Lead Me On (21 page)

“No, it won’t.” God, her whole body was shaking like a live wire. “It will be a sham.”

Chase led her to the couch. He lay down and pulled her on top of him. Holding her, stroking her hair, he waited for her shaking to stop. Eventually her body started to melt into his. The rough sound of her breath began to smooth at the edges.

“Did they hurt you?”

She gave a watery laugh. “Not really. I took care of that myself. But the next day they kept saying they’d take me home. Then all of a sudden it was getting dark again, and they said, ‘Hey, don’t worry. We’ve got a few friends coming over who want to party with you. We’ll take you home tomorrow.’ I panicked, and I snuck out. But I was in Denver. I didn’t know anybody, didn’t know what to do, so I just wandered around for a few hours until I finally got picked up by a cop.”

“Thank God.”

“I was so tired and freaked out, I told him what had really happened. I honestly believed he was going to help me, you know?”

Chase felt his relief vanish at her disgusted huff of laughter. “What do you mean?”

“He wasn’t exactly sympathetic. He took me back to the station and called Mac to tell him I was going to be charged with solicitation if I wasn’t picked up by morning.”

“Solicitation?” Chase barked.

He felt Jane nod against his chest. “He told Mac…” Her breath hitched. “He called Mac in front of me and stared right in my face while he talked. He said, ‘I found your daughter walking the street. She admits she had sex with three men last night in exchange for drugs. Come get her or I’ll charge her with prostitution.’ I wanted to die. I didn’t…I never wanted Mac to know that.”

Eyes wide with shock, Chase stroked her back.

“He came. And I was so ashamed. He didn’t say a thing at first. He just started driving. When the sun started coming up, he pulled over, flipped the visor down and said, ‘Look at yourself.’”

“Classic dad move,” Chase whispered, hoping to make her laugh.

She did. Just a soft huff of laughter, but her spine relaxed a bit.

“It worked. I looked at myself, and I was a mess, and I knew he didn’t doubt what the cop had told him. I looked hard and sad and used. I told him it had all been a mistake. That I hadn’t meant to end up with those guys. And then Mac started talking. He never talks. But that day he talked, slow and quiet. He talked about how much he wanted to do right by me, how much he loved me.”

She paused to swallow hard. “He said he knew that my dad had hurt me and how mad I was at my mom. He said, ‘You throw your mom’s decisions in her face, but she tried. She tried. And all you’re trying to do is ruin yourself so you can prove she did a bad job.’”

“Ouch.”

Her hand rubbed his upper arm, back and forth in little strokes. “He didn’t ask any questions. He didn’t berate me. But he stopped at the hospital in Vail and told them I needed to talk to a doctor in private. He took care of me, Chase. And sometime during that drive I realized I did have a real father. I’d done nothing to make him proud and everything to push him away. I’d been
awful
and he
still
loved me.”

“Is that what changed you?”

“That was part of it. I wanted to make him proud, to repay him for loving me. And I wanted to be better than my mother, instead of worse. Most of all, that night…once the pills wore off, I was so horrified and ashamed of what I’d done. And so scared of what might’ve happened. And I knew that cop hadn’t offered help because he thought I’d deserved what I’d gotten. It was like I needed to feel
that
awful, that low, for any emotion to soak through the rage and alcohol and defiance.”

Chase brushed his lips over her forehead, breathing in the scent of her hair. The burning in his chest started to fade, but some of it just migrated to his eyes. “I can’t believe you actually pulled yourself together after that. At sixteen? That’s amazing.”

Now her fingers were tracing his tattoo, running slowly up and down the black lines. Her weight pressed him down. Goose bumps raced across his skin.

“It didn’t matter. That’s my point, Chase. It didn’t matter that I’d changed. All anyone saw was who I had been. My good behavior was suspect. People at school and in town said I’d had a baby or that I had AIDS. They said I’d been a prostitute and I was on probation. The boys I’d once hung out with were cruel, but the girls were worse. Sometimes it does matter what people think of you.”

