They’d both remained silent, her not knowing what he was doing, him wanting to show her that this was strictly professional as he accompanied her inside.
As they walked toward the table, both Claire and Lily looked at her confused as to why she was with a guy. Julia looked at them giving them the same look right back, just as nonplussed as they were.
They stopped when they reached her friends and Chase stood by her not saying a word, his hands clasped low in front in what she called the bodyguard stance. How embarrassing. She got it now. He was being the ultimate professional paying her back for catching him looking at her, trying to make her uncomfortable like he’d probably been. He had to know she hated all this undue attention as people looked at her like she was some celebrity they couldn’t quite place. Whatever.
“Um, Claire, Lily, this is Chase.” My hotter than hell bodyguard. “Chase, Claire and Lily.” Julia held her arm out palm up toward Chase then brought it back toward her friends during her introductions.
“Ladies.” Chase nodded at them with a smirk then looked around the club all businesslike. Both girls smiled excitedly looking from him to Julia and back, obviously having heard about him from Julia before. Julia rolled her eyes as she saw him looking around the place acting as if she were in dire danger. Good grief. Feeling like he’d made his point, he looked at her and said with a nod, “I’ll be at the bar if you need me, Ms. Cooke.”
Ms. Cooke? Lord. She turned, watching him as he left. He was doing this on purpose, just trying to show her that what’d happened earlier had meant nothing. Bastard. When she turned back to Claire and Lily, she saw that they were just beside themselves that he’d walked her in, both knowing she’d been crushing on him forever.
“What the hell, babe? Why’s Mr. Smokin’ Hot Bodyguard here?” Claire asked all excited.
“Yeah! What’s going on?” Lily joined in.
“He’s a dick.” Julia snorted then sat down, leaning close to them, talking conspiratorially and telling them what had happened when she’d tripped. This garnered a squeal from all three of them. “Can you believe that? I mean, if I’d known that all I had to do was be a clumsy oaf to get his attention, I’d have done it long ago!” She cracked up laughing then added, “But now he’s trying to show me that it meant nothing. Whatever.”
Claire and Lily speculated on the situation, telling her it might lead to their being a couple. They all giggled about it then ordered drinks when the waitress came by. As they sat laughing and chatting about various things, Julia kept sneaking glances at Chase where he stood at the bar and when Lily caught her, she teased that she was in love.
“Oh, please! Don’t even go there. Let’s dance!” Julia grabbed both girls’ hands and led them to the dance floor. She moved her body to the beat, dancing around Claire and Lily, singing the words to the song.
Chase berated himself for being an idiot by behaving the way he had with Julia. Damn it. God knew his father had drilled it into his head during his training at Citadel before he’d been given the job to always keep things impersonal. Guards were there for protection not to get cozy with their clients. He was angry that he’d crossed even the small line that he had when he’d looked at her in the rearview mirror. And the shit he’d pulled by holding her earlier? Wanting to kiss her and do oh, so much more? Stupid.
He now stood facing the dance floor, leaning back on his elbows that were atop the bar, his legs out in front of him, one boot crossed over the other watching her, making sure no one messed with her. And, God, she was sexy. He’d never come with her to a club before since she only went on the weekends. He hadn’t known what he’d been missing.
As he watched her moving sensually to the music, he felt himself getting turned on, and he tugged his white button down lower in the front over his jeans to somewhat cover the evidence of his arousal. She was definitely putting on a show.
Julia rubbed her body against Lily then glanced toward the bar, catching Chase watching her. But this time he didn’t look away. He was watching every move she made, his eyes staying locked on hers as he took a draw on his beer bottle. Well, this was an interesting development, now, wasn’t it? Surprised, she kept dancing while he kept watching. Could he be interested in her? He held her gaze for several minutes, which caused her heart to beat crazily in her chest making her breathing speed up tenfold. It was as if everyone had disappeared leaving just the two of them alone in the club. A shiver went through her body in response to the way he was looking at her like he was hungry, famished. For her.
Chase couldn’t tear his eyes away, seeing her dancing so seductively, the thoughts racing through his mind making his eyes darken, his pulse speed up. He wanted her. He knew he shouldn’t. But fuck if he couldn’t help himself. Wanted to take her that very moment. Push her facedown on a table and bury himself deep inside her from behind. Hear her scream his name.
Jesus.
Their connection was broken when several guys came up to the girls, starting to dance with them. Chase’s eyes narrowed and he felt a pang of jealousy seize him when one grabbed Julia around the waist, spinning her. What pissed him off even more was that she smiled at the guy as if she knew him. Knew him well. Though she was now dancing with this new guy out on the floor, her eyes moved cautiously back to meet his, as if she were afraid he’d looked away which made him clench his jaw, and he found himself feeling things toward her that he hadn’t allowed himself to feel up to this point. Their eyes stayed locked for a few more minutes before the DJ screamed something loud and unintelligible, snapping Chase back into reality as he turned his head away from the dance floor.
Oh, this was so not good. Eye-fucking the client was never a good thing.
“Wanna dance?” a woman who wore a skirt about the length of a headband sidled up and asked Chase as she ran her hand up his arm suggestively.
