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

by Nancy Stopper

  What he didn’t realize is that even if he hadn’t said a word about his tattoos, he let her in as they made love. For a few minutes, his eyes revealed more about him than she’d learned in the time since he’d been back. He may have tried but he couldn’t keep his true self hidden away when he made love to her.

  If Chase was willing to let her in, to allow her to experience the Chase he hid from everyone else, there was a chance that the two of them could actually work.

  Maybe Chase was the man to finally allow her to trust again.

  Chase’s eyes popped open. “There’s no way I’m sleeping with your hands on me like that.”

  Serena squealed and burrowed further into his arms. She hadn’t realized that he’d woken up while she was daydreaming about a future she was afraid to hope for.

  He nuzzled into her neck, his hot breath on her skin as he pressed his naked body into hers. His muscles had been impressive beneath his clothes, but holy hell, naked Chase was exquisite. Firm, taut muscles. Especially the one that currently pressed into her hip.

  “Is that right? If you can’t sleep, then I guess we should get up.” She had no intention of letting him out of this bed yet, but she loved the twinkle in his eye when she teased him. And the way that twinkle darkened, as it did right now, before he lowered his head to kiss her.

  Chase hovered over her, his delicious weight covering her entire body. She looked up at him and saw something she wasn’t ready to name in his eyes before he kissed her. A soft, gentle kiss, making love to her mouth much like he’d made love to her body.

  An ache built between her legs and she pressed her core up into Chase, needing to feel his body against her, to quench the thirst that was building.

  He reached for a condom and sheathed himself quickly. Then slid inside her and made love to her slowly, bringing her up to the edge before backing off. Again and again, all the while tension building in her gut, until she tumbled over in an explosive orgasm. He thrust faster and then stilled as he found his release.

  All without saying another word.

  He rolled off her, disposed of the condom and then pulled her back into him. A minute later, his breathing calmed.

  Every muscle in her body relaxed into the bed from the intense orgasm, but a thousand thoughts filled her mind. What did the future look like for them? Could she and Chase find a way to make this work, even though she didn’t quite understand where he lived or spent his time? Would she be able to let go of her suspicions and trust him?

  There was no way to discover the answers right now, or even tomorrow. The only way to answer those questions was with time, but she had to be willing to trust him to come back to her, to be faithful to any commitment that they made, if she had any chance of a future with him.

  But for tonight, with his arms around her, she felt like the world had righted itself from the tilt she’d experienced the day she met him on the boardwalk all those years ago and she fell asleep with a peace she hadn’t felt in a long time. Probably since she was that girl who met the boy of her dreams on the Steel Pier.

  * * *

  Bright sun streaking through the window cast light on Serena’s face when she woke up in the morning. Her body ached with a delicious soreness as she remembered her night with Chase.

  She stretched her hand over the sheets to find the other side of the bed… empty. She bolted up and scanned the room. Chase’s clothes were no longer piled on the floor where they’d strewn them in their haste to get naked last night. Even his boots were gone. She didn’t think he was one to leave a woman in her bed alone the next morning, but maybe she didn’t know him as well as she thought she did.

  She drew in a deep breath and her senses were filled with the scent of… bacon. She smiled and flopped back on the pillow. Damn her suspicious nature. Chase hadn’t left at all.

  She reached over the edge of the bed and snatched up her shirt, pulling it over her head. Then she flopped back on the bed. One more minute and she’d join him in the kitchen. Before she could muster the strength to pull herself out of bed, the door swung open and two rambunctious dogs barreled into the room, barking.

  “Hey, Rascal. Hey, Roscoe. I bet you guys are dying to go out. Give me one second and I’ll get up.”

  “There’s no need.” Chase stepped around the corner, his chest bare and his jeans open and riding low on his hips, carrying a tray she kept tucked into her hall closet. “I let them out and they’ve already had breakfast, too, so don’t let them tell you otherwise.”

  “Wow, really? Thanks for doing that.” She smiled at Chase’s tousled hair and the scruffy beard he had brushed across her sensitive inner thighs last night. She squeezed her legs together to keep the pressure from building again.

  “I figured you needed your sleep after I kept you awake last night, so I made us some breakfast.”

  She scooted up the bed as he climbed in beside her, resting the tray holding a plate piled high with eggs, bacon and toast and two cups of coffee over her legs. “There’s no way I can eat all this.”

  “That’s why I thought we’d share.” He flashed her his delicious dimple before as he bit into a piece of bacon. Somehow Chase even made eating breakfast sexy.

  She grabbed the coffee cup and waved it under her nose, soaking in the delicious scent before taking a long drink. “Perfect. I needed that.”

  For the next few minutes, they finished off the plate, Chase talking about some of the more exciting places he’d been. No sad stories this morning. She’d never known someone who had experienced so much of the world whereas she’d barely traveled out of Pennsylvania.

  When the plate had been scraped clean, Chase grabbed the tray and stood.

  “Leaving so soon?”

  He raised his eyebrows and shot her a saucy grin. “Miss me already?”

