“Charlotte showed me the pictures of you in the newspaper.”
“Ahh, right. The society column, or should I say the gossip column.” Reaching out, I squeeze his arm. “Thank you, Tommy, for always having Charlotte’s best interests at heart.”
His face relaxes, and a smile spreads across his features. “It’s never a problem. I enjoy my position here. Charlotte is one of the special ones.”
“I’ll tell her you said that. It might go a long way to fixing her broken heart.”
The smile falls, and he frowns. “It was never my intent.”
“I know. We’ll talk soon.”
I walk back up the stairs to Charlotte’s apartment, and as I enter, she’s on my cell phone talking to someone.
She smiles brightly at me and says, “She’s just walked in. Do you want to talk to her?” Charlotte rushes to me and thrusts the cell phone at me. “It’s Chase!” She bounces up and down with excitement.
Putting the cell phone to my ear, I smile brightly at her. “Hello, Chase.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m at Charlotte’s.”
“I know that! You’re supposed to be here.”
“I’m leaving Charlotte’s now. I had a family matter to fix. You understand, don’t you?”
He sighs heavily. “Yes.”
“Chase?” I’m confused by his tone. I understand why he’s upset, but he knows how important Charlotte is to me.
“You could’ve rung me. Instead, I’ve been fielding questions about you and not knowing where the hell you were.”
“I didn’t mean to worry you. Charlotte was upset and—”
“Yes, Charlotte told me she rang you crying. Do you always drop everything for your sister? What about me and what’s important to me, to us?”
Charlotte has stopped moving, and a frown creases her brow. I reach out and touch her arm to reassure her.
“Family will always come first. A party for your parents’ friends will never be more important,” I reply in a clipped tone.
Another sigh filters down the line. “That’s not what I meant. I was worried about you. You weren’t answering your cell phone, and for all I knew, you could’ve been dead in a ditch. Honestly, Isabelle, couldn’t you have answered one of my calls?” His tone has gone soft, and it’s almost pleading.
“I’m sorry. I’ll be there soon.”
I don’t wait for his reply, end the call, and hug Charlotte.
“Are you okay?”
Leaning back, I smile warmly at her. “Tommy isn’t mad at you, honey. In fact, he told me you’re one of the special ones here.”
Charlotte smiles and shakes her head. “Is Chase mad?”
“No, don’t be silly. He was worried, that’s all. I should’ve phoned him, but I do need to go.” With her hands in mine, I ask, “Are you going to be okay?”
Charlotte nods. “You’re a good sister.”
Laughing, I shake my head. “No, you are!”
Charlotte hugs me. “Are you going to the party now?”
“Only if you’re okay. Otherwise, I’ll stay here, and we can watch TV together.”
“What about Chase?”
“He’ll live.”
“Could you stay for one more coffee?”
“I’ll put the water on.”
Isabelle
The party is in full swing by the time I arrive. The house is enormous, and as I look around, there are so many people. When I walk in, many stop and stare. I smile politely at them and keep walking. Long ago, I learned if you look like you know what you’re doing, people tend to leave you alone. A server stops in front of me with a tray filled with champagne glasses. Gratefully, I take one and continue through the house. It’s one of the oldest in Chicago, built in a time of extreme wealth and prosperity. Eventually, I make it to the back of the house and out onto the patio. There are more people outside than inside.
“You’re late,” says a female as she stands next to me. “Chase is not amused.”
“Family emergency,” I reply swiftly with a smile.
“He won’t care.” She takes a sip of her champagne and holds out her hand to me. “Morgan Kelly, I’m Chase’s younger sister.”
Tucking my clutch under one arm, I shake her hand. “Isabelle Jones.”
“I know.” Morgan tugs on my hand. “Come on, let’s go find him so he can show you off to his loser friends.”
“Is he very mad?”
Morgan smiles. “His temper is much like our father’s, which, in turn, is like his father. The Kelly men have a mean streak.”
“That doesn’t sound like Chase at all.”
