Chapter Ten

Chase had been bone tired many times. Ass-frozen, bone-cold, bone-tired was different. The general feeling that people were idiots for not adjusting speed and driving based on road conditions had been the consensus tonight. If he could have handed out tickets based solely on stupidity alone he would have, gladly. It was a miracle, really, that there hadn’t been any serious injuries tonight.

He backed his SUV into the driveway, not expecting to see any lights on but the porch lights were, and he could see the front hall lamp was too. It was typical of Julia to think of someone else. She and Maggie must have fallen asleep hours ago. Right now, he didn’t even care that his stomach was growling. All he wanted was to fall into a deep sleep and wake up at least eight hours later. He hauled his ass out of the car, not even flinching when the snow and ice mix pelted his face; he was immune at this point. He trudged up the front steps and stopped short as the front door whipped open and Julia stood there, the expression on her face one no one had ever given him. And then she flew down the steps and he caught her in his arms, immediately walking into the house, and shutting the door behind him. He leaned against it, holding her to him as emotion assaulted his tired body.

“Thank God you’re okay,” she whispered against his neck. His arms tightened around her and he didn’t think he’d ever let her go. She had stayed up for him. He pulled his head back to look at her, and every single emotion he’d ever wanted to see from her was staring back at him in her green eyes. He clenched his jaw, and reached out to tangle his hands in her hair, just like he’d dreamed of doing at least a thousand times. But he didn’t look away from her eyes, needing to know that she accepted this, that she wanted him.

“I was so worried about you,” she whispered again, her fingers grasping the hair at the nape of his neck and tugging him to her.

She wanted him. It was there, in the way she reached up for him, the way her eyes went from his eyes to his lips. He leaned down and kissed her, finally tasting the lips of the woman he’d wanted his entire goddamn adult life. She opened her mouth beneath his, and all thoughts of being tired vanished. He devoured her, unable to think of anything except the woman in his arms. She pressed close to him and he felt every soft curve mold to him. His hands went from her hair to her body, slowly, greedily, wanting to feel her, to memorize in case this one night was all they had.

She let out the sexiest moan against his lips as his hands grazed the sides of her breasts. He cursed softly, wanting to take things slow, not wanting to scare her off, but completely unable to slow down. He picked her up until she straddled his waist.

“Maggie sleeping?” he managed to whisper against her mouth.

She nodded, her hands grasping at the collar of his jacket and helping him shrug out of it. It landed on the ground with a thud, and he walked up the stairs, not letting her go, not stopping until they reached his bed. He released her and then strode across the room to shut and lock his door. Then he was back, covering Julia with his body. She met him halfway.

“I’ve wanted you, Jules, for so long,” he whispered as he trailed kisses down her neck, his hands working to get her out of her sweater.

She paused for a moment when her sweater came off. He took in the gorgeous sight in front of him, the pale blue lace bra, and her luscious breasts spilling over the rim. She gave him a look he didn’t fully get before taking off his shirt. A shiver stole through her and then her hands were tracing his shoulders, down his biceps.

The vulnerability stamped across her features made him pause for a moment. And then he kissed her, expressing with his mouth, his hands, his body that this meant so much more to him than just one night. Julia had returned to him for Christmas, she was in his home, in his bed, and he was going to spend the rest of the night showing her what he always knew—that they were meant for each other. He would show her how cherished he could make her.

Chase made the turn at the highest speed he could, given the heavy rain. Sweat had dampened his shirt, making it uncomfortable under his uniform coat. It was November. Nighttime. The call that had come in about the car collision had made every hair stand at attention on the back of his neck, and then his gut had churned. He’d made a U-turn and headed out to the reported scene, probably beating the paramedics.

He eased his foot off the gas, but hadn’t been able to loosen his tightly clenched hands on the steering wheel. He squinted as smoke and headlights appeared in the distance. The wipers were going at full speed and it was still almost impossible to see. As he approached, he saw there was already another squad car on scene, lights flashing, the roads already closed in either direction. He hopped out of the car, running, his need to get to the car that barely even resembled a car propelling him forward, faster. He needed to get there, inside, even though he knew there were no survivors the way that car was wrapped around the tree. He knew that car.

“Hands off!” he yelled to the young cop that tried to tell him not to bother. He reached in, the bodies a mangled mess, not recognizable to the eye, but to the gut. God, no, there was no way he’d let Michael and Matthew go like this. “I’m getting you out,” he heard himself yell, cry, to people who couldn’t hear him anymore. “Dammit, Michael, I’m getting your boy out of here.” He didn’t know if it was the rain, or if it was his tears, but he could barely see as he reached inside the car.

“Lieutenant, get over here,” he yelled.

“I’m searching for the other car. There was another car, tracks down the mountain.”

He needed to go. He needed to go and help the survivors. He knew what he’d been trained to do…but now, shit…Julia was here.

“Julia, hold on…” But her head was dangling loosely, unnaturally. She was covered in blood, just like the rest of them. “Don’t you dare die, I’ve got you, I promise.”

The rain started again. He was sweating and swearing and he needed to get to her.

“Chase, Chase, wake up.”

It was her. It was Julia. But she was dead.

Hands gripped his arms, shaking him.

His eyes sprung open. Julia. She was shaking him, beside him, in his bed. Naked. Alive.

