Chasing Kate (An American Dream Love Story Book 1)

by Josephine Parker

  “Ladies and Gentleman,” a voice called over the sound system, “It is my pleasure to introduce…”

  Kate felt blood rushing through her limbs and gripped the sides of her chair in an effort not to run towards the door. Scenarios swirled through her mind as the ballroom lights dimmed, and she struggled to keep her face benign. She pulled her hands back up to applaud the Governor as he took the stage, trying to keep them from shaking.

  “Thank you all for being here tonight,” the Governor said from the podium. “Tonight, we are here to celebrate the fact that the American Dream is alive and well in the great state of Oklahoma. No matter who you are, or where you come from, with hard work…”

  His words muted and mixed in Kate’s mind. As he spoke, she felt her adrenaline continue to rise. She took a long drink from her champagne and tried to slow her breath. The second the Governor’s speech ended, Kate sprung from her chair and darted across the room.

  She wrung her hands and tried to calm herself down. She felt completely powerless, completely out of control. Donna Ogrodnick was never going to stop until she was destroyed. Everything she’d worked for; all those years of struggle, would be for nothing. She saw Donna laughing across the room, whispering in people’s ears. She was whispering to Peggy, and now to Cal and Rose. Kate’s heart pounded in her chest. She saw Chase parting the crowd and moving towards her, concern in his eyes. He took her by the hand.

  “Kate?” he asked. “What’s going on?” Kate shifted back and forth on her feet, looking over Chase’s shoulder. Chase grabbed her by both shoulders and made her look him in the eye. “What’s going on?” he asked again, and this time Kate looked into his green eyes. Her body and mind were so tense that she desperately craved an escape. She looked at Chase’s lips and arms and knew she could find comfort there.

  Kate grabbed Chase by the hand and pulled him out into the hallway and down a second vacant corridor. She took his giant hands and pressed them into her waist, then reached up and curled her hand behind his neck, pulling his lips down to hers. Chase pulled back, looking at her, his face questioning. She wanted to be transported from this place and from this fear. She felt a hunger flood through her, and the recognition of it in Chase’s eyes.

  “Kiss me,” Kate said, and any reservation Chase had left his eyes. They crushed against each other, their lips pressed together, sliding, searching as their tongues touched and their breath quickened.

  As Kate pulled Chase against her, she could feel his erection growing and straining against his pants. She pressed her torso against him and moved her body slightly, hearing him exhale in her ear. His hands were on her, moving up and down her waist then over her breast. He moved one hand up her thigh and towards her core, and she could feel the heat radiating from within her.

  “Upstairs,” Kate said between kisses. “Now.”

  Chase took her by the hand and they maneuvered through the hallways, across the lobby of the hotel, and to a waiting bank of elevators. As soon as the doors closed, they were on each other again. Kate took the palm of her hand and rubbed it across the bulge in his pants as she took his mouth in hers. With a ding, the elevator doors opened and Kate found her room key. As she inserted the key in the lock, she felt Chase behind her pressing into her back; his lips on the back of her neck; his hands grasping around to squeeze her breasts through her dress. She felt a clenching between her thighs and a spring of moisture which begged to be touched.

  They tumbled into the room, almost falling. Chase grabbed her by the waist and held her up. He pushed her against a dresser, again taking her mouth in his. Then he withdrew, his breath ragged as he looked at her. “Kate,” he began, but Kate put her hand across his mouth and said, “Shhh.” Then she kissed him again.

  He pulled her dress up around her waist and she wound one leg around him, burning against him. He slid his hand up the back of her thigh then between his erection and her panties. His fingers cupped her, then slid beneath the fabric. She knew he could feel how hot and wet she was as his fingers slid up and down, circling until he found her clit. Her head fell back as a moan escaped her lips. He slid his finger inside of her, and she felt her muscles clench around it, wanting more, wanting all of him inside of her.