Morgan laughs. “You’ll see.” She stops and points. “He’s down there. I’m going to tell him I found you forty-five minutes ago and have been monopolizing your time. If you’re smart, you’ll agree with me.”
Confused, I shake my head. “I’m not going to lie. My sister needed me, and she’s the only family I have.”
“Chase said as much. She’s retarded, isn’t she?”
“No, she’s mentally impaired. Charlotte has the IQ of a teenager, but she’s twenty-four. She lives by herself and has two jobs. She is perfectly capable of looking after herself.”
Morgan smiles and nods. “Good, you’ve got a backbone. Don’t lose it.”
Once again, she grabs my hand and leads me toward Chase. He’s laughing with a group of people, and when he sees me, the smile falls off his face, and he stalks toward us.
“Where have you been?” Chase hisses at me.
“I told you I was with my sister.”
Morgan reaches out and puts her hand on Chase’s upper arm. “Sorry, big brother, Isabelle has been here for a while. I’ve been showing her around the house. I suppose I should have come and found you sooner. My bad.”
Chase looks at his arm where her hand is and frowns. Slowly, Morgan lets her hand drop, then she turns to me and kisses my cheek.
“Lovely to finally meet you. We should do lunch next week.” Morgan smiles at me, nods at her brother, and walks away.
Looking up at Chase, he’s still staring at Morgan’s retreating form. His face is a mask of contempt. There’s obviously no love between the two of them.
“Chase?” His gaze comes to me. “I’m sorry. Charlotte needed me.”
“I need you.”
“And I’m here.” Holding my arms out to the side, I do a twirl. “Wearing your dress, no less.”
Chase looks me up and down, and a small smile plays on his lips. “You look stunning. I knew that dress would suit you the minute I saw it.”
“Thank you, it’s a wonderful gift.”
His face softens. “I was worried.”
Reaching up, I touch his chest. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
His hand covers mine, and he raises it to his lips. “It better not.” Frowning, I pull my hand away from him, but he holds on tighter. “Come on. I want you to meet some friends, and then we need to find Father.”
He links his finger with mine and pulls me toward the group of people who are all staring at us.
“Everyone! This is Isabelle. Isabelle, this is everyone.”
I smile politely. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you all.”
I recognize some of them from past events I’ve done on their behalf, and some of the others are from some of Chicago’s oldest families.
One man laughs. “You say that now, sweet Isabelle, but wait until you get to know us. You might not think us so nice.” He holds out his hand. “Connery Saint at your service.”
“Isabelle Jones,” I reply as I put my hand in his.
“Oh, we know. Your man here has been telling everyone how wonderful you are.” He turns slightly and gestures toward another man. “This gorgeous hunk of a man is my husband, Liam.”
Liam bounces over and hugs me. “You’re here!”
“Sorry, family emergency.”
Chase puts a protective arm around me. “Nothing more than a childish misunderstanding.”
Looking up at him, I shake my head. “It was a little more than that.”
Liam wedges himself between Chase and me, moving me away. “Oh, we heard. Something about a sister who got yelled at?”
Connery walks beside me on the other side. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. Charlotte is sensitive, and I’m the only family she has.” Shaking my head, I look Connery in the eyes. “Charlotte is my sister, and our motto has always been family first, always. She needed me, so I went.”
Connery and Liam keep walking me away from Chase and back to the house.
Liam leans in closer and smiles. “Chase isn’t used to dating someone with a moral compass. You might actually last.”
“What does that mean?”
Chase appears in front of me and pulls me from their grasp. “You aren’t going to monopolize her time. Now that Isabelle is here, I’m going to introduce her to my family. You two can go find someone else to amuse you.”
Connery pouts, and Liam rolls his eyes and winks at me. “You have a good time, Ms. Jones. We’ll find you later.”
The two men walk off arm in arm, leaving me alone with Chase.
“Are you angry?”
Chase shakes his head. “How could I be mad at you?”
Tilting my head to the side, I purse my lips. “That’s not a no.”
