She wasn’t convinced any of this had anything to do with the case. But it showed her it wouldn’t hurt for her to date a bit more. Obviously Davie, and probably Danny too, needed to see her with other men once in a while. Maybe they needed closure. God knows, it wouldn’t hurt her to put work aside from time to time and enjoy the company of a man.
She glanced sideways, taking in Chase’s brooding expression as he relaxed his hand on the steering wheel and started across town. “Chris wouldn’t tell me what the knots in her bracelet meant,” she offered, breaking the silence between them.
“We’ll ask tomorrow at the Crossing.”
“We?”
Chase looked at her. God, he was fucking perfect. His hard features, the way his black hair contrasted with his bright blue eyes. Her insides grew uncomfortably warm watching him as he took his time staring at her face. When his gaze dropped lower, she was suddenly acutely aware of how her tank top hugged her breasts, more than likely showing them off. She reached for her sweater, feeling more clothing would be in order before the conversation drifted to dangerous territory.
“There’s no reason we can’t go shopping tomorrow.”
“I thought you were a ghost,” she muttered, struggling with the sweater.
“Are you cold?” he asked, and adjusted the climate control on the dash. “And do I look like a ghost to you?”
“Your words, not mine,” she told him, ignoring his comment about being cold.
Chase reached over and took her sweater, sliding it out from behind her and placing it on her lap. She was ready to snatch the sweater and put it on when he took her hand and brought it to his lips.
“Do I feel like a ghost to you?” he growled.
Shivers rushed over her when he nipped at her knuckles and she was positive her nipples were so hard they probably threatened to poke right through the stretchy tube top she’d been a fool to wear.
“Chase,” she sighed, willing herself to tell him to stop. They turned the corner, entering her neighborhood. All she needed to do was get out of the car and into her house without inviting him in. Shouldn’t be hard. “If you want to meet me at the store tomorrow that’s your deal. It’s a public place.”
He continued driving with one hand and pressed his lips over her fingers, his breath scorching her flesh when he spoke. “Have you been to the Crossing before?” he asked.
“No, I haven’t.” She really should pull her hand away from him.
“So you don’t know what kind of establishment it is?”
His discussing business while rubbing a day’s growth of whiskers over her fingers was making it damn hard to answer his questions. A pressure swelled inside her, distracting her and making her ache to squirm in her seat. Chase would be on to her in a minute if she did. And she didn’t doubt for a moment he intended to get a rise out of her. Ashley prayed he was torturing himself as much as he was her.
“I can guess but I can also Google it and see if they have a Web site.”
“It’s an old hippie store run by a woman who claims to be a witch. Do you know anyone into that sort of thing?”
It irritated her that he already knew about the Crossing but questioned her, forcing her mind to stay focused as he slowly drove her nuts. “People buy things from stores like that all the time and don’t necessarily view themselves as hippies or Wiccans.” She yanked her hand out of his when he pulled up in front of her house.
Chase cut the engine and climbed out on his side as Ashley almost leaped out of his SUV on her side. She gulped in night air, wishing it were just a few degrees cooler. Wadding her sweater into a ball, she hugged it against her chest and slung her purse over her shoulder. If she stormed across her yard, running to her house
for safety against his incredible male magnetism, Chase would probably tackle her. Somehow that image got her even hotter.
Damn it! Would it be so terrible to just invite him in and fuck him?
Chase came around the front of his car and took her arm when she reached her driveway. “I’m coming in,” he announced, his low growl leaving nothing to the imagination as to his meaning.
Nor did it surprise her that he didn’t ask. What did surprise her was that his demanding nature made her so damn hot for a moment she just stared at him.
“Why?” She wouldn’t let him believe he could just assume he would fuck her and she’d lie down and spread her legs like a good little submissive bimbo.
His hands snaked around her waist and he yanked her against him with enough force it almost knocked the air out of her lungs. She slapped her hands over his shoulders, staring up slightly and into dark sapphire eyes that devoured her right before his mouth did.
When his mouth covered hers, he moved one hand up her back, his callused fingers digging into her hair and then tugging, drawing her head back and deepening the kiss.
Ashley’s world spun out of control. The pressure swelling inside her hit a point of no return and she felt her pussy grow soaked as a throbbing began between her legs that made her weak with need. Chase didn’t ask, he took. But even more so, his demanding nature controlled her, molding her body against his just the way he wanted it. He poured the need he felt for her into her mouth, allowing her to taste, to experience, the intensity his cravings had reached. Ashley couldn’t think, couldn’t react, but through the fog of lust quickly enveloping her brain one thing rang clear. If she took him inside he would fuck her until the pain from her lust, from the knowledge of what could be, was satisfied.
How long had it been since she’d known hard-core carnal, raw sex?