Page 5 of Rescuing Sadie

His countenance gentled, but he still shook his head. “Jonathan was going to rape you, Sparky. You said so yourself. You told the Feds that he was obsessed with getting you pregnant and taking your babies for himself. Do you honestly think he’s going to just give up and run away with his tail between his legs?”

She bit her lip and looked away from him.

Chase could see that she knew Jonathan wasn’t ever going to stop looking for her. The man was obsessed. Chase also knew that Sadie had tolerated staying at his apartment with him only because she thought Jonathan would be found right away, and because it would keep Milena and her son safe at the same time.

“I can take care of myself,” she protested.

“Let me do this,” Chase said in a low tone.

“Why?”

“I don’t think you’re ready to know why,” Chase told her.

That obviously got her hackles up. “I might be younger than you, and not an officer in the Army, but I’m not a baby. I have my concealed handgun license and have learned a lot from working at McKay-Taggart. I’m not a victim either. I’m not going to cower and cry and wait for that asshole to find me. What aren’t you telling me?”

“You want to know why I don’t want you to go back up to your badass uncles? Back up to Dallas, where they have an entire team of men who could keep you safe? Because yeah, I know they could.”

Chase waited for her to nod before continuing. He leaned closer and his hand moved to the side of her neck, holding her still. His lips brushed against her right ear as he proceeded to rock her world.

“You may not have thought I liked you before today, but mark my words, Sparky—you’re mine. And I’m personally going to make sure that asshole is wiped off the face of this earth so he can’t look at what’s mine anymore. So he can’t touch what’s mine. So he can’t even think about what’s mine. Then, when he’s dead, I’m going to marry you—and spend the rest of my life making sure no other asshole thinks he can do the same thing.”

Sadie gulped and shifted in his grasp. She didn’t say anything, just stared at him in shock as he pulled back from her. His hand still rested on her neck and he could feel her pulse hammering in her throat. His eyes roamed over her, taking in her peaked nipples and the lust in her eyes.

“Now, are you going to let me keep you safe, or do you want to run away and hide behind your uncles?”

“I’ll stay.” Her words were more of a croak than actual syllables.

He smiled…and couldn’t help the relief that coursed through his veins. “Good.”

“I don’t do well cooped up,” Sadie warned him, stepping back from his hold.

“I’m not your jailer,” he responded immediately, letting her retreat. “I didn’t say we would have to stay in the house every minute of the day. As long as there’s no obvious threat, we can hang out with my sister and her friends, go to the grocery store, things like that, as long as it’s within reason.”

“As long as I don’t have to just sit around,” Sadie grumbled.

“We don’t have to just sit around…unless you want to.”

Chase barely kept himself from leaning forward and taking her lips with his when her cheeks pinked. He didn’t know exactly what she was thinking, but he could guess—because it was exactly what he was thinking he wanted to do. Their chemistry was off the charts. His gaze dropped to her mouth, imagining how her lips would feel against his for what seemed like the thousandth time.

“I…I should probably unpack,” she mumbled. “See what my aunt put in the suitcase this time for me.”

“You do that,” Chase said, not taking his eyes off her lips.

She licked them, and every muscle in his body clenched, a split second away from pulling her into him and not letting her go until they were both gasping for air. But now wasn’t really the time. He needed to keep his wits about him. Keep her safe. He took an additional step back, putting a foot of space between them.

She glanced up at him, as if trying to read his mind, then scooted off to the side and toward the front door, where he’d dropped her bag when they’d entered the small apartment. Chase watched as she hurried to the door of the bedroom and disappeared inside.

He ran his hand through his dark brown hair and tried to ignore his rock-hard cock. Living in close quarters with Sadie was hell. He would’ve liked to have kept her in his apartment. In his space. In his bed. But he knew she’d be safer here, where Fletch could help him keep an eye on her. He tried to tell himself that eventually, she’d be moving back to his apartment with him…by choice.

He hadn’t lied. He wanted Sadie Jennings. Wanted to marry her. Wanted to tie her to him so tightly she not only wouldn’t want to let him go, she wouldn’t be able to either. He wanted her more than he’d wanted almost anything before in his life.

He just hoped Sean Taggart didn’t feel the need to castrate him when he found out how closely he was guarding his niece’s body.

Chapter Three

Sadie was in the kitchen of the small apartment making lunch, trying to avoid Chase and figure out exactly what was going on between them, when he came in to help her. The kitchen wasn’t big enough for the two of them, but he didn’t seem to notice…or care.

When she turned to open the fridge, she bumped into his chest. He put his hands on her hips and smiled at her as he said, “Excuse me.”