“Sweetheart, we wouldn’t be making the move if I thought you’d be safer here.” He chinked her glass with his coffee cup and blew over the hot liquid before taking a sip. “Just can’t believe the asshole didn’t tell you, said he would. He’ll bullshit me saying he got distracted with something.”
A slight smile crossed Eden’s lips, remembering racing up the stairs in a frenzy of sexual desire. His touch to her flesh and the feeling when she rode him hard had her heading to breathlessness. She had to take a sip of her wine to cover her heavier breathing from Mason.
“I did have other matters to deal with, thank you, Mason,” Chase stated. They both turned their heads to see him.
His eyes met Eden’s, and he winked as she swung around on her seat to watch him leaning in the doorway in nothing but a pair of jeans, his muscles defined by the light and shadows cast from the night. His feet were bare, adding to his sexy male physique. It turned her on in an instant, making her heart beat a little faster.
Mason winked teasingly. “Hey, man, how long have you been standing there? Come and join us. Want a drink? Coffee, tea, something a little stronger?” Mason patted the seat beside him, making Chase roll his eyes at the amusingly intimate offer.
He strode over to the fridge, opening it. “I’ll get myself a bottle of water, thanks.” He retrieved a bottle, opened it, and drank down half. Coming to the table, he slid in beside Eden, pulling her chair over playfully to him so he could touch her and take in her scent. She smelled fresh and clean, like bed sheets hanging in the wind, her hair damp from her shower. It made him hard when their skin touched.
He whispered into her ear, “You scared me when I woke and you were gone.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t let it happen again,” he cautioned her, licking behind her ear for effect, and sending a visible shiver up her spine, causing her nipples to become erect.
“So, Mason filled you in on the move?” he asked, as he curled his fingers around hers and traced the length of each with the fingertip of his other hand. He was in a playful mood, given the circumstances, and it made her heart warm with this new attention she was receiving. She liked it very much.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
Chase put a finger over her lips to quiet her. “The less you know.”
Pretending to bite out at his finger, he withdrew with a scowl. “You’re not going to tell me where we’re going?” she asked, looking at him with raised eyebrows, then turned to look over at Mason.
“He’s right, sweetheart. The less you know, the better. Trust me, ok?”
“Yes, for some strange reason, I do.” She smiled at the tough-as-nails blond hottie. “What about work? Mr. Hawthorn’s going to flip out if he hasn’t already. I’ve probably been fired and don’t know it yet.”
“As far as Hawthorn is concerned, your Uncle Joe passed away in a tragic accident. You’re in Miami helping Aunt Rose with arrangements. He thinks that’s why the police came to your office.” Chase waited for a reaction from her for the lie that he told.
“And he bought that, seriously?” She almost laughed.
“Hook, line, and sinker…I actually had Mason call him. By the way, meet your cousin.” Chase laughed, pointing to Mason, who shrugged and gave a half smile.
“We’re going to rot in hell for the lies we’re telling.” Eden eyed the pair of them.
“Little white lies. Our hands are tied, baby. We better get packed. We have to leave soon.” Chase rose first and took Eden’s hand, leaving the room.
“Chase, I don’t have any clothes to pack. I can’t go to the apartment for anything. What am I supposed to do?” The fact that they hadn’t shopped for new clothes was now more than apparent. Was she supposed to wear the same outfit forever? The nightmare was just getting better and better.
“I have clothes you can use. Remember the closet in the guest room?” When they got to the guest room, Chase opened the door and pushed her in ahead of him. He opened the closet doors and waved his arms like a model showing the next prize to be won. “There you go. Shop until your heart’s content.”
Turning to face Chase, she asked, “Where did this all come from? I mean, did it belong to one of those girls?” She watched him nervously, not wanting to upset him with her questions.
“I bought everything in there. There must be plenty that will fit so just pack a bag, please. I’ll go pack my things and toiletries for both of us.” He grabbed her elbow and leaned in, giving her a kiss on her cheek, escaping without an answer to her query.
