Want Me (Coopers Creek Book 3)

by Bronwen Evans

  “I want to make you feel as good as I possibly can, honey. That’s really important to me. And there’s only one thing I don’t do in bed. I’m not a fan of the backdoor. Other than that, it’s no holds barred. Understand?”

  “Yeah. I understand.”

  “Good.”

  This time when he brushed his lips against hers, Anna opened for him and welcomed his sensual invasion. Tasting herself on his tongue didn’t repulse her at all. In fact, it aroused her, and she yearned for him. She ran her hands over his back and cupped his behind.

  “You have a fine ass,” she said when the kiss ended. “I could bounce a quarter off it.”

  Chase laughed. “You say the nicest things.”

  Anna felt seductive and daring with Chase. He was playful and sexy, which melted her inhibitions away. She bit his earlobe and whispered, “Take me.”

  His answering growl excited her even more. “You asked for it.”

  * * *

  Keeping in mind that it had been a while for Anna, Chase entered her slowly to let her adjust to him. He groaned at how good she felt.

  “You’re so tight and hot, baby,” he said as he started moving.

  Anna moaned and wrapped her legs around his waist. “You feel so good inside me.”

  Chase tried to go slow, to draw it out, but she felt too amazing, and he gave up fighting his body’s needs any longer. He plunged faster and harder, raising up on his hands to change the angle of his thrusts to give her maximum pleasure.

  He lowered his head to capture her mouth in a searing kiss as he increased the tempo even more. When she moaned into his mouth and tightened around him, Chase broke the kiss.

  “Come for me, Anna. Come for me.”

  Anna held on tight as she started to move her hips to meet his thrusts.

  “That’s right, darlin’. I want to make you feel so good. Are you gonna come for me?”

  “Yes! Oh, God.”

  She arched her back and pulsed hard around his shaft.

  “Tell me, Anna. Say it.”

  “I’m coming, I’m com…” Her words died on a high-pitched moan.

  “Right there with you, baby.” Thrusting deeper, Chase exploded into a blinding climax, his hands fisting in the sheets. “Holy hell, Anna!” he shouted. “So fucking good.”

  Anna quaked against him and scored his back with her nails, but Chase didn’t feel it very much since he was held captive by his own ecstasy. He couldn’t remember ever coming so hard. When he was completely spent, his body went slack and he sank down on top of Anna.

  While his body was worn out at the moment, his mind was as active as a riled-up bees nest. Questions buzzed around in it as he caught his breath. What the hell just happened? I’ve been with dozens of women and it’s always been great, but that? I never felt anything so intense. He did a mental shrug. I’m not gonna question it. I’m just gonna enjoy it.

  He raised his head and met Anna’s gaze as he caressed her cheek. “You okay?”

  So many strong emotions flowed through Chase that he wasn’t sure how to deal with them. What he’d just shared with Anna was so overwhelming that he could feel his world tilt. The first thing that struck him was that they had forgotten to use a condom. How stupid was he?

  “Anna? Are you all right?”

  “No condom.”

  Shock froze Chase’s blood in his veins. You stupid sonofabitch, Chase! Now what do I say? I’m such an idiot! I can’t believe that I forgot protection!

  “I’m clean. I haven’t had sex without a condom since college—expect for tonight—so you don’t need to worry about that. And you’re obviously clean,” Chase said. “I’m sorry about that. I just got so carried away with you that I forgot. I’ll make sure to wear one from now on.”

  Anna put a hand on his chest. “Okay. It’s my fault, too. Protection isn’t just your responsibility. I should’ve asked you to put one on. I’m a little out of practice. You’re not the only one who got carried away.”

  Chase lightly kissed her lips, thinking that it didn’t matter that he hadn’t worn a condom. He couldn’t get her pregnant. A sharp pang of disappointment surprised him and he instantly chided himself for it. Anna wasn’t Denise, and he wasn’t going to use Anna as an experiment to see if he could impregnate her.

