Chase
The other night at the party, in the bathroom, was torturous. Being that close to her, and not kissing her, not touching her all over, drove me crazy.
Lena was quite disappointed when I had the car drop her off straight from the event. She obviously had an expectation of how the night was going to end for her. There was no way I could touch anyone else that night. Not after the moment Maryellen and I shared in the bathroom.
I don’t know what made me follow her. It was almost instinct. But I had to.
And now, as I touched her, the feel of her skin under my finger wasn’t enough. I needed her in my arms. There was a desire to pull her to standing, push her against the wall, and rub my body against hers.
I knew I couldn’t touch her the way I wanted to. Not only did I promise her I wouldn’t, but I promised myself.
As my finger lingered on her knee, a small moan escaped her throat. Instead of pushing my hand away, she stared at it, then me. With eyes that betrayed her.
Any discipline remaining in me shattered.
“Maryellen.” I didn’t recognize the rasp of my own voice as I whispered her name. That was what she did to me. She changed me. I was never myself around her. “Do you know how much I’ve missed you? These past few months I’ve tried to forget and move on, but you make it impossible.”
My hand gripped her thigh through the material of her skirt as I leaned forward. I found my mouth against her throat as her pulse beat erratically against my lips. Her scent, a mix of woodiness with a touch of sweetness, intoxicated me as I moved behind her ear, my lips rubbing along the tender skin.
“Seeing you every day is like a slow torture for me,” I whispered into her hair.
Her head tilted back, granting more access to her slender, delicate neck. Her hand went around my head as her fingers threaded through my hair, and she held me in place.
She wanted this, too. I could feel it in the air around us. The sexual tension was palpable.
It had been too long since our lips touched. I cradled her face in my hand, desperate for our mouths to come together.
That was when she pulled away the slightest bit.
I knew I’d lost her. This wasn’t happening.
“I’m sorry,” I told her. And I was, for making her uncomfortable. I wasn’t sorry for finding out she still wanted me, in some small way.
As I watched her smooth her skirt and fix her hair, I was able to see her, really see her, for a quick moment. She briefly let her guard down, and when she did, her expression altered.
Her downturned eyes stared at the ground in front of her, and her movements were slower than normal. She seemed sad. For a second, I had hope she’d been missing us and what we had. I knew she was afraid of Gage finding out, company policy and all. Shit, I was the fucking boss here too. And Gage went abovethe rules with his relationship with Harper, so there was that. I only needed to convince Maryellen.
Reaching out, I touched her knee, but this time firmly and with purpose. It got her attention as she raised her somber eyes.
“Hey, I’m sorry, Mare. I really am. I didn’t mean to put you in this position. I miss you, that’s all it is.” I gave her a boyish grin, hoping it would lighten the mood.
She smiled back, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
“I’m sorry too, Chase. We shouldn’t have done this, I shouldn’t have let this happen. Not here. You know I wish our circumstances were different.”
Yep, so did I. But they weren’t, and there didn’t seem to be any way of convincing her otherwise.
“Let’s get to your schedule. Should we move to my desk? It might be…better,” she said.
We both stood, and as we did, her phone and tablet fell from the chair. She reached for her tablet while I retrieved her phone. As I did, it lit up with a text.
From Garrett.
He was picking her up Friday at seven for dinner.
I tried to make it look like I hadn’t just invaded her privacy as I handed her phone back. She took it, obviously checking it as we all do. She was immediately typing a response to Garrett, I had to assume. Who I’ve now nicknameddickhead.
This was now at least the third time they were going out.
