The Look of Love (The Sullivans) - Chapter 4 + Audiobook + Exclusive Commentary from Bella
Hello again! I hope you enjoyed Chapter 3 of The Look of Love. And now I’m pretty sure you understand why I post my “sexy content” note with every chapter.
If you’ve missed any of the previous chapters you can find them here:
Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3
Note: You can also listen to THE LOOK OF LOVE for free!
AUDIOBOOK:
CHAPTER FOUR
copyright 2022 Bella Andre / Oak Press, LLC
Please Note: My books are sexy and emotional love stories. Which is to say there will be lots of scenes where the hero and heroine are smooching (and doing much, much more!) in nearly all of my posts. 😍
Chloe closed her eyes again, held her breath and went completely under the water as the jets turned off on their own. She held her breath as long as she could, all the while praying that when she came back up, the door would still be closed and locked…and that Chase seeing her not just naked, but touching herself in his brother’s bathtub, would be nothing more than a bad dream.
Alas, when she came back up for air and opened her eyes, there he was, standing right where he’d been a minute ago.
Despite the fact that she was already in warm water, she could feel an extra hot flush of mortification quickly covering her skin, head to toe.
At least, that’s what she told herself it was.
With a snap of water and skin, she shoved her thighs together under the water in the tub and lifted her knees to try to hide her naked lower body, while simultaneously crossing her arms over her chest to cover her breasts, which were exposed above the water line.
Forcing herself to meet his gaze—green eyes that blazed with enough heat to set off a fire extinguisher—she said, “The door was locked!”
Good thing she already knew better than to expect an apology. Because Chase didn’t look the least bit repentant.
“It must not have locked all the way.”
Her lips shouldn’t be on the verge of tilting up into a grin. None of this was funny. Rather, it would have been funny if it were happening to anyone else, like, say, in a movie she was watching.
But this wasn’t a romantic comedy.
This was her screwed-up life.
“Do you always break into the bathroom when you have guests?”
At long last, he looked a teensy bit chagrined. “I didn’t see your things in the bedroom. I thought you might have decided to leave again.” He paused, his gaze softening behind the desire that still radiated from him. “I was worried about you.” He held out his hand. “And I brought Advil for your bruise. I know how much it must hurt.”
His sweetness hit her right in the solar plexus, right where she was still stupidly vulnerable, making her eyes close at the force of it.
She knew she should just keep her eyes closed. Because when she made the mistake of opening them again to be brave and look him in the eye, what she saw on his face made it impossible for her to tell the difference between his desire and his sweetness.
How could she when they were both wrapped up in one far-too-gorgeous package?
Oh, God.
She’d been so stunned by seeing him standing in the doorway that she’d completely forgotten the name that had passed her lips as she was coming.
His name.
Chloe gulped. Hard.
Knowing there was only one way to play it at this point, she said with far more bravado than she actually possessed, “I know a lot of Chases, by the way.”
He raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching with an obvious urge to grin. “Really?”
He held her there in that half smile for longer than was fair. Especially when both of them knew she’d likely never met a Chase before in her life.
“People usually tell me it’s a pretty uncommon name.”
Well, what was she going to say to that? But now that the initial stab of mortification and surprise had passed, Chloe became even more aware of the position she was in.
Whatever Chase’s mother had taught him, she’d clearly forgotten the lesson on leaving a naked girl alone to regain her composure. Because instead of letting her get out of the tub to get dressed in privacy, he let his appreciative gaze flicker up and down her bare skin.
Her hands itched to cover herself up more, but even though the naked girl on his bed had been a good thirty pounds thinner than Chloe, why did she have to be ashamed of her curves?
She’d been told one too many times by her ex that she needed to lose weight. She was never going to diet again. Not for anyone. She was keeping her muscles and curves, thank you very much.
Throwing on that cloak of bravado again, she said, “I’m still naked here, you know.”
“You certainly are,” he stated, his pleasure at her naked state obvious.
Why wasn’t she more irritated with him?
More to the point, why wasn’t she scared?
He was big. Way bigger than she was. His hands could do incredible damage to her. Not to mention other parts of his body that could hurt her.
And yet, even though she had every reason to be frightened of what Chase could do to her…she wasn’t afraid of him.
At first, she’d been wary about getting into his car, but then, when he’d started talking about his big family, that wariness had disappeared. He clearly loved his brothers and sisters a great deal, and it was hard to picture a serial killer who had that kind of connection to his family.
