by Sabrina York
“Can I help you?” a worker asked, causing her to look up and over at the front porch where the older woman was standing.
“I’m sorry. I’m Noelle Bennett and I’m a photographer.” She pulled her card out of her pocket. She’d planned on going in to talk to someone but was drawn into snapping more shots first. “I just love your inn. The location, the scenery. That atmosphere. I was wondering if I could speak to the owners?”
“That would be me. The inn has been in our family for years.”
“Would you be interested in letting me submit these photos to my agent? I won’t do anything without your consent. We can draw up a contract and so on.”
“Like a promotion?” the woman asked. “I’m sorry. I’m Carolyn Reed.”
Noelle offered her hand. “Not like a promotion but if it turns out the way I think, you’re going to make a lot of money.”
Carolyn smiled and said, “Then come on in and let’s talk.”
13
Take That Next Step
Later that night, Noelle decided to go see Chase rather than call. Cowards called. She’d never been a coward.
It was for the best and she was sure he’d have some questions. She knew she did and talking over the phone wasn’t the best way to handle it.
She pulled down his driveway a little after six, knowing his office closed at five, and assumed he’d be home and have the dogs all taken care of.
He was home like she figured, but he was in the yard running and playing with them when she walked around back.
“Hey,” Chase said, his smile a mile wide. That was something at least.
“I thought it’d be easier to come visit than talking on the phone.”
“Much easier, especially when I’m dying to do this,” he said just before he grabbed and yanked her into his chest, laying his lips across hers and taking a possession that she wished he’d continue with.
When he stopped, she knew it was time to address the other concern she had. Why she wasn’t good enough.
It had to be that. There was nothing else that made sense.
“Have you eaten yet?” she asked.
“No. I was going to just throw something together quick. Have you?”
“No,” she said, watching Calvin run around now that he knew she looked to be staying and he could play with his new friends. “I thought maybe I could order a pizza or something. My treat for taking such good care of Calvin for me.”
“I don’t need anything for caring for him, but I’d love to have dinner with you. And since I know your show went so well,” he said, laughing, “I’m going to let you buy.”
“How do you know?”
“I found an article online. Would it be wrong of me to say I’m slightly—no, completely—intimidated by your success?”
“Is that why you haven’t done anything other than kiss me?” she blurted out before she could stop herself.
He cocked his head to the side, looked over when he heard all three dogs barking and chasing each other, then turned back to her. “No. I can’t get a read on you or what you want, and until I do, I think it’s best to not take that next step.”
“Are you for real?” she asked. Seriously, she’d never known of a guy holding out because he wanted to know her feelings. Her thoughts. Her plans. That alone should have told her all along Chase was different.
“Afraid so. Maybe if we had a little more of an in-depth conversation we could find out some more about each other. Or maybe I’m just not your type and I want to find that out before I extend more of myself out there.”
Again, not what she expected, but secretly happy that he was putting thought into this being more than just a casual thing. She sighed and walked over to a chair on his back deck in the shade. He joined her.
“You’ve been reading up on me, I see. Is that what the problem is?”
“It’s a little hard not to when there is so much available online and we haven’t really talked much about our pasts.”
“I told you not to believe those things. Very little is true. Go on, ask me what you want.”
“Are you bisexual?”
“Wow, you go right for the craziest of them all, don’t you?” she said, laughing. “I thought guys were into that.”
“This guy isn’t. My self-confidence is at an all-time low dating you to begin with and the thought that I might have to compete with both men and women is a bit hard to handle.”
She wanted to laugh at him again, but realized he was serious. “There is no reason for you to have any doubt. Nor to worry about self-confidence levels. I’m not into women and I never have been. I started those rumors myself when I was sixteen because I was sick and tired of getting hit on and groped. The mass public has no idea what models endure on the job. I was lucky to always have a parent around, for the most part, when I was younger. But slippery hands try to cop feels when harnesses are being attached, body placements shifted, and so on.”
“And Emma Charleston. She isn’t a lover of yours.”
“Oh God no. Emma is my best friend. You really are good at research, that you figured that out from her name alone last night. Sorry about the drunken call. I was missing Calvin...and you.”
“You talked about me with her?” he asked, grinning.
“I did. That is what women do. I told her we haven’t done anything more than kiss and she was coming up with all sorts of ideas. That you were a virgin.” She grinned when he snorted. “That you couldn’t keep it up.”
He started to cough. “Not a problem, I assure you.”
“Well, I haven’t been able to figure out what was going on. They were legitimate thoughts. If your self-confidence is taking a hit, then at least I’m not alone. Ask me some more questions. Let’s clear the air here,” she said, hoping maybe they could get to some other business tonight.
“You have self-confidence issues?” he said, shaking his head.
“Everyone has them at different points in their lives. It should say something to you that I never had them in my work, but rather my personal life.”
