Love Me Like I Love You

by Willow Winters

  The sex is hard and fast, but it’s so much more. We’re both desperate for a physical release, but intertwining our bodies transcends anything I’ve ever felt before, and as I look down at Chase, I know in that very moment he walked into my life at the exact right time.

  We were meant to meet so we could do this, and I don’t mean epically fuck.

  My orgasm hits me suddenly, and I have to use both hands over my mouth to keep quiet. Chase comes right after I do, groaning out loud as he finishes. I fall forward onto him, and he folds his strong arms around my shoulders.

  “That was intense,” I pant. “I don’t think I’ve ever come that fast before, and that’s including the times I’ve done it myself.”

  “That’s one hell of a compliment,” Chase says with a chuckle. He brushes my hair out of my face and kisses my forehead. “And I’d say same for me, but that first night we spent together when you shot me down…I took care of business myself and it was pretty much instant.”

  I laugh, feeling his cock inside me as my body moves. “I think that’s a compliment, right?”

  “It is.”

  “That wasn’t the first night we spent together,” I correct and move off of him, trying to lay flat until he brings me a towel to clean up with. “The first night was right in here, actually.”

  “But I was on the couch. Fuck. Speaking of the couch…I almost forgot Jax is here. What the hell are you doing to me, Sierra?”

  “Just the usual Black Magic love spells. It’ll only be a matter of days before your soul is mine and I can use your reanimated corpse to do my evil bidding.”

  “As long as you keep fucking me like that, I’m fine with it.”

  I act like I consider his words. “I suppose I can work in a spell or two to preserve your body. It would be a shame to waste this.”

  Chase laughs and gets up, grabs a towel from the bathroom, and hands it to me. “Still want to go out to breakfast?”

  “I might wait a minute or two before going out there. The door wasn’t shut and even if it were, there’s no way anyone in the living room wouldn’t have heard us. And you know how important first impressions are…”

  Chase steps back into his boxers before getting a new pair of jeans from the dresser. “As far as first impressions go, this one has to be the fucking best.”

  Chase: I can’t be held responsible for distracting you at work. Brace yourself.

  I smile down at my phone and wait for another picture to come through. I’m at work, and Chase is currently at the hospital visiting his nephews for the first time. One of the babies was a whole pound smaller than the other and needs to be on oxygen. Chase promised me over and over that he wasn’t just making shit up to make me feel better, and that both babies were given a good prognosis and should come home by the end of the week.

  I admire the photo of Chase holding the newborn for a minute before replying.

  Me: You look so hot with a baby in your arms.

  Chase: Don’t get any crazy ideas now

  Me: Heck no. Not for years and years and years and years.

  I add a laughing emoji and send, then take another glance at the photo Chase sent. The bell on the door rings as someone enters the little shop, and I look up, startled by who I see walking in.

  “Mom?”

  “Hello, Sierra, darling.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “What are you doing here?”

  Mom blinks, long, false lashes coming together slowly. “Is it so out of the question I come and see you at work?”

  “Uh, yeah. Is everyone okay?”

  “Yes, yes, we’re all fine. I thought I’d come get a book to read by the pool.”

  “Sure, Mom. You’re the only one here right now so why don’t you just tell me what you want.”

  Mom looks at me, lips pursed, but gives up with a sigh. “I talked to your aunt Kelly today.”

  My aunt Kelly is Lisa’s mom—my dad’s younger sister. “Is she okay?”

  “Oh, yes, she’s fine. We’re going shopping later—that’s not the point. The point is she told me some startling news.”

  My phone dings as another text from Chase comes through. I flip it over since I have a feeling I know what this is about.

  “She told me about that man you’ve been dating…that Henson boy.”

  The way she spits his name pisses me off. Instantly. He’s not good enough for her solely based on the fact his family doesn’t come from money.

  “He’s been arrested before! What are you thinking, Sierra?”

  “Mom, calm down.”

