The Thrill of the Chase (11 page)

"
You been cooking long?
"

"
N-no. Ashley and Monica take turns. I didn
'
t think it would be hard.
"

"
It
'
s not so bad, babe. You just need practice,
"
he said gently.

"
I can
'
t imagine subjecting someone to my practice attempts.
"

At the thought of someone else, some guy, eating her food, a ribbon of jealousy slid through him. It was ridiculous, he knew.
Her food was bad
.

He needed to take his mind off it.
"
How about I take you out to eat?
"

Julie was so embarrassed she wanted to crawl under a rock. Or go to bed and put her head under her pillow and not wake up for days.
"
No, thanks. I
'
m not hungry.
"
She looked up at him, her heart in her eyes.

"
It
'
s okay, babe.
"

"
I
'
m so embarrassed.
"

"
Don
'
t worry about it. Throw some jeans on and let
'
s go get some food.
"

"
No, really, you don
'
t have to do that. I know you
'
ve got other things to do. I
'
ll be okay.
"

Gibson couldn
'
t force her to go. He knew it wasn
'
t a good idea to be around her too much, anyway. When she stood up and began clearing the table, he came to his feet.

Julie glanced up and pinned a smile to her face.
"
Let me get the keys for you.
"

She walked him to the door and was about to thank him when he put a finger under her chin and lifted.

"
Thanks for trying, babe.
"
His finger ran over her bottom lip.
"
You
'
re sweet.
"

She watched him intently. He could feel her body trembling. Her voice was soft.
"
Thanks for the car loan. Thanks for having my car repaired. Thanks for every
--"

"
Shh. That
'
s enough. You don
'
t have to thank me.
"
He didn
'
t want to leave. When he left, he didn
'
t have any plausible reason to come back. He didn
'
t know when he
'
d get to see her again.

Fuck Ryan
.

He couldn
'
t stop himself and leaned down to kiss her forehead. It was all he would allow himself. It was all he
could
allow himself under the circumstances.

Her skin was soft and smooth under his lips and he steeled himself not to grab her. Her sweetness was becoming an addiction. Her softness mesmerized him. He breathed in her scent, trying to memorize it and then swiftly put her away from him.

"
Stay sweet, baby. Take care.
"
His voice sounded tortured even to himself.

He quickly turned and left.

****

Exactly eight days later, Gibson
'
s cell phone rang as he came back in the house from taking out the trash.
Hot
little blonde chick
blinked up at him. An arrow of inappropriate pleasure ran through his system as he answered.

"
Hey. What
'
s up?
"
He grimaced when he heard the enthusiasm in his voice.
Gay. Dude, be cool.

Julie started talking immediately.
"
Gibson, I don
'
t know what
--
I don
'
t know what to do.
"

Fear slid through his gut at her shaky words.
"
What
'
s wrong?
"

"
I
'
m at home. In the parking lot. There are police cars everywhere. I
'
m scared to go up, I
--"

He interrupted her.
"
Stay put. Where
'
s your cousin? Where
'
s Monica?
"

"
Ashley
'
s with Ryan. Monica
'
s at her parent
'
s house.
"

"
Calm down, babe. Don
'
t attempt to get in your apartment. Leave everything and come over here. You remember the way?
"
The worry in his voice was apparent.

"
I can
'
t come there
--"
she argued.

"
Why the hell not?
"
He
'
d go find her and drag her back here if he had to.

"
I don
'
t know--I
'
ll call Ashley. Maybe go to Ryan
'
s.
"

"
No. You
'
ll come here.
"

"
Gibson
--"

"
Quit arguing and start driving. You remember how to get here?
"

"
Yes, I think so.
"

"
Good girl. Call me back if you need directions.
"

"
Okay.
"

He could hear the relief in her voice.

"
Julie.
"

"
Yeah?
"

"
Be careful, babe.
"

****

An hour later, Julie finally pulled into Gibson
'
s driveway. It should have only taken her forty minutes tops and he was about to go ballistic. Why the hell was she late? His nerves had been crucified waiting for her.

He stood in the driveway and opened her door when she stopped.
"
You okay?
"

"
Yeah.
"

"
Come on, let
'
s get you inside.
"

Julie grabbed her purse, locked her car and followed him into the house. It was as beautiful as she had imagined it. Had someone decorated it for him?
Some woman?
A feeling of jealousy for the unknown woman slid through her. She wanted to be the one to take care of him.
Fat chance
. She couldn
'
t even cook him a decent meal.

Gibson led her through the house and picked up her bag and tossed it in a chair. He took her by the shoulders and gripped her upper arms.
"
You okay?
"

She sucked in a huge breath of air and slowly exhaled.
"
Yeah.
"
Julie
'
s eyes drank him all the way in. He was tall and hard and dark, and he was making her legs quake, just like he always did. He had on a tight, ripped t-shirt and faded jeans. His feet were bare.
God, he even had sexy feet.

Gibson held her in the circle of his arms while her scent invaded his senses. Arousal hit him hard, low in the gut.
"
I
'
m glad you called me.
"

Her eyes were luminous as she watched him.
"
I don
'
t
--
I don
'
t know why I did.
"

"
Yeah, you do.
"

Silence met his words.

Their eyes tangled as desire, sharp and hot flowed between them. Her body trembled under his hands.

Julie
'
s soft skin felt perfect under his touch. He hadn
'
t seen her or heard from her in eight long days and this just felt right. The rest of the world began to blur. His mind focused on Julie. His body focused on Julie. Nothing else mattered. He couldn
'
t seem to comprehend why anything or anybody else should matter. He absolutely couldn
'
t bring himself to give a fuck.
This was about her
.

