He pressed a kissed against the back of her hand before releasing it. She watched as he rose gracefully and made his way back across the bar to his group.
“Willow?”
She jumped as Geneva broke the spell she appeared to be under.
“Yes?”
“Are you okay?”
Willow looked back over at Chase, who’d retaken his seat. As if he knew she was watching him, he glanced over in her direction and winked. She shook her head and turned back to the front. Reaching for her drink, she downed half of it, ignoring the dual sensation of the cold from the ice and the burn from the alcohol. She was pretty certain she’d just experienced an out of body moment.
“Willow?”
“What?” she snapped before she could catch herself.
Geneva laughed. “Oh my, he really has you in a tizzy doesn’t he?”
“Whatever,” Willow mumbled, as she down the rest of her drink.
“No, not whatever. I’ve never seen you react that way to a man. It doesn’t hurt that he’s gorgeous and military.”
Willow shook her head. “He’s perfect for you, but definitely not for me.”
“I beg to differ. I have a feeling that Mr. Chase is exactly what you need in your life. I think it’s fortunate for you that he doesn’t seem like the type that gives up once he sets eyes on something he wants.”
“That’s what worries me,” Willow stated.
Chapter Three
It took everything Chase had in him to sit back and pretend that he was completely relaxed without a care in the world. He was doing his best to focus on the conversations going on around him. Every once in a while he was able to throw out a word or two in response. Truth was, he wanted to race back over to Willow and make her his in every way known to man. Thanks to his military training, he knew that wasn’t the way to handle her. Her body language told him he had to hand her with finesse. Now he just had to be patient.
It was going to be difficult to do though. He didn’t have a lot of time to spare. With his imminent departure tomorrow, he wanted to get to know her better before he left. A thought that should have scared him beyond everything else. He’d vowed to avoid attachments. But he couldn’t deny that Willow had him wondering what it could be like.
It wasn’t all about the physical either. Yes, she was a beautiful woman. When he’d knelt down beside her at the table the first thing he’d noticed were her delicate feminine features. High cheekbones accentuated a slender face. Her eyes, a light brown, full of inquisitiveness and mystery. Her skin, a flawless toffee color, like rich coffee with just the right amount of cream. Her nose was short, the bridge straight. Her lips were generously curved and full, making him wonder what it would feel like to kiss them.
However, it was more than her beauty that captivated him. She gave off a vibe that called to him. The moment he laid eyes on her, something had clicked. He knew she’d felt it too, the moment they’d touched. It’d been hard to release her hand and go back to join his group. But it’d been for the best. His goal had been to show her he was different from the other guys that had walked up to her. Considering she hadn’t been able to take her eyes off him since he’d come back to his table, he figured he’d been successful.
Frustration surged through him. When he’d come to Slippery Slope tonight after receiving the invite from a few of the men in his company, the last thing he’d expected was to meet a woman who made him question exactly where he was in life. He’d only planned to have a drink or two then go home and get some well-needed rest. He had to be up early in order to make sure everything was ready for his company to ship out.
They were getting ready to serve another tour in Afghanistan. He was certain it wouldn’t be their last either. Still, he had two goals. The first was to complete their missions successfully. The second was to bring everyone in his company back safely. Unfortunately, the second one would probably be virtually impossible. It was a volatile place with a lot of people who wanted to do harm and would stop at nothing.
“Excuse me, sir.”
Chase looked up at the waitress who’d spoken. “Yes?”
“The lady across the way sent this drink over.”
Even before he turned to see who it was that sent it, he knew. But he looked over at Willow. She was focused on the straw in her glass, but the grin on her friends face told him what he needed to know. He accepted the beer from the waitress. At that exact moment Willow’s gaze met his. He tilted the neck of the bottle in her direction in thanks. She gave a slight nod then turned her attention back to her friend.
Turning back, he took a sip of the cold brew, as he contemplated his next move. A few seconds later his cell phone vibrated. It was a text message from an unknown number. He swiped his finger across the screen to read it.
The drink Willow sent means she’s interested. But you’re going have to come to her.
Willow is a little gun shy. Geneva.
He studied the text message for several minutes. Taking a deep breath, he released it slowly as he began to formulate a plan. When he finally looked up, Willow’s friend Geneva stared at him with one of her eyebrows arched high. He chuckled. Willow and her friend appeared to be like night and day. He was just grateful her friend was in his corner. Something in his gut told him he’d need all the help he could get.
* * * *
“Do you want another drink?” Geneva asked.
Willow shook her head. “No, I’m pretty sure I’m drunk as it is. I just bought a drink for a complete stranger for the first time in my life.”
“And it was a good thing. He acknowledged you for it.”
“Yes, but now I’m not sure I want him to.”
Geneva smiled. “You’d have to be out of your mind to not want a man like him to pay attention to you. Besides, he definitely noticed your gesture of good will.”