  “I will not calm down! I’m worried about you, honey.” Her eyebrows push together and I see a rare real-mom moment where her emotions are visible through the layers of foundation and blush on her face. “Men like that are never good news.”

  “Mom, Chase isn’t a bad guy. I promise you that.”

  “But he’s been arrested over a dozen times.”

  It takes effort to keep my face neutral and act like this is old news. “He’s not a bad person,” I state again.

  “Your father and I talked, and we don’t like this.” She holds up a hand. “I understand you’re an adult and can do as you please, but know how worried this makes us. You’re my baby girl and I want to protect you.”

  “He makes me really happy, and if you met him, you’d feel the same way I do. Well, not the same in the I-want-him-sexually way, but in the he’s-not-a-bad-guy way. Unless the whole bad-boy-yet-good-man thing turns you on.”

  “This isn’t funny, Sierra. I wish you’d take things more seriously. You could do so much better, sweetheart. He’s a bartender who lives above a bar. What kind of future could he offer you?”

  Anger flashes through me and I’m on my feet, leaning across the counter. “I do take things seriously! I spent the last year and a half in serious depression. And my future? I didn’t know I was even going to have one, let alone look forward to one until I met Chase.”

  The color drains from my mother’s tan face. “I didn’t think—”

  “No surprise there,” I snap, and all the things I’ve wanted to say to my mother over the years bubble to the surface. “That’s how it’s always been with me though.” I throw my hands up in defeat. “I’m not Sam. I don’t have a high-paying, prestigious job like Scott. And now I’m not dating someone you approve of and you automatically want me to cut him off before you even meet him.”

  “It’s not just that, Sierra,” she starts.

  “Then what is it? I know I’m not what you expected, Mom, and I’m still not sure if I should be sorry for that. My life hasn’t turned out like I thought it would, but I found someone who makes me happy, and I wish you’d give him a chance before coming in here and telling me that he’s not good enough.”

  Silence falls over the both of us. “You’re right,” Mom finally says, voice strained. “Maybe he is a nice man. Maybe he does treat you well. That still doesn’t change the fact that he’s been taken away in handcuffs multiple times for assault. I’m worried about you, Sierra. And a lot of us feel that Chase shouldn’t be trusted.”

  Assault? Chase? That doesn’t make sense. I put my head in my hands. A lot of us…That only means one thing. The Summer Hill gossip mill is alive and running with rumors of Chase’s arrests. That explains the stares we got at breakfast this morning. I thought it was just because of Jax.

  “It doesn’t matter,” I say out loud to my mother as well as myself. “Whatever Chase did before doesn’t matter. He’s a good person, Mom, and I really care about him. He cares about me too, and if you’d give him a chance, you’d see what I see in him.”

  Mom’s lips press together in a tight line, and wrinkles form around her pout. “Fine,” she finally says. “Bring him to dinner Sunday.”

  “I will.” I sit back down on the stool behind the counter and let out a breath. Chase’s words echo in my mind, about how weird it is to always be in the same place with the same people. Maybe if I moved around like he did, I wouldn’t seek my
family’s approval. I let my thoughts briefly wander to traveling the world with Chase, going from city to city, state to state, even to different countries.

  “Don’t be late,” Mom says, needing to get the final word in.

  “We won’t be.” I let out a breath, suddenly feeling sorry for my mother and her concern over the opinions of others. I’m sure a large part of this really is stemming from fear that I’m dating a bad person, but it’s not all of it.

  Mom opens the door but doesn’t step outside. “Sierra,” she says, turning back toward me. “I love you. Someday, when you have kids, you’ll understand that you want nothing more than happiness for them. I want you to be happy. I hope Chase is who you say he is. And no, you’re nothing like your brother or sister, and I’ve always admired that about you. And wondered where you got your free spirit because it sure wasn’t from your father or me.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” I say quietly. “I love you too.”

  She gives a tight smile then leaves, and silence falls over the store. I stare at the bright sunlit windows for a moment, then blink and look back at my phone so I could read my texts from Chase.

