SUMMER

 

Chase opens the door to his third-floor flat and holds it open for me as I pass through from the hallway into the apartment. The door closes behind me and I’m entrenched in total, pitch-black darkness until he flips a switch and canister lights adorn the apartment in shallow circles of white light.

The apartment is industrial and modern with steel countertops in the open kitchen and floor-to-ceiling windows along the far wall. There’s one simple couch and, to my surprise, no television in sight. To the right are two doors, one a bathroom and one a bedroom, I presume. It’s a small space, but it’s all a bachelor needs.

“You should shower,” he says as he paces into the kitchen and pulls open the fridge to grab two bottles of beer.

“Does the water work?” I question with a joking smirk.

“I could test it if you want.” He snaps the lid off the bottle using the edge of the counter and paces back towards me to hand me a bottle.

“That won’t be necessary.” I weigh the beer in my hand. I’m not much of a beer drinker, but I’m not about to be rude to the man who has saved my life multiple times and is hosting me at his place. “The shower, I mean. I don’t have any clothes to change into anyway.”

“You look tired.” He caresses my cheek with his thumb but then pulls back and takes a swig. “You should get some sleep.”

“You’re right.” I shift past him and sit my bottle down onto the counter. “It’s not like I’ll be able to sleep, but—”

“But you should try.” His lips curve into a cute smile, exposing his perfect teeth as he chews into his bottom lip and turns to the bedroom door with a gesture of his hand. “You can have the bed.”

# # #

I drop down onto his bed, outfitted with a tight, black cotton sheet and a slim silver comforter. There’s a solitary light in the room, a tabletop lamp with a grey skull design. Blackout curtains block out the light from the city streets outside.

Like the rest of the apartment, the walls are made of brick. It’s my impression that this place is a fortress, and maybe that’s the point. It’s his hideout from the rest of the world, his safe place like my home was to me.

He stands at the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed over each other. His eyes are heavy because he’s tired too. I wonder if he’ll be able to sleep.

“The bathroom is the next door over,” he says quietly, almost as low as a whisper. “If you get hungry or thirsty, you can help yourself to anything in the kitchen.”

I nod and swallow nervously.

He uncrosses his arms and paces across the short distance of the bedroom. His fingers flirt with the cord dangling beneath the lamp and when he pulls it, the room is almost pitch black. Pale white light streams through the open door, casting him in an ominous silhouette.

“I’ll be on the couch if you need anything.” He leans over the bed and offers me a peck on the top of my head. “Goodnight, Summer. Try to get some sleep.”

I don’t say anything, just nod even though he probably can’t see me. He steps away from the bed, his feet forcing creaks from the old floorboards. Once he’s at the door, his hand steadied on the knob, that’s when I finally find my voice. I sit up in bed, rustling the covers over my legs.

“Chase?”

“Yes?” He pivots back around in an instant, as if he were waiting for me to say something, to say anything. “What is it?”

I almost choke on my own breath. Why is it so hard to force these certain words from my throat? “Will you…” I stutter. “I don’t want to be alone.”

He sighs at the doorway, but doesn’t move.

“Stay with me,” I implore him in a whisper, but I know he’s heard me when he paces back towards the bed and circles around to the other side. While he’s climbing into bed, I drop back onto my side and stare at the closet door ahead.

Before he’s even touching me, I can feel the heat of his body. The mattress sinks as he closes the distance between us and when he throws one arm around my stomach, I can’t help but to close my eyes and get lost in his touch.

I push myself backwards in the bed to line up against his body. It’s been ages since I’ve slept in actual clothes, namely jeans. It’s so uncomfortable, but I didn’t have the energy to undress and figured I’d need to be ready to hit the road at a moment’s notice should someone decide to shoot up the place.

My body fits perfectly against his, like two puzzle pieces that just instantly click together. I push myself further back still until I’m pressed against the total hardness of his body.

His fingers dance over the fabric of my shirt, caressing my stomach through the thin material. I close my eyes again and try to steady my breathing. My racing heart is another matter all together.

I’ve never felt so safe in my entire life, which is ridiculous given the circumstances. But there’s just something about the way he talks to me, talking me down from any given ledge. There’s something about the way he looks at me as if I’m more beautiful than the diamond hanging around my neck. There’s something about the way he touches me that makes me forget everything, and right now, I just want to forget. Every little thing.

I raise my hand to meet his and then guide his hand down the span of my stomach and then lower still. He seems to freeze, resisting my assistance in moving him towards the most vulnerable spot of my body. I crane my head over my shoulder to ease him into things with a gentle whisper, “It’s okay.”

