A Debt Repaid (1)

by N. Isabelle Blanco

  He lowered the box onto the counter where she’d indicated, bending at the waist to do so since he was so tall. Watching him straighten back up was the same for her as the few times she’d watched porn; she didn’t want to react to it, but there was no ignoring how her blood heated up.

  She’d expected him to leave after that. He didn’t. Chase stood there, studying her so intently that she felt naked all the way down to her soul. “What?” she asked, wrapping her arms around herself. As if that would block the intensity of his eyes.

  She wished it could be that simple.

  “You volunteer here.”

  It wasn’t a question, but she still nodded at him. Any moment now, she was going to see the censure and disgust in his eyes. He was one of those filthy rich men that was used to getting everything he wanted. She doubted that he’d ever understand—

  His blazer came off, leaving him in his white button down and black-and-silver vest.

  Aria swallowed, hearing every single thought process she had derailing. That vest fit him even better than the jacket had. His pants were obviously tailored to fit him and him alone. Her throat went dry.

  Denial. She needed to find herself a good, healthy dose of it. Anything that would stop her from admitting that the curve of that man’s ass was one of the hottest things she’d ever see—I hate myself.

  “Can I hang this over here?”

  She didn’t even know why he bothered asking her that , when he was already on his way to the coat rack on the wall.

  Wait. What is he doing?

  Chase stopped next to her after hanging up his coat, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. The sight of his thick, veined forearms coming into view fixated her. Out of the corner of her eye, she shamelessly stared, feeling her heart pounding inside every inch of her.

  He stopped moving. Aria knew that he’d caught her staring yet again. She could feel his eyes on her face.

  “Ms. Aria, Raquel was asking for—” Joshua stopped mid-sentence, eyeing Chase. There was no mistaking the curiosity in his eyes. Nor the spark of admiration she saw flashing in there.

  It made sense. Physically speaking, Chase’s appearance was that of a powerful, successful, and confidant man. The kind any boy would want to grow up to be like. Especially tone like Joshua, who’d had so little in his life.

  Chase stepped forward, hand outstretched. “I’m Chase. Nice to meet you.”

  Josh shook Chase’s hand with a dazed look on his face. “Joshua. Nice to meet you…sir. Um,” Josh paused and took a deep breath, “Ms. Aria didn’t mention—”

  “I figured you guys could use an extra hand today.” Chase cut her a quick look before focusing on Josh.

  Aria wished she could read his thoughts. He was so good at being expressionless most of the time.

  “Care to show me where to start?” Chase asked Josh.

  The poor kid pointed at something behind him. It was the wall. Chase looked from Josh’s unblinking eyes to where he was pointing with an almost amused look.

  “Oh, for God’s sake.” Aria stepped forward, determined to break the spell Josh was under. After all, it wasn’t right for him to have a false idol. “Are you serious about helping?” she asked Chase.

  What are you doing? Get rid of him!

  Too late for that.

  Chase gave her a non-committal look and raised his bared arms, as if to say, “Uh, hello?”

  Flustered, Aria pointed at the box he’d brought inside. She doubted that a man of his background ever had to heat up soup for homeless people before. And they did need the help, she rationalized.

  Chase was stubborn; she couldn’t get rid of him. At the very least it, she thought, it would be interesting to watch him “help” out.

  “CHASE, YOU’RE DOING IT AGAIN.”

  At some point during the last two hours, his first name had slipped from her lips. After that, despite how pissed off she’d been with herself, it stuck. What had she gotten for it? A small twitch of his lips that could’ve been the beginnings of a smile—and his eyes. Frozen on her. Non-stop. As in: All. The. Time.

  He stared while they opened the cans. As he stirred. While he helped her fill the soup bowls and place them on the trays….while everyone that came up to the counter stared at him and his expensive suit.

  “Doing what?” Chase somehow filled yet another bowl without spilling a single drop . No, those unrealistic eyes were still focused on her. His pupils were dilated.

