Chasing the Runaway Bride (Bliss Series Book 3)

by Michelle Jo Quinn

  I loved the open road, but I hadn’t been paying attention to how beautiful my surroundings were.

  I wasn’t in such a rush to head back to the city and to work. It would be completely empty seeing as how everyone who worked for us (and mattered to me) was staying in the vineyard for a couple more days. But I just had to get away from Alex. I didn’t know what I would do if I was constantly near him. I couldn’t risk it, not for a few wicked lays with a man who magically knew how to push every one of my buttons.

  Alcohol had clouded my judgment last night. And I was afraid after being with him, I wouldn’t even be able to blame a state of inebriation for having my way with Alex again. All I needed was him. His scent. His touch.

  My wrist flexed as I pushed on the throttle. Distance. Distance from him would be good for me. I wasn’t sure when he was leaving the States, but it had to be soon. I bent my wrist again. Another half an hour and I’d be home. I’d lock myself indoors until I heard the news that Alex was thousands of feet above the earth.

  Then I heard it. A mechanical sputtering. “No, no, no, baby.” I tapped my bike. “Shit.” I’d been stupid. This was bound to happen. My mechanic, Glen, had taken a look at my Harley two weeks ago and had warned me. I had been too busy thinking about the wedding and Alex that I’d completely ignored Glen.

  I guided my bike over to the side, and shook my hair as I took my helmet off. It was a glorious Sunday afternoon. I’d passed a few people along the way, but they were going at a leisurely pace. They’d reach me eventually, but I had zero patience.

  I searched my pockets for my phone. Then realized I’d left it there, on the nightstand in the bedroom I hadn’t slept in. Not good. I’d have to wait for someone and ask to use their phone. There was no way I was leaving my baby behind. I’d camp out here if I had to.

  Several minutes later, the first car came toward me. But whoever it was passed without slowing down. Bastard.

  I’d pulled out my emergency kit from the saddlebags and placed mini-pylons behind and in front of my bike. Thankfully, Nica had insisted I bring food with me since I didn’t eat breakfast. How could I eat when a hot-as-Hades man was feeling me up under the table? I’d slipped my jacket off and had a sip of the water when I spotted another car coming. No, not a car, a truck. A cherry red Ford Raptor.

  It looked familiar. Could it be? I’d seen one of Levi’s employees driving a similar one when I’d arrived at the vineyard. Using a hand to block out the sun, I squinted. It was the same truck from the vineyard. Perfect. Maybe they could even help me load my bike in the flatbed. Their trucks were outfitted to carry heavy loads. Maybe luck was starting to favor me.

  But as it neared, I realized the man driving wasn’t the same one I’d seen driving it the previous day. He stopped in front of me, stuck his head out of the open window, removed his sunglasses and plastered a grin on his face. My knight in a shining Ford was Alexandre Laurent.

  “A little trouble, hayati?” he asked, maneuvering the truck closer to the side of the road, killing its engine before stepping out. A little trouble I could handle. He was a lot more than a little trouble. But did I have a choice?

  “Yeah, I just need to borrow a phone to get it outta here,” I told Alex, keeping away from him and my arms crossed tightly over my chest. The killer grin on his face never wavered. I mentally slapped myself to stop the swoon that was about to come.

  “I could take a look if you want.” He tucked a hand in his pocket and out came my phone. “You left this back there when you were trying to get away from me.”

  “Wha—? I wasn’t...” I shut my mouth and pressed my lips together.

  It hurt that he knew me so well. It shouldn’t have been possible. We’d barely talked. The most we’d said to each other were the dirty things we had uttered while in the throes of passion. My nipples hardened upon remembering them. Alex had a filthy mouth, but he hadn’t only talked the talk, he walked it too.

  Shit. I needed to concentrate. I grabbed the phone from him and pressed the button. Nothing but black, like my mood.

  “It’s dead,” I said accusingly, as though he had caused the battery to drain.

  “Guess you forgot to charge it.” He made his way to my bike, inspecting it under the sun.

  “Just give me your phone so I can call someone,” I snapped, sending him a death glare.

