by Cat Johnson
She caught him looking at her and laughed. “Stop.”
“Stop what?” He somehow managed a frown through the grin.
“Fantasizing. You’re going to run off the road.” Leesa shook her head at him.
Shit. He’d been caught. “How do you know I’m fantasizing?”
“I can just tell.”
Hmm. She could already read his mind. They were becoming more and more like a real married couple with every moment they spent together. Chase was about to comment on that when his cell phone rang. He glanced at it in the console, then worked hard to ignore the noise.
“Aren’t you going to answer it?”
“Nope. It’s Garret.”
“I thought he was your friend. Don’t you want to talk to him?”
“Not really.” He felt guilty. Garret was his best friend, which meant the minute Chase talked to him, Garret would know something was up. Then he’d have to admit he couldn’t remember getting married. Nope. Better to avoid the entire thing for a little while.
“What if it’s an emergency?”
Chase considered that. They weren’t riding right now so it wouldn’t be that he or one of the guys was hurt. If someone had ended up in jail, they’d call one of the guys closer to bail them out. No, most likely Garret wanted to ask about Leesa or brag about whatever he’d done the other night with whatever girl du jour he’d picked up. “He’d leave a voicemail or text me if it was important.”
Her brow rose at that. “Okay. You know best.”
Hmm. Was this wifely nagging? Chase kind of liked it. He smiled again and decided when they stopped for lunch today they should find someplace with a convenience store nearby. After the sex they’d had last night, he was planning on stocking up on lots of condoms.
“What have you told your parents about our marriage?” Her question came from out of the blue.
“Nothing yet. I figure after I get home we can explain everything then go see my uncle.”
“You didn’t tell them you were bringing me home with you? Oh, Chase. You need to.”
Chase glanced over and saw the doubt written all over her face. “Nah. It’ll be fine.”
“No. You can’t just spring this on them.”
“I told them I was bringing home a surprise. They won’t care. My mama always cooks enough for a dozen people. Our house was the place where everybody always came to hang out. Don’t worry.”
“What do you think is going to happen when I get out of the truck and they notice our rings, which by the way, I think we should probably stop wearing.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re getting divorced.”
He liked the feel of it around his finger. He didn’t want to take it off yet. It made it feel like she belonged to him. Not in a bad way, like some crazy possessive husband or anything. In the way that meant they were in it together, no matter what happened. Partners. He’d be there for her, and she’d be there for him.
“We’re still married now.”
She let out a laugh. “I still would have had sex with you even if we had taken our rings off. If that’s what your worry is.”
“You would have?”
“Yes.”
“What about tonight?”
She let out another laugh. “In your parents’ house? After they know we’re not really married?”
“We are really married. We just don’t remember getting married,” he corrected her.
“Still. You know what I mean.”
That put a whole new spin on things. He’d been planning on his parents letting them stay together in his room. He was twenty-two and they were technically and legally married. But the fact they were going to end it shortly might make it a moral grey area for his parents.
“There’s always the barn.” He raised a brow and shot her a sideways glance. She didn’t look entirely happy with that suggestion. “You think about it.”
“And you call your parents the next time we stop and tell them what’s happening.”
Since she had that tone that told him he better do what she asked or else any potential sex in his future was at stake, he nodded. “I will. Promise.”
For a new bride, Leesa was sure good at the wife thing.
Chase wanted to do as he promised, if only to show her how amenable he was. The next exit he saw, he pulled the truck off the ramp. He found an empty parking lot and drove in, pulling around the side of the building so the sun wouldn’t be in their eyes. It was still early and the bar obviously wasn’t open yet so they wouldn’t be disturbing anyone by sitting there for a few minutes. He threw the gearshift into park and then dialed his parents, all while Leesa sat in the passenger seat watching and listening.
His mother picked up on the third ring. “Hey, Mama.”
“Chase. When will you be home?” He could feel how excited she was to have him coming home for a while. He spent too much time on the road.
“By dinner tonight. Listen I have something to tell you and Daddy. Is he around?”
“He’s working. Is everything all right?”
“Yeah, everything is fine. It’s just that I kind of did something while I was in Las Vegas.” He shot Leesa a look and wished she wasn’t listening to his side of the conversation quite so closely.
There was what seemed like a very long pause. “Okay…”
“Um, I kind of got married.” He heard his mother’s intake of breath and rushed on. “She’s very nice and I really like her, but we don’t know each other well enough to be married so we’re going to see about getting a divorce and I was hoping Uncle Gary can help us.”
“Us? She’s with you then?”
“Yes.” He held his breath waiting for her reaction to that answer.
There was another ominous pause. “Okay. I’ll set up the cot in your brother’s room. You can bunk with him and she can stay in your room.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’ll see you tonight. Call when you’re close.”
“I will. Love you.”
“Love you too.” Then his mother disconnected.
Chase lowered the phone from his face and then flipped it closed. “Um, she was fine with it.”
Leesa let out a doubt-filled burst of air. Her expression clearly said, I told you so. “I could hear her, Chase.”
