Can't Buy Me Love (24 page)

Lena
was no longer thinking, no longer protesting – she loved this man. She wanted
this man. Even now, after all the weeks of struggling against it, the need she
felt for Chase gripped her with unrelenting strength. And she had no desire to
fight it. No desire to push him away when she had wanted him close for so long.
She kissed him back, willing him to feel the love she felt for him.

A
soft whining from the corner of the room spilled into Lena’s consciousness. As
she pushed against Chase, he lifted his head from hers, and together they
looked over toward the bedroom door. Winston was standing there, looking worried.
Someone was mauling his best friend in the whole wide world, and he had to be sure
she was OK. Even if the someone who was doing the mauling was a man that he was
sort of sure was a good guy.

Lena
immediately pushed away from Chase and hunkered down in front of Winston.

“It’s
OK, sweetheart,” she said. “I’m OK. Mostly. Sort of,” she added as she tried to
catch her breath. Reaching out, she gently scritched his head until he moved
closer, sidling up to her with pleasure, looking up at Chase suspiciously. He
let out a soft woof, as if letting him know that he was watching him carefully.

“I’m
not entirely sure that
I’m
OK,” Chase said, his voice husky as he hunkered
down next to Lena. “I think I might have just strained something that shouldn’t
be strained.” But he shared Lena's concern for the dog, and reached out slowly
to scritch Winston’s butt. The dog looked up at both of them, then sighed with pure
adoration.

Smiling,
Lena leaned her head lightly against Chase’s arm, and then reached up and
kissed his cheek before standing up and heading out to the kitchen. She needed
to put some space between her and this man. This man that she loved, wanted,
and couldn’t begin to understand.

As
she leaned on the counter next to the sink, Lena struggled to get her own
feelings under control. A few minutes later, she felt, rather than heard,
Chase’s presence in the kitchen.

“Do
you want more coffee?” she asked.

“Thanks,
but no. I’ve had enough tonight.”

“Water
then?”

“Please.”

She
reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher of cold water, pouring
them each a glass. Handing one of the glasses to Chase, she looked up at him and
asked, “Chase, why did you come here tonight?”

He
took the glass she offered and took a sip before setting it down on the counter
next to him. “Partly because I wanted to see you. Partly because I wanted to
see other folks from Helping Hands, and reconnect. Partly because I badly
wanted to meet Frankie, to see if she was who I pictured when Frank told me
about her.”

“Was
she?”

“
Oh
yes.”

Lena
laughed.

“But
mostly because I told you last weekend that you and I weren’t done.”

She
nodded. Looking down at her bare feet poking out from under her frayed jeans,
she sighed. “Chase, I appreciate what you’re doing for my father, but I can’t
marry you out of gratitude for your kindness, or for your financial stability. It’s
kind of you to offer, especially given everything you’ve told me about your
issues associated with your wealth. But I can’t do it. I can’t do it to you, I
can’t do it to me, and I won’t do it for my father.”

“And
for our grandfathers?” he asked, his tone teasing.

Lena
laughed then. “There’s not much I wouldn’t do for them,” she said. “But you and
I need to do what’s right for us, not what’s right for anyone else in our
families.”

“So
why
would
you choose to marry?” he asked casually.

“Love,”
she said without hesitation.

“And
you don’t love me?”

Lena
nearly choked on her water. Setting the glass down, she grabbed a paper towel
and dabbed at her t-shirt. When she looked over at him, she expected to see him
grinning down at her, but his face was serious, his eyes were solemn, and his
expression was completely sober. She blinked in bewilderment.

“Lena?”

Chase
moved over toward her, his arms reaching out around her, his hands wrapping
around the edge of the kitchen countertop, effectively trapping her between him
and the cabinets. She lifted her hands up to rest on his chest, ready to push
him away, but hesitating.
What was he doing?

“Here’s
the thing,” he said, his voice serious and his eyes gazing directly into hers. “You
and I? We’re right together. We belong together. Your father may be an idiot. He
may be a heartless bastard. But on this point, I agree with him. Marry me.”

“Why?”

“We
belong in each other’s worlds – both of them. We fit.”

“That’s
not enough,” Lena protested.

“Pops
and Granddad will plan the whole thing. We won’t need to do anything but show
up.”

Lena
started to smile.

“Winston
can come.”

Her
smile grew.

“I’ll
keep your father on the straight and narrow. And keep him out of jail.”

“That’s
not
completely
a plus, you realize,” Lena pointed out.

He
took a step closer, the length of his body pressing slowly up against hers.

“Marry
me, Lena,” he whispered.

Her
eyes were worried as they looked up into his. “I don’t give a damn about your
money, Chase.”

“I
know, Lena.”

Chase
moved one hand from the countertop to the side of her face, his thumb gently
caressing her cheek as he tilted her head up toward his.

“Chase...”

But
Chase wasn’t done. “Marry me Lena. Not because you need the money, or your
father needs the money, or for any reason but the one you said you would marry
for. Lena, I love you. I love that you would let your father sleep in the bed
that he made, rather than risk hurting me. I love that you work for a living,
and don’t sponge off that crazy man. I love that you and your Pops are close,
and that you managed to completely befuddle my own Granddad so much that he
nearly ran me over with a golf cart when he heard that we had split up. Especially
when I told him why. I love that even though I hurt you, and badly, you still
let me in your door. I love that you took in a terrorized dog, and you’re
slowly turning him into the vicious guard dog you once told me he was. Should I
keep going?” he asked.

Lena
just stared at him, dumbfounded.
He loved her? He really loved her?

