Chasing Strength: A Harper Family Romance Read online

  “No, you didn’t. And I’ll get you for that… later.” He released his grip on her waist. “Hold on one second...”

  He grabbed his cue and rounded the pool table, studying the lay of the balls and setting up a shot. She picked up his glass and took a whiff. Soda… and nothing else. Come to think of it, she’d never seen him drink anything stronger than soda or iced tea. Did he not drink at all? Uh-oh. If he was a tee-totaler who disapproved of drinking all together, he could have some misgivings about her.

  No, that couldn’t be it. He was in a bar, for crying out loud. And his friend was drinking. He must have another reason… or none at all. There were people who just didn’t drink.

  Chris finished his shot and returned to her side. His gaze searched hers, and then it dropped to her lips. Was he remembering that steaming-hot kiss the other night when he dropped her off? The tension between them, the intimacy of their conversation, and the fact her body had been wrapped around his for hours had exploded in a burst of light and color and lips and tongues. That one kiss had rocked her world.

  He seemed to be of the same mindset. He was lowering his head to kiss her again when a hand landed on his shoulder. “Hey, man. While you were making eyes with the pretty lady, we scratched. You guys won.”

  Chris shook the man’s hand and then returned his attention to Alexis. “Did you want to play a game?”

  Jessica piped up from where she was draped across Eric. Alexis hadn’t even noticed they’d returned. “Let’s play. It’ll be the four of us.”

  “Losers buy the next round. You in?” Eric added to the argument.

  Chris extended his cue stick toward her. “Come on, Alexis. It’s just for fun. But I have no intention of losing.”

  How could she resist someone who wanted to spend time with her? And not just in the bedroom. “I have to warn you. I’m not very good at pool.”

  Chris whispered in her ear. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you.”

  Sure, he would. To her delight, Chris’s help didn’t turn out to be very helpful. When he adjusted her for a shot, his body leaned over hers. Now she was fixated on his tight muscles and not her angle. Then he aligned her hands and his arm brushed against hers. Now all she could picture was his sinewy arms around her. But that was nothing compared to when he crowded her close, his crotch snug against her backside. There was no way she was focusing on her shot with his warmth washing all over her. It was all she could do not to wiggle against the evidence of his desire.

  She couldn’t resist teasing him. “Is that a cue in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

  He laughed as he pressed his head against hers, his hot breath warming her ear. “Wouldn’t you like to know? Now pay attention.”

  As much as he tried to coach her, she was a lost cause. Her shots didn’t go anywhere near the pockets she was aiming for, half the time her stick barely hit the white ball, and on another shot, the white ball flew completely off the table. But how could she be expected to focus? When Chris looked at her, or touched her, every nerve in her body stood up and screamed Yes.

  The sexy grin he threw her way after another disastrous shot was evidence enough that he knew exactly what he was doing to her. Two could play at this game. The next time he lined up a shot, she brushed her hand across his ass. When his head snapped up, she shrugged as if to say, “It wasn’t me.”

  Across the table, Jessica had cozied up with Eric. By all accounts, Jessica could hold her own with the best of them at a game of pool, but to see her bat her eyelashes and feign innocence about the game, you’d think she was a novice. Either Eric was completely snowed, or playing along, and before long, he snaked his arm around her shoulder

  She didn’t know flirting was a key part of playing pool.

  The next time Chris set up his shot, she stepped up beside him and whispered in his ear. “Are you sure you have that lined up right?”

  His stick flew up, rolling across the top of the cue ball, which barely jostled. Bingo! She tried to slink away but was stopped by a thick arm around her waist. “Playing with fire.”

  “You started it.”

  Finally, after they had ratcheted up the sexual tension to a ten, the game mercifully ended. Eric sank the eight ball into the side pocket while she and Chris still had several of their stripes on the table.

  “Good game, guys,” Chris said as he slid his stick back into the rack mounted on the wall. “Drinks are on me. What’re you having?”