  * * *

  She broke her silence when he made a move to get off her. “No, no. Please stay where you are. Just stay.”

  He relaxed, his weight pressing down on her again. “I don’t want to squish you.”

  Anna embraced him tighter. “You’re not. You feel so good.”

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “I’m fine.” Anna closed her eyes, fighting back fear.

  Chase kissed her briefly. “Talk to me, Anna. What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”

  Opening her eyes, she looked into his. The concern in their dark depths brought tears to her eyes. “Are you done with me?”

  “Done with you?”

  “We had sex. You got what you wanted.”

  Chase slid his strong arms under her and held her close. “No, Anna. I ain’t done with you. Not by a long shot. I had such a good time with you tonight, and I’m not talking about the mind-blowing sex, which, for the record, I was not expecting. I want to keep seeing you.”

  Did she dare believe what he said? He was a millionaire playboy who was happy partying and hopping beds. What did she have to offer him that he couldn’t get elsewhere? Especially when it came to sex.

  Anna’s experience was limited, but it was obvious that Chase was just as impulsive and creative in bed as he was in the rest of his life. She was certain that all the other women he’d been with were much more exciting than her. How could she compete with them?

  “Why would you want to do that? I’m no one special, Chase.”

  “I’m gonna get off you now, but I’m not going anywhere.”

  Anna let him move away and sat up. “Is this where you tell me that you had fun and that you’ll call me, but you never do?”

  “Whoa, hold up. Where are you going? Come here. Please?”

  Sighing, Anna laid back down and Chase rolled her over to face him.

  “You’re right. I’ve said that line to a lot of women, but mainly the kind who knew that I was full of shit. They were used to one-night stands, and they understood that it’s a polite thing people say when they’re never gonna see each other again,” Chase said. “But you’re different. Before we even kissed goodnight, I knew that I wanted to keep seeing you. And I was prepared to wait to sleep with you until you were ready.”

  Anna shrugged. “Why? What makes me different?”

  “Well, for one thing, you like my trampoline. Not many women have wanted to get on it.”

  She couldn’t hold back a giggle over that. “They don’t know what they’re missing.”

  He sobered. “And they never said any of the things you did tonight. They never said that they thought I was a good man. I’m not sure why you think I am since I’m such a—”

  “Man-whore,” Anna interjected with a smile.

  Chase laughed, his eyes shining as they reflected a brief flicker of leftover lightning. “I was gonna say Casanova, but man-whore works, too.”

  Anna moved a little closer and rested a hand on his jaw. “You are a good man, Chase. If you weren’t, you would’ve tried to get me in bed that day we showered together. But you kept your promise to me, and you didn’t make a move on me. And you kept your word again tonight, too.”

  “I always keep my promises, Anna. Granddaddy drummed that into my head when I was a teenager. His parents taught him to always live up to his promises and he took vows very seriously,” Chase said. “If someone makes a vow, a promise, they should honor it at all costs. He taught me that if I wasn’t fully prepared to keep a promise, then I better not make one. I’ve lived by that rule. So, if I promise you something, you can be damn sure I’ll keep that promise.”

  Anna smiled. “That’s wha
t I mean. There’s more to Chase McIntyre than meets the eye. You just don’t let women see the real you.”

  “The real me isn’t always fun to be around.”

  Anna brushed his hair back from his face. “There’s nothing wrong with that. Nobody is funny all the time, and I liked the serious side that you showed me earlier tonight.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah. It showed me that you have more depth, more substance.” Anna shook her head a little. “But it’s clear that you don’t want women to see that about you. Why?”

  * * *

  Chase felt like the preverbal deer caught in the glare of oncoming headlights. It was a little frightening how accurate her assessment of him was. How was he supposed to answer that? Chase hated lying, but there was no way he could tell her the real reason that he kept his relationships with women casual. So, he latched on to an explanation that was plausible but also the truth.

  “Someone with my kind of money always has to be careful about people’s motives towards them. Women have tried to get their hooks into me just because I’m rich,” he said. “It’s made me suspicious, I guess. Being rich has its drawbacks, like people wanting to take advantage of you.”

