by Soraya Lane
Chase didn’t know what to say. He’d been a fucking idiot, he knew that, but he didn’t even know where to begin.
“And then I did exactly that and regretted it for five years.” She laughed, slamming her cup back down on the coffee table and shuffling farther down the sofa, away from him. “Hell, I still am.”
“Well, I don’t regret sleeping with you for a second.”
“Of course you don’t.”
Hope didn’t look impressed, but it took more than a pissed-off look to stop him in his tracks.
“I don’t regret finally having you naked in bed with me,” he told her, moving down the sofa until his thigh was hard against Hope. “I don’t regret all the years of flirting that finally resulted in the best goddamn sex of my life, although I sure as hell regret not doing it sooner.”
“And Harrison?” He watched as she swallowed, her eyes wide. “Do you regret what we made that night?”
“The only thing I regret is not jumping on a plane and telling you how much I missed you,” Chase said. “And that’s the most honest goddamn thing I’ve ever said in my life.”
Hope ran her fingers through her hair and he watched until she reached the end. Then he reached to pull her forward, not letting her resist. Chase was happy once he had his fingers tugging gently through her long strands of blond hair, her head on his shoulder, her body finally, finally relaxing into his instead of being so hard and tense.
“We’re going back to where it all began.”
“What?” Hope wriggled and turned so she was staring at him.
He ran his tongue over his lips, chuckled as her eyes dropped to watch his mouth. “We’re going on a road trip, Hope. And this time, we’re gonna do things right.”
She grinned at him, the smile kicking up one corner of her mouth before spreading to the other. “We are?”
“Yeah, we are.” He might have thought he could never forgive her, but maybe he was wrong. Just like he’d been wrong five years ago when he’d let her walk away in the first place. “We’ve both made mistakes, so let’s just be honest and admit that we’ve both fucked up.”
She nodded. “Agreed.”
“And this time we’re gonna give it a go, no bullshit, no holds barred. We say how we feel when we feel it.” Chase ran his eyes over her full mouth, her plump lips parted. He dropped a slow kiss to those very lips, was hard after only a moment of brushing their mouths back and forth, her tongue teasing his. “We do what we want, when we want it.”
Hope’s eyes were hidden from view, her dark lashes shielding her from his gaze as she stared down lower, maybe at his mouth.
“And when are we going to take this trip back in time?” she asked, grabbing hold of his hair before he had a chance to evade her hand. He only resisted a moment before yielding, only he did more than give in. Chase grinned and pushed her back onto the sofa, laughing as she tugged hard at his hair. She could pull all she liked—unless she actually told him no, nothing was going to stop him.
Chase forgot all about why he was in her house, what had gone down between them, his body covering hers as he lowered himself over her and planted his lips on hers again. There was nothing gentle about the way he kissed her this time, his mouth rough, loving that she matched him every step of the way, her body arching up to press harder into his. When Chase finally extracted himself, he had to jump back onto his feet, staring down at her. His breathing was ragged, his body begging to be jammed hard up to hers again. But he wasn’t going to take her on the sofa.
“Sweetheart, I just promised you a trip down memory lane, and that doesn’t involve me screwing you on your sofa.”
Hope’s lips were still parted, her chest rising and falling, fast, as she stared at him. “I thought we just agreed to let bygones be bygones?”
“No,” he corrected her. “We agreed to a no-holds-barred trip down memory lane, and for the first time in my life I’m going to turn down a beautiful woman.”
“You’re telling me you’ve never actually said no before?” The look on her face told him she wasn’t at all impressed.
“I’m saying that I’ll pick you up Friday once you’ve knocked off for the week. Then we do this.” He started to walk backward and threw her a wink.
“Have you forgotten about Harrison?”
“I want to see that boy every second I can, make up for all the time I’ve missed out on, but we need some alone time, too.” Chase touched her hand. “His uncles can take him for a few days. Chloe’ll be there and he’ll have a blast hanging out with them, if that’s okay with you?”
A look of terror washed over her face. “We can’t tell him,” she said. “Not without preparing him, without…”
“Relax. We’ll tell him when we’re good and ready. Just meet me at the ranch on Friday, okay? There’s no pressure to tell him anything yet.”
She nodded.
“Promise me.”
She laughed. “I promise.”
“Good.” Chase changed his mind and marched back across the room, bending low and pressing one last, slow kiss to her lips, groaning when her tongue darted straight back to dance with his.
“Good night, Hope,” he murmured against her mouth as he pulled away. “Sleep well darlin’, because you’re not gonna get much shut-eye come the weekend.”
He backed away, a familiar current surging through his body, one he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. Because he was suddenly playing to win something that wasn’t his to take, and he never backed away from a challenge.
“Can I look in on him, before I go?”
Hope nodded and took his hand. “Come with me.”
They walked upstairs and down the hall and Hope nudged open the half-shut door, standing back for him to move past. Chase held his breath as he stepped closer, looked down at the sleeping boy in the bed. His hair was all messed up, body out of the covers, mouth open as he breathed heavily. Chase bent low, traced a hand through Harrison’s hair, gulping as he kissed his forehead.