Taking
her silence as assent, Chase continued. “I love that you work in a homeless shelter,
and don’t take any crap from anyone. I love that you drink beer, eat
hamburgers, and crave onion rings. I love that you have a sense of humor, and
you’re not afraid to cuss, even in front of my grandfather. I love that you
paint your toenails, and that you look like heaven poured into a dress when we
go out at night. But most of all, Lena, I love your heart. I love the kindness,
the purity, the sweetness that I see every day. I love you. Marry me, Lena. Not
because I’m helping your father. Not because I have money. Not because our
grandfathers will probably dance naked on tables at our wedding reception. Marry
me because you love me.” He looked down into her face, staring up at him in
disbelief. “You do, don’t you?” he asked. “For God’s sake, Lena. Please. Tell
me you do.”

She
blinked.

For
a moment, Chase’s eyes went bleak. “Lena?” he asked quietly. “Did I get this
all wrong?” He started to pull away, but she reached out then and reached her
arms around his waist, locking her hands together and holding him close to her.

Taking
a deep breath, Lena looked up at the man standing in front of her, his hands
still tangled in her hair. “I love that you never in your life wore jeans until
the first day that you showed up at the shelter. I love that my curmudgeonly
staff found you indispensable after the first week. I love that you cared
enough about the place and the work that you kept coming back, even before you
realized that I worked there. I love that you make me laugh, that you make me
feel things I’ve never felt before. I love that you care about my crazy
neurotic dog. I love that your grandfather is so protective of you that he’s
scared off all the women before me. I love that you took me out for burgers and
beer and never once complained about the sticky seats. I love that you are
willing to bail out my father, even though he’s done some really stupid things,
just because you love me. I love that you look amazing in those new jeans of yours,
but that you look like something out of GQ whenever you put on a tuxedo. I love
that you let me be me. But most of all, I love your heart. Your incredibly
warm, generous, loving heart. I love you, Chase Hamilton. And I’ll marry you. But
not yet.”

Chase
looked down at her, partly with love, and partly with serious confusion. “Why the
hell not?”

“Because
I don’t want my father to think that he made this happen. That he told me to do
this so I fell over and did it. I don’t want him ever thinking that he has that
kind of power over me.”

Chase
thought about it for a moment, and then said, “OK. I can kind of see your
point. I think, though, that your father is slowly realizing that you have a
mind of your own. So I’m not waiting long, is
my
point,” he grinned.

Lena
pinned him with her gaze. “Are you absolutely sure that you want to marry into
my crazy family?” she asked.

“Sweetheart,
you’re not exactly getting a bargain with my DNA either.” He looked down at her
seriously. “Be sure, Lena. Because once you say yes, there’s no way in hell I’m
ever letting you go.”

“I’m
a package deal,” she reminded him. “Love me, love my dog.”

“Winston?
Oh hell, I already love that dog. Say yes, Lena,” he said softly, his arms
wrapped around her waist, his fingers caressing the small of her back.

She
looked up at him with all the love she felt for him in her eyes. “Yes, Chase. Absolutely,
positively, without a doubt. Yes.”

Chase's
arms locked around her, his eyes blazing into hers. His body was hard against
hers, and she moved instinctively to match her softness to his long form. When
his head slowly lowered to hers, Lena lifted her mouth to meet his. His kiss,
when it came, was fiercely possessive, and it sent her reeling with desire and
need. His breath mingled with hers, his tongue met hers in a wild and primal
dance.

Her
arms moved around his back, pulling him closer to her and holding him tightly
as his mouth explored her throat and her neck. When it returned at last to her
own mouth, she met his kiss with fire. As Chase felt her response take flight,
his own onslaught gentled, and he began to kiss her deeply, but with a
tenderness that caused Lena to moan with need. His hand slid from her back
around to her breasts, and he cupped and stroked them gently in turn, as his other
hand moved up to hold her head firmly in place for his mouth to continue its
movement over hers.

Lena
raised her arms to encircle his neck, and she threaded her fingers through his
hair, holding him close to her as his kisses grew deeper and more passionate. Gone
were the gentle caresses, and in their place was something infinitely more
intriguing, and considerably more addicting. When Chase at last raised his head
and dropped his hand back to her waist, Lena moaned softly, asking for more
without words. But Chase just held her, letting their breathing return to
normal.

“I
want you, Lena,” Chase growled, when he could finally speak.

Lena
nodded. “I got that,” she said, her heart rate finally beginning to slow. “So
why did you stop?”

He
kissed her gently on the forehead and set her away from him. He moved to the
other side of the kitchen, leaned back against the counter, and looked up at
the ceiling, still working to keep his emotions and his need for her in check. When
he spoke, his voice was gravelly with desire.

“It’s
late. And while there is nothing I want more in life than to haul you back to
your bedroom and make love to you for the entire night and on into tomorrow, if
I start touching you, I’m not going to be able to stop. So I’m stopping now. You’re
due at the shelter in the morning, and I don’t want you to have to tell Frank
that he needs to show up on one of his days off because of me.”

Lena
closed her eyes in chagrin. Truth was, she’d entirely forgotten what day of the
week it was. Or that she had to work in the morning. Or that she worked at all,
for that matter. She sighed. “Crap.
Crap crap crap crap crap
.”

Chase
chuckled. “So I’m going to get out of here, because I’m not going to be able to
be here and not touch you. But tomorrow night...”

“Tomorrow?”

He
pushed himself off the counter and shoved his hands in his pockets, his gaze
focused intently on her face. “I’m taking you out to dinner,” he said slowly. “Anywhere
you want to go. And then we are going to finish what we’ve started tonight.”

Lena
took a deep breath. “No. Dinner here. I’ll cook. Please. I don’t think I could
sit through a restaurant meal.”