Page 15 of Ride 'Em Hard
“I could go for a yogurt,” comes out of my mouth. Why? It’s the only fucking thing I can think of to get off the subject of me wanting him.
“Ha!” Chase tosses his head back, dimples in full view. It’s a soft chuckle, but the sound fills the room, and his smile—damn, it’s like it reaches out and grabs my soul, making me want to laugh too. There’s no way I can ignore his effect on me. Resistance is futile, and of course, Chase is shining those magnetic green eyes on me, checking me out, like he knows he has a bead on my psyche.
Keeping his eyes locked on mine, he scoots closer to me, and all I can think about is what his massive arms would feel like wrapped around my naked skin. How much would he fill me? What would his cock feel like pumping inside me? My nipples are so hard I feel the tips rubbing against my shirt. My pussy is pulsing for him again. He bends down and brushes his lips against my cheek, and I hold my breath. Closing my eyes, I feel the electricity surge and crackle between us. I can’t imagine how good it will be to finally let him take control and do whatever the hell he wants with me. I’m ready. The pills have worn off, and now I’m fighting the aching need to turn my head and suck on his luscious bottom lip.
“We’ve got to get out of here, sexy.”
My eyes flash open. “Huh?”
A sensuous light flickers in his eyes, and he tucks his mouth close to my ear. “It means your tongue-fucking will have to wait.”Tongue-fucking, tongue-fuckingrumbles through me down to my crotch. I’m two seconds away from touching myself.
“Right this second?”
“Yeah.” Chase frowns, pushing back and getting up off the bed. He pulls the covers off me and glances at the window. “I’m going to carry you. Angel’s waiting. There can’t be any screaming, or hitting. The Johnson boys are here—looking for you, no doubt—so we’ve got to keep quiet.” He’s the one whispering. His dead serious expression zaps any trace of morning sleepiness and happiness out of me.
My heart jumps in my throat as I watch him put on his hat. Then he grabs my crutch and props it against the wall by the front door. I keep my voice low. I mean, what the hell? Are they right outside the window? “But I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You were on their property. You left your car on their land. Regular laws don’t apply with drug dealers, especially when they’re hopped up themselves.”
I fix my T-shirt so it covers me and bring my legs to the side of the bed, relieved my ankle doesn’t hurt quite as much as it did yesterday. “So I’ve got a bunch of tweaked-out freak shows looking for me? Are you sure?”
Nodding, Chase lets out a low sigh. He saunters back to the bed and stands in front of me. “Yeah. They showed up behind the wheel ofyourcar, so they’re obviously trying to make an impression.” Chase peers down at me from under the brim of his hat.
I narrow my eyes at him. The rental company is going to ream me. I’m responsible for that car. Is there no option of calling the police? Would the police even get here in time? A million questions jam my brain, but for whatever reason, every instinct I have tells me to trust Chase to take care of this. After all, he’s taken care of me so far. “I won’t make a sound, promise.”
“Good. I’d rather not have you in the middle of any... discussions I might need to get into with Buck and Cletus.” Chase tucks a hand under my legs, the other under my arms, and in one easy move I’m in his arms with my head resting on his shoulder. I’m back in ChaseLand again, soaking up that mixture of fresh soap and buttery leather smells. No way am I complaining. I keep my mouth shut as he grabs the crutch and opens the door.
It takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the bright light. When they do, I don’t see any meth addicts. I’m guessing they’re in front of Doc’s house. The crisp morning breeze ruffles my hair as Chase carries me quickly down the steps and around to the back of the building.
Angel’s waiting in a pasture behind the little cabin, with her saddle on and twitching her tail. Chase’s shotgun is at the ready in his saddlebag. He quietly hurries across the field, and I hold my breath, tamping down an undercurrent of fear as I wait for two men to come out of nowhere and stop us in our tracks. Chase maneuvers around rocks, making me bounce in his arms.
When we finally reach Angel, I start breathing again. We’re not totally out of the woods, but we’re better off than we were a few minutes ago. This close, I’m shaded by Chase’s hat. I peer up at him, hoping for a final word before we take off. I don’t know if I’m expecting an explanation or a pep talk, but I need to hear something from him. Chase angles down at me, the sparks ricocheting between us.
“Let’s do this.” His eyes are locked on mine with an expression that seems to be saying a million things I don’t understand.
Before I can question him, Chase clutches me tight, grabs the saddle horn and hauls me up onto Angel with him. “You hold on to this,” he whispers, passing me the crutch. I grab it and lay it crosswise on my lap.
My back is against Chase’s massive chest and I can feel the edginess pouring off his body. He gives Angel a cue, and we set off through the pasture in a fast walk.
Step after step over the bumpy terrain, his tension doesn’t let up. I feel it wrapped up in knots behind me. I don’t have the sense that Chase is flat-out afraid of anything, but he’s alert, in an all-systems-go mode, ready to pounce in an instant. He’s got this. Whateverthisends up being, I know Chase will take care of it.
And as crazy as it sounds, now that his arms are around me, I feel safer than I ever have in my life. It’s as if I’m in a cocoon where no one can touch me. After a little way, we cross a hill and enter a valley where patches of purple and yellow wildflowers cover the grass. I feel the stress in Chase’s muscles fall away, and something suddenly dawns on me.
