A Love for all Ages (Crockett County Trilogy Book 1) (10 page)

Sensing Stephanie is almost ready Chase gives her a reason
why she can’t refuse, “You know Archibald feels bad he was unable
to help Della when the burglar broke in.
He is worried the man will
come back and you will be in danger, for him it would be like Della
all over again.
Do you really want to put him through this?”
He
almost smiles when he realizes he got to her.
Chase feels a little
guilty for using Archibald but the end results are what matter right
now.

The sense of feeling trapped grips her stomach.
She knows
she can’t have Archie worried about her. She also knows this will
be better for Chase’s peace of mind.
She just hopes this is going to
be better for her.
Nodding her head she asked “So when are you
wanting to move in?
I can get the spare room ready for you.”

Deciding to not press his luck; not wanting to give her time
to change her mind, “I figure I can go to town, pack a few things and
be back here in an hour.”
Reaching in his pocket Chase pulls out
his cell phone; he makes a call to dispatch then one to Deputy
Johnny.
While on the phone with his third call he slides his hand
into his other pocket extracting her cell phone.

With Chase busy speaking to someone named Rivers;
Stephanie checks her phone, discovering it’s completely dead.
Searching her computer case she finds the charger after she plugs
the phone in, within seconds the voice mail tone goes off, glancing
at the phone she sees forty seven voice mails listed.
Shaking her
head she leaves the phone charging.
Walking back to the table she
opens her computer then pushes the on button, deciding she needs
to do at least some work done today.
She has played hooky long
enough.

Finished with his phone calls, Chase moves to the table
picking up his bottle of water.
Leaning down he gives Stephanie a
kiss. “I shouldn’t be gone long. I will lock up on my way out.
While in town I am going to pick up the supplies to repair the
window panel.
Don’t worry about the spare bedroom I’m a grown
man, I can take care of it myself.
If you need anything call my cell
phone.” Finished speaking Chase walks away, leaving Stephanie
sitting at the table staring after him.

Not sure how long she has been sitting at her computer
working on the cover of the new horror book Stephanie just knows
her muscles are sore and she needs a shower.
Before starting on
the latest assignment she had glance through her emails, deleting
the ones she didn’t need then put the ones she needed to keep in a
folder.

Feeling it was time for a break she pushes away from the
table standing up she begins to stretch.
But wishes she hadn’t
done that when her ribs scream in protest.
Deciding it is time for
the hot shower she powers down the computer then check to make
sure the kitten still has food and water; as an afterthought, she
checks the litter box.

All good for the kitten; Stephanie goes upstairs.
Stopping
on the landing to the second floor she looks up at the door leading
to the attic.
Shaking her head she decides to wait for Chase; they
can check out the mess together.
Turning she walks down the hall
to her room.

Chase has a feeling of deja’vu; it seems he is always
searching for Stephanie.
He has looked through every room down
stairs, standing back in the foyer he decides to try the second floor;
he takes the stairs two at a time. Reaching the landing Chase
stands quietly trying to hear if she is in the attic.
Silence, no
humming or no movement detected.

Walking down the hall Chase hears the floor creak in
Stephanie’s room; he stops at her door.
Shrugging his shoulders
Chase raises his hand, giving a soft tap with his knuckles.
Listening
in the hallway he thinks he hears a door being opened then closed.
Laying his hand on the door knob Chase looks behind him; grinning
when he sees the hallway is empty.
Twisting the knob he opens
the door his eyes are drawn to Stephanie standing in front of the
closet mirror.
like a sarong.
cascading down her back.

Looking up Chase sees Stephanie watching him in the mirror;
their eyes meet.
Holding her stare Chase walks slowly in the room;
stopping when he reaches the foot of her bed.
Breaking eye
contact Stephanie turns away from the mirror as she takes a step
toward Chase she shifts her eyes back his.
Chase takes the last
step bringing her within his reach.
He cups her face with his
hands, he then leans over to kiss her, it starts soft and gentle,
feeling her respond he deepen the kiss, pushing his tongue inside
her mouth.
He hears her moan deep in her throat as he moves his
hands to the back of her head; he begins twisting her hair in his
fingers.
He gently pulls her head back giving him access to her
neckline.
Chase ends the kiss just to begin nibbling his way down
She is wearing a towel wrapped around her body
Stephanie’s hair is still damp from her shower
her cheek to her neck.
Stephanie grabs his shoulders holding on
tight.

Straightening Chase looks at Stephanie seeing her eyes filled
with passion he moves back a few inches.
With her hands now
gripping his upper arms she feels his muscles tighten.
Not wanting
any misunderstandings his hands move to the knot of her towel.
He stops as he continues to make eye contact giving her time to say
no.

Smiling a tiny sexy smile Stephanie nods her head yes.
Her
smile widens when she hears Chase release the breath he was
holding.

