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Chapter 6
Chase awoke alone on the couch and he blinked several times to get his eyes to focus. He was positive Tori had been next to him most of the night, he just wasn’t sure when she had left. He pushed himself up and felt his muscles groan. That’s what he got for sleeping on the couch instead of in his bed, but he doubted Tori would have gone with him to his bed last night, so he’d simply left them both to sleep together on the couch.
Her petite body had snuggled against his all night and it had taken him quite a while to fall asleep. She’d been dead to the world hours before him and that’s probably why she was already awake and gone.
Sophie walked into the room right on cue, as usual carrying a cup of coffee with her. She eyed Chase with humor, set the cup down on the coffee table and put her hands on her hips.
“So, was last night a success?” she inquired.
“Well, she didn’t profess to hate me and she slept here most of the night…I think.”
Chase sipped at the coffee and rotated his neck. It was slightly stiff.
“Where is my wife now, anyhow?” he asked.
“Up and gone to the horse barn to tend to that calf. I’d say she’s been up and about an hour now. And you overslept. Your phone messages are pilin’ up.”
Chase sighed. Last night had been relaxing, but now he had a business to run.
“I’ll get to them,” he insisted. “Just as soon as I can stand up.”
“Too much beer?” Sophie asked.
“Nope, just remind me never to sleep on the couch again.”
Sophie laughed and waved to him over her shoulder. Chase glanced down at the spot on the couch that he and Tori had shared and he sighed again. It would have been nice to wake up with her in his arms. It would have been damn nice! But with Tori, everything had to be done in little baby steps and as long as they continued to move forward and not back, he would be patient.
**
He heard Tori’s giggle as he entered the horse barn around lunch time. She was in the end stall with the calf and he thought she was alone until he heard the male voice comment, “See, I told you you’d get the hang of it in no time.”
“Thanks so much, Seth, I owe you,” Tori was saying and when Chase halted in front of the stall and looked inside, he saw his young ranch hand assisting Tori with the feeding of the very eager calf.
“Hey, darlin’,” Chase said both to get Tori’s attention and to remind that young cowhand just who’s wife he was flirting with.
“Hi, Chase,” Tori said back. “Look, she’s eating. Finally.”
Chase frowned. “Wouldn’t she feed last night?”
“No, sir,” Seth answered and he quickly stepped away from Tori. “The hands that were on last night said she just laid there. And this morning, well, until your wife came along, this little gal didn’t want anything to do with that bottle. We just now persuaded her to eat.”
“Sometimes they’re just stubborn,” Chase surmised. He wanted to add that cows could be stubborn just like his wife, but he refrained.
“Well, she’s eating now,” Tori said triumphantly. “She’ll get the hang of it and cooperate now, won’t she, Seth?”
An irritated muscle twitched in Chase’s jaw because Tori was addressing Seth with all her cattle questions instead of him and he’d be damned if he wasn’t jealous. He’d never been jealous in his life until he’d taken on a wife, now the thought of how much attention that stupid calf was getting was even causing the green-eyed monster to arise in his gut.
“She should,” the young man answered and then began to back out of the stall.
“Well, I should get back to my chores. I have plenty to do,” Seth was saying and Tori looked after him and frowned.
“He sure high-tailed it out of here,” Tori remarked once the boy was gone.
“He has work to do,” Chase reiterated and then nodded to the calf. “When you’re done there, how about coming into the house for some lunch?”
“No, I’m fine. I ate a big breakfast. I should stay with Ellie.”
“Ellie?”
“The calf,” Tori answered and Chase groaned.
“Tori, honey, you don’t go naming livestock that are going to end up on someone’s dinner plate,” Chase told her and he watched as Tori’s face paled and tears rimmed her eyes.
“No, Chase. Not Ellie. I’m raising her, she’s not going to be sold for hamburger!” Tori’s stubborn chin jutted out and a blue fire was lit in her eyes. He wasn’t going to win this argument, because he knew if he even tried to sell that cow when she came of age, Tori would handcuff herself to its neck and never let go. But he was certainly going to let her know what his ranch was all about.
