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“Us?”
She met his gaze and reassured him, “I’m excited about us. I just need time to settle in, for it to feel normal. And real.”
He leaned down and kissed her softly. “Real enough for you?”
The kiss made her a bit light-headed and left her wanting more. “Yeah. And our first date was mostly lovely.”
“That wasn’t a date.”
“You bought me a drink and food, showed me to the door, and kissed me good-night. That’s a date. And including our dinners the past few days, it’s as close to one as I’ve ever had aside from awkward get-togethers as a teen that ended in disaster and a coffee here or there with someone who seemed nice and interested but turned out not to be right for me at all. Or I ruined it by being too... guarded.”
“Then lucky me, I get to be the one to show you what a real relationship is all about. Not that I’ve been that successful at it, but you and me... I feel very good about us.”
“I feel the same way. And it’s nice to see you hopeful.”
“You and Eliza are the best things in my life.” Truth. The sincerity in his voice and words made her throat tight and her eyes glass over.
“Let’s check on her.”
Chase followed her across the living room to Eliza’s door. They peeked in and found their girl sound asleep, knees tucked up under her, butt in the air.
“I wonder how Hunt got the sample without waking her.”
She didn’t know either. “I’m just glad she’s still asleep. It’s not easy to get her down after she wakes up in the night.”
Chase took her hand and tugged her to follow him back into the living room, where he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her again. “I should go.” It sounded more like a question.
She wanted him to stay, but things seemed to be moving fast, and they hadn’t really taken the time to settle into this new relationship. “What’s your day like tomorrow?”
“I have an appointment with my shrink, and I need to finish putting the furniture together and decorating Eliza’s room.”
“I can’t wait to see it.”
“Come over to my place tomorrow night for dinner. I’ll cook. You can see what I’ve done with the house.” He leaned in close. “We can spend more time together.” He smiled down at her. “Plus, I’d like Eliza to start getting used to being there.”
“That’s a great idea. We’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“I’d like to be seeing all ofyoutonight.” His lips were warm and soft and oh so tempting as he kissed her again and again. She got lost in the taste of him andfound herself wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him close. His big hands swept up her back and down her sides, his thumbs brushing the outside of her breasts. “You make it really hard to say goodbye.”
She felt exactly how hard she’d made him against her belly. It thrilled her to know he reacted to her so quickly and desperately and that she wasn’t the only one feeling this way. “I know it’s hard, but we should call it a night.” She tried to hide the smile those double entendre words evoked, but failed.
Chase chuckled. “I’ll survive, because I know it won’t be long before you and I are sharing a bed again.”
She traced her finger along his sternum, up and down, staring at its path. “You understand that it’s not that I don’t want to...”
Chase cupped her face and made her look up at him. “I know. And you deserve a little romance. Dinners out. Flowers. Sweet words that aren’t me just talking you into bed.”
“I’d love all that, but really I just want us to spend some time together and give ourselves a chance to let this build into something that will last.”
“That’s all I want too.” He planted a sweet kiss on her lips that held a lot of promise, then released her with a reluctant sigh, and left the house. She stood in her living room, feeling how empty it seemed without him there.
She got that same feeling every time he left.
So why the hell was she waiting to move things forward when that’s what she really wanted to do? Because going to bed alone sucked when she knew what going to bed with him would bring her. Sheer and utter happiness.
But would it last outside the bedroom?
That’s what she really wanted. A real relationship that turned into a lifetime of memories of them together as a family.