  “I don’t know about you, but it’s getting late.” That was unlike Jessica. She had closed down the bar even more than Alexis.

  Alexis’s heart sank. She wasn’t ready to leave Chris yet. She was having too much fun flirting with him. But after what happened last time Jessica left before Alexis, she wasn’t taking any chances.

  He wrapped his arm around her waist. “Did you ride with Jessica?”

  She nodded. “Sorry. I guess we need to go.”

  “I can take you home.” Chris’s grip tightened, and his mouth hovered over her ear so no one else could hear. “I want to take you home. Please say yes.”

  Jessica asked Alexis the silent question with her eyes. “Are you sure?”

  Unlike the first night they’d met, Alexis’s mind wasn’t clouded by too many drinks. As a matter of fact, after the shot and the cocktail she had when she first arrived, she hadn’t had another drink since. And she didn’t miss it. She’d had more fun sober, with Chris, because she remembered every look, every touch, every flirty advance. “I’m sure. I’ll be fine with Chris. But I’ll leave with you if you want me to.”

  Jessica shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous. Stay with your man and have fun.”

  Her cheeks heated when Jessica referred to Chris as “her man.”

  Chris directed his attention to Jessica. “Are you sure you’re okay to drive? You haven’t had too much to drink?”

  Alexis had been so wrapped up in finding a way to stay with Chris that she hadn’t even thought about Jessica being drunk. Between the two of them, they’d done a few stupid things, but they were usually smart about calling an Uber as needed.

  “I’m fine,” Jessica said as she grabbed her purse off the table. “I only had a couple drinks and that was hours ago.”

  “Still…” Chris motioned to Eric. “Walk her out. Make sure she at least gets to her car okay.”

  “Absolutely. I think I’m going to call it a night myself.” Eric directed his attention to Alexis. “It was really nice to meet you. It’s about time Chris got back out there again.”

  * * *

  Chris had kept his eye on the door since he and Eric had stepped into the pool room, but he must have missed Alexis’s arrival. But the hairs on the back of his neck had stood up right before he’d noticed her in the pool room. It was all he could do to finish his shot before he looked at her…

  … and almost swallowed his tongue.

  Alexis had looked amazing in her red dress the night he met her. Hell, the pair of jeans wrapped around those sexy hips that day on his bike had woken his body up like an alarm clock. But neither of those outfits had anything on the little black number that hugged every one of her curves tonight... plus that tantalizing patch of skin exposed at her waist.

  Frankly, it didn’t matter what Alexis wore. She looked sexy in anything. But he saw beneath the exterior, past the front she put on for everyone else, to the sensitive, self-conscious woman beneath.

  From the moment she’d walked into the room, he’d wanted to push her against the wall and kiss her until she couldn’t remember her name. Until he banished every dark thought from her mind and replaced it with an image of him. Or the two of them. Together. But they would get there in good time. He didn’t want to rush. One thing he knew for sure, Alexis was the first woman he’d met who could devastate him.

  After watching Eric guide Jessica toward the exit, he turned to Alexis. “I was so happy to see you when you walked through that door.”

  Her smile lit up her entire f
ace. “I almost stayed home. I was on such a roll that I considered pushing through and pounding out more words, but when Jessica texted, I figured I’d celebrate instead. I didn’t expect to see you, but…” She lowered her head as though she had a secret to share. “I have to admit, I looked for you.”

  “Well, you found me.” Chris glanced over Alexis’s shoulder to the dance floor and then back to her. “Do you want to dance?”

  When she nodded, he rested his hand on the small of her back and led her to an open space in the middle of the dance floor. An upbeat song rang out from the jukebox, not normally Chris’s speed, but he’d take what he could get. He rested his hands on Alexis’s hips, his own rocking to the beat as she swung hers back and forth. At first, her hands perched on his shoulders, but as she relaxed into him, she raised her hands over her head and swayed.

  Then she spun around. He moved with her, his hips settling against her backside. He had always preferred slow songs, the chance to snuggle up close with a woman, but slow dancing had nothing on this, her body brushing against his as she rocked to the deep beat of the music.

