Trust (32 page)

With
Chase on my left, his wife on my right and his step son across from me, I feel
like I
’
m eating in a daze, barely aware of how
delicious the
food is.  Mirana and Chase are talking
to Diego, and I get the feeling they're letting me catch up at my own pace as I
come to terms with everything I've just learned and how I'm feeling about it
all.

If
anything, I'm overwhelmed and exhausted.  The gamu
t
of emotions I've run through over the last hour has left me drained.  It was
horrifying to learn of Chase's marriage, and that led to anger.  First at
Denise, but quickly shifting to Chase.  Then fear, embarrassment and shame
after talking to his wife an
d believing that I was
contributing to the destruction of their marriage.  Finally surprise and shock
at learning the truth. 

So
many secrets were being covered up with lies, half-truths or omissions.  Faking
a marriage to get a Green Card means they wer
e even
breaking the law.  It's not even a law I agree with, and who knows how much
longer it will even be an issue now that the USA is opening up relations with
Cuba?  Besides, sometimes the end justifies the means.  If it was the only way
Chase could keep
Mirana and Diego safe from Juan, who
am I to judge?  And I can't really blame him for not telling me about it even
if it did break my heart
. 
But Chase was right, it wasn't only his secre
t to break and, if discovered,
the repercussions to Mirana would be
considerably worse than to Chase
.
  The United States government does not
take breaking its laws lightly.

Maybe
Evelyn was right.  Not all lies are equal.  I was burned by Harrison and his
betrayal, but
he’s
a much different person with much different moti
ves.  The old poker player I'd met in Macau was right as
well.  Even when Chase isn't completely honest, he has a good reason for what
he’s
doing.  I just need to learn to trust
him.

I
look over at him and he sees me turn, giving me a smile and reaching u
nder the table to grasp my thigh.  I put my hand on his and
squeeze him gently as a sign that everything is okay.  His smile deepens as he
gets the message.

"This
is delicious," I say, turning to Mirana.  She beams a smile back at me. 
"And you have a bea
utiful house."

"Chase's
house," she nods.

"Yours
as long as you want to stay," he corrects her.  "I've told you that
many times."

"He's
very generous," Mirana seems to be embarrassed.  "He lets us live
here and never takes rent."

Chase
shrugs.  "The ho
use belonged to my father.  It
became mine when he died and
it’s
all paid off.  Why would I take money
for it?"

Mirana
shakes her head and sighs but I just smile at her.  "If
there’s
one thing about Chase I've learned in
the brief time I've been with him
is that
he’s
generous with his money and
there’s
really no point in arguing it.  He's
very stubborn."

Mirana
laughs.  "You
do
know him well after all."

"Uh,
I'm right here," he protests with his own little grin.

The
little bit of humor breaks the tensio
n I've still
been feeling and all of a sudden our conversation begins to flow much easier. 
We talk through the rest of the meal before Diego leaves to go play in his
room.

"He's
a nice kid," I note as he politely excuses himself and runs off.  "It
must b
e hard to raise him on your own."

Mirana
nods.  "It's easier now that
he’s
in school.  I have my days to myself
again.  Mostly, anyway."

"So
what do you do with your time?"

"Oh,
it always seems to get filled," she shrugs.

"Mirana
volunteers at a woman'
s shelter," Chase says. 
"She helps a lot of people."

His
wife shrugs again, looking embarrassed.  "I just try to help women who
were in the same situation as me.  I know how hard it is to leave.  I
couldn’t
have done it without Chase, and if I
can give b
ack by helping other women then
it’s
my pleasure."

"
That’s
wonderful!"

"Chase
got me in there;
it’s
another thing I owe him."

"Now
wait, that one isn't completely altruistic, you know that."  He looks over
at me.  "It's really on the job training as far
as I'm concerned."

"How
so?"