  At lunch, I realize I left my wallet at Chase’s house and need it so I can buy food. I phone an order into Suzy’s Cafe and rush to The Mill House. It’s one-thirty, and the parking lot is empty. I go around back, slowing when I see the river. It reminds me of Chase, and not just because it runs behind this place.

  Reminding myself I have to hurry, I go up the stairs and knock on the door. A minute goes by and no one answers, and I think Jax is either sleeping or ignoring whoever is at the door. A second before I turn to go, he answers.

  “Sierra. Hey. Chase isn’t here.”

  “I know,” I tell him, offering a polite smile. He’s wearing pajama bottoms and a Metallica T-shirt and looks like he just woke up. “I left my wallet here this morning and need it to buy lunch.”

  Jax nods and steps aside, letting me in. I go right to Chase’s room to grab it. A rush goes through me when I see the messy bed, sheets twisted across the mattress and a pillow on the floor. I cannot wait to mess up that bed again.

  “Find it?” Jax says, appearing in the doorway. His large frame takes up most of the space, blocking me in. My heart speeds up.

  “Yeah,” I say, grabbing the hot pink Coach wallet from the nightstand. I push my shoulders back, not wanting Jax to see he scares me. If Chase trusts him, I can too…right?

  “You must really have a hold on him,” Jax starts. “I’ve never seen him like this before?”

  “Like what?” I take another step forward and Jax doesn’t move. I left my phone in the car and we’re the only ones here. My pulse rises.

  “In love.”

  “Chase isn’t in love with me,” I say and shake my head. Not yet at least.

  Jax rolls his eyes. “You don’t see it? What, are you fucking blind?”

  “I happen to have excellent eyesight, thank you very much.” I put a hand on my hip and stare down Jax. “What do you want?”

  He tips his head, amused at my unexpected question. “I want to know what you’re doing with Chase.”

  My eyebrows pinch together and it takes me a second for his words to click. “Are you trying to interrogate me and make sure my intentions are noble?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Seriously?” I can’t help but laugh. “You’re worried that I might hurt Chase?”

  “You’re a Lannister and he’s a —”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I interrupt, holding up my hand. “I’m so not a Lannister. I’m a dragon.”

  Jax makes his face. “Stark maybe. But no Targaryon.”

  I narrow my eyes. “And you’re a Frey.”

  “Ouch,” he says, leaning back like the insult hurt. Then his eyes meet mine and he laughs. “You’re all right, Sierra.”

  “I can die happy knowing you think so.”

  He leans forward in a deep bow. “Go forth, Mother of Dragons.”

  “First of her Name…Breaker of Chains…you gotta say the whole thing.”

  “I wouldn’t have taken you to be a Game of Thrones junkie.”

  “I love it. The books and the show were both excellent. Lord of the Rings is good too. But Harry Potter is the best of all.”

  “Fuck yes it is. Chase is a Slytherin, just to warn you. I made him take the Pottermore official test a few years back.”

  “I’ll let that one slide. I’m a Hufflepuff, and we see the good in everyone after all.” I laugh and go back to the front door. Just a minute ago I was scared that Jax might hurt me, but he turns out to be a fantasy nerd like me and a loyal friend to Chase.

  “See you around, Sierra,” he says and opens the door for me. The relief I felt is zapped away. On Jax’s right arm, just under the sleeve of his T-shirt, is a tattoo of a sun. The same exact sun that Chase has tattooed on his chest. Suddenly, Lisa’s theory that Chase is in some sort of organized crime ring doesn’t sound too far off.

  Chapter 22

  Chase

  “Not that I’ve ever doubted your skills,” Jax tells me later that night. “But how the fuck did a chick like Sierra end up with you?”

  I laugh. “I have no fucking clue.”

