CHAPTER SEVEN
CHASE
A smile crossed my face as I watched Abby sleeping peacefully by my side. The early morning light was streaming in through the windows, and I saw her face more clearly than I ever had before. The deep purple bruise and swelling along her jaw were painful to look at. No woman should ever have to endure or experience such pain. As I looked at her and imagined her torment, I knew there was no way I was going to let that bastard get away with it. He was going to be made to pay.
I slipped gently out of the bed, trying to move as quietly as possible. I wanted her to get some rest and didn't want to disturb her. What happened between us last night shouldn't have happened, but I wasn't entirely surprised it had. What else had I expected by bringing her here?
There was just something about her that compelled me. She managed to speak to me in ways no one ever had before. I realized that the more time I spent with her, the more I wanted to let my guard down with her. The more I wanted to accept her into my life and have her be an important part of my world.
Except, given the shit she was dealing with already, the last thing she needed was another relationship with somebody as fucked up as I was. She needed time to heal. Time to discover herself. And she definitely didn’t need to be tied down to Lynnwood if she didn't want to be.
Still, given what happened between us, and knowing how badly I'd hurt her, I vowed to myself that I would handle it better than I had before. No more running away. This time, we'd talk about it later. There was no other choice. She deserved no less.
It was just after six in the morning, which was late for me to get out of bed. I should have been out in the field working already. But, I didn't want to leave her to wake up alone either. I walked out of the bedroom and down to the kitchen where I started the coffee maker and opened the fridge, hoping to find something she could eat for breakfast. I frowned as I scanned the contents – or lack thereof – in the refrigerator. There wasn't much in there. Just some bacon, which thankfully, she loved. There was a carton of eggs tucked away on the bottom shelf. I opened it up and found two eggs – and they weren't expired – which was perfect. At least she'd have breakfast when she got up.
I cooked her breakfast as I chugged my coffee, and just as the eggs were finished, I heard footsteps coming down the hallway toward me. I glanced over my shoulder and she stood there, her hair still in a loose, sloppy braid with most of it spilling free. She had on a robe I hadn't seen before, probably from one of her bags. It was bright pink and silky, totally fitting for her personality. It fell to about mid-thigh, giving just a hint of her sexy, shapely leg.
“Hey, you,” she said, sidling up to me at the stove.
She wrapped her arms around my waist and planted a soft kiss on my shoulder. I had to admit, if only to myself, that it felt good to be held by her. To feel her warmth and energy flowing through me. To have her there, by my side.
“Whatcha cooking, hot stuff?” she asked.
“Just some eggs and bacon,” I said. “You hungry?”
“Of course,” she said.
I put the scrambled eggs on her plate, followed by some bacon. She took the plate and walked over to the kitchen table, munching away happily as I sipped my coffee. I leaned against the counter instead of joining her at the table. She looked up at me, cocking her head like a puppy dog again.
“You not eating?” she asked.
“I'm not really a breakfast person,” I said. “Coffee suits me just fine.”
“Whatever you say, boss,” she said with a laugh.
It was amazing to me that she was so bright and cheery, even though she was sporting a nasty purple bruise on her face. She was smiling wide at me, and it seemed like she'd already somehow forgotten about everything she'd been through. She was so happy and chipper, it seemed like whatever her ex had done to her hadn't really happened.
Either she was very good at faking it, or she was just a naturally happy, optimistic person. I honestly couldn't tell which it was.
“So, we need to head over to the police station and file a report,” I said. “Figured once you finish eating, we can shower and – ”
“We can shower? As in together?” she asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.
I grinned and swallowed a big gulp of coffee, doing my best to ignore the question and the innuendo behind it. It wasn't what I meant, but I couldn't deny that the idea of showering with Abby did sound appealing.
“We'll head over to the police station pretty early,” I said. “The sooner we can nab this bastard, the better.”
“I agree,” Abby said, her smile wavering a bit. “I just don't think it'll be that easy.”
“Why not?”
She shrugged. “He's good, Chase,” she said, a note of dejection and fear in her voice. “He's good at getting what he wants – and he wants me. I'm afraid there's not going to be anything anybody can do to stop him.”
“He's not going to get to you, Abby. Not while I'm alive. I promise you that,” I said, hearing the steel in my words, and hoping she found comfort in it.
She stared at me, a serious but thoughtful expression on her face as she munched on a few pieces of bacon. The sunlight streaming in through the windows cascaded around her, making her skin glow, and casting a halo around her. An aura. A glowing aura around a glowing woman that only added to her ethereal beauty.