“Sometimes,” he acknowledged, “but not anymore. You’re not sixteen. You’re not in high school. You have a good life now and you should be proud of yourself.”

“Well, I’m not. Not when I think of that. I need the security of pretense and appearance. I’m sorry, but that’s the truth.”

“It’s not the truth. I love who you are now, Jane, but part of that love is because of who you used to be. The changes you made…I don’t know anyone who could have done that out of sheer will. Don’t you want someone who knows who you really are? Who
loves
who you really are?”

“No. I want someone who doesn’t even know that world exists.”

Chase rolled his eyes. God, she was thickheaded, lying on top of him, caressing his tattoo and claiming to want someone like Ned Flanders. “Okay, what about the rest of your wants? You’re going to marry some upstanding white-bread kind of guy, and then…What? Keep someone like me on the side?”

“No!” She put her hand on his chest and pushed up to glare at him. “Why would I do that?”

Chase curved his hand around the back of her neck, spreading his fingers over the heat of her. “Because I turn you on. Because those high-class guys don’t do a thing for you.” He pulled her down until her lips were only an inch from his. “Good girl or not, you’re passionate as hell, Jane.”

He tried to kiss her, but she twisted away. “Stop it!”

“You want to live your whole life like that? Hiding from yourself?”

“Yes! I don’t need this.
I don’t
.”

He held her still when she tried to push farther away from him. “Yes, you do.” Her heart hammered, her pulse vibrating through his ribs. “You were starving for it. For
me
.”

When he pulled her down, she resisted again, but when his mouth touched hers, her lips opened. The kiss was hungry and hard. She devoured him, her hands clutching his head. Now instead of struggling to get away, she seemed to be fighting to sink into him.

Her kiss was violent, her fingers digging into his skull, but Chase didn’t care. He was hard within seconds, thrilled to be used.

Aside from framing her face with his hands, he didn’t touch her, but Jane touched him. She dragged her hands down his neck, his shoulders, arms. Her mouth followed, biting and sucking at his skin.

He closed his eyes when she reached for the button of his jeans, then sucked in a deep breath when her hand wrapped around his dick.

Her hand slid down all the way to the base of his erection, then back up, slowly. She watched her own movement, bottom lip caught between her teeth as she worked him.

Chase shuddered, watching her jack him off. Her cheeks flushed, her nipples hardened beneath the thin shirt, her fingers squeezed tighter.

“Ah, God,” he gasped.

Her eyes flew to his, flashing triumph. She let go of him so she could whip off her shirt and wiggle out of her panties. Then she leaned down and came up with one of the condom packages he’d dropped in his hurry to have her earlier.

By the time she rose over him, Chase was panting, but he still didn’t touch her. Instead he clenched his hands to fists as her hot sex touched him, as it slid down, taking him in, squeezing him.

Jane threw her head back and sighed, the lines of her face relaxing. He knew how to make her look that way. He knew how to make her laugh and scream and smile and cry. He knew her. Whether she liked it or not, he knew her.

She began to ride him, and Chase let her take what she needed. Not that it was hardship. She was beautiful, lost in her own pleasure.
Sex
with her was beautiful, and it made his heart twist every time.

Despite his vow to let her have her way with him, Chase soon found his hands holding her thighs as he surged up to meet her. He watched the place where their bodies joined, watched his dick sliding in and out, and it was nearly too much. He’d just come a few minutes before, but his body was already tightening to an ache.

Sliding his hand higher, Chase pressed his thumb to her clit.

“Yes,” she whispered as he rubbed her. “Chase.
Please
. Yes.”

His fingers brushed the slick heat that coated his shaft, and Chase shivered.

“Yes,” she breathed, repeating it over and over like a prayer. He felt her tighten around him, but she shook her head, holding back, one hand digging into the back of the couch. “No,” she moaned, but it was too late. Her hips jerked and she screamed.

He managed to hold on long enough to watch her as she came, but the sight sent him quickly over the edge, plunging into his own world of painful pleasure.