She’d tried to force her wariness to reappear in the kitchen when he’d insisted on looking at her cheek, but the truth was, she hadn’t been running because she was afraid he’d hurt her.
No, she’d wanted to run because of a different kind of fear entirely.
She’d been frightened of her response to him. Of how strong—and immediate—her attraction to him was.
And now, here she was, naked and wet in rapidly cooling water, still feeling that response. More than ever, in fact. Even after making a complete fool of herself by calling out his name in the midst of what should have been a totally private moment.
Irritated with herself for this strange weakness, and with Chase for being such an obstinate guy, she said with no small measure of sarcasm, “You don’t take a hint very well, do you?”
He grinned, a beautiful smile that did funny things to her stomach. “I’m better with direct requests.”
“Get out.”
He grinned again, a good solid laugh coming alongside it. “Want a towel first?”
“So by better you meant terrible?” And yet, even as she said the words in the crispest voice she could manage, she was working like crazy to hold back the upward twist of her lips into a grin that matched his.
This time, she wasn’t at all surprised when his response was to move further into the room rather than out of it. He pulled a thick, plush towel off the heated rack.
“Here you go.”
He held out the towel just far enough away that she’d have to stand up, step out of the tub and walk over to him to reach it.
Stalling, still trying to figure out just what it was about Chase that had her actually going along with this crazy game the two of them were playing with each other, she said, “So what happened to the other naked woman?”
“I sent her home,” he said, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.
Deciding there weren’t a whole lot of reasons left to hold back her sassy mouth with him at this point—after all, she was naked in the bathtub and he was holding a towel out to her as a crystal-clear challenge—Chloe made a little face and let loose with, “Poor thing. Was she disappointed by how fast you got off?”
A muffled laugh came from Chase. “I’m afraid this wasn’t her lucky night. She put on her clothes and left right after you did.”
Hmm. Well, that was surprising. She didn’t know many men who could send home a beautiful naked woman without first taking what was offered.
Why wasn’t he leaving her alone, too?
And why didn’t she want him to?
Both of them knew that if she started screaming, that if she really wanted him to go, he’d go. Instead, they were playing this little game not just with the towel, but with the obvious attraction they each felt for the other.
It was a game she was having way too much fun with.
So much fun, in fact, that she knew if it went on much longer she was bound to do something really stupid.
Really, really stupid.
No.
She was done with stupid. Her marriage had been based entirely on stupid choices, after all. And look what that had gotten her. A big, ugly bruise on her face, her car in a ditch…while she hid out in a stranger’s house and tried to use their attraction to ignore the fact that she still needed to figure out how to deal with her problems.
The frustrating thought had her forgetting all about the game she and Chase were playing, along with her own nakedness, just long enough that she stood up to grab the towel before she realized what she’d done.
Suddenly stunned, she stood before him, shockingly aware of each bead of water as it slid across her bare skin and back down into the tub.
Chase’s green eyes dilated almost to black as he looked at her. “My God, you’re lovely, Chloe.”
She wasn’t sure he was aware that he’d said the words aloud, but the reverence in them shook her.
No one had ever looked at her like that, like he’d never seen anyone or anything quite so pretty.
No. Not pretty.
Lovely.
Maybe it was the power of that one word, when up until now she’d only ever heard hot and sexy, that kept her standing there, still naked and dripping.
Waiting.
Anticipating.
Wanting.
She knew exactly what was going to come next, could practically choreograph what every single guy on earth would do in this situation. Chase was going to charm her into agreeing to have sex with him, and in the morning she’d hate him for taking advantage of her sensual weakness when her heart wasn’t at all in it.
But, mostly, she’d end up hating herself for being weak, and foolish, and for not guarding her heart and her body better.
Only, as the seconds ticked by in time with the overly loud beating of her heart, even though Chase clearly wanted nothing more than to rip off his jeans and join her in the tub, he didn’t. And even though they both knew he was big enough and strong enough to be inside of her before she took her next breath, he didn’t so much as move an inch closer.
Chloe couldn’t believe it. She hadn’t given him permission to touch her. And, amazingly, he wasn’t taking it anyway, wasn’t taking whatever he could from her just because he was bigger and stronger than she was.
A sharp pang landed right behind her breastbone, right in the center of her heart, which had been so bruised and battered.
Was it possible that, for the first time in her life, she’d actually met a man who wouldn’t touch her, who wouldn’t try to make a move…unless she let him?
Was it actually possible that despite the intense desire in his eyes and the way the muscles in his jaw were jumping at the self-control he was using to remain right where he was, Chase would never lay a hand—or his lips—on her unless she outright asked him to?
