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Chapter 9
They left the charity event and headed directly back to the Ambrose residence for Tori to collect her things. She thought it best to do so while her parents were still at the party. They were never the first to leave any party and certainly they would remain to try and explain away Tori’s behavior. Of course, as she explained to Chase in the car, her attention grabbing scheme had been quite mild compared to what she had really wanted to do.
“I thought that climbing up on a table, screaming at the top of my lungs and smashing crystal glasses wouldn’t go over very well. I wouldn’t be embarrassed, but you and everyone else there might have been,” she declared. “So interrupting the music to make a nice little speech seemed much more appropriate.”
“It was very appropriate given the fact that your parents weren’t listening,” Chase agreed. “And I see now that I didn’t really listen to you much the past few weeks either. I’m sorry.”
Tori gave a small shrug. “I’ve been obstinate. I understand.”
“So…where do we go from here?” Chase asked wondering if Tori had any more insight than he did. He hadn’t a clue how to proceed. All he knew was that he enjoyed her, he desired her and he didn’t want her running off again.
“Well, if you park in the drive, we can go inside,” Tori joked and Chase allowed the joke to stand as an answer for now. He wouldn’t push. He wouldn’t do like he’d done outside the barn two days ago.
“Sure,” he replied and parked the car.
They went inside and Tori led him up to her room. He’d expected to find some wild décor with black lights and hanging beads--something out of the ordinary that would have completely set Mary Ambrose off. What he found, however, was a room more fit for a ten year old girl.
The walls were a bright yellow and a very delicate flowered wallpaper border ringed the top edges. The curtains were light and feminine and a simple white eyelet bedspread adorned the bed and matched the white furniture. Framed prints of famous Impressionist painters hung in a few choice spots on the walls and a big brown teddy bear that looked like he’d seen better days sat smack in the middle of the bed.
Chase glanced around with a furrowed brow of confusion until Tori asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Is this your room?” he asked. “Not a guest room or a…”
“It’s my room,” Tori answered and when she saw the look on his face had not changed she asked, “What’s wrong with it?”
“Nothing really, except…its pretty virginal, isn’t it?”
Tori blushed slightly and turned her eyes away from him.
When Chase saw the embarrassment he just had to ask, “Are you?”
“Am I what?” Tori asked defensively, a hand on her hip.
“Are you as innocent as this room, sweetheart? I never did inquire, I just assumed all women by the age of twenty-four weren’t.”
Tori visibly swallowed and explained, “This room shows my softer side, that’s all. And I never bothered redecorating it after high school because I had planned to be gone. Leaving just took a while longer than I had planned because of the…money issue.”
There was that money being thrown back into the mix, but tonight, Chase would ignore it.
“Okay, but you still haven’t answered my question,” he told her pointedly and watched her fidget some.
“No!” she shot out more defensively than angrily. “I’m not. I mean…not exactly.”
“What does that mean?” Perhaps if he had inquired before, Tori wouldn’t have been so standoffish to him these past few weeks. Maybe if he had been sensitive enough to ask her about her sexual experiences before their marriage, they would have enjoyed a proper honeymoon instead of playing games for the past few weeks.
“It means I went to college.”
“What?”
“In college…you know, there’s lots of boys and…well, I was curious. But…we were both really new at it, so I’m not sure how right we got it.”
Tori’s explanation should have had him rolling on the floor, but he knew if he did that, she’d rebel again and kick him out the door.
“And what about you?” Tori immediately countered and Chase merely threw her a cocky look and said, “Darlin’, I was in the Marines for four years, of course I’m no virgin.”
Tori giggled, her face still tinged with pink and said, “I didn’t know you were in the military.”
“Yes, out of high school. That was my rebellious stage. Drove my father crazy
thinking I was never coming home. But…I learned my lesson, figured out that
home was a much better place than a sand dune in the
“Hmmm, I don’t know. Camouflage and I don’t mix. Too structured for my wild tastes, you know. Maybe having a husband will straighten me out.”
Chase reached for her and drew her against his body. She was just too damn delicious looking in that clinging dress. She smiled at him and he made certain she was comfortable with his hold before he slowly slid his hands down the sides of her dress and over her hips.
“And maybe your husband will make sure you’re having sex correctly this time,” he added and placed a soft, lingering kiss on her lips.
