Being Chased

by Harper Bentley

  She looked up at him, mesmerized by his presence, forgetting she was still mad at him, wanting him to close that small distance so she could feel his soft lips on hers again. "What do I see in him? Well, he's smart for one thing," she whispered.

  "Yeah, looks like a fuckin’ genius," Chase said, his gray eyes piercing hers as his fingers trailed lightly up and down her arm leaving goose bumps in their wake, making her shiver, making her want more than anything his lips on hers.

  "He makes me… laugh…" Julia stammered, swallowing roughly, frustrated that Chase could make her body react to his touch, really frustrated that she wanted more of it.

  He pushed her hair back behind her other shoulder. "Is that so," he breathed in her ear, then moved his mouth to the side of her neck, his lips grazing down it to her shoulder that her cover-up left exposed.

  "Oh, God," she murmured, pressing her hands behind her to the wall, her back arching against it, her breasts pressing into his hard chest. Oh, man, she really wanted him.

  Christ. He was supposed to be playing a game here, but all Chase wanted to do was throw her over his shoulder, take her back to his apartment and fuck her. Now. Especially when she was pushing her breasts against him like she was doing now. God, she made him so hot for her.

  “And what else does he do to you?” he whispered, moving back up, pressing his nose to the space between her neck and shoulder, her scent invading his senses, driving him crazy, his tongue tasting her soft skin.

  “He, uh… he…” She was totally lost to him. She ran her hands up his arms to his shoulders then around to wrap in the hair on his neck, but she hesitated and stopped, her head bowing as she took a shuddering breath.

  Aware of her hesitation and knowing that she’d probably come to her senses, which was likely for the best, with regret Chase reverted back to his original plan, and with a soft kiss to her neck, he pulled back to look down at her, false amusement in his eyes and said, "Well, baby, you go enjoy Chuckles, and I'll see you bright and early Monday morning." He dotted her nose with his finger, walking away from her with a forced chuckle and headed toward the men's room.

  Julia stood there dumbfounded, her breath still coming hard. Ugh! He’d bested her again! She was going to kill him. Who the hell did he think he was? Oh, he was so going to pay for this.

  Chase shook his head as he pushed on the bathroom door. Score one for him. He guessed.

  ****

  Julia was fuming. She'd promised herself a little over twenty-four hours before that she was going to be in control of this stupid game, this mindfuck, this idiotic sexual tug-of-war she and Chase had going, and yet he'd totally checkmated her. Bastard.

  Well, she was going to take the power back. Now.

  After their little make-out session, Chase had gone into the men's room all smug and arrogant, but she was going to burst his egotistical bubble as soon as he emerged, so she stayed right where he'd left her, waiting to knock him off his self-assembled pedestal.

  But as she saw him exit the restroom, she was struck again by how good-looking he was—long, muscular legs that stalked toward her, narrow hips with low-slung jeans encasing them, his tight, dark blue t-shirt clinging to his sculpted chest; her eyes continued roaming over him, focusing on how his hips V’d up into that wide, hard chest. Jeez, top it all off with his handsome face and that damn stubble covering his strong jaw, and her tongue was practically dragging the ground.

  Being ga-ga over him wasn’t in the plans at all, damn it. So she shoved her attraction aside and got her second wind, ready to rip into him.

  Chase smirked, surprised to see her waiting for him, but glad that she hadn’t left. He thought surely she'd stomped off, pissed at him for being such a jerk to her. But there she stood ready for round two, he supposed.

  "You think you're pretty fucking smart, don't you?" she bit out as he walked toward her, his smug look making her pulse quicken in anger. Or was it anticipation of being near him? Ugh. And that thought seriously annoyed her.

  His smirk turned to a crooked grin as he chuckled at her use of foul language. "Oh, I wouldn't go that far. My intelligence hasn't even been challenged yet."

  "Let me ask you. Were you born an asshole or was it something that developed with time?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

  He leaned into her putting both his hands on the wall on either side, effectively holding her hostage again. Oh, no, that wasn't happening again, so Julia turned the tables, easily slipping under his arm and he had no choice but to flip around to watch as she practically pinned him against the wall standing as close to him as she could without actually making contact, which he found he hated.

