Chasing Him: A Forbidden Second Chance Romance (Dark Love Series Book 4)

by Kat T. Masen

  I complain along with Charlie, “Yeah. Honestly, Eric, I don’t like your surprise guests.”

  Eric throws his hands in the air like the drama queen he is. “Oh, let it go, will you? Yeesh! One time. Nope, something even better.”

  “Okay, is this a girl thing?” Charlie asks.

  “It’s for everyone, except kids.”

  Charlie and I both let out a groan at the same time complaining about babysitters and sleeping schedules. Eric, who doesn’t like change one bit, promises it will all be worth it, and, in fact, it will be a bonding session for all of us.

  We agree to go, though Charlie still has to convince Lex, the biggest complainer of all time.

  ***

  Every chance I get during working hours, I race over to Julian’s hotel, fuck him in ways my imagination dares only to dream about yet only for an hour before I’m due back at work. Three days straight, and I’m desperate for more.

  By Friday, I am itching to get out but have an important deadline. I tell Julian it’s a no-go since Friday is the day my assistant leaves the boutique at midday for an extended lunch until three in the afternoon. I busy myself preparing a sample for a buyer when I hear the door chime to be met with Julian standing in front of me.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask, surprised, looking behind him in worry.

  “Well, you couldn’t come to me, so I came to you.”

  He is standing before me, wide grinned, dressed head to toe in a dark gray suit and light pink shirt. Armani. Okay, shit, focus and pick up your jaw from the floor.

  “But someone could see you here.” I panic.

  “Adriana, you have exactly one minute to figure out where I’m going to fuck you.”

  Is he kidding? He doesn’t have his kidding face on.

  “You’re not joking, are you? And why am I thinking of a place?”

  “I’m not joking. I can smell how soaking wet you are from across the counter. Ten… nine… eight…”

  I quickly look toward the door and see no one. I pull his arm to my back storeroom, and he doesn’t wait, lifting my skirt and pushing me against the rack as soon as we’re out of sight.

  Note to self—always wear dresses.

  He is already hard and enters me without warning, and I push back, the adrenaline running through me as he continues to fuck me when anyone can walk in. The thrill of being caught spikes my arousal, and my body is moving with his, pushing deeper into him.

  “I can’t go a day without fucking you. It’s too hard. I need you, Adriana.”

  “I need you, too,” I moan loudly.

  His grip tightens, almost hurting me, and his movement speeds up. He brushes his lips against my ear and demands to come inside me. I nod, but he wants me to say the words.

  I don’t say it, I beg for it.

  The ache down below is spreading all over me, and I clench in pleasure, biting his hand to keep myself from screaming his name. He wants us to be in sync, something I always struggle with, but with his magic fingers gliding across my swollen clit, I’m done faster than you can say holy fuck.

  He fixes my skirt and kisses my shoulder as I control my breathing. I straighten my hair in the mirror on the wall and smooth out my dress when the chime rings. I motion for him to be quiet and stay put. As I walk back into the store, my heart falls out of my chest, smack bam on the floor, as I see my brother standing behind the register.

  “Lex,” I almost shout. “Why are you here?”

  “Why are you shouting my name? I’m not deaf,” he replies.

  “Sorry, noisy aircon out back. So, what are you doing here?”

  Act calm. Do not show any signs of paranoia.

  “I wanted to talk to you about tonight. Do you always leave the store unattended?”

  “No, dickwad. Cassie had to be somewhere, and I really needed to count something in the back, and besides, I have a door chime.”

  “Right. So about tonight. It’s not a fucking drag queen party again, is it?”

  “Shemales, not drag queens. Eric promised it wasn’t.” I distract myself by folding some garments in front of me, but it seems pointless as Julian’s cum is oozing down my thigh. What have I gotten myself into? Why can’t a vagina be like a Venus flytrap, once caught, it shuts. This is just plain uncomfortable, and my brother is in front of me. My eyes move toward my arms as they begin to redden.

  “So, I’ll bail. Charlotte can weather the storm.”

