She nodded and tried to smile, and Chase wanted to bash Greg’s face in for treating Anna so cruelly, for wounding her spirit so much.
“Okay, but I don’t know why you want me. I’m not skinny, and I sure don’t look like a model.”
“Thank God for that,” Chase said fervently. “You’re so sexy, Anna, and sometime, when you’re ready, I’m going to show you just how beautiful you are to me.”
The fear and pain in her gaze broke his heart, and Chase needed to erase those emotions from her eyes. He needed to see her smile, to know that he was making her feel better.
“But for now, we’re going to have that massage shower.”
He slapped a button on the wall, and water jets suddenly shot at them from different directions.
* * *
Anna squealed as she was sprayed by icy water from all sides. “Chase! It’s freezing!”
He laughed, his dark eyes shining. “It’s just until the leftover cold water in the pipes gets pushed out by the hot water. It’ll warm up in a second.”
She covered herself protectively against the cold water and laughed. Unbelievably, he hadn’t made fun of her or rejected her when she’d told him a little about Greg’s abuse. Not even her family knew about the abuse. She’d just told them that her breakup with Greg had been terrible. She’d explained her constant moving by relating it to finding great jobs that were even better than the last. If her father knew, he’d have killed Greg—literally, and she didn’t want him going to jail.
Why did she feel so safe with Chase? Maybe it was his innate kindness. She’d sensed it the first time they’d met, and although he’d gotten angry with her that day in the elevator, he hadn’t been overly nasty to her. And then he’d told her that she was beautiful and asked her out. And drunk called her.
She asked, “Do you remember calling me last night?”
The way Chase turned bashful was so cute. “Yeah. Vaguely. Not my finest moment. I’m sorry for whatever I said that might’ve offended you. And for waking you up. Just because I don’t require much sleep doesn’t mean the rest of the world doesn’t need theirs.”
The water was warm now and Anna put her arms down. “It’s okay. You told me that I was pretty and that I have a great ass. Those are some of the nicest compliments anyone’s ever given me.”
“I meant it,” Chase said, grabbing a bottle from a shelf. “What else did I say?”
“You had me tell some woman that I was your girlfriend and threaten her if she didn’t leave you alone,” Anna said.
He opened the bottle and handed it to her. “I remember something about a woman bugging me, but I don’t know who she was.”
Anna took the bottle. “You told me that I was a great fake girlfriend and then asked me if I wanted to be your girlfriend for real.”
He stared at her in surprise. “I did?”
“Yeah.” She sniffed the bottle. “Oh, my God. What is this? It smells fantastic.”
“Verbena, vanilla, and mango.”
“I could eat it,” Anna said, inhaling the heavenly scent.
“What did you say when I asked you that?”
“Do you have a washcloth?”
“I do, but more fun if you use your hands.”
At her frown he sighed and opened the shower door and Anna enjoyed watching his tight, perfectly formed ass as he walked across the bathroom to a cupboard. Turning back to her, he held up a washcloth with little toy ships on it. His erection had deflated somewhat, but he was still beautiful to behold.
“I’m a kid at heart,” Chase said, handing it to her.
“Really, I would never have guessed.” She ran the cloth over his chest. “Do you shave your chest?”
Chase laughed. “It looked stupid as hell, having little patches here and there, so I wax it.”
“And…down there, too?”
“My balls, Anna. You can say it. We’re adults. Ric dared me to one time, and I hardly ever turn down a dare. They almost had to peel me off the ceiling.”
Anna shook with laughter as she lathered up. “I wish I’d have seen you.”
“It wasn’t funny at the time, but it is now,” Chase said. “Thing was, I really liked how it felt once the irritation went away. Light and airy, I guess you’d say. So, I’ve been waxing ever since.”
Anna noticed that his eyes were following her moving hands and that his erection had returned. Feeling wicked, she ran the washcloth over her breasts slowly and then down between her legs.
