Chasin's Surrender (Gemini Group Book 5)

by Riley Edwards

  Great.

  “Girl, you fit right in,” Silver said when she wrangled her hilarity in. “There’s not a single one of us that’s normal. So it’s a relief to know you’re as crazy as the rest of us. I was a little worried when we all had dinner together we’d have to be on our best behavior so we didn’t make you want to run a mile. Chasin would’ve killed us if we scared you off.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m totally normal,” Kennedy protested.

  “Really? You are?” Silver challenged. “Normal people don’t stand in their driveways brandishing a shotgun threatening to shoot someone’s truck.”

  “Um, yeah they do, when the owner of that truck is trying to steal their land.”

  Next to me Macy started shaking with humor. “That’s a true story,” she told me. “And don’t let Silver fool you with her sweet face and pretty eyes. She’s arguably crazier than all of us. Weston had to rescue her from the hull of a ship. But when he got her, she’d freed herself and threw a brick of cocaine at his head. It broke up and well dusted everything in white powder.”

  My mouth dropped open and when I recovered I wheezed, “What?”

  “It was nothing,” Silver said.

  Nothing? Maybe she was crazy.

  “Come on, we’ve got a lot to catch the two of you up on and Chasin’s already giving us dirty looks. So I figure we have ten minutes at most before he claims you and we have to stop talking,” McKenna shared.

  Scarily, I might add.

  She led the group to a picnic table and we all filed in.

  As soon as my ass hit the bench, McKenna started. “I’ll go first since I was first, then Kennedy, then Silver, then Macy. When we’re done, you can fill us in. The rule is, you don’t leave anything out. We want all the juicy deets.”

  I glanced to my right and found Bobby smiling like a loon.

  “Why are you smiling like that? She…” I jabbed my finger at Silver, “threw a brick of cocaine at Weston. I don’t think there’s anything to smile at.”

  “I know. I think next to you, Silver might be my new favorite person. Though the standing in your driveway with a shotgun is badass.” Bobby acknowledged Kennedy. “So it’s a toss-up. But I’m reserving the second favorite spot until I hear McKenna and Macy’s stories.”

  “You’re the crazy one, not me. I’m freaking totally normal and boring.”

  Five women roared with laughter.

  And all my pent-up anxiety washed away.

  I glanced over my shoulder and found all the men staring at us, smiling. But my gaze hit Chasin’s big, open smile and I couldn’t look away. The grin slipped into a smirk and the area between my legs started to tingle.

  “Great. We’ve lost her.” I heard McKenna mumble. “Chasin’s giving her the hot-guy look that clearly states he got himself some before they came over. But more, it says he knows he gave it to her and she loved what she got.”

  I ignored this, though my smile grew.

  “Afterglow,” Bobby added. “All week, my girl’s been glowing. Worst part is, I have to live in that house, which only serves as a reminder I’m not getting any. It’s been so long, I need to start calling myself Sister Agnes.”

  I gave Chasin a wink and saw his eyes light and his body started to rock.

  “Is it just me or are all the Gemini Men hot as hell?”

  My eyes slipped from Chasin in time to see Alec blowing raspberries in his daughter’s neck. Yep. Totally hot. Weston stood next to Alec with his son sleeping on his shoulder and I thought that was hot, too. My gaze went back to my man and he was still staring at me. The smirk was gone but I didn’t miss it because the sexy smile and gentle eyes were just as good.

  “Girl, if you’d turn around and pay attention, we’d tell you just how hot they are.”

  I really wanted to know. So I gave Chasin one last big, bright smile—or at least I hoped that’s what I was giving him—and turned around.

  “Finally,” Silver muttered. “Has the Chasin trance worn off yet?”

  “Nope. And I hope to God it never does,” I answered.

  I heard Bobby sigh and Silver giggle. Macy smiled, Kennedy exhaled.

  But it was McKenna who spoke. “I love that for you. But more, I love it for him because you are exactly what he needs.”

  God, I loved that she thought that.

