Take What You Want (69 page)

“
That
wasn't all my fault, Lexi,” Adam said. “You need to own
some of that, too.”

“
I
owned the parts that were my fault,” Alex said. “You
running off the way you did, leaving me to deal with Sarah's death by
myself, that was all you. As was the serial cheating – again,
all you. Not me.”

“
I've
apologized for that,” Adam said. “But, you know how this
business works. If you pass on a job, they don't call you again and
I needed the work.”

Alex grinned, making note of
the smooth way Adam ignored the cheating reference. That alone, told
Alex his ex-lover had not changed. “Water under the bridge,”
Alex said with a shrug. “Besides, you and I only worked
because of Sarah. Without her, there was no 'us'.”

“
That's
bullshit,” Adam said. “It was you and I long before
Sarah joined us and we worked just fine.”

“
Look,
I'm not arguing about this,” Alex said. “You have your
version of things and I have mine. It was fucking years ago and none
of it matters now. I've moved on and so have you.”

“
You've
moved on?” Adam asked, glancing around the empty room. “And,
yet, you're still sleeping alone. How is that moving on?”

Alex walked into his
expansive kitchen at the back of the enormous house and removed a
bottle of water from the Sub-Zero refrigerator. “Who I sleep
with is none of your concern. And, even if I was alone – with
nothing but my hand for company, you'd be the last person I called to
help me out.”

Adam moved further into the
room and leaned against the kitchen table. “Still pining for
the island dude?”

“
Fuck
you,” Alex snarled.

Adam
smiled. “I'm sorry. I guess I hit a nerve with that one.”

Alex
stepped by Adam, forcefully bumping his shoulder into him as he left
the room. “I need some sleep,” Alex said. “You
know the way out.”

Alex took the stairs to his
master bedroom and slammed the door, then locked it. He made a
mental note to bitch-slap Wheland tomorrow because Alex knew he had
Wheland to thank for feeding Adam the new information about his life.
Wheland had no right to do that, no matter how pathetic he thought
Alex's life had become since his break-up with Chase and Danni. He'd
move on when he was damn good and ready to do so – and
certainly not because Wheland or anyone else thought he should.

Who's
fucking life was it? Not theirs. It was his life to live –
any fucking way he wanted.

Ah,
who the hell are you kidding, dickhead? You stopped living the
moment Chase turned you away. You're DISPOSABLE, and the sooner you
accept that fact, the better off you'll fucking be.

Alex used the remote control
to close his ceiling to floor blinds, sending his room into total
darkness; even though outside the sun was rising. The sudden absence
of light seeped into him, shrouding him with an emotional weight he
couldn't seem to shake no matter what he did. He pulled off his
clothes and rolled naked onto his bed and closed his eyes, listening
to the silence surrounding him. The stillness in the room epitomized
the emptiness he felt in his heart and in his life.

He was alone and he hated
it.

Chase
and Danni pulled into the long driveway for the guest house and
parked beside the garage. It had been weeks since Alex had left the
island, but Chase still hadn't gotten used to seeing the main house
in darkness. He was almost hoping a new tenant would move in, just
to see the house occupied again.

Almost.

Having
new people living in the estate would permanently shut the door for
Alex ever coming back. Deep down, Chase knew there was no chance of
that happening, but he couldn't help allowing that tiny sliver of
hope to reside in his heart.

“
The
house looks so weird without any lights on inside,” Danni said.

Chase
pulled her hand into his lap. “Really drives home the point
Alex is gone.”

“
Maybe
new tenants will move in soon,” Danni said.

“
Doesn't
sound like it,” Chase said. “Alex paid for his year
lease upfront; whether he's living in the house or not. And, he has
an option of renewing the lease beyond the year if he wants, too.”

Chase
parked his truck beside the garage in the usual spot and stepped
outside, coming around the front to help Danni down from her side.
He pulled her from the passenger side and slowly slid her down the
front of him, catching her mouth with his as her feet hit the
crushed-seashells in the driveway. His large hands cupped her butt
and rocked her against his groin.

“
I
want to take you inside and show you how much I love you,” he
said against her well-kissed lips. “Over and over, until
neither of us can move.”

Danni
whimpered. “It's been so long, Chase,” she said.

“
Feels
like forever, but I'm eager to change that – starting now.”

He took her hand and tugged
her along the pathway to the cottage. “Do you remember the day
you came back from Colorado?” he asked.

Danni squeezed his hand. “I
remember we didn't make it to the bedroom before you were inside me,”
she said.

Chase smiled as he unlocked
the door. “I thrust into you right here by the door,” he
said, putting his keys back into his pocket. “I damn near came
from that single slide into your wetness.”

She took his hand and eased
it beneath her skirt, bringing it to her bare mound and the moistened
folds. She heard his breath catch and the moan that rumbled in his
throat.

“
You're
soaking wet,” he sighed.

“
And,
you're talking dirty to me,” she said. “What did you
expect?”

Chase
smirked at her, then slid one arm beneath her butt and lifted her up.
Her legs parted to circle his waist and locked at the base of his
spine. “There's no doubt I am aching to be inside you, babe,
but I want to do this right. I'm taking you to our bed.”

