Wicked Ties (Steele Security Series) (22 page)

Daylight began to break on the horizon, reminding Chaise that she’d only had a few minutes sleep in too many hours.  She felt the tiredness creeping in and overcoming her.  She yawned and said, “Since I know the girls are being taken care of, I need to get some sleep.
”

The full meaning of her statement didn’t dawn on her until she’d said it aloud.  She had nowhere to
go—she had been staying with Bull for the past couple of weeks.  She couldn’t go back to the condo Viboro had supplied her.  Her last hotel room stay didn’t end well, and if she would admit it, she was afraid to be alone again.  But she wouldn’t admit that to anyone.

“Am I free to go now?” Chaise asked John. 

John nodded, “For now.  You’ll have to come in and answer some questions later.”  John took Chaise’s cell phone number and promised to contact her later.  Chaise thanked him and John left them to return to help the other DEA agents.

“I will take you…home,” Bull’s low, bedroom voice whispered in her ear.  The promise inherent in his voice and in his words made her weak in the knees but not from lack of sleep.  She was suddenly very awake.

Noah’s voice held concern and regret, “Get some rest, little sis.  I’d like to talk to you later, if that’s okay.  I have a lot of making up to do, too.”

“I’d like that,” Chaise replied sincerely.  “I’ve missed you, Noah.”  Without a second thought, Chaise’s arms wrapped around Noah’s neck and she kissed his cheek.  “I love you, big brother.”

“I love you, too,” Noah replied as he squeezed her to him.  Before releasing her, he pinned his gaze on his friend.  “Take care of my little sister, Bull.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice, Reap,” Bull replied. 

Once Bull and Chaise arrived at Bull’s house, the sun had fully risen behind the dark, black clouds.  The continuous torrential downpour continued with the occasional boom of thunder and crackle of lightning.  Bull pulled his truck into the garage and, gathering her into his arms, carried Chaise into the house.

  She shifted in his hold just enough to wrap her arms around his neck.  She nuzzled her face against his neck, inhaling his masculine scent.  All of
the events seemed to catch up with her all at once.  She felt strong and weak at the same time.  She was happy and sad, guilty and unashamed, calm and irate—and she had no way to explain any of it. 

But being back in Bull’s arms
felt…..
right
.  It felt like she was home, where she belonged, where she wanted to be, and where she was welcome and safe.  She could blame it on extreme circumstances, and most people probably would anyway.  But, she knew that when she was away from him, he was all she thought about.  When she was taken, she knew he’d come for her and she put all of her faith in him.

I love him
, she thought as the realization hit her like a runaway train.

Raising her head to look at him as he carried her to the shower, she kissed his cheek.

“Bull?”

“Yeah, baby, we’re home.  I’ll help you shower then we’ll take a long nap,” he replied.

“I love you.”

Bull stopped in mid-stride.  He drew his face back to look at Chaise, his face twisted in bewilderment and his eyes narrowed to mere slits.  Chaise didn’t know what response she expected to see, but
that clearly wasn’t it.  He looked like he wanted to tell her she misunderstood his intentions, that he didn’t feel the same way about her, or simply that he didn’t return the sentiment.

“I just wanted to tell you.  After everything that’s happened, I don’t want to take it for granted that I’ll have time to say the things I want to say,” Chaise continued.

Bull put her feet down and stood fully facing her, studying her in his way that used to make her feel like she was a freak science experiment.  Now, it just felt like her heart was shattering into a million pieces, splintering inside and cutting away at her.  She refused to back down—she meant what she said regardless if he felt the same.

Chaise met his gaze and lifted her chin in an act of defiance.  Bull had constructed a wall around his entire life, barely letting people in, but she knew she had penetrated that wall.  He was too afraid to admit it but their ties ran deeper than a casual acquaintance.

“It’s okay if you can’t tell me you love me,” she said, choosing her words carefully. 

