Authors: Harper Bentley
Sensing her yielding to him,
Chase let go of her face, wrapping an arm around her, holding her tightly to him, one hand at the nape of her neck, the other at the small of her back.
She
moved one of her hands up to wrap her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer. He groaned as she pressed herself into him. His hand moved down cupping her ass pulling her against him harder.
"Good grief
! Get a room!" a woman going past squawked at them.
They pulled
away and looked at each other, both breathing heavily.
Embarrassed that she’d given in to her desires once again when it came to him, Julia pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, which was so cute and sexy that he couldn’t help but cup her jaw
and rub his thumb gently over her lip, releasing it from the hold.
“Y
ou’re gorgeous,” he mumbled, his eyes searing into hers as he leaned down to kiss her again.
Just then there was a commotion at the front of the bar. People started yelling and glass was breaking. They looked at each other for a few seconds before hearing a guy bellow, “You’re fucking dead, asshole!”
"
Shit! That’s Brock. Sorry, but he’s probably in some trouble," Chase said, turning and running toward the ruckus, leaving her standing there still breathless.
Brock
had been putting on his usual charm, talking smoothly to the leather-skirt-clad woman, having already gotten her phone number, when her ex-boyfriend had approached, yelling at her, calling her a bitch and asking what the hell she thought she was doing.
Brock
didn't like the guy talking to her that way and had let him know it. That's when the ex became all
I'm a dumbass 'cause I'm gonna try fighting this huge guy
and threw a right hook at Brock. Brock had been distracted for some reason and, therefore, took a punch to his chin, which pissed him off beyond all reason.
Ex-boyfriend
was screwed now because he had no idea that Brock was a Golden Glove boxer, a fucking bodyguard and that he didn't take shit from anyone, much less a little weasel of a man like this guy.
Chase
saw that as he rounded the corner Brock was getting ready to knock the guy’s head into BFE, so he ran quickly, grabbing Brock from behind, wrapping his arms around him, locking his hands in front, keeping Brock’s arms down to the side. Oz, Boone and Quaid came running up about then ready for some action.
"What the fuck, dude?"
Brock roared trying to get loose.
"You'll kill him, man
," Chase hissed.
Just
then the guy made the mistake of smirking, getting ready to take another swing, so Chase let Brock go, pushing him to the side, and he took the dude out with a fist to the jaw. Julia arrived just in time to see this happen, going wide-eyed, her mouth gaping open.
The ex
had several buddies with him who felt the need to jump in, and now it was each man for himself. Chase looked around to assess the situation, and noticed that Julia’s date was having none of it, standing off to the side like a pussy, clutching some guy's arm.
Chase
sneered at him.
Figures.
Several gu
ys were approaching them now and seeing no other way out, Chase muttered, "Have at it," to the guys, and off they all went.
Fists were flying
everywhere, loud
oomphs!
and
umphs!
filling the air, and Chase was having the time of his life. Because of his adroitness in martial arts, no one could touch him. He was blocking fists, deftly moving out of their way, and just plain beating the bajeebus out of each guy that dared approach him. Julia was shocked watching how he held off two guys by himself, then proceeded to knock them both out with his fists.
Brock
in the meantime had taken the biggest guy there, almost his size, finally putting him in a chokehold until the guy eventually tapped out, breathing hard and rubbing his throat like a wuss. Oz had knocked a guy out and was looking around to score more action while Boone toyed with another, playing dodge and jab with him until he got bored then just KO’d the guy. Quaid stood grinning at them all after he’d made a guy run away and out the door.
Chase
turned to nod at the guys since they had things pretty much under control after that. He glanced around and saw Julia who was looking at him with awe. He smirked and winked at her, but frowned when he saw her eyes get big at something behind him.
Turning around at just the wrong time, his eye became intimate with a fist from one of the stragglers who was still trying to keep the fight going.
And fuck if that didn't hurt like a mother. He was seriously pissed now. The look of rage on his face frightened Julia, and she watched with a sort of morbid fascination, not being able to look away, as Chase spun, bringing an elbow to the guy's nose landing it with a sickening crunch. The guy screamed as blood gushed everywhere.
After that,
the guys looked around, making sure there was no more threat, then got the hell out of there, Brock yelling on the way out the door at Leather Skirt that he'd call her.
"Fuck
, Chase. And you think
I'm
deadly?" Brock chuckled as they walked to his car after telling Boone, Oz and Quaid they’d see them around.
"Well, shit. Bastard
wants to mess with me, he's gonna get what's coming to him." He pulled the end of his t-shirt up to wipe the blood from the side of his eye.