"Poker
players are always looking for a cause," he says, leaning back in his
chair and taking a sip of wine before continuing.  "Once I realized how
hard it was for Mirana to get away from Juan, it got me to thinking about o
ther women in similar situations.  I
couldn’t
help all of them the way I helped her,
but there are ways I can make a difference.  So I got some of my colleagues
together and we started a foundation.  We're opening up a women's shelter next
year, and Mirana
is going to run it once she gets her
G
reen
C
ard."

"Wow. 
That’s
amazing Chase."

He
shrugs.  "Mirana will be doing all the work.  I just gathered together the
money to get it started."

"You
did more than that," she adds. 

"A
little bit. 
There’s
work
involved
in the foundation itself aside from the actual shelter.  But once everything is
setup and the shelter is operating,
it’s
all yours to run. 
That’s
why you have to soak up as much
knowledge as possible while you're volunteering."

Although
I don't
doubt the cause or Chase's desire to help
women by opening the shelter, I suspect a lot of the reason
he’s
doing it is to ensure that Mirana will
have  secure employment.  ”Anyway, let's help you clean up before Lila and I
get out of your hair so that you
can put Diego to
bed."

The
three of us clear away the plates from dinner and help Mirana wash them.  It's
very hard not to like the woman, and I'm very happy that Chase helped her get
away from that bad situation.  The man continues to impress me at every
step.

"Thank
you so much for dinner."  We're standing outside the house and Mark has
pulled the car up into the driveway to wait for us. 

"I
was happy to meet you," Mirana says, honesty showing through her smile. 
"Chase deserves someone like you.  He'
s spent
too much time alone or with... the wrong people."  We both know who s
he’s
talking about.  "Come back soon. 
Both of you."

Chase
gives her a hug and then leads me to the car where he slides in next to me. 
His arm slips around my shoulder and I lea
n against
him, much more content now that I'm not angry with him.

"Where
to?" he asks.

"Wherever
you're going," I say as I snuggle against his warm body.  "
That’s
where I want to be, too."

The
ride back to Chase's hotel is quiet.  We're sitting
in
the back of the limo and I'm happy to just hold his arm tightly against my
body.  Relief and fatigue after a day of travel have led both of us to
exhaustion and now that I no longer have anger pumping me full of adrenaline,
I'm ready to collapse.  I can
tell by the way Chase
is riding with his eyes closed that he feels the same.  By the time we get back
to the room, we pull off our clothes, stumble into bed, and fall asleep
immediately.

But
hours later I wake.  It's the middle of the night, and I'm diso
riented after dreams of Chase and I being ripped apart,
quite literally, by a Denise like demon.  I reach out and find his chest,
rising and falling in sleep but then stirring at my touch.

"What's
wrong?" his voice is heavy and groggy but I'm happy to hea
r it.

"Nothing,"
I whisper back.  "I just needed to feel you near me."

"I
am.  I always will be."  His voice is getting stronger, more alert.  His
hand comes up to mine and closes on it, giving it a little squeeze.  I
appreciate it, but I need more right
now. 

Rolling
to face him, our lips find each other in the dark as he pulls me into a warm
embrace.  Our kisses are shallow and quick at first, and soon Chase breaks away
to kiss along my cheeks and neck before returning to my mouth.  He takes one of
my
lips within his own, sucking it into his mouth and
then finally his tongue presses forward and our kiss deepens.  I sigh against
him as his hand skims along my back and up into my hair, pulling me closer
against him as he pushes in deeper.  His cock is la
ying
against my thigh, and without looking I can feel it harden.  It stiffens even
more as my fingertips lightly brush against it, but neither of us make any move
to get there yet.  Our kisses are all consuming at the moment, and their
urgency is leaving u
s both gasping for quick breaks
as we seek out each other's neck or shoulders before continuing.

Chase's
strong hands are rubbing the back of my head, massaging my scalp and neck and
pulling a shudder of relaxed pleasure from my body.  I pull my lips away
again and wrap one of my hands around his head, pulling
his lips back to my neck.  He responds by covering it in light kisses and then
biting gently, not stopping until I'm covered in goose bumps and moaning in
excited pleasure. 