  “I can understand that, but I don’t want one single penny from you, Chase.”

  He believed her. “I know. You’re not that kind of woman. You have a good heart. I can tell that about you. I think that’s why I told you all of that stuff about my family. And unfortunately, we’re a lot alike. We know how painful it is when the people who are supposed to love us the most let us down and hurt us so much.”

  The storm had moved off and he couldn’t see her face clearly, but he heard her sniff.

  “Yes, we do. I just don’t understand what I did to make him hate me so much. Why he wanted to hurt me like that.”

  Chase embraced Anna and pulled her against his chest as she let out a quiet sob. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Anna. He’s just a sadistic asshole who gets off on feeling powerful. His kind enjoys making people suffer, and they’ll keep them down just to make themselves feel important.

  “I know, because Dad’s the same way. He didn’t smack me around, but he sure beat me up emotionally. Most of my family did. But you can’t let them win. You have to take your power back and live your life to the fullest.”

  Anna shook her head a little. “I want to start living again, but it’s so hard…”

  Before he could stop himself, Chase said, “I’ll help you. Hey, I know. Let’s make a deal.”

  “A deal?”

  “Yeah. I’ll show you how to enjoy life again, and you can teach me how to reveal more inner depth,” he said. “What do you say?”

  * * *

  Chase’s offer was so tempting, but Anna was scared to take him up on it. Not because he frightened her, but because of the things she couldn’t tell Chase. She wasn’t prepared to tell him how bad things had been, or that she was essentially on the run from Greg. How could she let herself become involved with Chase, only to have to move on again in a few months? It wouldn’t be fair to either of them.

  Yet, here was the most handsome, fun, kind man asking to be in her life. She wanted to take a risk, wanted to let herself dream, even if only for a little while. However, she had to be cautious, for both their sakes.

  Chase must have sensed her inner struggle because he said, “How about we just take it one day at a time? One step at a time? Can we agree on that much?”

  Anna decided that she was willing to give that much. “I can do that.”

  “So, do we have a deal?”

  “We have a deal.”

  She laughed when Chase hugged her and kissed her cheek hard. Then she stiffened in his arms as she realized something.

  “Chase?”

  “Hmm?”

  * * *

  “Thank you. Thank you for showing me I don’t have to be afraid for the rest of my life.” Anna yawned and rested her head on Chase’s chest.

  “My pleasure, darlin’. Get some rest, Anna,” he said, kissing her forehead.

  “Okay.”

  Chase held her as she dropped off, liking the feel of her body against his. Some women he slept with left as soon as the sex was over, but others stayed, which Chase enjoyed. But holding Anna gave him much more satisfaction than doing the same with other women.

  Why? He didn’t want to examine it, didn’t want to jinx it. It was much too soon to get serious. Remember what you said to Anna. One day at a time, one step at a time. That didn’t mean that he couldn’t enjoy Anna to the fullest. With that decided, he was able to relax and a smile settled on his face as sleep claimed him.

  Chapter 10

  It had been two days since Anna had seen Chase because he’d had to go to New York last minute on the morning after their passionate sleepover. He’d had to meet with a mutual client of Horizon’s and Lisbon’s late that afternoon. The elderly woman, a filthy rich investor with ties to the entertainment and oil industries, had taken a shine to Chase back when she’d dealt solely with Horizon and she was leery of these new people. She refused to sign a new deal unless Chase was present.

  Grace Harrington wielded a hefty amount of power in the investment industry, so pissing her off wouldn’t be a good idea. Therefore, Chase had gotten on a plane even though it had been the last thing he’d wanted to do. His instincts had been spot-on because a Nor’easter had swept up the Eastern seaboard, shutting down airports and stranding him in New York.

  As Anna tried to concentrate on finding the right stock pics she wanted, her mind kept straying to him. It was almost five o’clock her time, which meant that it was eight in the East.

