"Knock, knock!" Collin stuck his head in the door then came inside.
Allen went to his cousin holding his hand out, clasping Collin's to shake it, and clapping him on the shoulder. "Collin! It's been too long, buddy!"
Collin was Allen's second cousin. Julia had no idea how that worked. She'd always thought it meant he wasn't good enough to be his first cousin, but she'd known him since she could remember and he really was a nice guy. But the poor man was henpecked deluxe by his wife Paula who was a big woman with a big voice. Their daughter Hadley was a spoiled brat who used to bug the hell out of Julia and her other cousins when they were little. She hadn't seen Hadley in years, but she was willing to bet that she hadn't changed much and was still as big a brat as ever. Hadley had been the biggest tattletale ever too, always narcing on Julia, Nick and Paul for stupid shit. To get her back, the trio would play hide-and-seek with her, making her be "it" then they'd run away and hide together in the basement for the rest of the afternoon, knowing Hadley had no clue they were down there.
Allen introduced Collin to Chase then he spotted Julia in the kitchen.
"Julia! How are you, beautiful girl?" Collin held his arms out for her, walking toward the kitchen so she grabbed a dish towel to dry her hands and hugged him back. He, too, was big like his wife but somehow he didn't seem so damned imposing. Probably because his wife's attitude made everything about her seem imperious. Julia wrapped her arms around Collin's waist squeezing him hard. She hadn't seen him in so long and had missed him.
"Hi, Collin! It's so good to see you!" she said after pulling back from him.
"You too, my darling girl, you too." He was such a sweetheart. Julia wondered why in the hell he stayed with Paula who was such a bitch to him.
They chatted for a bit then Paula and Hadley came inside.
"You could've waited for us, you know!" Paula huffed at Collin walking toward him.
"Dear, look at our Julia! Hasn't she grown up into a beautiful young woman?"
Paula looked at Julia and put on a fake smile. "Hi, Julia. It's good seeing you. My goodness, that tank top is cute. But it's just not your color is it?" Paula was queen of the backhanded compliment. Julia just laughed, not surprised in the least that Paula was still the same.
Then she saw Hadley standing in the living room ogling Chase. Oh, brother.
Now, the weird thing was that Hadley was gorgeous and she had a very nice body. She had lovely red hair that hung just below her shoulders and piercing blue eyes. She'd modeled some and was trying to get into acting. Julia and her other cousins figured Hadley must've been adopted since she looked nothing like Collin or Paula.
"Hadley, come say hi to Julia," Paula called out.
Hadley walked into the kitchen wearing the same fake smile her mother had worn. She might not have been built like her mother but she'd definitely inherited her attitude. "Hi, Julia. Gosh, it's been so long! I see your nose is still the same."
And I see you're just as big a hag as ever! "Hi, Hadley. Yes, it has been a long time! Yep, same old nose. Guess it's just gonna be with me till the end." It was no use trading insults with Hadley. She was a bitch regardless of what was said or done, so over time, Julia had learned to just blow her off.
"And who is that incredibly yummy man?" Hadley whispered, glancing at Chase who sat in the living room, oblivious to being the object of Hadley's lust.
"That's Chase, my bodyguard." Stay the hell away from him.
"Oh, well, he could guard my body any ol' day," Hadley said, giggling.
Like no one's ever used that line before. Julia rolled her eyes. "Well, he just so happens to be guarding mine at the moment, so guess you'll have to find your own." Julia tried saying this as apathetically as she could. She knew Hadley loved competition; she'd been competing with Julia from day one, and Julia didn't want to give her any inkling that she cared about Chase or she knew it'd be all game on if Hadley found out.
"And why do you need a bodyguard?" Hadley huffed out with a condescending chuckle.
Allen jumped in to save the day. "Because I hired him, that's why." He'd never really taken a liking to Hadley since she'd always been so rotten. He blamed this on her mother.
"Oh," Hadley replied. But now she was all but drooling, staring at Chase, and Julia wanted to cut her. Badly. She wondered how she could accidentally stab her with one of the knives in the sink without getting in trouble. Oops! How did that happen? I was drying it and it just stuck itself in the side of her head! Sorry!
