****
Sitting in the theater, Julia realized she'd been a teensy bit out of it the last twenty-four hours. Temporary insanity, anyone? Anyone? Her thought process was so jumbled she didn't know whether she was coming or going.
But, hello? She'd received a threat on her life. That was serious. So what was she doing leaving the apartment? Alone. God. By going out tonight, she'd made herself a live target, being vulnerable to anyone who wanted to take a shot at her. Stupid. So stupid. Oh, and that little side note where she'd almost been raped by her asshole of an ex-boyfriend? Now that was just brilliant on her part, putting herself in that position. Just when had her brain stopped functioning?
Also? What had she been thinking when she'd told Chase that their being together was pointless? The domino effect of total self sabotage on her life from all sides was just about complete. Wasn't life so much fun sometimes? He'd been the only one she could count on yet she'd gone all martyr on him and thrown away what they had like it was so much trash. Boy, she was a smart one, she was.
As Chase sat there, he was so angry, upset, dejected and a thousand other words that meant I'll kill the next motherfucker who looks at me crooked. He couldn't believe things had turned out the way they had, but as the previews played on the screen he thought back over what had happened between Julia and him. He needed to look at things objectively. He was training to be a lawyer, right? Well, let's put that shit to use then. She'd said she needed him. They'd had sex. Hard. Then suddenly she'd decided it wasn't a good thing for them to be together. Of course she was trying to protect him. He knew that was it. She might've been a pretty good actor, but his bullshit detector had been buzzing since she'd told him that they needed to be apart.
He’d talk to her after the movie, tell her he knew what she was doing, and he wasn’t going to accept it. He felt his heart lighten just a little. Maybe things could be salvaged after all. But he still wasn't stupid enough to get his hopes up. For all he knew, she'd been serious about their not being right for each other. And this thought just pissed him off anew.
The movie started and Julia sat there staring at the screen not comprehending anything that was going on. All she knew was that she'd screwed up royally. If she could ever straighten things out with Chase again she'd be damn lucky. This mess she'd made was so tangled it'd take some time to undo. And sitting there between Lily and Claire and their Love Connection reenactment just made her more upset. She should've gotten a medal for not crying right then and there, but halfway through the movie, she couldn't do brave anymore, and became so uncomfortable she had to excuse herself to the restroom, leaving her purse with Claire. It hadn't helped that there'd been a scene where a man and a woman were having some pretty damn hot table sex, which brought back visions from the day before with Chase. She'd felt his eyes on her during the scene and she had to get out of there. It was too much. She knew he'd probably follow her but only because he was doing his job.
In the bathroom, she splashed cold water on her face as the tears came pouring down. What a night it'd already been. All the crap she'd pulled with Chase, and then Josh and all his greasiness. Ugh. She stared at herself in the mirror knowing what she’d done was just too idiotic for words.
****
"What the hell happened to your face?"
"I cut myself shaving," the Kid replied when he walked into the house. He was sure he had a broken nose and this prick asking about it was just pissing him off.
Liam chuckled then slammed a fist into the Kid's gut. "Ah, we got a smartass here, Brady. Kid thinks he's a comedian."
The Kid doubled over, holding his stomach and about to cough up a lung.
"C'mon, Kid. Boss wants to see you."
"Yeah, that's why I'm here, numbnuts." Bam! Another fist to the gut. Kid wasn't too intelligent, was he? No wonder he'd gotten into so much trouble. Didn't know when to quit.
They walked into the office and the Boss raised an eyebrow at the state the Kid was in.
"Jesus. What happened to you?"
Kid knew better than to be a wiseguy to the Boss. "Like I said. I ran into some complications."
The Boss blew out a puff of smoke. "Did you now. Guess you're going to need some help to nab this one." The Boss looked at Liam and Brady. "You need to get something worked out. As soon as we get the money on this one, we need to have the other girl ready to go."
"Got that, Kid? We gotta work together on this one. Think you can do that?" Brady looked at him with his dead eyes.
