Page 24

Chapter twenty-four

Around Town

Kylie

A xel drove us into town. He commanded the vehicle like it was an extension of himself. Chase was in the front passenger seat. And I sat in the back seat of the SUV with the blacked-out windows on the way into Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, it was a small seaside town with Victorian buildings, hidden pathways, picturesque beaches, fairytale cottages, and galleries. Not to mention, there was a plethora of tourist shops. It was within the cornucopia of tourist shops along the main section of town, where my favorite store was located. Sugar & Spice was located in a small, fairytale cottage along the main drag through town. They carried fun kitchen gadgets and gizmos, spices and fresh herbs. The owner was amazing. She special ordered items for me that she didn’t carry in stock. It was safe to assume I was her best customer.

“Is this the only store you need to visit?” Axel asked, parking in a metered space in front of the shop.

“No. I have two other stores to visit while we’re here.” There was a lingerie store, The Lacey Closet, two blocks down the street. I wanted to check out their selection and see if anything caught my eye. Not for Gideon’s benefit, because I was still pissed at him. He’d been an asshole this morning. It was for the man driving me. The one who always made me feel safe whenever he was near. Wouldn’t it surprise Axel tonight when I greeted him in a skimpy, barely there, lacey chemise with a matching thong.

Axel shot me an arched glare in the rearview mirror and sighed, like this was the worst part of his assignment, but he would indulge me. “Fine. Chase will go with you. I’ll stay with the vehicle and monitor activity on the street.”

I smiled at his surly expression. It made me want to cuddle him and watch his gaze transform from deadly serious into a blazing inferno. I loved the way he looked at me, like he couldn’t believe I’d chosen him. Did he not realize that feeling was mutual?

Chase hopped out. Then did a quick visual sweep of the street and surrounding buildings, before he opened my back door. He held out a hand with a rakish grin. Desire flashed through me and pooled in my abdomen at his panty melting charm. “Come on, beautiful, it’s just you and me.”

My brain frizzed the moment our hands touched. Electricity zapped along my spine as I emerged from the SUV. I had noticed Chase the moment I’d met them. But this was my first time being with him alone. The attraction zipping through me was potent. Not in the same way I was with Axel or even with Gideon, when I didn’t want to strangle the man. Chase had this vibrant energy, and I wondered how it would translate into bedroom activities.

Placing a hand on my low back. I felt his touch clear down to my toes as he escorted me into Sugar & Spice.

“Kylie, how’s my favorite customer?” Jenny, the store owner, asked with a friendly smile. I’d often wondered if my husband hadn’t been such an ass, if she and I would have become friends.

“I’m good, Jenny. How are you?” Jenny was in her late thirties. Her dark hair was pulled back from her cheerful face. She had this timeless quality to her beauty. Chase gave her a once over before turning his attention back my way. Jealousy sliced along my spine. Even though Chase and I had never slept together and were still strangers, I had already claimed him as mine. When it came to my bodyguards, they were all mine. And I didn’t share.

“I’m five by five. And I’m officially jealous of your special orders. You’ll have to tell me how they work out for you. I might have to buy them for myself.”

She was talking about the cast iron tortilla press and silicone pie crust molds. “I’m super excited to try them out. But I also have a list of supplies I need.”

Then I handed her my lengthy list. A bunch of the herbs and spices I frequently used were running low and needed to be replenished, especially now that I wasn’t cooking for just myself anymore.

Her brows rose. “That’s quite a list.”

“I know, but I have house guests and am baking a lot more.” It helped that I loved to cook and bake. There was something elementally satisfying about mixing ingredients and creating something new. It was one of my favorite things. I planned to bake a peach pie for dessert this evening. The moment we returned home I’d get started on the pie before moving on to meal prep. My guys were meat and potato types when it came to food. And I bet they would go crazy over my peach pie.