Tori snuggled closer into his embrace and Chase’s hands wrapped around to her backside, cradling her bottom.
“Hmmm, maybe,” she said vaguely.
“Maybe? Well, I suppose that’s better than ‘never in a million years’,” he joked.
Tori blushed slightly, but she didn’t pull from his embrace. He was paying very close attention to the look in her eyes and the tension in her body. At any point that he began to sense she was feeling too uncomfortable, he would quickly back off.
“I have a feeling no woman could resist you for long, Chase, regardless of their experience or lack of,” Tori admitted. “And…much of my resistance was because of my lack of experience.”
Chase rubbed his hands up her back, felt her shiver slightly, and then ran them back down, returning to settle on that firm little bottom he couldn’t get enough of.
“And the rest of your resistance had to do with the fact that you didn’t want to be married to a heathen rancher who was trying to swindle you out of your trust fund?” he questioned.
“Something like that.”
Nimble fingers with the faintest pink-painted nails fiddled with the buttons on his shirt more out of curiosity than anything else. He waited for Tori to continue because Chase had a feeling she had a lot more to say.
“But then,” Tori continued, “we spent that evening on the sofa and…I realized I could like you. I realized you had a softer side. I thought perhaps I could get used to life with you, given time. But then…that jerk in the barn had to ruin everything. I was caught off guard by what Seth did to me and…I know I was using you as a shield to protect me.” She glanced up at him again, a small smile barely pulling at the corners of her mouth. “Funny, I’ve never needed a shield before. I used to get so angry with my dad when his friends on the Dallas PD would refuse to arrest me for my many disruptive protests. My friends would get the usual disturbing the peace fines and I would just get to go home. I had always wanted to feel like my parents saw me as a grown up and leave me to lead my own life and then…damn Seth, he made me grow up really fast. I wasn’t prepared.”
“I know,” Chase said softly and involuntarily moved his hands up to the small of her back. If they were going to discuss that day in the barn, he’d rather not have her recount her fears while his hands were lingering on private places.
“And you were just trying to point that out to me. You didn’t want a child for a wife, you wanted a woman. You wanted me to face that and I couldn’t. So…I ran.”
“Yes. But I told you to. I see now that it was both our faults. Two days ago, I didn’t see it that way. Tonight, I do.”
Tori smiled fully and took his hands and slid them back down to her backside.
“I’ve done an awful lot of growing up in the past few days. You can touch me. I don’t mind,” she insisted. “In fact, I rather like it. I’ll admit I’ve been attracted to you from the moment I saw you. But…well, I never could have guessed you were attracted in return. Monica was always the sister who gets the male attention. I don’t.”
“Yes, and Monica seeks it out, you don’t. But I’m not interested in a woman like her. I’m only interested in you. I took a vow to be solely interested in you. That’s why it hurt so badly when you told me to find pleasure in other women,” Chase confessed, thinking back on that night several weeks before.
“I realize you have been very serious about this marriage deal from the start.”
“And you haven’t,” Chase added. “You feel trapped. But darlin’, I don’t want you to feel trapped. I want you to enjoy our marriage.”
Tori’s eyes scanned down the front of his shirt. Her hands slid up his arms. She was assessing him, looking him over, and Chase wondered just what she would see now that she was being so much more reasonable in regards to their relationship.
“How about a compromise?” Tori suggested. “I’ll let myself get to know you and you get to know me. I’ll move into your room. I’ll…” She visibly gulped, took a deep breath and glanced up at him with renewed confidence. “I’ll let you ensure that I really know how to have sex the right way and…”
Chase cut her off despite the confidence he saw in her eyes. She had made up her mind, but he was hesitant to accept the offer because of what had so recently happened.
“Tori, you don’t have to. Not this soon. Not yet. I can wait. We can wait,” he argued.
Tori grinned teasingly up at him. “My, my, Chase. Are you not as virile as you seem to be? Are you afraid to teach your wife a few things?”
He chuckled. “Certainly not!”
“Then, let me finish. We can grow this relationship some because I’ve come to care about you as a person. But…and this is a huge but right now…lets not even start picking out baby furniture or names yet. I’m nowhere near there. I’m…I’ll need a lot more time.”
“I think that’s reasonable,” Chase agreed and then he ran his hands over her hips and backside again and asked, “Damn, Tori, are you wearing anything under this dress?”
“Barely,” Tori stated with a laugh. “Why?”