"
Chase?" Julia had come out of the bar, running after him.
Chase
turned toward her, sobered from the adrenaline that was rushing through his veins, and knew immediately he'd screwed up tonight by cornering her like he had. What had he been thinking? The fight had opened his eyes to the fact that he was her bodyguard, not some damned lothario trying to win her over. Besides, he might have to protect her one day and he knew it was dangerous to get involved with her.
He cou
ld hear his dad telling him that there was no place for emotions when it came to fighting. He'd been taught to respond without thinking, automatically knowing which moves to perform to counter his opponent's each and every maneuver. He'd told him that emotions were dangerous and would cloud his judgment. Chase hadn't really understood what his dad had meant until now.
He groaned now looking at
Julia. She was so beautiful standing in front of him, her big hazel eyes more of a dark green and full of concern about his well-being.
"Are you okay?" she asked, looking up at him
, starting to reach a hand toward his eye then pulling it back.
No. I
’m not okay. I want your lips on mine right now… your body against mine… want to show you how much I care about you. How much I want to fuck you.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Why?" he replied curtly. He hated himself in that moment for acting so cold toward her, but, shit, he was caught in a trap once again. He knew being with her would be a distraction, and he needed to be prepared at all times to protect her, not letting his feelings get in the way.
And
it was all for her own good.
Julia
recoiled a little at how clipped his answer was. Once again she was confused when it came to him. What the hell? Schizoid dude was seriously getting on her nerves.
"I, uh, was just checking,
" she whispered.
"Okay." He stood looking
at her feeling horrible, feeling like the bastard that he was, seeing how hurt she looked. He shouldn't have let things get as far as they had with her tonight. "Look, Julia, I'm sorry about coming on to you like I did."
Oh,
good God no. Was he freakin' kidding? She was so tired of the teeter-totter reactions she kept getting from him. She looked up at him and jutted her chin out saying indifferently, "Don't worry about it, Chase. Don't even think twice about it. I know I won't." She turned to go back to the bar, flipping him the bird over her shoulder, not looking at him as she walked away.
Chase
chuckled a little at that but felt awful. Jesus. He wanted her so badly but knew he shouldn't, or more realistically, couldn't.
"You
coming?" Brock hollered at him, sobered enough after the fight to drive. They usually ended up calling a cab to take them home, returning in the mornings to retrieve whoever’s car they’d taken the night before, but tonight, all traces of drunkenness were gone.
"Yeah."
Chase sighed, turning and getting into Brock’s '66 Mustang.
"Dude, she's
fuckin' hot."
"Who?
Leather Skirt?"
"Well, yeah, but
Julia? Bitch is smokin'."
"Don’t call her
a bitch. And, yeah, she's beautiful," he said with a sigh.
"So, what's the deal then?"
Chase huffed. "I’d like to keep the gig, Brock. Jesus. She’s my client. And I can't afford to screw shit up by having feelings for her." He ran a hand over his face, frustrated as hell. "Fuck!" he yelled, slamming the side of his fist into the door panel.
"Talk about being screwed,"
Brock commiserated.
"No shit."
Chase shook his head, leaning it back on the seat, glaring up at the car's ragged headliner as they drove home.
"So?" Lily was all giddy as she sat across the table from Julia looking expectantly at her.
"So, what?"
Julia asked, totally chugging down her bourbon like it was water.
"So, what happened with you and
Chase?"
"What was supposed to happen with us?"
"Well, before the fight you were gone for an awfully long time. What happened?"
Lily
was so damn nosy. And Julia knew she'd have to answer her because chick would never let things lie. A smirk went to Julia's face as she thought of making up a story, telling Lily that she and Chase had screwed like rabbits inside a bathroom stall. In the men's room no less.
"Nothing. We talked. He fought. He left."
Lily looked disappointed. "Oh. So what'd you talk about?" Annnnd she’d perked up again.
Jesus H. Christ.
Julia gritted her teeth. "Lily, I swear to motherfricking frick, if you don't drop this right now, I'll tell Jacob and Blake that you want a three-way with them and I'll go into graphic detail too. Do the terms 'fisting' and 'multiple penetration' mean anything to you?"
The look on
Lily's face was priceless. Good. That'd shut her up.
Claire
came back to the table, holding several shots of tequila. "Oh my gosh! Chase’s friends? So hot!" she blurted.
“They were
pretty cute!" Lily agreed.
Well, thank God. Now
Lily and Claire could discuss the guys together, making devious plans to hook up with a couple of them as long as they left her out of it. As her friends yakked it up over Chase’s coworkers, Julia was going over the events of the evening in her mind. She was so mad at herself for letting Chase have the upper hand. Again. But why'd she become so weak around him? Not like he had magic lips or anything. Well, wait, yeah, he kinda did. Ass.
