Chase popped his head out of the trunk, grinning slyly at me. “That is almost as good as what I had in mind.”
I sighed. “Just fix the damn tire, would you?”
He mumbled something snide under his breath and got to work. Pretty sure it involved me being bossy and an ungrateful vixen. I watched as he effortlessly hijacked the back end of my car. His muscles flexed with his movements. I drooled. He might be the world’s biggest ass, but he also had the world’s hottest ass.
“You’re staring,” he said without lifting his head.
“So,” I retorted unapologetically.
He angled his head up, meeting my gaze. “Didn’t anyone teach you it’s not polite to stare?”
“Didn’t anyone teach you to be a gentleman?” I stuffed my hands into the back pocket of my jeans.
“You can tell me all about my flaws on the way home. Let’s go,” he stood up, dusting off his hands. “We’re all good here.”
No argument there. We piled back into my car, and I gladly let Chase take the driver’s seat. “This wasn’t an accident was it?” I asked, as he drove back home. Lexi was curled up in the backseat.
He glanced at me from the corner of his eye, the soft blue light of the interior lights catching the silver hoop on his brow. “No,” he stated simply. “I’ve come to realize that with you, I leave nothing up to chance.”
I had my head rested on the back of my seat as I watched his profile. Everything about him looked dangerous, deadly. The hard set of his jaw, the steel grey eyes, the overly cocky attitude, but when I looked at him, I could see past all the BS he shielded himself with. I figured it was part bond and part my lacking the fear chromosome everyone else had, that I was able to see who he really was. And it was times like these, when I caught glimpses of his good side that my heart softened and melted toward him. It was easier for me to deal with the jerk, than to deal with the sweet side of Chase.
It was also safer for my heart.
Deep down I knew that if I gave him my heart, Chase Winters would have the power to destroy it. He could shatter my heart into a million, gazillion fragments. I was afraid to let myself feel anything for him other than annoyance and maybe friendship, but I also knew that I was deluding myself. The more time we spent together, the more he chipped away the barrier around my heart.
And I found myself powerless to stop it.
I tore my gaze from him and pulled out my phone. Sending a quick text to my mom, I hoped she was making a meal for an army, because dinner just got crowded. If I knew my mom, the whole Winters clan would be at my house for dinner tonight.
My mom was a goddess in the kitchen. Once she found out we were having company, and that Chase had fixed my car, (making him a savior in her eyes) she pulled out all the stops – wine, her famous baked mostaccioli, and homemade garlic bread. Dinner ended up being boisterous, delicious, and surprisingly normal – like we were a family. Everyone talked at the same time, we all laughed at each other, and it was the most I’d ever seen my mom smile.
I might not be all that comfortable with her dating Devin, but he seemed to make her happy. I guess I needed to learn to come to terms with her having a boyfriend, but right now it was kind of hard. Chase was seated beside me, distracting me with his little touches. They looked innocent enough to everyone else, but to me they were unnerving. Numerous times when I was sure no one was looking, I swatted his hand or scowled in his general direction.
Toward the end of dinner, he caught my hand in his under the table. We were squished into our dining room table, putting us leg-to-leg. He laid my hand on his thigh, tracing lines on my fingers, and sending tendrils of tingles to each of my nerves. I wanted to close my eyes, and lay my head on his shoulder. He twisted my stomach into a ball of need.
The scraping of chairs against the hardwood floors knocked me back into the present. Chase dropped his eyes, hiding the flecks of yellow that had started to spark in his eyes. Devin volunteered to help my mom with the dishes and followed her into the kitchen, leaving just Travis, Lexi, Chase, and I.
Travis took one look across the table before announcing, “I’m out of here before the two of you starting going at it on the table.”
Lexi pushed her chair, grinning. “Me too. See you tomorrow Angel.”
I was left opened-mouthed and alone with Chase and his wandering, skillful hands.
The corners of his mouth lifted. “I’m ready for my payment,” his whispered in my ear.
“I just bet you are.” I shivered. Swallowing, I was afraid to ask, yet intrigued. “What did you have in mind?” I turned in my seat so our legs were intermixed and one of my knees was in-between his legs.