“I so wish that I was that washcloth right now,” he said, leaning against a wall in between the shower jets. “I’m so jealous.”
“You mean this cloth right here?” she asked, turning around and running it over her rear.
He groaned. “Yeah. That’s the one.”
Anna smiled as she bent over and washed her legs.
“Aw, c’mon now, Anna. That’s just cruel.”
She giggled and turned back around. “I’m sorry.”
“Bullshit. That’s okay. Two can play that game,” he said and encircled his rigid shaft with his right hand. “You wanted to know how I’d get rid of this, you’re about to find out.”
Chapter 7
“You just keep going,” Chase said. He throbbed as he slid his hand up and down his shaft.
“But I’m almost done washing,” Anna said.
“You have to rinse.” Watching the suds glide over her pale pink nipples was driving him crazy. They looked delicious and he was dying for a taste. “What I wouldn’t give—”
Lola let out a long, baying bark and ran out of the bathroom.
“Fuck! Someone’s here,” Chase said. “It’s gotta be B-man. He’s the only one with a key, and Carla always locks the door when she leaves. Stay here, and I’ll get rid of them.”
“Okay.”
“It’ll be fine.”
Chase hated leaving her like that. She looked so vulnerable. Unlike the women he usually went out with, she wasn’t used to this sort of thing. He grabbed a towel from a rack and wrapped it around his waist. Closing the door, he started through the apartment.
“Chase? You here?”
“Yeah, B-man,” Chase answered coming into the living room. “What’s up?”
Brian smiled as he played with Lola. “Just making sure that you’re coming in today, that’s all. You were blitzed out of your mind last night.”
Chase smiled. “Yeah. I know. I’m fine. You could’ve called.”
“I did. Went straight to voicemail. It must be off or dead,” Brian said. “Besides, you sometimes sleep right through your alarm when you’re hung over. I wanted to make sure you were up on time. Anna Spencer is coming in this morning before the meeting.”
He knew that. She was in his shower deliciously naked, and he wished she were coming right about now.
“Oh. I must’ve forgotten to stick my phone on the charger last night. I’ll be up shortly.”
“Better make it fast. You know how Ty hates it when you’re late. You have fifteen minutes,” Brian said.
Chase ran a hand over his face in frustration. “Okay. I’ll be right there.”
Brian said, “I’ll take Lola with me. C’mon, girl.”
Lola whined and looked at Chase.
“It’s all right, Lola. Go with B-man. Go on,” he said.
Brian opened the door and the big dog bounded out into the lobby. He smiled at Chase and closed the door. Chase whipped off his towel and apologized to his flagging member, promising to make up for it later.
Feeling cranky, Chase decided that he was going to wear only his speedo, just to piss Tyler and Ric off. Entering the bathroom, Chase saw that the shower was empty, but that the water was still on. He figured that Anna didn’t know how to turn it off, but he planned to teach her at some point in the future.
He turned it off, dried himself, and went into his bedroom, where Anna was busy dressing. “I’m sorry about that.”
She smiled at him. “It’s fine. I have work to do anyway.�
�
“Me, too.” He took out a black speedo from a drawer and slipped it on. “I have a quick Skype meeting with Tyler, then we can go over the layout for the school investment pamphlet you were designing.”
She watched him adjust himself, but didn’t answer.
“Anna?”
“What?” she asked with a start.
He grinned. “I asked if you would wait while I took a Skype call?”
She looked at her watch. “I’d love to, but you’re being late, and our shower, has thrown my schedule. I thought I’d only be here for thirty minutes tops. I have meetings today that I can’t get out of,” she said regretfully.
“Okay. Come over for dinner tonight.”
A guarded expression settled on her face. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“Why not?” Chase asked.
She didn’t answer as she tucked her blouse into her skirt. Chase wanted her to take her clothes off again, wanted to take her back into the shower and make hot, soapy love to her. His cock stirred again, making him decide that he’d better wear pants in case he got another hard on from thinking about Anna.