Her face was still bruised and it hurt me to even look, but she was still so beautiful and perfect. The thought that any man could do this to her killed me inside. More than that though, it filled me with a deep and abiding rage – a rage that made me want to destroy something. Or, more to the point, somebody.
Abby stood and walked over to the sink, washing her plate off and setting it on the rack to dry. I watched the way her ass swished beneath her little robe as she walked, and it drove me crazy. Admiring the smooth legs, the toned calves – and remembering just how good it felt to have them wrapped around me – I felt myself growing hard in my jeans.
Trying to distract myself, I cleared my throat and downed the rest of the coffee, before putting my cup on the counter. I needed to get out into the fields. I had work to do. But, Abby took my hand in hers, and without saying a word, guided me down the hallway.
I should have stopped things right then and there, should have told her we couldn't keep doing this, but I couldn't. I opened my mouth but found my throat suddenly as dry as the desert. What I wanted to tell her was in my head just fine, but the words weren't coming out of my mouth – a side effect, I was sure, of my cock pulsing in my jeans as my blood rushed south.
As I let her lead me, her silky robe came open a bit, taunting me with the sight of her perfect flesh. She glanced back at me with her girl-next-door smile, making my cock impossibly hard. I couldn't tear my eyes away from her – you would have thought it was my first time seeing a naked woman – but one of her perfect breasts peaked out from underneath the robe, flaunting just the right amount of nipple.
My breath caught in my throat and although I wanted her so bad it hurt, I didn't want to let things get out of hand. Or, rather, any more out of hand than they already were. I let out a long, tortured breath and stopped in my tracks, holding on to her hand a little tighter.
“Abby, we should talk about last night,” I said.
She stopped and turned toward me, her blue eyes bright and sparkling, framed by long, thick eyelashes. Even without makeup, she was stunning. Despite the darkly-colored bruises on her face, she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. She took my breath away – literally and figuratively. Abby was walking perfection to me.
“Yes, Chase?” she asked.
Her voice was soft and sweet, but there was a tinge of anxiety behind her words – as well as behind the sparkling in her eyes.
“I just – well, we keep falling into bed with each other. And I really don't want you to think – ”
I bit off my words as her eyes fell and she dropped my hand, looking crestfallen. I silently cursed myself out, frustrated with my inability to say what I wanted to say. Say what I meant.
“You don't want me to think what?” she asked, biting her lip.
I let out a long breath. “I don't want you to think that I'm looking for something serious. I'm really not,” I said. “I know I wouldn't be good for anybody right now. And I don't want to hurt you.”
She nodded. “I'm really not looking for something serious either, Chase,” she said. “Especially with everything going on with Paul and everything. I just know that you make me feel good and, right now, I could use all the good I can get.”
“I understand,” I said, surprising myself.
Truth be told, I did understand. I knew exactly what she meant, and it was the same for me. After years of being alone, it felt nice to be with someone else again. Someone who made me feel good – and not just in a sexual way either. Her sweet innocence and adorable smile did something to me, it made me want to be happy again. It made me feel like it was even possible. It gave me some small spark of hope. No one had ever done that to me before.
“But, I understand, we should probably keep our distance,” she said. “We probably shouldn't be sleeping together every chance we get.”
Her gaze met mine and our eyes locked. My body was suddenly filled with an intense longing. A raw hunger and desire for her. As I took her in with my eyes, I felt the fires of passion burning bright and hot inside of me.
I knew it was stupid, that I shouldn't let myself feel that way, and that it was only going to complicate things, but I couldn't stop it. It consumed me.
“What if I don't want to keep my distance, Abby?” I asked, my voice low.
I went to her and cupped her face in my hands, kissing her long and hard. She relaxed into me, her arms sliding around my neck as I slowly walked us toward my bedroom.
I pushed her up against the door and kissed down the length of her neck, sucking and nibbling on her delicate, soft skin as I moved lower and lower. She raked her fingers over my scalp and let out a breathy little moan. The silk robe slipped off her shoulders, exposing her full breasts and those pert, pink nipples.
Feeling the desire rising in me like a molten hot tide, I cupped her breasts in my hands, teasing the nipples with my fingers, and giving them a firm pinch. Abby let out a soft yelp and then sighed softly, her eyes rolling back in her head as I touched her all over.
