Charmed by Chase

by Theresa Paolo

  “You’re a good daughter.”

  She scoffed. “Not according to the tabloids. According to them, I’m ashamed of my parents and wrote them off the minute I got on that bus and left. While I drape myself in the newest designer clothes and get chauffeured around my parents are struggling to get by.”

  “Why do you care what they think? You know the truth.”

  “I know, but they’re putting these lies out there about me and people believe them. I shouldn’t care what they think, but it’s hard not to.”

  “I didn’t know anything about you until you came here, but from what I’ve heard since, it seems you’re respected in the industry, admired by many. I mean I’ve never seen Miguel so star struck.”

  She laughed.

  “And,” Chase said, pulling her close until her legs straddled him. He needed her close so there was no mistaken what he was about to say. He waited until her green eyes met his. “I think you’re pretty damn special, and that has to count for something.”

  She cupped his cheek and kissed him lightly, stirring a deep-rooted hunger inside him. The slight gold specks in her eyes sparkled as she leaned back and ran her fingers through his hair. “It does.”

  His big hand grabbed her waist sinking into the perfect curve and rested just above the flare of her hip. “I’m thinking it should at least count for double… if not triple.”

  “You think very highly of yourself.”

  “I know what I’m worth.”

  “Do you, now?”

  He nodded before capturing her lips with his. She moaned against his mouth, her hips rubbing against him in slow torturous circles. His fingers clenched the bottom hem of her shirt, holding her close.

  Her hand urged his up, taking her shirt with it. She slipped out of the pink material, and he tossed it to the ground beside them. Fancy black lace molded to her body and he ran his finger along the edge where lace met soft skin.

  “You’re stunning,” he said.

  Her cheeks flared red, and she bit her lip. “You don’t think I look like a frog?” she asked and Chase’s head jolted back.

  “Who the hell said you look like a frog?”

  She shrugged. “Some random person in a comment section.”

  “You need to stay off those damn sites. Those people don’t know what the hell they’re talking about.”

  He wished he could track down every last one of those trolls and knock them out. Men like that didn’t deserve to breathe the same air and get away with saying such horrible things.

  “I know it’s silly. I shouldn’t have said anything. I just get insecure easily and…”

  He didn’t mind her insecurities they made her real and just like everyone else. But just because he understood them, appreciated them even, he never wanted her to feel anything but confident with him.

  He framed her face with his fingertips. “You never have to be insecure with me. Ever. You hear me?”

  She nodded.

  “Good.” He kissed her again tenderly yet possessively, savoring the feel of her lips on his. He could easily fall for this girl, and he needed to be careful. She wasn’t here to stay, and once her scandals blew over she would be leaving to get back to her life.

  Her extravagant life—something he knew nothing about.

  He wasn’t naïve enough to think she would give up her career and stay in the middle of nowhere. The idea was preposterous, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t going to enjoy every second he had with her.

  He dipped his head, dragging his tongue along the lace before giving one final kiss to the plump skin.

  Digging deep for control, he reached for her shirt and went to pull it back into place.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “I figured we could take this somewhere a little more private. That is if you want to.”

  She shook her head. “Every day of my life I spend hiding, and I’m so tired of it. Out here…” She turned looking out toward the vast array of dense forest then back to him. “With you I feel free. Don’t make me go back into hiding.”

  How the hell was he supposed to say no to that? He let the shirt drop from his fingers and ran his hands up her back, settling on the single clasp. With one precise snap, she fell completely free from the constricting material.

  She lifted her arms up and leaned back, letting the midday sun shine down on her pert pink nipples. A liberating smile curved at the corner of her mouth as she bent back toward him, draping her arms around his neck.

  “The sun has never felt so good,” she said just as she lowered her mouth to his.

  She tasted like the sunshine, warm and inviting. Her tongue moved with his in a perfect dance as her hips rocked against him.

  He dipped his head, taking her nipple in his mouth. A sexy moan slipped from her lips as she arched into him, pressing her center against his erection. His hands slid across the silky, smooth skin of her back, holding her in place as he lapped at the hardened bud.

  He moved to the other, showing it just as much attention, licking and sucking, pulling it into a tight bead. His lips trailed up her neck, stopping at her mouth. His body shook with need, teetering on the edge of losing control. He wanted her, no, he needed her. He needed to be inside her, feel the slick heat of her body tighten around him.

  The desire slammed into him fast and hard. He grabbed her face, crashing his lips to hers and filling her mouth with hard, deep thrusts of his tongue.

  His unleashed desire was a hint of what was to come as much as it was a warning. He was beyond the point of stopping, unless she wanted him to but she needed to let him know.

  She knotted her fingers in his hair and held him just shy of what he wanted most. Her teeth slid over her kiss-swollen lip, and she waited until his eyes met hers. “I want you to know that I usually don’t do this. Despite what the tabloids say.”

  “I told you I don’t read that garbage.” His body vibrated, erection pressed harshly against the fly of his pants, but the saddened look in her eyes made him find a sliver of control.

  “I know but—”

  He took her face in his hands and shook his head. Those assholes held too much of her and she needed to let them go. What they thought didn’t matter. All that mattered was that they were here right now together. He needed her to see that. “I don’t care what they say. Understood?”