  Before long, he got his wish and the music slowed. Alexis tried to pull away, but he wasn’t about to let her go. Not now... and maybe not ever. With her hand firmly in his, he spun her around and aligned their bodies. After he tucked their hands between them, resting over his heart, he pulled her body tight and swayed to the music. The soulful words of the ballad spoke to him, singing of love and heartbreak and healing. The song reminded him of the risk he was taking, opening his heart to Alexis.

  He’d finally met the woman who was worth the risk.

  When another fast song kicked up, the spell that had been woven around them broke. She raised her eyes to his. Attraction, desire, and caution warred for top billing in her swirl of her blue eyes.

  He scanned the dance floor. Many of the dancers had returned to their tables or left and the bar was emptying out quickly. “It’s getting late. We should probably go.”

  Alexis’s smile didn’t falter. If anything, she snuggled up closer. After settling their tabs, he led her to the door, her fingers intertwined with his. A feeling he couldn’t quite describe settled in his heart. Attraction, yes. Desire, absolutely. But something else, deeper and richer, elbowed its way in, too. He wasn’t ready to name that emotion.

  They exited the bar arm-in-arm, and then he tucked her into the cab of his truck and pointed it toward her house. Alexis didn’t say anything as he navigated the streets of Cedar Hill. The silence between them grew, laced with desire and tension, until he was afraid it would snap, and he would be the casualty. What was she thinking, sitting beside him, staring out the window? Did she regret the turn in their relationship, or did she want this as much as he did? He could spin a tale in his mind either way.

  “This is getting to be a habit,” she said on a sigh.

  He stretched his hand across the seat, grasping her fingers and squeezing. “This is different than last time.” What else could he say? He was not sure how to assign words to the feelings coursing through him right now. As a writer, it should be easy for him to express his thoughts, but he was tongue-tied. “You have to know that.”

  He smiled at her and returned his attention to the road but kept her hand firmly in his.

  The curse of the small town—he pulled up in front of Alexis’s house way too soon. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye.

  He hurried around the front of his truck and opened the passenger door. He’d gotten a good glimpse of her legs in that sexy dress earlier, but at this height he was able to drink in his fill. He couldn’t help himself—he ran his hand from the hem of her super-short dress, over her knee and down her calf, then cupped her leg as he spun her toward him.

  His hands slid back up and when they landed on her waist, he pulled her out of his truck, her body brushing his as he lowered her to the ground. Okay, so maybe he did take an extra-long time, but who could blame him? Everywhere she touched him, from shoulder to thigh, his body tingled. A tightness grew in his groin, and he sucked in a deep breath. There was no hiding his attraction as she tugged her body into his crotch, forcing a groan from his lips.

  “You’re playing with fire, Alexis,” he said through gritted teeth. “It seems you didn’t learn earlier when I warned you.”

  “Maybe you’re the one about to get burned.” Her eyes sizzled with desire.

  He slammed the truck door, not taking his eye off her, and led her up the walk. It would be so easy to give in to the need, to guide Alexis into her bedroom and make love to her until they both fell into an exhausted sleep.

  But he wasn’t ready. Because he wouldn’t just be having sex with Alexis. He knew what it meant to make love with a woman, the emotional connection that formed from the intimacy.

  He questioned every misgiving as Alexis snaked her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to take him in a searing kiss. Her breasts pillowed against his chest, her nipples brushing his, testing his resolve. With a slight shift, he slid his thigh between her legs, pushing against her core. She gasped and her tongue slipped into his mouth, teasing his with her sweetness.

  If he took Alexis to bed, it would be a memorable night. One that would ruin him. But she deserved better. Between his job and his personal demons, he’d seen the worst that life could serve up. Why would he drag anyone else into that? Especially Alexis, who had a giving heart behind the troubling darkness.

