Zoey 101: An Unexpected Encounter

Chapter 13

Lying in the twin bed in Zoey's guest room, Chase was wide awake when he heard the soft footsteps in the hallway. He knew she'd come, even hoped she would, yet as the creak of the bedroom door opening echoed in the dark, silent room, his chest tightened with despair.

"Chase, are you awake?"

He closed his eyes, not because he was pretending to sleep, but because he knew the second his gaze landed on her, it would be all over.

"Chase?"

He managed to find his voice. "Go back to bed, Zoey."

Opening his eyes, he saw that rather than turning and walking out the door, she was hobbling forward on her injured ankle. She paused at the foot of the bed, gripping the edge to balance herself. A thin gray T-shirt covered her body, outlining her curves and brushing over her thighs. Her blonde hair slid over her shoulders and rested just above her breasts, each strand begging for his fingers, pleading to be touched, stroked. She looked like an angel. A beautiful, blonde-haired angel, innocent and dangerously seductive at the same time.

"You shouldn't be walking around on that ankle," he muttered.

"It doesn't hurt as much anymore." There was a small pause. "Do you really want me to go?" she finally murmured, her voice soft and melodic, as enticing as the sweet voices of the sirens who'd once lured sailors to their deaths.

"Yes," he choked out.

He saw her swallow, saw the look of disappointment in her gleaming eyes. "All right."

She turned, and the way the thin cotton grazed over her firm backside made his throat go dry.

"Zoey."

She stopped. "Yes?"

"Don't go."

Oh, Christ, he was a fool. A goddamned fool.

She turned around and approached the bed again, this time walking around the side and sitting at the edge. So close to him, just a few inches away. He wanted to touch her, to bury his face in her soft hair and inhale her scent.

He forced himself to lie flat on his back, to keep his hands to either side of him, and his gaze fixed on the ceiling above. He couldn't look at her. He knew what would happen if he did.

"I came in here to tell you something," she said.

He felt her gaze on him, felt her eyes penetrating his skin, setting it on fire. "What did you want to tell me?" he said in a hoarse voice.

"That you're wrong."

She grew silent, and he wondered if she would continue. Hoped that she would. The quiet lull lasted for so long he feared she might have left the room. But he could feel her weight on the bed, hear her soft breathing and knew she was still there.

After a moment, he forced himself to turn his head and meet her eyes. "I'm wrong?" he finally echoed.

"You said you had nothing to give to me."

He took a breath. "I don't."

"And I say you're wrong." Her hand reached out to touch his chest, and he nearly groaned aloud. "You do have something to give."

Ignoring the way her hand swirled over his collarbone, he uttered, "What?"

"Yourself. That's what you can give me."

...

Zoey searched Chase's face for a reaction, any reaction, but he just lay there, his face expressionless, his features taut. This was her opportunity to go. To get up, leave the room and forget she'd ever been there. Yet she couldn't will her body to move.

She'd been lying in bed for hours before finally coming to him, unable to sleep thanks to the battle raging in her head, a duel between desire and uncertainty.

Hadn't she decided she and Chase had no future?

But...he'd finally opened up to her. He'd never been so candid with her before, and she was stunned by the personal details he'd revealed as he'd sat by the bathtub. He'd never told her about his dad before, and now that she knew, his reluctance to get involved made a lot of sense. Chase was scared.

Lowering her gaze, she glanced down at the flower-patterned sheets covering his body. Well, not his entire body. His chest, that glorious muscular chest, was exposed.

With trembling fingers, she swept her hand across his chest, brushing over his flat nipples, which hardened at her touch. Seeing that he wasn't objecting, she dipped her head and pressed her lips to his smooth skin. Exhilaration swept over her as she planted soft kisses up his chest, stopping only to sample his collarbone, his neck, until her head loomed over his, her lips hovering inches from his mouth.

Her pulse quickened as she lowered her head. The second her lips brushed his in a feather light kiss, she nearly came apart. The five o'clock shadow around his mouth tickled her chin, making her want to smile and moan at the same time. He exuded raw masculinity, lying there beneath her. She'd kissed other men since that first kiss with Chase, but nothing compared to the warmth of Chase's mouth, to the feel of his hot lips against hers.

She deepened the kiss, teasing his mouth open with her tongue, nibbling on his lower lip, biting it with her teeth. She whimpered when his warm tongue thrust out, meeting hers in a swirling duel that left her breathless.

And then he pulled back, and she saw the fire in his eyes. "You should leave," he murmured. "Before it's too late to stop this."

"I don't want to stop it," she murmured back.

His eyes danced with amusement. "You're too damn stubborn for your own good."

"I know." And then she wiggled her lower body against his, and saw his amusement transform into need.

"If you stay..." His tone was warning.

"If I stay, what? What will happen if I stay?" Her eyes presented a challenge.

"I'll rip off that T-shirt and cover your body with mine"

Raw anticipation consumed her. "Then I choose to stay."