And in the narrow path of light stretched across the bed, I catch his gaze. Dark and stormy, eyes raging with hot fire. I roll over to meet him face to face, caress my hand across the stubble growing on the skin of his chin.

Then like clockwork, I’m reaching down and groping his hardness through his jeans. He lets out a hot breath, ragged and sharp as I begin to caress him down below. He juts out his hand to stop me, holds me in place for a second before he’s rolling on top of me, his eyes boring into mine.

He reaches for each of my hands and holds them above my head. “Are you sure?”

“Please,” I beg of him. I hadn’t quite pegged him as a beta, but he seems to be more concerned about my needs and desires than his own. “I want this.”

He groans and flashes his eyes shut and my heart sinks. Maybe I’ve been reading this all wrong. Maybe I’ve been reading him wrong. It’s a sobering thought but one I don’t want to give much credence too.

But when his eyes flash back open, I know that he wants this as much as I do. Hell, he probably needs it as much as I seem to need it, too. He frees my hands from his grip just before he drops his head against mine, presses his lips against my lips.

He steals my breath as he begins to shift his body above mine, grinding his erection against me. It takes him no time at all to climb to his knees and rip his shirt over his head, disposing of it on the ground in a flash. He drops his hands to the button of his jeans and shakes them free once they’re pooled at his legs.

Not to be outdone, I sit up in bed to pull my shirt over my head. While the fabric is still covering my face, I feel him pulling my jeans down the length of my legs. Once I’ve finally tossed my shirt away from the bed, I’m almost bare, and underneath his gaze I’m not nervous. Not one little bit.

He climbs between my thighs as I kick my legs to hook around his taut ass. He caresses his body against mine, his breathing becoming more ragged and racing faster and hotter with every movement of his body. It’s all too much and I’m craving for him to be inside of me.

He drops his head, his tongue licking a path from the crux of my ear all the way down the side of my neck and then my breasts as he strips my bra from my body. He continues the path down the center of my body, lapping his tongue once around my belly button before going further down.

The thin fabric of my panties slide down my legs slowly. It’s like he’s unwrapping me slowly, but eagerly awaiting his present. I can’t quite make it out in the darkness, but I swear his cheeks are flushed red and it’s the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

He has a way to bring me into the moment, a way of making me forget the hell I’ve gone through these past few days. I know the feeling is only fleeting, but it’s a welcome diversion from the fear and the constant paranoia.

When I’m completely bare underneath him, he climbs back above me, planting short kisses along the width of my neck. I alternate between giving into his touch and trying desperately to escape it, not because it’s not pleasurable, but because it’s almost too pleasurable.

His body is rock hard, outfitted with muscles I never even knew existed before, and I’m a teacher for crying out loud. I’d normally feel unworthy with someone like him, but he makes it feel different. He makes me feel like I’m the queen of the world and that’s just fine by me.

He reaches down to push his underwear down his thighs and then kicks them free, rises to steady himself in-between my legs. He drops a hand to caress my cheek and then scoops a hand under my head to hold me still as he enters me slowly.

My mouth drops open as I adjust to his width. I forget about the rest of the world—Thank God—as he sinks into me slowly until he’s buried at the hilt. There, he holds himself still while I fight to catch my breath. He’s perfectly patient waiting for me to do so, his eyes waging a battle with mine.

When I’m good, when I’m ready, I nod for him to continue. That’s when he begins to slink out of me slowly only to rock his way back in with a gentle beat. On first sight, I’d peg him to be an animal in the sheets but he’s anything but. He’s more like a gentle giant, taking his time with me.

My fingers claw at his back as his thrusts quicken, my nails digging just under the flesh of his skin. Sweat pools at the lining of his hair and drips down onto me, landing with a sizzle against my hot skin. Tighter and tighter, I hold onto him until he’s readjusting himself on either side of my head.

Strong hands on either side of me, digging deep into the mattress as he holds his upper body upright all the while rocking in and out of me, pulling me inside out. His eyes bore down into mine and I can’t help but to stare right back, watching as he drives the both of us towards a mutual climax.

My toes curl in the humid air of his apartment, my legs caressing the sides of his body. I can feel myself breaking well before I actually break and prepare myself well enough that I don’t scream out loud when I shatter. Instead, soft moans trickle out of my throat as I force my eyes closed and see nothing but stars in pitch black darkness.

He begins to rock into me faster, harder, deeper. Every thrust is less careful than the one just prior until he buries himself all the way inside and spends his seed in the deepest depths of me.

