by Nikki Ash
“What’s going through that beautiful head of yours?” Chase asks, stepping into my room. His hair is dripping wet from his shower, and since he’s still in the middle of putting on his shirt, his chest and abs are on display. Why must he always do that? Is it too much to ask that he finishes getting dressed before he comes near me? It’s like his goal in life is to tease me…
My gaze drags lower. He’s wearing a pair of basketball shorts that are hanging off his hips and show off how fit he is. He finishes putting his shirt on, hiding the goods, and I mentally pout, already missing the view.
“Georgia.” He chuckles, having obviously caught me staring. Oh well, if he’s going to walk around half-naked, then he can’t be shocked when I stare. “Before I walked in you looked like you were deep in thought.”
“Just thinking about that stupid perfect path.”
“You know there’s no perfect path, right?” He walks over and sits on the bed next to me. “Life isn’t perfect and no path you take will be either as long as you’re out of that shell and in the real world.” There’s a hard edge to his voice I’ve never heard before.
“You have no idea what real life is like,” he continues. “Women get drugged every day, raped, killed. Only the rich and privileged think there are perfect paths because they don’t experience the shit us poor people do.” Us poor people do…
“You make six figures a year as a firefighter, drive a BMW, and live in a nice condo,” I point out. “You hardly have room to judge.” I don’t know a lot about his childhood, but even if he was poor, he’s not anymore.
“I lost my sister when she was eighteen,” he says, shocking the hell out of me. “She overdosed after she became addicted to drugs because her asshole dealer boyfriend got her hooked. I found her in his house dead. I was seventeen. That’s where I was yesterday… at my mom’s. It was my sister’s birthday, and like every year, my mom was drowning herself in a bottle.”
Oh my God, no wonder he’s freaking out. I was drugged on the birthday of his sister who died from drugs. Without hesitation, I sit up and pull Chase into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine what you’re going through.” I wrap my arms around him tighter and he sinks against me.
“I was so fucking scared for you,” he grumbles into my neck. “When Alec texted… fuck.” He pulls back and his glassy eyes meet mine. “I was the one who suggested you get out…”
“This isn’t your fault.”
“I should’ve been there,” he argues. “Alec was focusing on Lexi and—”
“No, you shouldn’t have been because you were where you were supposed to be, with your mom because she needed you.”
“Next time you go to the club, I’ll be going with you.”
I scoff. “Trust me, that won’t be happening. Me and clubs are done.”
Before he can reply, there’s a knock on the door. “I’ll get it.”
A minute later, my mom walks through my door with a sad smile on her face. “I wasn’t sure if you would be awake, but I told Chase I would be by with soup…”
“You don’t have to come up with an excuse to check on me,” I tell her. “You’re my mom.”
“I know,” she says with a watery laugh. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. Sore and tired, but I’m alive.”
“You are,” she says, tears pricking her eyes. She sits on the edge of my bed and pulls me into her arms. “I was so scared, Georgia. You’re my baby girl and if something happened to you…”
Chase walks in with a tray at that moment and my mom pulls back. “I’m sorry. I guess it just really hit me. We could’ve lost you.”
“You didn’t lose me, and nothing like that will ever happen again.”
Chase sets the tray on my lap. There’s a bowl of chicken noodle soup I recognize from my favorite deli, a glass of orange juice, and some crackers.
“Thank you,” I tell both of them. “It smells delicious.”
“I’ll give you guys a few minutes,” Chase says. “Holler if you need anything.”
When he’s gone, Mom waggles her brows at me. “He’s sweet.”
I groan. “And just a friend.”
“Your choice?”
“No, his. He was hurt and isn’t looking for anything more.”
“He seemed awfully worried about you for someone who’s just a friend. He yelled at Alec and wouldn’t leave your side.”
“He blames himself. It was his idea for me to get out.”
“Yeah, I heard that, but I don’t know.” She shrugs. “I just got a vibe.”