  She nodded. “Just know that this isn’t me, but when I’m with you it just feels…”

  “Right?” he asked because that was how he felt. Like two missing pieces that fit perfectly together in every way imaginable.

  “Exactly.”

  He didn’t let her finish, crushing his mouth to hers and making her see that what they shared might have been fast, but that didn’t take away how special it was. It was rare to meet someone and to have such a connection with that person, an undeniable attraction that lived in him like it was a part of who he was. He wasn’t going to take that for granted, not for a single second.

  She rocked against him again, his control slipping closer to the edge. He wanted to be inside of her, feel her silken warmth tighten around him as she cried out his name.

  A roaring fire ripped through him, sending red hot flames of hunger spiraling to the surface. “I want you,” he said, kissing a path down her collarbone.

  “Then take me,” she said, the hot touch of her breath adding fuel to the raging inferno. Her fingers slid down his chest and unbuttoned his pants with one fluid flick of her fingers.

  Whatever control he had was completely lost when she managed to free him. He went to grab for the top of her pants, but she wrapped her hand around his length and stroked him. Hot-blooded lust consumed him. His head fell back, a prisoner to her touch, absorbing every sensuous movement.

  Her lips landed on his, taking the lead, driving him mad until all he could focus on was the sensations flowing through his body, the steady stroke of her hand and the way her mouth fit perfectly against his.

  Pressure began to build, tiny
sparks of ecstasy gathering together racing toward completion. He wasn’t falling over the edge without her. He grabbed her hand, halting her ministrations.

  “If you don’t stop, this is going to be over before it starts,” he said, his breath coming out hard and heavy.

  Her tongue dabbed at her lip, a tiny moan slipping past her mouth as her hips swiveled against him. She wanted him; he had no idea why but he wasn’t going to make her regret it because he wanted her, too. More than anyone before. He didn’t see her as Bex Shepard like the world did, he saw her only as Rebecca. Rebecca, the sweet girl with the one-eyed cat who would snap back at him without a moment hesitation was heaven in his lap.

  She grabbed his face and kissed him starting off sweet and seductively then turning desperate and hungry. He reached for her pants. “Lift up so I can get these off of you.” She did as he asked, allowing him to pull the black material down her legs. She kicked off one sneaker, and Chase peeled the constricting material off one leg, leaving the other pant leg dangling from her ankle. Her legs wrapped around him, the black silk of her underwear drawing his attention to the creamy skin of her thighs.

  He pulled the silk aside and ran his finger along her wet folds. Her body shuddered as she moved against his finger. A slew of moans rumbled up her throat as he dipped a digit into her heat.

  “Oh yes…” Her nails dug into his shoulder as she flung her head back. A sexy blush spread up her neck and through her cheeks, and he smiled, knowing every hot prickle of heat running through her was because of him.

  He wanted to breakdown her barriers and help her stand on the edge and fly free. He took her nipple between his teeth, and she cried out his name, the one word echoing through the late spring day.

  She was so wet and so ready for him. He needed to be inside of her as much as he needed to breathe the air around them. He reached over to his backpack and pulled out his wallet, retrieving a condom.

  Rebecca pressed hot open-mouthed kisses to his neck, her hands traveling under his shirt and up his chest. Tremors wracked his body as the anticipation grew to be almost unbearable. He slid the condom into place and positioned himself at her center. Rebecca slowly slid onto him, one excruciating inch at a time until he was fully seated in her.

  A satisfied moan rumbled in her throat as she encircled her arms around his neck. Her hips dipped, and he settled his hands on her waist, guiding her.

  He looked up at her taken aback by her natural beauty. Her eyelashes fluttered against the tops of her cheeks as she got lost to the sensations. Her plump bottom lip called his name and he brought his mouth down on hers. Their mouths came together in a clashing of teeth, frantic and carnal.

  Their bodies synced, moving as one as he buried his hands in her hair. His tongue mimicked the slow deep thrusts of his body, and she met him with the same amount of intensity.

  The only sounds were their bodies coming together and their breaths hot and heavy. He held her waist following the slow steady rocks of her body against his. She leaned back her body arching toward the sunlight.

  His hand roamed up her small frame, enjoying every perfect curve. She straightened and he urged her mouth back to his. Her tongue found his in a rhythmic dance, moving and sliding together.

  He ran his hands through the soft brown strands of her hair before drawing back and looking at her. Two green eyes met his, heavy with passion.

  Words didn’t pass between them, but they didn’t need to. The green depths of her eyes reached out and spoke to his soul. He held her gaze as he continued to move inside of her, watching as that passion turned to unrestrained desire.

  He moved faster, and his thumb found her swollen nub, rubbing tight circles until that desire exploded. She cried out his name—the best damn sound to ever cross his ears—as her body shook with uncontrollable tremors. She collapsed against him, her body still convulsing, her face pressing against his neck, and her warm breath skating across his heated skin.

  He thrust into her one final time and jumped over the edge with her, flying high and breaking free.