Bull shook his head, placed his hands on his hips
, and looked down.  Chaise watched as he took a deep breath, his massive chest contracting and expanding with air, then he blew it out in a huff.  He was wrestling with something internally but she wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily.

“Colton, look at our lives.  We’ve both been guarded because we were hurt at a young age.  You’ve been with
my
brother all these years. 
Your
father has been investigating my employer.  Our families are back together because
we’re
together.  We have so many common ties between us.  Are you fighting it?  Or do you really not feel anything for me?”

“Chaise,” Bull’s voice was full of need, desire, longing
, and just a hint of unease.  His one word statement called to her—bidding her to touch him, feel him, and to make him feel her in return.

Chaise answered his request by stepping into him, aligning their bodies and slowly raising her lips to meet his.  She ran her fingers through his hair until she reached the back of his head.  She placed soft, chaste kisses on his lips until his arms wrapped around her and held her.  She slowly licked the part in his lips, asking for permission, until he opened his mouth and granted her entrance.

He tasted even better than she remembered.  Her fingers gripped his collar and she quickly pulled his shirt up and over his head, breaking their kiss for only that split second.  Shirtless Bull was a wonder to behold, but she allowed her fingers to memorize every muscle striation, every groove, and every line on him. 

Deftly unbuckling his belt and pants, Chaise pushed them down to his ankles.  She let her hands glide over his thighs as she reached for the band of his boxer briefs that were perfectly molded to his body.  Languidly pulling them down, she let her nails lightly scrape his skin until she reached his feet.

Kneeling before him with his impressive erection in perfect alignment, she wrapped her lips around the tip.  Her tongue darted out and lightly licked the waiting bead of pure desire.  Bull groaned and his hips involuntarily flexed, pushing forward, but Chaise stopped him.  He looked down at her as she looked up from under her lashes.  Her mischievous smile spread across her face, and before he could utter a word, she quickly took him fully into her mouth.

When he hit the back of her throat, Bull thought his knees would fold underneath him.  The warmth of her mouth combined with the moistness was almost his undoing.  But when her tongue found the underside of his manhood, his hands automatically flew to her head and he gripped her hair in his fingers.

“Damn, Chaise,” he muttered, as he leaned against the wall and watched her intently.  “Ah, baby, you have to stop.  I love what you’re doing, but I haven’t even started with you yet, and I have a lot of plans.”

Bull picked Chaise up, threw her over his shoulder and marched
toward the shower.  She squealed in laughter and Bull playfully spanked her ass cheek.  Then he added, “The other side is jealous,” as he spanked that cheek.

He undressed her, taking his time as he kissed, licked, nipped
, and caressed every inch of her body.  The bathroom was filled with steam from the running shower by the time he guided her into the tiled shower stall.  The showerhead was large and Chaise felt like she was standing in the pouring rain.  She let the hot water pour over her body, washing away the tension and the events of the past few days.

While Chaise stood under the waterfall with her eyes closed, Bull soaped up a washcloth and began washing her.  She opened her eyes with the initial contact of his hand, but then closed them again and let him thoroughly pamper her.  When he was finished,
she let out a deep, contented sigh.

“Chaise,” Bull stated.

“Yes,” she replied with her standard answer when it came to Bull.

“I need to hear you scream my name now.”

His hot breath fanned out across her core just before his tongue found her sensitive nub.  He flicked his tongue across it before lightly scraping it with his teeth.   Wrapping his arm around one leg behind her knee, he carefully lifted it until he placed it across his shoulder.

“Better hold on, Chaise,” he said with confidence.

Moisture flooded to her already heated center in anticipation of his intentions.  Chaise grabbed onto the top of the shower door just in time as his mouth reclaimed her, owned her, and devoured her.  When his tongue delved deep inside her, she cried out in pleasure.

“Not enough, Chaise.  I said I need to hear you scream my name,” Bull demanded.

He increased his tempo and pressure with his next attack.  He wrapped one arm around her ass and held her in place.  His other hand trailed up her leg, up her thigh, and into her core.  When his fingers found their mark, he dipped one finger partially inside her and spread her juices to her tender folds.