"Yeah, sure, I mean, yeah, I can do that." When Brady looked at him like that, it made him want to piss his pants.
"Boys, leave us. I've got something I need to talk with the Kid about."
Liam and Brady left the room but not without looking a little suspiciously at the Boss. Kid half smirked at Liam but his face turned serious when he glanced at Brady. Dude was scary as fuck. The two goons left the room, pulling the door shut quietly behind them.
The Boss got up, pouring two glasses of Bushmills sixteen-year-old whiskey, handing one to the Kid.
"I really hope you're doing all you can to make this last one happen." The Boss drank, looking at him over the glass.
"Yes, I really am. It's just tough getting her alone."
"I had Donovan follow you tonight." The Kid's head jerked up to look at the Boss. Holy shit. Then it was known what he'd done. "You kissed her?"
The Kid swallowed roughly. "I, was just, uh, trying to get her alone. Trick her into coming with me."
"You sure that was all it was?"
"Yes. I have no feelings for her at all."
The Boss walked to the Kid, leaning to the side of his head, whispering in his ear. "That'd better be the truth."
"I promise, it is. You're the only one I want." The Kid never knew if he should take the lead in a situation like this or let the Boss guide the way. As it was, the Boss took charge, putting her hand on his crotch.
"I'd better be the only one,” she purred in his ear. “And now, Josh, I want you to fuck me like your life depends on it... because it does."
Chapter 22
"Oh, yes, God, Josh, your tongue feels so good. I think I might have it cut out, bronzed and made into a trophy."
Josh paused for a second, picturing the tongue trophy as a real possibility considering who he was dealing with. He shuddered involuntarily.
"Why are you stopping? Do I need to get Brady in here to turn that idea into a reality?"
The Boss was bent over her desk face down, legs spread. Josh knelt behind her between her high-heel clad feet that were on the floor, straddling either side of him, grabbing her ass hard just like she liked it. He ran his tongue over her softest parts, sucking, licking, tasting all of her, wanting to vomit. Yes, she was gorgeous. She was sexy. Powerful. But being forced to eat someone out didn't really sit well with his stomach. Now, if he'd seduced her, getting her wet and ready for him on his terms, that he could handle. This? This was impotence just waiting to happen, his nerves making it tough to get primed for her. And God forbid if he couldn't perform. He could only imagine what other body part of his she'd have bronzed and sitting in her trophy case if that happened.
"Right there. Oh, do that again! Yes! Oh, God! Oh, God! OH, GOD!" Holy shit, she was loud. The two goons outside might hear her and think he was hurting her. He pictured one of them breaking the door down then beating the shit out of him.
Also, performing cunnilingus on this woman wasn't something that made Josh proud as it usually did with any other woman. If he could make a woman fidget and scream like this, he'd usually be the cockiest son of a bitch this side of the Mississippi. In the Boss's case, he just felt lucky and relieved that he could get her off. He didn't want to find out what would happen if he didn't succeed.
The Boss turned around to lean against her desk, looking hungrily at him, her forehead laced in sweat, her face flushed. "C'mere, Daddy."
That was another thing that totally grossed him out. She was old enough to be his mother, yet
she was calling him "Daddy."
God, what had he done to deserve this? That would be plenty, he guessed.
"Give me that big cock of yours, Daddy." She reached out to unbuckle his belt, then unbuttoned his jeans pulling them and his boxers down. She grabbed his length, tugging him toward her. Um. Ouch. "Fuck me. Hard. I want you to make me come again."
Usually, this would be highly erotic, being told what to do by a woman. But this? This was just horrifying. Josh felt like his life depended on how many times he could make her climax. She sat on the desk and he entered her as her legs wrapped around his waist, and he began to pound the shit out of her. It seemed the harder he went, the more she liked it, so he drilled more rigorously and deeper making her cry out enthusiastically. He grabbed hold of her hair with one hand, which made her moan even louder. Shoving her down onto the desk, he placed a hand around her neck practically choking her and she screamed out a "Yes!" surprising the hell out of him. Who was this chick? She obviously liked it fucking rough. Or rough fucking, so the case may be. His anger at the situation took over then as he penetrated her brutally, viciously clamping his hand around her throat tighter. Just as he was about to come, he realized, with no small amount of disgust, what he'd been doing and removed his hand from her neck, then thrust forcefully as he orgasmed inside her.