  Chapter 9

  If it were possible to float away, Bex had no doubt that she would be flying amongst the clouds. All of the drama that had been weighing her down, making her question every decision she ever made, didn’t matter. Everything that had happened had brought her here to Chase.

  He held onto her, their breaths coming fast and hard as she came down from the best orgasm she’d ever had. Her body trembled with aftershocks, and when he moved beneath her, her nerve endings sprung back to life, and she shook at the intensity.

  “I need a minute,” she said against his shoulder.

  His laughter flowed through her like a sweet embrace. “Take your time.”

  She closed her eyes, letting her body relax against his, loving the feel of his warmth mixing with her own. Loved the way their chests rose and fell together as they tried to catch their breaths.

  Finally, she pulled back and met his eyes. “That was wow,” she said.

  He lifted his hand, tucking her hair behind her ear. “My thoughts exactly.” He placed a chaste kiss to her lips then helped her snap her bra back into place.

  His finger slid across the top of her breast, a smile tilting at the edge of his lips as he bent down and grabbed her shirt. He pulled it over her head, and she slipped her arms through the sleeves.

  People dressed her all the time for photo shoots and when she was on set, but this was different. There was an intimacy about the way Chase did it.

  With a kiss to her nose, he helped her off of him and she pulled her pants back into place while he took care of himself.

  “I didn’t think this through very well,” she said, and he turned to her with horror in his eyes. His dark gaze raked over her like he was looking for regret.

  “Oh no.” She laughed. “I just mean you zapped all the energy out of me and we still have to hike back down.” She looked out at the great expanse of land and then down. It was going to be quite the trek.

  He walked over to her and bent, pointing to his back. “Hop on,” he said.

  “I’m not making you carry me.”

  “You probably weigh as much as my gear.”

  She imagined him in his gear, running into a fire; the thought equally terrified her and thrilled her. The reminder of his strong muscles beneath her hands as he thrust into her sent another shudder through her body. She wanted to strip him bare, admire the hard ridges of his chest, drag her fingers up and over the taut skin and sculpted muscles.

  What they just shared was amazing, but she wanted even more. She wanted him completely naked, skin to skin, with no barriers keeping her from touching and seeing every inch of him.

  “You getting on?” he asked, still knelt in front of her.

  She draped her arms over his shoulders, linking them around his neck. He pushed up from the ground, and she wrapped her legs around him. He moved effortlessly as he walked over to his backpack and scooped it up.

  “I can hold that,” she said, feeling like it was the least she could do even if technically he was still bearing a brunt of the weight.

  He held it out to her, and she slipped it through her arms one at a time.

  “You ready?” he asked, glancing up at her, the dark gray of his eyes sparkling in the midday sun.

  “Considering I just have to hold on for the ride, I’m ready whenever you are.” He turned from the view. “Wait!” she said. “I just want to look one more time.” He shifted back around and she gazed out across the horizon, committing the breathtaking view to memory. She knew when she was back in Hollywood and life was getting to be too much she would close her eyes and remember this place. Every tree, every speck of blue skies, the smell of wood and pine and the sound of birds chirping all around them… But most of all she would remember Chase and the way he consumed her like no one else ever had.

  After a minute she nuzzled her head against his neck, taking in his masculine scent. “Okay. I’m ready now.”

&nb
sp; Chase started down the trail, and she held on tightly—not that she really had to; he had a strong grip on her. She loved being pressed against him. As he walked she could feel his muscles flexing beneath her, pulling his skin tight with each movement.

  “Did you expect that was going to happen?” he asked.

  “I should ask you. You’re the one who had the condom.”

  He smirked. “That was not why I had that.”

  “Is that so?” She had a million scenarios run through her head, but they all led back to another girl. She knew he had a life before as she had one before him, but to think of him sharing what they just did with anyone else stung a little.

  “Okay, this is super embarrassing,” he finally said. “My sister put it there.”

  Bex didn’t even know how to react to that except to laugh. “Your sister?”

  “Brooke is well… she’s Brooke.”

  “Younger or older?”

  “Younger by two years… and a royal pain in my ass.”

  “I like her already.”

  “She’s not super easy to get along with. She likes to put her nose where it doesn’t belong. She is honest to a fault, doesn’t know how to bite her tongue in any given situation, and she can be very manipulative. But beneath all that she has a good heart, and I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through the first few years after my mom died without her. We look out for each other.”

  “Which is why she’s putting condoms in your wallet?”

  “She told me she’s not ready to be an aunt.”

  A loud laugh burst from Bex’s mouth. “That’s too funny.”

  “It’s all about Brooke.”

  “So… she knows about me?” Bex asked. Chase might’ve been clueless about who she was, but from what it sounded like, Brooke wouldn’t be as in the dark about pop culture.

  “She actually put it in there a few months ago. I didn’t tell her about us, but she figured it out on her own. Let’s just say you were spotted when you stopped by the firehouse. Small town and all—word travels fast.”

  “I’m used to that,” Bex said. “I do one stupid thing and the next day my phone explodes with calls and notifications. My face plastered across every gossip site with the most unflattering picture imaginable. The entire world knows when I mess up and then they’re reminded of every time before that.”