“Um, so then you know you should be thinking more about what I said about the barn.”
Damn. He was still buying more condoms. He wouldn’t have Leesa legally obligated to be around him for long, and he intended on winning her over while he still had her. Whatever it took. Flowers. Dinner. Orgasms. He was willing to try anything at his disposal.
Leesa was watching him again. “So, you really like me?”
“I do.” He reached over and pulled her closer. Then kissed her hard to remind her exactly what she’d be missing in that bedroom all alone.
She pulled away after just a few seconds. “Your mother already hates me.”
“What? She does not.”
Leesa cocked a brow. “She didn’t sound happy.”
“That’s because she was surprised.”
“Exactly my point. Imagine if you hadn’t called and just showed up with me.”
He saw Leesa’s eyes getting shiny. “Hey. Do not worry. They will love you. I promise.”
“Don’t tell them I’m a stripper. Please.”
She looked ready to lose it at any second. “Okay. If that’s what you want, I won’t. I’ll tell them you work at one of the clubs serving customers.” That wasn’t really a lie.
She nodded but still looked near tears. He pulled her closer and hugged her tight.
“Stripping wasn’t exactly my life’s ambition when I was growing up.” Her words were muffled against his chest.
Chase ran his hand up and down her arm, hoping to comfort her. “What was? What did you want to be when you grew up?”
“When I was little? A ballerina. But when I knew better, I was going to school to be a CPA…a certified p
ublic accountant.”
He rolled his eyes. “I know what a CPA is.”
“Sorry.” She sniffled and he felt bad immediately.
“It’s okay. So why didn’t you? Become a CPA, I mean? Besides the fact that to me, stripping sounds a hell of a lot more fun than sitting behind a desk crunching numbers all day, every day.”
She lifted her head and looked at him in shock. “You really think that? That stripping is a better job than being an accountant?”
“Sure. I mean it looks fun. The music. All the people. The costumes.” He shrugged. “You have your days free. The money is probably pretty good. All the girls look like they enjoy the dancing.”
“And it doesn’t make you think less of me?”
“Because you’re an exotic dancer? Hell no. Why would I?”
He watched her react to that before she grabbed his face and kissed him hard.
When she finally released him, he asked, “Wow, not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?”
“For being so sw—”
“If you call me sweet, I’m afraid I’m going to have to do something nasty to you. Nasty in a good way, of course.” He grinned, but his eyes dropped down her body as if considering what he’d like to do.
“What’s wrong with being sweet?”
“I don’t want you to think of me as sweet. I want to be, I don’t know, dangerous.”
He traced a path down her throat with his tongue, hoping to prove that if he was willing to seduce her in broad daylight in an abandoned parking lot he was not sweet.
“You ride bulls. That’s dangerous.” Her voice sounded dreamy, as if she was having trouble maintaining her train of thought. He moved to nibble on her ear.
“Mmm hmm. It is. You better make love to me now just in case I don’t make it through next season.” His hands wrapped around her hips and he lifted her easily into his lap. Even with them both clothed, he knew he could drive her crazy by rocking her against the bulge in his pants, like he’d done at the club.
She began to breathe harder, and he had a feeling it wouldn’t take too much to persuade her to be naughty right here.
“Can I ask you a question?” Chase didn’t know why he was still thinking instead of just feeling, but he let curiosity get the best of him.
“You want to ask me something now?” She laughed but continued to press her core against the now throbbing bulge straining against the zipper of his jeans.
He grinned. “It’s sex related.”
“Oh, well then it’s okay.”
“What’s the naughtiest thing you’ve ever done?” She didn’t immediately answer his question. He felt her stiffen in his lap, so he back pedaled. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
She had stopped grinding against him and he regretted asking her anything at all.
“No, it’s okay. Probably what I did with you in the back room at the club.”
He frowned thinking what she’d done to him the night before was much naughtier than that. “A hand job is the naughtiest thing? I find that very hard to believe.”
“It’s not what I did that made it bad, but because I didn’t know you, and I, you know, took your money.” She looked miserable and he didn’t feel much better.
He turned serious. “That tip I gave you was for the entire night. For my birthday show on stage, and the dance in the back. I didn’t give that to you because of what we did. I had kind of assumed that happened because you were attracted to me.”
Her eyes got misty. “It did. I was attracted to you. I am. There’s no way I would have done that if I hadn’t been attracted to you, Chase.”
He considered her reaction to this conversation. “Was that why you said no to the date? Because you thought I was trying to pay you for sex?”
“Yeah.” Leesa swallowed hard.
“I told you that night it was a tip.”
“Which in my world is kind of code for you do something for me and I’ll give you cash.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
She shrugged tearfully, acting like it didn’t matter though he knew it did. “It’s okay. Why did you ask me that? About the naughtiest thing?”
“Because I was hoping having sex in my truck right here, right now, wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities.” Especially now that he knew what their sleeping arrangements were going to be once they reached his parents’ house.
He coaxed her hips forward again and she laughed.