“Why not?” he asked again, choosing a pair of colorful yellow and green Bermuda shorts.
“It’s just that I don’t want to go home late at night by myself. It’s silly. I’m a grown woman,” Anna said.
“It’s not silly. Greg’s destroyed your trust in people—I get that,” Chase said. “Bring your PJ’s and your stuff for tomorrow, and you can stay here tonight.”
She put her hands on her hips and gave him a stern look. “You said no sex.”
He put his shorts on. “You can stay in one of the guest rooms. I have two. Take your pick.” Chase pressed his advantage when he saw her wavering. “C’mon, honey. Didn’t I just prove myself to you? I’ll make something nice for dinner, and we can watch a couple of movies, jump on the trampoline, or whatever.”
“You have a trampoline? Where?”
“On the roof, which is where I have to get to before I get ripped a new one,” Chase said. “I’ll show you tonight, if you come over.”
After a few more moments of indecision, she said, “Okay, but I’m sleeping in one of the spare rooms.”
“Fine. Sounds good. Gotta go.” He kissed her cheek. “Just turn the bolt on the door before you shut it so that it locks when you leave. Can you be here by seven?”
“Yeah. I’ll call you if anything changes,” she said.
“I hope it doesn’t, but okay.” He started down the hallway. “I enjoyed our shower. There’s a blow dryer in the bathroom. Have a good day!”
As he left his apartment and started up the stairs for the roof, he grinned with anticipation over the coming night. It was a surprise to realize that even with sex taken off the table, he was still looking forward to her company.
He made it to the Roof Top with two minutes to spare before the morning meeting. As he settled into his chair and opened his laptop, he mentally began going through his repertoire of meals. What to make? It had to be something special. Then he hit on the perfect thing and smiled as his partners came on the screen.
They thought his smile was for them, but it was actually for the hot redhead with whom he’d just shared a no-sex shower. They’d never have believed that tale if he’d told them. While he listened with half an ear to the meeting and made appropriate responses, the other part of his brain was already thinking up other ways to romance Miss Spencer.
* * *
It felt strange to Anna to be arriving at Horizon at seven o’clock at night. The sun was just starting to lower and some pink clouds scudded across the sky. She gathered her overnight bag, purse, and briefcase from her car and locked it up. She was proud of the fact she had the courage to do this, but she was sick of living under the shadow of Greg’s abuse. She had to get over him somehow, and Chase made her want to try.
Chase’d promised that he wouldn’t expect sex, but she wondered if he’d still try to seduce her. What would’ve happened that morning if Brian hadn’t shown up? Would he have tried to get her into bed? It probably wouldn’t have taken much since she wanted him so much.
Chase had given her a code word to tell the security guards on duty.
“I’m Anna Spencer, here to see Chase,” she said. “He told me to tell you ‘falcon’.”
The large blond man in a uniform said, “Go ahead. Have a good night, Miss Spencer.”
“Thank you.”
Unlike during the day, there weren’t many people in the lobby, which gave it an eerie feeling. Chase had also texted her a secret code that people needed to make the elevator go all the way up to his floor after six at night. She found the little keypad he’d told her about and entered the code.
When the elevator stopped and the doors opened, she immediately heard rock music. Chase’s door was open, and Lola bounded out to greet her. The dog’s keen hearing had allowed her to hear the elevator over the music.
She barked a hello and then ran back inside, and Anna smiled as she followed her.
“Chase? I’m here.”
He came out of the kitchen wearing an apron depicting a tuxedo over his bare torso. The broad smile on his face told her that he was happy to see her.
“Welcome to Chez Chase,” he said, spreading his arms wide. “Let me take your things for you. We’ll put it in your room, and you can change into your comfy stuff.”
“You want me to change?” she asked as she followed him through a doorway on the opposite side of the living room as the dining room.
“Yeah. You can’t jump on the trampoline in that suit. You’ll rip it,” Chase replied. He stopped at a doorway and flicked a light switch inside. “There’s this room or the other one.”
