Chasing Chelsea (NSFW Book 4)

by C. C. Wood

  “All of it,” I replied softly. “It was one of the best weekends I’ve had with a man. Ever.”

  Her squinty look vanished and her eyes widened at my response. “Ever?”

  I nodded. “It was…” I trailed off. I wasn’t sure how to express my thoughts in verbal form. I sighed before I continued. “It was nice. We talked, he cooked for me, we spent time together outside of the bedroom and I don’t mean having sex on the couch. For a few hours he worked and I read a book and we barely spoke. And it wasn’t awkward or weird in any way. Usually, by Sunday night, I’m ready to have my own space back but I was sad when he dropped me off at my apartment. Well, not sad, but—” I stopped speaking because I wasn’t sure what I truly wanted to say.

  “You missed him,” Tanya stated.

  “Yeah, I missed him. After just two nights together, I had trouble falling asleep when he wasn’t next to me.”

  She smiled wistfully. “I think that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said.”

  I scowled at her. “It is not. I’m sweet all the time.”

  I looked to Grier for help, but she just shook her head. “No, you’re spicy,” she argued. “It’s fun and I like your candor, but you’re not overly sentimental.”

  I had to shrug then because I knew she was right and it would be useless to argue.

  In the brief silence that followed, we could hear Grier’s phone buzzing again.

  “Who is that?” Tanya asked in exasperation. “And why won’t you answer it?”

  Grier’s expression darkened in a way I’d never witnessed before. She didn’t look pissed exactly. It was more a mixture of irritation and frustration, but she was so laid back that I rarely saw her looking anything other than serene or amused. It was a bit disconcerting.

  “Nothing. Nobody,” she muttered.

  I had my suspicions about who it might be but it was up to Grier to share with us if she wanted. I wasn’t going to push. Pushing her too hard to share would only make her clam up even tighter.

  Tanya studied Grier for a prolonged moment and I could practically see the gears turning in her mind. Then she seemed to come to the same conclusion I had because she turned toward me once again.

  “So when are you going to see Landen again?” she asked.

  I could feel the corners of my mouth turn down automatically. “I don’t know. He had to go out of town this week.”

  “Hmm,” Tanya hummed.

  I knew what she was thinking. The last time Landen had gone out of town, I hadn’t heard from him for over a week. Considering how often he called or texted me since then, I doubted this trip would be the same. Still, I didn’t say anything because there was always a chance I was wrong.

  Once again, Grier’s phone buzzed in her purse, interrupting the silence. I watched in surprise as my usually placid friend grew visibly frazzled and annoyed. Pink tinged her cheeks and her eyes narrowed.

  “Excuse me,” Grier said, her voice tight. “I have to take this.”

  Tanya and I both watched as she withdrew the phone from her purse and got to her feet.

  As she stalked away, her long, wavy brown hair swaying behind her, I saw her lift the phone to her ear and say, “I told you that I needed time to think.”

  The rest of her words were lost because she was too far away and the buzz of conversation at the tables around us was nearly a dull roar.

  Tanya and I looked at each other and I knew my expression likely mirrored her speculative one.

  “Man trouble?” she asked.

  I shrugged. I wasn’t sure, but I also wasn’t going to discuss Grier’s love life behind her back.

  Tanya leaned forward. “Look, I’m not going to pry, with either of you.” I snorted and she glared at me. “Okay, well, I’ll pry with you because I know you don’t mind, but I won’t do that to Grier. I just want to know if she’s talked to you about whatever’s going on. Everyone needs at least one person to confide in when they have problems.”

  “We’ve talked about it a little,” I replied.

  “Okay, that’s good. That’s all I wanted to know.” Again, I gave her a look and Tanya laughed quietly. “Yes, I would love to know more, but I know Grier isn’t like you or Lucy. She’s introverted and private. I think she finds it difficult to share personal stuff.”

  “I think she’ll be okay,” I assured Tanya.

