Chapter Ten

 

 

Jake

I had no idea what to expect when Chloe arrived on Monday evening with a pizza in hand, much to Darren’s delight. I had seen that challenging glint in her eyes when she had walked away from me yesterday evening. My bedroom window had been open too when I first heard that gasp of feminine pleasure on the late-night breeze. It was jealousy that had me looking through the window, expecting to find some random man in there. I hadn’t expected Chloe to be alone in the middle of her bed with her tanned legs bent at the knee. Her hand had been moving rhythmically in a slow circle between her legs.

Fuck. It had been too much to watch, but I hadn’t been able to tear my eyes away from her until she’d let out a shudder and stopped. There was no doubt in my mind that she had done it on purpose. She wanted me just as much as I wanted her, but I couldn’t do it even if my body ached for her in every way possible. Not after Sidney. Not after knowing Chloe had come from a violent relationship prior to buying the house next to mine.

And it was my fault for doing what I’d done with Chloe in clear view. The moment had felt too good to ignore. The need for Chloe had grown unbearable, and it was driving me crazy.

I slipped on my bulletproof vest while I listened to Chloe and Darren’s voices as they talked over pizza in the kitchen. Even if I wanted to slip myself between those legs, I couldn’t do it. Something cold and hard fell over me whenever I thought of it.

The downstairs phone shrilled twice before Chloe answered it. A few seconds of tense silence followed before I heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

“Okay,” Chloe said tightly. “I’ll get him.”

My eyes slipped closed at that. Why did she have to call right before I went to work, and while Chloe was babysitting our son?

“Jake,” Chloe called out, knocking on the bedroom door. “There’s a woman named Sidney on the phone for you.”

“Fuck,” I groaned, and I opened the door. Chloe immediately handed the phone over to me with a grimace. “What is it, Sidney?”

I shut the door the second Chloe took a step back. The familiar sound of waves crashing down on the beach filled my ear. Sidney was sitting out on the back patio, what used to my back patio, and undoubtedly enjoying a nice glass of wine with the sunset in view.

“Who’s the woman answering your phone?” Sidney asked, her sugary voice making me flinch. “You don’t have a new woman in your life, do you, Jake?”

“No,” I replied shortly. “She’s the babysitter while I go to my job to pay for your every want and need. What do you want?”

“We need to discuss Darren coming out here for a weekend,” she said. “It’s been almost two months. I miss my baby boy.”

“He just started school a few weeks ago.” And I doubted she missed Darren that much. She hadn’t even asked to talk to him first. She’d wanted to know who Chloe was. I knew Sidney better than a lot of the people around her. “I’d have to look into his class schedule. We can talk about that later.”

“Fine,” Sidney said flatly. “Who is the woman answering your phone?”

“I already told you,” I snapped, yanking the bedroom door open. “She’s the babysitter because I have to work at night. I’ll get in touch with you about Darren going up to see you.”

I hung up before Sidney could reply, not in the mood to hear her bullshit about me being with another woman. I wasn’t stupid. I knew a man named Antonio had moved in with Sidney a few months ago thanks to the cable company sending me the bill with Antonio’s information on it. Tossing the handset onto a bookshelf, I made my way down the stairs to find Darren sitting in front of the television with his Xbox turned on. Chloe was in the kitchen, throwing away the pizza box, when I walked in to grab my thermos of coffee. She straightened to look at me.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t realize who was—”

“Don’t answer my phone,” I snapped. Snatching up my thermos, which was full of coffee thanks to Chloe, I grabbed my wallet and keys as well. “My ex-wife is a bitch. The less you talk to her, the better your life is. Trust me.”

Chloe blinked in rapid succession several times. “I won’t answer the phone then. You don’t have be such a grumpy ass about it.”

“I’m this way for a reason,” I said. “Stay clear if you don’t want to deal with it.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

I didn’t bother responding. I needed fresh air. I needed to get out of the house and away from Chloe. After pressing a dodging kiss to Darren’s head, I climbed into my truck with a relieved sigh at the prospect of driving for thirty minutes in peace and quiet. The drive did little to ease the tension out of me though.

I sat down behind my desk ten minutes before my scheduled shift only to find Nicholas pausing by my cubicle on his way out.

“The frown on your face suggests you didn’t have any time to relax like I’d hoped,” he commented darkly. “Mason —”

“I know,” I said, pulling my keyboard close. “I need to consider therapy or whatever shit you want me to do. I’ll do it if you tell me to.”

“I am telling you to do it,” he said. “I get that you are going through a divorce, and you’re bitter about it, but I’m starting to think your job isn’t helping either.”

“Probably not.” I looked up at Nicholas with a small grin. “You can’t say anything though. I’ve caught some criminals that detectives have been trying to catch for years.”

“That part is true, but I know how tough your jobs are. It’s not easy to see the things you see and carry on as normal a life as possible. There’s something else going on with you too.”

Chloe. My throat clenched. That was what was going on with me. I wanted Chloe, but I had no fucking clue how to even maintain a relationship anymore. I had a gut feeling that Chloe had no idea either. I couldn’t stand the thought of some man laying his hands on her, or any woman to be accurate, but I was no better than him.

“Nothing is going on with me,” I said. “Have a good night, Chief.”

Sensing the end of the conversation, Nicholas walked away with a weary sigh. He didn’t bother to have another conversation the next morning either when the day shifts started. I drove home in the dark with a cup of coffee in hand. It was 4:10 a.m. when I walked through the front door as quietly as possible. This time the kitchen light was off, and I found Chloe curled up on the couch with a book tucked against her chest protectively.