Jane collapsed onto him, and he gladly wrapped his arms around her sweat-dampened body. “Jane,” he whispered. “I love you.”

She didn’t object this time, though her breath hitched a little.

“I love you,” he repeated, “but that’s the last time I’ll let you use me.”

The muscles of her back stiffened. “What?”

“If you want me, Jane, you have to take all of me, even the parts that complicate your life. Even the parts that make you self-conscious.”

Chase’s legs worked a bit unreliably, but he had no choice but to get up and make good on his words. This time when he came out of the bathroom, Jane wasn’t pacing and glaring. She sat on the couch, head in her hands.

He watched her for a long moment, but when she didn’t look up, he grabbed his shirt and shoved his feet into his boots. “We’ll talk later, all right?”

Jane didn’t respond, so Chase kissed the crown of her head and walked out without saying goodbye.

No wonder she was exhausted. It was only 1:00 a.m.

She was letting her head sink back to the pillow when she caught a glow of blue light at the edge of her vision. The numbers on her clock were red and she didn’t leave any lights on at night, so what could it be? Jane frowned into her pillow for a sleepy moment, then shifted to her side to look.

For a moment it was just the blue light. Then she saw the shape of her cell phone and the lower half of a man’s face illuminated by the glow.

Someone was in her room! She gulped down a gasp as she watched a hand rise into the light to push a button. She couldn’t see anything else, not even the arm that must be holding the phone.

It was a man, but who? Her heart forced blood to race too fast to her brain, mixing her thoughts into a jumble. Should she jump up and run or stay quiet? Her lungs screamed for air, but she tried to keep her breathing slow.

Was it the killer? Was he disabling her phone so he could take his time without worrying about the police?

She couldn’t just lie there. There was another bedroom on the other side of her wall, but she couldn’t remember now if the owner had rented it out for the year or just for ski season. Regardless, Jane had to take a chance. The man stood between her and the door. Running was not the best option.

Opening her mouth, she drew in a deep breath and watched the man’s face shift toward her.

“Help!” she screamed as loudly as she could. “Help!”

“Oh, shit,” the man barked, lunging toward her. The voice was familiar, but Jane screamed again.

A hand slapped over her mouth, cutting off her cry.

“Shut up,” the man growled. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Greg? Jane snapped at his hand, trying to bite him, but she didn’t catch any skin between her teeth.

“Calm down.”

She shook her head and grabbed for his arms, but Greg let his weight fall on top of her, trapping her hands.

“Anh!” she screamed against his hold.

“Shut up. Don’t scream and I won’t hurt you. Are you going to scream?”

Jane shook her head, hoping he’d be dumb enough to let her go, but his hold stayed tight.

“I’m not going to let you ruin my career over something that didn’t even happen, all right? Just take the recording off your phone, and I’ll leave.”

She nodded and closed her eyes, waiting for his hand to ease off, but his fingers dug harder into her cheek.

“Don’t try anything, Jane. That killer is still on the loose, you know.”

Tensing, she frowned at him.

“You don’t want to be written off as his last victim, do you?”

Oh, my God, was he really threatening to kill her? No way did he have that in him. Then again, she hadn’t really expected blackmail or breaking and entering either.

“You know who he is?” Greg asked. “A locksmith. And I used that spare key you hid on the side of the building. There’s no sign of forced entry. Everything will point to him.”

Jane nodded, serious this time. She felt his hand slide off. For a few heartbeats she considered screaming, but his story about the locksmith sounded well thought out. Maybe he really would hurt her. When he brought the phone closer to her, she decided on a better plan. She’d already screamed three times anyway. Either neighbors had heard her or they weren’t going to.

“Delete the message,” Greg demanded, holding out the phone.

“This is ridiculous,” she said. “Do you think I won’t tell the police about the blackmail? Not to mention that you’ve broken in to my apartment and threatened me?”

“It would be your word against mine. And I’ve got to tell you, your word just isn’t worth as much.”

Jane grabbed the phone, but Greg snagged her wrist before she could push any buttons.

“If your finger comes anywhere near the nine or the one, you’ll regret it.”

