“It really is,” the stubborn woman said as she shifted closer to make the move impossible.
“Oh, and why’s that?” he bit out.
“Because they miss you and I know that you miss them,” Sloane said as he finally managed to pick her up and place her on her feet.
“Just stay the hell out of it, Sloane,” Chase said evenly as he headed toward the patio doors, determined to get the hell out of here before it was too late.
“Are you going to talk to me?”
“Just leave me alone,” Chase said as he opened the patio door and
Fucking sighed when the woman that had no fucking idea what she was doing to him decided to climb back onto his lap.
“Then I guess I’ll do all the talking,” the stubborn woman said as she settled more comfortably on his lap.
“There’s nothing to talk about, Sloane. Just fucking drop it,” Chase said even as he found himself reaching up so that he could run his fingertips along her jaw, unable to help himself.
“I should have told you that I invited the guys over. I’m sorry,” she said, only to keep going before he could respond. “But it’s long overdue.”
“Sloane”
“They miss you, Chase,” she said, reaching up to gently caress his jaw.
“You don’t understand,” he said, shaking his head.
“Then make me understand,” she said, worrying her bottom lip and…
Sighing heavily, Chase kissed her forehead. “You really are a brat.”
“You knew this,” Sloane said, making his lips twitch as he found himself admitting, “I don’t want them to see me like this.”
“Like what?”
“Broken,” he admitted, hoping that she would just let it go.
“You’re not broken, Chase,” Sloane said with a soft smile as she leaned in to kiss him only to add, “You are a bit of an asshole, though,” making his lips twitch.
“You’re too good to me,” he said dryly.
“I know,” Sloane said, brushing her lips against his one last time before she sat back on his lap. She took his hands in hers, entwining their hands together as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth.
“What’s wrong?” Chase asked when she didn’t say anything for a moment.
“I was just wondering what it must have been like for them when the building collapsed and they couldn’t find you,” Sloane said, managing to say the one thing that had him closing his eyes and…
“Fuck,” Chase said, releasing her hands so that he could rub his hands roughly down his face because he would have lost his fucking mind if it had happened to any of his men.
He would have torn that place apart until his hands were raw and then…he would have kept fucking going until he got to them and once he did, he wouldn’t have left their side. He would have stayed at the hospital day and night, bugging the shit out of everyone with a name tag, hoping for an update and
He knew that his men had done the same for him.
“What time are they coming?” he asked on a resigned sigh, realizing that he didn’t have a choice.
“In thirty minutes!” Sloane said with an excited smile as she climbed off his lap and leaned down, giving him a quick kiss before tearing his kitchen apart, cooking enough food for a fucking army while he sat there, not really sure what he would do if any of his men looked at him with pity.
He’d had enough pity to last him a fucking lifetime.
Maybe this was a mistake.
Maybe he should
Get the fucking door, Chase thought, biting back a sigh as he forced himself to head to the front door, telling himself that he was being a fucking idiot. It was just poker. He could do this, he told himself, but as he moved closer to the front door his hands began to tremble as he remembered the last time that he saw them.
They’d just pulled him from the rubble and…and…
Oh, god…
He couldn’t breathe.
He couldn’t do this.
He couldn’t fucking do th
Before the panic swallowed him whole, Sloane was on his lap, cupping his face in her hands while she slowly brushed her lips against his as she made it difficult for him to think about anything else but the fact that he wanted her.
Christ, did he want her.
They’d been doing this for over a month now and he couldn’t seem to get enough of her. They only had a few months left and he was determined to enjoy every fucking minute left with her until