, freeing him of the belt and then working on the top button of his jeans. Hope was frantic, she couldn’t help it—years of pent-up desire and sexual frustration coming to a head.

  Chase matched her every step of the way, fiddling with the zip on her jeans at the same time as he tried to struggle out of his own jeans. She laughed when he stumbled, suddenly self-conscious when he moved away from her, the night air cool against her breasts without Chase warming them.

  “Fuck!” he cursed, tripping over and slamming his arm against the timber frame beside him. “Damn boots.”

  Hope watched as Chase kicked off his boots, discarding her own shoes before unzipping her jeans. When she looked back up, Chase was immobile, staring at her as he stood in his boxers. She stifled a smirk at his hard-on, loving that he was clearly as excited as she was. Her heart was beating hard, erratic, but she was determined to give him a show now that she had his full attention.

  Her breathing was hard as she leaned farther forward, tossing her long hair over one shoulder so Chase could see her breasts as she finished peeling her jeans off. Then she straightened, stretched, sliding her fingers into the edge of her panties and slowly, slowly, pushing them down an inch.

  “Screw slow,” Chase cursed, closing the distance between them and slamming her back against the wall.

  Her back protested, the timber hard against her skin, but it barely registered. It was nothing compared to the buzz consuming her body, the excitement of knowing what was coming, what was about to happen between them.

  Chase kissed her—one hot, searing kiss that had her begging for more, her hands frantic around his neck as she tried to force him back again. But Chase was on her way down lower, his tongue never leaving her skin until he reached her naval. Hope’s breath was sharp, her body quivering as he finally took his mouth off her only to slip his fingers inside of her panties and take them down ever so slowly. He pulled them down, his breath against her belly still as she stepped out of them, leaving them on the ground at her feet. And just as she was about to pull Chase up, to wrap a leg around him so he could enter her, his mouth closed over her.

  Her moan was loud, guttural, but she couldn’t help it. Not when his lips covered her, his tongue so gentle she could barely feel it one second, then firmer, more intense the next. His kiss was so intimate, his touch so right, and even though she wanted him inside her she…

  “Chase,” she whispered his name as her body flooded with heat, her pleasure building, fast. “Chase.”

  He didn’t reply with words. Chase kept up the intensity, cupped her ass to hold her still, not letting her move. His mouth was relentless as she strained against him, finally giving in to the waves of ecstasy. Chase only slowed when her fingers went slack against him; she’d been gripping his hair with one hand, the other set of fingers dug into his shoulder, and now she was ready to fall into a puddle at his feet her body was so relaxed.

  She looked down, her eyelids heavy. “That was amazing.”

  Chase gave her a long, smoldering look, his dimple as sexy as the wink he gave her. “Darlin’, that was just for starters.”

  Heat rose through Hope’s body, and it had nothing to do with embarrassment and everything to do with desire. Her body was still tingling with the high of her orgasm as Chase slowly rose, pressing barely there kisses to her skin as he straightened.

  Hope leaned back, shut her eyes, and felt up and down his big body as he rose.

  “I think I’m having my unfair share of the fun here,” she murmured.

  “Bullshit,” he said with a laugh, grabbing her hands and pinning them above her head. “If this isn’t fun, then I don’t know what is.”

  Chase pressed into her. She gasped when he roughly cuffed her hands with one of his own, his other stroking between her legs.

  Hope went to open her mouth but Chase took charge, his lips closing over hers, rough now where before he’d been more gentle. She struggled to move her hands but there was no way she could get out of his gra
sp unless he let her, and he was more interested in shedding his boxer shorts than letting her move. Chase was in charge, and instead of wanting to fight him, she damn well loved it.

  “What a way to christen my new place,” he said into her ear as he finally released her, letting go of her hands and placing his hands on her ass instead, scooping her up into the air.

  “Cha…” His name died in her mouth when he thrust her back against the wall, her legs locking around his waist as he pushed inside of her. His eyes were on hers, his gaze open as he took her hard and fast, right there in the entrance to his new house, the cool air snaking around their hot, slick bodies. Chase pumped into her, over and over, her legs tightening around his waist, not wanting him to slow or stop.

  “This was worth waiting for,” he muttered against her mouth as she bit down on his lip, her arms looped around his neck.

  “Don’t stop,” she ordered. “Don’t you dare,” she moaned as he shifted position slightly, “stop. Ever.”

  A familiar, delicious warmth spread through her as her climax began to build. Chase was pushing her so close to the edge, his body strong and hard beneath her hands as she felt him all over. He was everything she’d remembered and more.

  “Damn,” he muttered as she clenched her muscles around him, his mouth hard against her neck, her chest slammed hard against his damp chest as they both climaxed at the same time.

  She smiled, eyes shut, reaching to cup his head as he gently kissed her neck.

  “That was definitely worth waiting for,” she told him, leaning back into him as he wrapped both arms protectively around her. His cheek was pressed to hers now, his touch soft where only moments before he had been rough and determined.

  “You have no damn idea how just long I’ve been waiting.” His whisper was deep, an octave lower than she’d heard from him before.

  Chapter 10

  Chase ran his hands down Hope’s body, frowning when her skin broke out in goose pimples. The last thing he wanted was to see her dressed again when he’d finally gotten her naked, but being in an under-construction house at night wasn’t exactly tropical. Besides, it had gotten so dark now he could hardly see her.