“I’m in jeans.”
“Mmm. If you were going to stay my wife, I’d buy you a different dress for every day of the week. That way when I decided I couldn’t live another moment without making love to you, I could just pull over and set you in my lap.” He frowned. “Does that sound sick and perverted?”
She shook her head. “No. It sounds sweet.”
When she leaned in and kissed him, he decided he didn’t mind being called sweet as long as it was followed by a deep soul-filled kiss.
Leesa pulled back. “Drive this thing farther around the back of the building and I’ll consider it.”
His eyes flew open. She was serious, and he was seriously hard. He set her firmly but gently back into the passenger seat and threw the truck into reverse. “No problem.”
Chapter Twelve
“Mama. Daddy. This is Leesa Santiago.”
Chase’s father took a step forward, his hand extended. His mother stood a step back, wringing her hands. Her mouth pursed tightly, she was definitely sizing Leesa up and deciding exactly how large a disaster it was that her son was married to her.
“Ma’am. Sir.” Leesa shook her father-in-law’s hand, nodded once to her mother-in-law, and took a step back into her imaginary safety zone. Chase’s hand settled on the small of her back and she felt instantly better. His show of support didn’t go unnoticed judging by how both parent’s eyes zoomed in directly on the action.
“I think we should sit down and discuss this.” Chase’s father spun for the front door of the house.
“Before dinner?” His mother turned toward her husband.
“Yes, Martha. Before dinner.” He sent his wife a stern look that Leesa could never ever imagine crossing Chase’s face, and she had to wonder how he could have been birthed from this couple. With his constant grin and sunny disposition, they couldn’t be more different.
“Uh oh.” Leesa whispered barely loud enough for Chase to hear.
He took her hand and squeezed it. “Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”
She nodded, not believing him one bit. Somehow facing his parents was nearly as frightening as seeing Bruno and the hit men in the casino had been. Chase pulled her toward the door that his parents had just disappeared through.
“I didn’t know you knew my last name.” It was a ridiculous thing to say, but his knowing her full name intrigued her.
“It was on the marriage certificate,” he answered her softly while holding open the door for her to walk through.
“Oh yeah.” She had a feeling that little piece of paper was about to get both of them a lecture.
He held her more tightly and she was glad for it as they entered the kitchen and saw both parents already seated at the far side of the table, facing them, like a board of inquisitors.
Chase released his hold to pull the chair out. She missed his touch immediately as she sat, and he took the seat next to her. Thankfully, once he was settled, he reached out again, placing their joined hands on the table, and covering them both with his left hand so his wedding band was front and center.
Two sets of eyes dropped to stare at what Leesa had no doubt Chase had done on purpose.
“So, Miss Santiago. Or should I call you Mrs. Reese?” Chase’s father focused his attention on Leesa.
“Um, Leesa will be fine.”
“Would you like to tell us how you met our son and ended up married to him?” Mr. Reese’s gaze settled pointedly on the gold rings on their joined hands once again.
Leesa
opened her mouth but found Chase’s mother had jumped in. “It’s just too soon. How long have you known each other? This is the first time we’ve met her, Chase.”
“Mama. We’re not arguing with you. We know we need to undo this. I just need Uncle Gary to help us with the legal stuff.”
“Then why did you do it in the first place, Chase?” His father’s tone clearly showed his disappointment with his son.
“I don’t know how it happened, Daddy.” He faced his father with the truth.
“You just woke up to find yourselves married?”
“Yes.”
His father quickly recovered from the shock of that revelation as a look of realization crossed his face. “Were you drinking?”
Chase nodded solemnly. “Yes, sir. I was.”
He’d left her part in it out. She didn’t volunteer the information that she’d drugged herself with over-the-counter pain medication/sleeping pills. At this point, what would it have helped?
“Gary’s away in the next county for a big trial. He won’t be back until next week. I’ll call him and tell him about the…situation.” His father’s face said everything else his words didn’t.
“Thank you.” Chase drew in a deep breath and turned to Leesa. He forced a smile. “I guess we’re married for another week. That okay with you?”
She nodded. Actually, she wasn’t looking forward to leaving him when the time came.
“These things don’t get fixed overnight, Chase. Maybe you can file for divorce next week, but it could take at least thirty days, if not months to be finalized. I’m not sure about the laws, but marriage isn’t like turning on and off a light switch. It’s serious. It’s a legally binding contract that shouldn’t be entered into lightly.”
“Of course. You’re right. I wasn’t thinking the timing of the legalities through.” Chase glanced at her. “Is that going to be all right?”
She squeezed his hand this time. “It’s okay. However long it takes is fine.”
“What about your job?” He kept his voice low, as if speaking only to her.
“I’m done with that job. I was going to look for something else.”
“Really?” He looked like he wanted to talk more, but instead he glanced to his parents. This was a conversation for when they were alone. He knew she didn’t want his parents to know what she did for a living. “Um, we’ve been on the road all day. If it’s all right, I’d like to get Leesa settled in her room in case she wants to clean up before dinner.”
