The Heart Has Reasons

by Martine Marchand

  “Yes, I’d like that.” Brendon sounded relieved by the suggestion, and Larissa’s smile indicated that he’d just earned several points in her book.

  “You choose the restaurant,” he said to Brendon. “Someplace upscale, so Larissa can dress up.”

  “All right. May I speak to her again?”

  When Chase handed the phone back, she covered the receiver. “What did he say?”

  “Threatened to kill me.”

  “He didn’t!”

  “Only if I hurt you. In his position, I’d have done the same.”

  She put the phone to her ear. “I’m here, Brendon.”

  “Okay, so maybe I was wrong about him. He actually seems like a nice guy. And now that I’ve made that admission, I’d also like to say that, honey, that man is hot enough to set hell on fire.”

  When Chase winced in embarrassment, Larissa grinned at his sudden discomfort. “Brendon, he can hear what you’re saying.”

  “He can? Do you have me on speaker?”

  “No.”

  “Then how can he …?” There was a long, silent pause. “Oh my god! You two are in the bedroom, aren’t you?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “You harlot! So, did he rock your world again?”

  A blush crept up her face. “You have no idea.”

  “You go, girl! Hey, ask him if he knows any gay Special Forces guys.”

  “There are no gay men in Special Forces,” Chase muttered.

  Larissa mouthed to Chase, “That’s what you think,” then said into the phone, “Chase says all the gay ones are in committed relationships.” She grinned when his jaw dropped in indignation, and slapped his hand away when he tried to snatch the receiver.

  “That’s just my luck,” Brendon lamented. “Well, I’ll let you two get back to what you were doing. Oh, wait! Are you still coming to work tomorrow?”

  When Chase shook his head, she asked, “Would you mind very much if I didn’t?”

  “Honey, if I had a man like that in my bed, you wouldn’t see me for a week. I’ll cover for you. See you at dinner, tomorrow. Love you.”

  “Love you, too. Bye.” She dropped the receiver back into its cradle, and turned to him. “Inviting Brendon to dinner was very considerate.”

  “He’s understandably worried about you. I want him to see for himself that his fears are unfounded.”

  She nodded thoughtfully. “So, what do you think of him so far?”

  “Seems like a nice guy. If you’re worried I’ll have a problem with him being gay, don’t, I’m not homophobic. Besides, how could I dislike someone who so obviously has your back? So-o-o-o. That night at the motel, did I really ‘rock your world’?”

  A flush of pink highlighted her cheekbones. “You know you did.”

  “All I know for certain is you rocked mine.”

  Still inside her, he rolled them over so he was atop her. When he dipped his mouth to hers, her warm feminine scent enveloped him as she curled her arms around his neck. The kiss started out slow and gentle as he savored the sweet taste of her lips.

  Gradually though, the kiss began to grow in intensity, becoming deeper, fiercer, more possessive. He couldn’t get enough of her, and the erect peaks of her nipples poking into his chest testified to the fact that his need was reciprocated. Her tongue plunged into his mouth with a passionate urgency, igniting sparks that blazed up to become a raging fire in his groin. His cock swelled and hardened inside her, until it was almost painfully engorged.

  It was imperative that he convey to her that this was more than mere sex for him, more than a simple physical conjoining, and so he made love to her tenderly and passionately. Her legs came up to wrap around his hips, her body matching his rhythm as he slowly stroked in and out of her hot wetness, his entire body rejoicing in the feel of her skin against his.

  The depth of his lust not only staggered him, but threatened to swamp all reason and self-control. It was as if he were exquisitely aware of every single nerve ending on his body, every throbbing pulse point. When she suddenly gripped him tighter and increased their pace, he deliberately increased the force of his thrusts. When her breath and body immediately quickened, he murmured in her ear, “More?”

  “All,” she whispered back. “I want it all.” Instinctively knowing that she needed to pound out all the stresses of the past month, he began driving himself into her. Each violent thrust provoked a grunt from her and he knew he must be hurting her, but her hips met his with an equal violence and then she cried out, “Cha-a-a-ase!”

