GETTING AWAY FROM CHASE was impossible it seemed.
Lori and Adam
finished eating, and then they left. Lori promising to call Aria on Monday,
so she could drop off Adam in the morning. Aria had almost offered them a place
to stay right there. The thought of them returning to the shelter irked
her.
Sadly, it wasn’t
that simple for Aria. Taking care of Adam one day was one thing. With Douglas
still coming and going, and things as they were at home, having Lori stay with
her would just make it all that much more complicated.
She didn’t want to
put Lori and her kid in an awkward situation just because her husband was a
worthless prick.
That meant that the
man following her back behind the counter was the only one in any real position
to offer Lori help. But why had he done it? And why the hell was he following
her?
Aria pushed open
the door leading to the service hallway and stopped, waiting for Chase. She
crossed her arms and whirled around to face him, indignant and ready to give it
to him good.
One second passed.
Then two. She blinked. He’d been following her. There was no way she could
mistake the feel of him at her back.
Chase walked out a
second later. He shrugged into his blazer, looking like a sex icon compared to
a regular man. His vest and dress shirt tightened across his chest as he
adjusted his suit jacket.
Aria’s arms dropped
to her sides.
He came to a stop
before her and stared her down with a concentrated, closed-off
stare.
She swallowed hard,
feeling lost in the shade of that look. Consumed, actually. The hallway—all
fifty feet of it—was too small. Chase was too close.
He wasn’t close
enough.
She was so damned
confused.
Aria wanted to bash
her own head into the wall.
Chase’s lids
fluttered. The slow perusal he gave her body seemed almost angry. He was too
serious and that expression on his face bordered on becoming harsher by the
second.
“You don’t have to
go on that date with me. I won’t force you . . . and I’ll stick to my word
about—” His eyes dropped to her left hand, where her wedding ring still sat on
her finger. “Husband.”
Aria held in a
gasp, feeling her stomach bottom out. He was letting her off the hook, so to
speak. Releasing her from their fucked-up agreement.
Promising to uphold
his end, even if she didn’t uphold hers.
It was what she’d
wanted. What she’d been freaking praying for.
So why was she
disappointed? The
cold sensation in her gut could be described no other way.
“Why did you offer
to help Lori out?” Aria blurted out. There was no stopping it. She needed to
know. Her hands were cold and sweating. She clenched them into tight fists at
her sides and watched his expression for any change.
There was a change,
but not what she’d been expecting. A flicker of frustration momentarily twisted
his features, then it was gone.
“She needs help,
Aria. From what I gather, she and that kid are in a shelter. No one is going to
hire a bruised, stitched-up woman, no matter how impressive her resume or
skills are. She needs a job and I’m in the position to give it to her.” Chase
glared at her. “I’m not that much of a bastard that I’d turn my back on her. I
know that’s what you’re thinking. I’ve already told you many times: I know what
I did to you was wrong.”
Aria’s lips
parted.
Chase clenched his
fists, obviously fighting with himself. “Aria . . . you don’t have to go
anywhere with me. I won’t press charges on Douglas. And you can just . . . just
forget everything.”
Her mind was in a
void of confusion when he turned and began to walk down the hall.
Right toward the
exit leading out to the street.
Her racing thoughts
went into warp-drive. He’d just freed her from her end of their bargain, and
wasn’t going to go after Douglas.
He’d offered to
help Lori out of her situation.
Chase had to be the
most confusing, intriguing, and—fuck it all to hell—attractive man
she’d ever met.
And he was about to
walk out that door.
“Chase,
wait!”
Chase jerked to a
stop, one hand braced on the door.
Aria. What the hell
are you doing?
His shoulders rose
and his back tensed, but he didn’t turn in her direction.
He was willing to
back out of their agreement and stick to his end of it, without getting
anything in return. Douglas had stolen hundreds of thousands, if not millions,
from his company; he deserved to go to jail and Chase was willing to let him go
free. All for her.
It seemed fair that
she’d go along with what she was planning to do. At least, that’s what Aria
told herself as, heart racing, she took a step toward him. “I’ll go.”
That had Chase’s
head spinning in her direction. “What?”
She opened her
mouth, desperate for some air. His expression was almost frightening. But she
wasn’t scared. She dared to poke and squint at the emotion she felt, and
recognized it for what it was. Exhilarated. Excited.
She was starting to
feel like an adrenaline junkie.
“I said I’ll
go.”
He started walking
back toward her, each step slow and methodical. Brows hard. Eyes dark. He
studied her, piercing straight through her with that hard look.
Aria felt
exposed.
“Why?”