  He still hadn’t been able to figure out what put the shadows in her eyes, but then again, he hadn’t revealed the ugliness behind his sister’s death, either. Could they really take this relationship any further until those cards were on the table?

  Alexis broke their kiss, resting her mouth next to his, sucking in ragged breaths. “Come in.”

  He hesitated and withdrew until he could look her in the eye. His arguments had been rhetorical until she’d asked. He couldn’t put it off any longer.

  But he hesitated too long, and the hope in her eyes extinguished. She stepped back. “That’s okay. It’s late anyway.”

  He slipped his arms around her before she could escape. “No, Alexis. Wait. This is not about you.”

  He pressed his erection into her again, showing her without words that he was almost out of his mind over her.

  “I want you. So much. It’s just that, well, there are some things you don’t know about me. I feel like I can’t be with you until I tell you. And I want to know everything there is about you. What makes you tick, how you like to drink your coffee…” He lowered his head, and his voice. “Whether you sleep in pajamas or nothing at all.”

  That was a mistake. His cock twitched at the thought of seeing her naked, her breasts full and perky, her rounded hips opening to him.

  “Wow.” Alexis’s eyes widened, a love-struck grin on her face. “I don’t think anyone has ever said that to me before.”

  “Do you understand? It’s all I can do to leave you on this porch and not come in, push you up against a wall, and be inside you in thirty seconds. Soon. I promise you, it’ll be soon.” His mouth took hers in a punishing kiss, a violent reaction to the desire coursing through him.

  His hand slid down her neck, cupping her breast, its weight heavy in his palm. He whispered his thumb over her nipple and felt it pucker to attention. She gasped and her head fell back, exposing her neck. That was all the invitation he needed. He snaked his tongue across her throat and down the vee of her dress, teasing and tasting her smooth skin.

  By the time he was done with her, her chest was heaving.

  He had to stop. Had to leave now before he changed his mind about taking it slow. She sure wasn’t making it easy, either, her lips swollen from their kisses and her nipples pushing through her dress, begging for attention.

  He pressed one last kiss to her lips and stepped backward down the porch. One step, then another, his feet heavy in his boots as he fought the urge to stay.

  He held her hand as he retreated, his fingers extending to hers until final
ly he let her go. “Good night, Alexis. I’ll see you soon.”

  Chapter 10

  Alexis tapped her foot, wishing there was music playing or something to distract her from what awaited her on the other side of the nondescript door. The reception room was painfully generic, uncomfortable chairs and low end tables piled with self-help magazines. A television in the corner streamed a video of mental health tips, the sound turned down so Alexis could only guess what the talking heads were saying. She scanned the room, careful not to make eye contact with the other people. No one wanted to admit they needed help, least of all her, but here she was.

  Her family, Serena especially, had been suggesting that Alexis see a counselor since they’d learned about Dad’s betrayal and Rachel’s existence. The news had hit each of her siblings in their own way—Izzy pushing herself harder than ever to be the best dancer in New York until an injury drove her home, Justin focusing on his recently-expanded family, Serena spending more time at the shelter and less with her family and friends. And Alexis, well, buried herself in her writing, strange as that sounded. Weaving a story of villains and treachery somehow made her life not seem so bad.

  And she’d turned to alcohol, the one thing she had in common with her father, when the dark stories she wove on the page threatened to creep into her own life.

  She wasn’t an alcoholic. She knew what alcoholism looked like. She’d grown up with it every day, her father sipping from a flask he kept behind the counter at the store or in his pocket just to get through the day and then topping off his evening with anywhere from three to eight more beers. The yelling and screaming at anyone in earshot, but mostly their mom, had grown progressively worse as the years passed. Dad had been angry at the world and had taken it out on anyone he could.

  Alexis shuddered. She was more like Dad than she cared to admit. Except she didn’t need the alcohol to get through the day. For her, it simply numbed the pain. The pain that had begun for the awkward teenager trying to discover her true self, and then the adult who’d wandered, unsure of her future, ultimately devastated by a blow that she could barely absorb.