Take What You Want (31 page)

“
Get
to a place where Danni trusts me and will allow me into your lives,”
Alex said.

“
I
want you in our lives,” Chase said in a low voice.

“
And,
like I've been saying, Danni has to want it, too, for her own
reasons; for herself – not because you want it to be that way.”

“
I
know, I know,” Chase said. He sighed loudly. “Honestly,
I'm scared shitless she won't want it. Then what? Maybe she'll want
me to chose between her or you and I can't do that.”

“
It
won't come down to that, Chase.”

“
What'd
you mean?” Chase asked.

“
I
won't let it get to that point,” Alex said. “I'll walk
away first, then you and Danni can move on with your lives.”

“
Just
like that?” Chase asked.

“
Danni
comes first,” Alex said. “You're taking a serious chance
here, Chase, and I know from experience the chances are high I'll be
the one to get burned. I won't like it, but I'm prepared to walk
away if it comes to that.”

The
waitress returned with her arms loaded down with their dinner plates.
She set each in front of them and disappeared once again.

“
I
don't like that option,” Chase said.

“
Yeah,
well, I'm not crazy about it, either, but I told you before, I won't
stand in the way,” Alex said. “If Danni doesn't want to
give this a try, I'll move back to L.A. Simple as that.”

There was nothing simple
about that option, Chase thought. The void Alex would leave behind
would be devastating. Chase shifted in his seat, then rubbed at his
face.

Alex saw Chase's uneasiness
and set down his fork. “What's going on?” he asked.

Chase glanced around the
restaurant. Several people had arrived since he and Alex had sat
down. They occupied the tables nearby, all casually talking or
eating their meals, oblivious to the seriousness of Chase's
conversation with Alex.

“
While
you're out in L.A.,” Chase started to say, and then abruptly
stopped.

“
What
about it? Is there something you want me to do while I'm there?”
Alex asked. “I can bring you something back, if that's what
you're getting at.”

Chase
shook his head. “No, actually, what I was going to say has
more to do with what I'd rather you
didn't
do while you're out there,” Chase said. “Then, I
realized I have no claim on you – nor do I have a say in what
you want to do, so it was stupid of me to bring it up.”

Alex
reached across the table and touched Chase's fingers on the beer
bottle he was holding. He knew it was an intimate gesture that could
be noticed by the other people in the restaurant, but he didn't care.
Chase was feeling insecure and he needed to offer some sort of
reassurance to him. The other diners could go fuck themselves, for
all he cared. The touch on his fingers made Chase look up from his
plate at Alex.

“
I
don't want anyone else, Chase,” Alex said. “I want you …
and Danni, too, if she'll have me.” He shrugged when he said
the last part, then smiled.

Chase
offered Alex a grin in return and took a drink form his beer bottle.
“I'm sorry I brought it up.”

“
Don't
be sorry about it,” Alex said. “Far as I'm concerned,
we're exclusive, and you already know I don't cheat. Hopefully, you
feel the same. I mean, I know once Danni gets home you'll be fucking
like rabbits, but I'm hoping there won't be anyone else – male
or
female.”

Chase laughed at that
comment. “I have no interest in adding more. I can barely
handle who I have now.”

“
I
think you do a pretty damn good job of holding your own – and
mine,” Alex said and winked. They ate their dinner talking
about other things, until Alex opened up the Danni subject again.

“
Me
being gone next week will give you a chance to talk to Danni,”
Alex said.

Chase
nodded. “I've been over and over it in my head,” Chase
said. “I'm nervous about what I'll say, but I have to tell her
everything. She deserves to know what's been going on between us. I
owe her that much.”

“
It's
not much different than you and her friend, right?” Alex asked.

“
She
was there to see that happen,” Chase said. “It's
completely different when you can't see what's going on. I'm sure
what she's been thinking in her head is far worse than the actual
truth.”

“
Maybe
we should've been sending her photo files of us together,” Alex
said.

Chase stopped chewing and
looked across the table at Alex. “You mean, like a
blow-by-blow of what's been going on while she was gone type of
photograph?”

Alex chuckled. “I
wouldn't put it quite like that, but, yeah,” Alex said. “At
least there'd be no mystery.” He rubbed at the spot where his
goatee used to be and grinned. “No shots with my face in it,
though.”

“
You
don't think your body could be recognized by the tattoo's?”
Chase asked. “That's almost as good as a fingerprint.”

Their gazes held and the
smile faded on Alex's face. “Good point.”

“
I
guess one perk of
not
being famous is, no one gives a shit about a naked picture of me,”
Chase said.

Alex's
eyes flew open. “I'm sure if I walked into any bar on this
island and told the ladies I had a naked picture of Chase Middleton
on me, I'd get mauled.”

“
You'd
get mauled with or without my picture,” Chase said. “And,
the guys would be asking why you're walking around carrying a naked
photo of another dude.”