It filled me with happiness watching them enjoy my food with relish. They couldn’t know what it meant to me after years of having my husband sneer and ask if I’d poisoned it. To the point that I stopped cooking for him all together. I made my meals but stopped going to the effort to include enough to feed him because it hadn’t been worth it.

Jenny assessed Chase with a discerning glint and nodded in understanding. “It’s not a problem. Give me a few minutes to gather these supplies for you.”

“Take your time,” I stated, because this shopping trip was a jail break from my prison. And I was going to soak up every minute of freedom.

“Do you use all this stuff when you cook?” Chase asked, waving his hand at an array of kitchen utensils, studying them like they were these foreign entities with no idea how they were used.

Hiding a grin, because lord he looked cute with the frown lines snarling his brow as he studied a melon baller, I replied, “Yeah, especially for baking. But there are more complicated dishes where I use some of these tools. Like I make this coq au vin recipe in this great cast iron stock pot that I picked up here.”

While I talked about food, Chase studied me with carnal interest. His gaze kept sliding over my body, like he was imagining every naughty thing he wanted to do with me. And I felt his lustful stare down to my toes. What would he say if I told him I wanted to do every single thing he fantasized about? What would he do? Would he take me into the storage room and screw my brains out while the store owner listened to the sound of our fucking?

My entire body throbbed at the prospect.

A slow, simmering grin spread over Chase’s lips and blazed in his eyes. Like he knew exactly what I was thinking. “Sounds amazing. When are you making that for dinner?”

“Tonight, that’s why I need to stop by the market, too. There are ingredients I need that I don’t have on hand.” Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to pick up a few more staples, considering the sheer volume of food these guys could eat.

“We’ll make it happen. I’ve had coq au vin once, and it was amazing. But it was at a restaurant. I never imagined someone would know how to make it from scratch outside of a restaurant setting. How did you get interested in cooking?”

“To survive my husband.” I pressed my palms against my cheeks as they flamed in embarrassment. “That sounded horrible.”

He took a stray strand of my hair and gently tucked it behind my ear. His touch razored through my being, and I quivered.

“Not if it’s true, beautiful. What is it about cooking that you like so much?” He hadn’t released the strand of hair yet. His fingers toyed with the ends, rubbing the strands between his fingers.

If his hand drifted an inch lower, he’d be touching my breast. And I wanted him to. I want him to touch me. We were in our own little bubble as we talked. This close, it forced me to tilt my head up and meet his cerulean blue gaze. It would be so easy to lean in. To place my mouth upon his and see where it took us.

But I doubted Axel would appreciate my disregard for my safety. That, more than anything else, stayed my hand.

“It calms me. Cooking makes sense to me when the rest of life is chaotic and doesn’t. And I’ve always wanted a big family to cook for.” I didn’t know why I was being this honest with Chase. Perhaps it was because he was open and engaging. Maybe it was that I didn’t spy a hint of judgement in his eyes. He listened, like he was really interested in my answers.

“You don’t have a family?”

I shook my head. “I was taken from my parents when I was seven and put into foster care. My parents were meth addicts. To feed their addiction, they were cooking meth in a shed in the backyard and then selling it for a profit. They were caught in a drug raid when they were trying to sell it, only they were selling it to undercover DEA agents. For their manufacturing and distribution of meth, they were sent to prison for twenty years. So, they’ll get out in a few years. But to answer your question, no, I don’t have a family.”

And it was rather sad. In the short time they’d been with me, I began considering the four guys my family. It was why I cooked a family style meal for dinner each day. Because I yearned for a family of my own, even after the hell that was my marriage.

“Are you going to look them up when they get released from prison?”

The question surprised me. “No. Why would I? What I remember from that time of my life could fill a thimble, and none of it was good. Their focus was never on me, but on the next score, the next batch of drugs. They’d go out partying and wouldn’t return until the following day. Our house wasn’t in a friendly neighborhood. And I remember listening to the shouts, the gunfire, the partying, and the sirens on our street and being so frightened I would hide in my closet with my pillow and blanket. Being alone like that when I was five was terrifying.” There were many nights I cried myself to sleep. I had no use for my birth parents. “No, I won’t look them up. They’re nothing to me but the people who gave me life. I’ve had to rely on myself my whole life.”