The past was the past now. He was a dad, and nothing was going to change that. Hating Hope for what she’d done was only going to make him bitter and twisted—the only choice he had now was to move on and be the best damn dad he could be.
He pulled the covers up a little, covering Harrison, and turned around to Hope. The light from the hallway cast shadows into the room, pools of light that allowed him to see her face. He stepped closer and kissed her cheek, squeezing her hand.
He was going to fix what was broken between them. Starting now.
Chapter 16
Hope glanced in the rearview mirror at Harrison, a pang of guilt hitting her hard. She’d hardly ever had a night apart from the little guy, so an entire weekend was making her feel like the world’s worst mom. She knew she deserved a break, but still. Nothing about leaving him was easy.
“You’re sure you’ll be okay?” She also shouldn’t be asking him so many times, because the next time she asked him he’d probably say no.
“Do you think I can ride the pony again?”
Hope smiled, a weight lifting off her shoulders as they turned into the driveway. Something about King Ranch was very settling, calming somehow, and it reminded her a lot of home. Harrison had made the transition from home to living in Texas remarkably well. He hadn’t been that close to his stepdad in the end, not after months of him being distant and spending little time with them before finally leaving. It was his grandparents she knew he missed terribly, because he’d been used to spending hours with them every day of his life, doing everything with them.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to ride the pony,” she finally replied, swallowing her emotion away.
“Awesome.”
Hope pulled up outside the main house, putting the car in park and taking a moment to gather her thoughts. Part of her thought that agreeing to go anywhere with Chase was pure madness, but the other part was screaming the exact opposite. This was their chance, to go back in time and to deal with what had happened—maybe
it would lead nowhere. Although the butterflies in her stomach were telling a completely different story. Something was going to happen, of that she was sure.
Chase appeared on the porch before she’d even gotten out of the car, running down the steps and opening her door for her. She tried to disguise her smile but it was impossible. The magnetism of Chase’s gaze was like an infusion of confidence straight to her soul, just the way it always had been. She’d been more herself around Chase than with any other person, and having him close was reminding her of that feeling all over again.
“Thanks,” she said as she stepped out.
He grinned and ducked his head back into the car to look at Harrison. “Southern manners,” she heard him say. “You’re never too young to learn to open a car door for a lady.”
Hope couldn’t believe the change in him. She knew he was probably still struggling to come to terms with everything, but she had to give him full points for trying.
“So you’re ready to roll?” he asked, one hand trailing slowly up her arm, stopping just above her elbow.
Hope shivered, his touch ice cold and burning hot at the same time. “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about turning around and driving the hell out of dodge.”
He bent his head closer to hers. “And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t freaking out about the whole being a parent deal. So I guess we can call it even.”
“Mom!”
She spun around, emerging from Chase’s web and opening the back door for Harrison. “Sorry, sweetheart.” She unbuckled him and grabbed his overnight bag, swinging it over to Chase because she knew he’d insist on carrying it in for her.
“How about we hang out with Harrison for a bit, let me spend some time with him?” Chase asked. “Then we can settle him down with the others and wait till he’s having fun before we leave.”
Hope nodded and went to reach for Harrison’s hand, laughing when he ran ahead, completely forgetting about his mom now they were at the ranch.
“Something tells me he’s going to be just fine here,” she said, letting Chase take her hand as they walked. He pulled gently, making her stop, and when he dropped Harrison’s bag to the ground and circled his hands around her waist, she knew she was in trouble.
“Despite all the bullshit,” Chase murmured, “I’m looking forward to starting over with you.”
“Me too,” she replied, leaning back in his arms and studying his strong, angular face. She was lost in his dark chocolate eyes immediately, caught in his web with no chance of release.
Chase cupped her face and dipped down, his big frame folding around her as he closed his mouth over hers. At first it was soft, so soft his lips were like feathers against her own, like he was waiting for her to do something about it. Hope moaned as he rocked his body into hers and she crawled her fingers up his body, loving the hardness of his chest and the muscles of his arms as she traced every inch of him. So much for holding back until they were on the road.
“Huh-hmm,” came a loud, deep rumble. “Hands off the kid’s mom.”
Hope jumped back, eyes darting to the house and thankful Harrison wasn’t watching, that he’d run on ahead. That was something she didn’t need to explain to him just yet. Instead she met the amused gaze of Nate, his arms folded like he was the security at the door instead of the owner.
“Ah, thanks for having Harrison this weekend.”
“Mmmm-hmmm,” Nate muttered, before laughing and jogging down the steps. Chase put his arm around her protectively, hugging her against him.
“We’ll hang around a while before heading off,” she told him. “So don’t go waving us off just yet.”
“I’m just coming out to check the car for Transformers. According to your son, there’s a few to come in still.”
“You’re amazing. Thanks, Nate.”
“Just don’t break my brother’s heart, okay?” Nate said, heading past her and calling over his shoulder. “We’ll forgive you once, but there’s an old saying about never crossing a King twice.”
Hope wasn’t about to be intimidated, but she doubted Nate was actually trying to scare her off. She was just thankful that Chase’s brothers had been so welcoming after everything that had happened.
