On Saturday morning, Chase arrived at Reagan’s apartment feeling restless and tired. His mind had not stopped spinning all night, as he had fixated on whether his past would come back to haunt him. An e-mail from Ronald Boone, the old manager of Black Star, didn’t help matters. He knew the old man was just checking in as he often did and wanted to know Chase was alright. It had been months since he had answered one of Ronald’s e-mails or text messages. Innocent as they were, they still reminded him too clearly of the life he wanted to leave behind.
He rode the elevator to her floor and walked down the hall. When the door across from Reagan’s opened, and a slightly overweight, balding man stepped out, Chase recognized him as the neighbor who had been there the night of Jake and Callie’s wedding, when Chase had followed Reagan home to confront her about their kiss. He had no desire to get into it with a jealous neighbor, and he knew without a doubt that this other guy wanted to be with Reagan. Not that he blamed him, hell, if Reagan had been his neighbor, there was no way Chase could have resisted her. So, he nodded at the man, who stood in his doorway watching Chase. As he raised his hand to knock on Reagan’s door, he heard a quiet, sorrowful voice from behind him.
“I understand why she’s with you and not me. I just hope you realize how special she is, and that you can help her see that.”
Slowly Chase turned to face the man who had spoken. “I know. She’s one in a million,” he replied soberly.
The neighbor nodded. “She is. Treat her well.” Then he turned and walked down the hall.
Chase paused for a moment, his hand raised, ready to knock on Reagan’s door. What the other guy said rang in his ears. Reagan didn’t have a clue how incredible she was and that floored him. She was loved by so many people for so many reasons, and there was a very real possibility that she didn’t even realize it. Right then and there, he decided that would be his mission. To make this beautiful, sexy, loving, hilarious woman see all of those parts of herself. See them and believe them to be true.
He knocked on the door and a few moments later it was flung open and there she was. He smiled and let his eyes roam over Reagan, from the top of her silky red hair to her adorable bare feet. When his gaze made it back up to her face, his grin widened as he took in her expression.
“Are you done inspecting me like a piece of meat?” she asked, one hand cocked on her hip.
Chase stepped in close and kissed her swiftly before saying anything.
“You’re a ‘Grade A’ beauty, Red.”
Her answering laugh was everything he wanted in that moment.
“You’re ridiculous, Chase.” Her eyes danced as she reached out her hand and tugged him inside her apartment. Once the door was closed, she pressed up against him and wrapped her arms around his neck, letting her fingers play with his hair. “Now, kiss me again. It’s been a few days and I think I forget what your lips feel like.”
With a growl, Chase complied. He covered her soft lips with his, alternating between pressing firmly and backing off so he could tug on her lower lip with his teeth. He let his tongue gently press against the seam of her mouth and when she opened to him, he greedily tangled with hers. There was nothing more important to him than kissing her.
When they at last pulled part, Chase looked down at the woman in his arms and hoped that when he told her the plan for the day, she would still be this happy.
“So, do you want to know what we’re doing today?” he asked.
Reagan’s eyes lit up as she nodded. “Of course I do. Let me guess, skydiving? No wait. Mini golf? No, that’s too similar to bowling, you’re more creative than that. Ummm, I give up.” She bounced lightly on her feet in a manner that was so adorable, Chase had to bend down and kiss her again.
“Wrong and wrong.” He prayed his nerves didn’t show on his face as he wondered how she would accept his idea. “I hope you were serious about wanting to get a tattoo in honor of your Gammie, because we have appointments with my favorite artist later this morning.” Chase watched Reagan carefully to see how she would react. When a brilliant smile broke out across her face, he heaved a sigh of relief. She threw her arms around him and squealed with excitement.
“No WAY! That is awesome! Oh, Chase, I’m so excited!”
He laughed at her enthusiasm. “I’m glad you’re happy, Red. I wasn’t sure if it was too crazy, but hoped you’d be into the idea. We have time for breakfast first if you want.”
“Can’t we go now? I’m way too excited to eat.”
Reagan broke out of his embrace and quickly slid on some sandals and grabbed her purse. When she turned back toward him, Chase didn’t bother trying to hide his happiness. He was certain it beamed out of him any time he was around her, but especially when she was filled with so much joy. And to know he was the cause of her smile, was perfect.
“Tell you what, babe, I’ll call my artist and ask. But he might be busy, so you may have to wait a couple of hours.”
Reagan made him laugh when she reached a hand into his back pocket and pulled out his phone, handing it to him with an expectant look on his face.
“Call him now. If we can get in early, let’s go. If we can’t,” she gave him a slow look up and down his body, “you’ll have to keep me distracted somehow.”
Her words sent a shot of lust straight down his spine where it settled in his groin. “Well damn, now I don’t want to call him, Red.”
Reagan’s eyes danced as if she knew exactly the effect her words had on him. “Call him, if you know what’s good for you.”
Chase held his hands up in defeat, then dialed his friend Paulie, who had done a couple of incredible tattoos on him over the past year. He explained the situation, and Reagan’s eagerness, and listened to the response without saying anything. When he got off the phone, he schooled his expression, then turned to Reagan who stood there looking more excited than a kid on Christmas morning.
“Okay, Red, here’s the deal. Paulie has a couple of people booked for this morning, but he’s willing to move our appointments up by an hour instead of taking his walk-in time.”
Reagan smiled, and her eyes darkened as she looked up at him from beneath her long lashes. A wickedly seductive smile stretched across her face as she turned from him, and began to walk down the hall to her bedroom. “Well then, you had better distract me for a little while.”
Chase felt his cock swell at her words, and after he turned to make sure the front door was locked, he quickly kicked off his shoes and pulled off his shirt. No harm in being a couple of steps ahead was there?
