Chasing Trouble (Texas Trouble) (14 page)

"I'm sorry my mama did what she did, she was way out of line...but
it didn't have anything to do with why I hired you, neither did the fact that I want you," he murmured into her hair then pushed her away from him to look down into her eyes.  "You believe me?"

When she nodded, Chase breathed a sigh of relief
and squeezed her again.  He was going to use the next week to figure out if what they had going on between them was a flash in the pan, or if it had staying power. 

Either way,
the decision as to whether it continued after next week was totally hers. 

He didn't like it, but he'd have to live with it.

CHAPTER TEN

The smell of bacon frying drifted into the bedroom and teased Jenny awake.  She inhaled deeply, then stretched and opened her eyes.  Chloe stirred on her chest kneading there, before stretching too.

"Morning, baby girl," she said
groggily then scratched behind her cat's ears.  She'd expected the finicky animal to be scared in a new place, maybe hide under something for a while, but she'd surprised Jenny. 

Biscuits baking teased her senses and she wondered who was cooking in her kitchen.

It couldn't be Terri, because they'd said goodbye late last night, actually early this morning, before they finally turned in.  She and Joel had slept at Chase's house and were planning to leave early this morning. 

All four of them had
stayed up late talking and drinking way too much, so she figured they'd have a hard time getting up this morning.  Maybe they'd delayed leaving, she thought and threw back the covers to sit up on the side of the bed and rub her eyes.

Chloe followed
Jenny into the bathroom while she washed her face, brushed her teeth and took care of business.  Last night she'd been so tired, she had just shucked her shorts and shirt and climbed into bed in her underwear.  Her clothes were still packed in the back of the moving truck, so she'd have to wear the same clothes again until she could retrieve her suitcase. 

Jenny
snorted, thinking of how much Joel and Terri had helped her unpack.  All of her stuff was still in the truck.  Not one box had been moved, but they sure had a good time together last night by the pool.  Chase and Jenny had too.  It had been like they were all old friends, rehashing childhood stories that made them laugh until their sides hurt.  Worn out from the drama earlier in the day, they had all relaxed.  Chase had insisted that they weren't doing a damned thing other than relaxing.

Joel turned to be a hoot once he got a little wine in him, and Jenny kind of thought there might be some sparks flying between him and Terri.

It seemed to be a good distraction for the handsome heartbroken attorney.  Jenny was worried though that if something came of those sparks, her friend could get hurt.  Joel was newly single, and devastated by his wife's betrayal.  He was most likely on the rebound, trying to make the pain go away by reaffirming he was still among the living.

Th
at could spell trouble for Terri who was five years over her own breakup, and looking to settle down again.  Jenny had enough of her own troubles to worry about right now, though. 

Chase had told her that his mission for the next week was to make her want him as much as he wanted her.  Wanting him wasn't the problem
.  Letting herself act on her intense attraction to him was the issue.  It could complicate everything, and he seemed determined to pursue it, even though she'd related her concerns.

In addition to her medical knowledge, she was going to have to learn t
he oil drilling industry to do her job properly.  Focus would be as important to her here as it had been in at the hospital in Henrietta.  She wasn't treating patients, but she had huge learning curve, and lives would still be in her hands.

A relationship with Chase w
ould be a distraction she didn't need.  Somehow she was going to have avoid him for the next week, and find a place to live fast.  Or at least avoid being alone with him.  Because Jenny knew with one smile the man could have her panting for more.  If he turned on the charm, she was a goner for sure.

Pulling on the clothes
at the foot of the bed, Jenny walked to the dresser and put her hair up in a ponytail, then opened the bedroom door.  The sight that greeted her had her mouth watering for more than breakfast. 

Chase stood at the stove in red swim trunks, with a white barbecue apron
tied around his waist, the only thing blocking her view of his fabulous body.  His hair was wet and slicked back and he had a day's growth of beard on his jaw.  He looked like a male dancer who's character was that of a bad boy chef. 

Glancing back
over his shoulder, he gave her one of
those
smiles, and her knees wobbled. He definitely wasn't playing fair.