“A vibe, huh?” I laugh as I take a spoonful of my soup. “Well, your vibe is way off. We’re just friends. He was my wingman, but now that I have no intention of ever going back to a club, I have no idea how I’m going to find a man.”
My mom eyes me for a moment. I expected her to appreciate the fact that I’m planning to stay away from clubs, so I’m shocked when she frowns. “What happened was scary, but you can’t let one bad experience keep you from doing what you want to do.”
I set my spoon down. “I was drugged, Mom. I went out to a club a few times, hoping to find a guy, and I was drugged. I think I’ll stay right here, in my house, where it’s safe. Maybe I can try online dating or something,” I half joke.
Mom doesn’t laugh. “Do you remember last year when you were dating Robert?”
“Ughhh… How could I forget?” I groan.
“He wasn’t a very nice man,” she agrees.
“Hence why I broke up with him.” I take a spoonful of soup.
“But afterward, instead of getting back out there, you went months without dating,” she points out.
“Who would want to date after that?”
“And now, you’ve had something bad happen to you, and you’re saying you’re not going to go back to a club…”
“So?” I set my spoon down and take a sip of my orange juice.
“When I was married to your father,” she says, her voice a tad shaky. “Not Tristan… But your biological father, Justin… He was abusive.”
Her words have me abandoning my food and drink. My mom doesn’t talk about her past life, ever.
“And not only verbally,” she continues. “He would hit me too. He would come home and attack me.” She visibly shudders. “As you got older, it got worse. I was terrified that one day he would hurt you, so I came up with a plan to run away with you, to get away from him.” A single tear slides down her cheek and she swipes it away. “I slowly put away money so we could disappear. But before we could, he caught me. We fought and I hit my head. When I woke up, I couldn’t remember what happened, and he claimed you were dead.”
“What?” I choke out in shock.
“I was devastated and ran. I had no clue you were really alive and he was hiding you to punish me.”
I don’t even know what to say. What horrible person would do that to a mother? And I share DNA with him? But now it makes sense… My memories of my bio dad locking me away in my room. The way he treated me.
“I never told you,” I admit, “because you hated to talk about Justin, but I have these memories of him yelling at me and throwing me in my room because I was crying for you. I didn’t know why you weren’t there, but now it makes sense.”
Mom’s eyes widen and several tears leak from her lids. “You never told me.”
“At first I thought they were nightmares, but as I got older, I realized they were memories… I didn’t want to upset you.”
“Oh, Georgia. I wish you had told me. I’m so sorry. I should’ve told you about my past… our past. It’s just that…” She sighs. “It’s so hard to talk about it.”
“It’s okay, Mom. So, what happened after you left Justin?”
“After I ran, thinking you were dead, I ended up here in Los Angeles,” she says with a watery smile. “I met Tristan and Lexi, and I fell in love with her at first sight.” She sniffles back her tears. “But it took me a little while to let Tristan in. I
was scared that what happened to me before would happen again.”
“Well, who can blame you?”
Mom shakes her head. “I was so focused on the bad that already happened, I almost missed out on the good.” Mom moves the tray off my lap and sets it on the nightstand. Then she takes my hands in hers. “What happened with Robert sucks. He was a shitty guy and will probably end up alone, but what I’m concerned about is the fact that after him, you didn’t date for months. And now you’re saying you’re never going to a club again. You can’t allow the bad to keep you from the possibility of the good.”
She’s right. It’s exactly what I do. I stay in my room, in my little bubble, where I’m safe. It might’ve stemmed from when I was little and my bio dad kept me in my room for damn near a year, but I’m a grownup now and it’s time to stop letting my fears dictate what I want in life. I want to be free…free to love, free to live. Just be free to do what I want.
“You’re right. I’ve worked myself up over the years, creating a mountain out of a molehill, and it’s time I take control of my life. I know what I want, and right now, the only person standing in my way is me.”
“How are you feeling?” Chase plops down on the bed next to me. He props his muscular forearm up against the side of his head and looks at me with his mesmerizing hazel eyes.
