by Jaci Burton
He set the dog down, then looked over at the table. "What's this?"
She smiled. "I made dinner for you."
"You did?"
"Yes. I thought you might be hungry."
"I'm starving. I was going to ask if you wanted to go out to one of the all-night breakfast places and get something to eat."
"Now you don't have to."
"I need a quick shower. I smell like a bar."
"Go ahead. I have to finish dinner anyway."
"Okay." He started to walk away, then stopped. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her deeply. "Thanks for this. It's ... really thoughtful of you."
She warmed from the inside out, glad her idea had been a good one. "You're welcome. Now go."
While Bash wandered into the bathroom, she warmed the chicken tenderloins she'd grilled earlier and sliced them into small pieces. Then she mixed the chicken in with the salad she'd made and put out bread and dressing.
By then, Bash had come back.
"Grilled chicken salad? And bread? This looks amazing."
She enjoyed his enthusiasm. And his hunger. "It's not a big deal."
He squeezed her hand. "It is to me."
If she got any warmer from his compliments, she'd start blushing. "Let's eat."
They sat, and he told her about his night at the bar, then asked her what movie she had seen with Megan and Sam. She told him about the movie, a romantic comedy.
"I'm sure you're not interested in those."
He leaned back in the chair. "Why would you say that?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. You seem the action adventure or bloody horror movie type."
"I definitely like those, but I can handle a romantic comedy, too."
"In other words, you'd tolerate that type of movie in order to get a woman in bed."
He waved his fork at her. "You don't think much of the male species, do you, Chelsea? Or maybe it's just me."
Clearly, she'd insulted him. "I'm sorry. I guess I just don't see you sitting through the kind of movie that's chock-full of romance and love scenes."
"Hey. I've seen my share of romantic movies. There were several I liked."
"Name one."
"When Harry Met Sally."
She cocked a brow. "Tell me the plotline."
He did. She was impressed. "Name one you didn't like."
"The Notebook."
She gasped and put her hand to her heart. He laughed.
"Sorry. Too cheesy. Plus, the ending sucked. If I'm going to see a romance movie, I want a definite happily ever after."
Her heart squeezed. "You like the happily ever after."
"Doesn't everyone?"
"I suppose so."
"You pick out some romantic movie you want to see, and we'll watch it together."
She pondered the thought of her and Bash watching a romantic movie together. Sharing popcorn. Holding hands. Her in tears at the ending. Would he comfort her or laugh at her?
She already knew the answer. Bash wasn't that kind of guy. He was sweet and comforting.
"Okay. We'll do that."
"I want you to know, though, that I'm just in it for the popcorn."
She laughed and tossed a hunk of bread at him.
She wondered if this was what it was like for couples who shared their lives together. Talking over dinner, laughing together, sharing their days and their likes and dislikes. This was what she'd been missing all these years, what she craved.
What she wanted so much she ached with yearning for it.
And now, as she sat with Bash in the wee hours of the morning, she realized she'd never felt quite so ... content.
But he didn't fit the parameters of her list. So this had to be wrong.
Right?
She'd never been more confused.
After they ate they watched TV for a while. Bash actually found an old romantic comedy and they argued over its relative merits. She thought it was funny and over-the-top romantic. Bash thought it was unrealistic, so Chelsea made the point that it was fictional, not realistic. In the end, they agreed to disagree, though Bash liked the happily ever after at the end. Apparently that was a big thing to him.
She smiled about that and laid her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her.
They fell asleep that way. Bash woke her up later and they wandered off to bed. He made love to her softly, quietly, in a way that made her breath catch and her body ache for him. Afterward, he pulled her against him and she fell asleep with her head on his chest.
It was a pretty perfect night.
Chapter 29
For the past few weeks, he and Chelsea had gone to the movies, out to dinner a few more times, and even to see a musical, which hadn't been too damn bad, actually. He'd even gone to brunch with Chelsea and the whole gang one Sunday morning, which had been fun. He rarely hung out with everyone on Sundays because he was typically dead asleep when they were all out for brunch.
They were all surprised and called him a vampire, but they were as glad to see him as he was to see them.
He needed to start taking more weekends off. He owned the damn business, and he'd been grooming Hall for a while now. It was time Bash started living his life instead of giving it all to the bar.
Which brought him back around to thoughts of taking a vacation. And he wanted to take Chelsea with him. Now that it was summer, and she was off school, it was the perfect time. She'd ended up not having to teach summer school, which was great. And he'd talked to Hall about taking over more responsibility at the bar so Bash could take some time off. Hall said he was wondering if Bash was married to the bar, or if he was ever going to trust him to run it in his absence. Bash felt kind of bad about that, but he'd invested everything he had in No Hope at All. If anything went wrong, he'd lose it all.
Hall assured him he and the staff would handle his baby just fine while he was gone.
Now he just had to talk to Chelsea.
He'd texted her this morning. She said she was doing laundry, but other than that, she was available. When he asked if he could come over to talk, she didn't respond right away. In fact, it took her like a half hour. Finally, she replied yes.
So he headed over there and knocked on her door.
