Page 11 of Christmas With the Convict

“And your mom?”

Again, Chase gives me a slow shake of his head.

Looking at this man, you’d see a beefy, intimidating figure with a threatening glare. He’s handsome, to be sure, but it’s easy to lose sight of that among the tattoos and wild eyes.

And yet, all I see is a man plagued by pain.

He looks at people defensively, returning their suspicion and fear. Up there, among my snobby family, he’s a convict. A criminal. Something dangerous and toxic.

But here, with me, his edges soften. He gives me glimpses of everything hiding behind the ink and the eyes and the scars.

He’s dangerous to me, but in a way I hope he isn’t with anyone else.

“I’m sorry, Chase,” I say, scooting closer. His bare legs swallow me up, bringing a heat that makes my chest heave. “I’m sorry no one was there for you today.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he hums. “No one’s ever been there.”

A tear breaks free and rolls down my cheek.

I’ve read stories meant to make me weep, but no one’s ever made me feel this sort of sadness. It’s tinged with something else, something rising in my core and tingling in my fingertips.

Chase reaches over the blanket, cautiously cups my face, and wipes the tear away.

“You were there,” he says, drawing me closer. “If I’m being honest, I didn’t want to leave that place today.”

“What?” I laugh and nestle against his palm, allowing myself to slide closer and closer until we’re practically wrapped up under the blanket. “Why wouldn’t you want to leave?”

We’re so close that I can feel his breath. The warmth spreads down my chin, tickling my neck as he speaks.

“Because I didn’t want to miss your class,” he whispers, nose brushing across mine, “I wanted to see you, one last time.”

My hands travel up his tense, solid arms. I let my fingers glide over every bulge up his shoulders until I’m holding his gorgeous, damaged face in my hands. My thumb finally feels that jagged scar along his jaw.

“You had a staring problem, you know?” My words travel breathlessly to his lips.

“Yeah,” he hums. “So did you.”

Finally, there’s nowhere left for us to go. No more space to fill.

Our lips seal, and we pull each other greedily into a deep kiss that I hope never ends. It’s like losing myself in an amazing book. When I no longer register my fingers flipping the pages. When words and sentences become vivid images in my head.

He pulls me into his lap, hands completely under my nightgown, tugging at my panties and taking handfuls of everything I have to offer. Everything I want him to take for himself…

If he was wearing a shirt, I’d shred it from his hunky body.

If this massive house was vacant, I’d moan his name as the bulge between his legs presses against me.

If these were more favorable circumstances, I know exactly how far we’d go…

Unfortunately, we don’t get the chance.

The door to the basement opens.

“Shit.”

Before we can completely untangle ourselves, I hear my nephews giggle and run back up the stairs.

I sigh and fall back against the couch, feet still in Chase’s lap. “Well, at least it wasn’t my dad.”

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