“Tori, you need to realize that I don’t raise cattle for pets. I’ll let you keep this one, but if you pitch a fit over every cow I sell for slaughter, we’ll go bankrupt.”
Tori saw the annoyed glint in his dark eyes. He looked dangerous when he was mad and she realized that she made him angry quite often. Her actions, her words, her wants were trying his patience and when he got impatient he wasn’t the same man she’d seen last night over dinner.
“Chase,” Tori said to him, “I don’t like it when you get impatient with me. We’re different you and I, and you need to accept it or let me go.”
“I’m not letting you go,” Chase growled through clenched teeth, his anger rising at her words. “You’re my wife, my family, and I don’t plan on trying this more than once.”
“I realize you’re not a man accustomed to giving up, but maybe you’ll have to,” Tori said sadly and at her words, Chase swiftly entered the stall.
The calf pulled away from the bottle and sat in the straw, seemingly content and so Chase took the bottle from Tori and set it upon the half-wall of the stall.
Taking Tori by the shoulders he said, “What happened in the hours between last night and now that have made you change your mind? I thought we were getting along?”
“Last night, we were. This morning, you’re grumpy,” Tori remarked.
Chase let out a loud sigh and explained, “Maybe because I’m jealous as hell that some dumb calf and a cowboy half my age are getting more attention from you than I get.”
Tori’s mouth gaped open in shock. “I don’t ignore you, you ignore me. And there’s nothing wrong with Seth. It’s not like I have any other friends out here.”
“Tori, Seth Majors is not the kind of boy looking for friends. Trust me on this.”
“He’s harmless,” Tori cried. “And since when am I your slave who has to obey every order? I can make my own decisions, thank you, and find my own friends.”
Chase cursed and backed away. He had wanted to keep moving forward with Tori, not backward again, but if that was the way she wanted it, he would gladly return to the seclusion of his office and leave her to her damned calf and cocky young friend.
“Fine,” Chase relented. “You make your own friends and you make all your own decisions. I won’t say a damn word again! But don’t you come asking me for anything. Understand? I’ve tried, Tori, and you just won’t see that, so from now on, no more concessions, no more generosity from me. You think I’m an ogre, well, I’ll be an ogre.”
A dark shadow crossed over his face and mixed with his black hair and goatee and Tori feared what he would do. But he did nothing other than turn away from her and stalk out of the barn. She heard the heavy echo of horse hooves a few minutes later and was positive the man had taken off for a ride. Good riddens, she thought and she hoped he never came back as she sank to her knees in the straw and cried.
**
Tori was positive she’d cried way too long over a man she hadn’t known long enough when she heard foot-steps in the barn. She didn’t know why she had cried for hours over Chase other than the fact that she was still angry and depressed over this life she’d been virtually forced into.
She had few choices. If she left Chase, she’d get no money from her parents and if she remained, well, it would only be continued heartbreak. There were times when she truly thought she liked the man. He could be generous and tender and considerate. Not to mention she’d found him sexually attractive from the moment she’d laid eyes upon him. But they were very different people, with very different goals in life, and Tori felt as if she had gone from one prison in the form of her parents’ house to another in the form of marriage to Chase.
He certainly enjoyed telling her what to do and what really angered Tori was that most of the time he was right. He didn’t berate her like her mother had always done, but he certainly put things to her bluntly and she hated that. Why couldn’t the man be wrong for once? Just once.
When she looked up she saw Seth standing at the stall door. He looked concerned and Tori quickly wiped at her face. But erasing the tears would not get rid of all evidence of her sadness because she was positive her cheeks were stained and her eyes puffy and red.
“Something wrong, Tori?” Seth asked gently and Tori realized that Chase had been awfully wrong about his young cowhand. Seth was a nice boy. He was only interested in helping her with the calf. He was being friendly to the boss’s new wife and she could trust him to continue to be so.
“Is the calf all right?” he quickly asked and Tori shook her head.
“No, she’s fine, Seth. I’m just…never mind.”