Chase smiles. “Come on, time to meet the family.”
We walk back into the house and into a study. The only person in here is a man sitting behind a desk, reading papers.
“Father, this is Isabelle Jones.”
The man puts down the piece of paper he’s reading and stands. “Ah, yes, the woman who has my son wrapped around her little finger.”
I stride toward him and hold out my hand.
He looks at it for a moment before putting his hand in mine. “Noah Kelly.”
“You have a lovely home, Mr. Kelly.”
He smiles at me, and his gaze goes to Chase. “She’s pretty.”
“Yes, she is.”
I pull my hand out of his grasp and look up at Chase, but he’s staring at his father. It’s strange to have someone talk about you as though you aren’t in the room.
“And polite. Much nicer than the last one.”
“And she’s standing in the room,” I state.
“Yes, you are.” Noah smiles. “Have a good evening.”
Noah Kelly sits back down and goes back to reading his papers. Chase takes me by the hand and leads me out of the room.
“What the hell was that all about?”
Chase frowns. “He liked you.”
“He was rude.”
“How was he rude? Father said you were pretty and polite. How was that rude?”
“Chase, he said it as though I wasn’t in the room. You two had a conversation about me but not with me.”
Chase takes both my hands in his. “It’s just his way. I think it went really well.” Frowning at him, I shake my head. “Come on, I want to show you my old room.”
We walk through the house until we come to an elevator. Chase waits until the doors close and then puts a hand on either side of my head.
“You look stunning in this dress. Very fuckable.”
Blushing, I break eye contact with him and stare at his chest. “You have great taste.”
Chase leans in and kisses me lightly. “Yes, I do.”
The elevator opens, and he pulls me down a long hallway. We come to a door at the far end, and he opens it.
“After you.”
His old bedroom is huge. There’s a king-size bed, couch, coffee table, and large television with an Xbox hooked up to it. It’s bigger than Charlotte’s apartment and is decorated in navy and white, with the occasional piece of red thrown in for good measure. This looks like it was decorated by a professional and not Chase himself.
“How old were you when you moved out?” I ask as I move around the room.
“Nineteen. My grandfather left me his apartment in the city, so as soon as I could, I moved in there.”
Chase trails behind me as I inspect his old living quarters.
“I like your apartment in the city. It feels more like you. This feels… fake.”
Chase laughs. “Mother had it done. You’re right, there’s not much of me here, apart from the bed.”
Moving toward the bed, I trail my fingertips over the linens. “Even this doesn’t feel like you.”
The bed is made out of wood and wrought iron. Its four posts rise to the ceiling, gleaming in the light.
“How so?”
Chase is right behind me, and I shrug. “I don’t know. It feels like someone ordered it out of a catalog. This bed doesn’t feel like you.”
Chase’s hands encircle my waist, and his lips kiss the side of my neck. “Do you want to know what I feel like?”
Still mad at him for how he behaved over Charlotte, I pull out of his grasp and put some distance between us. “We should get back. People will be missing you.”
Chase undoes his belt and pulls his cock out of his pants. “Let them wait.”
Laughing nervously, I shake my head. “We aren’t doing this in your parents’ house.”
Chase nods. “Yes, we are.”
Rolling my eyes, I head for the door, but Chase grabs my arm.
“Let me go.”
“Come on, Isabelle. You owe me for being late.”
He tries to kiss me, but I sidestep away from him. “Chase, this isn’t happening.”
“You like me, don’t you?”
“You know I do, but there’s a room full of people downstairs. What will they think?”
Chase gives me a lazy smile. “They’ll think you belong to me.”
Turning, I head for the door. As I open it, Chase closes it, pinning me against it. His hands go inside my dress at the back, and then he moves them around the front to cup my breasts. Chase presses his cock against my ass, and I can feel how aroused he is through the thin material.
“Chase!”
His lips move to my neck, and he trails kisses to my earlobe.
“Chase,” I repeat more firmly.
“I’ll be quick.”
