Between the Seams (10 page)

Curious about what she’d been about to say, Chase asked, “I’m so what?”

He could feel her swallow against his shoulder. Long seconds ticked by before she finally whispered. “Hot. You’re so hot.”

Pleasure and surprise coursed through him, and suddenly the scars didn’t matter to him and he got the sense they wouldn’t matter to Jo, either. And she sure as hell wasn’t some jersey chaser hell-bent on spreading his secrets.

“So what has you so nervous? I shared mine, now you share yours.”

She chuckled. “It’s been a while for me, too.”

“How long’s ‘a while’ for you?”

He could feel the hesitation in her grip. “Um, about two years. I’m, uh, kind of picky.”

He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “So it’s been a while for both of us. If we screw it up the first time we have all night to get it right.”

Jo’s laugh was teasing tinged with nerves. “All night, huh? Now there’s some of the confidence I’m used to.”

Chase stopped dancing, just stood there with every nerve ending on fire. His words came out in a gravelly whisper. “I want you, Jo.” Had always wanted her, really.

She looked up at him with those blue green eyes, more green than blue at the moment. “I want you, too.”

Slowly, Chase moved in to kiss her, watching those aquamarine eyes grow greener and greener the closer his lips got. Behind the bar had been the time for hot and heavy. Now, though, he wanted—needed—to take his time, worship every inch of her luscious body and claim her as his own. Finally.

Their lips met and he kissed her slowly, thoroughly, until he felt her start to melt against him. When her fingers dug into his shoulders he went all possessive caveman, picked her up and carried her to the bed.

Chase gently placed Jo on the edge of the mattress and melded his mouth with hers again. Their tongues tangled, the rhythm growing faster and more impatient. In an effort to slow things down he broke the kiss and began trailing his lips along her jaw, the sensitive place behind her ear, down her neck.

He nipped lightly at her shoulder. Laved her collar bone with his tongue. The slight bump he felt reminded him that she’d broken it in high school while cheering during a football game. He’d stood there on the sidelines, helmet in hand as he watched her climb into the ambulance and ride away.

Now, he kissed it, like he’d wished he could do back then.

He pushed the memory away and continued to work his mouth down her body. She hummed almost like a cat when he kissed her exposed cleavage. He felt her hands tangle in his hair and smiled.

Just as slowly he began to unbutton the bodice of her dress.

One.

He kissed the skin that had been exposed.

Two.

Chase ran his tongue along the open seam, making Jo squirm beneath him.

Three.

He revealed her bra and a small patch of skin under it, which he kissed.

Four.

He nipped at her belly.

Five.

He swirled his tongue around her belly button before pushing the unbuttoned fabric aside.

Chase nibbled and kissed his way across the exposed skin of her belly, loving the way her muscles jumped with every touch. She squirmed beneath his mouth and she tugged at his hair with her fingers.

He looked up at her face, tense with a desire that took his breath away. His pulse quickened and his cock twitched behind his jeans. Determined to take this slow, though, he moved up and feathered a kiss on her lips before slowly dragging one spaghetti strap off her shoulder. He’d waited eighteen years to do this, he was damned sure going to take his time.

He dragged the other off her shoulder before murmuring, “Sit up.”

Jo did as he asked, her unsteady breathing threatening to push her breasts from her bra.

Chase slid the dress straps down Jo’s arms until the entire bodice was pooled around her waist. Watching her face instead of her body, he reached around and slid the three hooks of her bra free.

The garment teetered, clinging to her body for long, tortuous seconds before gravity lent a hand. It fell away, dropping to her lap, and Chase
had
to look now.

His gaze slowly dropped to the prettiest pair of breasts he’d ever seen. Full, firm, with dusky pink nipples that hardened as he watched.

He slowly circled a hard nipple with an index finger. Jo’s breath hitched.

“You’re beautiful.”

She smiled. “Touch me, Chase.”

He nearly came undone at her whispered plea. Somehow, though, he managed to reign in his stampeding desire.

“Stand up.”

She did as he asked, and he—maybe a little faster than he’d planned—peeled the rest of the dress off of her. She stood there in nothing more than a pair of purple lace panties and cowboy boots. It was the hottest thing he’d ever seen.

Slowly, reverently, he slid those purple panties down her thighs, her calves, her boots, until they pooled on the floor around her ankles. He kneeled and steadied her as he slipped them off one ankle and then the other.

Deciding the boots were simply too hot to take off for now, he kissed his way up her legs, his big hands gripping her hips. When he reached the apex of her thighs he feathered kisses in the middle of her triangle of golden hair, the place where her pelvis and thigh met, her belly, the tops of her thighs, until he felt her squirm slightly in his hands.