"Morning, beautiful," he said in that sexy drawl
and heat, not from the stove, made beads of sweat break out on her forehead.

Jenny blinked and swallowed a couple of times, then found her voice.  "Been swimming?"

He picked up the pan from the stove and slid fluffy scrambled eggs onto a platter.  "Yeah, I've been up a while.  I swim every morning," he told her with another lopsided grin and a shrug.

No damned wonder he looked like something out of a male fitness magazine
, she thought. 

Led by her nose, Jenny stumbled forward and told him,
"Um, that smells delicious..."

She sounded like an airhead she knew, but she couldn't help it.  Between
having another demonstration of his cooking abilities, and having him stand there in swim trunks cooking for her, her brain was as scrambled as those eggs.

"Sit down and let me spoil you," he told her and turned to put plates and silverware on the table.
  Definitely not playing fair.

"Chase, really, you didn't have to do this...
I usually just do a bagel or toast in the morning.  Coffee is my mainstay." she said and slid into a chair.

"The way to a woman's heart is through her stomach,
or so Maria tells me," he replied with a chuckle.  "She insisted on teaching me to cook, so I didn't starve out here." 

He reached up into the cabinet beside the sink and Jenny's eyes were magnetically drawn to his world class butt.  It was amazingly disp
layed in the tight swim trunks, as were the back of his magnificent long legs.  His defined back muscles flexed enticingly when he leaned in to pull down a coffee mug.  Jenny curled her fingers into her hands, because they itched to explore both.  A few beads of water still remained on the smooth skin at his shoulders and she wanted nothing more than to walk over there and lick them off. 

Beau had a beautiful body, fit and strong, but Chase took that to an entirely different level.  She'd never bee
n around anyone so physically perfect, and it was kind of intimidating.  He had sex appeal in spades and she was digging herself a deep hole by appreciating it.

To distract herself, she told him,
"You're only a quarter mile from the main house, it's not like the wilds of Texas or anything."

"Yeah, but she thinks it is...I don't venture up there very often.  I like my own space."
  His smile faded a little as he poured a cup of coffee and handed it to her.  "Coffee or sugar?"  Jenny shook her head and took a sip of the strong brew.

She imagined he was thinking of the drama
yesterday and his decision to move.  He didn't say anything though, he just reached for the platter of eggs and bacon on the counter and put it in the center of the heavy wooden breakfast table.

"Biscuits are in the oven...they're canned, so don't expect anything special."

"This is special," Jenny waved her hand around and told him with a soft smile. "Thanks for breakfast...nobody cooked for me before you came along.  It's kind of sexy," she told him with a grin, then picked up the serving spoon and filled her plate.

"
Oh, yeah?" he said seemingly surprised.  His beautiful smile reappeared, then he told her, "Well, I like to cook, so get used to it."  He sat down in the seat across from her and filled his own plate. 

That was the trouble here, she could definitely get used to being with Chase Rhodes.

"Did Terri and Joel leave?" she asked curiously then forked up a bite of the delicious, fluffy eggs into her mouth.  "Mmm...these are heavenly," she complimented as her taste buds found peppery and cheesy nirvana.

Heat filled his eyes and he studied her intently, then
cleared his throat.  "Yeah, they left right after I got up..." His eyes sparkled curiously then his lips kicked up in a wry smile, before he finished, "Funny thing, though...they both came out of the same bedroom this morning, and they left real quick."

Jenny's fork halted midway to her mouth and she groaned.  She would have to call Terri and get the scoop, make su
re she was okay. 

Jenny glanced
up at him and asked hopefully, "You short on beds over there?"

"Nope, have four of them..." Chase replied and popped a piece of bacon into his mouth
, before standing to walk to the oven.  He put on an oven mitt and opened the oven door then pulled out a tray of perfectly browned biscuits, which he brought back to the table. 

"Think maybe they were up all night talking?"
she suggested with a lifted brow.

He stopped beside the table then smirked and said, "
If they were talking, it's definitely the kind of conversation I want to have with you..."

