I’d considered just ducking out after my session and dealing with Monroe later—if it hadn’t been for those questions. They made me angry because I wanted to answer them. So, the second I was done, I yelled for Monroe across the mostly empty gym and waited for her to come and do my bidding. And she did.
It still had only marginally helped with my frustration—a result that I’d learned to expect and one that I’d complemented with a generous glass of Jack and a joint once I got back to Frost’s.
The door to the clinic swung open violently from my push, smacking against the doorstop on the other side. Guess I was a little more frustrated than usual today.
Then it was my turn to be stopped in my tracks, seeing my pink-haired princess chatting with the male PT—the one with the muscles and sunglasses that made him look like one of those tools they put in the Abercrombie & Fitch ads. My turn to be jealous. I didn’t care about controlling mine though—or trying to deny it.
“Jessa.” Her name was more like a growl, stopping them both mid-sentence to turn and look at me as I stalked right into their conversation.
She scowled. “What do you want, Chance?”
“A word.”
“Jessa…” Muscles-Glasses interjected, his tone one of concern, probably because I looked like a possessed-possessive wolf, snarling in his direction. She doesn’t have as much to be afraid of as you do, asswipe.
I glared at her, just realizing that she wasn’t in her scrubs anymore. She was in fucking yoga pants, tank, and sports bra. Everything molding completely to her.
“It’s fine, Kyle.” My fist flexed as she gave him a sweet smile. “I just need to talk to my patient about his schedule for next week.”
“You sure?” He looked at her like a lovesick protective puppy.
Take a fucking hint.
“I’ll see you on Saturday,” she said with a smile that he didn’t deserve.
I was boiling. Red-fucking-hot.
I stood unmoving, waiting for Muscles-Glasses to get far enough away. She, however, had no such concern.
“What’s your problem, Chance? Monroe not cutting it for you this afternoon? Getting a little too handsy? I figured you’d enjoy putting her in her place,” she whipped at me as soon as Kyle climbed in his truck, still watching us from underneath his shades.
She crossed her arms over her chest, pushing. On purpose.
As soon as he pulled out of the lot, I moved towards her and she had the good sense to back up—at least until her back hit the door of her truck and she had nowhere else to go. “What the fuck is Saturday?”
There was space between us but only when we exhaled.
“None of your business.”
My hands moved and pressed onto the window on either side of her face as I bent down next to her cheek. “Everything about you is my fucking business.”
“N-no.” My little liar. Her chest shook against mine. “Not anymore.”
“Always,” I rasped against her soft, jasmine skin. The scent rocketing straight through my body, pulling at my need for her harder than anything.
Eight years ago, I would have been in the driver’s seat already with her on my lap.
Christ. I was as hard as kryptonite. She was my kryptonite.
“What do you want, Chance?”
You.
“What. Is. Saturday?”
“I’m not answering that.” Her palm came up onto my chest—an ill-fated attempt to push me away as her fingers curled into my shirt instead.
“Tell me,” I demanded, my lips playing with the skin of her cheek. “Tell me, J-bird. Or kiss me.”
She sucked in air and I held my breath as the movement brushed her tits against me. Don’t. If I fucking thought about them now, I would lose it.
It was an easy decision. She would give me an answer—kissing me was far too great of a risk for her; she would never give me that. Not yet, at least.
First, I expected her to refuse to make the choice.
Then, I expected that she would just eventually tell me what Saturday was—so that I could tell her there was no way she was going on a date with that asswipe.
I never expected the words that I heard next.
“Then kiss me, Chance. Kiss me and get out of my life.”
My fingers gripped her chin, tilting her head up to mine. Our gazes locked—fire and ice. I wasn’t sure if I’d heard her or just what I wanted to hear, but I wasn’t waiting to find out that I’d heard wrong.
My lips crushed hers.
I devoured her mouth—starved of her for eight years. And she responded like a fucking avalanche, sweeping me under and consuming me. She could turn and walk away when this was done, but here. Now. She was just as on fucking fire as I was.
Oxygen deprived for years, tasting her was the first breath of that cool, crisp fall air. The kind that you breathe in and you feel every particle diffuse down your throat and into the follicles of your lungs. That was Jessa. The fucking free-radicle.
Her nails scored my scalp as I pushed flush against her, sandwiching her against the side of her car. She was softer than I remembered. Warmer. Even more intoxicating than when we’d been seventeen.
There was no space between us, from lips to legs. Where it counted though, there were light years keeping us apart.
My hands angled her head, holding her hostage for my tongue to claim every inch of the sweetness of her mouth. It was the only part of her I was getting right now and I’d be damned if I missed any fucking spot.
The whole world was created and destroyed in that kiss.
She moaned against me and I ground my hips into her, my cock aching for the only woman who would be able to satisfy me—the one woman I’d sworn to break.
So break her.
Before she breaks you.
My lips broke from hers, both of us gasping for air.
“You want me to fuck you…” I rasped, biting her lower lip and pulling it with my teeth. She shuddered as I sucked on it—just like she always had.
She turned her head away, wincing as her lip pinched pulling it from my grasp.
“No.”