The sudden intrusion of his full finger inside her sent her spiraling.  Her fingers gripped the door and, had he not been holding her up, her other knee would’ve completely given out.  He moved his finger in and out of her in a quick pace, lightly scraping her inside and hitting the spot that caused her to see stars every time.

When he added his second finger, the mixture of how he filled, stretched, and consumed her pushed her closer and closer to the edge.  He continued his attentions until he heard the sound that was like music to his ears.

“
Colton!
”

Chaise was like putty in his hands.  Her body responded to him like no other’s had
before.  It was as if she were made especially for him—to be adored, worshipped, and thoroughly sated by only his touch.  He’d fought the feelings she evoked when she told him she loved him.  Part of him wanted to respond, to tell her she was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and that he loved her, too.

But another part, a deeper part, told him to back off.  The part of him that shut down in emotional situations and allowed his logic and reasoning to take control told him to let her go.  His mind warred over the best course of
action—take a chance by telling her the truth or keep it to himself and let her go?

“Don’t think you’re getting off that easily,” he said to Chaise with a wicked grin as he turned off the water.  “Pun intended.  I’m not finished with you by a long shot.”

Bull grabbed a towel and dried Chaise off first and then he led her into the bedroom.  He placed her on the bed and covered her body with his. 

“If you weren’t so tired, this would be much different,”
he whispered in his bedroom voice. “I’d have you bent over this bed, watching in the mirror as I make you mine all over again.  But for now, you need to feel me and I need to feel you.”

Bull felt her eyes searching his, looking for answers and hoping for a different one
than he’d previously given her.  Dipping his head, their lips met with urgency.  Their tongues danced, caressed, and melded together.  Bull memorized her taste, her scent, and her sounds. 

He knew every part of her body and mind. Still, he didn’t think he could get enough of her even if he had more than one lifetime to spend with her.  She had ingrained herself in his life, his head
, and his home. 

One lingering doubt remained in his
thoughts,
Can I give her my heart?

As he continued to kiss her, invading all her senses and making her crazy with desire, his fingers lightly brushed across her ribs, hips, and legs until he wrapped them around the back of her knees.  Pulling her legs up, he fully seated himself between them and brushed the tip of his erection across her sensitive nub.
  Her hips rose and her hands pulled on him, trying to demand he take her immediately. 

“Chaise, do you want me?”

“Mmhmmm,” she answered.

He brushed his erection harder across her moist folds, but still just barely out of reach of where she wanted him to be.

“That wasn’t an answer.  I asked you a question.  Do you want me?”

“
Yes
, I want you, Colton,” Chaise replied with a more urgent, demanding tone.

With a sudden, fluid movement, Bull fully entered her, gliding inside her to the hilt.  Stretched and completely filled, Chaise cried out in response to his sudden intrusion.  Bull pushed into her over and over, loving every time she screamed out his name, clawed his back
, and soaked him with her essence.  The feel of her hands on him again after what felt like an eternity apart was heaven. 

“That’s my baby,” his voice rumbled low in her ear.  He reached down in between their bodies, placing his thumb over her nub
, and pressed in small circles as he continued to pump in and out of her.  “This is mine, Chaise.  Mine.  And I don’t share.  Your body knows it belongs to me now.”

His words made her blood turn to red-hot lava in her veins.  His declaration of ownership of her body confused her.  Questions of why he would say she was his if he didn’t love her crowded her mind.  She wanted to be his, but she wasn’t so sure he wanted to be hers. 

“I need to hear you scream my name one more time before I’m done,” he said.  “Are you ready?”

“
Mmm, yes!”

Releasing his hold on her legs, he pushed his arms underneath her hips, raising them off the bed slightly but giving him deeper penetration.  Their bodies were tightly pressed together, their eyes locked on
each other’s, as he pounded harder and deeper into her.