Julia finished washing up as everyone visited with each other. The caterers started taking her cleaned dishes in to set the table. Dinner was ready and they all went to be seated. Allen and Collin sat at opposite ends of the table. Julia had sat down and Paula came over to sit next to her. Hadley practically dragged Chase to sit next to her. He glanced over at Julia with a Help me look, but Julia just shook her head, not wanting to challenge Hadley. Chase was a big boy. He could take care of himself. Or so she thought.
The dinner was fantastic—prime rib, sautéed asparagus, and twice baked potatoes. They drank a cabernet sauvignon that came from one of the vineyards in Napa Valley that Allen had invested in and it was superb. As dinner went on and Julia had to watch Hadley flirting with Chase, and seeing that he didn't seem to be minding it so much, she kept the wine flowing. By the time they got to the cheesecake, she was feeling pretty good.
Chase had kept an eye on Julia noticing that she was drinking the wine like it was going out of style. After glass number three, he'd lost count. Oh, God. She was pissed at him. And what the hell did Hadley chick think he was, some kind of gigolo? Jesus. He couldn't wait for dinner to be finished so he could get away from her. She was so annoying with her fake personality.
Everyone was finished, so they got up to retire to the living room. Chase was heading toward his room when Hadley caught him by the arm.
"Chase, come out on the front porch with me." She pulled him to the front door and out.
Well, shit. This was strange territory he was in. He couldn’t very well be rude to her since she was related to his employer. Damn it.
"Why don't we go out on the back deck?" Allen suggested to everyone. "I'll light the fire pit."
The deck was actually part of the big wrap-around porch, so where Julia was sitting, she had a perfect view of the beach. As she sipped her wine, she kept getting angrier thinking of Chase being out front with Hadley. This was torture not being able to have a relationship out in the open with him. Not that he'd said he wanted one. Did he want one? She didn't even know which depressed the shit out of her and she got up to go pour herself another glass of wine.
Going in the house she heard giggling, so she sneaked to a front window to see what was going on. Hadley and Chase were standing on the beach holding hands. What the hell was his deal? She turned away, going back to the kitchen, pouring herself another glass, downed it, and went to her room. To hell with him. She was so sick of all the bullshit that came with wanting to be with him. It was just ridiculous. She showered then put on her tank top and shorts and climbed into bed, lying there listening to the familiar sounds of the house, trying to keep the ceiling from spinning.
Chase had been doing everything he could to ward off Hadley's advances. She’d grabbed his hand, swinging it like they were some cute little couple. He finally put his hands in his pockets to keep her from trying that shit anymore. He kept yawning like he was really tired and needed to get some sleep, but she didn't catch on. Wasn't she just the picture of perception? He finally told her he had to use the restroom, that the wine had just run through him, and told her good night.
Fifteen minutes after she'd lain down, Julia heard a door open and close in the hall. Assuming it was Chase, she got out of bed, going on liquid courage alone, and went to his door knocking fairly loudly. They needed to talk. Now.
Chase answered the door warily, afraid that Hadley had followed him in. When he saw that it was Julia, he breathed a sigh of relief. But then he saw the scowl
on her face and knew he was in deep shit. She stood glaring at him and he almost wanted to see how long she could stand there and keep it up. But then she wobbled and he knew the wine had caught up with her and he had to hold back his chuckle. "Do you want to come in?" he asked. Julia stomped into his room and turned to face him, standing with her arms akimbo.
"So, did you have fun tonight with Hadley?" she hissed at him.
"Keep your voice down. And, no, not in particular."
"Chase? You do know you could’ve said no to her? I know you know how to say it to me."
Hardly. "Julia. She’s your relative, Allen's relative. He’s my employer. I can't just be rude to her."
"But you don't have to be her goddamned date either! I think you enjoyed the fact that she was drooling all over you."
Chase took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes not wanting to get into it with her. She didn't understand that he couldn't treat the woman rudely.