  Alex stooped low, checking on the gears of my baby. “For someone who needs help, you’re not very pleasant,” he told me without looking up.

  I fumed. “Alex, please give me your phone, so you can go on your merry way.”

  “Try again, hayati.” He kept his eyes on my bike.

  “Shit, Alex, I already said please. I’d like to be on my way before it gets dark.” This time, Alex tilted his head up to the cloudless blue sky. Yeah, I got the point. Darkness wouldn’t be coming anytime soon. “And stop touching my bike. What the hell do you know about fixing a motorcycle anyway?”

  Alex stood and walked around to the other side, fiddling with parts again. With smugness in his voice, he said, “Two-thousand ten Heritage Softail Classic, whitewalls, chrome-laced wheels. Fifteen eight-four cc motor, and let’s see…ninety-two point two pounds of torque at…three thousand rpm. I would have gone with complete Vivid Black, but the Merlot is a nice touch.” Okay, he got me. He knew a thing or two about bikes. “I toured with a Triumph for years.”

  “Well...” Think, Chase, think. I tried hard to ignore the pooling of lust in my belly. “I don’t want your hands or your clothes to get dirty.” Weak. What could I do? Alex looked like a supermodel, talked like a mechanic, and screwed like a nymphomaniac on death row.

  He chuckled, lower than I’d ever heard before, but not so low that it was easily ignored. My body noticed. I remembered Alex over me, trapped under his luscious gaze, my legs wrapped around his hips, as he pumped into me.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he’d said last night.

  I’d exhaled, hard, and replied, “You don’t have to throw compliments, your dick’s already inside me.” He’d chuckled, and the reverberations shot all the way to my core. It had sent him into a fury and his movements had become more frantic.

  Alex peeked up at me from behind my bike. “You know I don’t mind getting a little dirty, Chase.” He winked. Another blow to my failing control. Thankfully, he focused on my bike. “Tank?”

  “I never leave it less than half full.”

  “Tire?”

  “Are you shitting me? These are new.” I pointed at my tires.

  “You can never be too sure, hayati.”

  I rolled my eyes. “What does that word even mean?” I screwed my lips before saying, “It’s the gearbox. It’s shot. I was supposed to bring it in last week, but I forgot.” I squeezed the bridge of my nose in annoyance.

  Alex stood, anger present on his face. “And you’ve been riding it all this time? Do you have a death wish?”

  Damn, Alex angry was pretty hot too. “No, not particularly. I’ve been busy.”

  Alex swore under his breath, and rubbed his hand over his forehead, leaving a streak of grease on it. “Help me load it then.” He ran around the bike toward the truck.

  “Or just give me a damn phone,” I snapped once more. Why couldn’t he just listen?

  He spun around so quickly it startled me. “Help me load it, or you stay here and wait for the next person to come. As far as I know, my brother owns half this stretch. A tow could take a lot longer. Your choice, Chase.” It was always my choice. Even last night, before we’d entered the guesthouse, between kisses, he’d told me that if I’d wanted to stop or leave, I’d been free to do so. But I hadn’t.

  “Why are you being so difficult?” I spat.

  “Why are you running away?”

  Whoa. I did not expect that. This little back and forth had brought him closer to me. Without my heels on, he was almost a head taller. His shirt was thin, and the heat emanating from his skin was hotter than the sun above us. His eyes bored into me as he waited
for my reply. He knew there wasn’t anything coming. Not today. Probably not ever.

  “Help me load her up.” He strode back to the truck, massaging the side of his head and muttering in French.

  Watching him pull down the ramp from the back of the truck, I breathed a sigh of relief. Even if I tried to hide his effect on me, it was too late. Alex had known all this time. Now that he figured out I was keeping distance from him, would he actually let me?

  I received my answer when we arrived at my doorstep. We’d dropped my Harley off with Glen, and I didn’t bother with introductions before I gathered all my stuff. Alex didn’t offer me a ride to my place; he just assumed. I hadn’t bothered to argue. There would have been no point.

  The drive to my place was quiet. When I got out of the truck, he killed the engine and stepped out too.

