Sure, maybe she was being a little harsh. But did she care? No. Krista had worked hard to establish a good reputation for herself and she needed to maintain her professionalism. If Chase was here when Mr. Fields arrived, it wouldn’t look good. This was her job, and it was going to be long after Chase blew out of town again. If she sounded like a mama bear protecting her cubs, then so be it. He was a big boy. He could handle it.
He stared at her, his only reaction a slight raise of his left brow. Even that small gesture made her insides go to mush and had her fighting a massive swoon attack that was threatening to take place.
Chase stood in front of her wearing jeans, a green vintage t-shirt, and a baseball cap. On any other guy, it would look at the very best casual, at the worst sloppy. On Chase, it looked mouth-wateringly delicious.
One could use the argument that anyone could look good when you had more money than God. But in this case, she knew for a fact that Chase Malone always looked good in anything he wore. His wide shoulders and lean, muscular chest created the perfect frame for anything from t-shirts and sweatshirts to tuxes. All of which she’d seen him in.
He looks even better out of them, that irritatingly nosy voice in her head piped up. She pushed it out of her mind and ignored it…mostly.
Krista knew that he was waiting for an apology for biting his head off. His sexy ass could wait all day. One was not going to be forthcoming. “I’m serious. You need to go. I have a meeting.”
“I know,” he said smugly, as if that explained everything.
Now he was really starting to make her mad. Not just because he was sexier than he had any right to be while sharing her air space. Nope, her panties were in a bunch because of his entitled attitude. Maybe he’d just been a ‘rock star’ so long that he’d forgotten what it was like to work a real job, with a real boss, and real consequences if you were unprofessional.
And why wouldn’t he have forgotten? What would even qualify as unprofessional behavior for a rock star? Not trashing hotel rooms and actually showering? She thought snarkily.
Just as Krista was about to give him a piece of her mind, he said, “Your meeting is with me.”
“What?”
“I called this meeting,” he explained as he stepped up beside her to the table and began filling a small plate of finger food.
“Are you serious?” Krista said, feeling her jaw lock with tension.
“Yep,” he said as he popped a green grape in his mouth, looking really proud of himself for orchestrating all of this.
“You did this?” she asked again as she waved her hand towards the table filled with food. She knew she was repeating herself, but she was still having trouble wrapping her mind around it.
He nodded. “Vickey helped me.”
Of course she did!
“Chase,” she spoke slowly, trying not to overreact. She wasn’t a teenager anymore, even if he made her feel like she was. She was an adult. She just needed to set boundaries. Like an adult. “You can’t come to my job and involve my superiors—”
“I needed to talk to you,” he interrupted.
This was un-freaking-believable. Who did he think he was?
“I can’t believe you. Just because you are…you, you think you can just snap your fingers and I’ll come running? I don’t care if you were named the sexiest man alive three times and you have eight Grammys. This is my job.” Krista’s heart was racing as she turned to leave.
“I need to talk to you.” His deep voice vibrated through her, but she didn’t let the fact that her body was betraying her slow her down. She reached for the door handle and was just about to flip him the bird when he continued. “About my mom.”
Shit.
Abby. If there was one soft spot Krista could not guard herself against, the subject of Chase’s mom was it. Her Achilles’ heel. She felt like Samson getting his hair cut off. All of her fight and strength dissipated like Alka-Seltzer. She could practically hear the plop-plop-fizz-fizz. Except in her case, she felt anything but a relief.
“Fine.” She pivoted on her heels and crossed her arms defensively.
I can do this. Just don’t think of it as Chase. Just think of it as a meeting that has to be short so I can get back to work. Okay—her plan was to answer his questions, give him the information he wanted, and get the hell out of this very small, very contained, very private room.
Distance. She had to keep her distance.
* * *
Chase stared down at Krista’s gorgeous eyes, and even though he knew it was totally unintentional, the stubborn stare in them was sexy as hell.
He could still remember the first day he’d really noticed the blue specks in her green eyes. It had been after a play rehearsal for Grease when he was in fourth grade. Krista had been sitting in the front row of the school’s auditorium waiting for Haley, who was playing Sandy to his Danny. One of the kids pulling props had been having a hard time getting the fake car onto the stage. Krista had popped out of her chair and run over to help her struggling classmate. After they had secured the prop in place, Krista had turned to run back offstage, and when she had, the spotlight shone on her. Chase remembered that she’d caught him staring at her and he’d said, “You have really pretty eyes.” Even at eight years old, she’d played it cool, saying a brief, “Thanks,” before hopping off the stage.
Now, as he stared into those same eyes, the same words fell from his lips. “You have really pretty eyes.”
“Thanks,” she replied, short, sweet, and to the point. Not even close to sounding as friendly as she had the first time he’d given her that compliment. “So what about your mom?”
Oookay. So she wanted to remain all business.
“Are you gonna sit down?” he asked even though he could guess her answer.
“No,” she replied flatly.
“Are you gonna eat?”
“No,” she repeated just as dryly.
Now he knew she was just being stubborn.