  Kate slid out from in front of him and walked over to the bed. As she looked at him, she reached to her side and unzipped her dress which fell in a pile around her ankles. She watched his eyes taking her in as she reached up and pulled the pins from her hair, which fell around her shoulders in a splash. He came at her then, taking her around the waist and pushing her onto the bed. Kate crawled back across the covers. “Take off your clothes,” she whispered huskily.

  Chase stepped back and undid his tie, his eyes never leaving hers. He took off the cummerbund of his tuxedo, then pulled his shirt out and undid the buttons. As he opened the shirt, Kate felt a new wave of desire. His skin was so smooth and taut, and she couldn’t wait to feel his bare skin against hers. She watched as Chase slid off his shoes and undid his pants, which he stepped out of, unleashing a giant erection, which Kate wanted inside of her immediately.

  Instead, Chase crawled towards her on the bed; sliding his hands up and down her inner thighs, spreading her before him. With a final look of desire washing across his face, he bent down and began to lick her. His tongue immediately found her clitoris and Kate felt electricity flood her brain. Her back arched and she pushed herself towards him, her body starting to swirl in motion with his tongue. He freed one hand and reached up to cup her breast, kneading her nipple between his thumb and finger as his other hand flattened on her lower belly, pulling up just enough to expose her sex for his mouth. The tip of his tongue circled her deftly, and as she swelled at the touch, a ragged moan escaped her lips. Then he took his hand from her breast, and as he licked her, he slid two fingers inside of her. Her body exploded into a symphony of sensations; growing, crashing, rising, until she felt herself come to a crescendo; her muscles pulsing around him.

  Chase sat up with a satisfied grin, his lips wet; his hand still gently caressing her slippery folds. He eased himself on top of her, kissing her slowly, desire thick on his mouth. He looked at her beneath him, “Kate,” he whispered, his voice laden with emotion, and Kate felt something besides desire stir inside of her.

  She slid one leg around his and flipped him over, pinning him beneath her. “Shhh,” she said. “Don’t do that. Don’t say my name.” She reached across the bed for her makeup bag from which she withdrew a small foil wrapper. She felt Chase’s eyes on her as she opened the package with her teeth, then slipped a condom over his erection. She looked up at him, watching him flush as her hands slid up and down along the length of him, his breath ragged as he stiffened in her hand. She crawled above him, her sex lingering just above the top of his, teasing him with her hand, sliding him back and forth across her lips, wetting him. Then she lowered herself down, enveloping him, and she felt her muscles expand and then clench as she took him deep inside of her. Her eyes closed and her head dropped back as she began to pull herself up and down, slowly taking him in, deeper and deeper. She heard him moan slightly as he took her by the waist and pushed her down even farther, their two bodies sharing the same root, her hips now moving rhythmically with the push of his hands. She leaned back, riding him, feeling in total control, her hands lying flat against his torso, pushing off of him, grinding into him.

  When she opened her eyes, she saw Chase looking at her, his eyes moist and his mouth slightly open. As their bodies moved together and their eyes locked, she felt a bonding she did not want to feel.

  Chase began to say something again, so Kate bent her body forward, covering his mouth, breaking any contact beyond their two torsos moving as one. She could control this. She began thrusting herself onto him, deeper and faster until she felt him grow inside of her, his hands clutching at her ass, tension mounting as their bodies climbed in sync. Then she heard a groan escape from Chase’s throat and she clenched in response, a wave of heat crashing down from i
nside of her body and surrounding him as he climaxed inside of her, grasping at her back and saying her name. “Kate,” he said breathlessly. “Kate…”

  She laid across his chest, their breath rising and falling in sync. As the moment lingered, Chase wrapped his arms around her and gently kissed the tip of her shoulder and arm. Kate pulled away, and as she felt him slide out of her, a sick feeling came over her. She curled her shoulders inward as pain pierced her heart. She had let herself feel too much, and now she was adrift. She had lost on both sides. She was no longer in control and had become everything Donna Ogrodnick had always accused her of: sleeping with a client to get ahead. Is that what she had done? Kate felt emotion swirling through her balled up stomach as she took a deep breath to try to sort her thoughts. She clutched a sheet around her and pulled even farther away.