“Fine. But I have to call in to the system. It’s not saved on my phone.”

“I’m watching,” he warned.

Jane pulled up her recent calls and quickly moved down to the one she wanted. It was a risk, but…

The line opened and began to ring. Jane held her breath, and so did Greg. There was no sound but the electric tone ringing through the ether. Finally it clicked into silence.

“Hello?” a deep, hoarse voice said.

“Chase!” she yelled just as Greg barked, “God
damn
it,” and knocked the phone from her hands. “It’s Greg!”

He slammed his fist into the phone, turning the screen dark. “You bitch,” he growled.

“You’re an idiot,” she snapped. When he twisted toward her, hand raised as if he might strike, Jane punched him. Hard. But not as hard as she could, not from this angle.

The feel of his jaw shifting under her knuckles freed some tightly controlled animal inside her. Jane pushed up to her knees as Greg sat back on the bed, both hands cradling his jaw.

“Hey,” he whined. “You hit me!”

Putting years of practice into every movement, Jane drew back her arm and envisioned putting her fist right through the dark oval of his face. When her knuckles hit his nose, bone crunched.

Greg screamed. Her phone began to ring.

“You stupid, arrogant shit,” she muttered, reaching out for the light next to her bed. When it snapped on, she saw Greg dressed in a black sweat suit and black knit cap, but the hands cupped to his nose were bright red and getting redder by the second.

He stood and backed away from the bed. “You broke my nose!”

A few seconds ago she’d been scrambling for a plan to get away from him, but now Jane jumped out of bed and followed. His eyes widened. Before he could turn and run, Jane jabbed him in the gut. When his hands fell, she aimed an uppercut for his jaw.

Greg fell backward, crying out in a high-pitched little scream that made her smirk.

“Don’t you
ever
threaten me again.”

Flat on the floor, Greg began to curl into a little ball to protect his body, but Jane was done with him. She grabbed her phone, which had finally gone silent, dialed 911 and strolled past Greg without even a twitch of nervousness.

By the time the 911 operator answered, Jane had slammed the door on Greg’s whimpering and was headed downstairs. She filled the police in on what had happened, but her explanation came out in bits and pieces due to the constant beep of the other line.

“I need to answer this other call,” Jane said.

“Ma’am, please stay on the line until the police arrive.”

“But my friend—”

“Ma’am, the intruder is a continued threat. The arriving officers need to—”

“I told you he’s incapacitated.”

“Ma’am—”

The phone beeped again, and Jane hung up on the operator, worried that Chase thought she was being murdered by the serial killer. Before she could click to the other line, the hot squeal of tires on the street outside interrupted. Funny, she hadn’t heard any sirens.

Jane opened the locked front door and was nearly trampled by Chase.

“Jane!” he yelled as his hands latched onto her shoulders. He was wearing gray sweats and nothing else. His hair, which she would’ve thought too short to get mussed, was lying in a funny direction on one side of his head.

“I’m fine.” In fact, she felt fine, despite the throbbing in her right hand.

“What happened?”

“Greg…He broke in.”

“He
what?
”

“He threatened me earlier today, and I recorded it, and—”

“What?”
Panic widened his eyes. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“He said if I didn’t sleep with him, he’d interfere with Jessie’s plea, and spread the word about my past. But I recorded the conversation and told him I was going to get him fired.”

“Oh, Christ,” he muttered.

“So he broke in tonight and tried to make me erase it.”

His gaze rolled toward the open door. “Is he gone?”

“No, he’s upstairs, but—”

He broke for the stairs so quickly that Jane felt the breeze on her pajamas. “I already took care of it,” she called out as she chased after him.

She heard the door slam open before she was halfway there. Greg’s startled yelp of fear mixed with Chase’s low “What the hell?”

“I said I took care of it.” She stopped at Chase’s shoulder, and he looked down at her in complete disbelief.

“You did
that?
”

They both turned to look at Greg, who had one hand to his still-bleeding nose and one held out to ward her off. Both eyes were already turning black. “L-Look,” he stammered. “I was just leaving. This doesn’t need to…Oh, God, I think my jaw’s broken.”