“It wasn’t a question, J-bird.” And even if it was, I knew her answer was a lie. The way she moved against me told me that a few more minutes would have had some part of me inside of her. “Your body says otherwise; your body screams otherwise.” My lips moved against her cheek as she fought to disagree with me. “I bet you’re drenched, Jessa.” I groaned. “Let me find out.”
She whimpered and then her hands on my chest did the job they were supposed to and pushed me away.
I smirked. “You know this… us… is going to happen.”
Especially now.
Not just for revenge, but because at some point she would give up on me if I didn’t have her again.
“No. Us already happened and this is never happening again. Have a good weekend, Pride.” Her truck door slamming highlighted just how far I’d fallen.
I watched her drive away. Too proud to let her see that that kiss had made me too weak to move. Too proud to admit that I had feelings for her that ran far deeper than vengeance. Too proud to admit that, in the end, the only person destroyed by my scheme would be myself.
I was too proud for it all
But, then again, it was my fucking name.
My foot pressed heavy on the gas, trying to match the speed of my racing heart.
What had I just done?
Just when I thought I was free from the past… Just when I was convinced that the door to what we had together was locked… I realized that I wasn’t the only one with a key.
“So, wait… Who is this guy again, Jess?” Ally asked as soon as she got into the car. Tammy and I picked her up at her house. I was relieved when she came out wearing jeans, a tee, and winter fur boots; I’d specifically told her nothing fancy tonight because I didn’t have the wherewithal to put myself together like that.
Instead, I’d opted for a giant sweater dress—not the tight, sex
y kind that Ally would wear. It was off-the-shoulder so that did give it some sort of sexiness and I’d paired it with over-the-knee purple suede boots—because they were flat and they kept my legs warm. I looked nice enough, but not too nice that it would encourage Kyle.
“One of my co-workers—Kyle. He’s another Physical Therapist at the center. He’s been like my mentor kinda-sorta,” I explained again, adding, “He’s really nice. I felt bad saying no. Plus… I think I needed to get out.”
“Gotcha.” I glanced back to see Ally attempting to finish putting on her mascara in the car.
“What were you doing at your house? I thought you were basically living at Emmett’s?” I asked.
I itched to tell them both about what had happened between Chance and me yesterday. At the same time, I still had no idea what it meant to me. A day later and I couldn’t tell if I was angry, regretful, anxious, or just plain turned-on.
The second his lips touched mine had been just like that night on the mountain—the first time he kissed me. And every time after that. There was only us and the world that our desire created. That was why I’d given up on underwear. It never mattered where we were—when we wanted to be together, it was happening.
“Well…” Ally sighed. I heard her wrestling with her make-up bag, trying to fit it back into her purse. “I had to finish packing up stuff… to move to Emmett’s.”
“What!” Tammy and I both exclaimed. Not like she wasn’t basically living there already.
“Yeah, I’m officially moving in.” The most giant, sparkling smile reflected in my rearview mirror. “Emmett had to go into Denver today to deliver some boards, so I figured I would take the day to pack up everything that I have in the house. I was about to text you guys, but then Jessa you mentioned about tonight, so I thought I’d just tell you in person.”
“Congratulations, Al!” I squealed from the front seat as Tammy clapped her hands together. Her face was lit up for the first time in days. In spite of that, the weight of what she was fighting loomed hauntingly behind her hazel eyes.
“Thank you, guys! I know it sounds stupid, but I’ve never felt so happy waking up every morning with this future to look forward to,” Ally gushed from the back.
I knew Tammy and I felt the same thing—overwhelming happiness for our best friend and guilt for the gnawing sadness of our past demons that still haunted us.
“Al, after everything that you’ve been though with losing Dylan and moving here, you deserve it,” I said, my voice soft and heavy with the joy in my heart.
I turned onto Peak Drive where the Pub was located. It had started to snow. The trees were still covered from the storm we’d gotten over the weekend, but this was creating a light dusting on the road and making it just a tad slippery. Good thing I had my truck.
“Thanks, J.” She sounded so at peace. I was jealous. No point in denying it. “Tammy, how are you feeling? You haven’t told us much lately. What’s going on with all the tests? Do they know what’s wrong yet?”
Tammy shuddered in the passenger seat next to me. I had a feeling that they didn’t know yet and it was killing her inside. People like Tammy needed all of the details and facts ASAP. Unknowns stressed her. And this—this was more than an unknown; what if the doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong?
“I don’t mean to butt in,” I began, recognizing that this was the last thing that Tammy wanted to talk about right now. She was trying so hard to be happy and have one night where she had sufficient distraction from her health… and having to answer this question could ruin it, “but I have to tell you guys something.”
Two sets of intrigued eyes fell on me.
“Ally, I don’t know if you know—or if he’s said anything to you or Emmett—but Chance has been my patient at my new job. He requested me when he saw that I was working there. So, I’ve been his physical therapist for two weeks… and for the next three weeks.”
“WHAT!” Ally’s screech was echoed more calmly, yet still just as concerned, by Tammy’s voice. “Why… How… I don’t understand. Explain.”
In retrospect, I shouldn’t have brought it up right then since I was just pulling into the parking lot, but my mouth was on a roll this weekend with speaking before I thought.
