AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A glimmer of hope swims around my chest, hope Trent took the precautions to protect me when I was unwilling to listen to the trouble brewing with the investigation. “You were proactive for me?”
Trent drops his towel in the hamper, stalking out of the bathroom without bothering to look at me. He calls over his shoulder, “No. I did something for me, something to distract the filthy biker’s attention away from the case. But what I’ve done will benefit you, too.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-SEVEN
SIMONE
Chase had to run a few errands after work, leaving me with Butch and Punk. Honestly, I’m grateful for the break from him. I need a little distance from my pushy biker to process what I learned today.
When Chase mentioned proposing, my heart stopped before going into instant overdrive, pounding against my sternum to the point where I thought it would crack my breastbone. It’s not surprising Chase wants to marry me. He’s always stressed we’re endgame. I just wasn’t aware he was thinking of wedding bells this soon in our brand spanking new relationship. He’s consumed with claiming me as his woman. I assumed all the rest would come with time—a lot of time.
The guys want to hit the weight room, but they don’t want to leave me alone in my room. With the gym facing out toward the pool, I told them to go work out while I swim. Win-win for all of us.
The laps in the pool are a great way to relieve some stress. While my arms and legs glide through the water, my head goes over the pros and cons of Chase proposing soon.
Cons: it’s early days. We’re still in the adjustment period after I agreed to be his woman. He’s a domineering alpha who pushes the boundaries too far and has a tendency to be overly territorial for no good reason other than he has a hunch another man wants me.
Pros: this man would go through hell and back to love, worship, and protect me. He looks at me like I hung not just the moon, but the galaxy. He values my work, my family, my personality, my interests. Chase is everything I could hope for in a partner—loving, loyal, hardworking, and intelligent.
My list never ends with his praises. And the fact that he’s a drop dead gorgeous Thor-lookalike dressed in biker clothing with a hipster twist is the icing on my favorite cake.
Can I see myself married to this man? Yes. Yes, I see us happily married, building a family, a home, a lifetime of memories. I see road trips on his motorcycle, working more cases together, watching our children grow into fine adults, spending time with the crew for all the special occasions to come. And when I leave this world, I see it with the man I love beside me, holding my hand and following me through those pearly gates into whatever our heaven may be.
Realization hits me hard. I stop mid-stroke, flipping over on to my back to stare up at the evening sky, seeing nothing but Chase’s face.
I want to marry Chase—like yesterday.
All this time, I’ve been terrified of falling in love, getting my heart broken, and starting all over again. Chase has been with me every step of the way since I left Trent, loving me in any form I allowed him to give me. The man lived a celibate life—not because I asked, but because he wanted to—waiting for me to see he’s a man worthy of my love.
Who cares if it’s early days? We’ve known each other for a year, learning all the private and intimate details about each other. We fit together, our opposites connecting us like puzzle pieces. His possessive side makes me swoon as much as it drives me up the walls. The way Chase takes ownership of my body in the bedroom has me begging for more. And there’s nothing more amazing than when he takes me in his arms, holding me to him like I’m the most precious person in existence.
“I love Chase,” I whisper to the sky in stunned awareness.
The man told me he loved me a year ago in his sleep, and I’m aching to say it back to him.
Tonight. I’ll tell him tonight when we go out on our date.
Oh, my God. Our date! I need to get ready.
To anyone watching me toss about in the pool as I rush to get out, I must look like the world’s most ungraceful mermaid, losing all coordination ability. Fuck being graceful. I have a date with the man I love, and I have to look amazing when I tell him I love him, too.
I’m running like a wet duck in my flip-flops past the weight room when Punk hollers after me. “Priss? Where’s the fire?”
“No time to explain,” I call over my shoulder. “I have to get ready for Chase.”
My face is flushed when I return to the hotel suite. Running sucks major hairy balls, but when I’m motivated, I’m one hell of a sprinter. I jump in the shower, quickly shampooing and conditioning my long hair to remove the chlorine smell. Thank goodness I splurged on waxing before this investigation started—with how jittery I am, I couldn’t be steady with a razor.
My body wash is swimming down the drain when I hear the suite door beep open. With a towel wrapped around my body, I bound out of the bathroom, finding Chase tossing several store bags onto the bed.
His return has me smiling like a lovesick teen. “There’s my sexy caveman.”
He eyes me with a raised pierced brow, a smirk tugging at his lips. In three long strides, he closes the distance between us, taking my face in his hands. He bends to connect our lips, kissing me deeply. “Fuck, baby. Away two hours, and I missed you something fierce.”
My heart flutters, beating excitedly against my chest. A girl could get used to his sweetness.
As much as I want to drop those coveted three words that mean everything, I hold back. He deserves to hear them in the perfect setting, probably after he’s taken me for a proper ride and stopped his bike somewhere for us to share a private moment together.
“Missed you, too. What’s all this?” I gesture at the bed littered withHarley Davidsonmerchandise bags. “You went retail shopping without me?”
