Snagging a water bottle from the fridge, I step up to the floor-to-ceiling windows, admiring the ocean beyond it.
The glow of the moon against the dark waters is unreal, and one of my favorite sights. It’s peaceful, scary as shit after a horror movie marathon, but peaceful any other time.
“Hey.”
I scream, but a large hand quickly wraps around my mouth, and I spin, coming face to face with Chase.
“Shit.” My shoulders settle, a huffed laugh leaving me. “You almost caught a water bottle to the face.”
He grins, slowly letting me go as he looks around the room. “Walking around in the dark?”
I rub my lips together, tipping my head at him. “That’s where all the fun happens.”
A scowl forms along his face, and I bite back a laugh.
He says nothing for a several seconds, so I nod. “I’m going back to bed.” But before I can slip away, Chase gently grips my wrist, so I look over my shoulder, into his green eyes.
“I got a smoothie earlier. It sucked,” he tells me randomly.
I suppress a grin. “That’s too bad.”
“It was Brady’s fault.”
I chuckle and his smile slips free.
“I’m craving a sundae.” His eyes search mine. “You know you want one, too.”
“It’s the middle of the night.”
“So.” He shrugs.
“So…” I glance around the room, having no idea why I’m trying to escape. “I’ll get the spoons?”
“That’s my girl.” He turns to the freezer, and I pretend he meant that in a far more literal way. He moves over to the cupboard for toppings, quickly setting them on the counter to his left.
With his eyes on the floor beneath his feet, he heads my way. Assuming he’s coming for the spoons, I slip to the side, but Chase shocks the shit out of me when his left arm darts out, caging me in.
My eyes slice up to meet his, and his palms find my hips. He lifts me, slowly lowering me onto the kitchen island.
The unexpected chill of the granite has me squealing, my body lurching forward, right against Chase’s chest.
He chuckles as my hands latch on to his shoulder, and I ease my ass down.
As I look up, my breath hitches. His mouth is no more than an inch from mine, and I’m not the only one who noticed.
All I would have to do, all either of us would have to do, is tilt our heads the smallest bit, and our lips would be touching, but I tried that once, and we both know how that turned out.
I won’t try again, even if, since that night, something’s shifted. I can see it in his eyes, in his words.
I can sense it in his touch.
It’s almost as if, for the first time, he’s testing the feel of my skin. His hands have grabbed hold of me thousands of times, but not with a firm grip, and never did they linger. Not like now.
Chase is frozen, standing completely still as he stares at my mouth, and I can’t help but wonder if he’s replayed our kiss, as fleeting as it might have been, in his head as many times as I have.
Heat spreads through my abdomen, so in effort not to embarrass myself more than I already have this week, I avert my gaze. The second I look down, I jerk with realization.
I climbed straight out of bed, and only came down for a quick drink, maybe a snack… in nothing but a T-shirt cut around the collar and a thong—the countertop freezing my ass cheeks should have reminded me of this.
Chase follows my line of sight to where my tangled shirt rides high over my hips, to the bright yellow V of my underwear, currently getting cozy with his abs.
He jumps, swings around and gets right back to his original task.
“You want caramel syrup?” he rasps, promptly clearing his throat.
“Chocolate.” I curse myself for sounding all breathy, but son of biznatch!
Who is this man and can I keep him?
I scoff internally, because yeah right. He’s just high on summer. Or something like that.
Whatever, I’m not about a wasted opportunity, so I sit back and watch the way his muscles move as he works.
Did I mention he’s shirtless? ‘Cause it’s glorious.
His brown hair is perfectly messy, his skin tan from spending as much time as possible beneath the sun, and so smooth. He’s been talking about getting a tattoo for years, but as of right now, he’s still all-natural.
I lick my lips.
So fine.
“I can feel you checking me out.” He doesn’t bother turning to confirm.
“Yeah, well.” I grip the countertop and lean forward a little. “When the man above blessed us with wine, we indulged. It’s only fair his other masterpieces get the same treatment.”
Chase sets the ice cream scooper down, and spins with a smirk. He leans his ass against the granite, one leg crossed in front of the other, and holds his arms out wide. “Then by all means.” He surprises me for the third time in three days, encouraging me to openly gawk.