Jane shook out her aching hand. “That might explain why my hand hurts so much.”

Greg cringed. “We don’t need to involve—”

A siren wailed, cutting him off, mouth still open.

Chase looked down at her again, carefully taking her hand in his. “Wow, Miss Jane. That is totally hot. Wish I could’ve seen it.”

Rolling her eyes, she slid her hand out of his just as Greg darted forward. If he’d thought he was going to make a run for it, he was sadly mistaken. Chase shoved him back so hard that Greg went sprawling on his ass. New blood spurted from his nose when he landed.

“Stay down, dickwad,” Chase muttered.

“I need to let the police in,” Jane said, but then she heard a rush of footsteps in the entry. “We’re up here!” she shouted down.

Two officers came up, guns drawn. As soon as they spotted Chase, they aimed straight at him and yelled for him to get his hands up.

Jane put her hands up, too. “It’s not him. The guy’s in the bedroom.” The guns stayed trained on Chase. “This is my friend! The intruder is in my bedroom.”

Chase backed up until his back hit the wall, because the police seemed hesitant to edge past him. When they got a look at Greg, one of them swung the pistol back toward Chase.

“Seriously,” Jane said. “The man on the floor is the intruder.”

They finally swooped down on Greg, who immediately began babbling about the D.A.’s office and who he knew at the police department.

Chase reached out for Jane’s arm and tugged her toward him. “Why didn’t you tell me what was going on?”

“You know why.”

“Damn it, you can say I’m not your boyfriend, but you called
me
when you needed help.”

The emotional part of her brain finally started working again. Jane felt her eyes burn with the start of tears.

It was true. It hadn’t occurred to her to call anyone but Chase, and she hadn’t been thinking about how close his place was to hers. She’d been thinking that if she needed help, Chase would help her. “You’re a good guy,” she said lamely.

“Jane…” he said as if he was about to lose his patience, but then the exasperation fell from his face like a mask and he snatched her into his arms to pull her close. “God, you scared the hell out of me. I thought…Are you sure you’re okay?”

“My hand’s starting to throb a little, but…” She didn’t say anything more. The skin of his chest was so hot against her cheek, and he smelled warm and sleepy. She snuck her arms around his waist and just held on. Greg’s voice seemed very far away as he demanded to be taken to the hospital.

Jane closed her eyes and listened to Chase’s heartbeat vibrate through her. They stood like that for a long time before the police began asking questions. Nearly an hour later the police were gone and she had to face him alone.

“You want me to sleep on the couch?” he asked, but Jane shook her head.

“You have to go. Greg is going to make sure everyone in town knows about my past now. And there have been flashing lights outside my place for an hour. My neighbors are already talking. I can’t have you sneaking out of here in the morning, adding fuel to the fire.”

“I wasn’t planning on sneaking out.”

She shook her head and crossed her arms. “Thank you for coming. Thank you for caring. But I can’t be with you, Chase. My reputation is going to be in shreds.”

“And why do I detract from it? Because of my tattoos? Half the
girls
in this town have them, for Christ’s sake.”

She crossed her arms tighter. “Do you have a record?”

That shocked him. He pulled his chin in. “What?”

“Greg said you had a record. Is that true?”

He stared at her and said nothing.

“Oh, my God,” she huffed. “I never asked because I figured you couldn’t get permits with a criminal record. This is unbelievable.”

“I was seventeen. It was my first offense. My record was expunged after two years.”

“That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen! What did you do?”

Chase shook his head and shifted from foot to foot. “I stole a truck from my boss—”

“Oh, perfect!” She laughed, throwing her hands in the air. “A thief! No wonder you fit in so well with my family.”

“I wanted to go to Grand Junction for the weekend, and I didn’t think he’d miss it. He reported it stolen and I was picked up on my way home. My boss accepted my apology and the charge was lowered to criminal mischief. I did community service and paid reparations to the company. It was no big deal.”