“Oh, Chase!” She moaned.
The way she called out to him made him come unglued. He loved the feeling of having her pleasure in his control. Millions of women had called out his name, giving him unsolicited kisses, offering any variety of sexual pleasures, but all he had ever wanted was for Hope to desire him.
He came up abruptly to lie on top of her, catching her biting her lip. Her arms were taut as she squeezed the wrought iron above her head. She stilled, allowing herself to relax into the bed momentarily.
“Tell me you want me, Hope.” His voice came out husky and commanding and he knew it gave away his need for her, held the memory of the pain of having lost her once. He gazed into her eyes, liquid with desire.
“Oh, do I want you, Chase!” She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down, kissing him feverishly, recklessly, with animal-like intensity.
After a minute, he pulled away to stand beside the bed, both of them breathing heavily. She watched him take off his underwear, and then he came back to her, taking the pace down again. He kissed her stomach and trailed his tongue over her skin to her breast, sucking her nipple into his mouth and applying subtle pressure with his teeth.
She arched with pleasure and he closed down harder. Her nails dug into his back and he came up to seek her mouth. He pulled away to watch her face. Her eyes were, at first, squeezed shut. He slid inside her and her eyes opened, the unusual sunbursts of her irises seeming to glow, searing him with a burning intensity. He felt her hands slide down to his rear, and her hips begin to move beneath him. He stilled, spellbound by her movements and the feelings they sent rocketing through him. And then, they were moving in tandem, driving forward until they were jointly released from passion’s hold and lay sweetly spent.
“You…” He gave a low laugh; there were no words to describe what they had found together. “Wow!”
She laughed, still panting, “Yeah!”
They fell apart, only their hands touching, breathing in the calm after the storm of their lovemaking. Hope drifted peacefully off. He stroked her arm gently, each pass extending beyond the last in a rhythmic way. After a few minutes, she stirred, opening her eyes. “Mmm. I almost fell back asleep. I’m sorry.”
“No, I was just watching you. You’re beautiful when you sleep.”
She smiled and reached her hand up to stroke the side of his face. He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the inside of her palm.
“I never knew love could be like this.”
He gently pushed the hair from her face, noting how fresh and innocent she looked in the morning light without any makeup.
“I should get you that breakfast.”
She moved to get up and he pulled her down for one last kiss. “We’ll do it together.”
* * *
Chase stood by one of the four long windows in the living room finishing his cup of coffee. They had enjoyed a breakfast of French toast and fresh fruit, and he had grabbed a quick shower. Hope was in the bathroom now; he could hear the water running in the next room. Suddenly, his keen eyes sighted a man on the roof of the building across the street. He was peering into a telescope lens. When Chase saw him, the man straightened and looked in his direction with his naked eye. Chase calmly finished drinking his coffee, and then took his cup to the sink.
Knowing he was now out of sight of the telescope, he grabbed his jacket and slipped out the door. He ducked into the stairwell and flew down the stairs, hoping to catch the culprit before he decided to leave. He came out of the door of The Claw-Foot Condominiums and didn’t waste time getting to the street corner. Ignoring honks and hand gestures, he dodged cars and taxis to get to the building on the opposite side of the street. Once inside, he stood panting with his hands on his hips, impatiently watching the dial above the elevator door as it showed the elevator’s slow descent. When the doors opened, he waited, with growing irritation, for all the riders to get off. Luckily, no one else was waiting for the elevator, and he was able to make a nonstop trip to the top of the building.
Once there, he quickly noted the separate staircase to the roof. He hit the door and burst out onto the roof breathing hard. The person at the telescope jumped at the noise, but, to Chase’s surprise, didn’t run.
“So it was really Chase Hatton,” he said, almost to himself.
Chase stared at the stranger in surprise. This was not what he had expected, a teenager with bushy red hair and glasses wearing a Cubs jersey and jeans. He decided to switch gears. He wanted to get near enough to the telescope to confirm his suspicions.