He looked down at her, an amused smirk on his face, not lost to the fact that she was hot, but, scratching the side of his face, he politely declined knowing he shouldn’t mix business with pleasure. A sarcastic chuckle escaped him at the irony. He watched the woman sashay away on heels so high and thin they should probably have been registered as lethal weapons. Glancing back at the dance floor he saw Julia watching him with a small frown as she continued moving her body provocatively, rubbing against the clown who was dancing with her now. Chase wanted to make the guy eat teeth, which puzzled him, making him not quite sure where his anger was coming from. He turned and ordered another beer, shaking his head at himself.
Over the next half hour, several women came by asking him to dance, all of which he turned down. He was there to do his job, not have a good time. Thank God an acquaintance of his noticed him and came over to chat. She’d been accepted into NYU’s law program the same time he had, and they’d been in a couple of classes together. They stood at the bar talking for the next thirty minutes about the different professors and classes they were now taking, each giving their own strategies on how to do well in them.
Julia had seen the last woman come up to Chase and her breath caught as he talked to her for what seemed forever. What the hell? Was she his girlfriend? She huffed wondering why she even cared. But after watching them talk so long, and when he only glanced her way every now and then, she finally left the dance floor hitting the bar at the other side of the club where she ordered a double bourbon, downing it right away, more than a little agitated at herself for giving a shit about him. She ordered a second drink, draining it as quickly as she had the first. There. That was better. Now she could dwell in I-don’t-give-a-damn land and go on about her evening.
Chase had kept an eye on Julia the whole time he’d talked with his friend but now narrowed his eyes as he watched her go to the bar across the way and down two drinks quickly. She looked like she was upset, but he hadn’t seen anything happen on the dance floor, so he wasn’t sure what was wrong.
She went back to the dance floor, finding her friends again and now she was really going at it. Christ, she was s
o hot. After several more dance tracks, the music changed to a slow song. Chase saw her reject a couple of guys who asked her to dance and she left the floor going back to her table. She sat alone, ordering another drink when the waitress came by, and was now sitting, cradling her glass in her hands looking a little lonely.
Chase excused himself from his friend and made his way toward Julia’s table wondering what’d happened. Putting his hands on the back of her chair, he leaned down, breathing in her alluring scent, and moved his face next to her ear asking if she was alright.
She jumped about a foot in the air, her hand going to her heart, not having seen him approach. After calming down she scowled and replied, “I’m great, why?”
She was beautiful, a few strands of her hair having come out of her ponytail to curl around her face in the sweat she’d worked up while dancing. He wanted to sweep them away but knew he shouldn’t touch her again. God, he was playing with fire here and knew he’d be the one to get burned if he wasn’t careful. He sat down in the chair next to her, scooting it closer to where their legs accidentally brushed then frowned when she jerked her leg away quickly. “You just seem a little down.”
“Nope. I’m peachy. Super. But thanks for asking.” She gave him a smirk. No way was she going to let him know she’d gotten upset because he’d been talking to another woman. How idiotic was she? Jeez.
“You sure? Nobody’s done or said something that’s upset you?”
“Abso-posi-frickin-lutely sure.” She rolled her eyes then looked down at her glass for a second before raising them again to meet his, carefully keeping them void of any emotion. She jutted her chin out, the look in her eyes flat as she met his. She knew she really had no reason to be upset, but the way he’d watched her on the dance floor had to mean something, right? And besides, for some stupid reason she just couldn’t help feeling that way.
After a few seconds of holding his gaze, she looked down again and said just loud enough for him to hear over the booming music, “Why do you even care?”
“It’s my job to make sure you’re okay.”
How humiliating. Here she was thinking he was into her and he was just doing his job. She lifted her head and looked at him. It was his job. Damn him. “I’m fine,” she finally bit out.
“Okay, well, if you’re fine, I’ll be right over there at the bar.” He motioned with a tilt of his head.
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
He left the table going back to stand at his original place wondering why she was being so short with him. He hadn’t seen anyone messing with her, yet she still acted like she was mad… at him. He chuckled to himself realizing he’d never understand the fairer sex.
Julia’s friends came back to the table where they all ordered another round then they pulled her up to dance more with them. Well, she’d just forget about Chase and have a good time with her friends she told herself. To hell with him.
****
An hour later, after several more drinks and plenty more dancing, she let him know she was ready to leave. He had the valet retrieve the car then helped her inside it. She was buzzing from the alcohol she’d consumed and felt a little loose-lipped, knowing her brain filter was probably on the blink but she couldn’t have cared less as she started quizzing him as they headed to the Tower. “Did you have fun tonight, Chase?”
“Tons.”
“Do you get to go out often?”
“Not really.”
“I’m sorry. That’s not any fun.”
He didn’t answer her but noticed she was being nice to him now, seeming to be genuinely sorry for his lack of socializing, which made him chuckle. He guessed she must be pretty drunk since the last time they’d talked she’d acted as if she’d been mad at him.
“Do you like to dance? Maybe I should’ve asked you.”
“Looked like you had enough partners.” His tone sounded hard, clipped.