“Always has been a fantasy of mine,” he said as he nipped at her neck.
She giggled, started to tug him toward the bed and said, “We could fool around for a while, my parents shouldn’t be back for a few hours yet.”
Chase halted and yanked her back. He kissed her long and deep. He kissed her until he was hot and bothered and she was whimpering with need. He liked this new agreement. He liked the potential it had. But he wasn’t going to fulfill any need or fantasy here.
“Let’s just go back to my hotel suite,” Chase countered.
“But…why?” Tori asked, bewildered. Hadn’t she just offered herself up to him? Hadn’t she admitted she couldn’t hold out another moment? And that kiss! It had nearly made her collapse with desire. What was his hesitation now?
“Because, sweetheart, as much as I crave you right now—especially in that dress—I refuse to have sex with my wife in a room that has a teddy bear watching from the bed,” Chase declared.
Tori giggled, relieved, and reached for the stuffed animal, breaking the embrace between her and Chase.
“All right. But you might be disappointed to know that he’s coming with me. I’ve had him since I was born,” Tori said, hugging the bear against her chest.
“As long as he stays in the guestroom, fine,” Chase drawled.
Tori looked at him with a long, searching gaze and asked with some insecurity, “You really want me, Chase? After…after everything…you really want me?”
Chase touched her cheek so silky and smooth and answered resolutely, “Yes.”
“I’ve been a brat,” Tori insisted.
“And I’ve been a tyrant like you pointed out earlier. We can find a way to live with each other’s faults.”
“Maybe we can,” she said and then collected a small duffle bag, held tightly to her teddy bear and walked hand in hand out of her parents’ home with Chase.
**
Yes, perhaps they could learn to live with each other’s faults if the fire they created by simply kissing was any indication.
Tori anticipated their joining for the first time with both excitement and anxiety. She knew that was partly why she had behaved so badly to him any time they had gotten close or intimate. She had been scared. How would she measure up? Would Chase be disappointed? But now that she’d confessed her lack of experience to him, he seemed quite understanding about it all. In fact, even as they were standing at the foot of the large bed in the plush hotel suite, stripping Chase of his tuxedo jacket and tie and kissing with that fire they produced, Chase still had the decency to stop and ask if this was what she really wanted.
“We could wait, you know,” he told her.
Tori had smiled tauntingly at him then and asked, “Chase, dear, are you nervous about making love to your wife?”
He’d laughed and pulled her against him. She could feel his need and knew he really didn’t want to stop.
“I’m just giving you an out,” he mumbled against her lips. “I’m just giving you time.”
One by one, Tori popped the buttons on his white shirt and stared in awe at the finely muscled chest that awaited her. She had seen the gym he had in that downstairs room by the pool and it was obvious he used it. When she’d slept in his bed for those two nights after the incident with Seth Majors, she’d felt solid muscle beneath his T-shirt, but had not seen it. He’d been almost modest around her for her own comfort but now she had a chance to see what she pleased and she liked it all very much.
Running her hands over his bare chest, Tori said, “You have a nice body. I’m glad I have a husband with a nice body. That’ll make this so much better. Right?”
Chase chuckled at her again and inquired, “Just how long did you say its been since you’ve done this, darlin’?”
Tori bit her lip and confessed, “Uh, five years. And I didn’t really like it much then.”
“Hmmm,” he said thoughtfully and pushed his hands through her short, choppy hair. “I won’t lie to you, it may take some practice. Especially if you’re as uptight as you are now.”
“I’m not…” She was about to argue with him because it had become her habit to do so, when she nodded and confessed, “Perhaps I am. But don’t let that stop you. Don’t let anything I say stop you.”
“As long as you don’t slap me again,” he warned gently.
Tori smiled up at him. “Oh, I don’t plan to.”
Then she leveled her gaze back on his chest, reached out and touched it, and watched as his skin reacted. In fact, she saw that Chase reacted to her in a lot of ways. When she kissed him, he groaned with pleasure. When she gently nipped at his neck, he shivered slightly. She wasn’t the only one who was turned on by their love-making and when she boldly reached out and stroked him through his pants, she felt just how aroused he was.
Feeling that she could do that to him relaxed her some and when he gently urged her onto the bed, she obeyed.
Chase’s hand trailed up her thigh, pushing her dress along with it. She liked his touch, very much, and she couldn’t remember ever being touched so tenderly and passionately.