Her skin was so soft, and I reveled in the way she felt against me. Moving my mouth downward, I kissed her lower. I took one of her pink nipples into my mouth and sucked on it gently. Abby gasped and her head fell back, but her grip on my hair tightened.
“Yes, Chase,” she moaned. “God, yes.”
I pulled back and stared into her eyes. The naked desire in them matched what I felt, fueling the fires burning in me. Taking her by the hand, I led her into the master bathroom. I had a shower large enough to easily hold several people. It had three different showerheads – including one that poured down like rain.
I hardly used it personally. Typically, I showered in one of the smaller bathrooms. But now seemed like the perfect time to try it out. After I got the water running, warming it up, Abby helped me undress. She stripped me out of my dirty jeans first. With my pants and boxers in a heap on the floor, she looked up at me, flashing a salacious little smile. She reached out her tiny little hand and stroked my hard cock, an adorable smile spread across her face.
I pulled off my shirt, yanking it off over my head and throwing it on the pile with the rest of my clothes and stepped into the shower. Abby dropped her robe to the floor and was close behind. She shut the door and the water rained down upon both of us, washing away everything but the passion and lust that burned inside of us.
Never taking her eyes off mine, Abby pulled the tie that held her hair up and let her long, blonde locks fall free. I pressed her against the back of the shower, our naked bodies touching and rubbing together in all the right places. Her nipples rubbed against my chest, my cock between her thighs, making us both burn hotter for each other.
I kissed her deeply, our mouths eating at each other like we were two people starving. The warmth of the water cascaded down my back, sluicing way my cares. Sluicing away everything but the sensations coursing through my body. Abby trailed her nails down my spine as she kneaded my flesh, pulling me into her.
Her hands moved to my chest, and she pushed me away gently. I stared down at her in surprise and she looked up at me, biting her bottom lip. I didn't know what to do at first, but finally took the hint and backed up a bit, giving her space.
Abby dropped to her knees in front of me, her hands around my shaft and her lips parted. With wide eyes, she took the tip of my cock into her mouth, her tongue lapping around the head of my dick as she worked her way down slowly, inch by inch. She couldn't take all of me into her mouth, not right away, but her hand moved in perfect rhythm with her mouth and I couldn't tell where one ended and the other began.
It felt like electricity was coursing through my veins as she worked her mouth and hand up and down on my stiff prick. I moaned loudly and held onto the back of her head, playing with her hair as she sucked me off, moving up and down my shaft with her plump lips and tight little fist. I drew in a long shuddering breath and felt my knees going weak as she worked me over. It took everything in me not to blow my load and fall over right then and there. It felt so fucking good.
With one hand working my member in concert with her mouth, she reached out and took my balls in her other hand, squeezing and kneading them.
“Fuck,” I growled as shockwaves of sensation coursed through me.
With my cock in one hand – and her mouth – and my balls in her other hand, Abby worked my prick like she had something to prove. I felt the sharp spike of pleasure drive itself through me and I cried out.
“Jesus Christ,” I mumbled, pulling her hair harder and harder.
I didn't want to come, not like this. Not before I pleased her in return. Abby had different plans for me though. She sped up, taking even more of me into her mouth, working me harder and faster with her hand at the same time. She looked up, her blue eyes finding mine, and when I saw the devilish little gleam in them, I knew it was over. I leaned sideways, bracing myself against the wall for support as my breath quickened. The muscles in the back of my thighs tensing as my cock began pulsing in her mouth.
“Fuck, I'm going to come, Abby. I don't want to – ”
She didn't stop, though. She didn't even slow down. If anything, her grip tightened and she sped up with her mouth. She continued sucking until there was no turning back. My hands held onto her head, and I stared down at her, the pressure building in my balls until I threw my head back and cried out, my voice echoing around the bathroom.
I felt my body shudder hard and then I exploded into Abby's mouth. Her eyes widened a bit, at first, but then she smiled while still keeping me between those beautiful lips of hers as I filled her mouth with my hot cum.
She stood up with a delightful smile on her face, looking pleased with herself. I still couldn't even stand without supporting myself against the wall. My head was spinning and my vision wavered, but all I could do was reach for her. I pulled her to me, held her tight, her head resting against my chest. My heart raced as she nuzzled in close, dotting soft gentle kisses along my flesh.
That is what heaven feels like. That was the moment I knew I was in trouble. That there was no turning back. It was in that moment I knew that whatever happened between us, would happen. I no longer had control over any of it. Or, of anything.
It scared me shitless.
But goddamn, it felt so fucking good. She felt so fucking good.