Chasing Trust: A Small Town Steamy Romance (Harper Family series Book 3)

by Nancy Stopper

  She shoved him off her and for a moment, he thought he’d upset her, until she fisted his shirt and dragged him across the room and through a door. She spun toward him as his eyes adjusted to the darkness until he made out the bed on the opposite wall.

  Serena’s fingers fumbled to pull his T-shirt out of his jeans and then she ripped it up and over his head. Her eyes widened as they landed on the tattoos down his biceps and on his chest. She ran her fingers over a tribal image he’d gotten on his first trip to Africa, a symbol of strength in the tribes inhabiting the lower Sahara. She brushed her lips across it, like she recognized the importance of the image to him.

  Every tattoo on his body had special meaning and significance. And he’d gladly spend hours allowing her to explore every one of them. With her tongue. But right now, she had too many clothes on.

  He pulled at her T-shirt. “Off. I need it off.”

  She stepped back, a glimmer in her eye, as she grasped at the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head. He didn’t take his eyes off her as he loosened the laces and toed off his boots, leaving them right where he’d stood in the middle of the floor. She kicked off her own boots as she stepped backward toward the bed, her gaze never leaving his. Damn, he’d thought she was sexy before, but her actively participating was an intoxicating turn-on.

  If anyone had asked him a month ago where he’d be, never in a million years would he have said in Serena’s bedroom, getting ready to make love. But that’s where he was. And what he was doing.

  But you’re not staying. Chase shoved that thought down deep. It had no place between him and Serena right now.

  She knew the deal. But for the first time in a long time, he didn’t want to leave. His mind had calmed and settled into Cedar Hill rather than searching out his next trip, his next adventure. Serena was all the adrenaline rush he needed right now.

  Had he found a place to call home? He hadn’t had that since he lost his security along with his mother, but for the first time since her death, his heart felt, well, settled.

  And the idea that Serena held the key to that scared the hell out of him.

  She pressed her hands to his chest, leaned in close, and whispered, “Are you okay?”

  He shook off the negative thoughts and brought his mind back to right here and the beautiful, willing woman in front of him. “Oh, yeah. I’m all right. But I’ll be better when I have you completely naked and under me on that bed.”

  She quirked a single eyebrow. “What makes you think you’ll be on top?”

  “Is that right?” He lifted her up and threw her on the bed, following her down and pressing his lips to hers. While he made love to her mouth, he pulled the snap on her jeans and lowered the zipper, widening the fabric. But that could wait a minute. She had two breasts that required his attention first.

  He slid his hands behind her back and quickly released the latches on her bra. She pulled the straps down and flung the fabric across the room, like she was as anxious for his hands on her as he was.

  But he didn’t touch her. He sat over her, his knees bracketing her hips, and drank in her image. Her pale skin was a bright contrast to her darkened, deep-rose nipples, hard and begging for attention. He lowered his head and cupped her right breast with his hand, sealing his lips over her nipple. She tasted sweet and salty and a flavor uniquely Serena. He’d never given much thought to how a woman’s skin tasted before, but he wanted to take in every sight, smell, and taste of this night with Serena.

  In case it was his only night.

  Chase swore to himself then and there that this would not be his only night with Serena. Because for the first time, he wasn’t screwing, fucking, or having sex. He was making love with a woman. Until this point, the words had been meaningless to him but now that he’d reconnected with Serena, the concept took on a new and unique meaning for him, because making love was about sharing yourself with another person, about being completely vulnerable with them, and they with you.

  Chase had told Serena things about his family, about his travels, that he’d never shared with anyone.

  After sucking her first nipple to a stiff peak, he sprinkled kisses across her body and laved attention on her other breast. She threw her head back and a low moan rumbled from deep within her. After teasing that nipple until it sat up and begged for more, he lifted his head and smiled. When Serena realized he’d stopped sucking on her breasts, she raised her eyes.