Heat surged up her neck a
nd baked her face as need shot through her.  She needed to get the hell away from this sexually frustrating man--fast. 

"
So, can I borrow a truck to go house hunting today?" she asked abruptly and picked up a biscuit to butter it.

He watched her movements then his gaze locked on her lips and he said, "No, we're going together.  I made an appointment with a Realtor later this afternoon."

His eyes moved to hers and slowly, he walked around the table until he stood beside her chair.  The palpable electricity, which was always there between them, sizzled through her body.

"Feel it?" he asked in a low intimate tone.  She nodded, because the heady sexual current was undeniable
.  Moisture flowed down her body and settled south, and the biscuit fell from her fingers and landed on the plate.  Gently, he tugged her out of the chair then pulled her to him as his mouth descended toward hers.

A sigh of surrender escaped her lips
and her hands moved to his shoulders right before his mouth closed over hers.  Running her palms over the smooth skin she'd craved touching again for a week, Jenny wound her arms around his neck and tilted her head to deepen the kiss.  His hands moved to her hips, and his long fingers squeezed her before he pulled her firmly against him and moaned.

Chase
licked, sucked and worshipped her mouth, inciting a response in her body she couldn't control.  Her heart was pounding, her nipples were aching and at attention and her blood felt like it was fire in her veins.

With a moan, Jenny
pressed herself against him.  It wasn't a good idea to do this again, but her body disagreed, so she kissed him back just fiercely as he was kissing her.  Circling her hips against his, she felt him harden, long and thick at her lower abdomen.  She wanted to feel him inside of her, ached for it.  Her tongue found his and demonstrated to him what she wanted in an erotic dance that ramped up the throbbing at her center.  If she crawled inside of him, she didn't think it would be close enough to satisfy her. 

There was no getting around it, she was going to sleep with Chase Rhodes
again, and she was going to like it.  Love it. Just so she didn't let herself fall into the trap of loving him, which would be too easy to do if she wasn't careful, maybe they could just get this crazy thing they had out of their system and move on.  So far denying it hadn't worked, maybe indulging it was the better answer, as he'd suggested.

Chase slid h
is hands up her sides and underneath her t-shirt, and Jenny felt his touch all the way to her toes. When he moved his hands higher, up toward her breasts, she mewled her pleasure and leaned into his touch.  He dragged his lips from hers and kissed down her cheek to her throat, then along her collarbone, as his thumbs swept over her nipples, once, twice, then again before he pinched them.  Jenny shouted her pleasure as darts of fire shot through her.  He stood then pushed her t-shirt over her head and dropped it to the floor.

His eyes
raked from her face, down her neck and across her chest until they locked onto her breasts.  Leaning down, he kissed the top of each, then murmured against her skin,  "You are so beautiful, darlin'," before he sucked one of her nipples into his mouth through her bra and nipped it.

Jenny gasped
and grabbed his head in her hands then begged, "Please, Chase..." running her calf along his thigh.

Chase st
raightened then grabbed her leg, pulling her to him to place the head of his erection right where she needed him.  "Please
what
, baby?" he drawled near her ear, his hot breath teasing her hair.

Instead of answering, she rubbed herself against his hardness and
he sucked in a breath through his teeth, his fingers digging into her skin. The tension ramped up inside of Jenny and she moved faster against him, feeling herself heading for a peak.  She was panting and so close to bliss, when Chase pushed her away from him, breathing hard.  She stepped forward and caressed him through his swimsuit, and he groaned covering her hand with his.  "If you don't stop that, I'm gonna finish before we get started," he told her gruffly. 

Chase grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the bedroom. 
Right inside the door, he stopped and yanked on the thin straps at her hips and her panties floated to the floor.  Excitement zipped through her and Jenny grabbed his swim trunks then shoved them down, kneeling as she pushed them to his ankles.  He stepped out of them and she looked up at him licking her lips.  With a groan, he threw his head back and shut his eyes, holding the sides of her head with his hands.  A muscle worked at his jaw when she took him into her mouth and swirled her tongue around him.