  McKenna had been wrong, the men didn’t approach, but an ATV with a handsome teenage boy and two little kids did. McKenna had finished her story and there wasn’t a damn thing funny about her being taken by an asshole and nearly beaten to death, but I did think she was crazy strong to live through that. And Kennedy had told hers—again, nothing funny about being locked in a car and almost dying from heatstroke, then having that car driven into a lake and drowning, necessitating Jameson to perform CPR to save her life. Though she’d tried her best to inject humor, and some parts were hilarious, but still, it was scary as hell.

  Suddenly my situation seemed ridiculous. In the grand scheme of life, who cared that someone was sending annoying letters. I didn’t even care anymore that they’d broken into my house and jerked off on my bed. I’d never sleep in that house again and the bed would be in the trash. Nothing was as bad as what McKenna and Kennedy had gone through and I was afraid to hear about Silver and Macy. If their stories were anything like the first two, I didn’t want to know.

  “Uncle Chasin!” a little girl squealed.

  “That’s Zack,” Macy said.

  I knew Zack was McKenna’s younger brother. Their parents had passed away and McKenna got custody of him and her younger sister Mandy, who was attending art school in Philly.

  “Yo!” Zack jerked his chin in our direction, Caleb, Macy’s adorable son, mimicked Zack and they made their way to the man-huddle where Aurora was now in Chasin’s arms. I could see her mouth moving a mile a minute but couldn’t hear what she was saying. Whatever it was had Chasin smiling.

  Boy oh boy, the sight of that had my ovaries ready to explode.

  “Caleb’s trying to learn cool. Zack, on the other hand, learned cool from Nixon Swagger, so he’s got that shit down to a science,” Macy informed me.

  “I wish he was still my goofy little brother and Nix had curbed those lessons.”

  My gaze went back to McKenna and I asked, “Why?”

  McKenna’s face twisted into a look that could only be described as horror.

  “She can’t even say it,” Kennedy choked. “Zack loves the ladies and the ladies love Zack. I heard Nix telling Jameson the boy goes through more condoms than—”

  McKenna made a gagging noise and held up her hand. “Stop. We’re not talking about this. It’s bad enough girls show up here day and night, a different one each week. I do not need to hear about condoms.”

  “At least he’s practicing safe sex,” Bobby tossed in. “Sex is cleaner with a covered wiener.”

  “Did she just…” Silver didn’t finish. She couldn’t because her hands were covering her face and she was shaking. “She said…” Again, she stopped and gulped.

  “I’m stealing that,” Kennedy declared and burst out laughing.

  I sat back and listened to five really awesome women laugh. Four women I hoped I’d become close with. Four women who had accepted Bobby and me into the fold without reservation. I soaked it all in. Every last drop. And thank God I did, because in the days that followed, I needed it.

  29

  Chasin lowered his head and breathed in Genevieve’s flowery shampoo, his semi-hard cock still inside of her. He was taking his time, bringing them both down, giving them slow after Genevieve had demanded rough.

  “Mmm,” Evie purred and Chasin smiled against her hair. “I can’t feel my legs.”

  That made him smile bigger.

  “How is it possible it keeps getting better and better?”

  Funny, Chasin had been thinking the same thing. Actually, he thought that every time he sank his cock in her.

  Better every time.

&
nbsp; “You good?” he asked, even though he knew she was.

  “Yeah. You?”

  “I gave you two sweet orgasms before I came harder than I ever have in my life. I’m not good, baby, I’m terrific. But I’m talking about how rough I was with you.”

  Chasin’s hand moved to caress the side of her breast, avoiding the nipple he’d pinched and twisted.

  “You always know how much I can take so you don’t need to ask me anymore. You made me promise if it got to be too much I’d tell you, and I will.”

  He kissed the top of Genevieve’s head and unfortunately his cock slipped out of her. With a roll to the side, he tucked her close and let her settle on his chest before he asked, “What’s on today’s agenda?”

