by Natalie Ann
“She just had something to do with work in New York.”
“Okay. She said to tell you she’d talk to you later tonight.”
That was promising at least. Now he wondered if he could figure out what it was that she wanted to talk to him about. Or ask him. Yeah, that was what her friend said, “Ask him.”
***
Noelle had never been so embarrassed in her life and there were plenty of times in her life when embarrassment was pushed to the back of her brain or it would have been crippling.
Like when she was modeling covered only in paints that were melting off. Airbrushing helped, but not during the process when others could see body parts she was hoping they didn’t.
Or when she was hanging upside down and had invisible cables cutting into parts of her body that had no business being there, while she tried to pretend it was natural for someone to have blood rushing to their head while being tethered off a building and trying to look elegant at the same time.
She couldn’t forget the first time she walked a runway in six-inch heels and bit it hard but popped back up like it was all planned, brushing it off and even taking a bow.
But last night pretty much took the cake.
There she was, drunker than she’d been in her life, since she’d always been careful of her alcohol intake, knowing that it was easy to be taken advantage of or not remember things in that state. Or fearful of hidden cameras showing her behavior and risking a contract.
It was just too hard to resist the champagne last night when Emma was pouring and it was just the two of them alone in the hotel room. No witnesses. Just two friends living it up.
And when Emma urged her to check on her man—her puppy—she gave in way too easily, then wished she didn’t when she heard Chase’s sleep infused voice lighting her body up and reminding her how long it’d been since she’d felt any man’s hands on her.
But that wasn’t even the worst of it.
Nope, her parents ended up knocking on her door at nine in the morning and pulling her out of bed with a headache—no, hangover—she’d never experienced before.
She’d overslept and completely forgotten she was going to meet them for breakfast. They came to her gallery showing like she knew they would, like they always supported her in life, and then wanted to celebrate with her for breakfast before she drove the few hours back home.
“Noelle, since when do you oversleep?” Her mother paused and lifted an eyebrow. “Or get drunk?”
“I was celebrating with Emma last night,” she said, opening the door wider.
“So we see,” her father said, looking around at the two empty bottles of champagne. “You have every reason to celebrate, not that we didn’t expect such a success to happen last night.”
“I wasn’t so sure,” Noelle said, “but I’m glad you guys had all the faith in the world.”
Her mother reached in and hugged her. “Why don’t you go take a shower, get cleaned up and meet us in the hotel restaurant for a quick breakfast, then I’ll let you get on the road to get to that new puppy of yours.”
She wanted to tell her parents she was anxious to see more than her puppy, but since she had no clue where her and Chase’s relationship was going or could end up, she didn’t bother to mention a word of it, too fearful she’d jinx a good thing that she’d never thought she’d get.
Take That Next Step
Later that night, Noelle decided to go see Chase rather than call. Cowards called. She’d never been a coward.
It was for the best and she was sure he’d have some questions. She knew she did and talking over the phone wasn’t the best way to handle it.
She pulled down his driveway a little after six, knowing his office closed at five, and assumed he’d be home and have the dogs all taken care of.
He was home like she figured, but he was in the yard running and playing with them when she walked around back.
“Hey,” Chase said, his smile a mile wide. That was something at least.
“I thought it’d be easier to come visit than talking on the phone.”
“Much easier, especially when I’m dying to do this,” he said just before he grabbed and yanked her into his chest, laying his lips across hers and taking a possession that she wished he’d continue with.
When he stopped, she knew it was time to address the other concern she had. Why she wasn’t good enough.
It had to be that. There was nothing else that made sense.
“Have you eaten yet?” she asked.
“No. I was going to just throw something together quick. Have you?”
“No,” she said, watching Calvin run around now that he knew she looked to be staying and he could play with his new friends. “I thought maybe I could order a pizza or something. My treat for taking such good care of Calvin for me.”
“I don’t need anything for caring for him, but I’d love to have dinner with you. And since I know your show went so well,” he said, laughing, “I’m going to let you buy.”
“How do you know?”
“I found an article online. Would it be wrong of me to say I’m slightly—no, completely—intimidated by your success?”
“Is that why you haven’t done anything other than kiss me?” she blurted out before she could stop herself.
He cocked his head to the side, looked over when he heard all three dogs barking and chasing each other, then turned back to her. “No. I can’t get a read on you or what you want, and until I do, I think it’s best to not take that next step.”
“Are you for real?” she asked. Seriously, she’d never known of a guy holding out because he wanted to know her feelings. Her thoughts. Her plans. That alone should have told her all along Chase was different.
“Afraid so. Maybe if we had a little more of an in-depth conversation we could find out some more about each other. Or maybe I’m just not your type and I want to find that out before I put more of myself out there.”
Again, not what she expected, but secretly happy that he was putting thought into this being more than just a casual thing. She sighed and walked over to a chair on his back deck in the shade. He joined her.
