A Test of Love: Interracial Erotic Romance (Chasing Love) (10 page)

Damn.

Chase and his dad were spitting images of each other. I didn’t even think Chase’s mother had him, surely the father carried his son in his belly for the required nine months and birthed Chase himself. I walked over there with my mouth open. Even in this old painting, a little gray peeked out at his dad’s temples. He wore no jewelry, just a stiff black suit that made him look like he had to go to a funeral after the painting. His face bore a frown and furrowed brows.

I don’t know if he’s angry or if that’s just the look he normally wears.

I returned to Chase’s small face. Most kids grinned or made a goofy expression when the cameras came out. Children never took good pictures. Sure there were a few exceptions, but most of the time, we all slowly learned how to turn our lips up just right or slant our heads just so, to give our best look before the camera flashed. Not Chase. He’d already discovered his photo face at this small age. He could’ve been a freaking cereal commercial kid, with those rosy cheeks and bright eyes.

Once I spotted the portrait, all interest in searching out the kitchen ceased. I had to see more baby pictures of Chase, and there would be nothing getting in my way. Chase hid too much. There was no way he would take me on a gallant tour of his past.

A savory scent tried to lure me to the right. That had to be the kitchen. I turned left. The place was bigger than I thought; I’d stopped counting at the fifth room.

Goodness. How big is this place?

More rooms came. Some had neatly made beds. Others revealed gray love seats and bare tables to play cards on or maybe rest a book on as a person read. Either way, the place didn’t possess that lived-in feeling. No one had been here in a long time.

Why not, and does this have to do with the buried body and gun?

At the end of the hallway, two doors stood side by side. Unlike the other rooms, these had doors and seemed closed off to the wandering visitor. A thrill shot through me. There was just nothing like spying on others, at least when feeling justified.

Was I even justified? Well, I did get shot. That’s reasoning enough to do some extra snooping of my own.

I went to the first door. The knob wouldn’t budge. There was a serious lock on the other side. I tried the next one and got the same problem.

“What are you doing?”

I shrieked and turned around. Chase’s face met my gaze. His wet hair was slicked back. Anger etched at the corner of his eyes.

“I’m looking for the kitchen.”

“Your mouth does this weird thing when you lie. It’s doing that now. Besides, the fact that I imagine you can find a kitchen in any home you enter.” He stared at the door on the left for a minute and then returned his attention to me. “What are you looking for?”

“I just wanted to see what was behind these doors.”

“Why?”

“Because. . .maybe there are some clues or something.”

“Clues?” He raised his eyebrows. “What case are you on?”

“Who shot Jasmine is my case.”

“The identity of the shooter isn’t in that room or the other.” He grabbed my hand and tried to pull me away.

“Then what is?”

“Nothing but memories.”

I yanked my hand away. “Your memories?”

“Some.”

I couldn’t wipe the smirk off of my face. “Then let’s see them.”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“No, I’m full off excitement right now. You were a cute kid.”

He stepped forward like a deranged man. His face reddened. His hands fisted at their sides. “What pictures have you seen?”

Any words I’d had left me at the sight of him being so angry. “I didn’t see any pictures.”

“You said I was a cute kid.”

“I was talking about the painting on the mantel.”

Sighing, he backed up. “Okay.”

I stared at him a few seconds longer. “What the fuck was that?”

“What?”

“You looking like you were going to kill me for seeing a picture.”

“I wasn’t going to kill you, but I don’t like. . .”

“What?”

“I want to show you my childhood pictures on my own time.”

I opened my hands and showed my palms. “Because?”

“Because there’s a lot to talk about with them.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Now’s not the time.”

“You mean this morning isn’t time to show me the pictures?”

“No. This year isn’t the time.” He walked off.

“But they’re just freaking baby pictures? Really?” I called back at him. He said nothing else. I twisted back to those two closed doors as if staring at them for a long time would make that stiff wood transparent. Something was in these rooms. People don’t just lock off rooms in a house like this for nothing. Not that I ventured in beautiful places like this, but anybody could see that something odd occurred here and these doors concealed some of it.

