This whole thing washis way of saying he wanted more—or as close as he’d get, anyway. Because somewhere along the line, he’d learned that it was better not to want anything than torisk asking, and I got the feeling that particular lesson was hard learned. The thought made my chest ache.
And I was willing to do the asking part, if he couldn’t.
I squeezed his fingers gently. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he said quietly.
I nuzzled at the curve of his throat, nipped his earlobe the way I knew he liked, and said, “I was thinking.”
Chase rolled over to face me and gave me a curious look. “Yeah?”
I propped myself up on one elbow. “Yeah. About us.” I breathed deeply to calm my nerves and said, “I’d like to take you out.”
Chase stared.
“We could go to a movie in Hopewell or something,” I said. “Or dinner, if you’re into that.”
Chase blinked slowly and said, “Are you talking about adate?”
“Yeah.” I forced the word out, ignoring the squirming in my gut. “Because I like you, Chase. And the sex is fantastic, but I want more.”
His face did something complicated, and I couldn’t have told you what he was thinking. The silence dragged out, and for a horrible, heart-stopping moment I was convinced he was about to tell me to go fuck myself and that this was just sex and nothing more. But then he shot me a wary look, blew out a sharp breath, and said, “You’re paying.”
Relief bubbled through me, stronger than it had any right to be. “Is that a yes?”
Chase rolled his eyes. “It was a yes.”
He reached out and grabbed my arm and pulled it clumsily across himself, rolled over so I was the big spoon, and said, “Now shut the fuck up and cuddle me.”
When I next opened myeyes, I was alone. The other side of the bed was still warm when I ran a hand over the worn sheets, though, and I couldn’t fight my smile. Chase had let me into his bed, and he’d agreed to go on a date. I still wasn’t sure how or why he’d agreed, and it could all go horribly wrong if I so much as looked at him sideways, but I wasn’t going to question it.
I shoved the comforter aside and got dressed in the dim light filtering around the big blanket hanging over the window. I eased the bedroom door open and made my way to the kitchen. Chase was standing in front of the sink, shirtless, with a glass of water in his hand, his figure silhouetted against the light.
My dick twitched at the sight of him, and I wondered if I could coax him back to bed to ride me. It probably wouldn’t take much—he loved being on top. I stepped up behind him, slipped one hand around him and cupped his junk, and kissed along his collarbone.
His reaction was instant—but it wasn’t the one I was expecting. Chase didn’t grind against my dick or kiss me back or wrap his legs around my waist like he usually did.
Instead, he swung around wildly and punched me right in the face.
CHAPTER 11
CHASE
“What thefuck?”
Lee’s voice cut through the air, loud and panicked, and it was enough to have me racing out of the bathroom. When I’d left the bedroom, he’d still been asleep. I followed the sound and burst into the kitchen. Lee was clutching his cheek and staring warily at Cash, who was staring right back, wide-eyed and pale except for a splash of color high across his cheekbones. One hand was still balled into a fist and his chest was heaving, and he looked like he was ready to either take another swing or bolt. It was like a scene from an old gangster movie, where everyone was pointing a gun at everyone else and there was no way to tell who was going to shoot first.
Shit.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened. “Cash?”
Cash turned at the sound of my voice, and his face crumpled. Ignoring Lee and his shocked expression, I walked over and wrapped my arms around Cash because I could tell he was on the verge of losing his shit.
“Shhh, it’s okay,” I said, stroking his hair until his breathing evened out. I wove my fingers between his and uncurled his fist. “You’re all right. You didn’t mean it.”
Cash buried his face in my shirt and his breath hitched, and the tension in his spine eased the tiniest bit. Then he lifted his head. His gaze flitted to Lee and back to me again, and I didn’t need to be his twin to read his mind.
Who the fuck is this?