My
hand wraps around hi
s cock which is completely erect
now, but his other hand closes against me just as I start to try and guide him
between my legs.  He stops me and then moves his hand between them instead,
searching out my hot core and honing in immediately against my clit.
  A sound escapes my lips as my legs open wider.  Chase
wastes no time in slipping against my moistness and pushing in with his
fingers, and I grind against him as he does.  It's not ultimately what I want,
but
it’s
a great way to warm up.

His
fingers con
tinue to rub and my ass is grinding
against his bed in response.  His touch is quick but not rough, and his mouth
has left my neck again to return to kissing me deeply.  I'm breathing heavily
into his mouth, and my hand is wrapped tightly against his cock.
  It's throbbing in my hand, and hotter than I remember it
ever being.  I want to rub it and give him some extra stimulation, but his
fingers are too distracting.  It feels wonderful, but I need the closeness of
his body on mine.  I want to feel him fully
inside of
me, and not just with his fingers.  I tug him again, breaking away from his
mouth again so that I can whisper against his ear.

"I
want you inside of me, Chase."

He
nods, knowing immediately what I'm talking about.  He reaches across me and gra
bs a condom from his side table, ripping it open and
slipping it on in record time before rolling over on top of me.  The heaviness
of his body against mine, even as he rests most of his weight on his elbows, is
immediately comforting.  My hands drop down
to his
firm ass and I squeeze his cheeks while pulling him forward at the same time.

His
cock enters me easily, the moisture from my insides providing a slick and ready
passage. 

We
both let out a groan as his hips touch mine and he bottoms out.  I'm st
retched by his girth.  It almost feels as if
he’s
bigger today than ever before.  Maybe
I'm just more sensitive, but I think he feels it too, and his body slides
slowly back and forth as if
he’s
savoring each inch of stimulation as he draws his shaft
along
my wet flesh.

Chase
pulls my leg up by the knee, raising my behind off the bed just enough so that
he can push even deeper into me with each thrust.  I let out a satisfied moan
as he does, and then another as I feel his hand slide down along my ass and s
queeze it.  His chest is sliding along my nipples and I
wonder if he can feel how hard they are.  To me, it feels like they're little
diamonds, trying to cut through the hardness of his chest.  Each movement of
his body stimulates me in a different way, an
d yet
another moan of pleasure is only cut off as his mouth descends back onto mine
to resume our earlier kiss.

The
whole experience is an assault on my senses and I'm happy to let myself be
overwhelmed by him.  I can taste the masculine flavor of Chase's
tongue as it works against mine.  I can smell the sweat of
his body as he pulls and pushes against me.  I can hear the grunts coming from
low within his throat, and I love watching him move up and down against my
body.  But most of all, the feeling of him
inside of
me is what I'm focused on the most.  The merging of our bodies, the complete
invasion of his cock within me, the sensations have taken me away to a world of
pleasure that I have no desire to escape. 

The
feelings today are different than they
ever have
been, with Chase or anyone else.  What we're doing isn't just trying to get
off.  We aren't just two strangers or casual daters trying to fuck and make
each other come.  This time isn't about having sex.  This time is about making
love.  And each
time Chase looks down at me, I can
see in his eyes he feels the same way.

His
blues are shining, and he tilts his head a bit as he gives me his little half
smile right before kissing me again.  His speed has increased, and the pleasure
within my core is
at its height.  There is a tension
within me that I can't hold back any more.  I let out a scream and my body
tightens around Chase.  I wrap my bent knee up and around his body, pulling him
deeper against me. 

Chase
goes with it, only pulling back a coup
le more times
against my grip before unleashing a roar of his own.  His hips slap against me
and push deep as he shudders with his own release.  I can feel the tension in
his back with my arms that are also draped around him, hugging him close, but
after a
few more twitches I feel it relax.  He
finally sinks down onto me, and I pull him even tighter.  I don't want him to
roll off just yet.  I want to feel his weight just a little bit longer.  I want
to feel his cock inside of me for just a few more moments.

"Wow,"
he breathes into my ear.  His breath is hot and fast.

"Wow,"
I agree.