by Rita Herron
"Thinking." She traced a line down his damp chest, drawing circles along his inner thigh. "Don't think, Chase. Not yet, anyway."
Chase groaned with pleasure. "Oh, Maddie."
"How about we try—"
He threaded his fingers through her hair. "Again?"
Maddie arched a brow. "What, you're too tired?"
He chuckled and swatted bubbles at her, laughing in delight when she stood, giving him a spectacular view of soap-slicked naked thighs. And he was at just the right level...
With a growl of pleasure, he raised himself on his hands and knees just as she lifted her leg and placed a dainty foot on the side of the tub. Wow, another position came to mind. "Maddie, don't move."
A wicked grin met his gaze. He tried to turn but his hand slipped, his body slid, and he sank beneath the water. Soapy water sloshed into his eyes and onto his face, and he closed his mouth, holding his breath, grasping for control. He reached for something stable, caught Maddie's leg and felt her weight collapse on top of him. Seconds later, he came up sputtering, and heard Maddie laughing as she clutched the tub and stood. Feeling playful, he tried to turn to dunk her, but a sharp pain suddenly exploded in his back.
He let out a yell, clutched his lower spine and clung to the side of the tub, spitting bubbles.
"Chase?"
Sharp pain knifed through his body, shooting down his leg. "Shit, Maddie. I can't believe this."
She sank to her knees beside him, her hand automatically stroking his tense muscles with concern. "What's wrong?"
He groaned as the pain intensified, almost blinding him. "I threw out my damn back."
* * *
Three hours later, Chase groaned and sprawled awkwardly in the backseat of Maddie's car, barely cognizant of his surroundings and the fact that Maddie had helped him from the hospital bed to the wheelchair to the car, and he'd almost crushed her in his drug-induced stupor. Thankfully, the pain pills were dulling the blinding ache in his back, but he'd lost all control of his faculties.
Of course, he'd done that earlier with Maddie when he'd made love to her in every room of his house. And that was before the pain pills.
He moaned and tried to mumble an apology, but wound up muttering something incoherent that vaguely resembled "Sorry."
Maddie tried to scoot her arm from behind him and nearly fell on top of him. "Easy, Chase. I just want you to be comfortable."
"Sorwe, so sorwe," he mumbled again.
Maddie patted his arm sympathetically and shut the door. He winced at the movement, gritting his teeth as she opened and shut the front door on the driver's side. They'd had a harried trip to the ER, Maddie in a panic, him in excruciating pain. Now reality had set in.
He had slept with Maddie Summers. Not just slept with her, but repeatedly had wild and crazy sex with her. And he had not only had wild and crazy sex with her, but he'd taken her virginity.
Worst of all, he had betrayed his best friends' trust.
He deserved a fate worse than a back out of whack.
Maddie cranked the car and shifted into gear, jolting the car forward. He dropped his hand over his forehead to shield his eyes from the lights outside and his mind from remembering. The effort proved fruitless.
"Oh, sorry," Maddie said. "Just try to relax, and I'll have you home and in bed in no time."
Wasn't that how he'd wound up in this position?
No, they'd been in the hot tub.
Great. How was he going to explain this to her brothers?
"Are you okay, Chase. Please tell me you are. You look so pale, I'm getting worried."
He tried to wave and tell her it was all right, but his hand flopped up, then down, and he hit himself in the face. And his stomach was suddenly climbing to his throat.
God no. He couldn't humiliate himself by throwing up now, too.
The hospital visit had pretty much already shredded his dignity. He needed to keep what little he had intact. All that poking and prodding. Nurses taking off his clothes and handling him. He hadn't slipped a disc or done any serious damage, for which he was grateful. But no, the doctor had said he'd had too much strenuous exercise. As if he was too ancient and out of shape to be having so much sex. He'd felt a hundred years old in front of Maddie.
She swerved, and he swallowed, clutching his stomach and praying for control, at least until he could make it to his own bathroom and find some privacy. Thankfully his whole body was going numb.