“You terrified me. Are you okay?” She was smoothing hair off his forehead. He swiped the moisture from his eyes and face, and focused on her, and on taking deep breaths. The dream wasn’t new. It was a recurring nightmare from the night he’d found Michael and Matthew. It had tormented him. Some nights early on it made him throw up. The nightmares were less frequent now. But Julia—she had never been in the dream.

He stared at her gorgeous face, eyes serious, brow furrowed as she stared at him. “What happened, what was it?”

He shook his head, knowing he was going to lie. He would do anything for this woman. He would tell her anything, give her anything, but he couldn’t give her the truth about this. She’d been through hell; she didn’t need to know this. They had never spoken about what he’d seen that night and he was fine bearing the brunt of that.

He raised his hand, hating that it was still shaking. “Just a stupid nightmare. I’m okay.”

She grasped his hand in hers, squeezing it.

He closed his eyes for a moment, forcing the image of her lying there in the car out of his mind. He opened his eyes, raising his other hand, scrunching fistfuls of her hair, gently pulling her forward, on top of him. He knew he’d wanted her forever. He knew he loved her, but not like this. Her mouth hovered close to his and he knew she was the only one who could erase all of it tonight.

…

Julia opened her eyes and glanced at the display on the clock. It was a different clock because she was at Chase’s house, in his bed. The sleep washed away and memories of last night lapped in gently. She felt warm, safe, happy.

Chase’s deep, steady breathing at her neck, his strong arm around her waist, made it very clear to her groggy mind why she felt this way—him. A wave of memories washed over her; she had never experienced anything like what they’d shared last night. It had nothing to do with experience, or talent on his part, it had been real, raw, and a passion that she didn’t know she possessed had consumed her. She had never felt so wanted, and she had never wanted someone as much. Chase kissed her and touched her like no one ever had. He kissed her with a gentle possession, an all-consuming desire. He captured a part of her that she didn’t know existed. She and Michael had been…more friends than anything, she realized now. Maybe that was it…maybe he’d found this kind of passion with someone else.

This was going to change everything. She couldn’t deny her feelings for him anymore, but what did that mean for them? The things he’d whispered to her. She shut her eyes as she remembered the sound of his voice, the scrape of his stubble against her skin, and shivered. How would she ever be able to leave him? And if she stayed, how would she ever be able to surrender her worry?

She stopped breathing when she thought she heard noise in the hall. Maggie. She rose from bed, careful not to disturb Chase and quietly and quickly dressed in the dark room. She didn’t want Maggie to find her in here and confuse the little girl. She tiptoed out of the room, pausing for a moment to look back at the man sleeping so soundly in the bed.

Heat flashed through her body. She would never be able to look at him the same way again, knowing this other side of him. He was beautiful. Rugged and strong, gentle and tender. Noise again in the hallway reminded her she was on her way out of the room, not staying.

A glance down the hallway confirmed that Maggie was awake, because the bathroom light was on. She quickly went to the spare room and gathered the toothbrush that Chase had given her and turned on the light. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Maggie was knocking quietly on the door.

She opened it and her heart swelled at the sight of Maggie’s excited smile.

“I’m so happy you’re still here!”

Julia ruffled the top of Maggie’s head. “Me too, sweetie. I’m going to clean up a bit in the washroom and then I’ll meet you downstairs, okay? Let’s be quiet so that your daddy can sleep. He got home really late last night.”

Maggie nodded sagely. “Okay, I’ll tiptoe,” she said in a theatrical whisper that didn’t really sound that much softer than her normal voice. Her exaggerated tiptoe was quiet however, and it did bring a smile to Julia’s face as she watched her walk down the hallway.

Half an hour later, Maggie was happily eating the first batch of pancakes they had made together while Julia sipped coffee and turned bacon in the frying pan.

“Daddy is going to be so excited when he wakes up and sees all this breakfast! It’s his favorite meal of the day. He even makes it for dinner!”

Julia smiled at Maggie. “Well, this will be a nice surprise for him then, and I bet he’s going to be super hungry because he was working so late.”

“How did you know?” Coffee sloshed over the rim of her mug at the sound of Chase’s deep voice. He walked into the kitchen and gave Maggie a kiss on the head before walking over to her.

“You made all this for me?”

She shrugged, smiling, as she watched him take the lid off the pot and inhale. He was walking around the kitchen, shrugging into a T-shirt, and a pair of low-slung jeans. Chase was…beautiful. He was a beautiful person on the inside and out. And good God, did the man know what he was doing in bed. He poured himself a cup of coffee and then opened the fridge, his eyes widening.

“Oh, that was last night’s dinner. It’s easy to reheat,” she said.

He turned to her. “You cooked?”

“Baked too! Soooooo many cookies, Daddy! We can eat them all!”

They all laughed as they sat down at the table together. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that. I owe you one.” The way he said that, with a glint in his eye, and the corner of his mouth turned up made her face turn red.

“Uh, that’s fine.”

“No, I insist.”

“Maybe later tonight?”

She opened her mouth but the grin he gave her was contagious. “We’ll see, Sheriff. I’ll review your offer as the day goes on.”

He laughed, low and throaty, and her lower belly stirred. She quickly drank her coffee and avoided eye contact with him.

“So I was thinking of taking Maggie over to the new place tomorrow once we get the keys. Do you have time to come by?”

“Say yes, Julia!” Maggie said, maple syrup dripping down her face.

“How can I say no to that face?” Julia laughed, leaning across and wiping the adorable little girl’s face.

Seriously. How was she supposed to say no to either of them?