Take What You Want (17 page)

Wheland watched the heat
passing between Alex and Chase and cleared his throat. “Okay,
now you really have to tell me about the dude,” he said.
“What's his story?” When Alex failed to answer, Wheland
snapped his fingers in front of Alex's face.

“
What?”
Alex finally asked. He jerked his attention back to Wheland, but he
wasn't happy about losing sight of Chase. “What's your
problem?”

“
I
asked you a question,” Wheland said.

“
I
didn't hear it,” Alex said. “Care to repeat it?”

Wheland shook his head,
smiling at Alex's inability to keep his eyes off Chase. “What's
his story?” he asked. “Is he staying here with you?”

Alex
felt his face flush and grinned at himself. Was he really blushing?
When was the last time he'd done that, he thought. “His name
is Chase and he lives in the guest cottage over there,” Alex
offered. “He's the property manager for this place and a bunch
of others on the island.”

“
How'd
you hook up?” Wheland asked.

“
I
didn't say we did.”

“
Christ,
Alex, it's written all over your horny face. If you're not banging
hips with him yet, you will be soon. I know that look.”

“
You
know nothing,” Alex said.

“
I
know you're interested in him,” Wheland said. He bent forward,
closer to Alex. “I thought you came out here to get as far
away as you could from distractions like him. Don't you think it's a
little too soon for you to be risking so much?”

“
What
the fuck am I risking?” Alex asked. “It's not like have
to worry about my private life being smeared on the front page of the
music rags. That's already been done and I survived. End of story.”

Wheland shook his head and
glanced over his shoulder at Chase. “Look, just be careful,”
he said. “That's all I'm saying.”

“
Not
my first rodeo,” Alex said.

“
Ain't
that the truth,” Wheland said with a smirk.

Alex
watched Cooper and Jared climbing the stairs out of the pool, shaking
off the water from their bodies like dogs, then his gaze went back to
Chase. Hands down, the man was fucking gorgeous, but what the hell
was
he doing with him? It made no sense to drag a nice guy like Chase
into the whirl-wind that was his life. He had no justification for
his actions the previous night and simply being horny wasn't good
enough reason. He knew better than to fool around with straight men
– or even bi-curious dudes, no matter how fucking hot they
were.

Chase
was seriously messing with his head and shifting the boundary lines
Alex typically did his best to work within. How quickly Chase had
gotten under his skin; which was also something Alex never allowed to
happen. In the past, it had been about pleasure and nothing more.
The one time he'd allowed emotions to be involved, he got hurt.
Badly. Did he really want to open himself up to that a second time?
The way he was drooling over Chase, he had every reason to believe if
he wasn't careful, he'd once again be on the losing end of things and
he couldn't let that happen.

If
Alex had half a brain cell left in his head, he'd stop this
thing
with Chase right now before it went any further. Even knowing the
potential for disaster that could be ahead for him, Chase, and Danni,
he knew he couldn't stop seeing Chase.

There
was something special about Chase, and Alex knew he had to follow it
through – no matter what the consequences. His biggest fear:
what would happen after Danni returned. Would he be old news for
Chase after she came home? Would Danni freak when she learned her
fiancé had been fucking around with the likes of him? Would
this knowledge cause Chase and Danni to break-up and did he want that
on his conscience if they did?

Why was he always interested
in partners already taken? Hadn't he learned his lesson in that
regard? It was as if he purposefully went out of his way to find
situations that wouldn't work so he'd never have to risk losing his
heart again. His thoughts drifted back to the first and only time he
was careless with his heart and every muscle in his body tensed.
Almost six years and countless lovers had passed since and it still
felt like yesterday; the open wound inside refusing to heal.

Almost as if he knew what
Alex was thinking, Wheland said, “I heard Adam is back in the
States.”

“
Good
for him,” Alex shrugged, trying to act ambivalent even though
he was anything but.

“
He's
been sniffing around for work,” Wheland said. “Says he
needs a job.”

Alex shook his head and
glared at Wheland. “Makes not one bit of difference to me,”
he said. “I'm quite happy with the lighting techs we have now
and so are the rest of the guys.”

“
I'm
not trying to stir up trouble, Alex,” Wheland said. “I
just thought you'd want a heads-up on the situation.”

“
There's
no situation,” Alex said. “Adam can sniff around all he
wants, but I got nothing for him. That shit is all in the past –
where it belongs.”

Alex's eyes bounced to the
far side of the pool patio to Chase. He watched Chase bend over to
scrub a tire and warmth spread through his body replacing the
negative energy the memory of Adam had put there. He had no room for
thoughts of Adam. Not when he had someone as genuine as Chase in his
life.

In
his life?

Where the hell did Alex get
off thinking Chase was in his life? They'd fooled around one night
and now he thought Chase shared something with him beyond the
physical connection they'd discovered that one time? He'd done more
sexually with groupies after a show and that had meant nothing, so
why in hell did it feel different with Chase?

It
was different because Chase made you
feel
different; made you feel things you haven't felt in years. That's
why.

Jesus! He was losing touch
with reality.