  I reached in for my bags in the back seat. “I can bring my stuff in, no need to...”

  Alex was on me in an instant, bracing his hands over the top of the truck. When I turned, I was pinned between him and the passenger door. “You didn’t answer my question.” His eyes blazed, but I refused to read what they wanted to reveal.

  “What question?” I knew which one.

  “Why are you running away from me?” Alex trailed his hand over the side of my face, down my neck, and past my shoulder, but he kept his eyes on me. “You can’t say you don’t want me.”

  “Alex, please,” I breathed out, and shuttered my eyes closed.

  “Ask me in, Chase.” I had a feeling he wasn’t only talking about inviting him inside my house. He wanted more.

  I squeezed my eyes tighter, and shook my head. “Alex, I can’t.”

  “Why?” He pressed his whole body on me. All hard, and toned, and wanting. “I know you want me.” He took my hand, and I thought he would guide it toward his crotch, but he didn’t. He brought it to his chest and let me feel the thundering underneath. “I want you too. Feel this. This is all your doing. There’s more to this than something physical.”

  Shit. This was going at the speed of lightning, and I had no idea where the brake was. “Alex...”

  I lost my voice when Alex claimed my mouth. He licked my lips apart and declared himself ruler of everything sane in my life.

  I was in dangerous territory from the very beginning. All of my guarded walls tumbled at his touch. It had taken years to put those up, brick by brick of carefully-laid protection to stop anybody from ever getting in. A battle had started within me—the fight to savor everything that was Alex, and the memories of the person I once was. No, more than that...the person I would always be but had never exposed to anyone.

  We didn’t make it to my bedroom the first time.

  Alex laid on his back as I rode him, fast and frenzied in the foyer of my apartment, ignoring any protestations from somewhere deep in my mind, and the hard bite of the floor on my knees. I expected some bruising tomorrow.

  I begged myself to let me have this—whatever this was—once. Just for today.

  The fury continued into my living room, with me bent over my charcoal grey sofa. The fabric scratched my skin, but nothing would scar me more than once this was over. The third time, we’d found ourselves in the kitchen, pretending to rest for food or drinks. We’d feasted on each other instead.

  By the time we reached my bed, the sun had gone down. I was spent.

  Alex panted beside me, stretched out on his back, while I lay on my stomach. Our faces were inches away from each other. Our breath commingled in the air. His lips spread into a wicked smile before he laughed. And I joined him.

  There wasn’t anything humorous. It was a bubble of emotion we both understood and couldn’t help but give into.

  What were the chances of finding someone who just got you, especially when you’re not searching?

  “Come back to me, Chase.” Alex tapped my forehead, and leaned to place a tender kiss on my shoulder. “Where did you go?”

  “Nowhere,” I answered with a small smile, and wondered if I’d read Alex right. What was he really asking from me?

  He reached over and wrapped me in his arms. “Good.” A deep breath raised his chest as he took in the scent of my hair. “You smell so delicious.”

  I hummed. This was too much. A guy inhaling my scent meant something. I made an excuse to be free of him, of that moment. “I have to go to the bathroom.”

  “Why?” I raised a brow at him. Possessive much?

  “I have to pee. You want to help me with that too?”

  “I’m sorry. That didn’t come out right. Go on. I’ll be waiting.” He folded his hands under his head, looking comfortable and at ease.

  Panic wrung my throat when I saw myself in the mirror. Mascara smeared around my eyes. My lips blood-red from his kisses. My cheeks blazed the same tint. It was too easy to be blinded by the possibilities Alex and I could have together whenever I was with him. But as I stood, alone, wracked with guilt and shame, it was obvious we could never be.

  I splashed water over my face, cooling my heated skin. Several deep breaths calmed me before I returned to the bedroom. To Alex.

  He was propped up with a pillow behind his back, his hair sticking out all different directions from all my earlier tugging and pulling. The taut skin of his toned chest was marred with love bites and scratches, and he held an open book in his hands. “Interesting read.” It was a library book, Hawthorne’s “The House of Seven Gables”. After sending me a knowing smile, he continued reading.

  I reached over and grabbed it from him, snapped it closed, and placed it on my dresser on top of other books.