She eyed the contents of the closet, and as she scanned through the items, she saw that the price tags were still attached to almost everything. Not cheap, and a lot of designer stuff. Funny, she never noticed that when she took the skirt and blouse that she wore earlier today. It never dawned on her to push for answers from him as to the owner of the belongings.
Quickly, she took a suitcase from the shelf and filled it with an assortment of items, including jeans that could be rolled up and sweats for comfort. She remembered the drawer of lace panties and bras and rummaged through until she found sizes to fit her. She was even impressed to find tennis shoes and a few pairs of flats that fit. In the back of the closet, she found a pair of bright red stilettos like her own. She stuffed them in the bottom of the bag with pajama bottoms and a few tanks.
“I see you found some clothes. I’m glad. Let me get your suitcase, we have to get going now.” Chase took their suitcases and proceeded downstairs ahead of her.
Eden felt funny, even sad, as she descended the staircase because it was only on the rarest occasion that Chase didn’t take her by the hand and escort her with his commanding force. He stepped off the bottom step, putting down the cases, and turned to her as she made her way down.
“What’s wrong, baby?” he asked, amused by the pout on her face.
“It just feels strange walking without my hand in yours. I’m just being silly, ignore me.”
He was tender and kind, but she liked it when he took command and showed his dominate side. She looked forward to his powerful alpha male growls and grunts when they had sex. It made her feel lustful and sexy. He had a hunger for her, full of passion, and she reveled in this fact.
He met her at the bottom step, and before she could go any further, he ran his thumb across her cheek. They shared a quiet moment staring into each other’s eyes. Wrapping his hand around the nape of her neck, he smooched at her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding tight. She loved the feel of his soft lips when he gave her these sexy little angel kisses.
“If you two can pull yourselves apart, we should be going. The truck’s ready down stairs,” Mason snapped, grabbing their bags and walking to the elevator to push the button. Chase took her hand in his and squeezed gently with a secret smile as they moved to stand with Mason.
***
The ride to the country house was long and quiet. The Tahoe headlights lit the way. It was extremely dark since they left the bright lights of the city streets and headed along unlit rural roads. Eden looked out the window, but the darkness made it impossible to get any bearings as to where they were going, so she slept most of the way, tucked into Chase’s side, enjoying his warmth.
When she woke, the truck was sitting at a set of gates. Mason was hanging out the window, punching a code into a pin pad sitting on a post. The gates started rolling open, and when there was enough clearance, Mason proceeded inside, driving up a winding driveway to the front of a beautiful New England style brick mansion.
It was impressive from what she could see in the dark. It had a four-car garage, and she counted four chimneys. The numerous windows were lit up, and a large dog barked and snarled at the truck, its teeth bared and slobbering.
Mason gave a quick blast of the horn, and a man ran from the side of the house, grabbing the dog by the collar and raising his arm to Mason as he took the animal back to the side of the house.
“All clear, man,” Mason roared, as h
e jumped from the truck, straightening himself. “I thought that beast was supposed to be gone.”
“Scared of a little puppy, man?” Chase teased.
“You see the fucking teeth on that thing? The sooner it’s gone, the better.”
“Relax. Danny’s taking him home tonight.”
Climbing from the truck with Chase’s assistance, Eden stood with her jaw hanging open. “This is the country house? It’s huge!” she announced.
“It’s in the country. It’s a house, and yep, it’s big.” He laughed, pulling her toward the main door.
Inside, she stood in awe, taking in her surroundings. There were two staircases on either side of the grand foyer leading up. In between them, she could see the great room, featuring an entire wall of glass; she could only imagine the view.
“Come. Are you hungry?” Chase asked. He took her hand, and they walked to the right into a gigantic chef’s kitchen, complete with restaurant-grade appliances and three islands, each incorporating a different use. He sat her at the one nearest the glass-front fridge, obviously used for prep with its double sink and built-in chopping block.