  “Whatever. You’ll last an hour before the curiosity gets the better of you, and you do your whole I-miss-my-wife bullshit.”

  I need to wrap this conversation up, but Lex is getting comfortable resting his hand on the bench and pulling out his cell to type something. The anxiety was getting to me, and suddenly, the temperature in the room is stifling hot.

  “Well, I haven’t seen her much this week between me flying to New York and her helping Nikki with that pending case. Is it too much to want to spend quality time with my wife?”

  “Uh, no…” I’m aware Julian hears all of this, and I am not too sure what he’ll be thinking right now. Will he be annoyed? Angry? The last thing I want is to get into another argument when things are becoming great between us.

  I see Lex’s face light up, and his lips widen into a smile.

  “What’s so funny?” I ask.

  He continues typing. “Oh, nothing.”

  “Whatever. Show me!” It’s just like when we were kids. He knows how to push my buttons, and I used to hate it when he hid things from me. Classic example, when he was fourteen, and I thought he was smuggling Wonka bars into the house in a brown paper bag when my dad had banned all sweets for a month after Lex and I accidentally washed his wallet as part of our chores. I swore he was sneaking in candy and begged him to share it with me. He always refused, and so one day, I rushed home after school and raided his room only to find the latest Penthouse magazines.

  Yet somehow, I still didn’t learn my lesson back then or now, asking him to show me his cell.

  “You want to see your best friend naked in the shower?”

  “Oh my God, Lex! TMI! Get the fuck out of here, you freak.”

  “Gladly. I’ve got a wife who needs attention. See ya tonight, sis.” He winks.

  He walks out the door, and I let out a long-winded sigh. I give it a few minutes before I head to the back. Julian is standing there against the wall. I know he has heard it all, given that his face is blank. No smile or I-missed-you grin.

  “I’m sorry, that was so awkward, and I know that must have been hard for you.”

  “Adriana,” he grits.

  “Yeah?” I mutter.

  “How many times do I have to tell you that I want only you? The only uncomfortable thing about this is that I loathe your brother for holding us back. I want to go home to you and do dirty things whenever I please.”

  “But Charlie and naked…” I’m fucking rambling. Why am I fucking talking about Charlie being naked!

  “Don’t. Please.”

  “But you’re not—”

  “How many fucking times do I have to tell you it’s over? I don’t think about her that way,” Julian raises his voice, throwing his arms in the air with frustration. “This has got to stop, you understand me?”

  “Argh, I hate it, too. Okay!” I fall into his arms, desperate to feel secure.

  Slowly, he wraps his arms around me, allowing me to bury my head into his chest. His lips kiss the top of my head. “I need to go.”

  I don’t allow him to let go of me, not caring at this moment who walks in on us. “Don’t go,” I plead.

  “I have a meeting. I’ll call you later, okay?”

  “Come over tonight?”

  “You have that thing at Eric’s,” he reminds me.

  “Oh, right.”

  “Tomorrow, okay? We’ll make something work. I promise.” He places a final kiss on my lips before exiting the store and leaving me on my own.

  I plonk myself on the stool, slouching as I mentally
scold myself for being a hormonal, jealous woman. Sometimes, I have no idea who I am. Almost like I have multiple personalities, and the worst one of them all is jealous Adriana. The thing that scares me the most is I never know what’s around the corner. Our relationship is a roller coaster, and I blame myself. Julian does nothing but reassure me it’s only me he wants, yet it isn’t enough. What else do I want? That nagging voice inside me wants to ask him more questions. I feel like he’s hiding something, but what?

  I have no idea, and jealous Adriana will only disappear if I find out exactly what’s bugging me.

  The apple pie is placed in front of me served with a generous scoop of chocolate ice cream and covered in rainbow sprinkles. It’s my absolute favorite dessert, and my go-to comfort food whenever I’m feeling down.

  Rainbow sprinkles can easily be the solution to world peace. Sprinkle it on everything, and the world will be a brighter place. At least, that’s what I thought when I was a kid.