Her dress was at her waist now and she hadn’t even registered how it had moved so far, so fast. She should have felt self-conscious, for all she wore underneath were skimpy, see-through lace underwear. She hadn’t put them on tonight with the thought of ending up in Chase’s bed, but now that she was there, she was glad she had something sexy to show him. Normally, she didn’t feel like a sexy woman, but the way Chase touched her made her feel just that.
Chase pulled her dress over her head and tossed it to the floor. His eyes scanned her body hungrily, then he kissed her bare stomach, teased a nipple through her barely-there lace bra and then shocked Tori by making the boldest of announcements.
“Sometime in the very near future when we go to another one of these black tie events, you’re not going to wear anything under your dress. That’ll keep me aroused all night, sweetheart, and I can just imagine how much fun it’ll be meeting up in the coatroom then.”
Tori looked stunned for a moment and asked quite incredulously, “Do people really use the coatroom for that?”
Chase grinned, never answered her question, and then popped the clasp on her bra and took each peaked nipple into his mouth until he drew out a cry of pleasure.
He continued to kiss her and touch her and Tori realized she hardly had the chance to do so back to him. Then again, she was still contemplating the big finale to this all and admittedly, part of her was scared.
God, she remembered so little from that night with…what was his name? She’d been nineteen and they’d dated for a while, mostly as friends. It had been such an innocent relationship and then they’d started talking about trying out the physical side because they were both curious. Nervous and curious, she remembered.
Paul. That was his name! Paul…something. He had been such a sweet guy and a little more conservative than she in his political views. But that hadn’t mattered as they’d shared a six-pack of beer and clumsily tried out their love-making.
The alcohol had loosened their inhibitions as they’d hoped and made the experience laughable rather than embarrassing. She hadn’t felt much—either good or bad--with him. And now that she was in the hands of an obvious expert and had no alcohol in her system, she wondered just how this would all end.
With Paul, after their one shared experience, they’d quickly drifted apart. Tori had thought that perhaps she had somehow done things wrong that night. But what it really had boiled down to was the fact that they had both been too young and immature to keep up that kind of relationship. And since then, well, Tori had been interested little by sex and men because that one flat experience had proven to her that passion was just something authors created in silly romance novels.
Suddenly, she gasped. Chase’s hand was gently sliding underneath her panties and it was the most stimulating touch she had ever experienced. Perhaps passion wasn’t so fictional after all! This, after all, was heavenly.
She turned her head to look at Chase and he had already shed his pants. He only wore blue boxer-briefs and that material hugged his thighs like a glove and did little to hide his incredible desire.
“Where’d you disappear to, honey?” he gently questioned her and halted his touches to gain her attention. “You were gone for about two minutes. Having second thoughts?”
It was her last chance to back out but Tori realized that if she didn’t get it over with now, she’d grow too afraid of trying it again. Then it would only be a dark cloud that hung over their relationship and they’d never be able to communicate effectively. They had enough going against them, this didn’t have to be one of them.
“I was just thinking about…something. I’m not backing out,” she said resolutely. “We need to get this over with.”
Chase chuckled and gathered her in his arms, rolling to his back and taking her with him. She loved the feel of him beneath her and she felt the natural urge to press her hips closer to him. When she did, he groaned and nipped at her neck.
“Get this over with?” he questioned against her neck. “Darlin’, it won’t be torture.”
“So you say,” she said lightly, knowing that she could have easily upset him with her earlier remark.
“And so I promise,” he insisted suddenly sounding very tender. “I can’t promise you’ll feel fireworks right away. Like I said earlier, it may take some time for you. But I promise you won’t be tortured.”
“Mmmm, sounds like a good deal,” she quipped with sarcasm.
Chase chuckled again and began tugging at her panties. His hand gripped her bottom and pulled her tightly against him.
“I’ll do anything you like,” he told her seriously.
Tori shrugged. “I would have no clue what that is.”
“Ah, so that first time was very, very, very limited, huh?”
She nodded.
“Well, over the next few weeks, we’ll just have to remedy that, won’t we? I’ll give you all the experience you like,” Chase promised and kissed her again.
Those kisses were intoxicating and Tori seemed to know that only Chase existed when his lips claimed hers. But as she felt her underwear disappear and watched as Chase started pulling at his, she was reminded of one slight problem.