  “Bobby and I are going over the offers my real estate agent sent over. I still can’t believe the house sold so quickly. We’re also going to talk through what I’m going to do about Leslie. I can’t leave her hanging, she knows something’s up and I have a contract to consider. So lawyers and accountants will have to be called. All of it’s mind-numbingly boring and stuff I don’t want to deal with.”

  Chasin hadn’t realized how tightly-strung his body had become until Genevieve lifted her head.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, baby. Good news about the house.”

  He willed his muscles to relax, but no matter how hard he tried, they wouldn’t unwind.

  “Don’t do that.” She sat up, taking the sheet with her.

  “Nothing’s wrong,” he lied.

  “You’re lying,” she called him out and closed her eyes. “Why are you hiding?”

  Fucking hell.

  That was an excellent question.

  “You’ve been pulling away since before the barbeque.”

  Now, wait a fucking minute.

  “I’m not pullin’ away,” he argued.

  Genevieve opened her eyes, and when her look hit Chasin, all the air squeezed from his lungs.

  “Baby,” he whispered in a desperate attempt to find a way to erase the pain that he hadn’t seen since she’d forgiven him for being a dick. Pain that was so stark, it was worse than when he’d gutted her in the living room in her uncle’s house. And that was saying some not-so-great things because that night, he’d shredded her.

  “Do you love me?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  His answer came quickly. It was irrevocable, and he meant it in a way he knew would never change.

  “If I think back to when I was a little girl, like five or six, I can remember feeling loved. My grandparents loved me. They spoiled me, and not with things, with deeds. They made time for me. Granddad taught me to ride a bike. Grandmom baked cookies with me. Normal. Typical grandparent stuff. I loved them. Then my parents’ drinking got bad and the family started to take sides. My uncle was firmly in the camp to disown my dad and cut him off. My grandmom loved her son and wanted to try to get him help. My father refused. This went on a few more years until one night my dad was out doing whatever he did and my mom was passed out drunk on the couch. I was hungry, so I did what I always did and went to the kitchen to make myself dinner. This wouldn’t have been a big deal but I had to climb on the counter to reach the bowl I wanted.”

  She pressed her lips together, then resumed. “I fell and broke my arm. Only I didn’t know it was broken for a few days because no one took me to the hospital. My granddad found out, lost his mind, and cut my dad off until him and my mom went to rehab. They refused. Granddad came over and tried to take me, obviously, my parents weren’t fit to take care of me, but my father refused.”

  Genevieve paused, took in a breath so deep, Chasin could feel the air whistle by him.

  “I heard them arguing. Granddad said he was packing my stuff and taking me. But he never made it into my bedroom because my dad threatened to call the police. Not to tell them my granddad was taking me without permission but because my dad knew my granddad’s business was involved in illegal activity. Granddad left, without me. And as he was walking out the door he turned and saw me sitting on the bottom step. He knew I heard and didn’t say anything. He didn’t smile at me. He didn’t hug me goodbye. He walked out the door and left me to my parents. That was the first time someone abandoned me, but not the last.”

  “Evie.”

  “Teachers, coaches, friends’ parents, they let me down, too. They knew my parents were drunks. They knew how we lived. No one helped. No one tried. That’s how I learned I was worthless.”

  “What the fuck?” Chasin growled.

  His heart was in his throat and the need to find and strangle every person who had ever made this beautiful woman feel worthless roared in his veins.

  “Bobby’s been trying for years to break through and make me see it. Force me to open my eyes and see I wasn’t what they told me I was. She couldn’t do it. But you did. And you weren’t even trying. You did it without knowing you were doing it, just by making me smile. You had no clue who I was, how much money I had in the bank, you didn’t know I had Grammys, and gold statues, and platinum records hanging in my studio. You didn’t know I have guitars worth more than people’s cars, and cars that cost more than most people will save in their lifetimes.”

  She gave him the sweetest smile. “But for you, I was worth it. I was worth your time, worth your smiles, worth getting to know. And I started to see it. And even though things got messed up, you didn’t wait to fix them. When I tried to push you away, you didn’t let me. You protect me, you tell me you love me, and you say you trust me. All of that makes me think I’m worth it.”