Could it be possible that he’d never press his lips against hers unless she begged him to kiss her, until she was ready and desperate for his touch, for his lovemaking?
Visions of that desperation shouldn’t be so clear to her, shouldn’t already be running through her mind like a sexy movie. But they were so ridiculously clear—and potent—that it took every ounce of self-control she had to force herself to shove them away.
“I’ll take that towel now, thanks.”
There’d never been a less sexy statement said between a man and woman.
So, then, why did she suddenly feel so breathless?
* * *
Holy hell.
Chase had done his fair share of crazy things with women, but none of them had anything on seeing Chloe come in the bathtub.
And there wasn’t a single model’s body that he’d photographed over the years that had an ounce of the sensuality that infused every cell on Chloe’s lovely naked body.
Looking down, he realized the towel was actually shaking in his hands.
Chase worked to calm down. He shouldn’t have stayed in the bathroom. He knew that.
But he hadn’t been able to help himself. And he didn’t think she had really wanted him to leave, either.
Still, some small voice of rational thought told him he should give her the towel before she dried all on her own, or caught a chill. He held the towel out to her, and she tugged on it before lifting her eyes to his.
“Hotstuff?” Chloe asked.
He watched surprise register in her face when she realized what she’d just called him.
Hotstuff.
“You’re talking about me, right?” he asked, glad to see her give him another one of those beautiful smiles that practically knocked him over. Her mouth was beautiful whether she was scowling or biting her lip. But when she smiled, there was so much warmth he felt as if the sun had just risen to shine down over them both.
“It’s a good nickname, don’t you think?” Before he could answer, she reminded him, “You need to let go of the towel.”
He knew that. But, hell, he wasn’t sure he could remember how to say his own name right now. So how was he supposed to get his brain to work enough to unwrap his fingers from the cotton?
“Sorry.” And he really was sorry, especially when she quickly wrapped the large towel around herself.
“That bathtub is really great.”
He was pretty sure he looked like an idiot standing there unable to respond. He’d accidentally watched her give herself what looked to be a really great orgasm and all she had to say was that the bathtub was great?
“I’m not sure the bathtub had anything to do with it,” he finally said.
He loved the sound of her laughter, loved the fact that it sounded less and less rusty every time he heard it.
She shrugged as she walked past him, tucking the towel into place between her incredible breasts. “A guy should never underestimate the power of a well-placed jet,” was her response as she walked up to the mirror and began finger-combing her hair.
When he just continued to stand there and watch her from behind, she raised an eyebrow in the mirror. “I’m sure you’re tired.”
Hell, no. He wasn’t tired. Not when she was standing so close wearing only a towel.
“I don’t need much sleep.”
“Well, I do.” With that, she walked out of the bathroom and to the door that led out to the hallway. “Good night.”
He dutifully headed to the door, long after he should already have been on his way. “Good night.”
Despite the fact that Chase wanted her more than he’d ever wanted another woman, the kiss he wanted to give her wasn’t one that would have her begging him for another climax.
No, what he really wanted to do was press a kiss to her forehead. He wanted to give her a gentle kiss that would let her know she was safe with him.
But he hadn’t earned that kiss and instinctively knew better than to take anything from her that she hadn’t offered.
He was halfway down the hall when he heard her say, “Hotstuff?”
Grinning again at the nickname she’d given him—that had to be good, right?—he turned around. “Yes?”
Despite the nickname, she looked serious again. Really, really serious. “Thank you. For everything you did tonight.”
His chest squeezed at her heartfelt words. And at the thank you for everything you didn’t do that she wasn’t saying, silent words that rang out just as clearly as the words she’d said aloud.
“You’re welcome, Chloe.” He smiled at her. “I’m glad you enjoyed the bath so much.”
He could tell she wanted to laugh again as she told him, “You don’t have to leave here and go to your brother’s house. I think I’ll be okay with you at the end of the hall rather than on the other side of the winery.”
Hoping that meant she actually felt safer with him in the house, rather than gone completely, he said, “Sleep well.”
She cocked her head slightly and said in a soft voice that tore at his chest, “You know what? I think I actually will.”
And then her door closed, and he stood staring for a long while at the place she’d been standing.
Chase Sullivan hadn’t realized that tonight his life was going to change forever.
But it just had.
And, amazingly—shockingly—he wasn’t the least bit interested in fighting that change. Instead, he was gearing up for a different fight altogether.
The fight for Chloe’s heart.
Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for Chapter 5!
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