  “Are you doing okay?” she asked instead of responding to my statement. “Beyond the new boyfriend, I mean? Though that is strange enough. You and Landen used to butt heads more than anyone I’ve ever seen and now you’re getting along so well.”

  She was right. It was odd how well Landen and I got along now that our interactions had become romantic rather than strictly professional.

  “Chris is giving me a promotion,” I stated. “Or he will be after I hire and train my replacement.”

  “What?” Tanya cried. “That’s great! What will your new job title be?”

  Grier returned to the table at that moment. “New job?” she queried, looking a little less stressed than she had a few minutes ago.

  “Chris is giving Chelsea a promotion!” Tanya stated, her voice carrying across the restaurant.

  As people turned to look at us, I leaned forward and hissed, “Tanya, please don’t yell. People are staring.”

  “But this is a big deal!” She clapped her hands, looking nothing like the sophisticated, intimidating woman she usually appeared to be. “This calls for champagne!”

  “You can’t have champagne,” I deadpanned. “You’re pregnant.”

  “It doesn’t matter. You and Grier can have some. I’ll have a virgin Bellini or something. This calls for a celebration.”

  “You don’t even know what my new position will be,” I drawled, unable to resist giving her a hard time. “He might have created an glorified office manager position for me.”

  Tanya raised her brows. “Is that your new position?”

  Unable to contain my smirk, I shook my head.

  “Well?” she prompted.

  “He’s making me Vice President of…something. He didn’t give me the exact title, just that I would be taking part of his workload. With a significant raise and more benefits.”

  A smile spread over Tanya’s face. “That’s fantastic news!”

  “Congratulations, Chelsea,” Grier chimed in, though much quieter. The darkness had vanished from her features. “You deserve it.”

  I sighed. “I just hope I can do a good job.”

  Tanya reached out and grabbed my hand. “I’ve known you for three years now. I have no doubt that you’ll do an excellent job. You are too intelligent and capable to be an assistant. This is the type of job you need to be doing. Something that challenges you on a daily basis.”

  Some of the nerves jangling in my stomach eased at her words and the sincere expression on her face. Tanya was a straight shooter. There was no way she would tell me something like this if she didn’t absolutely believe it was true.

  “I guess we’ll see.”

  Our server arrived at the table at that moment, responding to the little wave Tanya had given him a few moments ago. As Tanya ordered the champagne and a virgin Bellini for herself, I smiled.

  I had great friends.

  Chapter Twenty

  Somehow the week flew by. After the advertisement I drafted went live, resumes and applications poured in. I spent a portion of every afternoon combing through them and putting aside the ones that looked most promising. The pile wasn’t huge, but it was definitely a good start. Once I vetted them, I would give the stack of resumes to Chris. Unsurprisingly, he threw out a fair number of them, saying that he knew them already, and didn’t like what he knew, or they didn’t have the right experience.

  But the list of potential candidates was still growing.

  He asked me to schedule interviews for the following week, a few each afternoon.

  And Landen was true to his word. He texted me a couple of times a day, though he didn’t call
as often as he had been for the last few weeks. He even emailed me. Clearly the man was covering his bases.

  When I told him about my upcoming promotion, he seemed pleased for me. Though I was still shocked when a cluster of orchids arrived at the office on Tuesday. Chris, however, didn’t seem surprised in the least.

  He took one look at the exotic blooms and asked, “Landen?”

  I nodded. “He wanted to congratulate me on…” I trailed off, beginning to worry that I shouldn’t have told him.

  “Your promotion?” Chris finished for me.

  “Yes. Though now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  He waved a hand at my statement. “You haven’t signed the paperwork yet, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s fine that you told him.” He paused. “Though you should have told Lucy yourself rather than letting Tanya do it. She was a bit irritated that I didn’t share with her what I was planning.”

  I bit back a grin. “I’ll keep that in mind in the future.”

