To keep her safe.
She chose
Me.
Chapter 16
Charlie
Soft music played in the background; I loved to listen to music while I read. I loved keeping it low, letting it rumble just below the whispers of words and scenes that formed in my head.
I stood in Jase's kitchen, dressed in one of his button-down shirts, cooking a pot of chili. The smell of burning beans brought me to my senses, and I finally put down the book I was trying to finish and lowered the flame on the stove. I couldn't focus on anything I was doing when the fate of one of my fictional characters hung in the balance. There were only twenty pages or so left, and I was in desperate need of a happily-ever-after.
I deserved one.
"You're so beautiful," Jase's voice rasped from somewhere behind me. I froze in surprise, the spoon in my hand splashing into the pot and splattering sauce across the shirt I wore. The stinging burn of the steaming food made me curse as it landed against my skin where the huge shirt had fallen off my shoulder. A swarm of butterflies tore through my belly. He had come home early. I wasn't dressed, and I just ruined his shirt.
The ankle bracelet, the one he'd given me so long ago, clinked musically against the locket that hung from it as I whirled around to face him. I watched his gaze fall toward the noise.
How long had he been standing there?
He was leaning against the wall with one of those slow, uneven smiles that always made me melt, hands jammed into his pockets, watching me. Crap, I was talking to myself there for a minute, growling about the stupid heroine of the book. Why couldn't she just realize how much the hero wanted her? Why play coy? Because then there’d be no story?Stupid fictional characters.
Jase raked his teeth over his bottom lip and slowly slid his gaze up my legs until he tilted his head and locked his stare on mine.
He hesitated, taking a stuttered step, cautiously. Then, a steel band of determination crossed over his expression, and his strong, heavy strides devoured the distance between us.
My stomach flipped, and my heart did a strange rhythmic dance inside my chest. I closed the open parts of the shirt and tried to hold his stare. It was terrifying. There was so much intensity to it–it was breathtaking.
"Don't, Charlie," he said, his voice low, husky. I fisted the material a little tighter.
We stared at each other for a few quick heartbeats before his gaze fell to my mouth. I pulled the shirt tighter around me, hiding myself. "Don't cover up," he said.
I thought about the heroine in the book I'd just put down and how I was complaining about her actions. I thought about how people should never hide from their feelings and truths—how so much time always gets wasted. If this was the book of my life, I wanted to skim all the way to the good parts.
So, I dropped my hands to my sides.
The huge shirt slowly slipped from my shoulders, leaving me almost bare in front of him.
He stepped closer, eyes never leaving mine. His head tilted as he brushed past me, reaching behind me to shut off the burner on the stove. I wanted to tell him not to. I was making dinner for him. But those blue eyes had me wondering what was in his head, and I was desperate to know if it was the same thoughts that were in mine.
"What song is this?" he asked low, leaning his body closer to me, yet not touching me. The slow, sexy melody floated through the air, surrounding us.
"Take Me To Church," I answered, unsteadily. "By Hozier."
"I like this song," he whispered into my hair, warm breath fanning gently across my neck. His voice drifted softly and slowly, gently taking hold of my heart. And for the second time in my life, I could remember with clarity the moment I realized I was in love with Jase Delaney.
"Yeah...it's good," I said, lifting my face closer to his.
"Being this close to you always made it hard for me to breathe, Charlie."
Tears burned at my eyes; the bridge of my nose stung as I held his steady stare. "Being this close to you, Jase? It makes me feel like I haven't taken a deep breath in seven long years."
"Take me to church, Charlie. You were the only place I ever worshipped," he said, as he dipped his face toward me, brushing his lips against mine. His hands reached up and skimmed my cheeks, trailing down my face and neck, touching me like I was a long lost treasure. The soft touch was almost unbearable, a small whisper of a touch that moved over my skin—his eyes still fixed on mine.
"Can I kiss you?" he asked with a deep whisper.
I gasped out a sob as I nodded my head, too afraid to speak for fear my words would tangle with tears. The feeling in my chest was overwhelming.