“Yes.” He stepped closer, extending his hand with a smile, although part of him wanted to beat the kid’s face in. “Hi, I’m Chase.”
The kid stepped forward and shook his hand eagerly. “My name’s Kip Taylor.”
“Nice to meet you, Kip. What grade are you in?”
“I’m a junior.”
Chase angled even closer to the telescope. “Go to school near here?”
“Yeah, Independence High. It’s a dump.”
“Is that so?” Chase bent down to peek in the telescope. Even though he saw what he thought he would, he still was shocked to look in on Hope in her bedroom in the middle of getting dressed. What was most surprising was the clarity and detail with which he could see. He might as well have been in the room with her. He couldn’t help but notice how hot she looked. He was suddenly furious.
When he lifted his incensed eyes to meet the young teen’s, it was readily apparent the latter had come to an epiphany of sorts, realizing the rock star might not be too keen on him checking out his girlfriend when she was in the buff.
Kip backed up. “Uh-h-h…listen, Mr. Hatton…” He turned to run, but Chase’s rage catapulted him across the rooftop. He grabbed the teen’s jersey and shoved him against the door to the stairs. He wished he was a grown man, because intimidating a high schooler wasn’t nearly as satisfying. He turned the youth around to talk to him, still keeping a tight grip on his jersey.
“Listen, man! Like when you were young, you didn’t look at pretty naked girls?”
Chase remembered their early morning activities. “You w-watched us…” he sputtered.
“What? Gettin’ it on? Yeah. It was much hotter than when she was with that other dude,” he added. “She’s much more into you. I can tell.” He chuckled coarsely.
At any other time Chase would have taken a warped sort of pride in the kid’s statement, but now he was concerned that he was looking in on Hope. “How long have you been watching her?”
“Uh…since my birthday last June. Gr-r-reat birthday present! Huh-huh.” He chuckled again.
Either this kid is dumber than a bag of rocks, or he just doesn’t care if I pulverize him.
“Listen, dude, if you’re worried about me telling reporters or something where the ‘Mystery Lady’ lives, don’t worry. I respect your guys’ privacy.” He nodded his head up and down knowingly.
Chase almost laughed out loud. Respects our privacy? Is he for real? But then it dawned on him, the kid was right. He could put the press on to them and make their lives miserable. He knew it was bound to happen anyway, but he wanted to forestall it as long as possible. He’d put something over Hope’s windows; he couldn’t do anything about what the kid had seen thus far anyway.
“Listen, dude,” he said through clenched teeth. “I don’t want to see you looking in her window anymore. You got that! ANYMORE!” He banged the teen against the wall again for emphasis. The kid’s disappointment was evident on his face. “I mean it. If I so much as suspect you’re ogling her, I’m gonna come back here and launch your telescope over the ledge, and you after it, got it?”
“Okay,” Kip replied begrudgingly, lowering his head.
“Can I get your promise, Kip?”
“I promise, Chase.” He hung his head. “Hey, do you think I could get some concert tickets?” he asked, brightening and lifting his head.
“You’ve got to be kidding me?” Chase released him with a s
igh. He shook his head, and started down the stairwell, slamming the door behind him.
* * *
“My gosh, Chase! I thought you’d run out on me already,” Hope cried when he walked in the door.
“Sorry, baby,” he said, grabbing her hips and kissing her neck playfully. “I had to take care of something.”
“What?” She arched a brow in suspicion.
“Come here.” He led her to the windows, standing behind her with his arms around her waist. He pointed to the opposite rooftop. “See that telescope.”
“Uh-huh.”
“It’s pointed at your apartment.”
She paled. “Pointed at my… Can he see anything?”
“Oh yeah!” He felt the hair rise on her arms and he caught her frightened reflection in the glass. “Now don’t worry. I went over there and explained a few things to him. He won’t be looking this way anymore.”
“How can you be sure?”
He could tell in her voice this was really upsetting her. He squeezed his arms around her harder, reminding her nonverbally he was there to protect her. “We had a gentlemen’s agreement, or more like, a gentleman-to-teenager agreement.”