  Chris frowned at me and shook his head. “I know you’re laughing at me on the inside.” With a sigh, he’d disappeared back into his office.

  I’d allowed my grin to escape then. I really did like Chris, even though he could be somewhat intimidating when he was angry.

  As the days passed, I found that I was grateful for the fact that Landen had a business trip. Last weekend was…amazing. But it also clouded my mind, making me think about things I had no business envisioning. Things like sleeping next to him every night, waking up to his messy hair and bare chest every morning, and sitting together in his living room while we both worked silently on our laptops. He wasn’t an easy man, but I was comfortable around him. More comfortable than I’d ever been around any other person, male or female.

  So basically I was imagining what it would be like to live with him and we’d only been together for a few weeks, for crying out loud!

  The distance gave me space for rational thought. I was glad that I could imagine living with Landen, but it was definitely too soon. We needed more time to learn more about each other. Figure out if we wanted the same things out of life.

  Now, it was Saturday and I decided to stay in for the night. I gave myself an at-home facial, body scrub, pedicure, and manicure, so by the time I started thinking about dinner, I was smooth, polished, and smelled like the delicious coconut body lotion I applied after my scrub in the shower. I ordered a pizza from a local family-owned restaurant and opened a bottle of wine.

  I was going to have myself one hell of a night in.

  I watched several episodes of a new show on Netflix as I drank wine and munched on pizza. As the hour grew later, I considered going to bed but decided to watch just one more episode. It wasn’t quite midnight and I rarely stayed up this late, but I was completely hooked on the characters and the story of the television show. And I only had a few episodes left.

  As the suspense built in the episode, I found myself sitting on the edge of the couch. Something bad was about to happen and I was both intrigued and a little nervous.

  I was so intent on the events unfolding on the screen that I nearly screamed when three firm knocks came from the front door of my apartment. Pressing a hand to my pounding heart, I got to my feet and crept to the front door. Just as I was about to put my eye to the peephole, the person on the other side knocked again. Louder this time.

  I jumped and bit back an undignified yelp. Blowing out a long breath, I lifted my eye to the lens and peered through. Landen stood in the hall, his gaze leveled at the peephole as though he could actually see me. I should have known it was him. He’s the only person I know who can get into the building without buzzing me first.

  Excitement coursed through me when I realized it was him. I unlocked the door and threw it open.

  “Landen, what are you doing here? I thought you would be in Oregon until next week.”

  He stepped into my apartment, hauling his laptop bag over one shoulder and pulling a small, wheeled carry-on with his other hand. “I finished up early.”

  I opened my mouth to say something else but closed it when I saw the dark circles under his eyes and the lines caused by stress and fatigue around his mouth. He looked as though he hadn’t been sleeping well.

  Without speaking, I took his laptop bag and hung it on the hook by the door. Landen left his suitcase against the wall by the entrance before he turned to shut the door and lock it.

  He was also silent as he faced me again, his eyes roving over my body. When he stepped toward me, sliding his hands around my waist over my thin tank top, I lifted a palm to his cheek.

  “Hey, you look tired. Did you come straight here from the airport?”

  In a surprising move, Landen leaned forward and rested his forehead against mine. “Yes,” he murmured. “I needed to see you.”

  Warmth unfurled in my chest at his words, but also worry. I liked what he said, but he didn’t look like his usual, arrogant self. “What’s wrong?”

  He sighed and tugged me closer so that our bodies were pressed together. “It was a long fucking week.”

  We stood like that for several long moments, our foreheads together and our bodies aligned perfectly, as though we were built for that specific purpose, to fit seamlessly into each other’s empty places.

  Finally, he lifted his head. “I need a shower.”

  I studied his weary face and ran my thumb over his cheekbone. “Are you hungry? I have some pizza left over.”

  “No, but I wouldn’t say no to a drink.”

  “Okay. Go take a shower. What do you want to drink?”

  “Scotch.”