He frowned. “That breaks my heart, beautiful.”

“I didn’t mean to do that, but you asked.” And much like Axel and Gideon, I trusted Chase. It was a level of comfort I didn’t experience with most people. I knew it was nothing more than an illusion, that I was paying them to have my back. But it didn’t deter the way they made me feel—like I finally had people supporting me, who wouldn’t fail me, who would be there even when the going got tough. And that was worth its weight in gold. I would much rather have these four men at my back for the rest of my life than the fortune my husband left me.

“Here we go.” Jenny waltzed back onto the sales floor, her arms laden with bags and boxes.

“I can get those.” Chase stepped in, hefting the packages from Jenny’s arms as if they were nothing.

“Oh thanks. Must be nice to have such a good helper.” Jenny winked at me and gave Chase an appreciative stare.

“It is. I think I’ll keep him.” I murmured low, like it was our secret, but still made sure Chase heard me.

But then I glanced his way. Chase cast a sensual smirk. Butterflies went berserk in my belly. A flush spread up through my chest and into my cheeks. I’d literally spent the night screwing his friends. I’d fucked Gideon in the shower a few short hours ago. Yet the way Chase looked at me, it was like he wanted to eat me up one giant spoonful at a time, and had fire spreading through my loins.

Seriously, it was like I’d been dosed with medicine that made people horny. Because since their arrival, I had turned into a slut. Or perhaps I had always been one, but with them I could relax enough to release my inner ho.

“We should go if we need to make all those other stops.” Chase nodded toward the door with his arms full of my purchases.

“Thanks, Jenny! It’s a pleasure, as always.”

“Anytime. And let me know how that pastry gadget works the next time you’re in.”

“Will do.” I held the door open for Chase as we exited the shop. He carried my purchases to the car and put them in the back. Before he jogged around to the driver’s side and spoke to Axel while I stood on the sidewalk by the front passenger door.

With the front windows lowered, Axel studied me, his eyes hidden behind shiny aviator sunglasses. One look at him and I wanted to be in his arms. I wanted the shelter his arms provided to wash away the fight I had with Gideon. I wanted to bask in the safety and security he made me feel.

“All right, beautiful, where to next?” Chase asked, placing a proprietary hand on my low back when he rejoined me on the sidewalk. I wasn’t prepared for the swath of heat radiating from his branding touch throughout my core.

I glanced at his face, trying to discern what was happening between us. And why I was so turned on by these men. It was like they entered my life and flipped a switch. It was insane how much I craved more than his hand on my back. I wanted to touch Chase. I wanted to yank him into a nearby alley, press him up against the building and kiss him.

Simply, I wanted him.

“I need to stop by The Lacey Closet two blocks up. And then we can hit the corner market on our way back to the car. They should have all the ingredients I need to make coq au vin for you guys.”

“I’m touched that you want to go to such lengths for me. Makes me want to eat you up one bite at a time,” he murmured in a husky voice.

“Is that a fact?” I teased, tendrils of heat coiling in my belly.

He leaned in, towering over me. “It is. I can’t wait to hear you moan as I fill you with my cock.”

My pussy thumped and quivered at his naughtiness. I didn’t understand why his bold words aroused me. I’d never been a woman who cared for dirty talk—until them. “You assume you’ll get a chance.”

He grazed a knuckle down my cheek. I felt his gentle touch clear into my toes. “Won’t I? I’ve seen the way you look at me, beautiful. And if I told you all the naughty, depraved things I want to do to your gorgeous body, you’d likely run away screaming.”

His words sent my head spinning and my body purred. It thrilled me the way he talked, like my being with him was a foregone conclusion. I stopped in front of the door to the lingerie store and demanded, “Tell me.”