“Are you coming,
tesoro
?” Chase’s voice held an edge as he continued to walk off.

“I don’t answer to names I don’t know the meaning of.” I dragged myself away from those doors and headed toward his voice.

“You’ll answer to
tesoro
or I’ll come for you.” He glanced over his shoulder. Heat now replaced the annoyance in his eyes. “And I don’t think you want me to come for you.”

“I’m not afraid of you.”

He laughed. “Then you haven’t been paying attention.”

“Apparently not.”

We made it to the kitchen in no time. Two cooks busied themselves in the space—stirring white sauces in huge bronze pots, slicing fresh fruit on the counter, and flipping over slabs of crisp bacon. I liked my bacon a little crisp at the edges but flimsy fat throughout. If it had been my house or servant, I might have stopped and said something, but this wasn’t my place.

“What?” Chase grabbed my hand and continued to guide me toward the kitchen door leading outside. “You look like you have something to say.”

“I don’t.”

He stopped us right there. “These women are great chefs.”

“I’m sure they are.”

“Then what? Your nose is scrunching up every time you look at the stove.”

“I’m really not appreciating you paying so much attention to my body language.”

“I’m trying to figure you out.”

“I’m easy to read.”

He chuckled. “Yes, you are. Right now something is bothering you about the food. Tell me.”

“I like my bacon less crispy so when you pick the strip up, it doesn’t stand up straight, it sags down and greases up my whole finger.”

“Interesting. One could never tell from those fit hips of yours.” He directed his attention to one of the women and spoke the most beautiful Italian I’d ever heard. My panties melted right there with each word.
Goodness.
The way he moved that tongue had me hypnotized and imagining him speaking those same words to me as his mouth slipped against my clit.

“Mmm, mmm.” I almost growled.

He quirked one eyebrow. “This is some new body language, but I like it. What should I gather from this?”

“That you should be speaking a whole lot more Italian in our bedroom.”

“
Sto andando a farsi fottere fino a quando non è possibile parlare italiano, il mio tesoro
.”

“Hell, yes.”

He grinned. “You don’t even know what I said.”

“I don’t need to.”

“Let’s go upstairs.”

I wagged my finger at him. “Oh, no. You’ve got a ‘hell, yes,’ but that’s after your probation.”

“
Sto andando a fottere il condizionale.
”

A shriek came from the side. I checked the women’s faces in the kitchen. They both had stopped what they were doing as they blushed and watched Chase.

“Are you going to tell me what you said?” I asked.

“Well. . .it had a lot to do with fucking.”

“Hmm, you’re making these women blush.”

“Just be happy that they’re in here to keep you safe. After this morning, my erection may never go down.”

I checked his pants. The front did seem much fuller than usual, like he had stashed a few things there. “Good. Maybe next time you won’t commit crimes in the name of keeping me safe.”

“Ah .” He chuckled some more. “Well, I’ll never promise that. I rather like going off the deep end to keep you safe,
tesoro
.” He patted my behind and led me outside.

If I thought it was sunny in the house, I had no idea what I was in for when stepping outside. The sun bathed me in this golden hue of warmth. A gentle sea breeze came next.
Holy shit.
We were on a massive cliff. In fact, all the neighboring houses and buildings sat on top of cliffs that jutted around this enchanting beach.

Chase spread his arms out. “This is Atrani.”

“I don’t know how to say this. It’s small but huge.”

“Yes, that’s probably a good way to describe it.”

This deep blue ocean expanded out as far as my eyes could see and had to go even farther. Everything sat on these cliffs. I didn’t see any cars driving near the houses. But a long road below us outlined the rocky terrain.

“We’re in the southwestern region of Italy. Atrani is the smallest town in the country.” He led me to the edge of this massive deck. A pool was on the left, a grill, tables, and chairs on the right. “Over here is the Dragone River. It runs through this valley.”

“Why did they name it dragon?”

“My mother told me that the people named it that because a dragon would fly down in that area, blow out fire, and hide all night.”

“What was he hiding from?”

