Davis, Keyonna - Faceless Enemy [Pine Valley 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (12 page)

When they arrived home, Chase refused to put Kerri back into the guest room. He wanted her with him, so he carried her to his room instead. He quickly stripped them both and placed her in the middle of the bed. He climbed in behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. He sighed and the word “content” popped in his head just as he dozed off to sleep.

* * * *

Kerri wasn’t sure what woke her from sleep. She lay there, blinking up at the ceiling, trying to get her eyes to adjust.
Where am I?
The room was unfamiliar to her. A muffled moan drew her attention to the man lying next to her.
Chase’s room.
That sound was what had woken her up. Chase was obviously having a bad dream, judging by the moans getting louder. Kerri placed her hand on his back to wake him up but quickly withdrew it when Chase began to lash out. She scrambled out of bed as fast as her injured leg would let her and backed into a corner. She wasn’t scared of Chase but knew that he was very dangerous at the moment. Her dad had explained it to her one time, telling her that the nightmares were more like flashbacks than dreams. They seemed so real that a person could see someone trying to wake them as a threat and hurt them before they realized what they were doing. Kerri knew that she needed to let Chase wake up on his own, but the whimpers and moans coming from the big guy nearly broke her heart. She softly called his name a few times until his body stiffened, and he sat straight up in bed. Kerri knew the exact moment he came out of the dream because the glazed look cleared from his eyes, and he reached out for her. When he realized that she wasn’t next to him, he scanned the room until his eyes locked onto her standing in the corner.

“Oh shit, Kerri. I’m so sorry. Did I hurt you?”

When she shook her head no, Chase turned his back and sat on the side of the bed. His shoulders slumped, and he held his head in his hands. Kerri couldn’t stand to see him this way and crossed the room to kneel in front of him. It wasn’t easy getting her leg to bend far enough so that she could rest on her knees, but she made it work. She placed her hand under Chase’s chin and lifted until he looked at her.

“Hey, you didn’t hurt me. I recognized the signs and got out of the bed before anything happened. No harm, no foul.”

Chase still had the look of guilt on his face, and Kerri wanted it gone. She wanted to take his mind off of everything, so she placed her hand against his chest and pushed him back. Chase didn’t budge but grabbed her hand instead.

“What are you doing, Kerri?”

“Shh, just lay back. You have been taking excellent care of me. Now let me do the same for you. Just trust me.” Kerri pushed again, and this time Chase lay back. It made her feel good that he trusted her because if he didn’t, there was no way she would have been able to push him to the bed. It was a good thing that Chase was already naked because it made what she was about to do a whole lot easier.

Kerri lifted his cock from where it rested against his thigh. Even at half-mast it was impressive. Even though they’d had sex a few times, she had gotten only quick glimpses of it. Now she took the time to study it closely. His cock was truly a work of art, from the large, purple-mushroomed cap, to the thick shaft. Kerri gripped him and squeezed a little, causing Chase to moan and buck his hips. He grew impossibly larger, and Kerri was unable to wrap her fingers all the way around him.
It’s a wonder he even fit inside me
.

Taking a deep breath, Kerri leaned over and wrapped her lips around the head of his cock. She sucked as she swiped her tongue over the crown, focusing on the small slit. Chase groaned again, and Kerri noticed that his fists were balled in the sheets on each side of him. She took more of him into her mouth, still gripping the base of his shaft with her hand, and began to set a rhythm of sucking and stroking until she felt Chase’s thigh tremble under her other hand. She removed the hand at the base of his penis and tapped his leg to let him know that it was okay for him to move. That seemed to be the signal that Chase was waiting for because he quickly thrust both hands into her hair and surged into her mouth. Kerri felt him hit the back of her throat and relaxed her muscles so that she could take him deeper. It was a tight fit, but she managed without gagging. She held still and breathed through each stroke, letting him have control. He may not have had control over his dreams, but with this he did.

Kerri knew exactly when Chase was about to come because his rhythm began to falter. He was breathing harshly and chanting her name over and over in the same rhythm as his strokes. His breath hitched, and he groaned loudly just as he yanked his cock out of her mouth. She felt the first spurts of semen hit her cheek and the rest dot her chin and neck. Chase lay back on the bed, panting. He still had his hands wrapped in her hair, and Kerri was willing to give him all the time he needed to recover.