With a flick of his wrist the towel falls around Stephanie’s
feet.
He sucks in a breath at the beauty standing before him.
Cupping her face with his hands he kisses her as he guides her
backwards.
Feeling her legs touch the back of the bed Stephanie
wraps her arms around Chase’s neck as she falls back on the bed.
He releases her face to catch his weight with his hands on either
side of her head.
Neither ends the kiss.
Moving her hands from
his neck to the buttons of his shirt she begins undoing one after
another until his shirt is complete open.
Stephanie places her
hands on Chase’s chest, slowly she begins to rub her hands over his
smooth skin then downwards to his rock hard stomach and back up
again.

Breaking their kiss Chase looks down at Stephanie’s breasts,
her soft flawless mounds.
He leans forward lightly licking one
nipple.
Moaning she grabs his head holding tightly.
Loving her
reaction, he leans over again this time he sucks the nipple deep
inside his mouth.
He feels her thrust her hips against his groin and
at the same time he also feels an area of his jeans get tighter.
Chase moves to her other breast sucking the nipple as he had the
first one. Taking it deep in his mouth he rolls the bud with his
tongue.
Sucking harder he pulls her nipple further in, as he does
he cups his hand around the swell of her breast squeezing as he
suckles.

“Oh my, Chase!” Stephanie moans as she grabs Chase’s hair
in her fists.
Chase is making her whole body tremble.
She knows
her body temperature has increased to flaming hot; he has her
burning from the inside out.

Releasing her breast he raises his head, shifting a little he
looks into her eyes; her pupils are dilated and bright with desire.
His own desire is growing filling him with need.
Closing the
distance between them Chase kisses Stephanie on her mouth; a
quick hard kiss.

Smiling he moves to kneel on the floor between her legs.
Taking his shirt off, he throws it across the room.
Placing his hands
on her hips he pulls her closer.
With her buttocks at the edge of
the mattress he places her legs over his shoulders.
He begins
caressing her thighs rubbing his hands along the insides; he watches
as his hands come close to the center of her junction.
The short
dark curls beckoned Chase, using his fingers he pushes through the
curls to the wet center underneath.
His fingers become wet with
Stephanie’s juices; slowly he slides two fingers deeper inside her.
Chase strokes her faster as her hips thrust upwards.
Moaning
Stephanie grabs the comforter on the bed.
Grinning Chase
increases the pace, softly he tells her, “Come on baby; you can do it.
Let me do this for you.”

As Stephanie hips thrust harder she tightens around his
fingers, raising her head from the bed she looks at him and in a
voice filled with need, “Chase, I need you inside me, please, I need
you now.”
As if speaking had taken more strength then she had
she flops back on the bed.

Almost screaming when Chase replaces his fingers with his
tongue; Stephanie clinches her knees on his head.
Stroking her
with his tongue Chase tastes her juices; slowly he sucks the essence
of her womanhood into his mouth.
He slides two fingers inside her
vortex stroking fast.
Chase continues making Stephanie writher
under his love making.
With his techniques it doesn’t take long
before Chase feels Stephanie’s release; as she tightens around his
fingers the spasms rock her body.

When he knows she is done he raises his head to gaze upon
her.
Chase could do this over and over and never get tired.
Stephanie is lying back on the bed breathing deeply.
After a few
minutes she raises up on her elbows, “Wow.” Grinning she lays
back down on the bed.
Rising up again she asks, “Why didn’t you
make love to me?
Don’t get me wrong this was awesome, I just
don’t understand, why we didn’t do the do.”
Laughing at her
wording she stares at Chase waiting for him to answer.

Chase places a kiss on the soft curls covering her
womanhood.
He moves to leans over Stephanie, he gives her lips
a quick lick then a quick kiss.
Chase smiles as he tells her, “This
was defiantly awesome but I was not planning on this happening.
So I was ….let’s just say I was not prepared for this time.”
Grinning
when he sees she understands blushing.
“Besides, for me there
are many ways of making love.”
Believing her to be the most
wonderful woman in the world Chase stares at her lying naked on
the bed and is amazed after all they had just done, she blushes
because he didn’t have protection.
It is also at that moment he
realizes he is in love with her.

Sitting up on the bed concerned Stephanie asks, “Did I hurt
your head?
During all the excitement I grabbed your head.
Did I
hit you with my cast?”
Searching with her eyes she looks for marks
or scratches on his face; finding none she pulls her lower lip
between her teeth.
She had been filled with passion and need, she
hadn’t even thought about her cast or the fact she could be hurting
Chase.

Seeing the concern on her face Chase moves to lie on the
bed beside her, taking her hand he laces their fingers together, “You
didn’t hurt me.”
Bringing Stephanie’s hand to his mouth he kisses
it then lays their joined hands on his chest.

Lying beside Chase, Stephanie tries to stifle a yawn, unable
to hide it she rolls closer to him.
Now with her body temperature
returning to normal she feels chilly.
“I think we need to get under
the covers and take a nap.
For some reason I am exhausted. “
Smiling sleepily she closes her eyes.

Chase feels her body cuddled next to his, agreeing he
responds, “Good ideal but before you pass out we need to move
under the covers as you suggested.”
Sitting up Chase takes off his
boots then stands to remove his jeans.
Deciding it’s best for them
both he leaves his boxer shorts on, glancing at Stephanie he sees
her watching him.
Smiling Chase motions for Stephanie to get
under the covers he joins her on the bed.
Stephanie lays her head
on Chase’s arm as she moves closer against him.
After pulling the
covers over them Chase puts his other arm around her waist.
His
last thought before he falls asleep is he could get use to spooning
with Stephanie.