  I lifted an eyebrow at him. “Scotch?”

  The corner of his mouth tilted up in a semi-smirk. “No Scotch, huh?”

  I shook my head.

  “Vodka?”

  When I shook my head again, that tilted lip became a small grin.

  “Tequila, I know you have that.”

  I nodded. “You want the good stuff?”

  His smile widened. “You’re offering me top shelf?”

  Rising onto my tiptoes, I touched my lips across his, giving him my version of the lip brush that drove me crazy. “Only the best for you, babe.”

  Landen returned my kiss, chuckling quietly. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  He released me and headed toward the bedroom, stripping off his jacket as he went. I watched him move, noticing that his gait wasn’t as relaxed as usual and that his shoulders appeared tight beneath his thin white shirt.

  When I heard the water come on in the bathroom, I gathered up the remains of my dinner and tidied the living room before I poured an inch of tequila in a squat glass. Several years ago, my father bought me a bottle of expensive tequila when I graduated from business school and I’d loved it so much, he started a tradition, buying me another one for Christmas and occasionally one for my birthday. Before Chris hired me, I hadn’t made enough money to splurge like that, but now I replaced my stash whenever I ran out. And it was likely I would be able to continue to do so in the future since I was about to get one hell of a raise.

  By the time I was done cleaning up and pouring Landen’s drink, the shower had long since gone off. I turned off the TV and the lights before heading into the bedroom, glass in hand.

  Then I paused in the doorway. All the lights were off except for the lamp on my nightstand. Landen lay stretched out on the bed, naked, with a couple of pillows behind his back as though he intended to sit up and wait for me to come in. Instead, he was asleep.

  I moved over to the bed as I stared down at him. This was the first time I’d ever seen him sleeping. Last weekend, I’d dozed off before him and woken well after.

  He looked different in repose. Not boyish, but less…intense. The force of his personality was dormant and his sharp features were relaxed. His naked body sprawled on my white comforter, loose and muscled, brought to mind the story of Eros and Psyche. Well, maybe not the story, since that didn’t play out well, but a p
icture I once saw when reading the myth.

  Smiling at my fanciful train of thought, I set the glass on my nightstand and got ready for bed. I kept my apartment cool at night, so I gently tugged the comforter from beneath Landen and spread it over his body. Other than grunting and turning onto his side in his sleep, he didn’t seem to notice my ministrations.

  Stripping off my shorts, I climbed into bed and curled up next to him. I stretched my body along his and rested my head on his back, breathing in the scent of his skin mixed with my body wash.

  At that moment, I realized how much I’d missed him and how glad I was that he had returned.

  To my surprise, I woke up before he did the next day. We’d shifted in our sleep so that he was curled up behind my back, his legs bent up so that his lap cradled my ass and his arm thrown over my waist.

  Moving slowly, I turned over to face him and saw that most of the fatigue had been erased from his features and the dark circles beneath his eyes were much fainter. He shifted, his arm curving tighter around me, and slid his knee between mine. As he pulled me closer, his thigh pressed firmly between my legs and I could feel the hard ridge of his erection against my belly.

  Heat bloomed in my pelvis and my clit pulsed. I stared at his face for a moment and realized he truly was asleep. I didn’t want my horniness to disturb the rest he so obviously needed, so I slowly began to extricate myself from his grasp.

  He frowned slightly and made a noise low in his throat, his hand lifting to grasp my wrist and pulling it down to his hard cock.

  I had to bite back a laugh. Either he was awake and just messing with me or the man was a horn dog even in his sleep. I wrapped my fingers around his length and gave him an experimental stroke. The frown between his eyebrows disappeared and his hips moved toward me.

  I decided that, faking sleep or not, Landen probably wouldn’t mind waking up to my mouth on him. And if he was still tired after I was done, he could nap in my bed all day. I didn’t care if he did. In fact, I would probably stay in bed with him. I could cuddle up to him and read if I wasn’t sleepy.