“And why’s that?”
I place my hands on his chest, contradicting every word that’s coming out of my mouth. “You already know why, Chance. This is getting messy and I can’t do messy.”
“And what if we stop making it messy?” he asks and I shake my head, closing my eyes because it hurts too much to look at him right now.
“What would that look like?”
Reaching up, he gently cups my cheek, brushing his thumb down to my jaw and my whole body aches for more as I pry my eyes open and look up at him. “What Logan and Ali have.”
“I… can’t do that.”
“Who hurt you, Princess?” he asks for the second time and I jerk away from him, but he doesn’t let me go, holding me close and even as I fight, I want to give into him.
“You don’t know me, Chance.”
He laughs, shaking his head as he stares down at me like I’ve lost my mind. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”
“I don’t know,” I whisper, pressing my forehead against his chest. There is a part of me that’s clinging to that notion but if I’m forced to think about it then no, I don’t really believe that. Chance knows the real me, he always has.
“Please,” he pleads and I pull away to meet his gaze. “Give us a chance. I’m fucking crazy about you and I don’t want to walk away from this.”
Before I can react, he leans down and presses his lips to mine. My body goes lax against him at the first touch of his lips and I sigh as I grip his forearm. It’s gentle but so tender and I can feel everything from him as he shows me all the things he can’t say. His other hand comes up, framing my face between his palms as he pulls back and searches my eyes for a moment. Tears sting my eyes and I jerk my face out of his grip as I stare at the floor.
“What are you doing to me?” I mutter, closing my eyes to fend off the water works. I try to wiggle away from him, but he pulls me closer, forcing me to face this and I feel something breaking inside me.
“Look at me,” he whispers and despite my inner protests, I pull my head back and meet his gaze. I’m stripped bare, all my pain laid out in front of him as my walls come crashing down all around me and he pulls me closer. “Just let me in, baby.”
“I can’t,” I croak, the first tear spilling down my cheek and he shakes his head.
“You can. Just let me in, Carly.”
“You don’t understand. It’s not that easy. Don’t you think I want to let you in? I want all the same things you do but I can’t. This is all I can ever be for you and you deserve better than half a person.”
He grabs the back of my neck, keeping my eyes on his as determination flashes in his gaze. “You are not and you have never been half a person. I’ll consider myself so damn lucky for everyday you allow me to be in your life, so I never want to hear you say shit like that again.”
Sucking in a choppy breath, I study him but all I can see in his eyes is complete sincerity. How can he possibly mean that? “I don’t know how to be any other way.”
“I’m not asking you to be any different. I want you, just the way you are.”
I shake my head, fighting against how right everything he says feels. “I don’t know how to be in a relationship. You won’t want me when all I do is push you away because I have no idea how to do this.”
“It hasn’t sent me runnin’ yet, has it?”
“It will. You’ve only known me for three weeks, Chance. There are things you don’t know about me and once you do, everything between us will change.”
He blows out a breath, shaking his head slowly as he looks down between us. Maybe my words have finally sunk in and he’s realizing that a relationship with me is a terrible idea. That’s probably for the best but, oh, God, does it hurt.
Just when I think he’s going to release me, his head snaps up and he pins me with his stare. My mouth pops open as I try to come up with anything to say to him and he swoops in, kissing me and shutting me up. He holds me close, once again pouring his feelings into his kiss and I’m done for. How could I possibly deny him anything now?
“Give this a shot, Princess,” he urges against my lips. “Nothing you could tell me will change the way I feel right now.”
I can’t force the agreement out of my mouth and yet, I can’t tell him no either, so I lean in and kiss him again.
Fake it ‘til you make it, right?
A soft groan rumbles up from his chest and one arm wraps around my waist, securing me to him as the other dives into my hair, holding the back of my head as we stumble and my back crashes into the fridge. The contents in the door rattle around but I can’t be bothered to stop. He’s pouring so much emotion into his kiss and my heart aches with tenderness as I pull him closer, securing him to me. I’ve never been kissed like this and you’d have to bring a wrecking ball through here to pry me away from him.
He slips his leg between my thighs and I gasp. Using my surprise to his advantage, he teases me with his tongue, running it along the roof of my mouth and my whole body trembles. His hand slips to my ass and he lifts me into his arms. I wrap my legs around his waist, mentally willing him not to drop me as he turns and walks. He never once takes his focus away from our kiss as he passes through the swinging doors and I only have a moment to worry that someone might be out on the couches or playing pool before he sits me down on top of the bar and slips his hands up under my t-shirt.
His hands feel like feathers against my skin, slipping over my flesh and sending shivers racing through me in every direction before they drop straight between my thighs. His tongue tangles with mine, teasing me with the promise of a long night and tenderness between my legs in the morning. My pussy aches with need and I whimper as I fist his shirt and pull him closer, trying to rub against him. He lit a fire inside me and now he’s going to put it out. Releasing him, I reach down and grab the bottom of my shirt, ready to rip it over my head but he stops me.
“No one else gets to see you like this, gorgeous girl. Get upstairs,” he says after ripping his mouth from mine. He grabs my hips and lifts me off the bar before swatting my ass and gently pushing me toward the stairs. I’m not thinking anymore, my feet moving toward the staircase with determination. My body is strung tight and I’m not leaving here tonight until he’s relieved the ache.
Thankfully, it seems everyone else is still outside and as I race up the stairs, I can hear him stomping behind me, just as eager as I am to get somewhere private. When I reach the top of the stairs, he grabs my wrist and pulls me back into him, spinning me around so I’m facing him as he steals more kisses and pushes my back up against a wall. His rigid length presses into my belly and I roll my hips, moaning at the feel of him.
“It drives me crazy every time I’m away from you,” he whispers against my lips as we move again and I thread my fingers into his hair as I plunge my tongue into his mouth. He grips my hips hard and groans.
“I’ll never be able to promise to make it easy for you,” I reply and he lets out a laugh, his breath washing over me.
“That’s all right, Princess. I kind of like fighting with you.” He pushes me up against a door and one hand cradles the back of my head as he fumbles for the doorknob. When it opens, he guides me inside and shuts it behind him. The thud of the door shutting echoes through the room and he tries to lead me to the bed, but I push back on him, pressing his back to the door as I loosen his belt and unbutton his jeans. His hand slips up my back and unhooks my bra before pressing it firmly against my skin and I moan. I knew I had missed him, but I didn’t realize how much until this moment as everything in my world seems to right itself with his touch.