  Chapter 12: Chase

  Chase rolled to his side and squinted at the slice of light that peaked out beneath the heavy hotel drapes covering the windows. It was difficult to tell the time, but he knew it was still early when Kate slipped silently out of bed and tip-toed to the shower. For most of the night, she had curled herself into a tiny ball on the corner of the bed, as far away from him as she could get. Chase kept trying to inch closer to her, to hold her, and finally Kate had allowed him to put one hand on her back as her chest rose and fell, the breathing of someone awake and waiting to run.

  Chase ran his hands roughly over his face as he tried to replay the events of last night. When Kate walked into that Gala, Chase literally felt the earth stop rotating. The light clung to her and she stood, glowing, as the music and crowd faded into a foggy distance. When Chase wrapped his arm around her and looked into her eyes, he felt like they were in a fairy tale. He wasn’t expecting to end up in her hotel room. Chase ran his hands across the sheets then pulled them up in his fists as he looked over towards the bathroom door.

  He didn’t know what had freaked Kate out last night, but clearly it had something to do with Donna Ogrodnick. He would have to do a little investigating of his own and find out what the story was there. Whatever the reason, he knew Kate had taken him upstairs as a release. Usually, he would be just fine with a woman wanting him just for sex, but Chase felt a pang of fear that this might be the only time he could be this close to her. And it wasn’t what he wanted. He felt a profound need to make love to Kate, to hold her, to look in her eyes and connect with her and know her.

  Chase heard the shower turn off, and several minutes later, the bathroom door opened with a rush of steam. Kate walked out in a hotel robe, her wet hair starting to curl loosely around her shoulders. She looked up with a timid smile then crossed her arms, putting her weight on one leg.

  “You’re still here,” she said, looking at the floor.

  Chase tried to discern if she was happy or irritated by that, but he couldn’t figure out the look on her face. “Is that a bad thing?”

  “No. No…I just―I thought you would have gone to your own room by now. To get your stuff. Car service should be here soon.”

  Chase searched her face, hoping to see some affection there. “I can order the car. Twenty minutes, okay?”

  “We’re taking the same car?”

  Chase rose from the bed, letting the sheet that had covered him fall away, and he stared at her. “Don’t look so disappointed.”

  Kate hesitated before she responded, her eyes lingering over him, and then she looked away. “That’s fine,” she said. “No problem. Twenty minutes is great.”

  Chase watched her gather her things, avoiding his stare. Finally, he reached down to grab his pants and shirt, which he put on in silence, then walked to the door. “Meet you downstairs,” he said, and walked out.

  Chase texted the car service on the way to his room, admonishing himself all the way. He showered and changed, then gathered his things. As he did, he felt a weariness rise up inside of him. Kate was exhausting.

  As Chase walked into the bright light of the lobby, he saw their black town car waiting at the curb outside just as Kate was stepping into the back. Wow, he thought to himself, she just can’t wait to get out of here. He left his room key on the lobby counter and hoisted his bag over his shoulder.

  “Chase,” a voice said behind him. Chase turned to see Donna Ogrodnick.

  “Lovely event last night,” she said, “although you seemed to have missed a large part of it.”

  Chase leveled his gaze at her, unimpressed. “What do you need, Donna?”

  Donna raised her eyebrows with a half-smile. “We’re all short on sleep and a little cranky today, it seems, but I come to you as a friend and ally, if you’ll have me.”

  “Get to the point, Donna.”

  “Fine. Kate Piper.”

  “What about her?”

  “As I mentioned last night, Kate was in my employ for some time, and I feel it my duty to warn you that she displays a pattern of behavior that’s, well...predictable and unfortunate.”

  Chase clenched at the strap of his bag. “Being?”