  The deep darkness of those large pupils shredded right through her. Her heart felt bruised, exhausted, and yet, it managed to speed up. It thumped inside her, loud enough to almost drown out the noise of her ladle hitting the counter.

  Yet, the sound was not loud enough to break the hold his stare had on her.

  “Stop—” She swallowed. Uselessly. She was panting, for fuck’s sake. “Staring.”

  Chase placed his ladle on the counter. Again, without moving his eyes away from her.

  God, he wasn’t even blinking, and his pupils were so damn large.

  His movements were slow as he turned in her direction. His body was all languid, relaxed angles that molested the edges of her visions.

  It was like staring into the eyes of a lion.

  A seemingly relaxed, very dangerous lion that was, in actuality, starved for a bite.

  Oh fuck. She stumbled back a step , that thought pulsating deep inside her core. One clench was all it took for a rush of wetness to leak out of her. Too bad it didn’t stop there. Her heart beat dropped into her pelvis, a roar that drummed so loud that she expected him to hear it any second.

  “Aria.”

  He fucking loved saying her name. There was no doubt about it, and she hated him for that. Shivering, she took another step back, trying to hide her body’s reactions to him.

  Chase tilted his head down, staring up at her from under his lashes, his eyes almost black. “You’re a very beautiful woman. I can’t not look at you.”

  So serious. He made it impossible for her to judge whether he was exaggerating or not. “I’m sure you’ve seen women more beautiful.” Of that, she had no doubt. He was rich and attractive. The fucker.

  “None have intrigued me as much as you. I can assure you.” His lids came down over his eyes, his lashes almost hiding the fact that he was caressing her body with his stare.

  Almost.

  Her heart stuttered and rotated inside her clit.

  Dear God.

  Her brain wasn’t equipped to handle all the emotions rioting inside her at once. There was a rapid buzz tickling all the hairs on her body. A cold realization jumped into the mix, ripping the air right out of her.

  She was yearning, aching on every cellular level she possessed. Her body was wide open, every receptor stretching toward him.

  Chase must have taken her silence the wrong way because he unnecessarily reiterated, “You intrigue me, Aria.”

  Jesus. I heard you the first time.

  “You’re different in a way I’m barely starting to grasp. And make no mistake, Aria.” He leaned an inch closer to her, those pupils eating up her sanity. “I want to grasp it. Very, very much.”

  Gorgeous lips. He had the kind of mouth a girl could have orgasms fantasizing about. A mouth that she had no doubt he’d used many times to get what he wanted. And when all else failed… “Yeah, you want to grasp it so fucking bad used my husband’s freedom to blackmail me.”

  He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Aria, it was wrong. I admit it.”

  Her lips parted. Of course he knew it was wrong. Anyone with a modicum of intelligence would know that. Hearing him admit it once more, however, still shocked her.

  “And, yet, you did it anyway.”

  For the first time since she met him, she saw frustration spark in his eyes. “I wasn’t thinking at that moment. All that mattered was—” He stopped, looking away from her. The perfect line of his jaw tensed.

  She burned from the inside. Anger made her blood pressure skyrocket. At lea
st, that’s what she told herself. Gray and blue, so intense and full of something she couldn’t pinpoint, moved back in her direction. His eyes penetrated any meager hope for denial she might have had.

  I...I need to know. “Chase…what? Tell me.” She stopped herself from tacking on a please. Dear Lord, she’d gone mad. What was she doing, standing there, aroused, and desperate for him to finish that sentence?

  She had a good idea of what he’d been about to say, and her body was convinced, that she needed to hear it.

  Stark terror fell over her like an icy wave. All the heat in her disappeared. The panic that was unleashed in her mind was so acute, that she almost swore her life was in danger. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t allow herself to think.

  The floor felt like it was liquefying under her feet.

  The space between Chase’s brows puckered. He took a step closer to her. “Aria?”

  “Excuse me, I know we’re late, but—”

  Aria turned at the same time that Chase did. Lori, a regular at the soup kitchen for the last two weeks, now stood on the other side of the counter. Her little boy, Adam, was next to her, clutching her hand.