  God, she hated sounding so needy and distrustful. She told herself that she had to find a way to trust Chase and the first opportunity to exhibit that restraint, she blew it.

  He climbed back under the covers, his jeans brushing against her bare legs as he slid his thigh between hers. His arms came around her and his lips pressed to hers. “Umm. Delicious. You taste like fresh coffee and bacon and Serena.”

  “Oh, yeah? What does Serena taste like?”

  “You. I can’t describe it, but it’s unique.” He kissed her again, his lips moving gently across hers as his tongue swept languidly into her mouth, and then he pulled away. “What’s on tap for today?”

  “Oh, no, you don’t. You already distracted me yesterday. I need to spend some time in the shelter. The projects have been piling up since you came back to town.”

  “I’m sorry.” Yeah, he didn’t look at all remorseful. “But no worries. I’ve got to work on the photos from the shoot. I don’t think my publisher would appreciate my missing the deadline, especially if my excuse was that the owner wouldn’t let me out of her bed.

  Heat flushed her cheeks. “I can’t believe you would say that.” About the time she finished objecting, she realized he was joking with her. He would never share something so private and personal. If she knew anything about him, it was that.

  His arms tightened around her and he kissed her neck, his tongue tracing circles behind her ear. “But I don’t have to leave for a little while. What time do you need to go over to the shelter?”

  “Hmm.” She couldn’t concentrate while his lips blazed a trail down her neck and between her breasts. “Soon.”

  “How soon?” His words vibrated against her belly as he slid her shirt up and pressed open-mouthed kisses to her soft skin.

  She never answered his question, her body on fire as he made love to her again.

  * * *

  Two hours later, she’d finally shooed Chase out of her house and brought Roscoe and Rascal over to the shelter. She spent a few minutes greeting each of the animals that were waiting for their fur-ever home, their tails beating against the kennel cages as she spared a pat or belly rub for each of them. Alexis always said s
he shouldn’t get emotionally involved with the animals. That it made it harder to say goodbye. She may have a point. Serena’s heart broke each time she handed an animal over to a new family, but at the same time, the satisfaction of knowing she’d saved another animal from being destroyed made it all worthwhile.

  The paperwork was another story. If she won the lottery, she’d hire someone to deal with the administrative side of running a non-profit shelter so she could focus on the animals, but since it was just her and the volunteers that she depended heavily on, the paperwork fell to her. As did the funding.

  She stared at the numbers, the small balances in her bank account, and sent up a silent prayer of thanks for the calendar. She hoped the funds would be enough to carry the shelter for at least the next few months.

  The bell rang. Could that be Chase? Had he finished his work already or had he wanted to see her again?

  Focus, Serena.

  She hurried to the door and opened it to a man holding a leash with a small, wiry dog on the other end.

  “Welcome to Helping Hands shelter. Come on in.” She bent down and extended her hand to the pooch. He sniffed around her fingers a minute and then licked her palm. She flipped her hand over and scratched between his ears. “Good dog.” She stood and addressed the man. “What can I do for you today?”

  “I found this little guy roaming around my backyard.” The man was about her age and stood a good eight inches taller than Serena. She had to tilt her head back to see him.

  He looked down at her, light brown eyes easily relaxed as he spoke. But Serena felt nothing for him as she listened to him describe how he captured the dog. Not even a little twinge. Because this man was not Chase. She thought she’d held guys to a high standard before, comparing everyone to the boy Edward that she’d met, but none of them compared to the man that Chase had become.

  “Ahem.”

  “I’m sorry. I got distracted for a minute. How about I grab my scanner and see if this little guy has a chip.” She hurried to the office and a minute later, her heart fell as she found no way to identify the dog. “I wish more owners would install a microchip in their animals. It’s quick and relatively pain-free. But they insist their dogs will never get loose… until they do. And then there’s nothing we can do but hope he’s found and they are reunited.”

  “I feel bad. We took care of him for a couple of days, hoping someone would come looking, but my cats went on strike and wouldn’t leave the bedroom.”

  She took the leash from the man and wrapped it around her hand. “Thank you for doing that. Most dogs are reunited with their owners pretty quickly. I can tell this one has been cared for, but his collar must have come off when he escaped.” The dog wrapped his leash around her legs as he paced back and forth behind her, likely studying the other dogs, cats and variety of animals that called Helping Hands their temporary home. “I can put him up on my web site in our lost and not found group, but if he’s here more than thirty days, I’ll need to start finding a home for him. I, unfortunately, can’t keep him indefinitely.”

  “That sounds fair. I didn’t know what else to do, but I’d heard you take in and rehome animals, so I took a chance.”

  “I’m glad you did. I’d love a small donation to help with the upkeep and care of the animals, if you can spare a few dollars. There’s a box on the wall on your way out.”

  “I absolutely will. Thanks for taking care of him. I hope he finds his people soon.”

  The man slipped a few bills into the donation box and stepped out the door, passing Alexis on her way in. She turned back and her gaze followed the man until he climbed into his car, only then closing the door behind her.

