I couldn’t reply. Every fiber of my body wanted him, but getting what I wanted wasn’t an option.
“Why are you holding back?” he insisted.
“I can’t,” I whispered, prying my gaze off him. “As much as I want to, I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“That’s a shame. You’re a challenge. I’ll have a great time figuring you out. But damn, you’re shy.” He leaned in to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. Ever so slowly, he trailed his fingers down my naked skin to my shoulder.
Shy? He couldn’t be serious.
“God, woman.” He let out a sharp breath. “Put something on before I forget what my mother taught me and ravish you on the spot.”
“What?” I laughed. Where did that come from? My clothes weren’t particularly revealing. Besides, it was hot outside. What the heck was I supposed to wear? A ski suit?
“I’m not the kind of man who imposes.” He looked at me with way too much intensity. “You’ll have to ask for it, because I’m not going to force myself on you.”
He smiled and winked as he grabbed the cookie jar out of my hands and plopped down on a chair, biting heartily into a chocolate chip cookie. “Now, that’s a cookie I like.”
I stared at him. What was that supposed to mean? That he liked me? I wasn’t sure. Nor was I sure whether he had actually meant the cookie or me.
“What was that?” I sat down and turned to regard him, my heart beating frantically in my chest. Jude’s words about relationships rang in my ears, and my doubts that he wanted me slowly dissipated into thin air. In the soft light of the setting sun, he looked more stunning than ever. And that was the problem. I couldn’t be attracted to him.
“Make whatever you want of it.” Chase shot me a sexy smile and finished his cookie. “All your decision. As far as I see it, you’re single, I’m single. I like you. You like me.” He shrugged. He put the jar on the table and leaned forward. “You do the math.”
I looked at him, struck speechless. He was still smiling, but his expression had turned into one of bewilderment. Only too late did I realize that he was watching my reaction.
“Yes, I like you, Laurie. Why is that so hard to believe?” He cocked his head to the side, his eyes narrowing at me with a sudden interest. After a small pause, he said, “Tell me. Have you ever been with a man?”
Oh, lord!
I turned my eyes away from him to hide the shame in them. There was nothing I could possibly say. Nothing I could explain to him. He sat down next to me, and his hand gripped my chin, forcing me to look at him.
“There’s no reason for you to be ashamed, Laurie. Just tell me the truth.” He regarded me with a warm expression in his eyes. “If you don’t want me to date you, I understand, but I’ll need a reason.”
He thought I had a choice. I inhaled a sharp breath and let it out slowly.
“You don’t understand,” I began, my mood plummeting to new depths.
“I do, actually. I get it. After everything you told me yesterday, I understand you more than ever. You’re shy, and you need more time. I just need you to say it.”
I looked at him in dismay. Why the heck did he keep talking in riddles?
“Oh, my God,” I whispered when the penny finally dropped.
The fact that he thought I lacked sexual experience was the big deal here, but he was way off the mark.
I had literally no experience.
I got up, but Chase grabbed my hand to stop me from walking away, and pushed me back down.
“It’s not a problem for me, Laurie,” he said, all cocky confidence. Of course it wasn’t a problem for him. “I didn’t want to tell you, but I want us to be honest with each other. So, I’ll make the first step.”
“What did you not want to tell me?” I whispered as my mind conjured hundreds of possible scenarios. That he was married. Engaged. Played for the other team. Wanted me sexually, but wasn’t interested in more. Strangely, that possibility upset me the most.
His hands settled on the side of my thighs, just above the knees. His light touch built a strange contrast to the determination in his eyes.
“Yesterday, when you were—” He paused, carefully selecting his words.
“Drunk,” I prompted.
“Yeah, that.” I expected amusement to cross his face, but his expression remained strangely pensive. “I left you in the car with Jude to say goodbye to Clint and Shannon when your stepfather pulled me aside for a chat.” He scowled, as though the recollection wasn’t a pleasant one.
Suddenly, my pulse quickened, and fear whipped through me. Clint and I didn’t exactly have a loving father-daughter relationship. We weren’t even friends and had nothing in common, but all those years we had gotten along more or less amiably because I had made sure to keep out of his way. He couldn’t have told Chase the truth. Not without consulting me first. Or could he?