What He Bargains (What He Wants, Book Nineteen) (98 page)

And her younger sister’s maturity caused Faith to dry her eyes and start trying to tell the story. She started with Chase inviting her to come stay with him tonight, and then she explained about the way his teammates had acted at dinner. And finally, she told Krissi about having drinks with Monique and Velcro and how it had all ended, with Chase coming back to the room with a giant chip on his shoulder.

When she was done talking, Faith felt unburdened, like she’d just confessed her sins or something.

“Wow,” Krissi said. “That’s a lot of stuff.”

You don’t even know the half of it, Faith thought. But she didn’t say it.

“Tell me about it,” Faith said instead. She could vaguely hear the sound of the shower through the walls. She suddenly imagined Chase in the bathroom, naked, and wished she could join him like they’d done earlier in the day.

But now he seemed to want nothing to do with her. He’d probably throw her out if she tried to come in and be with him.

“But you know all couples argue sometimes,” Krissi told her.

“This was different.”

“Are you sure?”

Faith thought about it and sniffled. “I’m sure. Something happened and he didn’t want to tell me what it was. And he blamed me for it. It’s not fair.”

“No, it’s not fair. He shouldn’t treat you badly, I don’t care how big of a superstar he
thinks
he is.”

Faith smiled. “He
is
a superstar, though.”

“Oh, who cares, really?” Krissi said.

That made Faith giggle. “You care. Mom and Dad. Everyone I know cares that I’m seeing him.”

“Well, that’s because this town is fucking boring as sin and nobody has anything better to do than stick their noses into everyone else’s business.”

“I care about him a lot, Krissi,” Faith said, her smile fading. “But he’s got a lot of baggage.”

“What kind of baggage?”

She thought about telling her some of it, and then realized she couldn’t betray his confidence that way. “I can’t really get into it.”

“Are you in danger? Is he, like, threatening you or something?” Krissi asked, her tone sounding more concerned now.

“No, no, it’s nothing he’s doing to me. He’s just got a complicated past and I’m worried that we can’t make it work. Everything between us is so weird and unequal. He’s this huge star, and everyone wants a piece of him, and he can’t trust anyone. Not even me.”

“Faith, you’re the most trustworthy person I’ve ever met,” Krissi told her firmly. “If Chase Winters can’t see that than he’s not worth another second of your time.”

Her words hit home like a splash of cold water, and Faith instantly felt her spine straightening. “It’s true, I am trustworthy,” she said.

“Hell yes. And you’re kind and caring and obviously you like him a lot. He should be kissing your feet, not yelling at you and blaming you for his problems.”

Faith smiled again. “Thanks, Sis.”

“Are you really okay, though? Now I’m worried.”

“I should be worried about you,” Faith said, feeling suddenly guilty.

“Why?”

“Because,” Faith said, thinking about Mom and Dad and what it was like to live in the house with the two of them. “You know why, Krissi.”

Her sister let out a deep, almost painful, sigh. “I’m not worried about me.”

“Just promise you’ll let me know if things get really bad again.”

“Please don’t get going about me. You’re already worked up enough about your hot, rich, famous athlete boyfriend.”

Faith let out a relieved laugh, and she heard Krissi cracking up on the other end.

It felt good to just laugh at a goofy joke, almost like when they were younger. They’d sit on Faith’s bed and paint each other’s nails and talk about some boy of the moment and giggle and laugh until Mom had to come in and yell at them to quiet down.

Only now, things were different, because Faith wasn’t just talking about the boy from afar—she was actually in a relationship with him. And he was rich and famous and tragic.

It wasn’t a game, it wasn’t a dream—it was real. All too real.

And just then, Faith heard the bathroom door open and close, as if Chase had finished his shower.

“I should go,” Faith said softly.

“Listen, I’m always here if you need me, Sis. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know it. Love you.”

And then she hung up the phone, just as Chase came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist and nothing else covering him. He stood there, his hulking, muscular frame filling the entire doorway.