Seth quickly entered the stall and closed the door behind him. He knelt down in the straw in front of her and gave her one of his dimpled smiles.
“When I saw you crying there, I thought for sure something had happened to that little baby,” he said sweetly and wiped at her cheek with his fingers. “I’m glad she’s all right, but can’t you tell me what’s wrong?”
Wanting desperately to talk to someone about her troubles with Chase, but knowing it was a bad idea to say anything to Chase’s cowhands, Tori shook her head.
“Its personal,” she said and started to back away.
Seth caught her arm and pulled her back toward him. His hand landed on her face and he smiled at her again.
“Come on, baby, you can tell me. It’s that no account husband of yours, ain’t it? I’ve heard some of the things he’s said to you. And I tell you, if you were my woman, I certainly wouldn’t be bossing you around like you were one of my cowhands.”
Something in Seth’s eyes changed in that instant and Tori froze. Suddenly, he was no longer the sweet boy who had been assisting her with the calf. Now, he was a predator seemingly more dangerous than Chase. At least Chase never looked at her with a threat in his eye. Chase was determined, sure, but he still respected her space. When she tried to pull away from Seth, he wouldn’t release her.
“Seth, what are you doing?” Tori asked, hoping her voice didn’t waiver too much.
“I’m just going to show you how a real man treats his women, that’s all,” Seth revealed and the grip on her arm tightened.
“Seth, let go. Now!” Tori said and yanked her arm free. She tried to stand, but Seth yanked her down to the straw and she landed with a thud on her back.
“Come on, sweetie, I know you haven’t been coming down here just to see that little calf. I know you’re lonely.” His hand moved to the snap on her jeans and Tori screeched and kicked at him. He straddled her, securing her legs and when she swung at his face and connected once, he snarled at her and forced her arms over her head.
It angered her to no degree that he was able to hold both her wrists in one of his hands. He was stronger than his slim body looked at first glance and with his free hand, he began working on the buttons of her yellow sleeveless top.
“Stop, Seth!” Tori ordered as she bucked and tried to unseat him. But he weighed more than her and she desperately looked around the stall hoping there was something she could grab to use as a weapon. But the stall was empty aside from straw and the now sleeping calf and Tori began to feel despair.
“Don’t,” she said as more tears flooded her eyes. “Stop it. I don’t want this.”
“Sure you do,” Seth insisted as he tore at her shirt and the buttons popped off one by one. “You’ve been eyeing me since yesterday. I know when a woman wants me.”
“Well, I don’t. I don’t want you. I have a husband, damn it! I certainly don’t need you. Now just stop it and I won’t have to tell Chase.” She hoped that last threat worked but the man only pushed her bra aside and fondled a breast while he kissed her neck.
Tori felt sick to her stomach as his hands groped and she suddenly realized just how sheltered and naïve she was. Few men had ever touched her and certainly none like this, against her will. She’d always trusted people she had come in contact with and she had never thought for a moment she’d be in danger on Chase’s ranch. This was her home now after all and…God, the man’s hand was now tugging at her jeans.
With few options left, Tori took a deep breath and screamed, “No! Help! Someone! Chase!”
“Damn it,” Seth growled. “Shut up!” To quiet her, he forced his mouth over hers and Tori bit his lip as hard as she could. He yelled in pain and jumped back just enough to allow her to wiggle out from under him. But she didn’t get far before he grabbed her from behind and began tugging at her jeans again.
“If this is the way you want it, baby, then that’s how you’ll get it,” he insisted just as Tori kicked out and caught him in the gut.
“No! Chase! Please, Chase, help!” Tori screamed with all her might before she felt Seth grab her face harshly and squeeze until tears began to gush from her eyes from the pain.
She saw a wild demon loose in the man’s eyes and knew he had done this to other women before. There was nothing sweet or tender or caring about this man, it had all been an act before. And what a bold act he was playing out now, to try and take what he wanted from the boss’s wife when the consequences would be so damning in the end.
