by K. J. Dahlen
The moonlight coming through the window lit across on his sleeping form. He lay there with the covers up to his waist. His chest was bare; she could see that soft mat of hair rise and fall with his every breath.
Evelyn licked her dry lips. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. She wanted him—she wanted another chance to have what they shared last night. She walked over to the bed. With every step she took, off her clothing went and by the time she got to the bed, she was naked. She slipped under the covers and snuggled up close to him. She felt him jerk awake but neither of them said a word.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” Chase whispered in the darkness.
“God, yes. You gave me something last night I’ve never felt before. For a brief moment, I found heaven in your arms and god help me I want that again and again,” she whispered against his throat while her tongue licked his slightly salty skin. “I want you. I want you so much.”
Chase groaned. “I want you just as much,” he growled as he turned her on her back and plunged deep inside her without warning. With each stroke of his body, the excitement built up between them.
Electricity danced along the edges of her skin igniting her with its hum. She could feel its spark and the one inside her answered its call. She was quickly reaching for the unknown and it made her feel wonderful inside. She couldn’t help it. His touch set off the butterflies in her belly. The blood in her veins was reaching the boiling point and she could feel her climax coming. “Please, fuck me harder,” she begged him quietly. Barely remembering there was someone else in the next bedroom.
Chase snapped his hips and dove in deeper and harder than before and she reveled in his possession. All too soon, she was biting his shoulder to keep from screaming his name.
~*~
Chase groaned with his own climax. He filled her as she’d taken him inside her and now he was weak but very satisfied. He’d taken her hard and fast, just like she asked. He couldn’t have stopped himself if he tried in any case.
He moved to her side slowly and groaned when he hit the bed. He wiped the sweat away from his forehead and just stared at her for the longest time. “What are we going to do?”
Eve closed her eyes. “Do? Do about what?”
“Well, about us,” he said then he paused as he might just start to feel slightly used.
Eve froze then turned to ask, “Is there an us? Is that what you want?”
“Isn’t it what you want too?” he growled. “Or this is this all we get?”
“God, I hope not.” Coming up on her elbow, she looked him in the eye and said, “I hope this isn’t all we get. I meant what I said when I told you I wanted you but not just because of the mind blowing sex. I have to finish this case but I hope like hell we can find a common ground when all is said and done.”
“What do you want from me?” He studied her face.
Eve fell back on the bed and covered her eyes with her arm. “I don’t know. There’s still some things I can’t remember from my past. I don’t know if those memories will ever come back but when I saw Ian laying there with a bullet hole in his chest, I just felt empty inside. It was like I had nothing left, no hopes, no dreams, no family. Just a blank void deep in my soul.” She turned her head and peeked at him from under her arm. “I don’t know what will happen in the future, no one does, but I don’t want to use you like that. I don’t want you to think that I’m with you to simply fill a void. Because I’m not doing that.”
Chase remained silent…he needed to hear it all.
“If and when this case is over, if I come back to you I hope you will take me back and we can build a life together. But if you don’t want me, then I’ll understand that too.” She paused then added, “My life has been one mess after another after another until I somehow, lost my way. Ian saw that and brought me into the DEA. He watched over me and while it was a pain at times, I knew and understood that in his own way he loved me. He was the closest thing I had to family and now with him gone, I’m afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
“I’m not sure how I feel about you and all of this is so new to me. I’m afraid it might be too much.”
Chase wrapped his arms around her and reassured her, “Sweetness, if after this is all done and you come back here, I will welcome you with open arms. I don’t know where this is going either and I have just as much if not more to lose than you do. But if you come back, I’ll be waiting for you.”
“Really?” She gazed at him with hope in her eyes.
“Yeah, really. Now, we both need some sleep.”
“Okay.” She snuggled down beside him and closed her eyes.
Soon, they were both sleeping.
~*~
The next morning found Evelyn at the window, staring out at the city beyond the glass. It was a quiet town, but to her it was just another town. She could see the river below, it looked cold and menacing. Christmas lights gave the town a festive air but the streets were quiet. As she gazed she couldn’t help but wonder if nights in strange houses would be her life. She had no ties, here or anywhere, now that Ian was gone. Winona didn’t matter.
She’d been so lost in her own thoughts she didn’t hear Chase until she felt his arms come around her, cradling her body.
“And how is the city this morning? Are there any demons or other bad guys out there coming for us?”
She sank deep within his arms, marveling at the sensation of having him near and comforting her. Conflicted, she didn’t know how to feel about this. She’d never had anyone else who’d made her feel so sheltered. From the first moment she’d laid eyes on this man, she knew she had had nothing to fear from him. “I don’t know about out there,” she finally answered.
Chase’s sighs stirred her hair. “What about in here?” he asked as he circled her heart with his fingers
Evelyn paused at the question. “That would be my feelings, right?”
He chuckled in her ear.