"Look, you've had a little too much to drink. Why don't we talk in the morning?"
"Pfftt!" she buzzed her lips at him. "Whatever. I’ll bet you think she’s hot, don’t you? Well, if that's the kind of woman you like, then fuck you." She stumbled past him toward the door and he grabbed her, pulling her into his body, wrapping his arms around her.
"Julia, you know I want you. It's just, we’ve got to play it cool in front of your father. Hell, now that your entire family’s here, we’ve really got to watch it." He kissed her softly, trying to convey his feelings for her through it. He stroked her hair down her back, his other arm wrapping around her waist. He wanted her to know that his attraction to her wasn't just sexual, that he really cared about her. He could feel her relaxing more and more the longer they kissed.
Pulling back, Julia looked up at him, practically a gob of goo from his kiss. "Wow. I guess you do really like me.” She giggled.
"Yes, I do." Chase chuckled at her.
She kept giggling and Chase tried to make her be quiet. Just what he needed was for Allen to find her in his bedroom. "Chase, I want you to fuck me again."
Jesus. "Not a great idea, Julia. Your dad's just outside with your cousins."
"You want them to get naked too?"
Chase laughed. Uh, hell no. "No, baby. You're drunk. You need to get some sleep, okay?"
"Okay." She plopped down on his bed and lay back. Her hair fanned out around her making her look so tempting.
"I meant your bed." If he'd been a real ass, he'd go ahead and take her. She was too hot lying there with that body just begging to be covered with his.
"Oh!" She smacked herself in the head. "'Kay, c'mon, let's go get naked in my bed! But, shhh, you gotta be quiet or everyone else'll wanna be naked too, which is so gross 'cause I don't ever wanna see Paula naked. Yuck. You know, I always wondered how Collin put up with her. She's such a bitch to him and he's so nice and funny and is always in a good mood and she just, well, she just isn't!"
Chase snorted at her. She was too cute. "Baby, c'mon. I'll walk you over to your room."
"Okay." She got up and went to the door. "Well?" she turned to look at him when he didn't follow her. "What are you looking at?" she whispered loudly.
"Damn, you've got a nice ass, Julia. You know that?" He turned her, pulling her against him, grabbing her ass with both hands and squeezing.
She looked up at him. "Well, ass, you've got a nice Chase too."
He burst out laughing then. Julia laughed with him but didn't quite know what was so funny.
"What?" she whisper-hissed.
"Shhh." He held his finger out to her lips and she took his wrist and put his finger in her mouth, sucking on it, looking at him seductively. "Oh, God, Julia. You've got to stop," he groaned.
"Am I turning you on?" She looked up at him with a drunken smirk.
"Yes, you are. But you really need to go lie down now."
She locked her arms around his neck, pulling him down to kiss her. She sighed into his mouth and he swallowed it, loving how she felt against him.
"You know what? Your kisses are just like magical or something. Did you take a class on how to kiss like a porn star 'cause that first time we kissed I almost came right then and there."
Oh, shit. She was killing him here. He buried his face in her hair taking in her clean vanilla scent. He wanted so badly to take her. He may have been a bastard, but he wasn't that big of one, so he took her hand, and after making sure the coast was clear, led her across the hallway into her room.
He pulled her covers back and helped her get in, sitting down next to her.
"Chase, I love making love to you." She was so sincere as she ran her hand up his forearm, pushing his sleeve up to trace over his tattoo.
"I love making love to you too, Julia." He brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear.
"So, wanna make love?" The look on her face was so hopeful that he couldn't help chuckling.
"No, not tonight, baby. You're a little drunk. I want you to know what's going on when we're together."
"Oohh. That makes sense. You want me to feel how big you are and be sore the next day like I was yesterday."
Now, didn't that bit of info make his chest puff out? "I just want you to be all there when we make love."
She clasped his hand in hers. "Me too. We should always be all there 'cause if we weren't all there then it wouldn't be right 'cause we wouldn't be there. And where would we be if we weren't there?"
He smiled down at her. "I don't know. Now, close your eyes, baby. Get some sleep." He stroked the hair away from her face, leaning down and kissing her lightly.