The instant the words left her friends mouth, Willow stiffened. She didn’t have long to prepare herself. A heartbeat later Chase appeared by her side again. Before she could speak, he extended his hand to her.
“I would offer to buy you another drink in return,” he began, “but you don’t strike me as much of a drinker. So how about a dance instead?”
Everything within her screamed yes, so she rested her palm against his and allowed him to help her to her feet. She looked back at Geneva who shooed her away.
“I’ll be fine. Go have fun.”
As they neared the dance floor, a slow song came on. Something about a woman sighing because the man appeared to be doing something right. The instant Chase pulled her into his embrace, she could relate one hundred percent. Instead of fighting the feeling, she closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest.
It felt so good to be in his arms. He moved her around the dance floor as if he’d been doing it all of his life. Before she knew it, the song had come to an end and she couldn’t make herself beg for another second in his perfect close hold. Fortunately, she didn’t have to. One slow tune turned into two, then to three, before the spell was broken by something upbeat. She was tempted to make up her own slow melody just to keep dancing, but Chase stopped, then pulled away. She leaned back to find him smiling.
“Let’s go back to your table and talk a little,” he requested.
She gave a quick nod and allowed him to lead her off the dance floor. Apprehension flickered through her because she knew there wouldn’t be any privacy. It was already a struggle to keep her wits about her with Chase speaking. Adding Geneva to the mix would be a disaster.
Fortunately, as soon as they arrived at the table her friend shook her empty glass as she slid out of the booth.
“You two have a seat and chat, while I go take care of some unfinished business with the bartender.”
For once, Willow didn’t argue with her best friend. Chase gestured for her to have a seat inside the booth. She sat down, but was surprised when he slipped in next to her.
“Would you like something to drink?” he asked.
“Done drinking for the night?”
“Yes. You guessed right earlier when you stated that I’m not much of a drinker.”
One corner of his mouth curved upward. “Nice to know.”
She angled her body toward him. “What about you? Do you come here often?”
He studied her a moment as if he thought she’d wanted to ask something else. “No I don’t. I’m just here to show support to my men before we ship out.”
“Ship out?”
“I’m in the Army. In the morning, my men and I head out for a stint in Afghanistan.”
Her heart skipped a beat as his words sunk in. They only had one night. He would be gone for several months starting tomorrow. She was tempted to crawl over him to get out of the booth, get Geneva and escape to safety. But something told her Chase wouldn’t go for that. Deep down, she knew she wouldn’t either.
“You look as though you want to run,” he stated.
“I do,” she responded, before she could stop herself.
She blinked slowly, then reached for her soda. What in the world was wrong with her? Perhaps it was the potent drink Geneva had convinced her to take earlier. She didn’t know what was in the alcoholic beverage but she sure did feel devilish.
“Why?”
That had been the one question she’d hoped he wasn’t going to ask. But he had, so she had to be honest.
“Whatever this is between us frightens me.”
He reached for her hand. “I believe it is called chemistry.”
She stared down at their intertwined hands as she tried to figure out the confusing emotions racing through her. Why was she so attracted to a man she’d just met? What was it about him that made her want to let her guard down? A few heartbeats later, she looked back up at him.
“So, what are we really doing here?” she asked.
“Getting to know each other, I hope. Yes, I have less than twenty-four hours left in town and I don’t want to waste it.”
“I have a rule not to get involved with military men. I work with a few ladies where they’ve taken that risk and it hasn’t worked out well.”
“What do you do?”
“I’m a clerk down at the district court.”
“Interesting,” he replied.
“It has its moments.” She cleared her throat. “So how do we handle this?”
“How do you want to?”
She frowned as he answered her question with one. Yet, she knew honesty was the best policy.
“I don’t do casual relationships.”
“Why not?”
Her scowl deepened. “They don’t mean anything.”
“True, but sometimes its best that way,” he replied.
“Is that what you want from me?” she asked.
“Truthfully? No it isn’t. However, I’m at a point right now where that’s all I can give you. I leave on a plane in the morning. I won’t be back for six months.”
She looked back down at their intertwined hands, doing her best to remain calm while a war of conflict swirled within her. At this point she knew she should just get up and walk away. She could honestly say she’d never had a one-night stand. Based on what Chase was saying to her, that was pretty much what this was going to end up being. But she wanted it. Even if it was all she could have, she yearned for it. Something in her gut told her that a chance with a man like him might not ever come around again. Everything within her screamed that he was worth the risk.
“Okay,” she finally stated.
He reached up and cupped her cheek in the palm of his hand. “You reserve the right to say no at anytime. I will understand.”
“Thank you,” she responded, even though she had no plans to. She was thirty-two years old and rational enough to make this decision. As much as she’d wanted to blame it on the alcohol earlier, she hadn’t had enough to even claim to be inebriated.
He interrupted her thoughts when he slid from the booth and held his hand out to her. “Let’s take another stroll around the dance floor.”