“I’m not so good at gauging that kind of thing,” she whispered. “I don’t have an answer. Not yet anyway.”
He turned her around to face him.
Her arms went around him and she felt his warm bare skin.
“Maybe this will help,” Chase whispered as his lips met hers.
Evelyn opened her heart and her mind as sensation after sensation ripped through her. Her heart pounded in her chest as she felt her blood quicken in her veins. Her body melted into his, her hands ran up and down his back. She barely noticed the lack of clothing as her hands roamed down to his hips and beyond.
Chase inhaled deeply when her hands slipped around the front of his body. He picked her up and carried her to the bed. Laying her down carefully, he followed her down to the comfort of the waiting haven. As his lips found the pulse on the side of her neck, Evelyn moaned with pleasure. His fingers found the buttons of her shirt. In seconds, she was flesh to flesh with him.
She paused for a moment to look into his sky blue eyes—eyes that held the promise of things to come. Her body cried out for the release only he could give her. She reached her hand to touch his face. She could tell he wanted her. Lord help her, she wanted him. She closed her mouth over his and let loose the last barrier between them.
Chase surged ahead and slipped inside her. Soon, their world exploded as they climbed higher and higher. Every stroke lifted them up as the heat from their coupling grew.
Evelyn moaned as his lips found her nipples. With his velvety tongue lathering her sensitive, needy breasts, she almost went her over the edge. She pulled his head to her. As her lips met his again, she exploded into mindless passion.
Chase felt her slip over the edge and he, with one final surge, joined her in paradise. “Eve,” he cried out as he slumped on top of her and moved to her side.
Evelyn felt happily spent. She had glimpsed paradise in his arms again and didn’t care if she ever left them. How did this man do that to her? She never felt these highs before with anyone else.
~*~
“Wow,” Eve whispered as she turned to kiss him. When their lips met, they both felt the sizzle.
Chase deepened the kiss, wanting more. He slid his leg around her waist and she turned into the kiss.
When Chase’s lips moved down to her throat, she tried to break the assault on her senses. “Please wait,” she begged. Her breath was ragged and her voice was little more than a whisper.
Chase groaned, pulling away. He rested his head next to hers and waited for his heart to slow. He glanced over at her and his heart lurched at the look in her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Chase closed his eyes. “Please don’t be sorry. I would be devastated if you were sorry about this.”
Eve cupped the side of his face.
He opened his eyes and she smiled.
“I’m not sorry we made love. That was wonderful.”
“But? I hear a but coming.” He raised a brow.
She gazed intently at him. “The timing could have been better. All I want to do is stay with you for days and days. Just us, just this. But we still have Grayson and his father to deal with. We are in a safe house and I am sleeping with you in it. I know I am the one who came in here…” she paused. “But we also don’t know the outcome to that situation yet.”
“I understand all of that but I think the timing was perfect,” Chase countered.
“You may be right but I have to take a step back to see what happens.”
Chase wanted to protest but his good sense stopped him. “Okay, we’ll wait.”
~*~
Evelyn heard something in his voice that told her he wouldn’t wait long. Whatever happened next would make or break their time together.
She parted from him and picked up her clothes. She dressed in silence. At the door, she looked back where she saw Chase, his arm draped over his eyes. Closing the door quietly behind her, she knew she was closing him out. Crossing the room to the sofa, she sat down.
When the sun was higher in the morning sky, Evelyn felt like she hadn’t slept at all….she was too wired to stop her mind from driving her crazy. Chase’s face when he finally joined her was a closed book.
Ben came in from the small kitchen and obviously felt the tension in the room as he sought to break it. “I heard from Steve. He said he would be in place at Chase’s ranch by ten this morning.”
She glanced at her watch. “That’s about the time we’ll get there if we leave within the next hour.”
“He also told me that Seth Trainer tried to bail his son out of jail and wasn’t at all happy about the fact that he couldn’t get him free,” Ben told them quietly.
Quickly glancing at Chase, she then she looked over at Ben. “How could he think he’d even had a chance at doing that?”
Ben shrugged his shoulders. “Judges have a hard time keeping a cop in jail. We have two men on the loose with nothing to lose. They didn’t take Seth into custody when he came into get Travis out. We hadn’t told them about his possible ties to the drug ring yet. We haven’t heard back on his financials yet.”
“We have to be in place when they get there.” She nodded.
“Let’s go then. I want this to be over,” Chase agreed.
No one said a word during the trip to Chase’s ranch. The closer they got to the ranch, the more anxious Evelyn became. The more anxious she became the more she retreated into her professional, cold and armored self.
Chapter Ten
When Ben turned into Chase’s driveway, everything looked to be untouched, in place. He pulled up to the house where he let Chase out of the car to go in.
Untouched may have been a conclusion made too early as they could see where Grayson had kicked in the front door.
Evelyn and Ben followed him.