She hit a pothole, and he swore, his stomach lurching.
"We're almost there, Chase," Maddie sang.
He closed his eyes and must have drifted in and out of sleep because all he remembered after that was Maddie half-dragging him inside his apartment. Then he flopped onto his bed and smiled like a fool as she stripped off his clothes. Moments later, he sank into oblivion with dreams of Maddie's sweet little tush tucked up beside him. He had two thoughts before he finally gave himself up to the darkness of sleep. One, the next day he had to find a way to end this madness with Maddie and grovel forgiveness from her brothers.
And two—if he had just died, how had bad-boy Chase Holloway ended up in heaven?
* * *
Maddie lay snuggled with Chase, her own heart aching at the pain she'd seen etched on his face the last few hours. Poor baby. She ran her hand along his bare chest, memorizing every detail of his body, trying to imprint the memories into her mind in case he woke up and decided they'd made some kind of monumental mistake in making love.
Not that she wasn't having doubts herself.
She was already in love with him, a foolish thing to give her heart to a man who seemed dead-set on not becoming involved with her. Tonight, the time she'd spent in his arms had been the best night of her life, but would he want another woman tomorrow?
She winced as her aching muscles protested. Deciding a cup of hot tea might calm her after the hospital ordeal, she eased herself from bed, slipped on Chase's denim shirt, inhaling the masculine scent clinging to the fabric as she padded to the kitchen. A flick of the light switch, and her gaze zeroed in on the front of his ancient avocado refrigerator, so different from the one in his new house.
Her stomach plummeted when she saw the paper lodged with magnets in the dead center of the fridge.
Bachelors Forever.
Signed in red—blood—by Lance and Reid. And confirming her fears, she saw Chase's name scrawled at the bottom in big bold letters.
Maddie couldn't believe her eyes. Not only was the juvenile pact she remembered from when her brothers and Chase were younger—the one signed in blood—floating before her eyes, but at the bottom of it she saw all three of them had resigned the paper in pen. And the new date was less than a month ago.
Chapter 20
Lance was in a foul mood. All night he'd obsessed over the evening with Sophie and still couldn't put his finger on what was bothering him. She'd seemed so... so sweet, so interested in him. So damned complimentary of him, as if she sincerely admired him for taking care of his family.
He'd noticed this soft, vulnerable womanly side of her that in no way fit with the glitzy, glamorous talk-show host everyone gawked at on daytime TV.
Was her vulnerable sincere act just a ruse? Or could she possibly be for real?
It didn't matter. He had to be cautious. And if she was sincere, well—no. Blast it all to hell, he didn't have time for a personal relationship. A woman would only complicate his life right now. Forcing himself to put the striking brunette and her cataclysmic emerald-green eyes out of his mind, he'd phoned Reid and Chase and insisted they meet for breakfast to double-check that things were back on schedule.
Only Chase hadn't answered the phone.
Swerving his Blazer into Chase's apartment complex, he noticed Maddie's sporty new convertible parked in front and slammed on his brakes. What the...
He checked his watch. Seven a.m. What was Maddie doing here so early?
Could Chase and Maddie...
No, never.
Laughing at the irony, he threw the truck sideways into a parking spot, killed the engine and climbed out, then stalked to the front door. She'd probably wanted a breakfast meeting, same as him, to finish some of her decorating stuff—that is, if she still was in the business. He'd thought her interest would have waned by now, but Chase seemed to think she was going to stick with it. At least until the project was finished. At this point, he hoped so. It was too late to hire someone else to decorate the homes for the tour.
As much as he hated to bust up their meeting, he had to get Chase over to meet with Reid before their session with the planning committee today. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he raised his hand and pounded on the door.
* * *
Maddie had just poured herself a cup of strong coffee when she heard someone at the door. The loud knock startled her, and she accidentally spilled the hot liquid on her hand. Who the heck would be knocking on Chase's door so early in the morning? Should she answer the door or not? No, she'd ignore it. It might be Lance or Reid. Or that Daphne woman!