“Better,” I tell him truthfully. “My mom and I had a really good talk, and I’ve come to a decision…” I twist my lips, unsure if I should tell Chase. He was really worried about me going to the club, and with his sister…
“Well, go on,” he says through a laugh. “What’s this decision?”
I take a deep breath, then in a rush, say, “I’m not going to give up finding the right guy… even if it means going to a club.”
Chase blinks once. Then again. And then his mouth is on mine. He threads his fingers through the back of my hair and tugs me over to him. At first I’m in shock, wondering what the hell is happening right now. But then his tongue darts out, licking across the seam of my lips, and just like that, my mind goes blank, my body doing all the thinking for me.
I scoot closer, my body sighing into his, and he deepens the kiss. His lips mold with mine, our tongues tangling in one another. His hand leaves my hair and skates down the side of my body, until it lands on my hip. And then he’s gripping my hip and rolling me onto my back. His legs push my thighs apart and he settles on top of me.
Our kiss is messy, desperate. Filled with all of our pent-up sexual tension. I run my fingers through his hair, and wrap my thighs around his waist, pulling him closer to me. When the hard bulge in his pants grinds against my center, I let out a needy groan, which spurs him on. He nips at my bottom lip, then sucks it into his mouth, before he breaks the kiss and moves to my neck. I tilt my head slightly, giving him better access, and he licks a trail along my sensitive flesh, taking his time and covering every inch.
I’ve only been kissed by a couple guys in my life, and none of them made me feel like this—as if my body is being wound up tightly in the best way. If he continues, I have no doubt I’ll eventually snap. My lady parts are clenching in want. My nipples are hard, and as Chase works his way down my body, his fingers brush up against them, making me moan. How can such a simple touch elicit so much pleasure?
Needing to feel him, I pull his shirt over his head and toss it to the side. I run my nails along his hot flesh and laugh when a shiver visibly overtakes him.
“Fuck, Georgia,” he murmurs, kissing his way along my collarbone. I’m wearing a tank top sans bra and he pulls the front down, exposing my breasts. As if asking for permission, he stops and glances up, his eyes shining with lust and desire.
The second I nod my permission, his lips wrap around my nipple. He sucks it into his mouth and bites down gently on the tip, causing my entire body to bow.
“Holy Jesus,” I groan. “Do that again.”
He chuckles at my demand, the rumbling vibrations shooting straight through me. My thighs tighten around him, and it makes him laugh harder.
I feel out of control. Every touch, every lick has me needing more.
As Chase is dragging my tank up and over my head, a door slams and then a few seconds later a feminine voice yells, “Hey, sis, I’m—Oh shit!”
Lexi.
“What hap—What the fuck?”
Alec.
“Oh God,” I groan, at the same time Chase curses under his breath. “Give us a minute,” I squeak, as Lexi’s laughter rings out through the condo, no doubt remembering the time I walked in on her and Alec.
I scramble to right my tank top, mortified. What did we just do? Chase made it clear he doesn’t want to settle down, and that’s precisely what I’m looking for. I can’t be another notch on his belt. It’ll not only destroy me, but it’ll ruin the friendship we’ve been building. A friendship I don’t want to lose.
I try to push Chase off me, but he doesn’t budge. “Move,” I hiss in confusion. “And… put your shirt back on.”
“Hey.” He grabs my chin with his thumb and forefinger. “Breathe.”
“What?” My chest is rising and falling in quick succession.
“I can see your brain is in overdrive. Don’t second-guess what just happened.”
“What did just happen?”
“You and me,” he says, his lip quirking into a sexy grin.
I open my mouth to ask what he means by that, but before I can get the words out, Lexi yells, “We’re still here and waiting!”
Chase
Fuck. I’ve imagined how her pillow soft lips would feel against mine a million times. How her smooth skin would feel under my touch. I knew if I kissed her, if I touched her, I wouldn’t be able to stop. And I was right. Her taste, her smell, her scent of pleasure, when I hadn’t even pleasured her yet, are fucking addicting. And I’m fucked because I’ll be damned if anyone but me will ever touch and taste her again. Fuck that, Georgia is mine. Fuck the risks, fuck my heart, just… fuck.