His gorgeous body and perfection could still blow her away, even after being so close with him these last days. It was never something she’d get used to, Faith realized, as she took in those legs, and those ripped arms—the tattoos splashed across his chest, the cut abs like stone.

Chase was watching her. “Do you want to come to bed?” he said.

She looked at him, drawing her legs beneath her on the couch. “I don’t know. You really hurt me.”

He nodded, his eyes softer now. “I know I did.”

“Why? What did I do to deserve that?”

“Nothing,” he said. “Nothing at all.”

“But you looked at me like you hated me,” she said, her voice quivering with emotion.

“I could never hate you,” he told her, and then nodded towards the bedroom. “Come on,” he said, and then turned around and disappeared back into the bedroom.

Faith got up and slowly walked into the other room, not sure what would be waiting for her. What did he want, exactly? Could she ever hope to get it right?

Once she got inside, she saw that Chase had thrown his towel over the chair and slid into bed.

He was probably nude under the covers, she realized, and instantly her nipples got hard and she felt that same slippery excitement in her lower belly.

She couldn’t resist him, could she?

No. No, she couldn’t.

Chase watched her from the bed, one arm behind his head. He smiled a crooked smile. “Come here, girl,” he said, his voice a low growl of need and desire.

“Chase,” she sighed.

“Come on.” He held out his other hand to her.

She walked over to the edge of the bed and allowed him to take her hand and then pull her easily down on top of him.

Colliding with his hard body was a shock to her system. A shock of excitement and sexual urgency that was like a drug. She could feel the need for him hit her bloodstream—felt her pulse speeding, her body filling with heat, the wetness between her legs.

Chase kissed her lips and she felt his passion, felt his caring, his want of her lips.

His tongue was inside her mouth now, as one strong hand took her cheek and held it. “Fuck, baby,” he said, breaking away.

“I want to ride you,” she whispered. “Please.”

He pulled his blanket aside and Faith pulled off her panties, letting them fall to the side of the bed, on the floor.

Chase’s cock was erect and stiff, like a thick tower of flesh standing up and waiting for her.

She looked at it, knowing that she wanted this more than anything.

Is it wrong that I feel like only this can fix what happened between us tonight?

Yes, of course it’s wrong.

But she couldn’t help it, couldn’t help any of it. All Faith knew was that she was powerless to resist her attraction to this man.

She bent down and sucked the head of his cock into her mouth, tasting his flesh, and the heat of his excitement for her, as she stroked his enormous shaft. He was engorged and hot and slick already.

“Fuck,” he moaned, throwing his head back against the pillow.

Moments later, she stopped sucking him and climbed on top of his dick, straddling him, still in her skirt.

Her skirt rode up her thighs as she sat down on him, the tip of his cock pressing against her folds, meeting some resistance, and then beautifully sliding in with a wet sound as Faith sighed with pleasure.

Chase moaned from deep in his throat as his hands grabbed her hips.

“I’m in deep, baby,” he said.

It was true. His cock had already filled her up, and she was wrapped around him now, locked into him, and she felt him stirring inside her.

“You feel so good,” she told him, and her juices were pouring down, making the transition smooth as she lifted up and then sat down again, riding his dick.

At first, she was moving slowly, allowing herself time to accommodate his hugeness. Looking down at him, she saw his muscles flexing and interwoven like some incredibly complex 3-D painting of a god.

He thrust his hips up and stabbed his throbbing cock inside her now, and she moaned, letting his hands control her hips, grinding against him.

They were so wet that there were now slapping sounds as their flesh met again and again, and he thrust into her rhythmically, more quickly.

“Work that ass against me,” he told her.

She swiveled herself on his cock, felt him rocking into her, then out, then in again. She was building—the intensity and speed was building.

“Oh fuck,” she cried out, knowing what was happening was going to be big.

Explosive.

“Come on, ride my cock with that wet fucking pussy,” he told her. “Come on, now. Don’t fucking stop, girl.”

