It takes my breath away. He, Hunter, and Lief are trying to prove they’re good enough forme?That’s insane. I should be proving myself shouldn’t I? I’m just some lowly doctoral student. But Chase and I just talk. We catch up, talk about each other, ourselves, and it actually feels like a date. I can almost forget we’re on a plane until we land.
I jump and squeeze my eyes shut. Chase rubs my cheek and turns my face to his. “Remember what I said? We’ll protect you.”
“From plane issues?”
“Had this one checked four times,” He assures me. “I’m not letting anything bad happen to you. Only good things.”
“Will you teach me Russian too?”
He kisses me so hungrily, that I think I’m going to burst, but then he draws back. “Da. But first, our adventure.”
“Date,” I remind him. “that you still haven’t given me any hints about.”
“I did give a hint.” He grins, then taps my earring as he helps me up and off the plane, not letting go of my hand even as the flight attendant glowers at me.
I grab my bag and swallow. “She’s mad at me.”
“She’s jealous. There’s a difference,” He assures me, pulling on sunglasses. “We make sure that what we do behind closed doors stays there, but women have been lining up for me since high school.”
“Bragging now?” I push.
“Being honest. I’ve never had a problem getting a woman. I used to flash them in front of Hunter before I realized what was going on. But you’re something else.”
“Ah, so because I don’t want to get on my knees right away, I stand out?”
“You’re gorgeous.” He sits me in the back of the town car. “Smart as a whip, don’t tolerate bullshit, got yourself out of a really bad situation before we could do anything, and you hold your own. You are …”
“A viper?” I quote Lief’s nickname for me.
Chase grins. “You can be.”
We keep talking in the car and whenever he starts telling me more than I want or need to know, I ask him to stop. He hesitates, and asks why, but even when I tell him I just don’t want to know, he shrugs and changes the topic. But he loves telling me about things he’s proud of. He glows a little, will even get shy and then say I don’t want to hear about it until I talk him back up.
When the car stops, Chase takes my hand, leads me out, and right into the building before I can look. There’s a chill in the air that catches on my skin, but then we’re bathed in blue and I stare at the aquarium. “Chase …”
“You constantly wow me, Valerie. It was my turn to do the wowing this time,” He murmurs. “Atlanta Aquarium. I’ve been told it takes three days to get through it, but we can get a map and go wherever you like before we find a place for dinner.”
“And then?” I ask, touching the glass as a fish swims past. “I want to see the sharks, by the way. And jellyfish.”
He chuckles. “We will do everything you want. Even the dirty things.”
And he follows through with the aquarium, taking pictures of me, of us together, and telling me facts he knows. I point at a shark. “Those are claspers.”
“Claspers?”
“Male sex organs.” I elbow him. “Sharks have two. They just work at different times.”
He groans and kisses my neck. “I think something dirty is on your mind, baby doll.”
“I’m with you, of course, my brain is in the fucking gutter,” I tease.
We spend hours exploring. Chase gets excited to see some of the ocean fish, especially the stingrays. I take pictures of him smiling and he straightens up, hiding his smile. I pout. “I like seeing you so happy, Chase.”
“I’m being immature.”
“Well, I’ve been fighting doing cartwheels down this hallway and only because other people are here. Be immature, have fun.” I pull him close. I brush his hair from his forehead. “I love seeing you so happy and bright and talkative. Don’t put on a mask for me.”
He hesitates. “Why? Don’t most women prefer men who act like men?”