  "Whoa." The crooked grin reappeared as he realized that she'd made some kind of ninja move. "Damn, grasshopper. You move pretty fast." He chuckled.

  She rolled her eyes at him then arched a brow. "Well?"

  He looked confused for a second then remembered what she’d asked. "Oh, thought that was rhetorical. Hm. Was I born an asshole or did it develop over time….” He stroked his chin in thought making her want to smack the crap out of him. “To answer your question, I'd have to say my assholish-ness is probably half and half. See, I was quite a fussy baby which developed into my being kind of bratty in my early childhood.” He paused in thought then began again with a twinkle in his eyes, “In elementary school I liked pushing down the girls that I liked, in junior high my friends and I pranked the teachers, and I was pretty much a love-'em-and-leave-'em kinda guy in high school, so, yeah, I'd have to say my being an asshole's not only an innate thing, but something I've perfected over time."

  Jerk. "God, you piss me off. Now, look here." Though she wore heels, he was so much taller that she had to stand on her toes, still getting nowhere near his height as she jabbed her finger at his nose, scowling. "I've had enough of this bullshit. You are not going to make me look stupid anymore! I have the upper hand here, not you!"

  All Chase could do was grin at her again, which made her that much angrier.

  Damn, she's beautiful when she's pissed.

  "This isn't funny! I don't know who you think you are, but I'm no—"

  He grabbed her by either side of her face, pulling her to him as his lips quickly captured hers. Her hands immediately went up to grab his muscled forearms, trying to remove them, but she wasn't strong enough, and damn it if she didn't get caught up in his kiss again, melting into him instead. Wow.

  He pulled his face away from hers, her face still firmly in his grasp.

  She tried to make sense of her body's traitorous reaction to him as she breathed heavily, but finally coming out of her daze, she glowered up at him. "Just because you can overwhelm me with your kisses doesn't mean tha—"

  He smiled down at her. "God, you're so fucking hot," he said, cutting her off as his lips covered hers again moving sensuously.

  Julia finally gave up resisting him then, with no little help from his amazing kissing prowess, and resigned herself to the fact that he definitely had some kind of control over her. She tasted the scotch on his breath that he'd been drinking, which for some reason made the kiss even hotter.

  Sensing her yielding to him, Chase let go of her face, wrapping an arm around her, holding her tightly to him, one hand at the nape of her neck, the other at the small of her back.

  She moved one of her hands up to wrap her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer. He groaned as she pressed herself into him. His hand moved down cupping her ass pulling her against him harder.

  "Good grief! Get a room!" a woman going past squawked at them.

  They pulled away and looked at each other, both breathing heavily.

  Embarrassed that she’d given in to her desires once again when it came to him, Julia pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, which was so cute and sexy that he couldn’t help but cup her jaw and rub his thumb gently over her lip, releasing it from the hold.

  “You’re gorgeous,” he mumbled, his eyes searing into hers as he leaned down to kiss her again.


  Just then there was a commotion at the front of the bar. People started yelling and glass was breaking. They looked at each other for a few seconds before hearing a guy bellow, “You’re fucking dead, asshole!”

  "Shit! That’s Brock. Sorry, but he’s probably in some trouble," Chase said, turning and running toward the ruckus, leaving her standing there still breathless.

  Brock had been putting on his usual charm, talking smoothly to the leather-skirt-clad woman, having already gotten her phone number, when her ex-boyfriend had approached, yelling at her, calling her a bitch and asking what the hell she thought she was doing.

  Brock didn't like the guy talking to her that way and had let him know it. That's when the ex became all I'm a dumbass 'cause I'm gonna try fighting this huge guy and threw a right hook at Brock. Brock had been distracted for some reason and, therefore, took a punch to his chin, which pissed him off beyond all reason.