As I pulled into a spot, I went into the less-shocking story about how Dr. Lev hired me and then the following morning, I walked into my afternoon appointment to find out that it was Chance.
“You don’t think that it was coincidence?” Tammy wondered. Classic Tam. Always giving the benefit of the doubt.
“Tam.” My eyes scooted over to her. “I love you, but aside from his name—there is nothing that happens by chance between him and me.”
“Yeah, that sounds like my brother.” Ally sighed, the familiar twinge of concern returning to her voice.
“I take it he didn’t say anything to Emmett.”
“Not that I know of…” She hummed. “I love my brother—you know that I do—but ever since the accident… He’s lost. Kind of like I was when I moved here. Except, I wanted to get away. Chance wants to punish everyone around him… he wants to punish life… he wants to punish himself… for what happened to him. He’s angry and I don’t know how to reach him.”
I heard the sadness in her voice and I knew exactly what she meant. Ally was the baby sister who’d lived in Florida with their parents for the past five years or so. She was the one to be protected—which is why he’d beat Emmett to a pulp when he realized that they were together. He wouldn’t show his weakness to her; he wouldn’t confide in her for that. That’s why he’d been living with Nick ever since he came home—everyone knew it. At Nick Frost’s, there was no guilt or responsibility to accompany his misery. And there was every deplorable distraction to get rid of it.
“Yeah…” I didn’t elaborate just how much I agreed with her—or confide that his punishment seemed to be solely focused on me. “So, needless to say, for the past two weeks my dream job has been going much differently than I’d envisioned.”
“What did he do? Do I need to talk to him? Because I will…” I loved my bestie, but I could handle her brother on my own. I had to.
We got out of the car and made our way into Peak’s Pub. It was a classier bar scene than Big Louie’s and was known for its burgers and numerous Karaoke nights. It was already pretty filled inside—Kyle’s band must be popular. By sheer luck, we snagged an open table near the stage. Once situated, I volunteered to go get us drinks.
“Just a water, Jess,” Tammy said even though I already knew.
“Gotcha. And a dark ‘n’ stormy, Al?” She nodded.
I smiled and nodded through the crowd collected around the bar, waiting patiently in the cramped quarters until Todd came over to take my order.
“The usual for Ally and me,” I requested. Todd was frequently bartending on Karaoke nights when the girls and I usually showed up here. He nodded with a frantic smile—it looked like a busy night for him.
My stomach clenched and then the tingles began.
No.
The room began to feel smaller—like all of the oxygen was being sucked out of it.
No. No. No.
And then I felt him. Pressing against my back. Not enough for anyone to think there was anything going on except a lot of people crowded around a small bar—but enough for me to feel everything that I shouldn’t want.
I gripped the edge of the counter, fighting not to push back against him. I wanted his body pressed hard against mine. I wanted to feel all of him. More than the guilt I felt for giving into my desire, the last twenty-four hours had been filled with memories that I thought I’d been able to suppress. Smiles. Laughs. Love. Sex.
The last was so potent that my hand had found its way into my panties lying in bed last night just to ease my ache.
“So, this is what Saturday meant,” he drawled. “Are you here to see him?” The edge in his voice was unmistakable and unwavering.
We both knew the answer but he was angry an
d possessive and he wanted to see if I would defy him in spite of how my body desired him.
“And if I am?” I managed to say even though my mouth felt like a sandbox.
“Seeing is all you better fucking be doing because you are mine, Jessa.” I felt his breath coming harshly on the back of my neck.
It was pointless to argue with him—especially when he might be right.
“Well, right now I’d just like to order my drink in peace.”
“And I’d like to order another taste of you, J-bird,” Chance rasped into my ear. “Just say the word and I can have my fingers up under this dress and inside of you.”
My throat constricted and my eyes focused on his right hand, his fingers gently stroking over the wood of the bar just like they could be doing to my sex, curling just like they would inside of me right into that spot that shattered my soul. “You know I can make you come before they are finished making your drinks.”
And he could, too. I shivered, hating to admit it.
At least I couldn’t see his face, knowing that it was etched with the confidence he felt in what he was saying. I stared at the lights flickering off the alcohol bottles that lined the back of the bar. Mini-flashes almost like it was a wall of cameras catching this moment between us and imprinting it for eternity.
“Sorry, Chance.” I sighed even though my mouth watered for another taste, too. “I’m no longer on the menu.”
Grabbing the drinks before Todd could even set them down, I turned and walked towards our table—and away from my downfall.
Tammy was watching the band set up, but Ally’s eyes were narrowed on me.
“What else happened?” she asked as soon as I set her drink down on the table.
“What do you mean?” My brain was still foggy knowing that Chance was here.
I didn’t even want to think about how he knew. Maybe Monroe. All I knew was that I couldn’t turn to look at him. If I did, I would be the only thing that he was drinking tonight.
“With my brother. Something else happened. Which is why he is here… and looking at you like you’re his next meal.” I gulped. Busted. Ally smiled sweetly at me, knowing that she was right before adding, “Not to mention, you are blushing.”
Enjoy the Ride (Winter Games Book 3) Page 8