  Her smile disappeared, taking his heart with it. “So tell me, what are you hiding from me? And before you tell me ‘nothing,’ you need to know, I’m not letting this go.”

  “Fuck,” he grunted, and surged forward, taking Genevieve back to the bed.

  He gave her his weight and shoved his face into her neck, too overcome to speak. He felt the heaviness of apprehension pressing down on him.

  “I’m scared as fuck you’re gonna figure out you’re too good for me,” he finally muttered. “I didn’t know it when I met you, but you do have all those things you mentioned and I’m sure more that I’ve yet to discover. You’re a country music star, you got millions of fans dying to see you, hear you, cheer for you, and I got nothing to offer you.”

  “Wha’?” she wheezed, and he slid partway off her. “What?” she repeated.

  “Babe, it is not lost on me what you got. I saw a picture of your house, I know what you were asking and I know the offers you received. I got money in the bank, I live tight so I don’t waste it, and I make good money. But I got nothing compared to you and I never will. I can’t financially support you, I can’t—”

  Genevieve’s hand snaked up and slapped over his mouth, and at the same time she hissed, “Shut up.”

  He gently removed her hand.

  “Babe. Listen—”

  “You want it?”

  “Want what?” he asked hesitantly.

  “The money. You want it? It’s yours. I’ll give it all to you. It means nothing to me. Never has. So if you want it, you can have it. And I hate that stupid house. I hate that I had to live behind a gate because my asshole parents wouldn’t stop harassing me all hours of the night so I was forced to live in a prison. I hated every piece of furniture that was put in that house. You know what I’ve wanted my whole life?”

  “To sing,” he guessed.

  “No. I sang to escape my shit life. I wanted a family. A real one. A good one. I wanted to love someone and be loved and have daughters so I could tell them every day they were special. I wanted a husband who wouldn’t drink himself stupid and would love me and tell me he did. But never, when I was dreaming about what I wanted, did that include fancy cars, clothes, shoes, or a mansion. Just love. That’s it. That’s all I wanted.

  “And in the thirty years I’ve been alive, I’ve felt that a handful of times from grandparents who turned their backs on me when I needed them the m
ost. So really, I’ve never had it. Until the day I met you. Then I found it. So if you think money factors into what you can give me, you’re wrong. Flat-out, straight up, wrong. You give me everything I need, every time I need it. It’s not about who’s too good for whom. You keep saying it, honey, but it hasn’t penetrated—perfect. That’s what we are. Perfect for each other.”

  Fuck.

  Jesus, shit.

  The boulder that’d taken up residence in his gut broke apart.

  He’d known all along she was perfect for him.

  But it wasn’t until that moment he realized it was a two-way street.

  It wasn’t about her being his perfect match. It was about them being exactly what the other person needed.

  And he needed her more than air.

  “I’m sorry, Evie.”

  “As long as you love me, you got nothing to apologize for.”

  “I do love you.”

  “Then kiss me, honey, so we can get up and start our day.”

  Before Chasin’s lips touched hers, his phone started ringing.

  “Ignore it,” he said.

  “We can’t,” she mumbled. “You’re waiting for a call.”

  Motherfucker. He was. Jameson was going to try to get into Bent’s hotel room to get something he’d touched and they were waiting to see if he’d been successful.

  “Hold that look, baby,” he told her and reached for his phone.

  Not Jameson. But since they’d already been interrupted, he took the call.

  “Hey, Micky. What’s up?”

  “Is Bobby still there?”

  Chasin stilled.

  “What?”

  “She called me this morning to ask me if she could borrow my pressure cooker. I’ve been trying to call her. I forgot to tell her to make sure she slams the front door so it latches. Nix hasn’t fixed it yet so if you don’t slam it, the door will—”

  “Have you tried Holden?” he cut her off, not giving a fuck about a door that Nix hadn’t fixed.

  “No. I tried her then called you. Why?”

  “She’s not supposed to leave the farm alone,” Chasin growled.

  “Oh. Then I’m sure she’s still there.”