She saw the top few buttons of his shirt were undone and so were his jeans. The boy worked fast and as soon as he had her jeans down, she’d be completely at his mercy.
Then suddenly, Seth’s hand was off her face and she watched as his body tumbled out of the stall. She heard him grunt in pain then say, “She wanted it. She begged me.”
The sound of a fist slamming into a body met her ears and Tori crawled to the open stall door to see Chase beating the tar out of Seth. The boy’s face was already bruising and bloodied and every time he tried to stand, Chase beat him back down again.
“If you ever look at my wife again, Majors, you’re a dead man. Now get off my ranch. The foreman will send your severance pay and I’ll see to it that you never work in this county again,” Chase said and Tori feared the rage in his eyes. What would happen when he turned those eyes upon her? Would he blame her? Would he believe that she had invited Seth to touch her?
“I’ll have the sheriff out here to arrest you, McNamara,” Seth threatened weakly from the ground as he tried to button up his pants and scramble away simultaneously. “I’ll have you arrested for assault.”
“What assault?”
Chase nodded and added, “Please, Jake, keep this quiet…for my wife’s sake.”
“Of course.”
When the men were out of sight, Chase’s eyes landed on Tori and she shrunk back inside the stall. She feared what he would say next and just knew he would blame her. Heck, she was already blaming herself. If only she hadn’t gotten her shirt wet the day before or talked so nicely to Seth this never would have happened. Right?
Chase entered the stall and Tori hid in the corner, shivering and refusing to look him in the eye. She saw his boots carry him closer and halt a few feet from her. He said her name, but she only shook her head. He said it again, more firmly, and then squatted in front of her.
“Look at me, honey,” he said gently and slowly Tori turned her face to him.
“God damn him!” Chase cursed and Tori felt tears gush from her eyes at his words. He was angry. He would probably send her back to her parents and label her a whore.
“I should have killed him just now,” Chase said with a low growl and Tori looked up at him with wonder. “I should have just shot him between the eyes. That son-of-a-bitch low life! Did he hurt you badly? Did he…rape you?”
Tori shook her head and mumbled, “He tried. I didn’t…Chase, I didn’t do anything to make him think…” Her words trailed off and she cried more hot tears. She trembled and leaned into the wall, searching for some comfort, something to hide behind. She was ashamed and embarrassed and feeling guiltier by the second but still, she confessed bravely, “He touched me. I screamed for you.”
“I heard, sweetheart. I heard.” Then Chase reached out and pried her away from the wall. She resisted like a scared, trapped animal until he finally said, “Darlin’, it’s not your fault. I don’t blame you for a second for any of this. Let me take you inside and clean you up. Let me take care of you.”
Tori looked up at him with nothing but pain and sadness and guilt in her eyes as she asked, “You don’t blame me? Even after…you warned me?”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Chase repeated and only then did Tori come willingly into his arms.
Pushing his anger aside for he had already done enough damage to Seth Majors and it would do no good to pound him further now, Chase carried Tori into the house, up the stairs and straight into his room. He set her on the bed and knelt in front of her. Her face was bruising and there was a scratch on her chest. Her shirt was torn, her bra unhooked and the top snap of her jeans and zipper were undone. The cowboy had been very close to taking what he had wanted from Tori and if Chase hadn’t returned right when he did from his ride and heard her screams, who knows what would have come of this.
Self-consciously, Tori tried to hold her shirt together, but her hands shook and she constantly wiped at the tears falling from her eyes. Chase blamed himself for her predicament for if he hadn’t quarreled with her and stormed off, he would have been there to stop this. And if he hadn’t hired that worthless womanizer, this also wouldn’t have happened. But what made him feel the worst was that Tori was blaming herself.
“Tori, sweetheart, what do you want me to do? Shall I call the sheriff to report this?” Chase inquired.
Tori shook her head. “No, they’ll just say I asked for it.”
“No, they won’t.”
“Yes, they will. That’s how it works in the courts. I flaunted myself, right? I mean, you even said so yourself.”