He knew that she’d been on her way to the cafeteria when she was asked to come up here. He’d called Vickey, who, from what he had gathered, now had more pull than God himself at this hospital, and she’d arranged all of this. When she’d let him know that Krista was on her way, she’d told him to be careful because she was hungry, so with Vickey’s help, he’d gotten food sent up from the cafeteria. He’d even asked if they could cut the sandwiches into pizza shapes, which were Krista’s favorite.
He owed Vickey a lot, and not just for setting this up. The night he’d left town, he’d gone to see her and she’d stitched up his lip and a gash above his eye, both of which his dad had split open during their fight. She’d also given him antibiotics and treated him at her home, not charging him a dime.
As he stared at Krista now, that night seemed like a million years ago and just yesterday.
“I know you’re hungry,” he stated matter-of-factly.
“You have five minutes,” she said with in a deadly calm voice, staying exactly where she was, her eyes cold as ice.
Chase sighed. This was even harder than he’d expected it to be. She was in full defense mode. He knew when to throw in the towel. He’d strategically retreat for now.
“How long has she been living like that?” He did need information from her, so he might as well try to get it.
“Like what?” she asked, looking like she would rather be anywhere in the world instead of here. With him.
“Like…” He didn’t really know how to put it. “In a mess.”
Shrugging, she answered his question with a pointed stare. “It’s been like that since I started going over there after your dad died.”
Chase felt a tightness in his chest at the mention of not only his father but also the timeline. How could she have lived like that for so long? He needed to know more.
“What is her life like? Her day-to-day?”
Krista shook her head slightly. “She stays in the house. It’s really hard to get her to go out. About a year ago, I
convinced her to start going with me to the women’s shelter, and since then, it’s been a little easier. After much convincing, she finally agreed to get a dog. Now that she has Bear, she gets out a little more, taking him on walks. After a lot of begging and guilt trips, she did go the movies with me last weekend.”
“She told me,” Chase said calmly, trying to digest how hearing that information made him feel.
He leaned back in the leather high-back conference room chair and raked his fingers through his hair. He was mad. Mad that his mom had let her life get to this point and mad that he’d had no idea. He should have known. Someone should have told him.
Looking back up at Krista, he asked in a cold, hard tone, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
The second the words left his mouth, he wished he could take them back. But it was too late. He saw the fire shooting out of Krista’s expressive eyes before she even opened her mouth.
Shit. He hadn’t meant to take his frustration out on her. That was the last thing he’d wanted to do.
Chase knew better than to try to smooth things over now. First, Krista would need to give him a piece of her mind, and then he could apologize. That was how she worked. So he braced himself for verbal impact.
She took one step forward, her finger pointing accusatorily at him. “Do not dare put this on me. I’m not the one you’re mad at. Hey, here’s an idea. Why don’t you try answering an email? Or even crazier yet, maybe, just maybe, you should pick up a phone. You know, actually speak to your own mother.” She moved closer, placing her hands on the table, looming over him, her eyes boring down into his soul. “I get why you stayed away when your dad was still alive. But he’s been dead for a long time.” Her hands flew up in the air as she raised her voice and let out a forced puff of breath. “You’re so worried now, but where were you for the last four years?”
Her hair flew in the air as she spun to leave. With super speed (that frankly he didn’t even know he possessed), he moved around her, stepping in front of the door and blocking her exit. She blinked up at him after almost walking straight into his chest.
He spoke quickly but sincerely. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m mad at myself, not you. You were there for her when I wasn’t. I shouldn’t have said that. Thank you, I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”
“I didn’t do it for you,” Krista spit out angrily, a look of disgust crossing her face. “Here’s a news flash, rock star: The entire world does not revolve around you. The sun does not rise and set on the whim of Chase Malone. I care about your mom, completely independent of you.”
She tried to move around him, but he stepped in her way. There was no way he was going to let her leave this upset.
“Chase, move,” she stated firmly her eyes filled with fury. If looks could kill Chase would be leaving this room in a body bag.
“Krista, just—”
Lifting her hands, she shoved him in an attempt to move him out of her way.
His back hit the wall, but he grabbed her hands before she could move them off his chest. Wrapping his large hands around her small-boned fingers, he stared into her eyes. She stood in front of him perfectly still, her only movement the rise and fall of her chest. Everything changed in a split second. The energy shifted. There was still plenty of tension between them, but it had now become sexual.
That was how it had always been with him and Krista. One minute they could be angry, yelling, furious at each other, and the next they were ripping each other’s clothes off. In the span of a few seconds, all the heat and passion would shift.
He’d never voiced it to anyone, not even Krista, but that had scared him. He’d seen how his dad could go from calm to violent in the blink of an eye. He wanted to believe that he would never do that, never lay a hand on a woman, but with Krista, things were so intense and escalated so quickly, he was worried that he would lose control.
As a teen, he hadn’t known what kind of a man he would be. As an adult, he knew he was not that man. He knew that he would never be anything like his dad.
“Your hands are cold,” he said quietly, reverently.
“They’re always cold.” Krista’s large almond-shaped eyes looked up at him, her voice sounding strained as she tried to maintain her anger.