He squeezes both nipples painfully, and I push backward off the door, sending him onto his ass.
“When a woman says no, she means no.”
Chase gets to his feet quickly. “I’d never force you. Jesus, Isabelle, I love you, don’t you get that?”
His admission surprises me, and I fall against his bedroom door in shock. “You love me?”
“Don’t you love me?”
Chase is one of Chicago’s most eligible bachelors. It never occurred to me he could love me. He’s like an unreachable goal that someone like me could never hope to possess.
“I-I like you.”
His face falls. “You like me?”
“You’re Chase Kelly, and I’m Isabelle Jones. We’re from two entirely different worlds. Why would you pick me?”
Chase closes the gap between us and cups my face. “Because from the moment I met you, you didn’t use me for your personal gain. I thought you liked me for me, not the rest of the bullshit that comes with being a Kelly.”
He looks so sincere as he gazes into my eyes. The tension keeping my body stiff and pressed against the door slowly dissipates, and I melt into his embrace. Chase lowers his mouth to mine, and this time he’s gentle, respectful, and his hands don’t wander.
My arms move of their own accord, and I find myself clutching onto him. Chase deepens the kiss, his tongue teases mine, and a fire gradually builds inside me. A moan escapes me, and Chase breaks the kiss and takes a step back. He’s smiling and holds out a hand to me. Frowning, I put my hand in his, and he walks backward toward the bed.
“Chase, no. Not here. Not with a room full of people downstairs.”
“We won’t, I promise. I simply want to hold you and be a little more comfortable as I do.”
Against my better judgment, I allow him to pull me toward the
bed. Chase sits on the edge, opens his legs, and I step between them. His hand reaches up behind my head, and with our gazes locked, I kiss him.
His other hand encircles me and flattens against my spine. A groan escapes him, and he leans back, taking me with him. The kiss is all-consuming, like a drug, and the fire that was building a moment ago feels like an inferno. Chase rolls and positions himself between my legs. One of his hands pulls down on the dress, exposing my breast. Unlike before, he’s gentle, his thumb teases my nipple, and when he breaks the kiss to suck on it, I groan and arch into him.
Chase claims my mouth, and it’s not long before my hands are pulling at his shirt, desperate to feel his skin. He groans when I dig my nails into him. Suddenly, he stops and rolls off me. His breathing is as ragged as my own, and I move to stare down at him.
“Are you okay?”
“I want to keep going, but I know you don’t want to. I love you, Isabelle. I’d never do anything to hurt you.” He smiles at me and reaches up to move a few stray strands of hair behind my ear.
I press my face into his palm and then kiss it. His thumb moves to my lips, I open my mouth and suck on it. Chase’s eyes widen, and he pulls me back to him, kissing me passionately. This time I’m on top, straddling him. I’m not wearing any underwear, his cock is hard, and I instinctively grind against it.
“Isabelle, you need to stop.”
My mind is screaming at me to stop, but my body needs a release. Reaching down, I unbuckle his pants and release his cock.
Chase grabs me by the waist and stops me from going any further. “You said you didn’t want this.”
“I changed my mind.”
Chase smiles, sits up, kisses me, and then he stands, putting my feet on the floor.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I pant.
He puts his fingers under the straps of my dress and pushes them down my arms. The dress hits the floor, leaving me naked in a pair of six-inch heels. Before I have a chance to feel self-conscious, Chase kisses me, and all reservations disappear. He turns me in his arms, my back pressed against his front, and moves us back to the bed.
“Climb on.”
Not wanting to disappoint him, I do as he says and climb onto the bed on all fours. Chase grabs me by the ankles and pulls me back so my knees are on the edge of the bed. He opens my legs and steps between them. I hear his pants and belt hit the floor. Turning to stare at him over my shoulder, he’s all concentration as he puts on a condom. His tongue is sticking out, and his brow is furrowed. I giggle at him, and he smiles, then he places his cock at my entrance.
Spark of Time: MacKenny Brothers Series Book 5: an MC/Band of Brothers Romance Page 4