"Mmm, that's nice. My mom used to do that," she murmured as his hand continued running through her hair, which broke his heart for her.
When he was sure she was asleep, he stood up. "Where're you going?" Julia mumbled.
"Back to my room. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"
"Okay." She turned over, her back to him. "I love you, Chase."
He froze. Christ. Hearing those words was scary as hell. He didn't answer back because he wasn't sure exactly how he felt about her. He opened her door leaving it cracked and went to his room, getting ready for bed. He cracked his door then checked the nightstand to check his Glock. He lay down, chuckling softly to himself at drunken Julia. She was too funny. Too cute. As he drifted off, he thought he was pretty sure he could love her too.
Chapter 16
Oh. My. God. Brain, if you don't stop pounding right now, I'll never pamper you again with a cup of green tea! I mean it! No gingko! No omega-3 anything! I'm not joking here!
I wonder if Julia will even remember what happened last night. She was pretty lit. She's definitely gotta be hurting this morning…
Ugh. I drank so much wine last night. But I was so pissed at stupid Hadley. And Chase. Chase. Oh, shit. I told him that I love him. I'm so glad my word vomit can keep things interesting in my life…
She said she loves me. But, hell, maybe it was just because she was drunk. Yeah, she just said it because she was trashed... but she's already told me she was falling for me. So maybe she really does...
Oh, and I'm sooooo glad he told me he loves me back. Oh, yeah, wait. He didn't…
Could I love her back? Do I love her? I think I'm falling for her... hell, I know I'm falling for her... oh, who the fuck am I kidding... I've already fallen...
But making love to him... wow... so good...
And making love to her was so good…
But what if he's just humoring me now? I mean, he said he has to be nice to Allen's relatives. Holy shit! What if he's just being nice to me because of that? Crap! I hadn't thought of that!
But what if she just thinks she loves me because of the danger she's in? Kind of like reverse Stockholm Syndrome or some shit. She might only think she loves me because I'm protecting her...
God. If he's just being nice to me because of Allen, I'll puke. Jesus. Things with him are always so damned complicated…
And what would my dad do if he found out about w
hat happened? Not good. Definitely not good…
I'll just play it by ear. Not be so uptight about things. If he has feelings for me, it'll all work out the way it's supposed to. If not… well, I'm not even going there… I can't go there right now… it'd break my heart…
We’ve just got to back off. Especially since we're right here under Allen's nose. He'd cut my dick off if he knew…
We really need to talk and see where this is going. If it even is going anywhere...
We have got to talk soon. I need to know what she wants out of this...
Julia lay in bed with her forearm thrown over her eyes keeping out the glaring eighty-bajillion-kiloton-nuclear-bomb-blowing-up-flash-of-light brightness of the sun coming through her window that made her head pound like a kettle drum. Just then there was a soft knock at her door. "Come in," she said, cringing at how loud her voice was. Stupid wine.
"Hey." Chase poked his head in the door before coming inside.
"Hey," she murmured. It was so not fair for someone to look as good as he did first thing in the morning. Seeing him in those jeans that hung low on his hips and that tight t-shirt that showed off all his muscles almost hurt her head as much as the bright light and loud noises did. But didn't she just want to tackle him and hump him like the horny chick that she was, hangover be damned.
"Not doing so hot, huh?" He chuckled. "I brought you some aspirin." He held a glass of water in one hand and the pills in the other.
"Oh, God, you're a saint," she said, sitting up. She ran her fingers through her hair trying to make herself look somewhat presentable but gave up after encountering knot after knot. What the hell had she been doing in her sleep? Performing macramé on her head?
Chase laughed and put the pills in her hand, holding the glass out to her. Yeah, I'm such a fucking saint that all I can think about right now is how I want you under me so I can fuck you senseless.
"Thank you," she said after swallowing the pills, drinking every drop in the glass. He must care since he brought her aspirin, right? She decided right then that she'd stick to her plan of not taking everything so seriously for now. Kind of lay low and see what happened.
Being Chased Page 18