  His own pent-up ecstasy released as if fired from a rocket-launcher. His orgasm hit a ten on the Richter scale and kept climbing, ripping through him in shattering spasms that threatened to tear him apart.

  When he finally regained some awareness of himself, he started to roll his weight off her, but she made a sound of protest and clutched him.

  “I must be crushing you.”

  “You’re not. Don’t leave me.”

  Gripping her hips to his, he rolled them onto their sides. Languorous green eyes blinked at him and her beautiful face was aglow with passion. He whispered around the mysterious lump that had formed in his throat, “What the hell have you done to me, Larissa?”

  * * * * *

  Larissa awoke around midnight. The bedroom curtains were open and opalescent moonlight slanted through the window, bathing the bed in a pool of silver. Chase’s arms enveloped her and she snuggled closed into his embrace, having never felt so safe. When he smoothed wayward strands of hair from her face, she stretched, the tenderness between her legs bringing a smile to her face. “How long have you been awake?”

  “A while. Larissa, we need to talk.”

  His voice was so stiff and serious it chilled her blood, making her feel all hollow and shivery, as if she were headed to the gallows. “Talk about what?” she managed to croak out.

  “What we discussed earlier about your feelings for me doing an abrupt about-face. I just want you to know that I will harbor no resentment if you ever do decide to implicate me. And to spare you the stress and embarrassment of a lengthy public trial, I’ll make a full and immediate confession.”

  Relief surged through her like an intravenous drug. “Chase, that’s not going to happen. I’m not suffering from Stockholm syndrome.”

  “I’m just saying.” He cupped her cheek and kissed her. “Hungry?”

  “Famished.”

  While she saw to the puppy’s needs, he prepared an impromptu meal of bacon, toast, and eggs scrambled with cheese. After they’d eaten, they showered together, then made love yet again. Afterwards, as they lay cradled in one another’s arms, Larissa asked, “Do you think the only thing between us might be sex?”

  “What I feel for you is definitely more than mere physical attraction.”

  Nestling closer into his embrace, she was quiet for some time, trying to find a way to phrase the question that had haunted her for the past month, but in a way that wouldn’t sound antagonistic. She finally just blurted it out. “Chase, why wouldn’t you believe me?” At the look of pain that crossed his face, she instantly regretted broaching the subject, fearing that she’d somehow broken the near-magical spell that until now had enveloped them.

  He shifted slightly away from her so he could look into her eyes as he answered. “Not only did Sparrow play to perfection the part of the grieving husband, he warned me you were a world-class liar and actress. And there was that fucking portrait. But I think it was mainly because you weren’t frightened enough. If you really believed you were going to die, I would have expected you to be terrified to the point of near-hysteria.”

  “With another man, I probably would have been. Unfortunately, I’m not always a great judge of character but, after that first night, I instinctively knew, despite all evidence to the contrary, that you were fundamentally a good man who wouldn’t harm or allow me to be harmed. To control my fear, I convinced myself that I’d be able to persuade you to let me go before the five days were u
p.”

  “You were planting some serious doubt in my mind. And yet, like a fucking idiot, I still delivered you to him.”

  “That was my fault. Seducing you was a severe misjudgment on my part. Not that I regret it.”

  “It had nothing to do with seducing me. It was what you said afterward, about having faked everything. I was so devastated I wanted to hurt you in return.” His eyes left hers to follow his hand as it caressed a path down her side and over the curve of her hip. “Do you remember I told you I’d been married for a short time?”

  “Honey, I remember every single word you said.”

  “The marriage was a debacle. Less than a year into it, Michelle betrayed me, and with my best friend, no less. From then on, I was unwilling to trust another woman. I actually avoided becoming involved with anyone I might grow to care for. And from the things Sparrow told me about you, I assumed you were just like Michelle. Jesus, Larissa, I can’t even begin to express to you how sorry I am.”