He tilted his head, looked like he was going to say something, then paused and finally said, “I don’t believe all the stuff about you being difficult to work with, or high handed, but I could be wrong. I don’t know you well enough. All I’ve seen that seems true to me are the ones that have said you’re a sweetheart and that you do a lot for the community. Though the only man I hope you’ve been seen with lately is me, there were plenty of pictures of you with different men online.”
She figured she better address everything. “I could have been called a bitch a time or two. It’s a cutthroat business and rumors start with the simplest misunderstanding, or another model’s attempt to ruin someone’s name. My mother is an attorney in the fashion world and well known. My father is a karate instructor who has gold-medaled in the Olympics and trains stuntmen and Hollywood stars. Many thought I was handed a golden ticket when in fact I had to work just as hard as everyone else. Maybe harder so people didn’t believe everything they read.”
His face flushed a little. “I didn’t discover any of that information about your parents.”
“If you dug enough, you’d find it. My parents are great people who have supported my desire to model, knowing it’d be short term. My father taught me how to handle myself, and my mother’s reputation has preceded her enough that I was protected by that alone.”
There was no reason to add that she had used some of her father’s moves in the past. A carefully placed knee, a spiked heel on the top of a foot. Lots of things that could be considered accidents. Breaking a stagehand’s finger one day, that was planned.
“I’m glad for that. I read a lot of things about models having eating disorders. I’m thinking that isn’t your problem. Or at least not now.”
“No. Just another thing I was hated for. I’ve got good genes. As I got older I couldn’t eat as much as I liked if I had shoots planned, but I never starved myself and always workout. I’m
very healthy and if there was any hint I was doing those things you read about, my parents would have pulled me in a New York minute.”
“So you’ve got a good family life, then?”
“Of course I do. Why would you think otherwise?”
“Just asking,” he said.
She thought there was more to it, but didn’t push. “Have I answered all your questions then?”
He reached his hand over to hers. “Just one more. Is Christmas your favorite holiday?”
“Where did that come from?” She couldn’t remember ever seeing anything published that would lead him to ask that.
Every Christmas she’d rush to the tree when she was a kid, even as a teen—and if she was honest an adult too—and couldn’t wait to sit around and pass the gifts with her parents. The one day that she could pretend they were a normal family and didn’t live so much of their lives on the road.
Hardly anyone knew how much she loved Christmas, so she was shocked that Chase asked that.
“Two reasons. First, I noticed several articles on your charity work with children’s hospitals and it always seemed to be around the holidays.”
“I do love Christmas. For as much as we’ve traveled, Christmas has always been about family. No work that week if my parents could avoid it. We just looked forward to a little bit of peace. I looked forward to the Christmas season all year round. I know it’s my parents’ favorite. That’s where my name came from. They met at a Christmas Eve party. What’s your second reason?”
“Because it’s my favorite too and I’m just looking for anything that we might have in common.”
He hadn’t expected to say that. Hadn’t expected to bring up half of what he did, but was glad that they were having this conversation. That it was time to clear the air and she seemed agreeable to doing just that.
Not only that, he just wanted to know a bit more about her. He didn’t feel like he got as much as he wanted, but it was enough for now.
If he was embarrassed that she asked if he was a virgin or had a problem getting aroused, he tried to hide it, but knew he didn’t do that great of a job at it.
He supposed the best thing that came out of this was her desire to know what was holding him back, telling him she wanted more. That there was more for them to explore and making him have hope when he hadn’t in a while.
“I think we have more in common than you realize,” she said.
“Like what? I’m having a hard time finding things.”
She stood up and pulled him up next to her, wound her arms around his neck and kissed him softly, then deeper. “We both enjoy being in the other’s arms.”
“That’s true.”
“We both love dogs,” she said when Calvin came running over, jumping on them.
“Can’t argue with that.”
“We both like to do good things for people and animals.”
“That’s another one,” he said.
“I’d say we are both pretty smart but have been acting dumb lately,” she said, bringing his lower lip between her teeth.
He was proving to her he had no problem being turned on with the steel rod pressing against her hip just now. “How’s that?”
“Because I’ve been doubting myself a lot in the past few weeks wondering if I was good enough for you. Wondering what was wrong with me that you didn’t want to take me to bed when that is all other men ever wanted me for. Wondering if there was anything I could do to change your mind, but afraid to talk about it.”
He wasn’t addressing her comment on other men. There was nothing he could do about something in the past even if he wanted to know more.
“I’d say we’ve cleared the air enough to venture down that road. Don’t you think?” he asked, his hands slipping up her shirt and touching soft smooth skin.
“Thank God. Will the dogs be good out here without us? I don’t want any interruptions or distractions.”
“They’ll be totally fine, but I won’t be if I don’t get you naked and bury myself inside of you so deep that I won’t know where your body begins and mine ends.”