Oooh. Was he a little jealous, maybe? “Would you have if I’d asked you?”
Hell yes. Anything to have your body against mine again. “Probably not.”
“Don’t you know how to dance?”
“I do.”
“But you wouldn’t have danced with me?”
Yeah, but it would’ve only complicated things. “Probably not.”
Okay. Time to bust out the big guns. “Did you like watching me dance?” She giggled a little at how bold she was being.
He snorted at her lack of timidity. Yep, she was drunk. And cute. And of course he’d liked watching her dance but he couldn’t let her know that. He chose to remain silent.
Since she was on a roll, she thought she may as well make good use of her moxie of the moment. “Sooooooooo, do you have a girlfriend?” She guessed she could always plead drunkenness for her chutzpah if she needed to.
“No.”
“And you still wouldn’t have danced with me?” she replied, her tone puzzled.
Silence.
Okay, different tactic needed. “Would you have danced with someone else? Like that girl you were talking to?” She huffed a little.
Was she upset that he’d talked to his friend? Was Julia interested in him? Was that why she’d been upset? Well, wasn’t that thought intriguing. “No.”
“Who was that girl anyway?”
“Someone from school. She was there waiting on her wife.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
She was so close to breaking down the barrier between them, so she continued giving him the third degree. “So, Chase, what do you do on weekends? What would you have been doing if you hadn’t gone with me tonight?”
Probably fucking the hot chick from one of my classes. “Studying.”
“Oh yeah. You’re going to be a lawyer, right?” She’d overheard Allen and him having a conversation about it a few times.
He was surprised. He’d never talked to her about what he was studying. As far as he knew, she thought he was just her chauffeur. “Uh, yeah.”
“What kind of law? You’re so secretive all the time, could it be you’re with the Mob and you’re going to be the law dude who gets them off when they murder someone? Like, when they put concrete shoes on him and sink him in the Hudson?” She snorted.
He chuckled at this. “No, corporate law.”
“Oooh, so you’ve probably made some deal with Allen, right? To work with him when you finish? Is he paying your tuition?”
He felt as if she’d slugged him in the gut. What the hell? She really thought he’d let Allen pay for him? She must really think he was a huge loser.
“No. I pay my own way,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Oh.” She could sense his anger and knew she’d screwed up with her smartass questioning. Great. Back to square one.
They rode in silence the rest of the way, which made her feel like an even bigger idiot about what she’d asked. As he helped her out of the car she turned to him after he’d shut the door. “I’m really sorry about that last comment. I was being a smartass and didn’t mean to offend you.”
“It’s okay.” He turned to go back around the car.
She put a hand on his arm, stopping him, looking up at him when he turned back. “Chase?”
It happened so fast both of them were shocked. She’d thrown her arms around his neck and he’d wrapped his arms around her and now they were in a lip lock that was filled with all kinds of want and need and longing. He was pressing her against the car with his hips, and she moaned into his mouth, which served as encouragement making his tongue tangle even more wildly with hers.
Julia had wrapped her fingers in the hair at the back of his neck while moving her other hand over his shoulder then down his arm and over his chest, feeling how muscular he was. He let out a low growl as her hand dropped to trace over his abs.
In the meantime, his hand had moved down her back to her butt and he pulled her closer, feeling himself get hard as she arched her back, causing her breas
ts to press against his chest. Damn, she was built. Her ass was so firm, her body so tight, and she smelled so good and felt so right in his arms. Her sexy moans compelled him to continue exploring her body with his hands, her mouth with his. God, he wanted her so bad.
And then reality came storming in.
Holy shit. What the hell was he doing? He’d get fired for sure. He snapped his head away, his lips leaving hers abruptly and he backed away, out of her reach, looking at her in shock, knowing that the kiss shouldn’t have happened. He walked to the driver’s side getting in, in a daze, everything going in slow-mo while Julia stood watching him leave.
As he drove away, he noticed she still stood on the walk watching him. Damn it! He should’ve made sure she got inside safely. He shot a U-turn and came back down the street seeing that she’d already gone into the building. Thank God.
Christ. What to do with this? He’d just have to act like it never happened. Yeah. Go back to the way things had been. He groaned as he realized this little plan wasn’t going to be easy. The attraction between them was blatantly obvious. Maybe she’d been so drunk she wouldn’t even remember. He held on to that spark of hope as he parked the car in the Tower garage and got into his old Bronco to drive across town to his apartment.
Julia rode the elevator up in a trance, her fingers tracing over her lips. Damn. That man could kiss. She hadn’t wanted it to end. She’d felt great about it, but then she’d seen the look on his face when he’d pulled away from her then got in the car.
And she knew he regretted it.
Chapter 2
Julia stayed upset all weekend long. She didn’t understand why Chase had looked the way he had after they’d kissed. Maybe her kissing had totally grossed him out. She’d been told she was a good kisser, but maybe Chase hadn’t thought so. Maybe he did have a girlfriend and felt bad for cheating on her. Or maybe he was gay and had wanted to experiment by kissing her, deciding afterward that he’d stay batting for the other team. Who knew?
Being Chased Page 2