  He asked the unspoken question and she nodded. That’s all the permission he needed as he kissed a path down her belly to her jeans that lay open for him. His mouth hovered over her crotch and he placed a wet kiss to it through her jeans. He then hooked his thumbs into the waist of the denim and she lifted her hips to help him tug the pants off her body.

  She scrambled with the thin fabric of her panties and he helped her pull them down her magnificent thighs, over her muscular calves and off her feet. With his gaze locked on her, he flung them over his shoulder and smirked. He liked playful Serena.

  Her expression sizzled as she reached for him. He shook his head and shifted back on his knees, lifting her foot and pressing his thumbs into the ball. She moaned and her entire body sank into the bed.

  Imagine his surprise when he found Serena had her own ink, hidden away on her inner ankle from most of the world, but his to explore. “What’s this?”

  She seemed to withdraw into herself at his question. He scrambled up the bed, laying his body over hers, his mouth a breath away from her. The Celtic cross on her ankle wasn’t much bigger than the size of a quarter, but its meaning must be far more important.

  “Serena. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. I was surprised to see the tattoo, that’s all. When did you get that?”

  “As soon as I turned eighteen. It reminds me of a, uh, happier time when I was younger.”

  Her gaze stayed locked with his until the significance slammed into him like a ton of bricks. The cross matched the one that she had given him all those years ago. The one that hung around her neck even now. He lifted the pendant to his lips and pressed a kiss to it before moving to her lips. Then he grinned. “Now, where was I?”

  “Chase.” She grabbed for him, but he darted away from her grasp and made his way back down her body. He pressed his lips to the color on her ankle and then moved away. He had much more of her to explore.

  He trailed kisses up her calf, pausing behind her knee where he breathed a hot breath over the sensitive spot.

  “Chase.” His name came out on a beg, but he chuckled at her. He was not about to waste this opportunity to get to know every inch of Serena.

  He pressed his hands to her inner thighs, pressing them apart and brushing gentle kisses up her skin. She wriggled beneath him as he moved closer to her core, but when he pressed his lips to the tender skin between her legs, she arched her back and let out a deep moan. That sound shot straight to his cock which was already strained beneath his zipper.

  He shifted off Serena and her eyes snapped open, a question in her gaze.

  “I want to feel your skin against mine,” he said as he scrambled out of his jeans. He’d love to be completely naked with her, but there was only so much a man could take, so he left his boxers on. There’d be plenty of time for that later, when he was done taking care of Serena.

  He climbed back on the bed and settled between her thighs, pushing her knees wide. She tensed for a moment but a few well-placed kisses relaxed her again. He lowered his mouth and breathed a hot breath over her core before running his tongue over her folds. A keening moan rumbled from her chest as he parted her with his fingers, running his tongue along the outside. He absorbed the smell and taste of her, permanently imprinting them on his brain.

  He circled her core with his fingers before pressing two inside her, twisting and stroking. With each movement, her breaths grew more rapid, her body moving in synch with his. As he felt her muscles tighten, he quickened his pace, reaching for that place deep inside that would drive her wild. Her c
hannel convulsed and he sucked her clit between his lips while stroking inside her over and over.

  “Oh, God. Chase. Oh, God. That’s so good.” Her body tightened like a bow, her moans deep and steady, her body holding him tight inside her as she exploded in pleasure.

  He continued his delicious torture until her body relaxed and her breathing calmed. He then climbed up her, fitting his muscular body along her soft, supple skin and pressed his lips to her. “That was exquisite.”

  Her cheeks colored and she closed her eyes.

  “Serena. You don’t have to be embarrassed about feeling good with someone.”

  “I’m not. Well, I guess I am. Kinda. My parents didn’t show much affection when I was growing up. It took me a long time before I decided to sleep with anyone, in large part because of that, and it… well, it was never like that.”

  “Like what?” He was teasing her. He knew exactly what she meant because being with Serena was nothing like he’d ever felt before.