  Donna leaned in conspiratorially. “Amongst other things, she tends to…how do I put this? Make herself available to her clients in a very personal way, if you get my meaning. Maybe it’s to get control or manipulate them, who knows? But in our business, it’s very bad form. Muddies the waters.” She reached out and put her hand on his arm reassuringly. “We’re all adults here, but I tell you this just so you know all the angles and can protect yourself.”

  Chase moved his arm so her hand fell away. “I don’t need your warnings, and let me be clear, you’re implications are unwelcome.”

  “Well,” Donna said with a shake of her head. “I’ve said my piece. Do with it what you will.”

  Chase watched her walk away. No wonder Kate hates that woman, he thought. He turned towards the door and saw Kate looking at him sadly through the window. As their eyes met, she sunk back into the dark interior of the car as the shaded windows rose up, enveloping her.

  “Shit,” Chase muttered to himself and walked outside.

  As he slid into the backseat of the car beside her, Kate looked straight ahead, her arms and legs turned away from him. The car pulled out and onto the highway; they each looked out their windows in silence for a long time. Chase looked over at her and saw turmoil roiling over her face. He could only imagine what was going through her mind. “I had fun last night,” he said.

  Kate smiled politely. “Me too.”

  “Your dress was beautiful.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Kate, listen, I—”

  “Chase,” she interrupted, “something’s happening.”

  “I know, I feel the same way.”

  “No,” Kate shook her head. “Listen, I should have told you last night. Something’s happening with your launch.”

  Chase sat back, stunned. “What are you talking about?” He leaned forward and pressed the button to close the partition between the back seat and the driver.

  “I don’t have anything concrete yet, but let’s just say, I’m finding some disturbing trends.”

  “Like?”

  “Like people purchasing old pictures of you. And that woman… the one you hit on the raceway? She has a new attorney.”

  Chase felt sick. “Why? What are you talking about? Why would someone stir that up again?”

  “I don’t know. Not yet, but we need to be alert. That means being one hundred percent on our game. No distractions.” Then she looked at him, and Chase felt a sudden realization. She was making an excuse not to see him again. He nodded his head in a deliberate way. “I see, Kate. You know, if you don’t want to see me again, you can just say so.”

  He saw surprise in Kate’s eyes. “No, that’s not what I’m saying.” She shook her head. “Chase, I don’t know…I can’t—”

  “It’s okay,” he said. “I’m a big boy. You’re right. There’s a lot at stake for me and I can handle a little rejection.” He laughed. “It could have been good though, Kate. It could have been great.”


  Chase saw tears spring to her eyes and he thought for a moment maybe she did care about him. He moved across the seat and took her hand. Although she would not look at him, she squeezed his in return.

  “Kate,” he said. She turned to face him and he reached out his hand and gently touched her cheek. She raised her eyes to his and he saw fear behind them, but also something else. At least, he hoped he did. He ran his hand over the side of her head, tucking her curls back behind her shoulder, his thumb running along her cheek and jawline. He saw her lips part slightly and he bent forward, taking her face in his hands, and kissed her. Her hands wrapped around the back of his neck and she kissed him back, fully. Chase felt hope spring inside of him as he pulled her to him, but then he felt her hands pushing his chest, pushing him away from her.

  “Stop,” she said, wiping her mouth. “Stop. We can’t. I need you to not do that, please.”

  “No, Kate,” Chase said, shaking his head. “You can’t put this all on me. You were kissing me back. Just like you were last night. This is not just going to go away.”

  Kate turned to face him. “Did you arrange for us to have the same car hoping this would happen?”

  “Maybe, but you want this to happen, too.”

  She shook her head. “No,” she said. “No. You make me feel like I’m out of control. You make me feel like someone I don’t want to be.”

  Chase sunk back onto his side of the car. “I don’t accept that, Kate.”

  “Chase, listen. You have worked all of your life to run KinCo. It’s your dream. And my dream is to have a successful company of my own. Neither one of us can afford to be distracted.”

  “This is not a distraction for me, Kate.”

  Kate turned her beautiful blue eyes on him, clearly trying to blink back tears. “I know, Chase. I know. Let’s just get through the launch, okay?”