"Ungh!" she hollered, and climaxed intensely around him. "Oh, God, you're the best!"
Josh removed himself from inside her, excusing himself to go to the bathroom. He closed and locked the door, turning around to throw up into the toilet as quietly as he could. Didn't want to piss off the Boss by letting her hear him retching. He hated being her "love slave" or whatever the hell he was. For the umpteenth time he cursed silently, remonstrating himself for his gambling woes. He thought about how he could get out of the whole situation. Maybe he could run away and change his identity. Yeah, that'd be a great life to lead, always looking over his shoulder to see if he'd been found. Maybe he could go to the cops and turn everyone in, getting immunity for his good deed. Right, then he'd wake up dead the next morning because these people had all sorts of connections he probably didn't know about. He wasn't sure what to do. He guessed the only thing he could do was to stick it out and try to make it out of this gig alive. He could do that. He'd just hang in there hoping he'd be breathing when it was all over. Once he felt a little better, he splashed water on his messed-up face, checking out the bruising and swelling of his nose then adjusted his clothes and walked back into the office.
"Now, what theater was the girl at?" the Boss asked as she zipped up her black leather pants, looking in the mirror, fixing her hair, and telling him the plans for the evening.
****
Staring at herself in the mirror, Julia had to shake her head. Yep, still a dumbass.
Are you happy now, stupid? Yeah, you. You've pushed him away and for what?
Hello? Uh, for his life.
But wasn't that what he'd been hired for in the first place? To save your life... keep you safe... not the other way around. And it's not like he's incapable of taking care of you. You've seen him fight. He can more than handle himself.
Upon leaving the restroom, she froze when she saw Chase leaning against the wall a few feet down the hallway, his arms folded across his chest, looking at her. He had the same fierce look on his face that he'd had when he'd come into the apartment earlier. Wow.
"Couldn't handle it?" he asked with a smirk. He knew she'd left because the sex scene had been pretty intense, and, well, yeah, it hadn't been easy for him to watch either.
"Handle what?" she asked quietly.
"You don't fool me, Julia." His eyes penetrated hers making her breathing speed up. How did he have this much control over her?
She couldn't talk. She wanted to tell him she was sorry. Tell him that she loved him. Tell him that she was only trying to protect him. But her throat locked up and nothing would come out. She took a deep breath, resolving to stick to "the plan," and walked past him.
He reached out and grabbed her arm, jerking her to him, his mouth at her ear. "I don't know what you think you're trying to prove, Julia." Goddamn it. If they were over, he at least wanted to give her a proper goodbye. Turning her to face him, holding her upper arms, his lips came down on hers hard, his tongue entering her mouth, and as it met hers, a low moan came from deep in her throat. He knew then that all her acting had been just that—acting.
She pulled away, keeping her eyes down. "Chase, no. We can't do this. It's not safe for us to be togeth—"
"Julia, just shut up." She looked up at him then glanced away, not being able to handle his eyes on hers. "Look. I'm not stupid. I know what you're up to with all this shit you're pulling."
"I'm not up to anything, Chase," she said, her eyes cast down at his feet.
"Then look me in the eye and tell me you don't love me. Tell me you don't want me anymore."
Her head flew up and her eyes met his. Was he serious? She panicked, looking around at the various movie posters on the wall. She felt herself starting to sweat. Great. No way could she say that to him. She was a horrible liar. Horrible at keeping things in. Always had been. The Christmas she'd snuck into her parents' closet and had seen the Furby she'd wanted waiting to be wrapped, she could hardly hold that in. When being tucked in that night, her mother had asked what she wanted Santa to bring her and she'd blurted, "The Furby in the closet!" pretty much telling on herself. She decided to stay quiet because she knew Chase would read her like a book if she opened her damn mouth.