She did as she was told, working her hips, her ass, allowing him to stuff her and penetrate her more deeply than she thought possible.

She stretched for him, allowing him to push further in, to expand inside her as he fucked her dripping hole, entered her tunnel, his body glistening with sweat. His hands slid down to her thighs, and then up again, his thumbs pressing into her pussy from the sides.

There was a buzzing in her body, like she’d been taken over, like she was almost leaving her body and watching herself from above.

He was fucking her so perfectly, and he was building, knowing just what she needed, his strong and competent hands working her with the precision he used when handling the football.

“Oh, oh, oh,” she said, as he rhythmically stabbed her pussy with his slick, hard manhood.

“Come for me,” he told her.

Instantly, she did, and the fury of it was so sudden and overwhelming that she was caught off guard by it. She cried out, almost as if in pain—but it wasn’t pain.

It was exquisite, beautiful climax—her pussy clenching onto him with everything inside her, and she shouted again as she felt a stream of her juices pouring over him, and he started to come with her.

His thrusts were overpowering and explosive, and she felt him shooting his seed deep inside, mingling with her body’s lubrication.

“I’m coming too,” he whispered, as he fucked her continuously.

They came together, and it went on like that for minutes, somehow. In the end, Faith lost track of time, lost track even of herself.

She didn’t know who was who or what was what.

It was bliss.

He was her man.

He was her love.

He was her drug.

S
tillness
. The softness of his breathing, his chest rising and falling, his arms encircling her, holding her in his protective embrace.

It was like a cocoon, a womb.

It was all she’d ever needed and everything she’d never known was possible.

Faith smiled, cozying closer to him, smelling him, knowing she was safe and taken care of in this moment.

Chase Winters
, she thought, her mind still marveling at what was possible, what had actually come true in her life.

This man was on the cover of magazines, he was in commercials and he was watched and loved by millions and millions of people.

Women adored him. He could’ve been with anyone—anyone at all. He could’ve been sleeping right now with some gorgeous movie star or pop star, or model.

And yet he was here, in this room, with her and her alone. He’d trusted her and now he was holding her, making Faith his priority.

It was a real privilege to be in this position. And she snuggled into his warm body, his muscular embrace, and knew that this felt right.

How could it feel so right now, and then be so hard, so impossible at other times?

Faith didn’t know, but she also didn’t want to spoil this moment. In the quiet stillness of the night, lying intertwined with Chase, she had a sense of possibility.

Maybe someday this would be normal.

Maybe someday they would sleep like this every night, and wake up everyday together.

No
, she told herself.
You can’t get your hopes up about being with him forever.

A man like Chase can’t do that sort of thing. A life like his is beyond complicated, and a long-term relationship will be impossible for him. He’s got so many options, so many temptations and stresses.

You can’t ever hope to have him for the rest of your life. That would be a mistake, and you’d be setting yourself up for tremendous disappointment when he inevitably loses interest and moves on to the next girl.

She spun towards him and watched the side of his face in profile. He looked so peaceful, so calm, so perfect.

She kissed his chest and he stirred, and sighed, and then his eyes fluttered open. When he saw her, the first thing he did was smile. “You okay?” he said.

“Yes,” she said nodding, moving closer again as he held her tightly. “I am right now.”

“Stay close to me, baby,” he said, and then drifted back to sleep again.

She closed her eyes and allowed herself to simply enjoy what was happening now without worrying and fretting about the future.

It felt like just a few seconds had passed and she’d drifted off, only to be snapped awake as he pulled away from her and sat up, clearing his throat, throwing his powerful legs over the side of the bed.

“You all right?” she croaked.

“Time to get up,” he murmured.

She glanced blearily at the nightstand clock and saw that it was just past five in the morning.

“This early?”

“Just go back to sleep, Faith.” He stood up and stretched and she could hear his joints cracking and he turned his head back and forth, as if trying to work out the kinks.

It occurred to her just how much abuse Chase put himself through on a daily basis. His life consisted mainly of getting smashed into by men as big or bigger than himself.