His mouth resting just below her belly button, he gently pushed her onto the bed until her back was against the mattress and her legs hung over the edge.

Still feathering kisses along her stomach, he reached out with both hands, grabbed her boot-clad ankles and brought them to his shoulders. Open for him now, he sat back just slightly so that he could look at her.

She was beautiful. Deeply pink and swollen. Wet. He had to taste.

Chase lowered his head, gently spreading her lips with his thumbs, and flicked his tongue over her clit. Her hips jumped and settled, and he did it again before running his tongue along the entire seam. He played at her entrance, thrusting in and swirling his tongue, teasing her.

God, she tasted good. Better than he’d ever imagined

His cock twitched again and his balls tightened. They would have to wait. He had more important things to do right now.

Chase’s mouth settled over Jo’s clit, his tongue laving the hard nub. She pushed against his mouth, and Chase slowly slid a finger inside of her.

Jo’s moan was so quiet he could barely hear it, but then she was pumping her hips against his face, moving in time with the finger he had inside of her.

Chase twisted his hand so that the pad of his finger was pressing up against the spongy spot he’d found during their make out session behind the bar. He applied pressure, stroking the swollen spot as he did so, while his mouth sucked at her. With his free hand he reached up and palmed one of her breasts before lightly rolling the hard nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

“Oh, God. Chase!”

Liquid flooded over his hand and his chin as Jo’s inner muscles convulsed around his finger. Gentler now, he licked at her clit, then down so he could get a better taste of her.

She tugged at his hair and squeezed her thighs around his head. “Too…”
pant
“much.”

Chase smiled, kissed her pretty pink lips one more time and stood up. She watched him through slitted eyes, and because it turned him on and he sensed it would turn her on, he brought his finger up to his mouth and sucked her juices off of it.

By the way her chest trembled and her eyes darkened, he figured he’d been right.

She sat up and pulled him closer to her. “I think it’s time we got you naked, too.”

He grinned. Jo unbuckled his belt, fumbled briefly with the button of his jeans before popping it open. She slid the zipper down as he grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and drew it over his head.

She pushed his pants down, and he let her. They pooled at his ankles, and his boxers followed, caught by his boots. Jo looked up at his face before touching his chest. “My turn,” she whispered.

Chase stood there, his cock hard and throbbing and stiff like a soldier, wanting nothing more than to be buried inside of her.

Instead, Jo reached out and trailed two fingers over the scars that sliced across his abdomen.

“Do they hurt?”

He shook his head. “Not anymore. They haven’t since I was in high school.”

She leaned forward and kissed them, her lips barely there against the puckered skin. No woman had ever done that—most of the time they were afraid to even look at them much less touch and kiss them. But Jo was doing just that, and Chase now knew for certain that his nerves had been for nothing.

Jo’s hands and mouth continued to explore. When he felt a fingertip slowly skim along the underside of his dick, though, he grabbed her hand and pushed her back onto the bed. “If you touch me like that I’m really not going to last long.”

She pouted, but he could tell that a smile wanted to break free.

Chase toed off his boots, jeans and boxers, and Jo did the same with her boots. Completely naked, skin to skin, he kissed her again.

Jo’s hands gripped his shoulders as their tongues tangled and lips devoured. The air grew heavy and languid, and Chase could feel the steady
thump, thump, thump
of his heart. Their breathing quickened, and he slid a hand down her belly to that heavenly place between her thighs. She was hot, wet and ready. He teased her clit with his thumb until he felt her breath hitch and her hips move impatiently against his hand.

Blindly, he reached into the second drawer of his nightstand, found a foil packet and withdrew it. He broke the kiss, tore the packet open and rolled the condom on. Jo opened her thighs for him and he pushed against her entrance.

She wrapped her legs around him and slowly, tortuously, Chase slid all the way home. He stayed there, suspended and still, as much for himself as for her. She was hot and tight and fit him like a glove.

He moved his hips, and together they found a rhythm all their own. He lowered his head and caught one of her nipples with his mouth. He suckled, nipped lightly and moved to the other one. He felt her muscles twitch around him and suckled harder between taking the turgid tip with his teeth and applying pressure while flicking his tongue over the very tip.

Her fingers dug into his shoulders and her hips urged him to go faster.

“Harder, Chase. Harder.”

Still biting at her nipple, Chase thrust harder. A thin layer of sweat covered their skin, causing their bodies to make a faint sucking noise every time they pulled apart. The sound only served to turn him on more.

He lifted his head and whispered, “How close are you?”