  Ex-boyfriend was screwed now because he had no idea that Brock was a Golden Glove boxer, a fucking bodyguard and that he didn't take shit from anyone, much less a little weasel of a man like this guy.

  Chase saw that as he rounded the corner Brock was getting ready to knock the guy’s head into BFE, so he ran quickly, grabbing Brock from behind, wrapping his arms around him, locking his hands in front, keeping Brock’s arms down to the side. Oz, Boone and Quaid came running up about then ready for some action.

  "What the fuck, dude?" Brock roared trying to get loose.

  "You'll kill him, man," Chase hissed.

  Just then the guy made the mistake of smirking, getting ready to take another swing, so Chase let Brock go, pushing him to the side, and he took the dude out with a fist to the jaw. Julia arrived just in time to see this happen, going wide-eyed, her mouth gaping open.

  The ex had several buddies with him who felt the need to jump in, and now it was each man for himself. Chase looked around to assess the situation, and noticed that Julia’s date was having none of it, standing off to the side like a pussy, clutching some guy's arm.

  Chase sneered at him. Figures.

  Several guys were approaching them now and seeing no other way out, Chase muttered, "Have at it," to the guys, and off they all went.

  Fists were flying everywhere, loud oomphs! and umphs! filling the air, and Chase was having the time of his life. Because of his adroitness in martial arts, no one could touch him. He was blocking fists, deftly moving out of their way, and just plain beating the bajeebus out of each guy that dared approach him. Julia was shocked watching how he held off two guys by himself, then proceeded to knock them both out with his fists.

  Brock in the meantime had taken the biggest guy there, almost his size, finally putting him in a chokehold until the guy eventually tapped out, breathing hard and rubbing his throat like a wuss. Oz had knocked a guy out and was looking around to score more action while Boone toyed with another, playing dodge and jab with him until he got bored then just KO’d the guy. Quaid stood grinning at them all after he’d made a guy run away and out the door.

  Chase turned to nod at the guys since they had things pretty much under control after that. He glanced around and saw Julia who was looking at him with awe. He smirked and winked at her, but frowned when he saw her eyes get big at something behind him.

  Turning around at just the wrong time, his eye became intimate with a fist from one of the stragglers who was still trying to keep the fight going. And fuck if that didn't hurt like a mother. He was seriously pissed now. The look of rage on his face frightened Julia, and she watched with a sort of morbid fascination, not being able to look away, as Chase spun, bringing an elbow to the guy's nose landing it with a sickening crunch. The guy screamed as blood gushed everywhere.

  After that, the guys looked around, making sure there was no more threat, then got the hell out of there, Brock yelling on the way out the door at Leather Skirt that he'd call her.

  "Fuck, Chase. And you think I'm deadly?" Brock chuckled as they walked to his car after telling Boone, Oz and Quaid they’d see them around.

  "Well, shit. Bastard wants to mess with me, he's gonna get what's coming to him." He pulled the end of his t-shirt up to wipe the blood from the side of his eye.

  "Chase?" Julia had come out of the bar, running after him.

  Chase turned toward her, sobered from the adrenaline that was rushing through his veins, and knew immediately he'd screwed up tonight by cornering her like he had. What had he been thinking? The fight had opened his eyes to the fact that he was her bodyguard, not some damned lothario trying to win her over. Besides, he might have to protect her one day and he knew it was dangerous to get involved with her.

  He could hear his dad telling him that there was no place for emotions when it came to fighting. He'd been taught to respond without thinking, automatically knowing which moves to perform to counter his opponent's each and every maneuver. He'd told him that emotions were dangerous and would cloud his judgment. Chase hadn't really understood what his dad had meant until now.

  He groaned now looking at Julia. She was so beautiful standing in front of him, her big hazel eyes more of a dark green and full of concern about his well-being.

  "Are you okay?" she asked, looking up at him, starting to reach a hand toward his eye then pulling it back.

  No. I’m not okay. I want your lips on mine right now… your body against mine… want to show you how much I care about you. How much I want to fuck you. "Yeah. I'm fine. Why?" he replied curtly. He hated himself in that moment for acting so cold toward her, but, shit, he was caught in a trap once again. He knew being with her would be a distraction, and he needed to be prepared at all times to protect her, not letting his feelings get in the way.