  “The intensity of the feelings, the connection. Although, I shouldn’t be surprised. You’ve been intense since the day I met you. It only makes sense that you’d be intense during sex, too.”

  He kissed her nose. “Not sex, making love. I’m making love with you… speaking of which…”

  He hooked his thumb in his boxers but she covered his hand. “Allow me.”

  “I don’t know, Ser—” His words were cut off when she stripped his briefs down in a single motion and palmed his cock. The warmth of her hand sank deep inside him. She wrapped her fingers around him, squeezing gently.

  “Oh, God.”

  He wanted tonight to be about Serena, and her pleasure, but he couldn’t put two brain cells together when she touched him like that. And then, fuck, she gripped him tighter and sank her fist down. Up and down, each time twisting her hand and clenching her fingers tighter. Damn, that felt good. Too good.

  He pushed away from her. “Serena, stop.”

  She looked up at him, her long lashes framing her eyes, a question in her gaze. “Did I do it wrong?”

  “Oh, no, honey. That was exactly right. But I couldn’t take it anymore. I want to be inside you the first time.”

  “Oh.” There was that cute blush again. He loved that she could be bold one minute and shy and embarrassed the next. She was something special.

  He rolled away to reach for his jeans and she stopped him. He questioned her with a look, but she reached into her nightstand drawer and came back with a foil packet between her fingers and a saucy look in her eye. She ripped the wrapper open and lowered her hands.

  “Oh, no, you don’t.” He took the condom from her and rolled it down his cock. No way he could have her hands on him again and not completely lose control. And he wanted at least one more orgasm from her before he found his own pleasure.

  He rolled her to her back and hovered over her, his hands bracketing her head. He kissed her and her body pressed up into his, as though asking for what he hadn’t yet given her. He chuckled against her lips. Bold Serena was back.

  “Chase, I need you.”

  “I know.” He kissed her as he slid the tip of his cock into her. Giving her a minute to adjust to his size. Her body tightened for a moment but she drew in a deep breath and relaxed. He thrust a little harder, his cock penetrating her body further. Her hips moved up to meet him. One more deep breath and he buried himself fully inside her body. He settled over her for a minute, not moving, and settled his racing heart. He was not about to come before she did.

  Serena pressed her hips into him, urging him on. Once he settled the need deep inside him, he withdrew and thrust again. She moaned as the tip of his cock pressed into her depths. He pulled out and thrust again, her hips meeting him time and again. She was so tight around him, he wasn’t sure how long he’d last like this.

  Before he could move things along, Serena pressed her hand to his shoulder, rolling him to his side and then his back, her body turning with him, his cock buried deep inside.

  And then she was on top of him. She sank back onto his cock and he found a spot even deeper inside her. A low moan escaped her lips and she threw her head back, her eyes closed. She lifted onto her knees, withdrawing him almost completely before sinking onto him again. He cupped her breasts as she repeated the motion, her clit brushing against him each time she sank down onto him.

  He couldn’t stand much more of this. His slid his thumb over her clit, pressing down on the sensitive nub.

  “Oh, god. That feels so good.” Serena’s body gripped him tight, her muscles like a vice as she found her own pleasure.

  He thrust up into her, over and over, faster and faster, until he felt his own release build deep inside his gut. A few more strokes and he groaned, tumbling over the edge with her.

  She collapsed over him, her body slick with sweat. His arms came around her and held her to him as they both caught their breath and he settled his mind that had been scrambled… by Serena.

  He’d expected making love to her to be something special, but when she was over him, her gaze filled with trust as she took him into her body, something snapped within him.

  Eventually, she rolled to her side. He made quick work of the condom and slid back onto the bed, settling Serena against him, her breasts pillowed on his arm. Her hand came up and she ran her finger along the scar on his chin. “How did you get this?”

  “An errant horse. He got spooked and ran. With me on him. The reins flew up at a full gallop and caught me on the chin.”