I paused beside the couch in the dim light from the lamp in the corner of the living room. Her long blond hair was pulled back in a braid that twisted about her shoulder. Crouching alongside her, I reached forward to tug her braided hair free. The softness surprised me. My fingers gently stroked the silky strands. Her tanned and freckled face was completely relaxed as she slept on, oblivious to me right next to her.

My fingers traced a path down the curve of her slender arm before reaching her fingertips. I sucked in a deep breath to control the blood raging through me at the softness of her skin. Up close, I could smell that vanilla perfume she wore, and it smelt incredible. I wanted to bury my nose in her skin just to inhale that scent, because it fit her perfectly.

Chloe stirred slightly then. Before I could move away, her fingers curled over my wrist to keep my hand where it rested on the soft curve of her waist. I swallowed thickly when I looked up to find Chloe’s eyes wide open.

“That feels good,” she whispered, voice thick with sleep. “Keep going.”

My skin tightened at the invitation. I felt the heat radiating off her petite frame. It’d be so easy to pull that blanket back and find my way between those legs. It’d be so easy to kiss her again.

“I can’t,” I whispered. “We can’t—”

“Just shut up and kiss me,” Chloe said.

She didn’t give me a chance to argue. In one smooth motion, she leaned up on an elbow to press her mouth against mine in a hot kiss that instantly burned me. I kissed her back just as greedily, weeks of pent-up lust unleashing between us. A small voice cautioned that I had wanted to stay clear of something like this, but I couldn’t resist it any longer. I had to have this woman even if I regretted it.

Chloe’s hands smoothed around the back of my neck before she buried her fingers in my hair. Her teeth nipped at my lower lip. I growled against her lips and started to climb over her on the couch before Darren’s sleepy voice called out.

“Dad? Is that you?”

The both of us froze at the sound of feet padding softly in the direction of the living room. I pulled back to look down at Chloe as both our chests heaved in an effort to control ourselves. Her lips were swollen from our kisses. The centers of her cheeks were flushed.

I scrambled off Chloe right as Darren emerged from the dark hallway. He rubbed at his eyes sleepily, one side of his hair sticking up from sleeping in one position all night.

“What are you two doing?” Darren asked, looking at Chloe as she sat up hastily as well. “What time is it?”

“Way too early for you to be up,” I said. I scooped him into my arms. Nothing could ever replace the feeling of Darren resting against me with such ease and comfort.

I didn’t bother turning around to face Chloe as I carried Darren back up to bed for another few hours of much-needed sleep. He didn’t protest when I tucked him back into the warmth of his blankets. I lingered in the darkness of Darren’s room until my body calmed down from the rising heat.

It had to stop. I ran a hand through my hair out of frustration. It only took one kiss to hook me in without any hesitation. That was the effect Chloe had on me. It was only a matter of time before I caved in, and it was only a matter of time before one of us got hurt.

The sound and smell of coffee brewing filled the house. I closed Darren’s door quietly before facing Chloe in the kitchen. She had pulled her hair up into a bun while I’d been putting Darren to bed, but her ruby colored lips were still swollen, a reminder of what had nearly happened.

“We can’t keep letting this happen,” I said.

Chloe didn’t look up from studying the kitchen counter. “I know,” she said softly. She looked up at me. “What do you want to do then?”

“I honestly have no idea. Darren really enjoys you over here. You’re the only reliable babysitter I can find.”

“I like coming over here,” Chloe said. “I already told you it’s not a big deal if you are going to go down that path again.”

I sighed wearily. To keep distance between us, I used the kitchen counter as a barrier.

“Don’t you have goals you want to get done besides hanging around here?” I asked. “School? Another job?”

Something flashed in Chloe’s expression. She turned to grab two coffee mugs from the cupboard. “I have to have a job to go to school,” she said, pouring us both a cup. “I’ll go back eventually. I loved it.”

She slid a mug across the counter to me. I took it without hesitation. A headache started to pound in my head as I took a seat at the breakfast bar. Chloe leaned her elbows on the counter, and it gave me an opportunity to take in the swell of her breasts.

“Why did you stop then?” I asked, tearing my eyes away before she noticed. “If you loved it, then why don’t you go back?”

“I have my reasons.”

“Like what?”

“It doesn’t matter now,” she said stiffly. “I’m twenty-three years old. I’m a consenting adult like you are. This doesn’t have to be so complicated between us.”

“It is though. I have my son to think about,” I said, and my heart ached just thinking about everything he had been through over the past year. “I’m tempted; trust me. You don’t have to do much to sway me, but I’m not open to this because it only leads to heartache. I’m not a romance type of guy.” I looked over at Chloe as she sipped her coffee slowly. “How are you so open to a relationship after what you went through?”

Chloe’s eyes darkened as she looked down at the coffee mug cradled between her hands. Silence stretched on between us for a while.

“I have to be,” she finally said, looking up at me. “If I’m not open to anything, he wins, and I don’t want him controlling me anymore. He wants me to stay clear of other men, relationships, and anything that makes me happy.”

I met her gaze steadily. “So you run headfirst toward anything that would defy what he wants?”

“Maybe,” Chloe said, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s petty, sure, and not healthy. I hear about it all the time from my mother, but can you blame me? Don’t you ever want to defy what your ex-wife really wants from you?”

I had a creeping thought that Chloe had a valid point. She was doing her best to move on from a violent relationship. Taking her life back by doing the things he didn’t want her to do wasn’t necessarily healthy, by any means, but she had a good point.

It occurred to me then that there was only one solution to this problem, but for now, I looked Chloe squarely in the eye. She stared at me in wordless understanding.

“I think about that all the damn time,” I said. “All the damn time.”