"I want to hear you say it, Julia. Tell me, and I'll leave you alone for good. Say it." He still held her upper arms shaking her a bit, bending lower trying to get her to look at him.
She swallowed roughly, then whispered, "I- I don't want to say it."
He pulled her into a nearby storage room, shutting and locking the door. Inside the darkened room, he pressed her back against the door with his body and kissed her long and hard making a point to show her that she did love him. That they were meant to be together. When she kissed him back with the same passion, her fingers tangling in his hair, pulling him to her with all her might, he knew his point had been proven. He groaned at how fervidly she responded to him, as their tongues moved frantically against each other. He turned her to face the door, pushing her against it with his body. His hands ran down her arms, and taking her hands in his, he pulled her arms above her head then held her wrists in one hand high against the door. Pressing his hard cock against her back, he whispered in her ear, "You can't say it, Julia, because you know it's not true. I know how you feel about me. You're not fooling anyone."
She groaned. "Chase, I don't want you to be hurt trying to watch out for..."
"Shhh." His hand moved across her belly, going under her t-shirt, moving up under her bra so he could grasp her breast. He rolled her nipple between his thumb and finger, making her gasp and buck back against him. "I know you like my hands on you, don't you? All you've got to do is tell me to stop."
"Oh, God..."
His hand moved down to unbutton and unzip her jeans, then flattening his palm against her, he slid it down inside her panties, his fingers feeling how wet she was for him. "Julia..." Still holding her hands above her, he pulled her jeans and panties down with his other hand then unbuttoned his own jeans, pulling his cock out. "Tell me you want me to stop, Julia."
"Chase..."
He bent lower, running his hard cock between her legs. "Tell me, Julia. I want to hear you tell me to stop." His hot breath was in her ear, giving her chills. His hand came around to the front, his fingers finding her slick wetness, pressing against her, moving in circles. "Tell me."
"I can't." She started crying. "I don't want you to stop." The tears ran down her face. He still wanted her, and God knew she wanted him.
His lips were on the side of her neck, sucking, licking, biting then moved back up to her ear. "Tell me what you want, Julia," he whispered.
"I want... I want you, Chase. I want you." At
that moment, he pushed his length up inside her, making her cry out.
"Is that what you want?" he asked as he moved in her, pushing up hard, making her breath catch.
She let out a moan. "Yes, it's what I want, God, yes."
Letting her wrists go, both hands went to her hips as he pulled her into him, driving his cock powerfully inside her. Her hands went flat against the door so she was bent over, as she thrust her ass toward him.
"You like me inside you, don't you?"
"Yes... so deep... Oh, God... so big."
He leaned over her, his hand moving to her breast, his fingers working her nipple, his other hand tight on her belly. God, she felt amazing. It seemed like he'd been without her for so long. What kind of hold did she have over him? She totally owned him, and didn't that suit him just fine.
"Julia, I want you to come for me. Can you do that?" His hand moved down to trace circles on her again, making an erotic sound come out of her. He could feel she was literally dripping wet as he glided in and out of her.
"Oh!" she cried out, feeling herself getting close. "Faster!" she hissed.
Hell, yeah, he could go faster. He plunged inside her harder and faster then felt her clamping down on him as she reached her climax. "Jesus, Julia, you feel so damn good."
His own climax came soon after as he thrust hard, moving until he was spent. Staying inside her, he bent, wrapping his arms around her waist. Breathing heavily, he held her close, his face resting against her back. He kissed her shoulder then stood straight, pulling her up with him as he slid out of her. He turned her to face him then kissed her almost desperately. "I love you, Julia. I don't want to be without you."
She wrapped her arms around his neck as she started to sob like a baby. "I… thought I'd… lost you. I… love you…"
He held her tightly, closing his eyes and thanking God that she felt the same way he did.
Being Chased Page 24
