Page 33 of Legal

“All because of a little age difference?”

Little?“You don’t understand, Chase.” I didn’t even understand why I was sitting there, stewing in my own juices, ready to bubble over just because he was near. There was a connection I couldn’t fathom. He was my siren song. “Since you wanted to continue playing, I’ll make another wager. I’ll kiss you if you can name my favorite love song.”

I could have just said no without the games, but I was being a coward. Taking the easy way out. He wouldn’t guess it, and that would be that. It’d end before it even began.

He leaned over and lifted my hair, just like he did that day he’d asked me to dinner. A chill went through me the same way too, and I shivered. “Wild Horses.”

I jerked back. “Wait, what?” There was no freaking way.

“Is that another fact, Jillian?” He was smiling, but it wasn’t in that cute, charming way. It was in that sexy, ‘I want to eat you’ way.

“How…?”

“You were humming it on the Sky Glider. Since it is a love song, although a sad one, I took a chance. I guess it paid off in spades.”

“I don’t see it as sad. I see it as love eternal. I….”

His mouth moved to mine, but our lips didn’t touch. “Okay, Jillian. I’ll go with your interpretation.”

My body was thumping hard, fully in the present, as my mind raced back to that night. “But it was probably only seconds.” And I was humming quietly. And what the hell? That song was way before his time. It was barely mine.

“Lucky for me I pay attention.” The distance between us narrowed, shocking my mind back at breakneck speed.

“No, lucky for me,” I said, tilting forward enough to make that first brief contact. My body got its way. I didn’t care anymore; I wanted this, and I wasn’t going to fight it.

Chase tangled his fingers in my hair, drawing me in deeper. I parted my lips for him, and his tongue entwined with mine, sharing my breath and giving me every reason to take it further. Taking away every reason to stop.

I moaned into his mouth, and his kiss went lower, dancing down my neck. Soft lips hard on my skin, licking and nibbling, turning me into a throbbing mass of hypersensitive nerves. His scent drove me insane. He drove me insane.

A sharp bang on the door made me jerk. Chase pulled away and the absence of him covered me like a dark cloud. I wanted him back immediately. “Are you going to get that?” he asked, his lips swollen from devouring me.

I shook my head, thinking of all the other places his mouth still needed to go. He smiled and closed back in. I was so ready to be smothered by a slab of steel.

The front door flew open. “Surprise!”

I jumped clean out of my skin, landing in the middle of the living room. Once I collected my wits, I stormed over to Perry, ready to take away her key privileges forever.

“Fireworks were canceled, so I got to come even earlier. See,” she said, dropping down to a hushed tone, “I told you it was the perfect plan.”

Yes, perfect.

Fucking perfect.

Isat on the cat-shredded chair and watched the rain pelting from the corner of my sunroom/office. I rubbed my hands against the stained arms; it was trashed, but too comfortable to get rid of. Mr. Waffles was no longer with us, but he’d left his mark on the house, namely this chair that he’d used as his scratching post. Being Daniel’s bud, I couldn’t help but smile every time I sat in it.

A peal of thunder rattled the huge windows around me, reminding me that this was probably the least safe place to be during a storm, but it was also my favorite. I curled my legs underneath me, rested my head back, and enjoyed the show.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been alone on the Fourth. My choice, but still… it felt odd. Every year, the party started here. We’d grill out and hang outside, playing volleyball, shooting the Frisbee around, whatever. And then we’d walk down to Candle Park for the festivities before the fireworks blew off. When Daniel was younger, we’d start the day even earlier by going to the parade in the morning.

This was also the first year everything got rained out. The city would reschedule at a later date, probably next weekend if the weather cooperated. I took a sip of coffee and glanced over at my computer. I could squeeze in some work today too if the mood struck, but for now, I was content to watch my driveway flood.

Speaking of flooding….

I ground my palm against my temple, trying to blot out the previous night. Once my boiling point had lowered, dropping down to a simmer, I was somewhat rational again. Chase left shortly after Perry arrived, and Perry left shortly after that. She and I talked for a bit, but then I told her it was fine to get back to Stephen. I was fine. Never better. Her plan was indeed perfect.

That plan had stopped me from making the kind of mistake I’d regret in the morning. If she hadn’t arrived when she did, I could have been sitting on that stringy chair beating myself up instead of savoring my alone time.

God, Chase… I guzzled the rest of the cup, feeling the burn coat my throat. His touch was still on me as if it had branded its mark. I ran my fingers over my neck, mimicking the course of his lips. Trembling, I drew more tightly into a ball and let my brain go nuts.

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