“What can I get for you?” he asked.
“A water would be great.”
“You’re not hungry? I can fix you something?” he persisted.
“I’m not hungry, thanks.”
He cracked the water bottle top, handed it to her and grabbed himself one as he plopped down on the stool beside her.
He studied her face closely. “You ok, baby?”
“Yeah I think so. Look, I’m sorry for all this shit, Chase. You’ve turned your life upside down for me. I owe you so much. I just don’t know how I will ever repay you.” She put her hand on his cheek.
Chase planted a kiss to her open palm and smiled. “I don’t want to be repaid. I promised to take care of you and I am, plain and simple.” He nudged her playfully with his shoulder.
“Speaking of plain and simple, is the house yours or does it belong to your family?” The nosey-bitch side of her was in a needing-to-know-more mood.
“Mine. I just don’t come here much anymore. I let family and friends use it. I like the city life.”
“It’s really big for just one guy.”
He shrugged. “It’s an investment. I like dealing in private real estate. Buy it cheap, fix it up, and sell it for a profit. Simple money.” He talked with a smooth confidence. She liked his business side.
“So, you’re selling it?”
“No. I haven’t really decided what to do with it. I’ve owned it for five years now. It’s been fully renovated, but I have a kind of attachment to the place.”
“This is the kind of place I could see myself designing…who was the designer?”
“Me.”
“You’re kidding, right?” she asked, truly impressed with what she saw so far.
“No way, baby. I did this one all by myself. She sits on forty fully landscaped acres, has a tennis court and pool overlooking a really cool pond. Has…a total of twenty-four rooms, seven of those are bedrooms and nine bathrooms. A large fully equipped gym, a home theatre, steam room, two games rooms, two sunrooms, one with a twenty-nine-jet hot tub, a state of the art security system…and at the moment two armed marksmen. Impressed yet?” They laughed, and he stood, taking her hand and leading her to the stairs. He picked up their suitcases, and she followed him up.
“I’ll show you to the master bedroom. You can freshen up if you like or take a nap. I need to have a meeting with security, so feel free to tour the place.” They walked to a set of double doors. He threw them open, leaving her with a quick peck on the tip of her nose.
The room was beautiful and decorated unusually feminine. Not like Chase’s apartment at all. There was a canopy bed dressed in lacy white material. The spread was hand crocheted with large fluffy pillows trimmed in the same lacy fabric as the canopy. There was an old rocking chair in the corner with a knit shawl draped over the back. The fireplace screen was peacock-shaped brass. The dressers and remaining furnishings were understated antiques.
Eden walked to the closets and opened the doors cautiously. They were walk-in closets. One was empty, only wooden hangers hung from rods with a shelf encircling it. The other was separated with a built-in closet system, not a stick of clothing. She sighed with relief. Even the dressers were empty. She quickly unpacked their suitcases and decided to check out the en suite baths and put away the toiletries.
On either side of the bed were doors, each one leading to an en suite bath. The left one that she peered into first was obviously the ‘His,’ complete with a shaving mirror and a urinal. The other had a huge claw tub, fancy soaps and colognes on glass shelves, frilly edged towels, and an elegant glass shower in the corner, etched with graceful flowers. She could picture the pair of them sitting at either end of the tub with wine glasses and candles burning.
Eden walked down the hall and passed the other six bedrooms and washroom doors. She made her way down the stairs. The sun was shining as she strode into the great room. The glass wall had been slid open so that the great room was now part of the outdoors. It was incredible, and she rushed to see the view.
The house sat atop a hill, and the grounds of the mansion could be seen all around, perfectly manicured and lush green. A white interior fence with a tall exterior chain-link fence incorporated encircled the grounds far off in the distance. To the right she could see the tennis court. The pool and pond sat slightly to the left, just off the edge of the porch.
She sat in one of the many plush chairs and breathed in the fresh country air. She was feeling much better now, not nearly as overstrung as before. She closed her eyes, put her head back, and enjoyed the feel of the sun caressing her skin.