“No, I didn’t. I was simply pointing a few things out to you yesterday and today. Things you weren’t aware of. You don’t flaunt yourself. Not for a moment have you flaunted or flirted with my men,” Chase refuted.
“But you told me to watch out for Seth.”
“Yes, but I never thought for a moment the boy would try this. Not for a moment. Hell, its nothing you did, nothing you said. Darlin’, you’re just full of life and so beautiful and Seth Majors is a low-life bastard who thinks every woman wants him. I’m sure he’s tried this or done this before to some other woman who did nothing wrong too.”
Tori finally smiled at Chase’s words for they were very supportive, and not once did he hint at blaming her. She felt the guilt rise from her shoulders and she took a deep steadying breath and touched Chase’s face.
“Thank you, Chase. Thanks for saving me,” she said.
“Any day, sweetheart, I’m your husband. I’m supposed to protect you.”
Tori nodded, feeling renewed strength in his declaration and then drew him into her arms. She hugged him against her chest for a long while and felt him hold her in return. The shaking left her body after a few minutes and when she drew back and looked at Chase, she felt a hundred times better.
He looked with concern at her bruises and scratches and he was careful to keep her shirt pulled across her chest. She shivered when he touched her scratch and he pulled his hand away and started to stand.
“I’ll get Sophie to attend to you,” he insisted and Tori caught his hand.
“No, I don’t want anyone else to know. Not yet anyhow. You can take care of me, Chase. Won’t you?”
“Of course I will. I just thought…you’d be more comfortable with a woman right now.”
Tori shook her head. “You rescued me, I only feel safe with you right now.” She tugged her shirt open a little and glanced down at the scratch there. “He was so rough. I feel…dirty. I didn’t like his hands on me. It wasn’t…” She halted and blushed as her eyes glanced up at him. “It wasn’t like when you touched me. Remember, the night before our wedding?”
“I remember,” Chase answered.
“I enjoyed that. I still think about it on occasion. You were so tender. You’d never hurt a woman, would you?”
“Never. Not like that, anyhow. But I’d bet you’d profess that some of my words sting.”
Tori shrugged. “We’ll have our arguments. That’s just the way things go. And today, yeah, your words caused me to cry. That’s when Seth came into the stall. He said I needed a real man and not one who didn’t know how to treat a woman. I told him I didn’t want to discuss my problems with him but he grabbed me anyhow.”
“Tori, you don’t have to tell me all this. Not now.”
“I know, but I want to get it all off my chest. I want to be free of it. I want to get rid of the feel of his hands on my face and my chest. I want…”
“A bath?” Chase suggested, feeling himself grow more angered by her account of the incident.
Tori nodded. “That would be nice. Yes. Thanks.”
“I’ll draw you a bath and when you’re done, it you want, you can tell me more.”
Tori agreed and watched as Chase moved through the open double doors to his bathroom. She’d never been in the master suite before and she had to admit she liked it. The room was large and yet cozy at the same time and the beige marble tiles of the bathroom sparkled from Sophie’s constant mopping. She cleaned like a mad woman and had refused any help from Tori besides allowing her to dust a little. All that tenacity paid off for the house was constantly immaculate.
She heard the water running in the tub and from the echo, she realized it was probably a large tub. She watched as Chase passed by once and returned with towels that he placed on the edge of the tub. Then he returned to the doorway and said, “It’ll be done in a few. Why don’t you get cleaned up and call me when you’re through? I’ll be in my office.”
Tori immediately shook her head as she watched him standing there in worn brown boots, faded Levi’s and a work-worn T-shirt. He was a fantasy looking so rugged and handsome, especially after how he had saved her today. And she didn’t want him gone. She didn’t want him anywhere but within her sights for the rest of the night. “No, Chase. Don’t leave me alone. Please, just…stay.”
He gave a shrug and gestured toward the bathroom behind him. “Go ahead. I’ll be here. I need a drink,” he revealed and as he moved to the mini bar in the far corner of the room he asked, “Do you want one?”