  He’d Skyped her late last night and filled her in on his day, which had been nice. He’d looked handsome yet strange in a loosened tie, dress shirt, and slacks. While he’d been in the city, he’d been keeping himself occupied by looking over some things at the Lisbon group to make sure that everything was on the up-and-up regarding Horizon’s part of the operation.

  But what was he doing that night? Was he going to a club or a bar? She didn’t expect to hear from him, and she didn’t want to look desperate and call him, but she missed him. Did he miss her?

  Someone knocked on her office door, which was a welcome distraction from her teenager-like thoughts.

  “Come in.”

  One of her colleagues, Marcy, opened the door and smiled at her. “I don’t know what you did, but it must’ve been something good. You have a special delivery.”

  Before Anna could respond, a man carrying a large Teddy bear entered the office. “Anna Spencer?”

  “Yes, that’s me.”

  “I’ll need you to sign for these things,” he said, holding out a tablet.

  “What things?” she asked, standing up.

  “The stuff some guy sent you.”

  Anna felt the blood drain from her face and the room got a little fuzzy. Had Greg found her? Was he sending her things as a message that he’d cornered his prey yet again? “Wh-who sent it?”

  The delivery man held out the tablet towards her again. “Says on here.”

  Anna took the tablet and felt enormous relief when she saw Chase’s name on the tablet. “Oh, I see.” She took the stylus and signed without any more questions.

  “Thanks. Where do you want the bear?” he asked.

  Anna said, “In one of the chairs is fine.”

  He sat the bear down and then went out into the hallway, returning with a huge fern, and a big box. Anna tipped the delivery man and turned her attention to the things he’d brought. Picking up the fern, she smiled as she remembered Chase telling her that her office was boring.

  Apparently, he was trying to liven it up a little. She cleared the stacks of sample brochures from a low table in the corner and put the fern on it. Then she turned her attention to the big box. When she opened it, she found a couple more boxes inside of it.

  One box contained a beautiful red-and-white woven Native American-style blanket. The othe
r box was larger and felt heavy. Opening the lid, she saw a lamp shade. Sitting it aside, she took out a beautifully rendered Betty Boop lamp.

  Anna laughed as she sat it on her desk. “Well, that will certainly make my office less boring.”

  Her text message alert went off, and she saw that it was from Chase.

  Chase: Play No. 5 first.

  Anna: ??

  She waited but he didn’t respond. Then she saw that there was one more item in the box: a CD. Turning it over, she saw Chase’s smiling face on it. He wore a black cowboy hat, jeans, black cowboy boots, and a sleeveless blue checkered Western shirt. He stood leaning against a barn with his legs crossed at the ankles. The pose emphasized his package, which she knew was impressive. Intense hunger made her feel a little weak as she looked at him.

  Looking at the back of the CD, she saw a list of ten songs on it, many of which she recognized. He must have put out a demo album at some time. Some girls get mixed CD’s from their boyfriends, but I get a demo of mine singing. Okay, well, he’s not my boyfriend, but still…

  Sitting down at her desk, she opened the CD, put it in her computer’s disk drive, and cued it up to the right song. Like a Wrecking Ball by Eric Church started coming through the speakers, and she felt giddy when Chase came in after the intro. The sexy song made her feel hot all over, and she desperately wished that he was doing what the lyrics said.

  Chase backing her up against a wall and having his way with her like a wrecking ball sounded like heaven to her. She picked up a file folder and fanned herself a little as the song ended.

  Hearing him singing with a studio band, Anna was convinced that if the right music scout ever heard Chase, they’d try to sign him in a heartbeat. The next song only made her craving for him intensify when he sang Luke Bryan’s Strip it Down.

  “Please tell me that they’re not all like this,” she said, looking at the back of the CD case again.

  Relieved to see that the next song was Friends in Low Places, by Garth Brooks, Anna breathed a sigh of relief. Then her mouth curved upwards as she thought of a way to pay him back for teasing her. She wasn’t a great singer like Chase, but she had a decent voice.