“Uh, Chase,” she said, halting him with her hand on his. “Earlier, remember? I told you…I don’t want kids right now. How will we…?”
“Oh, right,” he said with a slight groan and pushed from the bed. “Don’t go anywhere.”
He disappeared into the bathroom and Tori took the opportunity to switch off the light and pull the bedcovers down. Alone, she suddenly felt self-conscious of her nakedness. It was silly, but…well, given time she’d get over that.
Chase returned a moment later and if he was stunned by Tori turning out the light and slipping under a sheet, he didn’t comment. He did, however, have something to say about birth control.
“If you’re really intent on waiting for a baby,” Chase said as he sat down on the bed next to her, “we’re going to have to get you to see a doctor for birth control. Good thing this hotel is prepared for us. To be honest, I’m too old to be hunting down condoms all the time like a teenager.”
Tori giggled. “You’re not too old, Chase. Give it another few weeks of living with me, then you’ll feel too old for anything.”
Chase gathered her to him and brought her naked chest up against his. Nuzzling her hair, caressing her bare back, he murmured, “You’re not so difficult to live with Tori. Quite exciting, actually. I adore your spunk and…well, let’s try to work at becoming a real couple. Let’s…let’s just work on us. Okay?”
They were sweet and reasonable words. Tori nodded, felt the heat of his skin against hers and forgot modesty as she kissed his neck, touched his chest and rekindled that desire that had been building before the necessary disruption.
So when Chase gently pushed her back on the bed and laid between her legs, she wasn’t nearly as hesitant as before. Chase truly wanted to create something with her. Two people, practically strangers, were trying to forge out something in this world and though Tori thought it odd how they had come to be connected, they still shared obvious desire for one another. So tonight, she was giving herself to a man whom she had insisted would never have her and she was actually feeling relief that the time had finally come.
Chase continued to kiss her, to tease her lips with his own as he slowly, very slowly parted her legs more. She obliged him, knowing that he was the expert after all, and then felt him start to push inside her.
At first, she gasped and resisted.
Chase simply halted, kissed her and touched her some more until she would relax and allow him to push further inside.
It wasn’t that it hurt, it was just unusual and as she adjusted and took calming breaths she started to feel more comfortable.
To distract herself, she touched the taut muscles in Chase’s arms as he braced above her. She watched the fire that lit up his brown eyes as passion built within him. She concentrated on the erotic thrusts that were bringing him deeper and deeper inside her, filling her to her limit. She listened intently to Chase’s deep voice as he told her again and again how beautiful she was. And as she concentrated on everything else, she was caught off guard by the sudden fire that erupted in her gut.
It wasn’t completely intense. It wasn’t entirely earth shattering. But it was something she hadn’t felt the first time she’d made love and so she gasped with shock and felt the air leave her lungs. Chase, obviously aware of the change she had experienced, suddenly became more demanding in his movements. His teeth nipped gently at her lips, his hands raked harshly through her hair and his hips drove him almost savagely into her.
She couldn’t believe the intensity she had driven Chase to. He was feeling that pleasure from her? She was stunned, she was in awe but mostly, she realized that she didn’t entirely hate what had happened. In fact, she rather liked it and knew that given a few more tries, she’d feel so much more.
Chase’s chest was heaving with the effort of breathing when he halted his movements. There was an almost exhausted look on his face and he smiled down at her, tenderly kissed her lips and then very slowly slid away from her.
“And to think, you were afraid to do that,” he teased gently as he stroked her face.
“It wasn’t so bad,” Tori said.
Chase chuckled. “Not so bad? Well, from my perspective, it was pretty damned good.” He sobered, pushed up to an elbow and stared down at her face. “Like I said, Tori, with a little practice, you’ll be addicted.”
Tori threw him a small smile. “Actually, it was more than ‘not so bad.’ I felt something pretty intense. And you’re right, we’ll have to practice some more.”
Immediately she caught his face in her hands and started kissing his mouth. It appeared as if she was revved for more and Chase gently pulled back and said, “Darlin’, I’m afraid you have to give a guy a bit more time to recover than that.”
“Oh?” she asked quite innocently.
“Yes, oh,” he replied. “But meanwhile, let’s take a hot shower and intimately acquaint ourselves with each other’s bodies.”
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Reluctant Bride – Chapter 10