“Unfortunately, this isn’t some damn dream.”
No, that sexy voice and serious face were all too real.
“Let’s get farther away from the house.” Chase helped her to her feet.
One step, and pain seared through her. She’d obviously twisted her ankle during her blind run from the house. Limping, she let him lead her away from the blaze, not saying a word.
He was good at that, she remembered, doing all the right things to her without asking permission. Despite the bruises and the adrenaline still pumping through her veins, she still remembered his touch vividly. Erotically. So much so, that this next tremor had everything to do with the man pulling her to safety.
But there was a huge difference between seducing her body with his hands, lips, and tongue—during a night out of time—and real-life demands. She had to get control of herself and the situation, but since his order made sense, she wasn’t about to argue. She forced herself to walk on, ignoring the pain in her ankle that subsided by the time they reached an old willow tree.
She leaned against the cool bark and let herself slide to the ground. Chills racked her body and trembling kicked in. She wrapped her arms around herself, but the shaking grew worse. “So much for control,” she muttered.
Chase shot her a sideways, curious glance, but she wasn’t up to any kind of explanation.
“I need your belt.” Without asking, he unhooked her buckle and pulled the leather belt from the loops of her jeans.
She glanced down at his strong, competent hands. “I hardly think now’s the time or place for a quickie,” she said through chattering teeth. “And besides, I didn’t know you were into bondage.”
He paused, glanced up, and laughed.
The sexy light that she remembered in his eyes had returned.
“I knew you’d have a good sense of humor out of the bedroom,” Chase said, then refocused on his task. He had to get the dog taken care of and out of the way. “Trust me,”
he told Sloane. “Fooling around’s the last thing I have in mind.”
Fooling around was exactly what he wanted to do. With Sloane, now, beneath the shade of the old tree. Unfortunately, he didn’t have that luxury. Quickly he finished looping the belt to a short, stubby bush near the tree, secured it, then managed to tie the old bandanna that had been used for the dog’s collar to the belt buckle. “There. He’s not going anywhere and he’s safe.”
She glanced down at the dog, who stared daggers at Chase for tying him up. Then Sloane met his gaze once more. “I’m impressed. I thought only Boy Scouts could tie knots like that.
He met her liquid gaze. A combination of surprise, fear, confusion, as well as a hint of remembrance, flickered across her face.
At least that was how he read her expression. “You of all people should know I’m no Boy Scout.”
“I don’t know anything about you. Except that you picked me up in a bar in D.C. and followed me here.”
“You’ve got it wrong, but I don’t have time to explain.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed and spoke to his brother Rick. The fire department might have pulled up to the house and the police wouldn’t be far behind, but Chase wanted his cop brother here now, apprised of who Sloane was and taking care of this mess.
He inhaled and glanced her way. Right now she was too stunned to ask how he’d found her and why, but she would. Soon. He knew this because he had questions too. Like why she’d been in that old house to begin with. Why would she search out an old eccentric like Samson?
He took in her shivering form and realized how close she’d come to dying. How close he’d come to losing her. Without thinking, he pulled her into his arms to give her warmth. When his lips touched hers, he knew that once again he had lied. He wanted her.
She tasted familiar. Sweet, welcoming, and all too eager to lose herself in him the way he needed to immerse himself in her. His tongue made broad, greedy sweeps around her mouth and she reciprocated with a soft moan, then tangled her tongue with his.
His body heated instantly and his surroundings disappeared. Everything came down to this one moment with this one woman.
He threaded his hands through her hair, pulling her close at the same time he heard a deliberate cough. “Excuse me, but did someone call the police?”
Sloane jumped out of Chase’s grasp and his surroundings returned.
Chase forced his gaze away from Sloane, who’d taken to kicking at the dirt on the ground. He met his middle brother’s curious stare. “Thanks for coming so quickly,” he said, and now that he’d come to his senses, he meant it.
“I’m part of Yorkshire Falls’ finest.” He grinned and tipped his head. “We aim to please.”
He extended his hand toward Sloane. “Officer Rick Chandler,” he said, introducing himself.
She stopped grinding her toe in the dirt and looked up. “I’m Sloane—” She cut herself off. “I mean, I’m Faith. I . . .” She hesitated as if unsure which persona to use.
“Sloane Carlisle,” Chase supplied, and didn’t miss her shock upon realizing he knew her real identity. He had no option but the truth.
Rick needed to know about Sloane if he was going to help Chase figure out how to keep an eye on her while she was in Yorkshire Falls. And now that Samson’s house had blown up with her nearly in it, keeping a low profile would be even more difficult. Chase would do his best, starting with a news blackout on Sloane’s presence at the scene of the explosion.
His brother didn’t register any obvious recognition at hearing Sloane’s name, which wasn’t surprising. Even though he was covering Carlisle’s story, Chase hadn’t figured out her identity that night in the bar. The vice presidential candidate’s daughter wasn’t that much of a public figure. Yet.
Sloane breathed a sigh of relief, obviously coming to the same conclusion Chase just had.
Then she planted her hands firmly on her hips and glared at Chase, something the dog took as a sign to begin his barking once more.
“How do you know who I really am?” she asked as she bent down to pick up the mutt and calm him down with smooth pets over his head. “Come to think of it, why did you follow me all the way from D.C.?”
Confusion and shock crossed her features, and he realized he was really seeing her for the first time. Smudges of dirt stained her cheeks from their fall to the ground.
“It just so happens I live here.” Not much of an explanation, but then he didn’t know how much detail to give just yet.