A low sound vibrated from deep in his diaphragm as he lowered his head to hers.
"
Fuck Ryan.
He
'
s on his own.
"

Julie sucked in a breath as Gibson
'
s mouth closed over hers. For the space of a second, the memory of the brutal, punishing kiss he had given her invaded her brain and she steeled her body against his. But almost immediately, she sensed this kiss was different and languor washed through her as she leaned in against him.

Her mind splintered as pleasure inundated her entire being.
Oh, God, yes!
This was it! This was the kind of kiss she wanted, the kind of kiss she needed from him. Her hands crawled up his chest and wrapped around his neck as she gave herself up to him. His scent washed over her and her breath got caught in her lungs as she felt herself trembling. She
'
d wanted this for so long! The things he made her feel were so strong, so absolute. Nothing had ever compared to it before.

Her mind shut down as she felt a rush to her head and anticipation curled through her stomach.

Gibson
'
s body hardened and ferocious need lacerated his guts as he felt Julie melt against him.
She was his for the taking!
And he wasn
'
t going to waste another second trying to be noble. He wanted her. He needed her naked against him. In his bed.
Now.

Julie felt her head swim as her feet came off the floor and Gibson lifted her and turned all in one sudden movement. His mouth broke away from hers and he began walking from the room, carrying her in his arms as if she weighed nothing. Arousal and need flowed through her. As he pushed through the doorway into a darkened bedroom, he dropped her to her knees on the bed. Her hands slid down to his chest.

"
You know how long I
'
ve wanted you here? In my house, in my bed?
"
His voice was low, coming from his chest in a deep rumble.

She shook her head and lowered her hands to his sides. She slid his t-shirt up, until her hands touched his hot flesh. His body jerked under her fingers.

"
A long time. Weeks, babe. Since that first night.
"
His hands reached down between them and unsnapped her jeans and slid down the zipper.

A rush of thrilled heat ran through her blood stream.

He pulled her jeans down just enough to push his hand inside and cup her heat through her panties. She gasped and swayed toward him.

He gripped her tightly, one hand on her butt inside her loosened pants, and the other in the vee between her legs. His finger slid under elastic and through her folds and found her soft opening. Hot, wet heat enclosed his finger as her muscles clamped down.
"
Oh, shit yeah
.
"
His voice was a raspy groan of benediction.

She made a soft noise of pleasure.

He lowered his head to hers, and bumped her chin up with his face until her mouth opened and he sunk his tongue inside. Her hips pushed against him as their tongues swirled. They kissed until they couldn
'
t breathe and she broke her mouth away from his. His lips went to her ear and he sucked in her scent as he whispered to her.
"
You
'
re fine. You
'
re so
fucking fine
. I want you naked. I want to make you come.
Christ, I want to make you come
.
"
He bit her earlobe and Julie felt the rush of moisture flow from the spot between her legs, wetting him, allowing his finger to slide in and out with ease.

His hand slid from her body and she moaned in protest, while he grasped her shirt and peeled it over her head.

Gibson
'
s mind almost exploded when he saw the soft smooth swells of her breasts spilling from the cups of her bra. He lowered his head, and sucked a lace-enclosed nipple into his mouth, grazing it with his teeth and tongue. She quivered against him and lifted her hands to his head and held him there while he sucked at her. With impatience, he pulled the cups down until her nipples popped out. A deep groan vibrated from the depth of his chest as he rasped his thumbs over the pink tips. He lifted his mouth enough to mumble,
"
Goddamn, you
'
re pretty.
"

Her hips swayed into his.
"
Gibson, please.
"

He clenched his hands around the full bounty of her breasts, lifting them up into his face.
"
Please what, baby?
"

She mewled against his throat.
"
Please, please,
please.
"

"
Yeah, okay.
"
He squeezed her breasts and moved his tongue from one nipple to the next, abrading her soft skin and making her pant harder.

She moved her hands to the snap of his jeans and tried to get them open. She fumbled around but it was useless. She had no strength.

He pushed her hands out of the way and unsnapped his jeans and pushed them down his legs, dragging his briefs along with them.

She pushed up on his t-shirt, and he lifted his arms and pulled it over his head, tossing is down.

He stood naked in front of her. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him. He was perfect. Beyond perfect. He was lean with solid muscles delineating every inch of his body. His abs were ripped, his pecs were cut in a way that had her reaching out to touch them. She whispered his words back to him.
"
Goddamn, you
'
re pretty.
"

He let out a laugh that held not an ounce of humor and pushed her bra from her shoulders and began pushing her jeans all the way off.
"
You think?
"

"
Yeah.
"

He tossed her jeans and panties alongside his clothes. He looked down at the naked curves of her body where she knelt on his bed, fine tremors running through her limbs. Her blonde hair fell in soft curls over her breasts.
"
You
'
re beautiful.
"
He looked from her body up to her eyes.
"
I guess you know I
'
m locking you in here. You
'
re never going to leave my bedroom.
"
He said it deadpan, as if he were completely serious.

His hands reached for her.

Her eyes flared as intense excitement hit her.
"
People would miss me.
"

"
Probably.
"
One hand slid under her back, the other under her knees as he flipped her down until she was sprawled on her back. He pushed her legs wide and positioned his body between her thighs.
"
But that
'
s not my problem.
"

She sucked in a breath. His words were teasing yet intense. His position was threatening. He hung over her, his eyes on hers.

"
You ready, babe?
"