"Earth to
Julia!" Claire said, snapping her fingers in front of Julia's face.
"Oh, what?"
"I asked if you wanted to go shopping sometime this week. I need to go to Agent Provocateur for some new things… especially if we’re gonna make a move on these guys." Claire wiggled her eyebrows.
"Okay,
skank."
"Am not!
I just really like guys is all." Claire smacked Julia's arm, scowling.
"
Lots
of guys," Lily chimed in, rolling her eyes.
"I can't help it if I have a healthy libido. Jeez!"
Since Julia had known her, Claire had never been without a boyfriend. She was seeing a guy now, but typical of her, now that she’d made up her mind to hit on someone else, she'd dump that guy first thing. At least she didn't cheat on any of them.
Fact was,
Claire was gorgeous, guys being drawn to her long, blond hair and the seductive way she moved. When Julia and Lily had tried to imitate how she moved, sashayed really, and found they were majorly unsuccessful at it, they'd come to the conclusion that Claire had just been born that way.
"What are you all talking about?
Hm?" Jacob asked as he and Blake approached the table back from playing pool where they'd gone to escape the fight.
"
Claire's slutty ways and how she needs to buy new ammo at Agent Provocateur so she can screw a new guy," Julia rattled off, not realizing how pissy she sounded.
Claire
gasped. " God, Julia! You’re totally being the wicked bitch! You should be afraid a house is gonna fall on you!" She shot her friend a hurt look.
Feeling like a total hag, Julia responded,
"I'm sorry, Claire. Guess I'm just a mean drunk. Seriously. Sorry." She patted Claire’s hand looking apologetically at her. She knew where her anger was coming from. Stupid Chase distracting her. And the three shots she’d just downed certainly hadn’t helped her in the verbal filter department either
.
"Well, I think we're going to head out," Jacob said
, taking Blake’s hand with a smile.
"Us too, yeah?"
Julia raised her eyebrows at her friends, knowing she’d better get home before her drunken state made her say something
really
bitchy and a house actually
did
fall on her. She called Sam asking if he’d come pick them up then they all walked outside and told the guys goodbye.
"I'll call you
tomorrow, okay, pumpkin?" Jacob told Julia, kissing her cheek, then waited until the girls left before he and Blake drove away.
When they pulled up to Claire’s place she said,
"Don’t forget about shopping, girls," Grinning wickedly back at them she exited the door Sam had opened for her. "Thanks, Sam." She batted her lashes at him, cupping his jaw with her palm before sashaying off. He grinned like an infatuated teenage boy back at her.
Her charm is instant Viagra,
Julia thought with a snort as Sam shut the door then walked around the car returning to the driver’s seat.
At Lily’s apartment, she hopped out
and thanked Sam. Leaning back inside the car she said, “See you soon, baboon!" to Julia. Julia just shook her head at her friend's little rhyming goodbyes.
Back at the Tower
, Julia thanked Sam and upon entering the lobby remembered that Ben had taken the night off to attend a Yankees game. Guess she'd have to save her "Ben-ism" for next time. Creeping into the apartment, she went straight to her room not wanting to chance a run-in with Allen knowing she was drunk enough that she’d probably start a fight with him.
Inside her room, s
he plopped down belly first on her bed totally confused. What the hell was Chase's problem?
“He’
s like a damn woman with his ridiculous mood swings,” she said with a huff but then the thought of him being dressed in drag brought on a case of the drunken giggles with a few snorts thrown in. Funny how being drunk makes things more amusing than they really are, huh? After the giggles were gone, she started thinking about what had happened earlier between them, and the more she thought about things, the madder she got. From giggling to angry in two-point-one seconds. Mood-swing Queen in the house!
Okay, t
his had to end before she went nuts. Mr. Hot and Cold was getting ready to get his. Rolling onto her back, she reached for her clutch and grabbed her phone out of it, scrolling to Chase’s number, er, rather attempting to scroll to it, but as she was seeing two phones, it was much easier said than done. Yep. Those last shots she’d had were definitely hitting now.
"Whoops!
Let's try this again," she said giggling once again, her words coming out just a teeny bit slurred.
After several
attempts, she finally got Chase’s number to come up, and by God she was going to call him and take care of this stupid situation now. Tell him exactly what she thought. Hell, she might even tell him where he could take his dumb ass. She sat up to sit cross-legged, ready to lay everything out to her bodyguard. Her thumb hovered over the button that would connect her phone to his but then she froze. She suddenly didn't really know what to say to him or what she really thought, and remembering how he’d treated her in the parking lot, she was kind of afraid to make the call. He’d pretty much let her know that he wanted nothing to do with her.