She had her hair pulled up in a high ponytail, and she was wearing a sleeveless top and capris.
He gave her a quick kiss. "You look cute."
"I'm not sure what that means," she said, standing aside to let him in.
"It means you look pretty."
"I'm doing laundry and cleaning my kitchen. No one looks pretty when they do that."
"You do." She always looked pretty, even today, with her casual clothes and no makeup on.
She laughed. "Thanks. What brings you by?"
"I wanted to talk to you."
"It sounds serious. And kind of ominous."
"It's neither. It's fun stuff."
"That sounds a lot better. Come on in and sit down. Would you like some iced tea?"
"Sure."
"Have a seat and I'll be right back."
Her place smelled like lemons. It was a small apartment, with a tiny kitchen that overlooked an equally tight living room, but everything was orderly. She had the blinds open, and sun poured in. For an apartment, it wasn't bad.
"Checking out my place?" she asked, handing him his glass of tea.
"Yeah. It's nice. I like the light in here."
"Thanks."
"But I can still see you in a house of your own. So you can get that dog you want."
She sat next to him on the sofa. "You're right that I need to do something about that. I've lived in apartments since I graduated college. I'm so tired of it, especially with the laundry being downstairs. I've saved plenty of money and I can definitely afford the down payment." She shrugged.
"But ..."
"I guess in my head I was waiting to buy that house with Mr. Perfect."
"Ah." He took a sip of tea and laid the glass down on the table.
For some reason, his head immediately filled with images of him and Chelsea buying a place together. Or of her moving into his house.
Until just this moment, he hadn't realized how far into this relationship he'd come. And she obviously wasn't there at all. At least not that she'd said to him.
He shook off the thoughts and got down to business.
"So I wanted to talk to you about a vacation."
She frowned. "You're going on vacation? I thought you never took that much time off."
"Typically I don't, but I've been training Hall for a while now, and I think he's ready to take over for me and run the bar while I'm gone."
"That's great. Where are you going? Camping, I assume?"
His lips quirked. "That's a thought. But I wanted to take you on vacation."
She gave him a look of surprise. "You do?"
"Yeah. And you know, your list and all, I thought we might head to the beach."
Chelsea's heart squeezed. It had been doing that a lot around Bash lately. He wanted to take her on vacation with him, and, mindful of her list, he'd thought of the beach. "Do you even like the beach?"
"Sure. What do you think of South Padre Island?"
"I think it sounds ... perfect."
"Good. I thought we'd mix up a little of what you like with some of what I like. You can ride the dunes there on ATVs."
She supposed she could give what he liked a chance as well, especially since he was giving up camping to do something she wanted to do. "That sounds fun."
He laughed. "I'm sure you're not the least bit interested in riding ATVs."
She came over and climbed into his lap. "I don't think it would be fair of me to only want to do what I like, would it?"
She leaned forward and kissed him, tangling her fingers in the lush thickness of his hair. Their conversation was put on hold as passion ignited. Bash grasped her hips and squeezed, rocking her back and forth against his quickly hardening cock.
It had always been like this between them. A rapid burst of flaming desire, a need she felt for him that couldn't be denied. He scooped his hands under her thighs and stood. She wrapped her legs around him while he carried her to her bedroom.
She was glad she'd gotten the sheets done early this morning and made her bed. He laid her down on top of the quilt, then followed, covering her body with his, kissing her, his body surging against hers until all she wanted was both of them naked and Bash inside of her.
She framed his face with her hands, breaking the kiss.
"Bash."
He lifted. "Yeah?"
"I need a shower. I've been working all morning and I'm sweaty."
"That sounds fun."
He hopped off the bed and took her hand, hauling her upright. He followed her into her bathroom, shedding his shirt and undoing his jeans. It was such a delicious sight to watch him undress. She did the same, turning the water on after she pulled off her shirt.
Bash helped her draw down her capris and underwear, then pushed her against the bathroom counter and kissed her, a long, deep kiss that made her forget what room she was in.
He opened the shower door and stepped in first, adjusted the temperature, then made room for her, pulling her under the spray.
She let the water pour over her, wetting her hair. When she opened her eyes, Bash had a handful of shampoo.
"Turn around and I'll wash your hair."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. What--no guy has washed your hair for you before?"
"No."
"Good. Turn around."
Well, this was a first. She pivoted and closed her eyes. Bash let the shampoo drizzle over her scalp, then dug his fingers in.
This was nice. He knew just the right amount of pressure to provide, and she had to admit, it felt really good. The only time someone else washed her hair was at the salon when she had it trimmed. And they did it fast. This was slow, sensual, his fingers gliding into her scalp and neck, massaging. It was a tender assault on her senses, his fingers doing an intimate dance on her head.
Who knew shampooing could be so sexy?
"Dip your head under the water," he said.
With a sigh, she turned around and rinsed her hair, then quickly conditioned it and rinsed again.
When she opened her eyes, he had her body wash in his hands.
"Time for the fun part," he said with a sexy smile.