Laughter fled Chase’s lips. “I never asked.”

“How could you not ask?” I shook his arm a little. “If a dragon is fucking hiding, then you better be hiding too.”

“Are you aware that there are no such things as dragons?”

“Hey, I’m just saying.” I blocked the sun out of my eyes as he got behind me and wrapped his arms around my body. “What’s over there?”

“The church of San Salvatore. There’s a captivating marble fountain close by and tons of gardens and lemon groves.”

I inhaled and swore I smelled lemons all around me. “You came here a lot?”

“Every summer until I turned thirteen.”

“What happened at thirteen?”

He released me. “Let’s eat breakfast. You have to be hungry.”

“Chase?”

He kept his back to me. “Yes,
tesoro
?”

Okay. I need an English-to-Italian dictionary. Who knows what he’s calling me?

“Are you going to avoid all my questions today?”

“No, not all of them.” He walked off.

I rushed after him and met his pace. “I don’t like secrets, especially when my man keeps them from me.”

“Is that what I am to you?”

“Y-you’re. . .okay. That’s off topic.”

“You want to know my secrets then tell me you’re mine.”

“I don’t need too.” I raised my injured arm. “I have this right here that tells me I’m currently in the need to know. The secrets stop here. I want to know everything.”

“No.”

“Excuse me?” I placed my hands on my hips. The injured one appeared much more awkward looking in that stance, but who had time to look bold?

“No. You don’t get to know everything about me,” he said.

I tried to keep the hurt look off of my face. “Why not?”

“Some things aren’t necessary to know.”

“I disagree.”

“Then we’ll agree to disagree.” He turned off and left again.

I raised my voice to stop him. “Why is there a gun buried with a body?”

He paused for a few seconds. The face he showed me when he turned around was not one I would ever want to see again. Darkness lived there, more than I knew could exist on his face. “Keep your voice down when you say things like that here.”

“Why?”

“I thought I hated hearing the word no
come from your lips, but now I’m starting to despise your whys.”

“That’s not an answer to my question, Chase.”

“Someone died by the gun.”

“Who?”

He tapped his fingers against his pants. “That’s a not need-to-know answer.”

The
street
in me was just begging to come out. I could see myself right there, snapping my fingers, switching my head, and damn near close to slapping the mess out of him. “Need to know basis, my ass! One of your women shot me, and it might have something to do with this mystery gun and body.”

“I’m sorry.” He walked up and embraced me. “If it does, I’ll tell you.”

“You’ll tell me regardless.”

“Is that right?” He seized my lips.

I pushed him away. “No. You don’t get to change the topic with your mouth. I want answers, starting with the buried body and ending with whatever is in those two rooms.”

Chuckling, he backed up. “First, never move away from my lips like that again.”

I flipped him off.

“Second, those rooms and this alleged body that you’re talking of—”

“Oh, now it’s an alleged body.” I raised my hands in the air. “This is bullshit.”

“The rooms and body don’t even relate to each other.” His voice came out with a smooth, calmness to it, yet stress and anxiety spread across his face.

“So there is a body?”

“Let’s talk breakfast.” He left me there. Just like that. No further discussion. If I’d been a cartoon character, black steam would have burst from my ears.

My brother and Vivian stepped outside. Both wore all white. Troy had on these vanilla pants and a top that kept rippling with the breeze. The color went perfect with his caramel skin. Vivian wore an ivory sundress.

I gave them a thumbs up. “You coordinated your outfits?”

Troy frowned and gazed down at his clothes as if seeing them for the first time. Vivian laughed and strolled over to the pool. “Troy’s in a bad mood. I wouldn’t mention my name and his in the same sentence. I’m to be treated like a leper.”

Chase chose that moment to pass them and escape back into the house.

“Troy,” I signaled for him to come over.

“I’m your dog now?” He headed over taking his sweet time, probably because I called him like that.

“Don’t kid yourself. You’ve always been my dog.”

“Yeah, right, Jazz.”

“I got you to eat tons of puppy chow.”

“That’s because you said it was sloppy joe mix.”