He chokes on his own breath as he tries to come down from his own high. All the while, I’m lost in my own world, a world I’ve created in his burning eyes. He collapses on top of me, our sweaty bodies melting together as we both fight to catch our breaths.

My fingers travel to his damp hair and I close my eyes, not ready to go back to reality.

# # #

We sit on opposite sides of the bed with our feet kicked over the edges. I pull my shirt over my head and then kick my legs back onto the bed. I drop my head against the pillow and roll onto my side watching him as he rises to his feet and pulls his own shirt over his head. His muscular stomach and chest disappear behind a plain black tee shirt.

His lips hitch into a curious smile as he lowers himself back onto the bed. “What are you looking at?”

“You,” I say pointedly. “I’m looking at you.”

“Do you like what you see?” He arches one brow and then laughs before dropping down onto the bed beside me and rolling onto his side so that we’re face to face. “Don’t answer that. I all ready know the answer.” He reaches over to me and pets a finger across my face. “What if this became more than a one-time thing?”

“I don’t know.” I shrug followed by a hefty sigh. I’m so into this man, but my thoughts are drifting back to reality and I can’t think straight one way or another. “It’s too much to think about right now.”

“Yeah, I get that.” His teeth mash against his lower lip in contemplation. “Maybe when this is all over, we could give things a shot and just see where they go?”

It’s a terrifying proposition. The world he lives in is a dangerous world, much more dangerous than my world, even if it’s become much more dangerous lately. “I don’t know if I could handle that.”

“The danger?”

“Loving someone who’s always in the middle of it.” I drop my head and fidget with my fingers. “Like, maybe I’d be terrified too often that you were never going to come home.”

“This isn’t going to be my whole life.” He shakes his head with a smile, but it’s almost weightless.

“Do you honestly see yourself breaking away from it?”

“I hope so.” He sits up in bed. “I know I can’t help myself when I’m called into service. It was supposed to be my day off, but I can’t not help someone when they’re in danger, especially when it’s happening right in front of my face.”

“You know you didn’t have to.”

“Actually, I did.” His eyes meet mine, his lips rolling over one another. “I didn’t have a choice.”

I’m lost in his words. Lost in his eyes. Lost in his presence. “I don’t know if you know, but you’re kind of amazing.”

“Thanks,” he says lowly, drops his head to look away.

“You don’t need to be modest.” I reach over to him and force him to look back my way and accept what I’m telling him as the truth. “It’s okay to accept the compliment.”

“It’s my job.”

“It’s more than that.” I crawl over to him and kick my feet over the edge of the bed. With one hand held firm against his strong back, I continue, “You wake up every day choosing to be a good person and fighting the good fight. That’s a choice. It’s who you are.”

“And who are you?” He cocks his head to me, a glint of something in his eyes.

“I’m just a teacher who’s way in over her head.”

“You’re kind of amazing too.”

“I’m a nobody,” I sigh.

“You’re a teacher.”

“Yeah,” I chuckle. “I just said that.”

“No, that’s why you’re amazing. It’s the most selfless job in the world. You have the power to save lives just like I do. We just save them in different ways.”

I’m lost for words again, trying to assess what it is that he’s saying. I’ve always loved my job, but I’ve never thought of it that way before. “That’s beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful.” He leans into me, his breath so hot against my skin. His eyes twist sideways as if he’s scanning me from right to left. “Inside and out.”

“You barely know me,” I scoff, unable to accept that compliment.

“I know enough. I’ve got great instincts.”

“Thanks, I suppose.”

“Hey,” he chuckles. “You don’t have to be so modest.”

He’s throwing my words right back at me and I can’t help but to laugh, dropping my head over his shoulder as I let loose a fit of giggles. He allows me to chuckle over his shoulder for a brief moment before he’s raising my chin to meet his gaze and all the laughter in the world is gone.

My throat goes dry in an instant as he levels his lips against mine. Before, it was foreplay. Now, it’s something else entirely. It cements that what we’ve just had was real. He steals my breath, not because he’s kissing me passionately, but because he’s kissing me at all.

When he breaks away from the kiss, I’m left speechless and wanting more. But he jumps to his feet and claps his hands together. “I’m going to go make us some drinks and then we’ll continue this conversation.”

“Can’t wait.” I chew into my lip and watch him as he steps out of the room. When he’s gone, when he’s out of sight, I drop my head back down against the pillow and stare up at the ceiling overhead. I can’t help but to dream about a life with him and what that would entail.

I was tired before but now I’m wide awake, wanting to know everything there is about him, wanting to know everything there is to know about the man who’s now saved me in more ways than he could ever know.