“Seriously, Chace.”
He dipped his face close to mine and he whispered, “Okay, Faye. Seriously. You’re right and you don’t even know how right you are. She got messed up with people she thought she could play, she made her deal, didn’t get out of it what she wanted, rethought things and the people she’d fucked along the way and wanted to do right. They knew she was wavering. They took her out. Lucky for Ty, she wavered and fell the right way before they gave her the ultimate fuck in more ways than one. So yeah, they could have done her in my house and they’d have found a way to do it without me bein’ able to stop it. Okay. I’ll work on lettin’ it go. Now can you smush up the fuckin’ potatoes and add shit that makes it taste good so we can eat before you go to bed at midnight?”
“Yes,” I answered.
“Good,” he muttered.
I pressed my lips together, fighting a grin, hoping I got through even a little bit and I started to move away but his hand sliding back down to my neck and curling in a way that got my attention stopped me.
“I’ll do everything I can not to get that pissed at you again,” he promised on a whisper looking me straight in the eyes.
My heart skipped.
Yes, I was precious to him. He had a right to be pissed. I had a right to be scared. But I knew he’d stop it before it happened again and he’d do it for me.
Touched by an angel.
Yes.
I was precious.
“Thank you, honey,” I whispered back.
“Potatoes.”
“Right.”
His fingers dug in as he dropped his head and touched his mouth to mine before he let me go, I moved away and turned my attention to the potatoes.
*
“You gonna memorize the pattern of my chest hair or are you gonna get off me and read until two in the morning?”
At Chace’s question, I stopped doing what he said I was doing, running my eyes and fingertips over his chest hair and I tipped my head back to look at him.
I was on top of him wearing one of my nighties. He was under me, not wearing anything. He’d made love to me. I’d cleaned up, come back to bed and climbed on top of him. Thus commenced my avid perusal of his awesome chest hair.
“The house smells like my perfume,” I said quietly and this was no lie. I’d cleaned it up while Chace did the dinner dishes (even washing!) but the smell was still strong.
“I’ll buy you another bottle tomorrow,” he muttered, his hands moving over my skin low on my back and my booty. He’d slid up my nightie to gain access and, as ever, this felt nice.
“Chace,” I whispered then didn’t know how to go on so one of his hands dipped low and cupped my behind.
“Promised I’d try not to get that pissed again,” he reminded me softly.
“It isn’t that,” I told him.
“What is it?” he asked.
I took in a breath and let out the words. “You impersonated me with my friends.”
“Yep.”
I blinked.
That was his reply. Yep.
“But –”
“They were all over you and didn’t lead in slow. First it was about me and how you weren’t with me but I was with someone else and it degenerated from there. I get why you’d be pissed but I think you get why I did what I did.”
“How would you feel if I did something like that to you?”
“I was doin’ somethin’ fucked up, like lyin’ to my friends about you or puttin’ my life in jeopardy, I got caught out, I hope I’d have the balls to own it and take my licks.”
This fraking sucked because it was a really good answer.
I had no idea I scrunched my nose thus communicated this to Chace until his body started to shake under mine, his arms closed tight around me in order to slide me up and I focused on his face to see he was smiling.
When he got me face to face with him, he left one arm angled across my back, hand cupping one cheek of my bottom. But his other hand lifted and he tucked my hair behind my ear, his eyes watching before his hand cupped my jaw and his thumb stroked my cheekbone and lips.
When he started doing this, he asked gently, “Why’d you tell them I was with someone else?”
“Well, um… because, uh –”
“Faye.”
Frak.
“It was after that kiss at the Station that went bad,” I said quickly.
I saw his eyes flash with remorse but I powered through.
“They knew I’d been crushing on you for a while. The whole mission with finding out who killed Misty was about easing your pain and getting you to notice me. So, I had decided I was going to avoid you at all costs after that happened at the Station and that meant avoiding discussing you with them. So I lied and said you’d moved on. I didn’t share when things happened for us because I wanted to make sure it was real and good and might last before I blew up their pretty bubble. We’ve never met but we care about each other a whole lot so I didn’t want to blow up a bubble that would just as quickly burst.”
“This bubble isn’t gonna burst, baby,” he whispered and my body melted into his.