  “Lori.” Aria smoothed her hair behind her ear. “Oh my God, no. It’s never too late for you guys. Here, let me.” When she turned to grab a bowl, she realized that Chase had already filled up two of them and was placing them on a tray.

  Her heart twisted, squeezing down inside her chest.

  Lori was staring up at Chase, clearly as confused as everyone else had been that night.

  He made sure there was extra bread and crackers on the tray before handing itto Lori. She reached out for the tray. “Th–thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Chase’s eyes kept flicking from Lori to Adam. There was something about the way he was looking at them. Almost as if he was bothered—no wait. He was. He was put off by the sight of Lori and her six year-old standing there, looking tired, hungry, and defeated.

  The fact that one side of Lori’s face was still a bit yellow, and the other side had a neat row of stitches on it made Lori’s reality that much more obvious.

  Lori turned and walked toward one of the tables without so much as her customary smile. In the few weeks that Aria had known her, despite how messed-up her situation was, Lori always had a smile on her face.

  Today, however, she appeared to be downright depressed.

  “What happened to her?” Chase’s question pulled Aria out of her musings. “Do you know?”

  More importantly, did he care?

  One look at him, and the way his eyes were focused on Lori and Adam, made her realize just how bitchy that thought had been. But it was hard not to have bitchy thoughts toward him considering what he’d done to her. “Her ex is a bastard. That’s what happened to her.”

  Chase’s head did a slow turn in her direction. His expression had gone flat once more. “What exactly happened, Aria?”

  Aria swallowed, nervous. “Her ex abused her for years. Then, when she caught him cheating on her and confronted him about it, he beat her. Almost killed her.”

  “He did it in front of the boy. Didn’t he?” he growled low, his tone full of venom.

  She blinked up at him. “How...how did you know?”

  Chase cursed under his breath. “I recognize that look.”

  Before she could make sense of that statement, or even deem to ask him what he’d meant by it, Chase turned his attention back to Lori and scowled in her direction. “Aria, she’s crying.”

  Aria didn’t even look to confirm his statement; she ran out from behind the counter and headed straight for Lori’s table. Lori was staring down at her tray, her dark-blond, wavy hair covering her face. She was absolutely still, except for her breathing.

  For a moment, Aria doubted that what Chase had said was true. One look at Adam though, and the way he was staring up at his mom, made her heart ache. She watched as his little hand caressed her arm while he tried to soothe her.

  “I’m sorry, baby,” she heard Lori say just as she reached the table. Lori reached up, cupping her son’s hand.

  Aria sat on across from her and leaned forward to grab her hand. “Lori, what is it?”

  Lori squeezed Aria’s hand. “It’s just hard—” Aria felt the heat of Chase’s body along her back, right as Lori stopped speaking. Lori blinked up at Chase, looking embarrassed, dazed, and as confused as Aria was feeling.

  He was so close that with each breath that Aria took, she could feel a part of him brushing against her back. She didn’t know what part; she didn’t want to think about what part.

  “Lori, please tell me what’s wrong.” The chances of Lori answering her with Chase standing there were slim, but Aria was praying she would do so.

  “Mommy is having a hard time getting a job.”

  “Adam!” Lori stared down at her son, shocked. “How do you even know that?”

  “I pay attention, mommy.”

  Aria felt like she’d gotten punched in the stomach.

  Lori seemed like she didn’t know whether to be annoyed or endeared by her child.

  “What’s going on, Lori?” When Lori turned to her, Aria leaned forward. “You have a great work history.”

  Bitterness and embarrassment coiled across Lori’s expression. “No one wants to hire a woman with bruises and stitches still on her face. And considering that I can’t use my last job as a reference, no matter how long I worked for them, no one is giving me a chance.”

  Chase took the seat next to Aria. Her heart throbbed painfully in her chest, an expansion she felt all the way up in her throat. Fuck. Resolute, she refused to look away from Lori, even though the other woman was busy staring at Chase.

