Authors: Jacquie Johnson
“Chase! Oh, God,” she panted out just before his mouth crashed onto hers. Passion dulled their senses as hands stroked bare skin, lips played, teeth nibbled, and tongues dueled. Just as Chase yanked the t-shirt off Angela, a loud cry erupted from the room next door.
“Oh, yeah!
Fuck! That’s it, baby. Give it to me!” A man’s voice howled as the headboard crashed into the wall. Chase and Angela reacted as if cold water had been thrown on them.
“Shit!” Chase threw his body on the other side of the bed as Angela froze, looking stricken. When she clasped a hand over her mouth, Chase grabbed her and hauled her toward his side of the bed, settling her against his side.
“Sorry, babe,” he nuzzled her curls. “I didn’t mean for things to get so out of hand.”
Warily, she looked into his eyes. Chewing on her lower lip, she admitted, “I’m confused, Chase. I don’t know what you want from me.”
Sighing, keeping one arm around her but laying the other across his eyes, Chase admitted, “I don’t know what I want from you either, Angela. I want you physically, but this is more than that. I’ve never lost control like that with another woman, especially not on a job. I’m supposed to be protecting you, not attacking you.”
Angela pushed up onto her elbows and shoved his hand aside so she could see his eyes. “You didn’t attack me. I was willing and equal participant.”
“That may be, babe, but it doesn’t make it right.” He stroked her curls tenderly. “I can’t afford to lose control like that. It could get you killed.” Kissing her once more, he reached for the t-shirt and helped tug it over her head. “I picked up some clean clothes for you. They’re in the plastic bag. You’re welcome to sleep in my shirt, but you should put some panties on.” He kissed the back of her hand and then released it. “I’m going to hit the shower. Don’t open the door.”
Angela watched him walk away, feeling hurt and confused. When the shower started, she walked over to the plastic bags from the discount store. Chase had picked out a pair of jeans, a blue sapphire t-shirt, a short khaki skirt, and a turquoise button down blouse along with several pairs of panties and a bra. Another plastic sack contained a toothbrush, toothpaste, socks, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and hair gel.
As Chase stepped from the bathroom, Angela threw herself at him. “Thank you!” She planted a sloppy kiss on his lips.
Shaking his wet hair, he splashed her. “What could be better than chocolate?”
Angela licked her lips, eyeing his bare chest speckled with drops of water and the small, dingy white towel slung low on his hips. Chase caught her staring and pushed his shoulders back a little, giving his chest more definition. “What did I do to earn the kiss?” he teased. “I need to know for future reference.”
“Oh!” Her eyes cleared slightly.
“Hair products!
Do you have any idea how hard it is to tame this mop with only a brush and a bar of soap?”
His eyes laughing, he grabbed some clothes from his duffle and returned to the bathroom.
“You shouldn’t feel the need to leave on my account,” Angela called after him. “I’m sure I’d enjoy the show.” Chase only groaned in response.
With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Chase sauntered into the room, clad in boxers and a t-shirt, and tugged on one of Angela’s curls to capture her attention. When Angela looked up through her lashes, he leaned in and nuzzled her neck, enjoying her clean, sweet fragrance. “I could give you a show,” he whispered as he traced the shell of her ear with his tongue.
When she shivered and pressed her body against his, he groaned. “You’re playing with fire, babe.”
Chase expected her to pull back, but she surprised him by wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately. When his hands drifted to her ass, she wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles behind his back. Chase shifted his grip, bringing her even closer, and she instinctively rocked her lower body against his.
When he felt her arousal against his thigh, his mind went blank, and all he could think about was plunging into her warm, wet heat. Chase groaned loudly and forced a hand between their bodies to massage her breast while ravaging her mouth. Angela fisted her hands in his hair as Chase turned, trapping her against the wall. He moved his thigh between her legs, and she whimpered in the back of her throat. When her body began trembling, Chase lightened his kiss and his touch before sliding her down his body and stepping away. He started to turn away, but she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and rested her cheek against his back while they both fought for control. A few minutes later, he dropped onto the bed and pulled her in his lap before resting his chin on the top of her head.
Angela tilted her head back, looking up at him with a pretty pout on her face.
“Damn it, Chase!
A girl could get a complex from all this pulling back!”
“Think of it as prolonged foreplay,” he joked, his tone light even as his body urged him to throw her on the bed and take her, marking her as his. “I don’t want to take advantage of you, Angela.”
“And even though I’ve made it clear I want you, you still think you’re taking advantage of me?” Her luminous blue eyes flashed disbelievingly.
“I’m afraid so. You’re going through a lot of shit right now. Your father just died, and you’ve ended up in the middle of a mess somehow. It’s just not the right time, and I’m not the right kind of man.”
“Wait a minute! What do you mean you’re not the right kind of man? Personally, I think you’re precisely the right man.” Angela poked him in the chest, a frown crossing her face.