The sensations he created in her were overwhelming.  The dull pull that started low in her abdomen became strong spasms, pulling her closer and closer to the edge.  She felt the sweet tension building more and more, knowing that her body could only take so much before she completely exploded.

And that was exactly what he wanted.

His eyes stayed glued to hers, daring her to even try to look away from him at
that moment.  They were both on the edge, holding on by a bare thread that would break at any moment.  He knew all too well how to make her body hum. 

When she couldn’t take anymore, he felt her wet, inner walls tighten around him.  As she quivered around him, the ripples in her muscles caressed, stroked
, and brought him to ecstasy with her.  He emptied himself deep inside her as he stilled his hips.  She could feel every pulse of his manhood as her body continued to milk him.

“Fuck, baby, you feel so good,” his deep
voice drawled.

“Wow,” Chaise gasped, drawing the one syllable word out to five or six.  “That just never gets old.”

Bull chuckled as he placed sweet kisses on her face and his thumbs stroked her cheeks lovingly.  Those intimate moments weren’t all that made Chaise think Bull was hiding his feelings from her and from himself.  He had been a rock for her through the whole ordeal.  Even when he had fucked up and let her leave, he came after her and saved her.

As he continued lovingly lavishing attention on her, she felt him invading her heart just a little more. 
And a little more.  She pushed away the doubts that tried to enter her mind.  Her body was well spent, completely sated, and drained of all fluids, thanks to Bull.  She needed sleep to be able to function in any reasonable capacity.

Bull rolled to her side, pulled the covers up
, and positioned her to spoon her from behind.  He draped his arm over her body, pulling her close to him as he nuzzled his face into her hair.  Sleep overtook them and, for the next several hours, Chaise had only good dreams, safe in the arms of her Bull.

The next morning, Bull awoke to an empty bed where Chaise should have been.  He sat up and strained his ears to listen for voices.  Hearing a faint murmuring, he put his shorts on and walked to the kitchen.  Chaise, Brianna
, and Noah were sitting at the table drinking coffee.  He immediately noted that Chaise was fully showered and dressed.  Her suitcase sat on the floor beside her.

“What’s going on in here?” Bull asked, intentionally keeping his voice calm, but his eyes told of the storm that raged inside.  He spoke to the group but his question was undeniably directed at Chaise.

“Just having breakfast with my sister,” Noah replied as he squeezed Chaise’s hand.  “It’s been way too long.”

“We were just talking about Chaise coming to stay with us for a while until she can find her own place nearby.  We thought that would give Chaise and Noah some time to reconnect.  What do you think about that plan,
Bull?” Brianna asked, fully aware of what she was doing.  She was blatantly testing him and making him test himself.

“I think that’s great for Chaise and Noah.  They need to reconnect,” Bull replied as he stared a hole through Chaise.  “Does she really need to live with you to do that?”

“Well, we’re closing the case.  The arrests have been made.  They have Ricardo Cordova in custody along with the rest of his crew.  Rico is dead.  She doesn’t need constant protection any longer,” Noah explained as if it should be simple to understand. 

From the corner of his eye, Bull saw Brianna attempting to hide her smile.  He couldn’t remove his gaze from Chaise long enough to shoot Brianna a dirty look.  Bull moved
toward Chaise, like a tiger stalking his prey.  He moved with lethal stealth and his sights were set on her.

“Can you two excuse us for a minute?  I need to talk to Chaise.  Make
yourselves at home,” Bull said as he pulled Chaise up from her chair and out of the kitchen.  He didn’t slow down until he reached the bedroom.  He physically sat Chaise on the bed then turned to close the door.

He paced the floor in front of her, his face showing the turmoil he had tried to hide in front of their company.  “Colton, talk to me,” Chaise finally said. 

He suddenly stopped pacing and fully faced her.  His face was red and his eyes were narrowed in anger, “Why are you leaving me again?”

“I’m not leaving you, Colton,” Chaise answered calmly.  “I will still see you.  What exactly did you expect would happen?  Did you think I would just move in with you permanently?”