She gasped as he thrust into her—hard. “So…close.”

“Tell me what you need.”

Instead of saying anything, she placed one of her hands between them and touched herself.

“Oh, God, Jo. Do you have any idea how hot that is?”

She smiled and gasped out. “Play with my nipples.”

Chase did as she asked—not that it was really a hardship—and sucked at her nipple before biting down again. As he alternated between sucking and biting, he could feel her muscles tightening around his cock. Her hand between their bodies moved faster and faster, and her breaths grew shallow. Sensing she was
right there
he bit her nipple a little harder than he had before, and he was rewarded with a very guttural, “Chase!” followed by the feeling of her orgasm pulling at him.

He pumped his hips harder, faster, and watched her face as convulsions continued to wrack her. She opened her eyes and he was gone. His own orgasm ripped through him, bursting in waves as he pumped his hips once, twice more before stilling.

Chase dropped his forehead to hers, lightly kissed her on the mouth, and waited for his heart to stop pounding in his ears.

He felt Jo’s hands caressing his back and smiled.

“We’re definitely going to have to do that again,” Jo said, her breathing still a little harsh.

Chase reluctantly pulled out of the warm cocoon of Jo’s body. He rolled over so that they were side by side, searched for and grasped her hand, reveling in the feel of it. He turned his head so that he was looking at her and said, “We are
definitely
going to do that again.”

~~*~~

Chapter Twelve

Chase was dozing, his body curled around Jo’s after making love for a second time, when he vaguely heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.

He jerked up into bed, senses on alert.

Winchester wasn’t barking, he realized dimly.

Jo stirred beside him and he gently placed a finger over her lips. He was reaching for the gun in his nightstand when he heard Matt call out, “Don’t worry, Chase. It’s just your brother. Y’know, the one you left at the bar without saying anything to him.”

Chase and Jo looked at each other, and Jo’s eyes widened.

“Oh my God. We’re awful people,” she whispered.

Chase choked back a laugh before getting out of bed, putting on his boxers and leaving the bedroom.

Matt was standing in the loft, but he didn’t look pissed at least.

“Sorry, Matt. Something, uh, came up.” You could say that.

Matt didn’t even have the decency not to laugh. “She still here?”

Chase nodded. Matt held up his hand for a high five.

“You’re so juvenile.”

Matt dropped his hand, but the grin didn’t leave his face. “Just wanted to see what you would do.”

“How’d you get home anyway?”

The light in Matt’s eyes dimmed slightly, but the smile stayed in place. “Jenn.”

Chase raised an eyebrow. “I can’t figure out why you two dislike each other so much.”

Matt shrugged before opening his bedroom door. “It’s nothing, little brother. Get back in there with your woman.”

Chase started to reply with, “She’s not my woman” but then stopped himself, as the thought occurred to him that he wanted her to be his woman. The click of Matt’s bedroom door closing jarred Chase from his thoughts, and he turned back to his own bedroom and Jo.

His woman.

He liked the sound of that, he thought as he walked back to his bedroom, closed the door behind him. Jo sat in the middle of his bed, her hair a riot of messy waves, sheet tucked around her chest and under her armpits. She looked rumpled, well-loved and sexy as hell.

He shucked off his boxers and crawled onto the bed, stealing a kiss once he’d reached her. She sighed into his mouth and tangled her tongue with his own. God, he loved kissing her. Almost as much as he loved making love to her.

Almost. But not quite.

Wordlessly, he eased her back down onto the bed and loved her body the way he wanted to love the rest of her.

Completely.

~~*~~

Jo woke the next morning in stages, slowly becoming aware of her surroundings as her brain clicked into gear. Sunlight filtered through a strange window, and warm sheets caressed her naked body. She stretched, felt the tug and pull of well-used muscles and smiled.

Chase
.

Who knew the man had moves like that?

Speaking of…she propped herself up on her elbows and watched him as he slept. His face was relaxed in sleep, breathing deep and even, his limbs sprawled like he was in constant motion. The sheet and coverlet were draped across his hips, leaving his torso bare.

Good Lord but he was sexy. Toned and taut in all the right places, his skin golden and perfect. Her gaze traipsed down his body. Dark nipples. Mostly hairless chest. Flat stomach. Belly button. Happy trail. Scars.

In the light of day, and without him watching, she looked at them. There were several. Six biopsies and two surgeries, if she remembered correctly. Eight heart breaking procedures he and his family had endured, not knowing if this would be the one that finally got the some answers or fixed his broken kidneys.