“Teenager?” she asked weakly. “I don’t know if that makes it better or worse.” She jumped a little with a gasp. “Did he see us…?”
He nodded and she moaned, leaning into him. “But he said it was way hotter than what he’d seen in here before,” he couldn’t help but add.
Her body tensed. “He saw Phillip and me? How long has he been watching us?”
Chase ignored the question, whispering in her ear, “And he said you were way more into me than Phillip.”
“Your voice sounds so sexy in my ears.” She melted again and made a little purring noise in her throat before laughing. “Do I hear a note of pride?” He chuckled. She turned in his arms, touching his face. “That must be one hell of a telescope!”
“It is,” he acknowledged.
She paused a minute, seeming to absorb this information. She sighed. “I guess I can either choose to be upset by this situation or let it go.” She looked up into his face. “Did you see me?”
He nodded, grinning widely.
She moved her fingers in little circles on his chest, then lifted her head, batting her eyelashes. “And did you like what you saw?”
“Uum-hum,” he answered, kissing her.
“Mmm. We need to put something over the windows.”
He nodded and she sprang from his arms, running into the other room. She called over her shoulder, “I’ll get some beach towels.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Hope had explained to Chase she had only one thing she needed to do today and that was clean out her desk at The Chicago Globe News, so the pair headed to the building in a cab. Riding the subway would be impossible with him along, and he insisted on coming, if only to wait in the parking garage for her. As soon as they were underway, he grabbed her hand and they sat in comfortable silence, each thinking about how lucky they were and how strange it was fate had brought them back together.
Leaving him in the cab to make some phone calls, she collected a box from the mailroom and proceeded to her desk, only to find a staff meeting was going on in a glassed-in office directly across the hall from it. As she approached, she happened to catch Phillip whispering something in Liz’s ear in an intimate way, until he glanced up and saw her. His face, which had been animated, froze in midsentence for a second, and then he completed his conversation and turned away.
She tried to ignore what she had just seen, placing personal items in the box one by one, thinking about how strange it would be not to come back here after all these years. Hearing thunderous footsteps, she looked up to find the fast-striding figure of Jack Delaney barreling down the hall toward her.
“Hope. Good to see you.” He stopped by her desk. “I heard some inner-office gossip; Phillip Rutledge is seeing Liz McPherson…” She studied his face to judge whether or not this was meant to be hurtful. He looked warm, even…kind. He sat on the corner of her desk. “I also heard Chase Hatton’s acceptance speech at The People’s Choice Awards.” He leaned in and spoke confidentially, “I see you’re taking my advice.” He winked and stood up, giving her arm a squeeze and chuckling quietly. “Good luck.”
She stared after him in wonder. The man seemed hurried and oblivious, but in fact, he was well aware of everything that was happening around him, not to mention, his wizard-like ability to see inside her. He reached for the knob on the conference room door, but then turned back to her. “Oh, and Hope, I trust you haven’t given up on your writing completely?”
“No.” She smiled warmly. “I’m hoping to do some freelancing.”
He opened the door, speaking loudly. “I expect you will give me first crack on any pieces you write?” All the faces in the conference room turned toward them.
“Yes, Mr. Delaney”—her blue eyes danced with delight—“I’ll do that.”
He winked and turned to enter the room. She felt certain he had wanted the others to hear their conversation, especially Phillip, she decided. She grinned and shook her head as she turned back to her task. As she worked, Jack Delaney’s usual blustery words carried out to her.