  Andy is standing on his tiptoes, peering over the countertop. Impatiently, he jumps up and down, forgetting to use his manners while forcing me to pull out the discipline card. He listens to my warning. After all, there are two scoops of ice cream on the line here.

  Placing the bowl into his hands, my mom takes him to the sitting room and settles him in, returning moments later.

  “So, honey, tell me what’s been happening with you.” Covering the pie dish, my mom moves it toward the side, leaning forward. She rests her elbows on the marble countertop and awaits my response.

  I shove a mouthful of pie into my mouth, closing my eyes and letting out a satisfied moan. She smiles and waits for me to finish, using a spare spoon to scoop a small amount of ice cream from my bowl.

  “Not much. I’m styling a few celebrities for that red-carpet event,” I mention with a mouthful of food. “Oh, and Andy peed in the toilet for the first time.”

  “What? My baby peed in the big-boy toilet?” She leaves in a hurry, leaving me mid-conversation.

  I use the time wisely, digging into this pie like it’s my last meal on earth. My mom is the best cook ever. Not being biased, but if all women in America had a pie bake-off, she’d win in a heartbeat. With that in mind and knowing Lex will be here any minute, I pull the pie dish close to me and serve myself another slice. The selfish jerk will eat the whole plate if he sees it.

  My mom casually walks back into the kitchen with a proud smile. Positioning herself as before, she gloats about Andy’s achievement. “Oh, my little baby is becoming a big boy.”

  “Mom, don’t get too excited. It happened only once. The ten times after that, he peed on the living room rug.”

  “Adriana, that happened with your brother as well. Took him weeks to gain confidence. He was peeing any place he could, all except the toilet.”

  “Gross. What about me?”

  “My angel?” She laughs. “You toilet-trained yourself at two, no intervention from Dad and me.”

  I know I totally rocked, and just as I think that Lex and Charlie walk through the back door. Charlie wraps her arms around my waist, squeezing me into a tight hug, then walks over to my mom and kisses her hello. Charlie’s stepmom, Debbie, is in town, offering to sit for her kids leaving them childfree for tonight.

  Knowing Andy is here, Charlie goes in search of him, leaving us in the kitchen.

  Lex pulls a stool beside me, almost knocking me over. Like a hungry wolf, he spots the pie, not even saying hello before he gets his dirty mitts on it. I scold him for being an immature ass, but he is too busy shoveling the pie in his mouth even to care.

  Charlie strolls back in and takes a seat beside Lex. “Are you curious about what Eric has planned?”

  My mom is quick to smack Lex’s hand as he serves himself another slice. I complain I have none left to take home, arguing with Lex until my mom winks at me. That wink only means one thing—she has made another pie. My eyes quickly divert to the oven, and there, on the bottom tray, sits another dish. Fucking score!

  “I’m only going to this because I don’t trust Eric. He’ll try to pull that male-stripper stunt like at your bachelorette party,” Lex gripes.

  “Nikki planned that. Not Eric.” Charlie is quick to correct him. “Which reminds me, what’s happening Saturday night? Are we on?”

  Earlier this week, I got a call from a publicist wanting a few dresses for a red-carpet event. Of course, I was elated. It means exposure and a possible feature in a popular fashion magazine. In exchange for this, I was also offered VIP tickets to the afterparty. The hottest celebs will be there all glammed up, and when Eric caught wind of this, he was on my ass faster than a hemorrhoid. His words, not mine.

  Charlie is over-the-top excited, surprising me as she rarely cares about anything these days but the girls. It doesn’t take me long to figure out that the excitement derives from a certain Mr. Timberlake attending the event. That opened up Lex attending as well. I swear he has the biggest jealous streak, it’s downright obsessive. He’s all up in Charlie’s ass about it, no surprises there, prompting me to ask for extra tickets.

  “Yeah, it’s on. The driver will be at your place at eight. I’ll come around six and get ready there?”

  Charlie nods and talks about the dress she plans to wear, prompting Lex to complain that the dress is too low-cut or some bullshit like that.

  “Charlie has great tits. Get over it, loser,” I say, shooting him a fake smile.