His parents had put one foot in front of the other through every single one of them, always there for their son, loving him unconditionally. She’d been there for the aftermath of most of them, sitting by his bed playing card games, helping him with homework so he didn’t fall behind. She hadn’t fully understood what was wrong, but she’d known her friend would be okay for a while, then get sick and end up in the hospital yet again. As they’d gotten older she’d lain awake some nights praying and crying for him, scared to death of losing him.

Funny how she’d been the one to push him away.

Chase stirred, and her gaze moved over the rest of his torso, lower when she noticed the erection tenting the covers. She looked back up at his face, saw his grin and smiled back.

She kissed him lightly on the lips. “Good morning.”

“That it is,” he said as he wrapped an arm around her, bringing her closer. Their lips and tongues tangled and Jo felt her body tighten in response, heat pooling between her thighs and her stomach performing somersaults.

Chase moaned when Jo nipped his earlobe, groaned when she swung her leg over his hips to straddle him. The head of his penis rubbed against her opening, slick and hard and hot. She teased them both as they kissed, rotating her hips so that their most intimate parts rubbed together with constant friction. Slow. Tormenting.

She broke the kiss and gently laid her lips on his nose. Forehead. Jaw. Neck. Shoulder. Collarbone. Other shoulder. Other collarbone. She trailed slow, sweet kisses down his torso, communicating in the only way she knew how at the moment. Without words, but with slow, sweet kisses and soft touches and gentle sighs and moans.

Jo paused at Chase’s nipples, taking turns giving them attention, learning that he liked it when she nipped just slightly at them. She spent time lavishing kisses on his chest. His sides. The puckered skin that made her heart both ache and swell with pride for the boy he’d been. Dipped her tongue in his belly button. Kissed her way along his happy trail and she scooted down his legs.

The sheet had tangled around his ankles at some point, leaving his sex uncovered, hard against his pelvis. She kissed the underside, teased with her tongue before moving on to his thighs.

Even the man’s legs were sexy, all ropy muscles and coarse with dark hair.

Slowly she made her way back up, noting that while his breaths were coming harsher and faster now, he didn’t seem to be in any hurry, either. She grinned, feminine power coursing through her veins.

It was a heady thing.

She took him in her hand, lightly stroking up and down. Cupped his balls with her other hand, gently squeezing. He arched his hips off the bed and sighed, the sound more like a moan.

She kissed him again, small, feather light kisses along his hard length, before swirling her tongue around the head and taking him in her mouth. His hips gyrated, urging her forward. She took him completely, his length filling her, before moving her head back, then forward again.

“Oh, God, Jo.”

She felt his hands on her head, lightly threading through her hair, before they settled on her shoulders. She loved him slowly, completely, enjoying the feel of him in her mouth and the sound of his moans with every swipe of her tongue.

His fingers dug into her shoulders before moving down to her breasts to toy with her nipples. She moaned, the sensation sending sparks of pleasure straight to her core. Chase pinched them, causing her to gasp. He slid out of her mouth, and hooked his hands under her armpits, gently hauling her body up so that she was straddling his wet erection.

Their gazes collided, and she was entranced, at his mercy and every whim.

He arched his hips, rubbing the head of his cock along the seam of her sex. Her hips responded, almost involuntarily, rubbing against him in turn. They rocked against each other for long moments, gazes still locked as pleasure built.

Chase grasped her hips, his fingers applying gentle pressure, the head of his penis pushing into her entrance, teasing and tormenting.

She quietly answered the question she saw in his eyes, wanting the same thing. “Clean as a whistle, on the pill since I was eighteen. You?”

“Not on the pill, but clean.” His voice was husky and hoarse. Sexy. “You sure about this?”

Jo nodded. “I trust you, Chase.”

Their hips moved together, him sliding into her as much as she slid onto him, taking him to the hilt. He bumped against her cervix, slid along nerve endings she hadn’t even realized she’d had.

Chase. Completely bare. Inside of her.

Too soon the thoughts and the feelings were too much. Jo felt like she was bursting at the seams, all light and heat and emotions.

It had never been like this. With anyone.

Her orgasm broke, feminine muscles clenching and milking as she came on a low gasp. Chase’s hands tightened on her hips as he arched into her, her name a moan on his lips.

She fell forward, allowed herself to nuzzle her nose into the crook of his shoulder and breathe him in. Kiss him lightly as unspoken words pushed at her throat, begging for release. His arms came around her and he breathed, a shaky sound that made her heart both soar and plummet.

I love you
.

She wanted to shout those words. Whisper them. Write them on his heart like a tattoo.

Instead, she slowly disengaged their bodies and lay down beside him. He reached for her, guided her head onto his chest and rubbed her back in silence. Dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

She snuggled closer, wrapped an arm around his middle.