Anna was stunned by the beauty of the room. The two huge windows overlooked the skyline looking towards Culver City, and there was an unobstructed view of the ocean in the distance. The room had a nautical theme, complete with an antique ship’s wheel hanging on the wall opposite the queen-sized bed.
“I pick this one,” she said, going inside.
Chase followed her and sat her bags on the bed. “Okay. Get changed quick. We’re gonna eat in the Playground.”
“Playground?”
He sent her a devilish smile from the doorway. “Yeah. Come out when you’re done.”
Anna shut the door and quickly changed into a pair of black yoga tights, a sports bra, and an oversized blue T-shirt. Then she took her hair out of her updo and put it in a ponytail. Looking at herself in the mirror, she thought she looked all right.
She sighed and then remembered the way Chase had looked at her during their shower that morning and the fact that he’d gotten so excited by watching her. It made her feel more confident about her appearance to know that he desired her. With a smile, she left her room, excited to see what all Chase had in store for the evening.
Lola met her in the hallway and escorted her out to the living room, where Chase was waiting for her. Suddenly, Anna felt shy about being in casual clothes around him, which was stupid when she’d already been completely naked in his presence.
He got up from the couch and came to stand before her. “We have to do something about that shirt.”
“What’s wrong with it?” she asked when he grasped the bottom of it.
“Arms up!” he ordered. “It’s not silly enough. I have just the thing.”
Anna put her arms in the air and let him take her shirt off.
“Mmm mmm. Damn you look good. I’ll be right back.”
Anna shook her head as he jogged out of the room. Lola chased after him, barking playfully. He was soon back and handed her a pink T-shirt.
Opening it up, Anna saw Betty Boop on the front of it and laughed. “I don’t believe you.” She donned the T-shirt. “How do I look?”
Chase dramatically put a hand to his chest and took a deep breath. “I can honestly say that no one has ever looked sexier in a Betty Boop shirt. Okay. To the Playground.”
Lola ran
out the door and pranced in the lobby.
“She knows where we’re going. It’s her favorite place,” Chase said, taking Anna’s hand. “I hope you’re hungry. I’m starving.”
“Me, too.”
He offered her his arm in an old-fashioned gesture. “Allow me to escort you, Miss Spencer.”
She took it and smiled up at him. “Thank you, Mr. McIntyre.”
They took a stairway, which led to a different part of the roof. Anna stared around her in open-mouthed wonder. The city skyline was amazing enough, but the rest of the place added to the magic.
A huge round trampoline, surrounded by safety mats on a raised platform, stood in front of them. An obstacle course for dogs was set up on an area of natural grass, and to the right of the trampoline stood a group of life-sized wooden horses similar to those on a carousel. Beyond that, Anna saw a rectangular above-ground pool.
“So, this is the Playground.”
Chase nodded. “Yeah. Lola needs exercise, and I can’t always get her to the park. There is grass for her to do ‘her business on,’ too. Plus, I don’t like her doing too much during the hottest part of the day, so we play in the evenings when the sun’s going down. I work on agility training with her, and she loves cooling off in the pool, too.” Walking over to the trampoline, he patted the safety mats. “This is my gym. I do almost all of my exercising on it. Great cardio, strength training, and a hell of a lot more fun than a gym. Plus, it’s better for your joints and improves balance.”
Anna felt the mats. “I can’t wait to get on it.”
“You’re gonna love it.”
“And the horses?”
Chase laughed as they walked over to them. “Well, my niece, Hayley, has been coming out here to do some photo shoots, and she misses the pony that Emily and Ty got her. I can’t keep a pony up here, so I did the next best thing. I had these horses made so we could ride together. We pretend we’re racing or just riding on a trail. She has a great imagination, and it’s always fun to play pretend with her.”
“Are you and Tyler related?” Anna asked.
Want Me (Coopers Creek Book 3) Page 7