She was right. Her hands were always cold. She used to put them under his shirt to warm them up since his body had always run hot. He also used to heat them up by blowing on them. Since he seriously doubted she had any plans for feeling him up, even if it was for her own benefit, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Literally.
Slowly, he raised her hands to his mouth, cupping them in his, parted his lips, and breathed hot air on them. Her eyes shut as a small sigh fell from her lips. He repeated this action and Krista’s head fell back. Her golden-red hair fell behind her shoulders, revealing the slender slope of her neck. His lips tingled with need to lean down and kiss her there.
His heart was pounding so hard and so fast that he felt like the sound was filling the room. Lowering their hands, he pressed her palm to his chest over his rapidly beating heart. He needed her to feel what he did, his heart beating only for her.
Slowly, she opened her eyelids. When her gaze found his, it looked drugged with lust. His breathing was coming even faster now through his nose. He sounded like a bull ready to charge.
“Krista.” So much feeling was infused in those two simple syllables. Since he couldn’t say what he really wanted to say without either pissing her off, scaring her, or making her defensive walls erect even higher, he had to trust that they still had the connection they’d once had and he still felt. When he spoke her name, he was expressing love, need, passion, desire, and desperation.
For a moment, he saw her soften as her body swayed towards him. Her lips parted and he felt his head lowering nearer to hers. Just as he felt her sweet breath fan across his face, a flash of pain and confusion crossed her eyes.
Pulling away from him, she shook her head. Moisture pooled in her eyes as she briskly stated, “I have to get back to work.”
His heart sank as he stepped to the side, silently moving out of the way so she could leave. Without another word or so much as a glance in his direction, Krista was out the door.
Leaning against the wall, Chase closed his eyes. He honestly had no idea how to break through to Krista. He had no idea how to start building a bridge back to her heart. He had no idea how to start fixing the pain he had obviously caused her.
The path might not be clear, but the answer to those questions was as clear as a bright, sunny day: whatever it took.
Chapter Ten
Today is going to be a great day!
It was Saturday, Krista’s day off. Not only was tonight her sister Haley’s engagement party at The Grill, one of her favorite night spots, but she had a killer dress that her cousin Seth’s wife Amber had made specifically for her.
She was also going to be spending the day at a new spa that had opened next door to Haley’s shop Tempting. Krista, her sisters, and some of her cousins’ wives were going to spend the day being pampered. They would be getting massages, pedicures, and manicures. And before all of that, she was getting in a run. It was exactly the kind of day she needed.
Krista pulled into the parking lot of Harper’s Crossing High just as the sun was rising over the football stadium. She was happy that hers was the only car in the parking lot. Running was her time to think, reflect, process, clear her mind from all the noise, and center herself.
This week had taken quite an emotional toll on her. Finding Abby unconscious. Chase returning. Chase and her generating enough heat and electricity to power all of Illinois through a cold winter.
Yesterday in the conference room, she had almost succumbed to that heated passion. The moment he’d taken her hands in his and she’d felt his hot breath warm them, she’d been transported back in time to when that gesture had made her feel safe, loved, treasured. When they were teens, he’d always followed up her hand warming by l
owering his lips to hers and claiming her in a masterful kiss. If they had been alone, those kisses would lead to much more. If they hadn’t been, they would lead to whispered promises of what was to come—namely her—when they were alone.
Memories, she was quickly discovering, were powerful motivators. Yesterday’s flashback-of-hotness had almost caused her to make a colossal mistake.
Luckily, when he’d placed her hand on his chest and she’d felt the power of his heartbeat beneath her palm, it had transported her right back from her walk down sexy-time lane to reality. His beating heart beneath his chest had reminded her of how her own heart had wanted to stop beating when he’d left. How hollow and painful her chest had felt without his hand warming, his kisses, his touch, his smile, his presence. She’d barely managed to survive after losing him the first time. There was no way she was going to risk herself, her heart, and her future for a few moments of erotic bliss. As good as it would feel to give in to her body’s desires, Krista knew she had to protect not only her heart, but also her soul.
Turning off the car, she realized she hadn’t even opened the can of energy drink she’d grabbed on her way out of the house yet she felt wide awake. Yesterday, when she’d gotten home from work, she’d fed and walked Bear, ate some dinner, and collapsed on her bed at seven thirty p.m. She’d been out like a light all night until woken by sounds of quiet barks and four paws brushing against her back. When she’d rolled over, she’d seen Bear, sound asleep beside her, smack dab in the middle of what she could only imagine was a dream where he was running since his front and back legs were both moving. After she saw that he was a-okay, her first thought was to roll back, close her eyes, and join him in dreamland. Instead, she resisted the tempting urge to do just that and threw her legs over the side of the bed.
Now, here she was, thirty minutes later at the high school track. She would have been here sooner but after brushing her teeth, pulling her hair up in a ponytail, and throwing on her dark navy sweats, a gray sports bra, white tank top, and her dark gray hoodie, it had taken her almost ten minutes to dig her running shoes out of her closet. The sneaky suckers were hiding behind Uggs, high heels, and several pairs of the arch-supporting work shoes she’d invested in right after starting at the hospital. Krista’s back did not appreciate the long hours on her feet.
Crazy Love - Krista & Chase Page 10