Sliding her palm across his, she rose to her feet with his assistance. The sensations swamping her as he led them over to the other dancers threatened to overwhelm her. What was it about him that called to her on such a deep primitive level?
Something told her she was about to find out.
She rested her head on his chest and swayed to the gentle beat of the music. This time it was a soulful ballad she couldn’t quite name. But it didn’t matter, that wasn’t what was important right now.
She lost track of how long they moved around the floor, until another fast song came on. Slowly, she pulled back to peer up at him. He was such a handsome man. She could hardly believe he was single.
Wait!
She didn’t know that for certain. All she knew was he was in the military. This was crazy. She was contemplating being intimate with complete stranger. Chase studied her closely.
“If you’re having second thoughts this doesn’t have to go any further.”
She frowned. “It’s not that I’m having seconds thoughts, it’s just…are you married?”
He chuckled under his breath as he held up his left hand. “No, I’m not. Nor do I have a girlfriend or children waiting in the wings.”
“How old are you?”
He laughed outright this time. “Thirty-six. What about you?”
“Thirty-two. No husband. No boyfriend. No kids.”
“Anything else you want to know before we head back to the table and make Geneva aware of our plans?”
That statement killed the desire currently raging through her. “Excuse me?”
“Your friend is clearly the sort that is protective. While we don’t have to go into details, I don’t want her worried when we walk out of here together.”
She tilted her head to the side, wondering how the heck he’d figured all that out in the short time they’d been in each other’s presence.
“Okay. But first I want you to do something for me.”
“Anything.”
“Kiss me.”
Chase didn’t need any more encouragement. He lowered his head just enough to catch her bottom lip lightly between his teeth. Her breath shuddered out, and a sharp stab of desire raced through her body.
He sampled her lips slowly, as if he wanted to savor everything. Still, it was his taste—surprisingly yeasty from his beer with just a hint of sweetness that shocked her most. His texture—smooth. The movement of his tongue against hers—silken heat.
He made a sound, a vibration that shot fire straight to her core. Then she trembled.
More. She needed more. But this wasn’t the place or time. However, her brain shut down as he slid his hands up her long, narrow torso, the sides of her breasts, then around to her back. One inch at a time, he drew her closer until their bodies finally met, melded.
When she trembled for the second time, he deepened the angle of the kiss.
Willow was drowning in a flood of sensations, of longing, of need. Her breath had stalled in her lungs, and she couldn’t breathe. She didn’t want to.
She thought she’d been prepared for this kiss. She’d hardly thought of anything else since the moment they’d met. But there’d been no way to anticipate something she’d never experienced before. How could she have known what it was like to have his tongue play with hers? To have those hands run over her, teasing, tormenting, tempting, taking?
And the hunger. She’d never felt anything so huge. She’d never known she could. She had to get closer. She wanted nothing more than to crawl inside him.
Then suddenly, his hands were framing her face very gently and his mouth was no longer on hers. She felt the sudden coolness of the air in the bar between them. Desperate, she ran her tongue over her lips to recapture his taste. Then she opened her eyes and discovered that she couldn’t quite focus yet.
Once she had, he looked just as shell-shocked as she felt. When he spoke, his voice
was even deeper than the already husky tone that sent tingles down her spine.
“Your place or mine?”
Chapter Four
Willow was so nervous it amazed her that she didn’t drop her keys as she removed them from her purse. After a brief stop by the booth to tell Geneva that they were leaving they’d headed for her apartment. It wasn’t before her best friend issued an outright threat of instantaneous death if Chase did anything to hurt her. Fortunately he seemed to take it all in stride and she could see his respect for Geneva in his expression.
A few moments later, they were inside her apartment. She turned on the lamp in the living room, before sitting her purse on the end table.
“Would you like something to drink?” she asked.
“Water would be fine.”
She led the way to the kitchen, doing her best to relax as she contemplated what was getting ready to happen. It had been three months since she’d gone on a date, even longer since she’d been intimate with someone. She wasn’t opposed to dating; it was just that her last relationship had gone so wrong; she wasn’t too enthusiastic about putting herself out there again. At this point she still wasn’t quite certain that’s what she was doing now. What she felt for Chase was nothing but pure unadulterated lust. It couldn’t be anything else. She wouldn’t allow it to be.
As she walked over to the refrigerator, she tried to get her emotions under control. She had to be as levelheaded as she could about this. Something told her that was going to be extremely difficult to do.
She grabbed two bottles of water, before turning to face Chase. He stood a few feet from her; legs shoulder length apart, with his hands tucked into his pockets. His intense blue-eyed gaze did something to her on a primal level. It was as if he could read her every thought.
“Are you having second thoughts?”
She gave a slight shake of her head. “Just trying not to overthink things.”
“In what way?”
“I’m reminding myself that this is only for one night.”
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