Throwing her phone to the side, she
groaned then ground the heels of hands into her eyes not knowing what to do. Then it hit her. She’d call Claire. Claire always knew how to deal with guys.
“Yeah?” Claire answered sleepily.
“Claire!” Julia practically screamed when she answered. “I need your help!”
“Jules?”
“Claire?”
“Jules?
”
“Claire!”
“Julia!”
“Claire!”
“Why can I just barely hear you?”
Julia died laughing
when she realized what was going on. She knew Claire was drunk too and probably had the wrong end of the phone to her ear. “Turn your phone around!” she yelled.
“What?”
“Turn your phone around!”
“Burn my boner down
? What the hell, Jules?”
“No!” Julia snorted. “Turn!
Your! Phone! Around!”
She heard
muffled sounds as Claire situated her phone. “’Kay, now what?” she said with a drunken grumble.
“N
eed your help.”
“With?”
“Pfffttt! You should know!”
“Jules.
I was passed out up ‘til two minutes ago. The eighty Jagerbombs Blake bought me knocked me on my ass. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Duh. You asked me about him!
Didn’t you? No, wait, that was Lily, wasn’t it? Oh, damn, my brain is freakin’ fried right now.” She giggled.
“Start at the beginning. Clear your thoughts. Now, tell me what you’re talking about.
”
…
“Jules?”
…
“Jules?”
…
“ Julia!”
“
Huh? Wha-? Oh! Yeah? What?”
“What happened?”
“I think I dozed off.”
Claire laughed. “You’re such a
drunk skank!”
“Drunk, maybe.
But skank? Well, okay, maybe.” She giggled.
“Look, I’m losing precious beauty sleep here.”
Julia rolled her eyes. Claire could stay awake for fifty years straight and still look good. “I need your help, C.”
“Wait! I have to pee!”
“Can you not talk to me while you pee?”
“That’s just gross, J.”
“We do it all the time at the bar.”
“Oh. Yeah, you’re right. Okay, you talk, I’ll pee.”
Julia giggled again. Being drunk was fun. She wondered why she didn’t do it more often. “Okay, well, tonight at Clancy’s I ran into Chase, right?”
“Uh huh.”
“Well, we kinda made out in the hallway.”
“See?”
“See what?”
“
Skank.”
“Me?”
“You.”
“Hm.”
“Yeah.”
“So noted. A
nyway, then the fight started with that guy, Drake.”
“Brock.”
“Huh?”
“Brock. His name is Brock.”
“Oh yeah!” Julia laughed again. “Okay, so after the fight, Chase left and I followed him out to the parking lot. I thought things were good with us, but then he acted like he wanted nothing to do with me. So what do you think?”
“About?”
Julia heard the toilet flush. “About what I should do?”
“What you should do about what?”
“Oh my God, Claire! Have you not heard a word I’ve been saying?”
“I’ve been trying, but I’m confused.”
“All right. Listen closely. We made out.”
“We did?”
“No!” Julia groaned. “God, listen! Chase and I. We made out. Then after the fight, he left. I followed him out to the parking lot and then he acted like he wanted nothing to do with me. What should I do? I was going to call him, but I don’t know what to say. I’ve got to find out what’s going on before I go nuts! What should I do?”
“Text. Totally.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay! I’m gonna do it. Thanks, Claire bear! You’re the best!”
“Just promise to name your firstborn after me
.”
“What if it’s a boy?”
“What if who’s a boy?”
“My firstborn!”
“You’re pregnant? Oh my God!”
Julia giggled. “Hell no! Hanging up now.”
“‘Kay, Love you, bye,” Claire said with a yawn and hung up.
Well, that was… something
. Julia took a deep breath then found Chase’s number to text him.
"Steady, dudes," she said to her thumb
s letting them go to work as she lay back down. “And a big, fat ‘whew’ for autocorrect too.” She chuckled. Okay, here went, well, a lot.
--
RU a schizo or something?
Yeah, that was a great opener
, she thought with a snicker.
Chase
was lying in bed, forearm thrown over his eyes, replaying the fight over in his head when his phone beeped. He sat up, checking it. Julia. Shit.
"Am I a
schizo? What the hell?" he grumbled after reading her text and lying back down.
--
Excuse me?
--
UR excused now answer my question
--
Don't think I've ever been diagnosed as one
--
So UR saying there's a possibility
--
Guess so
--What’s UR tattoo?