“Take me to your bed now and keep talking like that. I like it.”
That was answer enough for him.
14
Moth to a Flame
They barely made it through his back door with their hands roaming all over each other in a frenzied race to find what they’d both been craving.
“You feel so warm,” she said, her hands going under his shirt, pulling it over his head, then tossing it in his kitchen.
“Hang on,” he said.
“Nope. You made me wait, I’m not waiting any longer.”
“I didn’t make you wait,” he said, his lips going to her neck, then his hands under her shirt and lifting it the same as she did.
“Either way, we aren’t waiting any longer. You’ve got a mighty sturdy table right over there and we’re going to make use of it.”
“I can do that,” he said, circling her toward it now, his hands working fast at the back of her bra and sending that flying too. “That’s it.”
She was going to ask what that comment was for but his mouth lowered on her nipple, tugging the pebbled peak in and making it his own. Claiming her in a possession she’d never wanted to feel in her life, but now she wanted—no, needed—it like a moth to a flame.
She just wanted to stand there and feel him holding her, controlling her...dominating her, but she had a feeling he wasn’t going to move at the pace she wanted. The one she needed to get to right now.
“This isn’t a marathon. This is a sprint. We train for marathons.”
He laughed against her breast, the rumbling vibrating her skin with a caress of sorts. “I like to train. I’m good at training.”
“Nice to know for another day,” she said, her hands going for the button on his shorts, undoing them and letting them drop down with his underwear. Oh yeah, she liked her men big in all areas. It was worth the wait.
He returned the favor and dropped her shorts and panties down to the ground, leaving them both there naked and kicking off their shoes.
There was no time to think, no time to act, no time to do anything at all before he had his hands on her waist, and lifted her, then sat her down on the table and spread her wide.
“I was good at running the mile, but not so good at a sprint, so be happy it’s still less than a marathon.” Then he lowered his head to her breast but didn’t linger this time like before. Just kissed and licked her everywhere, moving from one side to the other, keeping it fair.
When he seemed to have satisfied what he was looking for there, he moved those gorgeous lips of his lower to her ribs, her waist, then right to the edge of what marked her a woman. She’d been preparing for this night.
“For me?” he asked when he got a look at her bareness.
“Is it a problem if it was?”
“Hell no,” he said, lowering his mouth.
Her eyes rolled into her skull before she closed them and threw her head back. He was a good kisser, so she should have realized he’d be good at this too, finding every nerve ending and playing it like it was a new toy on Christmas morning that he’d been writing to Santa for. Like he wouldn’t stop until he’d mastered it.
Until he mastered her.
“Chase,” she said, her voice cracking, because her body was rising, her hips lifting and her nails marking his back.
He ignored her and continued on but added his fingers to the mix. Spreading her wide, stroking her outside and around, then moving in. Finding the spot that she hadn’t had anyone find in years, and sending her to a place so far away that she never wanted to return.
She was so weak and depleted of energy that her hands gave out, forcing her to go down on her elbows, then her back, her breath wheezing in and out like an asthmatic in the Miami sun.
“Where are you going?” she asked when she managed to open one eye. He was walking out of the room. “Don’t leave me hanging like this. I need more.”
He smirked at her. A nice cocky one that sent her body fueling up for more. Promises he better fulfill. “I’ll be right back. Just running to my room for a condom. Don’t move. Stay right like that. Catch your breath.”
“That works,” she said, sucking in huge gasps of air. He was back faster than she figured and didn’t give her time to process anything before his hands were under her hips, lifting her as he was sliding in. “Shit,” she said.
“Lean back on your hands, I need to taste your breasts some more.”
She couldn’t think of anything right now other than what was filling her. What was making her forget all the reasons why she hadn’t wanted a man in her life for years. But she did what he said and reaped the rewards when his mouth lowered to her nipple, latched on, then bit her gently while moving his hips in and out.
Tangled electrodes of feelings were slamming into her with every movement he made. With every stroke and every caress, every twitch of her muscles that just wanted to clamp on like a steel vise grip and not let go.
“Are you coming up on the last lap of that mile yet?” she asked, knowing she was getting to the end again. It was always best together in her mind, not one before the other, but bodies crossing the line at the same time. The pulsing and constricting of muscles, pushing and pulling at each other, sending them both skidding toward the end.
“Rounding that last corner,” he said, and it was the first time she noticed that he was starting to run out of steam. His breathing was increasing, his hips were moving fast and his hands were gripping her hips.
She pushed up and wrapped her arms around his neck, feasted her lips on his, then crossed her legs behind his back.
His hands moved and cupped her rear, lifted her off the table and started to slam into her, holding her up, standing there, balancing the two of them until it was time they toppled down in a blissful fall that only Chase seemed to be able to get her to feel.