  “Hey, can you do me a favor?” he asked Adam in a kind tone Aria hadn’t heard him use before.

  Adam looked up at Chase.

  No. Aria was not going to turn and see what he was up to.

  Nevermind that curiosity had taken over and she was dying to turn her head just enough to peek out of the corner of her eye. Eyes unblinking, she focused ahead, torn between finding a way to help Lori and running out of the soup kitchen, far away from Chase Blaine.

  A rolled-up bill was passed from Chase’s large, masculine hand and into Adam’s tiny, chubby one.

  Her peripheral soaked it all in as if starved.

  Chase ruffled Adam’s dark blond hair. “You mind sitting at the other table over there and giving us adults a few minutes to talk? They’ll be some more of that if you do.”

  He was bribing the kid. He was doing it, and yet, he was being so nice about it , that Aria couldn’t even judge him for it.

  Apparently, though, he had an M.O. when it came to all his dealings.

  Adam unrolled the bill, his green eyes lighting up when he saw it was a twenty.

  Lori gasped.

  Then, the shrewdest expression Aria had ever seen on a kid’s face was aimed at Chase. “That depends. Are you paying me just for privacy?”

  What the hell was this? The kid was six!

  “Yes.” Aria could hear what sounded like a smile in Chase’s voice.

  Adam pouted. “But I wanna know what you guys are gonna say.”

  “Adam!” Lori scolded, cheeks turning pink.

  “I have no doubt that you’ll find a way to figure out what was said. All I’m asking is for you to step away while it’s being said.” It was odd hearing that playful tone in Chase’s voice.

  Odd and freaking hot. Stupid woman that she was, Aria couldn’t deny that.

  Don’t look, Aria. Don’t.

  “True.” Adam mused. “Still, I want ten dollars more.”

  “Adam Matthew!”

  “Done,” Chase said, ignoring the fact that Lori seemed ready to strangle her negotiating child.

  Adam smiled at Chase when he was handed the extra ten, then he rushed away from their table with his Optimus Prime Transformer in hand.

  Lori shook her head at Chase. “Sixty dollars is too much money. Thirty is—�
��

  “It’s nothing.” Chase waved away Lori’s concern about the money, in that way only a man with too much of it could. “Why can’t you use your last job as a reference?”

  Lori remained silent, her eyes bouncing from his face, to his expensive button down and vest. The watch on his wrist screamed “Filthy Rich”. “My ex…he made a scene there. A real bad scene.”

  Chase’s eyes flickered to the stitches on Lori’s face. “What did you do at your last job?”

  The moment he asked that question, Aria’s heart punched into her ribcage, the beat as fierce as the realization that hit her mind.

  Oh God, he was going to help Lori. How she knew? Aria had no freaking idea, but she was so sure of it that she found herself answering before Lori had a chance to do so. “She was an administrative assistant.”

  Chase’s eyes turned in her direction, and something in them was making her heart pound like crazy. “We have a few positions open.” He nodded at Lori, as if everything had been decided. “You can come by on Monday. We’ll see what part of the company is a good fit for your skills.”

  Poor Lori. The woman had gone pale, mouth gaping open and wide eyes filling with tears. Lori seemed ready to topple over.

  Aria, for her part, was having a hard time not melting into her seat, or falling to the floor in a heap. Adrenaline spiked, then ebbed, leaving her limbs watery. She’d been right. He was going to help Lori. “I can watch Adam that day for you, if you’d like.”

  Lori turned that shell-shocked look on her next. “You guys would do this for me?”

  And there it was: you guys. Proof that it was happening. She and the man she’d convinced herself was nothing more than a vile opportunist, were teaming up to help Lori get her life back together.

  Lori blinked back a new round of tears. “I–I don’t know what to say.”

  Yeah, Aria could relate there.

  “I don’t even know how to repay you guys.”

  “It’s no big deal. You don’t owe me anything. I’m just watching Adam for a little while.” Aria motioned toward Chase. “It’s him you have to thank.” His stare burned into the side of her face. She didn’t look, but she sure as hell felt it.