  It’s time to leave, and because we’re driving across town, Lex suggests we go together. I don’t mind, considering I hate LA traffic, and being a passenger means my hands are free so I can text Julian. I say goodbye to Andy and head outside to be met with a shiny red sports car.

  “What the hell is this?” I ask them.

  “A car.” Lex snickers.

  “Yeah, I get that. I mean whose is it?”

  “She’s a stunner, isn’t she?” Charlie squeals.

  I roll my eyes at the two of them.

  Charlie and Lex have a crazy obsession over cars. I’m fairly certain they have more than four in their garage, not including Charlie’s bike. Lex starts to talk stats, boring the shit out of me. The car looks hot, that’s the extent of my car knowledge.

  Lex opens the door, and I climb in the back. It’s awfully squishy, and the newly-cut leather makes awkward sounds as I settle myself in.

  We drive off, and within minutes, I pull out my cell to text Julian. It’s much better than listening to Lex and Charlie discuss what happened on The Bachelor last night.

  Me: What’s my favorite man doing? I’m heading to Eric’s. Wish me luck.

  I see the bubble appear on the screen, and I wait in excitement for his response.

  Julian: Favorite man? How many men are you hiding from me? I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. It sounds interesting if I say so myself.

  Get the fuck out of town! He knows what Eric has planned. I type as fast as humanly possible. I’m the most impatient person in the world.

  Me: Are you jealous of the string of men waiting at my doorstep every night? Tell me please what Eric has planned? Pretty please with a naked cherry on top?

  The bubble appears again. I tap my foot impatiently until Lex asks me if I need to pee. It’s what happens when you become a parent, I guess. I answer back at him annoyed, and he carries on with his conversation.

  Julian: You’ll pay for that joke the next time I have you alone. Naked cherry? Please don’t start. I can’t even remember when I saw you naked last. Wait, too late. I’m rocking a huge boner now thanks to you. As for Eric’s, good luck, beautiful.

  Oh my. I quickly text back.

  Me: It was only yesterday so don’t flash those pouty lips. Mmm, okay maybe I need to stop thinking about your lips and your huge boner. If I told you I had the equivalent to your boner would that persuade you to tell me what’s happening tonight?

  Bubble… bubble… oh, hurry up!

  Julian: How wet?

  Dammit! I’m hot and bothered, and it’s highly inap
propriate to be feeling this way in the back of my brother’s car. Much like that delicious apple pie, I couldn’t resist and had to take another bite.

  Me: The next time we’re alone, you’ll see for yourself. Now, stop being all hot & sexy and tell me what Eric has planned!

  There’s barely a delay before a picture appears on my screen. I smile immediately, a photograph of his boner beneath his jeans bulging out accompanied with his text.

  Julian: Your fault. Have fun tonight.

  Frustrated, I throw my cell in my handbag but quickly pull it out again to stare at the picture. Damn! I squirm uncomfortably as the warm moisture builds between my thighs. Okay, time to think about something else because tonight will be a long night, and this feeling below has got to stop before I combust on the spot.

  I stare out the window and watch the scenery, oblivious that Lex and Charlie have stopped talking.

  “Why are you so quiet?” Lex quizzes.

  I turn to face him. “None of your business.”

  Okay, so he is annoying the fuck out of me, and it isn’t helping that I miss Julian. The only reason I’m not with him right now is because of the person driving this car. Calm down or you’ll give the game away. Charlie, on the other hand, has tried to call me several times to discuss my so-called fling. I either avoid her calls or tell her I’ll call her back, busy doing something with Andy. It’s only a matter of time before she will probe again but at least is smart enough not to mention this in Lex’s presence.

  “Fuck, Adriana, what’s with you lately?” he barks.

  “As I said, Lex, none of your business.”

  He starts to mouth off, and I mentally shut down until Charlie yells at both of us.

  “God, you two, shut up already!” She cranks up the stereo until Bon Jovi’s ‘It’s My Life’ blasts through the speakers, drowning out his incessant chatter.

  We remain silent for the rest of the trip until we reach Eric’s condo.