Danni's
fingers curled around the solid column of his neck. She bent forward
and kissed him. She sucked on his tongue and he stumbled; bumping
his shoulder into the framed opening into the living room as he
carried her down the hallway to their bedroom. The closer they got
to the bed, their kiss deepened.

Chase
briefly pulled back from their kiss to set her onto the edge of the
mattress, then began stripping off his clothes as if the garments
were on fire. He needed to be naked, skin to skin with Danni. He
was desperate to feel the warmth of her flesh pressed to him. His
fingers tugged on his zipper; eyes glued to Danni's.

“
I
need to see all of you,” he panted. He smiled when she
shimmied out of her skirt and pushed herself up to the pillows. The
visual of her bare beauty made his heart clench. “Fuck, baby,”
he whispered.

Chase crawled up over her
and slowly dropped his weight down onto her. The perfect combination
of her softness yielding to his hard muscles made him groan. Cupping
her face with both hands he rubbed his lips against hers. She opened
for him and he slid his tongue back into the warmth of her mouth;
amping up his need by a thousand.

Danni's hands skimmed down
his back, kneading the muscles along the way, and settled on his ass.
She squeezed the knot of muscle and Chase arched into the touch.
Her fingers found his crease and trailed the length, then dipped
inside; seeking and finding his opening. Chase swore against her
mouth.

Chase tipped his hips
forward and thrust his cock into her, just as her finger breached his
entrance and he was lost to the sensation burning through him. She
rocked with him, grinding herself into each of his strokes, mounting
the pleasure faster than they could stay ahead of it. He wanted this
to last, but that wasn't going to happen this time around – not
with her finger spearing him each time he withdrew his cock from her
heat to thrust back into her.

“
I
can't hold off,” he panted. Beneath him, Danni bowed off the
bed; crying out as her orgasm took hold and Chase crashed with her;
pumping through the last few strokes, sending exquisite aftershocks
rippling through both of them to their core.

Chase slumped to her side,
trying to catch his breath. His fingers ran across her face and her
eyes lifted to his. Her smile made his chest ache. “Saying I
love you doesn't seem adequate,” he said softly.

“
I'd
agree,” Danni said. She cuddled up to him and he surrounded
her with his arms. She inhaled slow and deep; breathing him into her
lungs. “We were meant to be together, Chase. Forever.”

-0-

It was a solid two weeks
before they came up for air. Danni used vacation time from the
Pilates Center and Chase took time off, too. He moved her back into
the guest cottage and they slowly began rebuilding what they had
before their lives had been turned upside down. It felt stronger,
more cohesive, and Chase hadn't been this happy in weeks – not
since Alex. Fuck! Why had he let his head go there?

Because a piece of your
heart will always be there, idiot.

In the midst of all the
blissfully, sensual moments with Danni, there still seemed to be
something missing for him. Although their time together had been
brief, he couldn't help but feel the profound loss of Alex in those
moments. There was an ache deep inside him that only Alex could sate
and he wasn't sure how to articulate that to Danni without hurting
her. They'd worked so hard on reestablishing their bond and somehow
come out the other side happy. He couldn't risk losing her again.
Not now, when they'd come so far together.

With each week that passed
without seeing or hearing the sound of Alex's voice, he expected the
loss to become easier to deal with. It hadn't. The empty void Alex
left was becoming larger; darker, and he feared as the weeks turned
into months, he'd be consumed by it.

In those low moments, Chase
was tempted to call Alex, just to hear him talk. He wondered if Alex
was struggling like he was, then shrugged off the notion. He was
certain Alex had moved on by now. Alex had probably found someone
new as soon as his plane touched down in Los Angeles and settled into
his old routines. Maybe he'd found another tripod to occupy his bed
… and his heart.

Christ,
you sound pathetic!

Chase pulled Danni on top to
straddle his hips. He had already given her three orgasms during
their latest romp; this time on the living room couch, before he
allowed himself to finally succumb to the pleasure pulsing between
them. It seemed never ending; a constant flow of energy – in
and out of bed, and he never wanted it to stop. Even still, the
voice of Alex kept ringing in his head, reminding him of the need
that would never go away no matter how many times he fucked Danni.

He tugged her down pressing
her breasts to his chest and nudged his nose against hers, trying to
get a grip on his thoughts. Somehow he needed to figure out a way to
cope with this.

“
Let's
get married,” he blurted, feeling like he'd suddenly found the
answer to his restless heart.

Danni tipped her head back
to see his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“
Let's
do it now – not next year,” he said. “I don't want
to wait.”

She combed the hair back off
his forehead with her fingers and tears began to fill her eyes.
“What about Alex?”

Her question felt like a
kick to his chest. Chase pushed back a bit to the end of the couch,
creating more space between them. “I'm not sure what you
mean,” he said. “What does us getting married have to do
with him?”

Danni
rolled off his lap and sat at the end of the couch; tucking her feet
underneath her. “It feels like it has
everything
to do with him,” she said.