I love you, Chase.

~~*~~

Never in her wildest dreams could Jo have seen herself doing the walk of shame into her grandmother’s house at, oh, 11:32 the morning after, oh, the greatest, most soul shattering sex of her life.

But here she was, not even bothering with an attempt to sneak in.

Gran looked up at her, and then went back to doing her daily therapy exercises.

Jo just stood there, wearing the same dress she’d left in yesterday, her wild hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, no makeup, and a slight case of whisker burn across her chest.

Thank God Gran couldn’t see the love bite Chase had left on her stomach just an hour ago. Or the whisker burn on the insides of her thighs.

Dear God, she was going to go up in flames.

Long moments of silence passed while Jo tried not to fidget and Gran finished the current set of exercises. Long moments where Jo felt equal parts guilty and giddy, which really was an awkward combination.

“Jolene, you’re a grown woman and owe me no explanations.”

Jo released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, but still felt embarrassed at the thought of her grandmother even remotely suspecting what she’d been up to last night and this morning. Hopefully Gran just thought she’d had a little too much to drink and spent the night with Jenn. She’d opened her mouth to offer up just that explanation—not that she liked lying to Gran, but there really were some things grandmothers were better off not knowing—when Gran spoke again.

“It’s about time you and Chase made up and figured out you belong together.” And then she winked. Actually winked.

“Uh…um…”

“Oh, don’t act so shocked, young lady. I was young once, too. I remember what it’s like to be in love, and you and Chase have been in love with each other since before you stopped believing in the Tooth Fairy. And I may be old but I’m not blind—Chase Roberts is what I believe you youngsters would call ‘eye candy’.”

Jo’s mouth opened into an “O,” and she was unable to make anything remotely resembling an intelligent statement. How did Gran know the term “eye candy” anyway?

Jo shook her head as if to clear it, grasped for something to say rather than standing there and looking like an idiot. “But you called the physical therapist a hussy the other day for drooling over Matt.”

Gran tossed her a withering stare. “And she is a hussy. Not because she found the man attractive, but because of the way she talked about him, like he was a piece of meat and she was the grill.”

Jo wasn’t entirely sure how any of that made sense to Gran, much less how it was supposed to make sense to her.

“It’s one thing to be attracted to a man and respect him and like him and act on those feelings. It’s another thing entirely to look at a man as nothing more than an object. That’s why she’s a hussy.”

Gran apparently wasn’t familiar with twenty-first century hookups, but Jo wasn’t in any hurry to be the one to explain
that
one to her. Instead, she said, “Fair enough. I still should have called and let you know I wasn’t coming home rather than worrying you.”

The older woman raised a gray eyebrow. “I wasn’t worried about you in the least, Jolene. Why would I be? You’re a grown woman. Besides, I’ve seen this one coming for years. Just surprised it took this long.”

Jo really did wonder if one could die from embarrassment. “Well, still, Gran. It was irresponsible of me and won’t happen again.”

Gran’s snort was anything but ladylike. “Now that I don’t believe for a second. And for the record, I won’t worry when you don’t come home tonight, either.”

She pulled out a resistance band for her next set of hip exercises before saying, “I imagine you want a shower and some lunch before you go back out with Chase. You’d best hurry if you don’t want to be late.”

Torn now between embarrassed and bemused, Jo nodded her head in agreement. “I think I’ll go take a shower.”

Minutes later, as she stood under the warm spray of the shower, Jo finally allowed herself to freely think about everything that had happened in the past twelve hours. As her hands soaped up her body, every muscle twinge and sensitive spot served as a reminder of last night’s activities.

In other words, it was impossible
not
to think about what had happened between her and Chase.

It had been incredible. More so than she’d even begun to imagine. Chase had dedicated himself to her body much like he dedicated himself to everything else in life—fully, intently. Completely.

Even though the post-orgasmic glow still flowed through her veins, Jo couldn’t help but wonder about what the future held. She’d been truthful the other day when she’d told him she hadn’t planned on any of this, hadn’t thought they would spend even a small amount of time together much less find this very adult…
something
…blossoming between them. But now, it was there and just seemed to be growing.

She wanted to encourage it, to nurture it, to allow herself to feel all the things she was and could feel for Chase. Unfortunately, the truth of their situation could not be ignored: she didn’t live in Del Rio anymore, hadn’t for years. In about a month she would have to go back to Austin and prepare for the new school year, meet with teachers, parents and students regarding class schedules and college decisions. She couldn’t pick up and move back no more than he could pick up and move to Austin.