Chase sighed. “Stay quiet and I’ll tell you a story.” He scooted backward until he was leaning against the headboard and settled Angela between his legs so her back rested against his front. “I was raised by a single mom until I was six. When my mom died….”
Angela whipped her head around to look at him. “I’m so sorry.” Tears sparkled in her eyes as she reached out to comfort him.
Chase squeezed her shoulders to hush her. He didn’t need her sympathy. “Let me finish my story. Hopefully, when I’m done you’ll understand why we can’t be together.” Closing his eyes, he gathered his thoughts, trying to think of the best way to explain.
“I lived with my mom and my mom’s parents until I was six. My mom never talked about my father. Until I went to school, I didn’t really think about him. I had a loving mother and two supportive grandparents.” He leaned his chin on Angela’s head, lightly massaging her shoulders as he spoke. The sense of peace he felt around her unnerved him. Depending on others only led to pain and disappointment in the end. “My mom told me about my father for the first time just before she died. She had cancer.” Chase paused as his last memory of his mother, lying in a cold, sterile hospital bed, flashed through his mind. She had suffered so much during those last few months. His grandparents weren’t wealthy and, since his mom couldn’t work, money had been in short supply. His mother died in the charity ward of the local hospital, attended by doctors who cared more about freeing a bed than her needs.
“My grandparents raised me after Mom passed away. I’ve never met my father. I don’t know anything about him really. My mom didn’t really know the man who got her pregnant. His name was Jack, and he was a Special Forces soldier. They dated for three months while he was stationed at the local army base. Just before he left for an overseas assignment, he told my mom good-bye. He said relationships weren’t possible in his line of work, and he didn’t want her to wait for him. Even though he told her not to, she waited for him until the day she died. She found out she was pregnant a few weeks after he left. She got an address from the post commander’s office once she explained the situation and wrote him letter after letter but he never bothered to call or write back.”
He dropped his head back against the headboard. “Two years after she died, my grandparents started receiving money from the military for my care. Sure, the money helped, but it didn’t make up for my father’s absence.” Chase dropped a quick kiss on the top of Angela’s head. He wanted to grab her and hold on tight. He loved the way she made him feel, but he knew how unfair his actions would be. If he let her into his life, she would suffer the way his mother had.
“I hated him growing up, but now I understand what he did. Regular soldiers have a hard enough time having families. It’s just not possible for men like me to have a life outside of work.” He wrapped his arms around Angela, holding her against his chest. “I like you, Angel. I think you’re a great woman and will make someone a wonderful partner someday, but I can’t be that man. It’s just not fair to you.”
After Chase’s revelation, they sat quietly, simply enjoying each other’s company until Chase’s phone chirped. With an audible sigh, Chase slipped out from behind Angela and stood. Surprised at the unknown number notation, he opened the text message, grimacing as he read.
Office compromised.
Going dark.
Keep
A
safe.
“Shit!” Chase swore under his breath as he deleted the message. He tried to text Zach back but his cell replied that no such number existed.
“What?” Angela sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The blank look on his face worried her.
Chase tossed his phone on top of his duffle before stalking toward the window and peering out through a crack in the threadbare drapes. He glanced over his shoulder and then flipped the lights off. “Get some sleep, Angel.”
“Excuse me?” She stood and folded her arms across her chest, her breasts heaving as her face flushed with anger.
“What’s going on, Chase?”
“Don’t worry about it, babe.” Chase didn’t even bother looking at her, and she could feel her anger swell.
“Don’t worry about it?” She repeated, storming toward him and poking him in the chest with her index finger.
Chase turned slightly, shooting her an ominous look. If she hadn’t been so angry, she would probably have wet herself. Instead, she placed both hands on her hips and glared at him. “You have thirty seconds to explain what’s going on, mister!”
A few moments of silence passed, broken only by the sound of Angela’s huffy breathing before Chase smirked. “You don’t make things easy, do you, Angel?” When she opened her mouth to protest, he kissed her lips. “The information’s need to know only and you don’t need to know. Now, get some sleep. Plans have changed, and we’re heading to a safe house after I get some rest.”
“A safe house?” she questioned. “I thought we were going to DC to check my apartment?”
“As I said, plans changed.” He pointed to the bed. “Sleep, Angela.”
When she remained standing, he picked her up and tossed her onto the middle of the double bed. Then he stalked to his duffle, removed an extra gun and chambered a round before placing one weapon on the nightstand and the other under his pillow. A look of frustration crossed his face when Angela sat in the middle of the bed with her arms clutching her knees to her chest. Sighing, he pulled down the covers, placed her between the sheets and settled in next to her.
“Night, babe,” he murmured into her hair as he closed his eyes.
Next to him, Angela ground her teeth and worked on controlling her anger.
Need to know and I don’t need to know? Who the hell does he think he is? He thinks he’s taking me to a safe house? As for not letting me check my apartment, I don’t think so! I’m going to my apartment – with or without him.