Leaning over the console, I give her a quick kiss to the cheek. "I'll call you tomorrow."
"And I'll certainly be waiting."
Once I'm out of the car and headed up to Chase's door, I hear her call out her window before she speeds away, "Make good choices!"
Right.
So easy.
And here we go.
Chapter Ten
RYLEIGH
"What are you doin' here, Ry?" Chase asks once I've pushed past him, closed the front door behind me, and leaned against it for support.
What am I doing here?
"And while you're at it, you wanna tell me why you look like you've seen a goddamn ghost?"
I don't say anything for fear if I do, I won't only lose my nerve, but my determination to say what I have to say.
"Ryleigh," he calls, standing with his feet apart and his arms crossed over his massive chest. He's eyeing me with the same suspicion Kate had at the bar, but rather than blatant concern, his look is more controlled.
"I was in the neighborhood," I answer, trying desperately to escape the fear welling in my throat. "Thought I'd stop by and say hi."
Walking to me, as though I'm prey to his predator, Chase blocks me in. My stomach warms and flutters as my hands shake at my sides.
His hands hit the door on either side of my face and he leans against me without shame. "Tell me why you're here," he whispers.
The top of his baseball hat, along with his large arms, have created a private curtain around us. All I can see are his dark blue eyes boring into mine.
Gathering courage, I ask, "Did you mean what you did that night in the field?"
Startled, he shakes his head quickly as if trying to clear it. "What?"
"When you kissed me, did you mean it? Or was it because we were alone on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere?"
"Why are you asking me this?" he grinds out through clenched teeth.
At his evasive measures to avoid my question, my heart starts to race and my vision blurs. I'm succumbing to the pressure of doing exactly what I know I shouldn't.
Really, though, God knows where Myles could be or where he's been since we've been home. The countless times I've asked myself this, I've tried to avoid lending any belief to the possibilities he would stray from us. But with a woman held so willingly in his arms, there's no point arguing.
My engagement to him is over. Done. And it took coming here to realize that.
The panic swells in my chest, restricting the air I desperately need to keep calm. Chase continues looking at me without saying a word.
"Answer me!" I demand, this time louder.
I turn my head to the side to avoid his troubling gaze. This does nothing other than give me a beautiful view of his powerfully strong arm.
His hand drops from my side and he grabs my chin, holding it in front of him while his eyes scan my face. "Jesus, sweetheart. Calm down."
"Chase?" I plead. "Tell me."
For a split second, I think I could be wrong and the times Chase and I shared together since I came home were nothing more than my old feelings of adoration for him coming back as an adult.
Then Chase takes a breath, closes his eyes, and admits, "Being alone with you, out in the middle of goddamn nowhere, meant more to me than being anywhere else with anyone else. And it may make me a dick, but Ryleigh, I swear to God when I touched you, I didn't give any weight that you were his because right then, you were only mine."
I feel those words; he means them. I know he does because I feel the same.
"Now, why'd you come?" he whispers hoarsely.
"I don't know."
"You do," he replies, pressing against me and giving me a small reminder of why I'm here.
His tongue marks my bottom lip first, then moves to the top. His breathing becomes so labored the hair on my neck moves each time he exhales.
"Be with me," I restlessly murmur.
At my words, Chase's body grows tense and solid.
Shit.
"Chase, I didn't…." I start to apologize, but don't get the words out.
Reacting swiftly, he grabs both my hands, positioning them over my head as he pushes my back further into the door. His grip drops down to capture my wrists and he not so gently squeezes before demanding, "Tell me you meant what you just said."
Of course I meant it. How can he think otherwise? I'm here, with him, wanting…
"Ryleigh, say it."
"I meant what I said," I confirm.
His mouth takes mine in a fierce, uncontrollable, unrelenting kiss. His tongue, so warm and inviting, moves in sync with mine as he thrusts his hips into me. I feel his excitement.
Once I've lost my breath and can't take any more, I pull my head as far back as he'll allow. My eyes meet his and knowing the fire I'm about to stoke, I throw out all caution and say again, "Be with me."