“
Everyone
already knows I like naked dudes,” Alex said a little too loud.
“And, I think I've proven you like naked dudes, too.”

Chase squeezed his eyes shut
and made a sour face. “You're killing me, Metcalf,”
Chase said.

“
Yeah,
and when I'm gone next week you'll miss me,” Alex said.

Chase's
shoulders slouched. “I
will
miss you,” he said. “And, that's no laughing matter.”

Chase and Alex finished
dinner and walked down to the harbor. It was warm and humid with a
light breeze coming in off the ocean. They stood beside the dock for
the small ferry running trips back and forth to Chappaquiddick
island. Alex bumped his shoulder into Chase's and Chase looked at
him. The smile on Alex's face told Chase the contact was deliberate.
The remaining weight pressed to his shoulder indicated Alex wanted a
whole lot more.

Chase held Alex's gaze and
watched emotion build in them. Chase turned slightly and ran his
fingertips down the length of Alex's arm. The simple touch turned
the emotion in Alex's eyes to lust.

“
I
want to touch you,” Alex said. “All over.”

Chase glanced around them.
The dock area was swarming with summer tourists. It was too risky
for them to show affection in public like this. A small group of men
nearby were looking at Alex and pointing. Without a disguise on, it
was likely Alex's identity had been acknowledged.

“
I
think we better keep walking,” Chase said.

No
sooner had he said it, the three men stepped closer to Alex, almost
surrounding him.

“
You're
Zander from Ivory Tower, aren't you?” one of the men asked with
excitement.

“
Can
you sign my arm?” another man asked. “I'll have it
tattooed tomorrow.”

“
Sorry,
dude, but I've got nothing to write with,” Alex said. He tried
to move, but they blocked his exit.

Chase saw a shadow of fear
wash over Alex's face, as two more people circled them. In seconds a
small crowd had formed. Several women had wiggled themselves in
between Chase and Alex; pushing Chase out of the way. Alex tried
walking forward, forcefully moving people out of his way with each
step he attempted. It didn't take long for Chase to realize Alex was
going to need help freeing himself. He lowered his shoulder and
began plowing into the crowd. He found Alex and tucked him behind
the bulk of his body using himself as a shield; his arm held Alex in
place. His other arm began pushing those in front of them out of
their exit path, as they inched forward.

“
Shows
over, people,” Chase yelled. “Zander is running late for
an appointment and we need to go.”

“
You
his bodyguard?” a young woman asked.

Chase looked down at her,
saw the deep cleavage revealed in her plunging tank top. “Yeah,
something like that,” Chase said.

By the time Chase had worked
them through the crowd, Alex had scratches on both arms and his linen
shirt was ripped.

“
How
do you put up with that shit?” Chase asked, as they hopped into
his truck.

“
Compared
to some of the mobs I've encountered, that was nothing,” Alex
said. He surveyed the wounds on his arms. Several of them were
leaking droplets of blood. He reached for a box of tissues from a
compartment in the dashboard and began cleaning himself up.

“
The
summer season here can get pretty crazy,” Chase said. “You'll
like it better in the off-season. People are much more sane and
everyone keeps to themselves.”

Alex looked at Chase. He
could only hope he'd be here long enough to experience off-season
life – a life with Chase and Danni. Alex looked out the side
window and watched the throngs of people moving about the town.

“
You
okay?” Chase asked. He set his hand on Alex's thigh and
squeezed.

“
I'll
be better once we get home,” Alex said.

-0-

Alex went straight for the
master bedroom when they returned to his house, explaining he needed
a shower to clean up the scratches. Chase followed and stood in the
doorway watching Alex unbuttoning his torn shirt. Alex eased the
shirt off his shoulders and balled it up to toss in the trash. Chase
saw the red marks on Alex's back when he faced the bed to toe-off his
sandals. He walked over to Alex and slid his arms around his waist.
Chase's fingers went to work on Alex's belt, then the zipper of his
shorts.

“
You
have a few long welts on your back,” Chase said. He kissed
Alex's shoulder, then pushed Alex's shorts off his hips.

“
How
bad are they?” Alex asked. He stepped out of the shorts
pooling at his ankles and kicked them out of his way.

Chase leaned back and
studied the scratches. He ran his tongue over the raised ridge of
one and Alex made a humming sound. “The skin isn't broken,”
Chase said against Alex's flesh. “Nothing is bleeding.”

Alex
turned in Chase's loose embrace and faced him. Another dark red line
on Alex's neck caught Chase's attention. His fingers lightly touched
the skin and Alex flinched.

“
This
one looks like a whip mark,” Chase said. He bent and kissed
the spot his fingers were touching. “No blood, but it's
bruised.” Chase dragged his tongue up the thick column of
Alex's throat and over the ridge of whiskered jaw to his mouth. His
lips hovered, then lightly brushing soft strokes over Alex's lips.
The grip Alex had around Chase's waist tightened and Chase did the
same to Alex.