Page 79 of Legal

I was pulsing inside, the skin on my top inner thighs cool from the air kissing the dampness. “I want it as hard as you can give me.” I looked into his eyes. “Take it all, Chase.”

The next thing I saw was stars. He had slammed into me with such force, making me feel like I’d left my body for a moment. The initial ache was intense. So deep, so deep… My breath grew heavy. I was in such a helpless position, angled for penetration that pushed me just beyond the limit.

He rubbed his body against mine, grinding into me, teetering the boundaries between pleasure and pain. We’d fucked hard before, but this was as primal as it got. I was blown away, and I never wanted it to stop.

My moans must have provoked him further because he was relentless, never slowing, giving me exactly what I’d asked for. I craved him deeper than was physically possible. As I was staring into his face, the orgasm blindsided me out of nowhere, coming at me when I wasn’t expecting it. There was no build-up, no warning; it just hit me head-on, knocking me senseless. I screamed as I felt myself rip apart, and moments later, his body shook and collapsed on top of mine.

Chase was right there in the aftermath, his hard muscles pressing against my chest, my legs returned to horizontal. Our sweat mingled together, and I felt like a delicious, crumpled mess. My everything throbbed, an ache that radiated from the inside out, letting me know just how well my body had been used in its entirety.

We were in the backseat of a fucking car. I had never done anything like that before, losing control like a couple of horny teenagers. I’d been so swept away I hadn’t even had the ability to make it home first. What had ever possessed me to act like that?

His chest rose and fell above mine, his lips resting over my neck. He’d consumed my body and took ownership.

Chase. That’s what had possessed me.

“Are you ready for dinner?”

His arms were tight around me as I wiggled in his lap. “You’re always hungry.”

“What can I say? I have a voracious appetite.” He nuzzled his jaw against my neck, both tickling and making me squirm.

Another perfect night. We’d been having a lot of those lately. Not every single day with each other, but close. Making spicy meals together, long conversations about music and living the life you love, singing in melody to his guitar, feeling like I’d died and gone to Heaven. I’d never in my life laughed so hard nor came so frequently. Chase was the almost-ideal man. Almost.

It was the last day of August. Soon to be a new month. Soon to be another month, then another. At least when wedidbreak off, it’d be on top. My heart would take a huge blow, but I was strong enough to recover. I was just making it harder for myself by extending our time until the very last moment, but I was willing to take that risk. I felt too good around Chase not to.

He was young and damn near perfect. He’d move on as well, easier than I would. I felt a slight twinge over who would have him next, but I shook it off. I didn’t want to destroy this time while I had him now.

“Do you want to make something with your other secret ingredient?” I asked. He’d brought over a bottle of apple cider vinegar today. Another item from his fajita recipe. I still wasn’t close to having the full thing, but maybe I’d get it as a going-away present.

“We could dye Easter eggs.”

“That’s white vinegar, silly. And we’re seven months early.” My gut tightened. I’d no longer be with him then. I hopped off his lap.God, Jillian, stop being so frickin’ dramatic.

I went into the kitchen. And to think that I almost asked him to temporarily move in with me. For practical reasons, but still. I was concerned about him living in the same house as Trevor after what happened. More freaked out that Chase would do something stupid and have to pay the price for Trevor’s assholeness. But it’d all worked out. Trevor cleared out early, and Chase assured me that everything was good, nothing to worry about anymore. Thank God. If I thought my heart was strained now, what would happen to it if I’d gone to bed with him every night and woke up beside him every morning? It would have snapped back and broken completely.

I opened the fridge, debating if I wanted to take that last Spotted Cow. There was one left from the six-pack he’d given me on our first official non-date. Nah, I’d keep it around for a while yet. I grabbed an Apple Ale instead, taking one for him too.

Chase was right behind me, hugging my waist. I shut the fridge and set the bottles on the counter, then turned to face him. After a long kiss, I asked, “So, what do you have in your goodie bag today?”

He usually brought over the food for our dinners. A variety of this and that. Sometimes he had a plan and sometimes we created something out of a mishmash of ingredients. It was always delicious.

Chase unlocked his arms from me and reached for the paper bag. He peered inside. “Hmm, let’s see. We have red pepper flakes and Roma tomatoes”—he pulled them from the bag and placed them next to the beer—“and some fresh mozzarella. And”—Chase handed me a familiar-looking card—“I found this today underneath the seat.”

“Thanks.” I stuck it on the fridge with a magnet. I thought I’d collected everything from my dumped purse that night, but obviously not. I already knew when and where the party was, so I hadn’t even noticed the missing invitation.

I turned back around to see him looking at me strangely. Did I have something hanging from my nose? I brushed it with my finger. “Uh, something wrong?”

“Were you going to invite me?” he asked softly.

My mouth dropped a little. Out of all the things I imagined had caused his funny look, that was not one of them. Was he for real?

“Chase?” I went over and leaned against the counter with him. “No, I wasn’t. Does that bother you?”

“Yes, Jillian. Of course, it does.”

I shook my head, clearing out some cobwebs. I was trying to make sense of this. An engagement party? Why would he want to go to one of those? It’s almost like inviting him to an actual wedding.

The atmosphere had shifted an entirely new direction. I could feel it in the air, and it made my skin bristle. No, this was not happening. We’d had nothing but harmony since that night at Wengo’s, and the reason why? Because it’d been just the two of us.

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