“
Son
of a bitch,” Alex muttered. He stood up abruptly from his
chair, scraping the wooden legs across the patio stones with the back
of his calves. He pulled his cell phone from the pocket of his
shorts, removed his sunglasses, wrist watch, and t-shirt, then dove
into the cool water of the pool.

Somehow
he had to figure out a way to survive this
thing
with Chase without killing either one of them in the process.

-0-

Chase sat up in the kitchen
chair when he heard the footsteps crossing his wooden porch, then
came the knock on his door. He glanced at the wall clock. It was
nearly nine o'clock at night – a full three nights since he and
Alex had been together – not that he was counting, and he
certainly wasn't expecting company. He opened the door and saw Alex
standing there wearing a tight white t-shirt and worn jeans, no
shoes, his lips tipped up in that sexy lopsided grin that did strange
and wonderful things to him. Chase's breath caught at the sight.

“
Alex,”
he said in a breathy tone, his outstretched arm gripped the edge of
the open door. “Is everything okay at the house?” Chase
watched Alex's eyes drag down his bare chest, hesitate on his groin,
then drift back up to his face. He
felt
that heated glance, too, all the way to the tip of his cock. Chase
shifted his weight to his other foot, feeling his cock beginning to
thicken inside his pants.

“
Do
you always answer your door wearing nothing but jeans and a smile?”
Alex asked.

Chase laughed and motioned
Alex inside. “I started to change after work and then got
distracted with paperwork,” he said. “Want a beer?”

“
I'd
love one,” Alex said, and sat down in a kitchen chair. “Did
I interrupt your paperwork?”

“
I
hate paperwork,” Chase said. “You showing up means I can
procrastinate some more.”

Chase
pulled out another chilled beer from the refrigerator. He popped off
the cap and handed it to Alex, then reached for his open beer sitting
on the table. “So, what's going on? Did you break something
at the house that I need to fix?”

“
Nope,
everything's fine,” Alex said. He looked at Chase leaning
against the counter top by the sink and smiled.

“
I
thought you had guests,” Chase said.

“
I
do, at least until the weekend, maybe longer,” Alex said. “I'm
not really sure yet.”

Chase nodded and sipped from
his beer. Alex looked nervous; uncharacteristic for him. His leg
twitched and his body language was tight. It was obvious Alex had
something on his mind and Chase wondered if he'd come over to tell
him the other night had been a mistake and it could never happen
again. It would hurt to hear Alex say it, but maybe it was for the
best.

“
The
timing of their visit sucks,” Alex said.

“
Wasn't
it pre-planned?” Chase asked.

“
Sort
of,” Alex said. “I didn't know exactly when they'd fit
the trip into their schedule.”

“
I
heard you guys jamming yesterday by the pool,” Chase said.
“Sounded really good.” Chase liked the smile Alex
flashed. It warmed him and made his cock jump again.

“
I'm
glad you liked it,” Alex said. “I was nervous you'd be
pissed off by all the noise.”

“
I
thought it was kinda cool,” Chase said. “Don't forget,
I've been a fan of Ivory Tower for a long time.”

“
Good
to know,” Alex said. He combed his hair off his face with his
fingers and shifted in the chair. “Listen, I've felt bad we
haven't had a chance to really talk since the other night.”

And
here it came, Chase thought, the gentle kiss-off from something that
he wasn't sure had even begun. After the conversation he'd had with
Danni a few days back, that's exactly what he thought it should be
with Alex: a one time thing. He'd be damned for what he was feeling,
but a one time thing with Alex is
not
what he wanted. He wanted more – a whole lot more.

“
I
wanted to make sure you were cool with what happened,” Alex
said, “And, you weren't freaking out or something.”

Chase felt heat rise in his
cheeks and smiled nervously; looking down at the floor. “It
was fine.”

“
Fine
?”
Alex asked with a lighthearted smirk and a coy tip of his head.
“That doesn't exactly stroke my ego.”

God, he loved it when Alex
flirted with him. It did magical things to him that he could not
deny or explain. “It was better than fine,” Chase said.
“I'd say more like … fucking amazing.”

“
For
me, too,” Alex said. “I can't stop thinking about it –
or you.”

Hmmm, so maybe Alex didn't
want it to be a one time thing, either, Chase thought. He emptied
his beer and set the bottle onto the counter. Then watched Alex
stand up, the unmistakeable bulge of a hard-on expanding the front of
his jeans, and cross the room toward him. He stopped in front of
Chase; close but not touching. Chase could feel the heat and energy
of Alex radiating between them. It was more powerful than any drug
Chase had experienced. His entire body began to respond to this
closeness, tingling and vibrating; aching for another kiss or touch
from Alex. One move from Alex is all it would take and the fuse
would be lit for Chase and he'd have to act upon the urge. Again.
Going against what Danni wanted for them, but nonetheless following
his heart.

Alex took another step. His
fingertips ran the length of Chase's whiskered jaw line. Chase
shivered at this touch and their eyes met.

“
I
couldn't stop myself,” Alex whispered. “I had to see you
again.”