  Pushing him onto his back, she straddled him, clasped his face between her hands and kissed him deeply. “Chase, please stop apologizing. I understand the deep regret you feel. If you didn’t regret what you did, you wouldn’t be the man I know you to be. I assure you I harbor no ill feelings, nor do I have any desire to berate you. I’m simply trying to understand what I did wrong.”

  He brought one hand up to caress her cheek. “You did nothing wrong. I was simply an idiot.”

  She stretched out full length atop him and cradled her head on his chest, relishing the masculine scent and feel of him. “How’d you persuade those thugs to recant their stories?”

  “Wasn’t me. I was in jail at the time.”

  “Friends, then? Friends who might also be ex-Special Forces?”

  He grinned. “Mad Dog, Roach, and Travis. They abducted the three who ID’ed us and drove them to Roach’s cabin out in the Mohave.” He went on to give her what details he knew.

  When he finished, she admitted, “I almost wish I could’ve seen the fat one get his. Like Sparrow, he enjoys hurting women.”

  The next few hours they spent nuzzling and kissing and talking, learning all they could of one another. With the unabashed curiosity of new lovers, they languidly explored each other’s bodies. Eventually they drifted into sleep, although each was too conscious of the other to sleep deeply. Each time one of them moved, the other was aware of it. When one shifted, the other did as well, to maintain the constant connection of their bodies.

  Larissa awoke sometime later, tucked into the curve of his body, her back pressed against his broad chest. His muscular arm wrapped comfortably about her, hand cupping one breast. She pressed herself back against him, molding herself to him further. He made a sound of contentment and kissed the back of her neck as his arms tightened around her.

  She was only half-awake as he lazily circled his palm against her nipple, creating a stream of liquid heat that cascaded down to settle between her thighs. When his erection nudged her, she shifted position slightly to facilitate matters and he eased into her. Her body felt languid and heavy as, behind her, Chase stroked somnolently in and out, causing a deep core of warmth to arise within her. His arms tightened around her, and his breath ruffled the hair at the back of her neck as he murmured, “I love you, Larissa.”

  In a state of near mindless trance, she made no reply, although silent tears trickled from beneath her lids. The pleasure intensified until her bones and muscles felt as though they were liquefying. Without warning, her body suddenly ignited and wave after wave of ecstasy pulsed through her. As her orgasm finally began to subside, Chase groaned, and she felt the warm flood of his own release.

  Afterwards, with him still inside her, she lay wrapped in his arms, both of them replete with satiation. When his breathing slowed and deepened, and she was sure that he was asleep, she whispered into the darkness, “I love you, too.”

  CHAPTER 41

  When Chase awoke the next morning, he was strongly inclined to believe that the world was a beautiful and wondrous place. He lay there for some time, drinking in the sight of Larissa’s sleeping face. A slight smile lifted the corners of her lips and he could see by the movement of her eyes she was dreaming. He himself had slept dreamlessly — his first nightmare-free sleep since the day of his arrest.

  Down the hall, the puppy whined. Careful not to wake Larissa, he eased out of bed, slipped into his khakis, and padded barefoot to the kitchen where a madly wagging tail greeted him. As Chase carried him outside, the puppy squirmed and licked his face enthusiastically. Once deposited upon the grass, the puppy squatted to urinate, then took off in delighted, clumsy pursuit of a large orange-and-black butterfly.

  The day was already warm and the early morning sun tingled on Chase’s bare skin. Fluffy white clouds floated peacefully across the azure of the sky. To the left of the narrow sidewalk that bisected the back yard, a large concrete birdbath stood in the center of a circular flowerbed. A robin splashed in the water, flinging droplets onto the bees that droned lazily among the surrounding mass of red blossoms. Unable to remember a single day as beautiful as this one, he inhaled deeply, nearly overwhelmed by the joy that suffused him.

  Next door, a large maple cast a lacework of shadows on the ground while a cardinal flitted through its branches like a bright, red dart. Wearing a bathrobe and slippers, the elderly Asian woman scuffed out the back door carrying a small bag of garbage. She started down the walk, spotted him standing shirtless and shoeless in Larissa’s backyard, and came to an abrupt halt.