“No.  I don’t know.  I don’t know what I expected.  I know I’m not ready for you to leave,” he answered truthfully.

“You don’t love me, Colton.  I think we both know that.  We haven’t been together long and the time we have been has been under extreme circumstances.  I think it’s best that I find my own place now and we can still see each other…
.We’ll just see where it goes,” Chaise said quietly.

Bull had to concede that it was way too soon for them to consider living together.  What he couldn’t figure out was why he felt like she was abandoning him by getting her own place.  It made sense for her to live at his house when she was in trouble and he had already gotten accustomed to having her there with him.  He rationalized that simply enjoying her company was not a basis for a permanent address change.

So, why couldn’t he shake the feeling that their relationship would drastically change when she left?

Unable to come up with an alternative plan, Bull sighed and said, “Well, it’ll be good for you and Reaper to spend some time together.  You and Brianna can get to know each other and look at apartments together.”

Chaise swallowed hard and simply nodded her head in response.  She knew it would be hard, but she never imagined that it would be nearly impossible for her to willingly leave his house.  A small part of her had hoped he would be more receptive to the idea and give her a reason to leave.  No such luck with that.

“Well, they’re waiting so we should get back in there,” Chaise finally said.  They walked out of the bedroom in silence.  Both of them carried a heavy heart and a lingering doubt that their relationship would survive the regular day-to-day grind.

When Bull rounded the corner into his kitchen, the breath was knocked out of him.  Brianna was sitting in Noah’s lap.  Noah had his one arm wrapped around Brianna and the other hand was on her slightly rounded stomach.  They were whispering to each other, their faces nearly touching, and the smiles on their faces conveyed their deep love for the other.

Bull finally had to admit to himself that he wanted that
kind of relationship, too.  He wanted someone to call his own.  Someone with whom to share his life, to give his love, and have a family.  He knew he wanted it, but he didn’t know if he could actually go through with it. 

Noah had his heart ripped out when he thought Brianna was dead.  His best friend didn’t really live for the three years that she was gone.  Bull’s mother never really went on with her life after John left.  Michelle waited for John, much like Noah seemed to wait for Brianna.  Those couples had found their once-in-a-lifetime love and had their hearts broken for it.

Bull had been disappointed, hurt, and scarred when John left him.  He’d never really gotten over that feeling of giving all his love only to have it discarded like common trash.  He seemed to be the only one holding on to old hurts, though. 

Noah was so happy that Brianna was still alive, there was never any other option but for them to be together.  Michelle loved John so much that there was never any other choice but to wait for him to be in her life full time. 

Bull was pulled from his thoughts when Noah and Brianna sensed they were not alone.  When Noah looked up, he caught the look on Bull’s face, saw Chaise’s long, gloomy face, and instantly knew what had occurred.  He whispered into Brianna’s ear and smiled warmly at her.  She nodded and stood up to face Bull and Chaise.

“Ready to go, my new sister?” Brianna asked cheerfully.

“I think so,” Chaise answered, uncertainty prolific in her words.

“Let’s go get you settled in,” Noah replied, excited to have his sister back in his life.  “I had your car taken to my house.”

“Thank you,” Chaise replied but couldn’t take her eyes off of Bull.

The tension between Bull and Chaise was thick in the air, depleting the oxygen in the room and making it harder and harder for her to
breathe.  She felt the panic welling up inside her again, threatening to cripple her where she stood. 

Chaise thought she’d managed to put it behind her when she was in the warehouse cell.  She realized she had focused on the young girls and how they needed her to be strong for them.  She had no choice but to push down her own fears and do whatever it took to help them.  She wasn’t feeling that strength inside her at
that moment.

“Colton, I don’t know what to say other than thank you for everything you’ve done for me.  You took me in, protected me, helped me, and saved my life.  I didn’t give you any reason to help me, but you went out of your way to do it anyway.  You’re a good
man—you have a good heart,” Chaise said, fighting back tears and trying to keep her panic from consuming her.