“No.” Tori moved into the bathroom and looked at the immense jet tub. It was barely full and she saw some bath oils and bubble bath standing in nice little rows in the corner by the tub. She dumped in some bubble bath, not even caring what scent it was, and as the water level rose, she stripped off her clothes, laid them in a pile and climbed into the tub.
Chase appeared a few moments later, a plain white T-shirt folded neatly in his hands.
“I didn’t think you’d want me pawing through your clothes in your room, so I just got you this from my drawer,” he said as he set it on the vanity counter and then looked everywhere but at her.
Tori found his nervous eyes strange for he had always been so bold before.
“Chase,” she said firmly, catching his attention, “you can look at me, I’m covered with bubbles.”
He chuckled lightly and looked down at her. “I suppose you are.”
“And maybe after what happened today, I don’t feel quite so modest around you.” She giggled as she looked down at herself in the tub. “Besides, I don’t have much to hide, do I?”
Then, self-consciously she folded her arms over her chest.
Chase forced himself to kneel next to the tub and not act so damned careful. Tori didn’t need him to be careful now, or nervous, or skittish. She needed him to be strong. She needed him to be supportive. She needed him to be a husband.
Taking a washcloth Chase poured fragrant smelling shower gel onto it and carefully removed one arm at a time from her chest and lathered it with soap. She glanced up at him appreciatively and he smiled and said, “What you’ve got is just fine. You’re proportional. Petite, but not skin and bones. A man, after all, has to have something to hang onto, but doesn’t want too much.”
She blushed and giggled again. Then suddenly she confessed, “My sister’s aren’t real.”
Chase laughed. He’d suspected as much and when he nodded, she smiled more.
“Monica always told me I should get enhancements,” Tori added. “That’s what she calls them, ‘enhancements.’ I simply call them plastic. Oh, how that irritates her. Then again, everything seems to irritate my perfect sister. She used to say I’d never land a decent husband without longer hair, more make-up and something bigger up top.” Tori paused and looked up at Chase. “Well, I’d say I’ve landed a damned finer husband than ole’ boring Roger Morse.”
“I’d say you have too,” Chase echoed.
“But I haven’t been very willing to claim you lately, have I?” Tori asked.
“No, not lately. But…it’s new. Give it time, Tori.” He’d told her that before and he told himself that everyday. Time. Just give it time and they’d be a real couple, a real family one day.
She nodded and fell silent as Chase moved to scrub her back. He was only covering exposed skin, again not daring to push things with her when she’d suffered so much trauma already. He was simply being gentle, caring, attentive. But damn if that caring touch wasn’t turning him on something awful!
“You’re willing to give it time even after I’ve been nothing but a spoiled brat for over two weeks?” she challenged. “Even after our…fight in the barn before…well, before that horrible incident?”
He nodded. “I told you, I don’t back down so easily. Is that surprising?”
She shrugged. “I took you for a determined man the day I met you.”
“And I’ll be that same determined man the day I die. Just give us time, okay?” he repeated and she nodded and suddenly her mood appeared contemplative.
Chase set the washcloth down on the edge of the large tub and stood. The bubbles were starting to dissipate and he caught a glimpse of one finely toned and tanned thigh. He didn’t want to be gawking tonight. Not tonight.
“I’ll let you finish and have Sophie send up some supper,” he announced.
Tori nodded and as he began to leave, she said, “Thanks, Chase, for being so understanding.”
He left, closing the door behind him and proceeded to change into a white T-shirt and dark blue cotton pajama bottoms himself. It was still early, but he had a feeling tonight would be ending early. The day’s drama was taking its toll on him and if he was tired, he could just imagine how exhausted Tori felt.
After changing, he found Sophie downstairs and asked her to bring up some food to his room. He wanted to confide in his housekeeper about the events today with Seth Majors, but out of respect for Tori’s earlier request, he refrained. Although, he had a feeling Sophie would handle things with Tori tonight much better than himself.