“Come on darlin’,” Chase drawled, his body hard against hers as he walked them toward the house. “Let’s play before we roll outta here.”
She glanced up at him as they walked, her hand looped around his waist and tucking into his pocket. His butt was rock hard. “Are we just going to hang out, or are we actually going back there?”
“We’re going back to all our old haunts,” he told her with a grin. “We’re going to our favorite bar, our favorite restaurant, and we might even take a wander around campus.” His chuckle was more of a low roar, a rumble befitting a lion. “And then we’re going back to a certain motel.”
Her cheeks were on fire, heat shooting through her. “We are?”
“Damn right we are.”
Hope was in danger of losing her breath, every part of her screaming out for Chase, desperate to be back in that motel room and reenact everything they’d done so many years ago. And more. The other night in Chase’s half-finished new house had been great, but an entire night of leisurely doing anything and everything they wanted to each other? “Mmmm,” she murmured.
“What was that?”
Hope giggled. She hadn’t realized she’d made that noise out loud. “Nothing. That was nothing.”
Chase slapped her hard on the ass and she punched him in the arm.
“Didn’t sound like nothin’,” he grunted.
She shook her head and avoided his hands as he reached for her. Later she’d go out of her way to let him touch her, but right now she needed to stay in mom mode.
“Hey buddy, what are you doing?”
She sat down across from Harrison, happy to sit back and let Chase get to know him.
“Can we go riding?” Harrison asked.
“Now?” Chase raised an eyebrow and glanced at her.
“Yeah. Before you and Mom go.”
He shrugged and looked back again. “Sorry, Mama. Think we’ll be sticking around a while.”
She just smiled, happy they were getting on. Letting Harrison get closer to Chase was hard and hurt her because she was so worried about things not working out and Harrison losing someone else from his life, but she just had to trust that everything was working out for the best. Even if it did scare her to half to death.
* * *
Chase put his foot down and accelerated, enjoying the power of the vehicle as they headed toward College Station at high speed. They had almost three hours of driving ahead of them, and he was pleased they’d taken his new truck. The leather seats were pure luxury, and he reached forward to flick on the heat for Hope’s seat.
“I don’t want to get used to this,” she said, her body angled so that she was facing him. They’d had fun playing with Harrison before he left, but if she’d stayed there with him any longer she probably wouldn’t have been able to leave him. She was still feeling terrible, even though she knew he was absolutely fine.
“Nothing beats a warm butt on a cold morning, that’s for sure.” Chase chuckled, settling back again with one hand on the wheel. “This one even has a heated steering wheel. Crazy the shit they come up with.”
“One day,” she murmured. “I’ll get back to this one day.”
“You don’t have to worry about money,” Chase said, glancing across at her.
“Yeah, I do.”
He made a noise in his throat, a deep kind of grunt. “No. So long as you let me be part of Harrison’s life, I’ll make sure he has everything he needs. School fees, clothes…” He shrugged. “Hell, don’t sweat anything, okay?”
“I didn’t tell you about Harrison because I wanted your money, Chase,” she said, her voice soft. She also didn’t want to owe anyone anything—she wanted to make it on her own.
“I know,” he replied. “And that’s exac
tly why I don’t mind giving it to you.”
It was true. She’d pissed him off by keeping Harrison a secret, but it was blatantly obvious that she hadn’t wanted or needed anything from him. She might have lost her family’s fortune, but she was capable of earning good money in her own right.
“I know it’s a sensitive subject, but why don’t you tell me how you actually lost the ranch,” Chase said, indicating before passing a slow vehicle. He had raw power beneath his foot and he wasn’t scared to use it. “We can get all that depressing shit out of the way now, and then when we hit Northgate we can forget everything and just be us.”
“We’re actually doing Northgate? I honestly thought you were kidding, that we were just heading to a hotel somewhere.”
“What, you thought I was going to drive you all the way back there and not take you for some Jell-O shots?”
“Jell-O? Man, that takes me back.”
“Vodka in general takes me back,” Chase said with a laugh.
“Hey, you didn’t even like Jell-O shots! I still remember that look on your face when I used to talk you into them.”
He shot her a look that was supposed to be fierce but only made Hope grin. Chase grinned straight back—he’d always worked his ass off to keep that smile on her face, and it was worth every effort. When she smiled it was like a pure shot of sunshine.
“They were disgusting then and I’ll bet they still are. But this is a walk down memory lane, so we have to do them, right?”
* * *
Hope sat back in her seat and he kept taking his eyes off the road for a second to glance at her. She was wearing a low-cut T-shirt and with her leather jacket discarded on the backseat, he was finally getting the kind of view of her breasts that he wanted. Her hair was loose, falling over her shoulders just the way he liked it, her shampoo or perfume or whatever the hell smelling all berry flavored and only making him want her all the more.
“I thought my folks would be around for years,” Hope said, her words taking him by surprise. “I should have been more savvy with my finances, but I loved Matt and I trusted him. Hell, one of the reasons I married him was because he seemed so damn dependable.”
