"No." He reached for the handle on the door, effectively ending their conversation. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Have fun at the ball."
"Thank you." He stroked her cheek, shooting her a sexy little grin before turning and heading out the door with the enticing aroma of his aftershave lingering behind to keep her company.
She hurried to the window as he got into his car, wanting to catch one last look at him before he left. Running her fingers over where he had just touched her face, she indulged in the sensation he had created. She ached for so much more.
***
Chase quietly came into the house, not wanting to disturb Tessa. The downstairs was dark so he figured she had gone to bed. He checked the patio doors, making sure they were locked before turning in for the night. He noticed her books and laptop still on the family room floor along with her Chinese take-out containers on the coffee table. That was odd. She usually did a good job of picking up after herself. Maybe she was coming back downstairs? He left the lamp on by the sofa so she wouldn't have to do the steps in the dark to take her leftovers into the kitchen. He wished again that he could have stayed home with her. He would've had a much better time.
He climbed the back staircase up to his bedroom, passing by her room, suppressing the urge to peek inside. He had indeed developed a thing for her. Something he wasn't ready to label, but he wasn't going to turn whatever it was into stalker tendencies. She deserved her privacy and he wasn't going to violate it by sneaking into her room while she slept. No matter how much he wanted to.
He took his time trudging down the hall to his bedroom. The sex dry spell was getting old, especially when he had one of the hottest women he'd ever seen sleeping not fifteen feet and a single hallway from him. Before Tessa came to live with him, he hadn't been seeing anyone on a regular basis. He'd had a few one-night stands. Normally after attending a function like the one that evening, he would have hung out at the bar and found someone who interested him. There were plenty of women to choose from tonight but no one compared to the luscious redheaded beauty who occupied most of the space in his head. It was getting harder to resist her.
"Hell," he whispered when he opened his bedroom door and saw his little vixen sprawled out on his bed, wearing a little pair of lacy white panties and a snug fitting t-shirt. She rested on her side, her long toned legs almost dangling off the edge. His gaze traveled up her smooth limbs and rested on her ass cheeks peeking out of the bottom of her panties. Even in her sleep she called to him. Temptress...
He moved closer, kneeling down by her face. He wasn't breaking any stalker rules. She was in his space now. Her slow breathing created a calming effect on him as he watched her chest rise and fall. Her shirt lifted each time at the hem, revealing a thin sliver of creamy white skin. He'd imagined her taste to be sweeter than anything he'd ever experienced. His cock hardened when he centered in on her thighs. What he wouldn't give to get between them. What noises would she whimper when he pleasured her with his tongue?
When she stirred and let out a soft sigh he came crashing back to reality. He was doomed to have her as his wet dream, and now the memory of her in his bed would only serve to torment him even worse.
"Hey, Prince Charming."
As she stretched, the glimpse of her cleavage forced him to follow the movement.
"How was the ball?"
"What are you doing in my bed?"
"Huh?" She sat up and looked around. "Oh, right."
"Right." He laughed because she didn't act like she had done anything wrong. "Did you crawl into the wrong bed tonight?"
"Busted." She giggled.
"Well?" He waited for an answer.
"I wanted to check out your room. I've never been in here before. Your bed looked big and comfy so I tested it out. I must have fallen asleep. Sorry."
"Your honesty is refreshing." He would have expected her to come up with a cover story or at least appear embarrassed, but she looked him right in the eyes and told him the truth.
"Why would I waste my time with some bullshit lie you're not going to buy anyway?"
"Oh, Tessa." He laughed. "What am I going to do with you?"
"I could think of a few things."
So could I, my daring girl. "You're one of the most amusing people I've ever met. It's a pleasant change of pace."
"Glad I could humor you." She tried to smooth out her tussled hair. "I must be a wreck, huh?"
"You're perfect." He removed her hand from her hair. "Leave it. The wild rumpled look suits you." What the hell?
"Um, how was the party?" she asked.
"Dinner, dancing, business talk." He shrugged. "It gets rather tedious."
"It sounds exciting." Her eyes widened. "I'd love to see the dresses and what the inside of the place looked like. You didn't happen to snap any pictures did you?"
"No." He couldn't help but be entertained by her eagerness. "I'll take you to the next one."
"Come on, don't tease me like that."
"That's your game, not mine."
"Seriously?"
"If you want to go, there's one the weekend before Thanksgiving." He couldn't stop himself if he tried. There was no denying it. He wanted her with him. No matter the consequences.
"Oh, I want to go!" She threw her arms around him, pushing her firm breasts against his chest. "I've never been anywhere like that before!"
"No proms?" he asked as he placed his hand on the small of her back, giving in to the urge to touch her.
"No." She rested her head on his shoulder. "It wasn't my thing."
"Hmm..." He lowered his lips to her jaw, resisting the desire to place soft kisses all the way to her chin. "I'll arrange for you to get a gown and whatever else you need."
"Okay." She held him tighter. "This is nice."
He agreed but being there in his bed, cuddling with this half-naked seductress would only lead to other things. Things he couldn't allow to happen. He kissed the top of her head and gently sat up, removing himself from her embrace. If he'd stood at that moment, his dick would have told more than he was willing to admit.
She looked up at him and smiled. "Do I make you nervous?"
"Not nervous." He grinned because he certainly wouldn't call it nervous. "I think you better go to your room now."
"Are you sure? I could stay and watch TV with you. I mean if you like to cuddle, I'm your girl."
"I'll take a rain check." On a night when I'm not so aroused. "I'm going to get ready for bed." Like he'd be finding sleep anytime soon.
"Are you running tomorrow morning?"
"Yes."
"Can I come with you?"
"Sure." He was tired of running away from her. Maybe it was time to embrace what was happening between them.
"Sweet." She kissed his cheek before hopping off the bed and scurrying toward the door. "See you in the morning."
He rose from beside the bed and watched her perfect ass jiggle at him as she left. He looked forward to viewing more of that wiggle tomorrow on their jog. I'll be seeing you in my dreams before that, little minx.
Chapter Five
When Tess stepped out onto the patio she hardly recognized the place. Chase was throwing his annual company picnic and the people he hired had transformed the back yard into a major function. He said it was going to be a small event, but there had to be at least seventy people there. Employees, their spouses and kids were all enjoying the huge spread, the music and booze. There were at least three bars set up with men behind them serving drinks. Each food station had a server and there were people walking around cleaning up after everyone. She'd never seen anything like this before. People really lived like this?
"There you are." Chase put his hands on her shoulders as he stepped onto the patio to greet her. "I began to think you weren't coming down."
"I couldn't decide what to wear." She'd finally settled on a pale pink sundress and her favorite blonde western boots, but after seeing the way some of the other women were dressed she felt awkward. Some had on pretty dresses and designer heels while others wore pants and sparkly tops. "Maybe I should change."
"Don't you dare. You look lovely." He smiled as he settled his hand on the small of her back and guided her out to the lawn. "Come sit over here. You remember Audra?"