How fast things had transformed in a forty-eight-hour period. How tangled and muddied her life had become all because of a horrendous past catching up with her. The demon seeped from beneath the rock it had hidden under and now threatened to destroy the world she had rebuilt for herself. This was bad enough, but now Chase was an unwilling victim and all because he couldn’t take no for an answer.
***
“I think it’s ridiculous, shithead! Seriously! No one knows we’re here, and we’re far from everything. Who’s going to see us unless they’re in a helicopter for fuck’s sake! You’ll scare the shit out of her, and she’s already a near basket case,” Chase roared at Mason.
“I’m the fucking security specialist here, not you. I was hired to secure you. Now, Eden and her baggage have brought you face to face with some fucking lunatic. I’m gonna do what I have to do, man.” Mason slammed his fist down on the desk.
Chase’s face was red with rage. “Eden never meant for any of this to happen. She didn’t have a fucking clue that this asshole knew where to find her. Don’t even go there, or you’ll find your ass out the fucking door, replaced with a new security team, got it?” His fists formed tight balls.
“Fuck you, man. Fire me then. I don’t give a rat’s ass. I can get a new assignment like that.” Mason snapped his fingers at Chase, and the pair faced each other, neither one ready to back down.
“Whoa! There’s enough testosterone in here to sink a battle ship,” McBride said, trying to cool the air in the room.
He was one of the armed marksmen hired by Mason to guard the house, along with one other well-qualified man who stood behind him, fully uniformed with his rifle over his shoulder, waiting patiently.
“Sorry to interrupt you girls, but can we just get our fucking orders so we can do our jobs?” McBride asked, with every bit of sarcasm he could muster.
Mason looked at Chase with a sideways glance and brows raised. “Well? Do I give them their assignments or are we finished here?” Mason asked dryly.
Chase turned and headed to the door with a grunt. In no way was he going to surrender, but time was wasting. The men needed to take their positions, and he needed to find Eden.
“Do what you need to do! No more than two. Four guys with guns arou
nd her will be bad enough.” Chase left the room, slamming the door behind him.
Chase was standing, chopping vegetables. He used the blade of his knife with precision, adding the vegetables to a large bowl. Eden entered the room quietly. He didn’t notice her, and she stood watching him. He was so damned sexy in his chef mode. The spicy smell from a pot steaming on the stove was wafting through the air, making Eden aware of her hunger.
“Something smells great,” she finally broke her silence.
“Hi. Come sit.” Chase waved at the tall stools around the island. “I made gumbo. I’m just whipping up a salad to go with it.” He put his knife down, wiped his hands on a small towel tucked in the waist of his baggy sweats, and pulled out a stool.
“Can I help?” she asked, picking a carrot from the chopping block and taking a nibble.
“You can help me by sitting.” He patted the stool seat, and she hopped up.
“Maybe I can make breakfast tomorrow,” she suggested.
“Sorry, the house will be fully staffed by morning, including a chef.” He took his knife, and chopped a carrot into perfect tiny cubes, scooping them up and adding them to the bowl.
“Fine then, I’ll do the dishes,” she insisted. “What do you mean by fully staffed?”
Wielding his knife about as he spoke, he said, “A cleaning staff, chef, groundskeeper, etcetera. You know, the usual.”
Eden stole another carrot from the pile and shook her head. “I don’t know the usual. I never lived in a fully staffed house. There were no servants. We each had chores. Everyone pitched in and did their part.” The idea of servants seemed so down-south-slave-like, she was uncomfortable with it all. It was hard enough having Hazel cleaning up after her at the penthouse. She would find herself racing to wash her coffee cup before Hazel beat her to it.
“You’ll get used to it, I promise.” He swatted at her hand as she reached over. “You’ll have to get used to it. It’s the way I live, the way I’ve always lived.”
Eden's Pleasure (Pulse Book 1) Page 18