Taken aback, she
blinked rapidly. “I . . . because, I . . .” Jesus. Fuck. It wasn’t fair. Chase
was like a huge vacuum, sucking all the air, and the closer he got, the less
she could breathe.
“Why, Aria? You
were so angry that I blackmailed you into it. Why would you go now?” That last
part was asked in a low, soft tone. He stood a few feet away from her
now.
Too damn
close.
She couldn’t think
straight.
“Aria.”
“It’s fair. You’re
willing to leave Douglas alone. I should stick to my end of the deal.”
He ignored her
blurted out excuse with a shake of his head.
An inch. That’s all
that was left between them.
Chase’s hands shot
up, and he cupped her face between his large palms. The feel of his skin kick
started her entire system. She gasped as air rushed through her windpipe. His
scent made her throat close right back up.
Her body
throbbed.
Painfully.
He pulled her
closer, eliminating the last bit of space between them. “Tell me the real
reason why.” He took deep breaths, his face tilted toward hers. His eyes probed
hers.
Too deep. She
couldn’t focus past that stare—his scent.
“Aria.”
She pressed her hands
to his chest. She had to push him away. Now.
She couldn’t.
Everything inside her was shaken. Everything about her fluctuated wildly,
realigning in ways she couldn’t understand. Her atoms seemed to
tremble.
For him. Her body
was liquefying for him.
Chase cupped the
back of her neck with one hand. His thumb stroked her. The sensation barreled
through every nerve ending in her body.
“I wish I was
strong enough, Aria. I fucking do,” he mumbled, voice gone hoarse.
Aria didn’t have a
chance to ask him what he meant.
He leaned down. For
a split second, she was convinced he was going to kiss her.
And she wanted it
so fucking bad. Her body opened up, softening in preparation for that
kiss.
He stopped an inch
away from her lips, eyes heavy-lidded as he focused on her mouth. He was
panting.
She couldn’t think.
His full lips were right there. All she had to do was lean up
on her toes. Less than an inch and she would know if he tasted as good as he
smelled. If those lips felt as good as—
Chase tilted his
head and pressed his cheek against hers. He nuzzled her, his jaw sliding across
her own with the movement.
Aria stared over
his shoulder, trapped by—what? Arousal? Confusion? Disappointment?
Oh God. All
of it.
He let loose a deep
groan that stole all the sensation from her legs. With a gasp, she clutched at
his shoulders.
“So warm. Soft,” he
whispered, so low she almost didn’t hear him.
Against her
goddamned will, she felt her focus zero in and become all about him. She had to
extricate herself. Get away. But her body wasn’t obeying; her nails had become
claws determined to keep him right where he was.
No, Aria. You have
to stop this. You have to.
She didn’t want to.
She wanted more. More of his scent, his smooth cheek pressed to hers, more
of him. His lips. His—
She pushed at his
shoulders. Her attempts were pathetic. Her body wanted, with a desperation it
had never wanted with before, and it was determined to have. “I . . . can’t . .
.”
Chase’s hand
tightened around the back of her neck, holding her still so that he could
murmur right up against her cheek. “Aria.”
Fuck.
The feel of his lips. His breath.
The freaking way he
kept saying her name!
“You have yet to
answer my question.” His bottom lip slid across her skin and his tongue
touched her as he spoke.
That’s because I
can’t, you jackass. Oh, if only those words would leave her
mouth.
She had no idea
what the answer to his question was. All she knew right then was the feel of
his tongue as it flicked her skin. The feeling palpated across her flesh,
sliced through the layers, and slid in deep. She fisted his
blazer, feeling faint.
Suddenly, he backed
her up, driving her right into the wall behind her. Aria felt her back hit the
wall; she expected him to press that large, sculpted body of his into her right
after.
God help her, she
wanted him to.
He didn’t,
remaining inches away from her, with those lips still pressed to her
cheek.
“You want me to
answer the question for you, Aria?”
Dread raced through
her at his low, heated question. She knew that whatever he was going to say, it
would hit her too hard, too deep, and way too truthfully.
“I’m going to tell
you what I think.”
Please don’t. She
knew right then how obvious her body’s reaction was. It was too damned obvious.
“I think,” Chase
paused, brushing her skin lightly with his lips.
Aria shook her
head, choking on everything he was and everything he was making her fucking
want.
“You feel
this between us, Aria.” He kissed her cheek one more time, lingering just
enough to drive her wild. “As wrong as everything has been so far . . . You.
Feel. This.”
Chase pulled away
from her and stormed down the hall.
The sound of the
door slamming open and closed reverberated through her, mixing with the
maelstrom churning in her body.
She sagged against
the wall.