“We need to talk,” Alec growls the second Georgia and I step into the living room. I raise a brow and he adds, “Alone.”
“Stop,” Georgia says softly, obviously embarrassed at having been caught. “Please.”
Alec glares at me. He warned me to stay away, and he was right to do so… before I spent time with her. Hell, I don’t blame him. This last year I’ve turned into an uncaring manwhore. But I wouldn’t do that to Georgia. She’s different.
“So, what…” Lexi says. “You two are together now?”
“No,” Georgia rushes out, shaking her head quickly.
“Then what? You’re just hooking up?” Lexi’s glaring eyes meet mine, but I keep my mouth shut, letting Georgia and her sister have this conversation.
“What? No,” Georgia argues. “It was just… a mistake.”
And now I’m jumping in. “Like hell it was a mistake.” Georgia’s shocked gaze swings over to me. “Kissing you was not a mistake.”
“I just meant we got carried away,” Georgia backtracks. “Chase has been so nice to me and it was just… a moment.”
“No, we didn’t, and no, it wasn’t,” I argue again. I’m not going to let her play this off. Hell, I’m already thinking about the next time I can kiss her again. Unless…
“Wait, do you regret the kiss?” I never even considered she would regret kissing me.
“I—” she begins, her eyes darting toward Alec and Lexi, hoping one of them will save her.
“We just came by to check on Georgia,” Lexi cuts in and stands, surprising me when she kisses Georgia’s cheek then grabs Alec’s hand and drags him to the front door. “We can see she’s in good hands, so we’ll go.” She shoots me a wink. “See you guys later.”
Alec grumbles his goodbye, but I don’t miss the daggers he’s shooting my way. He’s protective as hell of Georgia, and as my best friend, he knows the way I’ve treated women this past year. We’re definitely going to have a conversation soon.
Once they’re gone, Georgia attempts to
slip back into her room, but I catch her by her arm and stop her before she can run. “I meant what I said. I don’t regret kissing you. It wasn’t a mistake. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and if it’s up to me, I’d like for it to happen again.”
Georgia allows herself a small smile before she schools her features. “I enjoyed it too, but…” I raise a brow, waiting for her to make her argument so I can shoot it down.
“Well, c’mon, Chase,” she finally says. “I’m a virgin… and you’re…” She waves her hand at me. “You’re not.”
I crack up laughing. “No, I’m not. But so what?”
“So, as hot as you are, and as good of a kisser as you are, I can’t be just another woman you stick your dick in.”
Fuck, I love it when she says shit like that. It isn’t often Georgia talks like that, but when she does, it’s a goddamn turn-on.
I step closer to her and rest my hands on her hips. “What if I want you to be the only woman I stick my dick in?”
Her cheeks heat up, and I grin. Her innocence is so refreshing. “I would say you should reconsider because I’m not having sex until I fall in love.” She raises a challenging brow at me, thinking her little confession is going to deter me, but what she doesn’t realize is since we started hanging out, I haven’t had sex at all, and surprisingly, I don’t miss it. I would rather hang out with her and have a meaningful conversation than have meaningless sex.
“Before I got divorced, Victoria was the only woman I’d had sex with.” Georgia’s brows shoot up to her forehead. “This last year I was searching for an escape. I was hurt. I loved her and she cheated on me. She took something as sacred as our marriage and shit on it like it meant nothing to her.”
I take her hands in mine, lacing our fingers together. I love how delicate and soft her hands are in contrast to my rough ones. “I can’t take back how I’ve spent the last year, and honestly, I’m not sure I would want to. I handled shit the best I could, but that was all before you. And I know actions speak louder than words, so whatever I say right now isn’t going to hold as much meaning as me showing you. But that’s exactly what I would like to do… Show you that I have no desire to spend my time with any other woman but you.”