  And it was all for her own good.

  Julia recoiled a little at how clipped his answer was. Once again she was confused when it came to him. What the hell? Schizoid dude was seriously getting on her nerves.

  "I, uh, was just checking," she whispered.

  "Okay." He stood looking at her feeling horrible, feeling like the bastard that he was, seeing how hurt she looked. He shouldn't have let things get as far as they had with her tonight. "Look, Julia, I'm sorry about coming on to you like I did."

  Oh, good God no. Was he freakin' kidding? She was so tired of the teeter-totter reactions she kept getting from him. She looked up at him and jutted her chin out saying indifferently, "Don't worry about it, Chase. Don't even think twice about it. I know I won't." She turned to go back to the bar, flipping him the bird over her shoulder, not looking at him as she walked away.

  Chase chuckled a little at that but felt awful. Jesus. He wanted her so badly but knew he shouldn't, or more realistically, couldn't.

  "You coming?" Brock hollered at him, sobered enough after the fight to drive. They usually ended up calling a cab to take them home, returning in the mornings to retrieve whoever’s car they’d taken the night before, but tonight, all traces of drunkenness were gone.

  "Yeah." Chase sighed, turning and getting into Brock’s '66 Mustang.

  "Dude, she's fuckin' hot."

  "Who? Leather Skirt?"

  "Well, yeah, but Julia? Bitch is smokin'."

  "Don’t call her a bitch. And, yeah, she's beautiful," he said with a sigh.

  "So, what's the deal then?"

  Chase huffed. "I’d like to keep the gig, Brock. Jesus. She’s my client. And I can't afford to screw shit up by having feelings for her." He ran a hand over his face, frustrated as hell. "Fuck!" he yelled, slamming the side of his fist into the door panel.

  "Talk about being screwed," Brock commiserated.

  "No shit." Chase shook his head, leaning it back on the seat, glaring up at the car's ragged headliner as they drove home.

  Chapter 5

  "So?" Lily was all giddy as she sat across the table from Julia looking expectantly at her.

  "So, what?" Julia asked, totally chugging down her bourbon like it was water.

  "So, what happened with you and Chase?"

 
; "What was supposed to happen with us?"

  "Well, before the fight you were gone for an awfully long time. What happened?"

  Lily was so damn nosy. And Julia knew she'd have to answer her because chick would never let things lie. A smirk went to Julia's face as she thought of making up a story, telling Lily that she and Chase had screwed like rabbits inside a bathroom stall. In the men's room no less.

  "Nothing. We talked. He fought. He left."

  Lily looked disappointed. "Oh. So what'd you talk about?" Annnnd she’d perked up again.

  Jesus H. Christ.

  Julia gritted her teeth. "Lily, I swear to motherfricking frick, if you don't drop this right now, I'll tell Jacob and Blake that you want a three-way with them and I'll go into graphic detail too. Do the terms 'fisting' and 'multiple penetration' mean anything to you?"

  The look on Lily's face was priceless. Good. That'd shut her up.

  Claire came back to the table, holding several shots of tequila. "Oh my gosh! Chase’s friends? So hot!" she blurted.

  “They were pretty cute!" Lily agreed.

  Well, thank God. Now Lily and Claire could discuss the guys together, making devious plans to hook up with a couple of them as long as they left her out of it. As her friends yakked it up over Chase’s coworkers, Julia was going over the events of the evening in her mind. She was so mad at herself for letting Chase have the upper hand. Again. But why'd she become so weak around him? Not like he had magic lips or anything. Well, wait, yeah, he kinda did. Ass.

  "Earth to Julia!" Claire said, snapping her fingers in front of Julia's face.

  "Oh, what?"

  "I asked if you wanted to go shopping sometime this week. I need to go to Agent Provocateur for some new things… especially if we’re gonna make a move on these guys." Claire wiggled her eyebrows.