A few hours later Stephanie sits at the kitchen table
browsing through the Civil War sites on her computer.
Not sure
what she is actually looking for she lets her thoughts turn to Chase.
After they had wakened they had gotten dressed then went to the
attic to check out what the burglar had done.
Seeing the box
across the room Stephanie had set it upright then placed the items
back inside.
Folding the flaps closed she stacked it with the other
boxes by the window.

They had tried to come up with answers to why he had just
taken the one ledger.
The house has a few antiques, as well as her
laptop is state of the art, yet he hadn’t bothered to steal those
items.
Not coming any closer to the reason Chase had taken the
ledgers still in the box downstairs to look through later, placing the
box by the couch.
Next he had fixed the broken pane on the back
door, upon completing that task he had gone to the living room to
begin reading the ledgers.

She had left him sitting on the couch with the box at his feet.
Coming in the kitchen she had thought maybe she could find
something to help with Archie on the civil war sites, she had been
sitting here for over an hour, however she was no closer to finding
any beneficial information.
Coming back from her thoughts,
Stephanie decides it is time to fix something to eat; she hadn’t eaten
since the toast this morning with her coffee.

Rising from her chair Stephanie abandons the computer but
allows it to remain open on the page she had been reading.
Leaving the kitchen she walks to the living room door.
Spotting
Chase flipping through a ledger Stephanie takes a minute to just
study him.
He is sitting on the couch with his legs stretched out in
front of him, he has his ankles crossed and his feet are bare.
Chase
has on a pair of well wore jeans and a black t-shirt.
His hair looks
as if he has racked his fingers through it, the dark brown strands
laying in a messy sexy style; remembering how the silkiness had felt
in her fists she longs to repeat the experience.
Deciding now was
not the time to have these thoughts she clears her throat, as Chase
glances over the top of the book she blurts out, “I am going to fix
something to eat, are you hungry?”
Thinking that could have been
smoother she waits for his answer.

Placing the ledger on top of other ones lying beside him on
the couch he nods his head, “Actually, that sounds good, I’ll help
you.”
He was already getting to his feet as he finishes speaking.
Standing straight Chase stretches the kinks out of his back, thinking
he must be getting old.
He feels as if he has been sitting for days;
not for just an hour.
Ending his stretching Chase walks over to
Stephanie, he lays his forearms lightly on her shoulders; leaning
over he lightly kisses her lips.

Stephanie smiles up at Chase enjoying the contact.
Never
having been a touchy person she wasn’t sure how to act with Chase;
it seems he is always touching or kissing her.
Deciding she enjoys
his attention, she just wasn’t sure how to handle this type of thing.
Having been alone for so many years with only her brother as a role
model; she hadn’t formed any long term relationships with men.

Admitting she had dated mostly men she knew hadn’t
wanted a relationship; long term or not.
After a while, she quit
dating all together not wanting just sexual partners and not wanting
a relationship, she had gotten out of the dating scene.

Staring into Stephanie’s eyes Chase wonders what she is
thinking. Laying his forehead against hers he whispers, “A penny for
your thoughts.”
Trying to lighten her mood feeling she had been
in deep thought; he wants to see her smile again.
He enjoys when
she smiles and the smile reaches her eyes, her eyes get a gray ring
around the outside of the irises.
Thinking she has the most
amazing eyes he has ever seen sometimes he feels he could look
deep in her eyes and find the answers to the universe, other times
her eyes hold mysteries.

Stephanie steps back from him making his arms fall from her
shoulders.
Turning she says, “They are not worth a penny.”
Changing the subject she adds, “Having any luck with the ledgers?”
Walking in the kitchen she doesn’t wait for Chase to answer; she
goes straight to the refrigerator, opens the door looking for
something to fix them to eat.
Loving to cook but just not in the
mood right now she decides to make omelets.
Stephanie begins
setting the ingredients on the counter; selecting ham and cheese
she mixes it together in a bowl.
“If you’re serious about helping,
want to fix toast?”
Looking over at Chase she sees him reading the
open page on her computer.
He looks up at her nodding his head.
They work in silence preparing their part of the meal.

With the meal cooked they sit at the table eating.
Swallowing a bite of toast, Chase tells Stephanie, “I have read most
of the ledgers I can’t find anything that would make someone want
to steal one.
I wish I knew why the year 1863 was so important.
Other than it being the year Archibald died, I don’t know any vital
reason.”
Closing his eyes briefly he adds, “I have looked at all the
number and columns until my eyes hurt.”
Lifting his fork he takes
a bite of the omelet, “This is good, thanks, I didn’t realize I was
hungry until you mentioned food.”
Grinning he continues to eat.

“You’re welcome.
I have been busy trying to look up
information on the civil war, particularly the year Archie died.
Not
having any luck either.” Shrugging one slim shoulder, she goes
back to eating.