  The grass tickled Chase’s bare feet as he strode toward the fence that separated the two yards. “Good morning. I’m Chase O’Malley, a friend of Larissa’s.”

  The woman joined him on the opposite side of the fence to take his proffered hand. The top of her head barely reached his armpit. “I Yumiko Franklin. You old or new friend?”

  “Old. Larissa and I knew each other years ago. After seeing her on television, I decided to look her up again.”

  Yumiko confided what a good neighbor Larissa had been, and how worried she’d been when she’d gone missing. As her eyes roved over his body, lingering on his scars, she added, “Larissa need big man like you. Police no catch kidnapper.”

  Her unabashed scrutiny made him wish he’d taken the time to slip into a shirt before coming outside. “Yes, well, Brian Sparrow’s dead, so the kidnapper has no reason to return.”

  “I hope you right.”

  When the puppy came bounding over to nibble his toes with needle-sharp teeth, Chase scooped him up in self-defense. At the sound of a vehicle rumbling up the alley, he glanced in that direction and uttered a mental curse when the black pickup truck with oversized tires came to a stop directly behind Larissa’s property. As the ex-boyfriend climbed down from his vehicle, Yumiko needlessly informed him, “This man make problem for Larissa. You go inside, call police.”

  “That won’t be necessary. But would you mind taking the puppy so he doesn’t get stepped on?” He handed the squirming canine across the fence, then positioned himself on the walk, blocking access to Larissa’s back door.

  Most martial artists possessed a quiet confidence and self-possession that derived from the knowledge of their own capabilities. They had nothing to prove to anyone. This, apparently, was not the case with this man. Wearing a threadbare tee shirt, sweat pants, and rubber beach sandals, he strode down the short walk in a pugnacious strut, fists clenched at his sides. Clearly convinced of his own supremacy, he stopped before Chase. “Who the fuck are you?”

  “Chase O’Malley.” Although he already knew the answer, he tossed back, “Who the fuck are you?”

  “Steve Dorman. I’m here to see Larissa.”

  Praying it was true, he said, “Larissa doesn’t want to see you.”

  When Dorman attempted to go around him, Chase sidestepped into the grass, blocking his way once more. “I suggest you leave, before you get hurt.”

  “If anybody’s gonna get hurt, it ain’t gonna be me
. I got a black belt in karate.”

  Chase continued to block his way. “That doesn’t alter the fact that Larissa doesn’t want to see you.”

  The man stepped out of the flip-flops and shifted into an offensive stance. “Step aside. Now.”

  Chase let his arms hang relaxed at his sides. “Don’t you realize how pathetic it is to pursue a woman who doesn’t want you?”

  Apparently, Dorman did. Rage contorted his face and he struck out with a clenched fist. Chase neatly dodged and the blow whistled harmlessly past his ear. Brow furrowing with surprise, Dorman immediately followed with a left jab that Chase nonchalantly blocked with a forearm. Redoubling his attack, Dorman executed a roundhouse kick. Chase easily blocked it and the front snap-kick that immediately followed.

  Dorman swallowed hard, his façade of confidence beginning to crack as he realized he might be overmatched. Growing frantic, he launched a barrage of straight punches, palm strikes, front thrust kicks, and side kicks. Unable to land a single blow, his face took on a whisper of fear as his confidence began to evaporate.

  He broke off the attack to circle, looking for an opening. Chase thoughtfully obliged by deliberately providing him with one. Feinting to the left, Dorman jabbed out with his right. Expecting the move, Chase grabbed the extended arm, swept around behind him, and slammed him facedown to the ground.

  Dorman yelped as Chase levered his straightened arm into the air and held it there. Planting one bare foot between the man’s shoulder blades, he leaned down. “I’m going to marry Larissa. If you ever trouble her again, I’ll break every fucking bone in your body.”

  Teeth clenched, Dorman managed to choke out, “Let me up!”

  “As I see it, you have two choices. To leave quietly, or to leave amid the blaring of ambulance sirens.”