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Just when I think he’s about to leave, Chase surprises me by pausing near my bedroom window. I can hear him breathing, slow and steady. It’s late, or maybe I should say it’s really, really early. Taaffe’s closed hours ago. Either he went home and came back out, or he’s been patiently watching my house since he left the bar, waiting until I was in bed and most likely deep asleep.
I told him that I know he was here before, snooping around. Is he really this brazen or is it all part of some mind game he’s playing with me?
You’re mine. I have you in my sights.
My brain fixates on the meaning behind his words. He said I’m his, even if he doesn’t know what that means to a female shifter like me, he said the magic words. Chase doesn’t know he has wolf DNA coursing through his blood but still, those words and the power behind them… they’ve stirred something deep inside me.
My mother was trapped by her mating to my father, a cruel man who wielded their bond like a weapon, using it against her while he went behind her back, siring pups with as many women as he could. After witnessing the dark side of the bond, being marked has never been high on my list of priorities. In fact, apart from dating Max, I’ve stuck to relationships with human men where it’s nothing more than some harmless fun.
Yet, hearing a powerful male like him declare I belong to him has my bear acting like an eager kitten. Even now, she wants nothing more than to invite him in. I won’t be doing that, it’s a terrible idea. You don’t bring men who sneak around your house in the dark inside for a night cap. Or more.
Instead, I let his tempting scent wash over me and close my eyes, letting my hand slide down my heated stomach and between my thighs. In reality, he’s a stubborn, irritatingly bossy man that makes my blood boil, but that domineering attitude could be interesting in a more intimate setting. Footsteps moving away have my body loosening. He’s gone.
I have you in my sights.
Did he mean that literally?
Imagining his intense stare, reliving the brush of his stubbled jaw against my shoulder, and remembering the jolt of pleasure I got when his erection pressed into my back, I moan. Dripping wet, I swirl my fingers across my entrance and then back up over my clit, stroking exactly the way I like it. In my mind, it’s Chase’s hand, Chase who’s controlling my pleasure, driving me wild.
His name falls from my lips as I come, my orgasm stronger than any I can remember, but, somehow, it leaves me unsatisfied. I want it to be him, filling me up as he pushes me to the edge, assuming control and taking what he wants from my body. If he burst through the door right now and pinned me down, I’d let him take me, even though I know he thinks I’m the enemy. It would be hard and fast, and oh, so good.
A shadow moving outside my curtain catches my attention, and I listen, waiting to see if it’s a branch or the man himself still lurking outside. When nothing else stirs, I roll onto my side and squeeze my eyes shut, ignoring the arousal stirring deep inside me once more.
This mess needs to get sorted out as soon as possible so he can leave and I can forget all about him. Life can go back to normal. But even as those words lodge themselves in my brain, I already know I’m lying to myself.
Chase Walker is under my skin.
CHAPTER 13
CHASE
“What did you say to Rex?” Leah stomps in through my bedroom door, hands on hips and glares down at me.
Squinting at her, I’m about to ask how she got in and then decide there’s no point. Whoever she wore down to get her hands on the spare key has already suffered enough.
“Good morning to you, too,” I mumble grumpily. Rolling off the far too soft mattress, I stand and square away my bed while Leah watches, still silently fuming as she watches me tidy my already immaculately neat room. I take my time, knowing it’s bugging her.
It was late when I finally snuck back into my room. Instead of getting to bed early like a normal person, I tortured myself by going back out to Natalie’s place to work out how the hell she knew I’d been there. There were no cameras, no sensor alarms, no security of any kind that I could see. I was stumped. It was still worth it. Loitering outside while she enjoyed herself was enlightening.
She whispered my name.
“When you boys have kissed and made up, can you teach Rex how to make a bed? He’s useless. Or better yet, do you want to help me make the bootcamp beds before the next guests arrive?”
Staring at her, confused, I decide that, once again, I don’t want to know. “None of that made sense to me but, the answer is no anyway.”
Leah rolls her eyes and shakes her head, blonde curls bouncing around her shoulders. “You don’t listen. Or, actually, you do listen, just selectively.” Sighing, she sinks down on the freshly made bed and flops back, making my eye twitch in annoyance. “The bed and breakfast belongs to Hayley. She was going to live there, but she couldn’t face it after the attack. Rex and I rent it out to feed and house guests of our bootcamp; we have an office and I have a yoga studio out the back…”
She looks at me expectantly, her expression growing more and more frustrated the longer I stare blankly back. Following her page on Instagram under a fake profile, I already know all of this. Leah is definitely the most fun to mess with. I’ve missed this.
“The house where James attacked Hayley?” I offer, struggling to hold back my smile when she props herself up on her elbows and glares at me. I know her studio and I already went by to check out the bed and breakfast, hugely impressed. It’s run well, and the guys working there all check out, just like everyone in Grey Ridge. The reviews online are glowing and they’re booked out months in advance. I’m proud of how well they’ve done with it, not that I’ll be admitting that to either of my sisters any time soon.
“What did you say to him?” Leah repeats, struggling to contain her annoyance and redirecting the conversation back to safer territory. Tugging a t-shirt over my head, I keep my back to her so I don’t have to see the disappointment I know I’ll see there when I admit the low blow I landed.
“I may have suggested that he was responsible, indirectly, for someone trying to drown you.” Even though I’m not looking at her, I can feel her denial coming. “And don’t give me any that’s not what happened nonsense. It’s too early in the morning.”
Turning, I tuck my t-shirt into my loose pyjama bottoms and face her.
“Chase!” Leah shrieks, covering her face with her hands and peeks out at me between her fingers. “You didn’t?”