“Okay, people, this’ll be a quick one. I have a source telling me Antonio Vasculli, who has long been rumored to have mob ties, has had some unsavory dealings with our own city councilman, Robert Mulrooney. I don’t need to tell you all if we could crack this story, it would be huge. So keep your ears to the wind. Also…”
Hope tuned out the rumbling voice. Antonio Vasculli and Mulrooney? This was it! This was her story. If she could get this story and prove herself, she could walk away from this life and start her new one with Chase. She glanced up and saw no one was looking her way. She moved over to a neighboring computer someone had left on. Her fingers began to fly over the keyboard, pulling up article after article on Vasculli. The society pages showed him with a number of women, at every social event under the sun. On paper, his money appeared to come from his monstrous shipping business, but he had been accused in the past of everything from drug running and money laundering, to murder for hire. She was so caught up in digging through the paper’s files, she almost didn’t notice when the meeting adjourned. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her former boss eating up carpet with his long strides, and she quickly emailed the information to her home computer and wiped the screen blank. He nodded to her briskly and proceeded down the hall without stopping. She sighed in relief, then gathered the rest of her things and left as fast as she could to avoid contact with Phillip.
She entered the elevator and was just congratulating herself on avoiding a scene when, without warning, a hand appeared between the narrowing crack of the closing doors. Phillip jumped in.
They stood awkwardly for a beat, both trying to foresee what was to come next. “Hope, how are you?”
She shifted her box, uneasy. “Fine. And you?”
“I’m good,” he said hastily. “Listen, Hope, I’m sorry about last night.”
“No need to apologize.”
“No, I really am sorry.” There was an uncomfortable silence that she filled by mentally moving the elevator down the shaft. Abruptly, Phillip turned to her. “This is all a mistake, us breaking up, I mean. I love you. Liz was just, well, there, and I was weak. I needed you and you were half a world away with Mr. Wonderful.”
“Phillip, I don’t want to hear—”
He grabbed her behind the neck without warning, and with the box between them, pressed his lips to hers. She was shocked to realize his breath tasted like alcohol; it was only ten o’clock in the morning! He forced his tongue into her mouth, and she was violently repulsed. She brought a hand up to push him away, and lost hold of the box, dumping its contents just as they hit the bottom floor. They both bent to pick up her belongings, Phillip muttering apologies.
She glared at him. “Phillip, it’s over between us. Okay. Over!”
The door
s slid open and they both glanced up to see Chase leaning against the cab with his long legs crossed in front of him, talking on a cell phone. He lifted his eyes, saw the two of them, and stopped in midsentence.
Chase’s voice drifted back to them in the hollow space of the garage. “Yeah, um, can I call you back in a few minutes?” He closed the phone, barely giving the person on the other end time to respond, and frowned, his brow furrowed.
“Oh, great!” Phillip groaned. “Just great!” He threw up his hands. “We’re barely broken up and you’ve already hopped into bed with him. Haven’t you? Haven’t you?” he shouted.
She marched away from him, not looking back.
“You think you’re just gonna ride off into the sunset with your little rock star, do ya?”
Chase straightened and took the box from her, but kept his eyes on Phillip. “Everything okay?”
“Fine,” she said evenly, giving Phillip a meaningful look.
Phillip turned around and kicked a metal trash can over, spilling fast food containers and soda cans across the floor of the garage, but headed back into the elevator and punched his floor number, albeit much harder than necessary. Chase had just turned back to her when they heard the rough clang of the elevator doors reversing again and Phillip came charging toward them. Chase handed the box back to her and took a step or two away from the cab.
“Oh shit!” she murmured, shoving her box into the back of the cab as fast as she could. She knew Chase had come to an end of his patience with Phillip and asking him to stop now was like asking a teenage boy not to eat the last slice of pizza, but she tried anyway.
“Chase, he’s drunk—”
Before she could finish her thought, Phillip rushed at Chase, grabbing him around the midsection, his momentum carrying both of them into the cab with a loud metallic crunch. This finally caught the attention of the cabbie who cursed in a strong Bronx accent and exited the cab, coming around to check for damage. Hope screamed as Phillip and Chase slid down to the ground, grappling with each other and trying to get the most advantageous position. Both men were big, but Chase had a slight advantage in both height and musculature. The cabbie ran his hand along the side of his vehicle and, seeming satisfied, straightened up to watch the fight with interest.
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