“You’ve been reading up on me, I see. Is that what the problem is?”
“It’s a little hard not to when there is so much available online and we haven’t really talked much about our pasts.”
“I told you not to believe those things. Very little is true. Go on, ask me what you want.”
“Are you bisexual?”
“Wow, you go right for the craziest of them all, don’t you?” she said, laughing. “I thought guys were into that.”
“This guy isn’t. My self-confidence is at an all-time low dating you to begin with and the thought that I might have to compete with both men and women is a bit hard to handle.”
She wanted to laugh at him again, but realized he was serious. “There is no reason for you to have any doubt. Nor to worry about self-confidence levels. I’m not into women and I never have been. I started those rumors myself when I was sixteen because I was sick and tired of getting hit on and groped. The mass public has no idea what models endure on the job. I was lucky to always have a parent around, for the most part, when I was younger. But slippery hands try to cop feels when harnesses are being attached, body placements shifted, and so on.”
“And Emma Charleston. She isn’t a lover of yours.”
“Oh God no. Emma is my best friend. You really are good at research, that you figured that out from her name alone last night. Sorry about the drunken call. I was missing Calvin...and you.”
“You talked about me with her?” he asked, grinning.
“I did. That is what women do. I told her we haven’t done anything more than kiss and she was coming up with all sorts of ideas. That you were a virgin.” She grinned when he snorted. “That you couldn’t keep it up.”
He started to cough. “Not a problem, I assure you.”
“Well, I haven’t been able to figure out wha
t was going on. They were legitimate thoughts. If your self-confidence is taking a hit, then at least I’m not alone. Ask me some more questions. Let’s clear the air here,” she said, hoping maybe they could get to some other business tonight.
“You have self-confidence issues?” he said, shaking his head.
“Everyone has them at different points in their lives. It should say something to you that I never had them in my work, but rather my personal life.”
He tilted his head, looked like he was going to say something, then paused and finally said, “I don’t believe all the stuff about you being difficult to work with, or high handed, but I could be wrong. I don’t know you well enough. All I’ve seen that seems true to me are the ones that have said you’re a sweetheart and that you do a lot for the community. Though the only man I hope you’ve been seen with lately is me, there were plenty of pictures of you with different men online.”
She figured she better address everything. “I could have been called a bitch a time or two. It’s a cutthroat business and rumors start with the simplest misunderstanding, or another model’s attempt to ruin someone’s name. My mother is an attorney in the fashion world and well known. My father is a karate instructor who has gold-medaled in the Olympics and trains stuntmen and Hollywood stars. Many thought I was handed a golden ticket when in fact I had to work just as hard as everyone else. Maybe harder so people didn’t believe everything they read.”
His face flushed a little. “I didn’t discover any of that information about your parents.”
“If you dug enough, you’d find it. My parents are great people who have supported my desire to model, knowing it’d be short term. My father taught me how to handle myself, and my mother’s reputation has preceded her enough that I was protected by that alone.”
There was no reason to add that she had used some of her father’s moves in the past. A carefully placed knee, a spiked heel on the top of a foot. Lots of things that could be considered accidents. Breaking a stagehand’s finger one day, that was planned.
“I’m glad for that. I read a lot of things about models having eating disorders. I’m thinking that isn’t your problem. Or at least not now.”
“No. Just another thing I was hated for. I’ve got good genes. As I got older I couldn’t eat as much as I liked if I had shoots planned, but I never starved myself and always workout. I’m very healthy and if there was any hint I was doing those things you read about, my parents would have pulled me in a New York minute.”
“So you’ve got a good family life, then?”
“Of course I do. Why would you think otherwise?”
“Just asking,” he said.
She thought there was more to it, but didn’t push. “Have I answered all your questions then?”
He reached his hand over to hers. “Just one more. Is Christmas your favorite holiday?”
“Where did that come from?” She couldn’t remember ever seeing anything published that would lead him to ask that.
Every Christmas she’d rush to the tree when she was a kid, even as a teen—and if she was honest an adult too—and couldn’t wait to sit around and pass the gifts with her parents. The one day that she could pretend they were a normal family and didn’t live so much of their lives on the road.
Hardly anyone knew how much she loved Christmas, so she was shocked that Chase asked that.
“Two reasons. First, I noticed several articles on your charity work with children’s hospitals and it always seemed to be around the holidays.”
“I do love Christmas. For as much as we’ve traveled, Christmas has always been about family. No work that week if my parents could avoid it. We just looked forward to a little bit of peace. I looked forward to the Christmas season all year round. I know it’s my parents’ favorite. That’s where my name came from. They met at a Christmas Eve party. What’s your second reason?”
“Because it’s my favorite too and I’m just looking for anything that we might have in common.”