Lord, she needed some sleep, not to have to explain why she was here or meet one of Chase's other lovers. Other lovers. Is that what she had become? One of his many women?
That bachelor pact had started the wheels of doubt spinning in her brain, and she'd chastised herself a dozen times for making love with Chase. Then she'd restlessly roamed his house, and to her consternation, had seen copies of the bachelor pact tacked up in every room.
His mumbled, "Sorry"—had he been apologizing for ruining the evening by throwing out his back or for making love to her? Was he already regretting their evening together, afraid she'd get territorial and start making demands?
The knocking grew louder.
Irritated and more than a little dizzy from exhaustion, she cradled her cup in her hand, tiptoed to the window and peeked out, slapping one hand to her mouth to stifle a gasp. Good heavens.
Lance was standing on the doorstep.
She glanced down at Chase's wrinkled, denim shirt and her heart thundered in her chest.
What in the world should she do now?
* * *
Chase clutched his aching back, ran a hand through his sleep-tousled hair and staggered out of bed, determined to tell the neighbor next door to put the damn jackhammer away for a while. Nothing else but a jackhammer could make that awful pounding sound so early in the morning. They must be working on the roof.
Slowly managing to put one foot in front of the other, he swaggered into his den and headed straight to the door. So groggy he was oblivious to anything else around him, he swung open the front door with a curse and ran straight into Lance.
His buddy stood in the middle of the doorway, a frown on his face. "The jackhammer?"
"That was me knocking." Lance planted his hands on his hips. "What's wrong with you—hangover?"
Chase rubbed a hand over his face, still clutching his stiff back, then turned to hobble to the sofa—where Maddie stood, cradling a cup of coffee with her hair mussed and wearing his denim shirt.
Dear Jesus. Maddie.
Reality crashed back like a keg of dynamite exploding into his brain. He groaned, swaying dizzily and blindly reached for the wall.
"Chase?"
"Maddie?"
"Lance?"
Out of the corner of a hazy, swollen eye, he momentarily caught the questioning looks shooting across the room between his best friend and his lov—best friend's baby sister. Guilt and pain and the pills collided, turning his brain into a hazy mush. He might as well go ahead and tell the truth, rescue Maddie before her brother jumped down her throat. He would take full blame, tell him he seduced her, say anything so Lance wouldn't fuss at her.
He opened his mouth to confess, but saw Maddie's concerned look and swayed again. Maddie and Lance both ran for him. Grabbing him on opposite sides at the same time, they helped him to the couch where he sprawled down, flopping his legs in front of him like a rag doll. He wished he could just lose consciousness and wake up when this terrible, awkward morning-after was over.
"Some hangover?" Lance muttered. "What'd you drink—a fifth of Wild Turkey all by yourself?"
Chase shook his head, aware the room was still spinning. "No, pain pills."
"He threw his back out last night," Maddie explained.
Through a slitted eye, he saw Lance turn a questioning expression toward Maddie, then back to him. "How did you do that, Holloway?"
Just spit it out and let him kill you while you're still too numb to feel it. "We... uh, went to my house—"
"We were moving..." Maddie said, looking panicky.
Apparently she wasn't ready for her brothers to know about him. A pang of hurt hit him, though he didn't understand why. "Boxes," Chase finished.
"Last night we met to view his house, and he had to move some boxes of furniture and he threw his back out—"
"Maddie drove me to the ER."
"And back home."
Lance's frown darkened. "And?"
"And he was in so much pain I was worried—"
"She stayed on the couch—"
"To make sure he was all right."
They both finished, blankly staring at each other. Lance's head titled sideways as if he considered the story and wasn't sure he bought it. Chase's chest tightened with guilt.
He hated lying to his best friend. Not that he usually spilled his guts about women or his sex life, but he'd vowed to protect and watch over Maddie.
Not seduce her.
She'd been an innocent.
He would take full blame.
Lance suddenly burst into laughter. "Gosh, for a minute I thought..." He rubbed his chin, chuckling.
"Thought what?" Maddie asked.