  It didn’t upset Alex. He quirked his lips into a teasing smile. “I was wondering what was jabbing me on my back.” His eyes wandered over my room. Piles of books were everywhere. “Do you always sleep with books?”

  Come on, Chase, get rid of him, my subconscious reminded me. “Most nights.” I turned away and picked out a shirt and panties from my drawer. If I was going to end this, I couldn’t be standing in front of him nude.

  “Let’s go grab dinner.” He sounded so casual, like what we’d done wasn’t horrible.

  My head snapped back at him. “No.” He was studying the lines of fingernail scratches on his left shoulder. Scratches I’d created.

  “All right,” he said, sounding entertained. “How about we order in? I’d say I would cook for you but we’ve already discovered you don’t keep much food in the house.” His voice had a thrill of humor and sweetness in it. He was killing me, my heart swelling until it was ready to burst.

  I focused on getting dressed. Alex shuffled behind me, pulling on his boxers, and then wrapped his hands around my waist, pressing against my back. “I’m going to wash up. You decide what you want for dinner. I know what I want for dessert.” I kept silent and let him head to the bathroom.

  My bed was a testament to my shame. No man had ever been in it. The only people who’d ever set foot in my apartment were my friends. Only Nica had been inside my bedroom when she helped me paint the walls a dark purple. And yes, books were my only bedtime companions.

  With the throbbing pulse in my head, I grabbed the sheets and pulled them right off the bed. Alex reappeared as I bundled them in my hands.

  With a firm voice, he asked, “What are you doing?”

  “What does it look like I’m doing?”

  He continued to talk even though I didn’t turn to face him. “It looks like you’re changing the sheets. Are you that ashamed of what we’ve done?” He didn’t wait for an answer. Alex grabbed my arm and spun me around. Hurt and concern filled his eyes. “What’s after this? Are you going to take apart the flooring in your hallway too? Or burn your sofa to the ground? How about your kitchen bench? You’re going to get rid of those too?”

  “Why do you even care?” I snapped at him.

  Alex huffed and shook his head, producing a dry, humorless chuckle, while he picked up his neatly folded clothes from a chair and started dressing.

  “Why are you here, Alex?
What were you doing driving that truck? Where were you going?” I didn’t know I’d wanted to ask those questions until I did.

  He calmed a bit, and regarded me with those blue eyes. “Jewel found your phone, and I made an excuse to see you again. You didn’t even say goodbye.”

  I scoffed. “We had one night, Alex. That was it.” His grip on my arm tightened.

  “And we had today. What is this?” Alex spread his free hand between us. “One night and one day. Those are all I get? That’s it?”

  It was more than I should have given in the first place. He would never understand, and I wasn’t willing to open up just yet. Not to him, at least. “Yes.”

  Alex dropped his hands. His shoulders slouched forward. His eyes tried to read mine, but I wasn’t entirely sure what he’d see in them.

  I steadied myself. I gathered the hem of my shirt in a tight fist. If I touched him, I probably wouldn’t let him go. But I needed to. I had to. The more he stared at me, the more I could feel myself falter.

  A mixture of confusion and anger flooded in his eyes, and in the end, Alex gave up and walked away. But if I thought that was the end, I was wrong.

  The marks on my skin from Alex stayed for about three days: a pinkish darkening under my collarbone and the top of one breast, and faint bruising on my knees.

  I would have loved nothing more than to stay in my apartment and sulk but I wasn’t like that anymore. Chase did not pout under the covers. Not for anything, especially not for a man. No matter how sinfully good-looking he was. Plus I did promise Nica I’d take care of the business while she was on her honeymoon.

  By Tuesday, everyone was back from Napa Valley and work was in full swing. No one mentioned Alex. I tried my hardest not to think of him, but there were few reminders I couldn’t ignore. The muscle soreness wore off the next day, thanks to a stop at my favorite watering hole, Davidson’s, followed by a hangover, which gripped my skull.

  Once I sobered up and wasn’t too busy with meetings, I would remember to eat, head to the gym, then home to shower and sleep. This had been my way of life for a few years.