  Serena didn’t move, shocked to see Alexis not only awake at this hour, but clear-eyed and dressed in a tight-fitting long-sleeve T-shirt and jeans and flats. Serena started to ask but didn’t want to scare Alexis away. It had been months since Alexis had come out to the shelter without Serena explicitly asking for her help. And even then, she did so begrudgingly.

  Alexis scratched the dog’s head but directed her attention to Serena. “You look happy.”

  She couldn’t help the smile that had been on her face since Chase kissed her senseless at her front door this morning. She hadn’t wanted to let him go, but he insisted they both had work to do. That neither would get any work done if he tried to edit his photos out here while she worked in the shelter.

  He was probably right. She couldn’t manage to keep her hands off him when he was around.

  Serena walked the dog over to an empty kennel that had a blanket and dog bone waiting inside. She nudged the boy in and closed the door behind him, hanging the leash on the nail beside the cage. She’d followed the same routine so many times, she could practically do it in her sleep.

  “Does this have something to do with Chase?”

  Serena loved on the dog in the next cage before facing her sister. “Uh-huh.”

  Alexis pursed her lips. “Did you and he…?”

  “Uh-huh.” Her smile grew larger as she remembered making love to him this morning, his body cradling hers in his arms as he entered her from behind. Even though she couldn’t see him, the intimacy of feeling his body around and inside her was intoxicating.

  “Oh, Serena. You barely know him.”

  “That’s not true.” It wasn’t about the amount of time that she spent with him but knowing the Chase that he kept hidden from the rest of the world. She imagined he’d learned to shut off his emotions and keep them tucked away to protect his heart from some of the devastation he’d witnessed. But he trusted her enough to share it with her, and she’d felt comfortable enough to explain why her trust in men had been damaged.

  And then he’d done a lot to restore that trust.

  I’m worried about you. Are you sure you’re all right? Alexis’s lips pursed as she expressed her concern to Serena without words.

  Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she slipped it out to find a text from Chase. How’s your day going?

  She dashed off a quick response. “Great. Have a new temporary resident and Alexis stopped by. I’ll update you later.”

  She loved that Chase checked in with her. Chase understood her inherent distrust and was taking great pains to show her that not all men were like David… or her father.

  “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Alexis didn’t bother conveying that message with her mind. That fact itself surprised Serena. That was typically an indication of how strong Alexis felt about what she was saying.

  “I’m sure. I know that you think you have to protect me, but you don’t. I’m going into this relationship with my eyes open. He’s shared a lot about where he’s been and what he’s seen in his job and I’ve talked about David—”

  “The bastard.”

  There was the sister that she loved, angry on her behalf. “You should have seen Chase on the work site yesterday. He’s learned a lot of skills during his travels, working in many of the villages that he was sent to photograph. And he truly cares about the people he’s helping. He’s everything I need in my life right now.”

  “Just protect your heart, little sister. I’d hate to have to kill him because he hurt you.”

  Serena laughed and threw her arms around her sister. “I will. And if he hurts me, you have my permission to make him pay.”

  But Serena knew that would never happen.

  Chapter Thirteen

  If Chase tried to describe the past week with Serena, the word normal would come to mind. This is how the rest of the world lived, or at least the part of the world he had rejected for so long.

  In the middle of the week, Serena had dragged him out to FitzGeralds, a local restaurant and bar. When she picked up a pool cue and challenged him to a game, that twinkle in her eye, he couldn’t refuse. But that didn’t mean he had to tell her that he’d spent hours playing pool as a kid. And had become quite proficient. Serena held her own, but who won or lost didn’t matter. It was seeing Serena smiling and
laughing when she missed an easy shot, and the way her tight jeans hugged her ass when she bent over the table to stretch for a ball out of reach and the way she brushed her hand over him when she walked by.

  Each time with that innocent look in her eye. She was not so innocent, no matter who she was trying to convince.

  That night, they’d barely made it through her door before he had those jeans peeled off and her back pressed against the wall. He took her hard and fast, her arms clinging to him as she rode out wave after wave of pleasure. He hadn’t even pulled out before carrying her into her room, making love to her slower the second time and then falling asleep in her arms.

  When he wasn’t with Serena, they would text each other messages, coordinating plans to get together later, or checking in. That’s what people in a relationship did. They sought out ways to be together. And they did. He spent long hours with Serena at the shelter, helping with the animals and walking Roscoe and Rascal. In the serene woods that surrounded her house, the leaves beginning to color the world a rainbow of deep reds and yellows and oranges, he could almost forget there was another world out there. He couldn’t remember the last time he was in a part of the world to witness the leaves changing in the fall. Growing up in California, there were no seasons. But to watch the world transition from the warmth of summer to the crispness of fall, preparing to sleep away the long winter, was almost poetic. Ideas for a series of seasonal shots flooded his mind—showing the same locations in each of the four seasons.

  A series like that would require he stay in the same place. Put down roots.

  That’s probably why, when he saw the poster for Oktoberfest in the front window of Java when he stopped in for coffee on Thursday afternoon, he dashed off a text to Serena. That’s what you did when you were seeing each other, right? Oktoberfest looks like fun on Saturday. Would you like to go with me?