"You wouldn't believe it."
"Try me," Maddie said, folding her arms across her chest. Chase thought she sounded irritated but he wasn't sure.
She sure did look beautiful though.
Lance laughed even louder, sending the drums beating in Chase's head again. "Naw, that would be ridiculous." He walked over to Chase and sat down beside him on the sofa. "I know you'd never do anything like that."
Black spots danced in front of Chase's eyes. He figured it was the guilt sending him a message.
"But blast it all to hell, Chase. What rotten timing. We have a meeting with the planning committee today at noon, and I need for you to be there. Do you think there's any way—"
"I'll be there," Chase said, knowing he couldn't let his buddy down anymore than he already had. He tried to stand but pain knifed through him, rocking his world sideways.
"Uh, the pain pills are on the counter in your bathroom. I'll get you one," Maddie offered.
"Thanks."
He shot her a grateful look and saw hurt darken her eyes. What did Maddie want?
He searched for some kind of cue.
She bit down on her lip, and he didn't know whether she wanted him to keep silent or spill his guts.
Hell, he had no idea what to do. His brain was too foggy and so full of pain and guilt, he couldn't possibly read her mind. So he said nothing. Instead he hobbled off to the other room, silently cursing himself for being a coward and a screw-up.
* * *
"I really screwed up big time." Unable to hide her misery, Maddie sank onto one of the seats in the back of her van where she had created a small makeshift office.
Sophie handed Maddie a cup of hot tea. "Come on, Mad, it can't be that bad."
"I slept with Chase."
A wide grin split Sophie's face. "Ooh. Good."
"No, it was awful."
"A disappointing lover, huh?"
"Hardly. I mean the sex was wonderful... mind-boggling."
"I'm not following. So why was it bad?"
Because I'm in love with him. Unable to voice her feelings yet, Maddie sipped the tea, wincing when it burned her tongue. "I just think sleeping with him was a big mistake."
"Is that what he said?"
"Not exactly. He was t
oo doped up on pain medication to say much when I left."
"Wow, you must have had some wild sex."
Maddie laughed, remembering the innovative position they'd been trying when Chase had popped his back out of whack. "Yeah, but then he messed up his back, and we had to go to the hospital and then I saw all those stupid bachelor-pact signs."
"Whoa, bachelor-pact signs?"
"Remember how I told you that Chase and my brothers had made a "bachelor forever" vow when they were younger? Well, it turns out they renewed the pact a month ago. I still can't believe they are so immature! Anyway, they all signed a sheet of paper vowing to be bachelors forever. And Chase hung copies of that juvenile sign in every room of the house as if he wanted a constant reminder not to get involved with anyone. And then Lance showed up—"
"Lance showed up?"
"Yeah, this morning." Maddie blew into her tea to cool it. "I didn't know what to do."
"Did he say anything about me?"
Maddie squinted at her friend. "Why would he say something about you?"
Sophie shrugged, a forlorn expression on her face. "I don't know. I suppose he wouldn't."
"Sophie, is there something you're not telling me?"
Sophie thumbed a strand of hair behind her ear, her tortoiseshell earrings clinking. "We had dinner last night."
Maddie pushed to the edge of her seat. "You have been holding back, girl. Come on, I want all the details."
* * *
Chase struggled to remain upright, wincing with every movement. He'd tried not to take the pain pills because they made him groggy, but his whole body felt like Gingsu knives were stabbing at his skin, and he was either going to pass out from the pain or float through the meeting with a goofy grin on his face. He'd figured the latter was the best choice. Only now, he felt dizzy again, and the room kept slipping in and out of focus. Sometimes there were two Lances, sometimes Reid was upside down...
"So, Mr. Holloway, you've agreed to stay on with the project if we decide to expand?" Thornton Wainright leaned his bony face on his bony hand, and Chase decided the man reminded him of an ostrich. An anal, uptight, bony ostrich. He couldn't help but laugh at the image.
"Chase?" Lance's growl cut through his blurry euphoria.