Once inside, Evelyn could see the wanton destruction Grayson had brought with him. Glass from the shattered windows and broken dishes were smashed and all over the floor, the furniture was over turned and lamps were laying broken on crumpled papers from Chase’s desk. Books were torn and scattered everywhere. It was a real mess.
She watched Chase choose a rifle from his gun cabinet, check the action, and loaded it. The smallest sounds echoed in the silence of the house.
Their eyes met across the room but neither said a word.
Evelyn had to glance away. They both knew what was coming and neither of them could stop it from happening. From the side windows, she began scanning the area. She wasn’t looking for signs of wildlife this time.
She closed her eyes just for a moment. Then she opened them again and began searching through the backyard going from tree to tree, bush to bush. Then she changed windows, scanning the side yard. As the sun moved closer to the middle of the sky, the shadows changed. She saw something move behind the shed.
Instead of saying anything, she walked over to the gun cabinet and chose a weapon. Loading it quickly, she went back to the window. She motioned Ben to her side. Silently, she pointed toward the shed; she whispered at him, “I saw a shadow move on the back end.”
Ben watched for a moment or two then he nodded.
Evelyn then whispered, “I’m going to check the backyard again.”
“Chase is watching the front,” he whispered back. “I received a text from Steve. His men are moving in from the woods. If the Trainers are out there, hopefully we’ll catch them before they get close enough to the house.”
“Hopefully before they kill someone.”
A shot rang out.
Evelyn ducked. The window frame beside where she was standing exploded. Another shot rang out from behind the shed and she leapt back pressing her body against the wall.
Ben slid into her place. He fired a couple rounds in the direction of the shed.
Chase struck the glass of the east-facing window with the butt of his rifle. The breaking glass fell to the floor. He raised his rifle to a firing position, immediately snapping off a few rounds.
Evelyn, listening intently between shots, heard footsteps upstairs. She motioned at Ben that there was someone upstairs then moved quietly to a spot behind the staircase, waiting with her weapon ready to fire.
A few more steps.
A pause.
She peeked around the corner of the staircase. A pair of boots was coming down.
A second passed, then another.
The boots became a pair of legs.
She stepped out from her hiding place, her gun on the kneecaps of the pair of legs.
One more step.
The face of the man appeared…a small man with a weapon in his hand. He clearly saw her as he lifted the gun his finger tightening on the trigger.
Evelyn didn’t give him a chance to fire. She shot him point blank. He fell forward and across the stairs, through the banister and hit the floor beside her.
With no emotion, she stepped over him and back to the living room window. In the backyard, shapes moved from one shelter to another. She waited, watching for a moment as the shadows moved in closer to the house. Cracking open the window sash, she took aim across the windowsill. The shadow moved again and she saw a man that reminded her of Travis Trainer come into view.
She squeezed the trigger on her gun. Her aim was high. It shattered the branch above his head. A splinter of wood pierced his face and the man screamed in fury. He ducked back behind a tree, aiming in her general direction.
All hell broke out as gunshots from all sides peppered the house. There were shouts, more gunshots. Evelyn had to duck when the man she missed on purpose earlier fired a shot her way. She didn’t think he knew where the bullet that hit the branch came from. She took aim again. This time her shot hit its mark. The man took the bullet in the shoulder. He hit the ground hard, rocking back and
forth as his gun landed three feet away from him.
Evelyn climbed through the window and ran in a zig zap pattern up to him with her gun trained on him, ignoring the possibility that another of the shadow team might see her. With her foot, she kicked the gun farther away from him.
“You bitch, you shot me,” he growled as he writhed in pain. He grimaced in agony as one hand squeezed his shoulder.
“What the hell were you going to do to me?” She raged.
“I sure as hell wouldn’t have missed.” He gritted his teeth. His hand was sticky with blood seeping through his fingers.
“What makes you think I missed?” she asked.
“You didn’t kill me, that’s what!” he yelled. “I would have shot to kill.”
“Oh, you aren’t going to be that lucky,” Evelyn told him. “You’re going to trial for the cold-blooded attempted murder of a DEA agent. You’ll spend the rest of your life in jail waiting for the state to put you down like the rabid animal you are!”
“What the hell are you talking about?” He searched her face.
“Ian Carter was my brother. I was there, in that alley, when your brother shot him,” she spat. “I saw him pull the trigger of the gun that killed my brother. I watched you try and kill me today and you know what? We’re going to find your father too and hang him right alongside you and your useless brother.”
“You’re the bitch we’ve been chasing since that night then.” Grayson growled. “I wasn’t even sure you were real until I found your car. Then I couldn’t find you and I thought you’d crawled off somewhere and died. I should have known Chase was helping you.” He glared at the house. “Hell, maybe I did know.”
Evelyn nodded. “Yeah, I’m the one who ran away from that alley. I’m the woman your brother ran off the road.” She kicked his foot. “He should have made sure I was dead that night.”
The firing stopped. For less than a heartbeat, there was no sound.
