Page 52 of Chasing Grace
“We good?” Cody asked her as he walked by.
“Yep.”
He smiled and winked. “Later, hater.” He brushed past Chase, who stood with his white-knuckled hand on the doorknob watching the exchange. Tak followed, putting a quick hand on her shoulder on the way by.
Exhausted, Gray turned her back and spotted her consolation prize on the table by the window. Halle-fucking-lujah, Chase forgot the vodka. Without realizing it, she’d drifted toward the promise of a good night’s sleep, and disappointment rocked her again when the asshole’s large, capable hand came around her.
He plucked the bottle off the table by the neck.
She froze. Unprepared for his sudden proximity, her body swayed toward his gravitational pull, her blood rushed, and her skin prickled with need. With his free hand, he circled her waist, his palm laid flat against her stomach. Slowly and deliberately, he drew her back against his chest until their upper bodies came together.
Familiar, comforting, and so very wrong, his heat seeped through her shirt and into her skin. Fiancée or not, married to the military or not, she wanted him still, and she had to resist the urge to turn in his arms and beg him to stay.
He let her suffer for the space of a heartbeat before he kissed the back of her head. His tenderness brought tears to her eyes, and she hated herself for her weakness. She hated herself even more for the sob she stifled when he left without a word, closing the door quietly behind him.
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
Mentally and emotionally drained afterthe fight with Gray, Chase finished updating Tak and Cody on the situation with Grant Kincaid.
“Don’t worry about Gray,” Tak said, clapping Chase on the shoulder. “I’ll keep my eye on her tonight. Get some sleep. I’m sure she’ll be ready to talk to you in the morning.”
“If she doesn’t gut him on first sight,” Cody mumbled.
“Not helpful, dumbass.” Tak twisted the doorknob to his room as Cody did the same to his. Both doors squeaked open.
“Thanks,” Chase said, too tired to offer much more.
Tak acknowledged with a nod and shut himself in with Gray. Chase followed Cody, and setting her bottle of vodka down on the table, he carefully sank his ass into one of the rickety chairs in front of the window.
Questions without answers hounded him and leaving the situation with Gray unresolved made him want to hightail it right back to her to pick up where they’d left off. To prevent any stupid moves on his part, he kicked his boots off. If he wanted his brain to shut down, he needed a few minutes to unwind before he showered and slept.
Legs cramped from too many hours of driving, he stretched his calf muscles and crossed his ankles on Zander Cavanaugh’s bed. On a “need to know” assignment for the colonel, nobody knew where Z had disappeared to or when he’d be back, leaving his bed free for the taking.
Regardless, Chase wasn’t happy about the sleeping arrangements.
He wanted to be next door—with Gray tucked in next to him—if only to make sure she didn’t bolt in the night. He trusted Tak had it covered, but until Chase had things squared away with her, he wouldn’t rest easy.
“So, you and the colonel’s daughter, huh.” Cody put a couple of glasses on the table with one hand and offered Chase one of two ice-cold longnecks with the other.
“Not yet.” Chase took a hard pull of his beer. The bitter taste matched his mood.
Cody eased his bulk into the chair opposite, and the damn thing creaked and groaned while working overtime to keep him off the floor. Once safely seated, he poured them each a shot of Gray’s vodka.
He clinked his glass against the spare and tossed it back. “Wow.” His face puckered in imitation of a raisin. “This truly is some bad shit.”
“According to the resident expert, ‘Carl’s Dry Goods, Plumbing Supply, and Liquor Emporium’ didn’t have any vodka actually worth drinking.” Chase grinned at the memory, and not to be outdone, he downed the contents of his glass. The vodka burned its way to his stomach, and not in a good way.
“Gray’s a piece of work,” Cody said.
Together as members of the JTT for the past two years, Chase recognized the compliment. Cody Babbitt only slept with women who were easy, and there were hordes of those. He’d already bagged most of them in this county and probably the next closest two. If he considered a woman a piece of work, it meant she was worth the time and effort of a serious relationship.
Chase didn’t need to, but he said it anyway. “Don’t get any ideas, numbnuts.”
“Easy, Mac. Your girl’s a piece of work with one hell of an ass, but I’m not her type, and she’s not mine.”
“You mean she doesn’t screw strangers in the bathroom at the 7-Eleven.”
“Exactly. And she’s not into jerks who do. And since you just had your balls handed to you on a platter, I’m guessing she’s not big into cheating dicks either.”