He returned to the bedroom and gently knocked on the bathroom doors. When he heard nothing, he slowly pushed it open, thinking perhaps Tori had fallen asleep, and saw her standing on the bath rug, drying off with a large fluffy towel. Her eyes darted to him with surprise and she gave a little yelp and held the towel up to cover herself. Then she visibly sighed and relaxed as she said, “Oh, its you. You startled me.”
“Sorry,” Chase started to say as he backed out.
“No, don’t leave,” Tori insisted and when Chase adhered to her command, she moved in front of him, wrapping the towel around her.
She’d washed her hair while he’d been gone and it was all pushed off her face giving her such a youthful glow. She scrapped a hand through it, then pulled a corner of the towel up and blotted at her damp face.
“I wanted to give you the chance to dress in peace,” Chase explained and again, he tried to leave.
“No, Chase, don’t,” she insisted again and this time her voice sounded almost desperate as her hand snaked out and latched a hold of his arm. She pulled him toward her and said, “While you were gone just now, I was sitting here thinking about today. I keep replaying everything in my head wondering if I should have said something different or acted different. Maybe I should have fought harder or…or not argued with you in the first place. I keep…”
“Don’t,” he told her and pressed his fingers to her lips.
She let go of his arm and tugged his fingers away. She held his hand hostage and said, “I have to. I told you, I have to. And I know you keep telling me it wasn’t my fault, but I’m still going to keep thinking I could have done something else, something more. That’s just the way it is, I guess. And I keep feeling…his hands on me. Even after my bath, I still feel those awful touches.”
She grimaced and shook her head then when she turned her eyes to his, Chase saw she had made up her mind about something.
“And I don’t want to fall asleep remembering those touches,” she said softly as she parted her towel and placed his captive hand on her chest. “I want to remember something more tender.”
“Tori…” Chase started to argue and she shook her head and reached up, cupping the back of his neck.
“Just kiss me, Chase. Please. Let me feel you, not him.”
Tori guided Chase’s head down to hers and then very gently she touched her lips to his. It was a tentative kiss and Chase let it remain so, allowing her to set the pace. Even his hand remained still against her breast, daring not to go forward with the instinct to touch and claim and tantalize. He would be a proper gentleman tonight and only do what Tori needed and wanted.
But when her tongue delved into his mouth, he almost lost his resolve. It was a quick flick at first and then she probed deeper and he groaned. He felt her smile against his lips and then her hand moved to frame his cheek with her palm and her teeth nibbled gently on his bottom lip.
“Touch me, Chase. You’re not touching me,” she said and it sounded like a very urgent order.
Chase carefully stroked her breast, being sure not to push the boundaries of her comfort zone. The only problem was, he wasn’t sure where that comfort zone was tonight. She was kissing him and begging him to touch her and she’d never before done that. He didn’t want to have their first time making love be the ending to such a horrible day. He just wouldn’t allow that to happen. When they did come together, it would be because the time was right for both and not a way to forget the horrors of the day.
Just when Chase was about to pull away and explain that to her, Tori stopped kissing him and sighed. Then she rested her head on his chest, clasped his hand in hers and snuggled contently for a long moment.
“I liked that. I needed that,” she murmured. “Thanks.”
“You’re very welcome,” Chase returned almost humorously but the tight pull in his groin was anything but humorous. Now, he’d toss and turn all night, thinking about how much passion his wife could stir up inside of him and knowing that for the time being, there was very little he could do to relive that stress.
“Come on,” he then said, “Let’s tuck you into bed and get you some food.”
Tori smiled, grabbed the borrowed T-shirt and followed him into the bedroom. He folded down the covers, propped up a few pillows against the mahogany headboard and waited for her to climb in.
She did so willingly, knowing that tonight, she needed to stay here with him. She tingled with his touch and the taste of his kiss and that made her feel one hundred percent more settled. She’d felt his desire in both his restrained kiss and in the reactions of his body. For the first time in a long while, she’d desired to do more. But she knew the timing was all wrong and that Chase, unlike some men, wasn’t going to push the situation with her tonight. He respected her and even after today with Seth Majors, Tori knew he wasn’t the kind of man to push a woman too far.
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Reluctant Bride – Chapter 7