  Setting a bag of takeout from the bar on the coffee table, I fall onto the couch. It’s two o’clock in the morning, and I’m fucking tired. I had to go straight down to the bar after coming home from Mercy hospital. Dakota wasn’t handling the transition from only child to older sister of two very well. She asked if I would take her to get a Happy Meal for lunch, and of course I said yes. There’s a McDonalds less than a block away from the hospital and it wasn’t too hot to comfortably walk to it.

  Josh was fine with it. Melissa was fine with it. Melissa’s parents were fine with it. But Judy Henson—low and behold—wasn’t. It led to an awkward conversation between Josh and his mother, Dakota crying, and Melissa, who was worn out and in pain, snapping at Judy.

  Melissa’s father ended up coming with, which wasn’t as bad as I expected. The guy was talkative but nice and thanked me more than once for filling in at the bar so Josh could spend more time at home with Melissa and the babies.

  “Makes sense why you fell off the grid,” he goes on. “But what are you going to do?”

  I take a bite of my burger and shoot him a look. “With what?”

  “Playing house here.”

  I shrug. “I like it here.”

  Jax, who’s never been much of a talker, grunts. He opens his bag of takeout and puts his feet up on the coffee table, flipping through channels.

  “Want to know something fucked up?” I blurt.

  “I love fucked up.”

  “My phone broke, and I had to send it in to get the screen replaced. That’s why I fell off the grid. And I got a temporary in its place. It’s Sierra’s dead boyfriend’s phone.”

  “How the fuck do you know that?”

  “The person who sold it second-hand failed to do a factory reset and deleted shit by hand. But they forgot the voicemails. Sierra kept calling him after he died.”

  Jax blinks, looks away, then back at me again. “You listened to the messages?”

  “A few of them.”

  “Does she know?”

  “No. I listened before I knew it was her.”

  “That is not the kind of fucked up I was expecting. I thought you were going to say cousins really do hook up here and Sierra’s got a hot cousin that joins in with you two.”

  I make a face. “You have issues.”

  Jax laughs at himself. “I do. But I’m also enjoying the visual of Sierra having a near-identical cousin. They’re really going at it—fuck. Here you come, ruining everything.”

  I chuckle and shake my head. “I can never tell her, can I?”

  Jax takes in a deep breath and pulls his French fries from the bag. “Fuck if I know. Are they sex-messages?”

  “No, but it’s obvious she didn’t want anyone else to hear.”

  “Yeah,
I don’t—wait. She has a dead boyfriend?”

  I nod, taking another bite of food. “He died almost two years ago. Car accident.”

  “Fuck,” Jax mutters, turning his attention back to the MMA game on TV. I finish eating, take a shower, and fall into bed. I’m tired but can’t fall asleep because my damn mind won’t shut off and I keep thinking about Sierra. Doing the right thing has never kept me up at night. I’ve never lost sleep over what someone might think of me.

  Sierra changes everything. She’s changing me without trying. Or maybe she’s not. Maybe she’s just exposing who I’ve been all along and fought hard to cover up.

  “My mother has formally invited us to family dinner this Sunday,” Sierra tells me. I brought her lunch at The Book Bag today, and we’re sitting together behind the counter. “I’m sorry in advance.”

  “It’ll be fine.”

  She purses her lips. “You don’t know my family.”

  “Tell me about them.” I put my hand on Sierra’s thigh, inching my fingers under the hem of her black skirt.

  “Scott’s cool. But he doesn’t live here. My sister Sam is as type-A as type-A can be. Same with her husband, Brent. My dad talks about two things: work or the New Orleans Saints. My mom and Aunt Kelly are judgmental as fuck, and my Gran knows everything about everyone in the town.” She dips her fry in cheese sauce. “They’re not bad people though. Very nosey, but not bad. Nothing is off limits either.”

  “I can handle it.” I squeeze her thigh and Sierra moves her leg, letting me slip my fingers further between. Then the bell above the door dings and I move my hand down to her knee.

  “Hi, Mrs. McKay,” Sierra says to the woman who walked through the door, greeting her with a smile.

  “Hello, darling,” Mrs. McKay replies. Her eyes go to me and narrow.