  “Is that when you got the one on your eyebrow, too?”

  He hesitated before exposing her to the danger that he sometimes faced on his trips. But he’d shared almost everything else with Serena. “That was courtesy of a tribal leader who didn’t want me taking pictures of his village.”

  Her fascination with his ink continued as she stroked down his body and traced around the symbol on his right pec, a circle with rays emanating from it, with angular designs inside.

  “When did you get this?”

  He covered her hand with his, resting them over the design. “My first trip to Africa. It signifies a tribe whose village was destroyed by war.”

  Serena was quiet for a moment, so quiet that he wondered if she’d fallen asleep, but when he lifted his head, her gaze met his. Her hand slid down his belly to the ink at his waist. “This one looks like a heartbeat.”

  “It is. The heart signifies life and the steady line at the end, death. This is in honor of a boy that died in my arms on my most recent trip to Africa. The refugee crisis—the hunger and devastation is staggering.”

  “What was his name?”

  No one had ever asked about his ink with such interest. “Akachi. It means God’s hand. That’s where he is now.”

  “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” She trailed her hand over his chest to the inside of his arm before continuing. “And this one?”

  “That’s an Arabic symbol signifying freedom. I got that in Afghanistan to represent the people who had been freed by the war after years of oppression by the Taliban.

  She fingered the band that circled his biceps and he flinched.

  “What?”

  He pulled her tighter against him. “Nothing.”

  “Does that tattoo mean something, too? Is that from one of the places you’ve visited?”

  Not a place, but a time. When he’d left the home that hadn’t been welcoming to him since the day his mother died. The day he shoved his emotions down because his father had no time for his kids’ grief.

  After Chase had taken off and made his way to New York, his first stop had been a tattoo parlor. The band of symbols signified the emotions that he held close, the ones that he didn’t share with anyone, but being with Serena, naked and exposed like this, made him want to open up to her. To share that last part of him that he protected from the rest of the world.

  “That’s all right. You don’t have to tell me.”

  “I want to, just not right now.�
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  She snuggled further into his side. “I’m a very patient woman. I can wait until you’re ready.”

  He shifted her more comfortably in his embrace. Her arm came around his waist and she sighed as she rested her head on his chest. He held her tight, like he was afraid that if he let go, she would disappear like a figment of his imagination. And he didn’t want to lose one second of this time he’d spent with Serena.

  Chapter Twelve

  Serena snuggled into the covers, loving the amazing heat they provided. It took her a moment for her mind to clear and realize that the heat wasn’t from the covers, but from the deliciously-warm body that was pressed against her back. She’d never woken up with a man before.

  Memories of her time with Chase flooded back, the intensity in which Chase made love to her. It shouldn’t be a surprise. He poured all of himself into everything he did. Making love should be no different.

  But he’d also allowed her to take control, had let her set the pace. To be an equal participant in giving and taking. Most of the men she’d been with had been more demanding in bed. They’d taken care of her, well, most of them had, but the sex was all about what made them happy.

  Not Chase.

  His warm arm circled her waist, his hand resting comfortably on her belly and when she tried to turn, his grip tightened. As if he didn’t want to let go. His hand slid up to her breast and cupped it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

  She shifted gently and then rolled over. His arm tightened and he pulled her to him. But his breathing didn’t change, the steady in and out peacefully filling the darkness. In his sleep, his features were softened, his brows relaxed from what was almost a permanent furrow. His lips were turned up in a pleasant expression. Almost a smile. Not quite, but certainly not the line his lips were often pressed into.

  She traced the ring around his arm, and then slid her hand across his pectoral muscle and the image that graced his chest. He may guard himself from the rest of the world, but he opened up to her last night. When he described the images that documented the lives that he had experienced. Lives full of grief… and hope. She knew that was huge for him, being vulnerable with her like that. She wanted to see beyond the wall he protected himself behind.