He lathered his hands, then smoothed the wash over her body--all over her body. Her skin had never felt more alive, or ached more for his touch. He soaped her shoulders and down her arms, lingering at each finger and in between before moving to her shoulders, her collarbone, and over her breasts, where he teased her nipples until she wanted to die.
He went lower, over her rib cage and down her stomach, then dropped down to do her thighs, deliberately avoiding her sex, which by now was throbbing with need.
Then he turned her around and soaped his way up her calves and the backs of her thighs, washing her buttocks and back, and lingering at her shoulders, where he massaged with deep, moan-inducing rubs.
"Rinse."
She did, and when she turned around again, he kissed her, pressing her into the wall of the shower. He slid his hand between her legs, cupping her sex. She whimpered against his mouth, her legs parting to give him access as he caressed her.
And when he dropped down to his knees and put his mouth on her, the heat and wetness of his mouth made her cry out, his name spilling from her lips.
"Bash."
She was lost in the whirlwind of mind-numbing need, water pummeling her as sensation catapulted her right over the edge of oblivion. She wanted to hold on, wanted to live in this moment of pure bliss for an eternity, but she couldn't. She orgasmed with a wild cry, her body shaking all over as she let go. Bash held on to her hips, giving her more than she could have ever asked for.
He stood and held her as she continued to quiver, then kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him, needing that lifeline of support as she came down from the incredible high.
"Well now," he said, kissing her ear. "That was one hell of a shower."
She laid her hands on his chest and pinned him against the shower wall. "Shower's not over yet."
She wanted to give him some of what he'd given her. She grasped his cock, sliding her hand over the slippery hardness of his steely erection. She slid down his body, keeping a firm grasp of his shaft in her hand.
He groaned, looking down at her with such fierce desire she could feel every ounce of it deep inside of her. And when she took his cock in her mouth, sliding the soft head between her lips, she shivered, the salty taste of him exciting her beyond measure. She wanted to give him pleasure, to give him that out-of-body experience he'd just given her.
There was such power yet such softness in the way he thrust into her mouth, the way he gently laid his hand on her head. He gave her all he had, slamming his hand against the wall, groaning to tell her he thoroughly enjoyed what she was doing.
"Chelsea. Goddamn. You're killing me."
She knew that feeling, that total loss of control when the pleasure was so great you knew you were going to explode with it. She drove him right to the brink, then over, taking all of him, feeling his body tremble with the effort as he came in a thundering burst that left her as shaky as it had Bash.
He grasped her hands and lifted her, taking her mouth in a blistering kiss that made her glad the water in the shower was cooling, because her body was heated all over.
He turned off the shower and they climbed out and dried off. She combed out her hair and grabbed some clean clothes from her bedroom while Bash put his on.
Then she went into the kitchen and refreshed their iced tea.
"Nice shower," he said, coming up behind her to press a kiss to her shoulder.
She turned around and laced her fingers together around his neck. "I found it extremely refreshing."
He kissed her, then took his glass of iced tea, downing several gulps. "For some reason, my thr
oat is very dry."
She laughed. "Come on, let's sit down and talk about that vacation you mentioned."
They took a seat in the living room. "Oh, right. Vacation. I don't know how we got off topic."
"Hmm, me either. But anyway, when were you thinking of going?"
"My friend has a condo at South Padre and he says it's available next week. Is that too soon for you?"
"Not at all. What about Lou?"
"I already asked Emma. She said she and Luke will take care of her. Lou will have a blast with Daisy and Annie."
"I'm sure she will."
"Oh, and there's one more thing I didn't get to talk to you about before we were--uh--distracted."
She smiled. "What's that?"
"I was talking to Carter about the trip and he said he was thinking about taking Molly on vacation. I invited him to come along."
"That sounds awesome. I'd love to have them with us. I think we'll all have a great time."
"I think so too. We'll leave Wednesday and come back Sunday."
She leaned back against the sofa. "Thanks again for asking me. And for taking me to the beach. It sounds fun."
"I think it will be. It's been a while since I've taken some time off to just go hang out somewhere and relax."
"Are you sure you know how to relax?"
He pulled her against him. "If you're with me? I think we can find ways to relax."
She couldn't wait.
Chapter 30
They got an early start on Wednesday and arrived around seven that night. Bash had been to his friend's condo before, so he didn't need any directions.
Rather than trying to cram everyone in one vehicle, they convoyed down, with Carter driving his truck and Bash his. Since it was about a twelve-hour drive, they had to make several stops.
Apparently women had to pee a lot more often than men, something Bash had learned in the past twelve hours. Otherwise, he and Chelsea had a good rapport. Instead of curling up into a ball and falling back asleep since they'd left way early, she'd stayed up and chatted with him. They talked about their jobs, about high school, about former relationships they'd had and what had worked and what hadn't. They even talked about music, and he discovered Chelsea liked switching radio channels--a lot, whereas he was content to pick one and listen to it for the duration of the trip. They had fun arguing that point for at least an hour.
He'd gained a lot of insight into Chelsea during the past twelve hours. Though he'd known her for a lot of years, he was always learning something new. He probably talked to her more than he'd ever talked to any of the previous women he'd dated.
