Chase gives a grim nod then shrugs. “I don’t think I have anything either. And probably. Just, uh, let me know. I don’t usually do that. There’s something about you that makes me lose control.”
I look at Chase, the man who just fucked me senseless minutes ago, and feel shy. Do I need to ask him to stay the night? Is it a given? We talked about getting up and going to church together, which implies going to sleep and waking up together, right?
“We can go to bed,” Chase says slowly as if he’s reading my mind.
“Do you mind if I shower first?”
“Not at all.”
“Okay, and I have an extra toothbrush if you need it. I’ll leave it out on the sink. The shower and toilet have their own room in the bathroom, so you can come in and brush your teeth.”
“Okay, thanks.”
I get up, wondering if I should have invited Chase to shower with me. We’ve had sex twice, and he’s been up close and personal with every inch of me already. But in the heat of the moment, it’s hot. When I’m naked and shampooing my hair…not so much. I mentally roll my eyes at myself. I need to stop over-thinking.
I brush my teeth then take a quick shower, then get out and towel dry my hair the best I can before getting dressed. Chase is in bed, under the covers, reading the book I had left on my nightstand from a few days ago.
I’m not sure I’ve seen anything hotter in my whole life.
Chase jerks his head up, looking startled, most likely from the sound of my ovaries exploding.
“This is surprisingly good,” he says, closing the book.
“It’s very dirty.” I throw back the covers and get in bed next to him. My heart skips a beat and nerves tingles down my spine. I’ve spent the night with Chase before, just never in this sense.
Deliberate.
“Now I’m even more intrigued.”
“Quinn Harlow is one of my favorite authors.”
Chase puts the book down and turns off the light. He takes me by the waist and pulls me close, then spoons his body around mine. Physically, I’m exhausted. I haven’t had that many orgasms in one day in, well, ever. I haven’t gotten much sleep the last few days and my body longs for it, but my mind won’t shut off, though tonight, it’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Because after over a year of living in the dark, I’m finally starting to see the light. And the sunshine on my face feels so damn good.
“You’re still getting ready?”
I turn away from the mirror, hair wrapped around my curling iron, and almost burn my forehead. I blink. Once. Twice. Three times.
“Not everyone can just throw on a suit and look as good as you,” I finally muster, still taking in the sight of Chase. His button-down shirt is tucked into gray dress pants, belted around his trim waist. His normally messy hair is neat and right now he really could pass for that mega-rich CEO he pretended to be the first time we met. The transformation from rugged bad boy to sexy-man-in-a-suit is making my brain turn into mush.
“You’d look good in anything,” he tells me, crossing his arms and leaning on the doorway to the bathroom. He got up this morning and went home to shower and change before church.
I pull the hot iron from my hair and smile at his reflection. “Thanks, but I think we have to agree to disagree.”
He raises his eyebrows and crosses the room, stopping behind me with his arms wrapping around my waist. His lips find my neck and I close my eyes, leaning into him. And then I feel the heat of my curling iron not a moment too soon, and jerk it away from my arm at the last second.
“You’re distracting,” I murmur.
“You say it like it’s a bad thing.” He slides his hands down my thighs and inches my skirt up.
“It’s not.” I set the curling iron down inside the sink and hold onto Chase’s arms. “What time is it?”
He looks over me and down at his wrist. “Seven thirty-two.”
“Shit.” I’m nowhere near ready and I still have to feed Marley.
“I’m going to take that as you need me to stop distracting you.”
“Yeah,” I groan, not wanting him to step away. “We don’t want to be late. Walking in late is worse than not going to church. If you’re not there, you have the chance of the whole ‘out of sight out of mind’ thing and people might not notice. But if you walk in late, everyone sees you.”
“Makes sense.” Chase shakes his head. “This town is weird.”
“It is. Which is probably why I like it. I fit in.”
“You do fit in, but you’re not like some of the others.”
“What do you mean?” I wrap another section of hair around my curling iron.
“You’re not judgmental.”
I meet Chase’s eyes via his reflection in the mirror. “I’m the worst. I judge everyone and I judge hard. I just don’t say anything.”
Chase laughs. “I don’t believe that for a second.”
I smile back at him and quickly curl the rest of my hair, and then we rush out of the door, swing by my parents’ to feed Marley, and then speed to church.
“If lightning strikes me, you’re going down with me,” Chase says, looking at my hand in his as we walk through the parking lot.
I laugh and shake my head. “You’re not going to get smote. Smited? Smoted? Whatever. The worse thing that’s going to happen today is a lot of questions and a little bit of gossip.”
“People gossip at church?”
“All the damn time.”
“I don’t feel as bad about not going to church now.”
We make it halfway through the parking lot before someone stops us, asking how I’ve been and who Chase is. The same thing happens three more times before we make it into the chapel, and I swear I can feel eyes on us the entire mass. Being the subject of gossip and stares is nothing new to me. I’m well aware that being born a Belmont makes me interesting—to the people of Summer Hill at least. But today it’s bothering me. Are people thinking it’s too soon for me to be with another man? Jake’s been gone for a year and a half. When is it socially okay to get on with my life?
And more importantly, why do I care?
Chase and I take a seat in the back minutes before the service starts. Lisa and Rob come in not long after we do, and slip into the pew next to us. Rob is in his uniform and is either on the clock or going to work right after this. Most of the town, including its police officers, attend church on Sunday morning. It never dawned on me until right now that this is the perfect time to commit a crime.
Chase and I walk out of church hand in hand, and his brother waves him over as we get to Chase’s car. Lisa is fast approaching, so Chase goes over to see Josh while I wait by the Mustang for my cousin.
“This is Chase’s car?” Lisa asks incredulously.
“It is. You seem surprised.”
She purses her lips and looks from the car to Chase. “What did he do before he moved here?”
“I don’t know.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it’s never come up.”
“Interesting.”
“Why is it interesting?” I ask.
“Because I know how much a car like this costs, and the fact that he’s wearing a designer suit and an expensive watch makes me wonder what the hell he used to do.”