***
He hadn’t expected to say that at all. Hadn’t expected to bring up half of what he did, but was glad that they were having this conversation. That it was time to clear the air and she seemed agreeable to doing just that.
Not only that, he just wanted to know a bit more about her. He didn’t feel like he got as much as he wanted, but it was enough for now.
If he was embarrassed that she asked if he was a virgin or had a problem getting aroused, he tried to hide it, but knew he didn’t do that great of a job at it.
He supposed the best thing that came out of this was her desire to know what was holding him back, telling him she wanted more. That there was more for them to explore and making him have hope when he hadn’t in awhile.
“I think we have more in common than you realize,” she said.
“Like what? I’m having a hard time finding things.”
She stood up and pulled him up next to her, wound her arms around his neck and kissed him softly, then deeper. “We both enjoy being in the other’s arms.”
“That’s true.”
“We both love dogs,” she said when Calvin came running over, jumping on them.
“Can’t argue with that.”
“We both like to do good things for people and animals.”
“That’s another one,” he said.
“I’d say we are both pretty smart but have been acting dumb lately,” she said, bringing his lower lip between her teeth.
He was proving to her he had no problem being turned on with the steel rod pressing against her hip just now. “How’s that?”
“Because I’ve been doubting myself a lot in the past few weeks wondering if I was good enough for you. Wondering what was wrong with me that you didn’t want to take me to bed when that is all other men ever wanted me for. Wondering if there was anything I could do to change your mind, but afraid to talk about it.”
He wasn’t addressing her comment on other men. There was nothing he could do about something in the past even if he wanted to know more.
“I’d say we’ve cleared the air enough to venture down that road. Don’t you think?” he asked, his hands slipping up her shirt and touching soft smooth skin.
“Thank God. Will the dogs be good out here without us? I don’t want any interruptions or distractions.”
“They’ll be totally fine, but I won’t be if I don’t get you naked and bury myself inside of you so deep that I won’t know where your body begins and mine ends.”
“Take me to your bed now and keep talking like that. I like it.”
That was answer enough for him.
Moth to a Flame
They barely made it through his back door with their hands roaming all over each other in a frenzied race to find what they’d both been craving.
“You feel so warm,” she said, her hands going under his shirt, pulling it over his head, then tossing it in his kitchen.
“Hang on,” he said.
“Nope. You made me wait, I’m not waiting any longer.”
“I didn’t make you wait,” he said, his lips going to her neck, then his hands under her shirt and lifting it the same as she did.
“Either way, we aren’t waiting any longer. You’ve got a mighty sturdy table right over there and we’re going to make use of it.”
“I can do that,” he said, circling her toward it now, his hands working fast at the back of her bra and sending that flying too. “Oh yeah.”
She was going to ask what that comment was for but his mouth lowered on her nipple, tugging the pebbled peak in and making it his own. Claiming her in a possession she’d never wanted to feel in her life, but now she wanted—no, needed—it like a moth to a flame.
She just wanted to stand there and feel him holding her, controlling her...dominating her, but she had a feeling he wasn’t going to move at the pace she wanted. The one she needed to get to right now.
“This isn’t a marathon. This is a sprint. We train for marathons.”
He laughed against her breast, the rumbling vibrating her skin with a caress of sorts. “I like to train. I’m good at training.”
“Nice to know for another day,” she said, her hands going for the button on his shorts, undoing them and letting them drop down with his underwear. Oh yeah, she liked her men big in all areas. It was worth the wait.
He returned the favor and dropped her shorts and panties down to the ground, leaving them both there naked and kicking off their shoes.
There was no time to think, no time to act, no time to do anything at all before he had his hands on her waist, and lifted her, then sat her down on the table and spread her wide.
“I was good at running the mile, but not so good at a sprint, so be happy it’s still less than a marathon.” Then he lowered his head to her breast but didn’t linger this time like before. Just kissed and licked her everywhere, moving from one side to the other, keeping it fair.
When he seemed to have satisfied what he was looking for there, he moved those gorgeous lips of his lower to her ribs, her waist, then right to the edge of what marked her a woman. She’d been preparing for this night.
“For me?” he asked when he got a look at her bareness.
“Is it a problem if it was?”
“Hell no,” he said, lowering his mouth.
Her eyes rolled into her skull before she closed them and threw her head back. He was a good kisser, so she should have realized he’d be good at this too, finding every nerve ending and playing it like it was a new toy on Christmas morning that he’d been writing to Santa for. Like he wouldn’t stop until he’d mastered it.
Until he mastered her.
“Chase,” she said, her voice cracking, because her body was rising, her hips lifting and her nails marking his back.
He ignored her and continued on but added his fingers to the mix. Spreading her wide, stroking her outside and around, then moving in. Finding the spot that she hadn’t had anyone find in years, and sending her to a place so far away that she never wanted to return.