Once his breath returned to normal, Chase rose up and gripped her under her arms. He lifted her from the floor, and Kerri was grateful because her thigh was protesting loudly. She didn’t let Chase know that she was hurting because she didn’t want to see any more guilt on his face. She had taken his mind off his nightmare, and that had been the goal. Chase placed her on the bed and went to the bathroom. He came back a few seconds later with a warm rag that he used to clean her face and neck. Kerri heard the wet rag splat against the floor and guessed that Chase had thrown it toward the bathroom. He climbed into bed, kissing her, and no words were spoken because none were needed. Chase knew what she had just done for him and why. He also knew that she wasn’t expecting him to return the favor. She curled into his side and drifted back off to sleep.

Chapter 8

“Hi, Dad.” Kerri smiled into the phone. It had been over two weeks since she last talked to him, and it was good to hear her dad’s voice.

“Hi, pumpkin. How are you feeling?”

“I feel great. My leg is healing. It is still a little sore, though. Other than that I am doing okay. How are you, Dad? How is the search going?”

Kerri could hear her dad breathing deeply. That meant that he was collecting his thoughts so that he didn’t make a mistake and tell her too much. Kerri hated that. How did he expect her to run the company if he still wasn’t willing to tell her everything? She knew that it wasn’t about trust. It was about her dad still coddling her. He wanted her sheltered from his world, but he wanted her to walk right alongside of him in it.

“Dad, tell me what’s going on.”

Her dad knew her just like she knew him. He knew that she wasn’t going to let it go, so he blew out a breath. “I think I know who took you. I’m close to catching him, so this should all be over soon.”

Kerri knew that there was more but decided to let it pass. She knew her father would do what needed to be done. Instead, Kerri focused on her reason for calling him.

When Kerri woke up that morning next to Chase in bed, it felt right. Her world felt like it finally made sense. This was where she belonged and wanted to stay. Her place was here in Chase’s arms. Hopefully he felt the same way, but she would worry about that when the time came to tell him how she felt. She hadn’t wanted to leave Chase alone in bed, but there was a phone call she needed to make, and she wanted privacy. She grabbed the secure satellite phone that Chase had showed her and went out on the back patio. Now, after hearing her dad’s voice, her confidence was leaving her. She had to tell him before she chickened out.

She cleared her throat. “Dad, there is something I need to tell you. Before you get upset, I just want you to listen and let me finish what I have to say.”

Immediately her dad responded, “What is it, Kerri. You know you can tell me anything.”

“I don’t want to run the company for you. Honestly, I’m not sure I ever did. I realized that it’s just not me. I want to settle down and have a family. I want lots of kids and a husband, and I want to be home to raise them. Being out here with Chase and his family made me realize that this is what I want.”

Daniel was quiet for a long time, and Kerri waited patiently for him to respond. “I’m sorry, pumpkin, if you felt like I pushed you into this. I only wanted what’s best for you. That is why I already decided that I wasn’t going to turn the company over to you. I want out as well, so I’m selling it. Having you used against me is something that I never want to go through again. Maybe I can settle down as well and help you raise my grandkids.”

Kerri didn’t know what to say. She was ready to argue her point, but her dad had stopped the argument in its tracks.
He already decided to sell the company. He wanted out as well. Okay, well let’s see if we can’t make it two for two.

“Thank you, Dad, for understanding about the company. I’m glad that you are getting out as well because I worry about you, too. It’s time you settled down and found someone to love. Mom wouldn’t have wanted you to be alone all this time. She would have wanted you to find someone to make you happy. She would have wanted that for both of us, and I have found someone that makes me truly happy.”

Kerri couldn’t stand the silence on the other end of the phone so she blurted out, “I’m in love with him, Dad.”

“And by ‘him’, you mean Chase?”

She tried to listen to his voice to see if she heard anger, but all she heard was genuine curiosity so she continued, “Yes, Dad. I am in love with Chase. I haven’t told him yet, and I’m not sure how he feels about me, but I have to take a chance. I love him, and this is where I want to be if he will have me.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised. I think you have had a place in your heart for Chase since you were a little girl. You were in awe when you first met him.”

Kerri sucked in a breath. “You knew about that?”

“Of course I did.” Daniel laughed. “I pay attention to everything. Don’t worry about Chase either. I saw the way he was watching you in the hospital and how protective of you he was. Trust me, he feels the same way. And if he doesn’t, then I will just have to come out there and make him feel it.”

Kerri laughed even though she had tears streaming down her face.

“Listen, pumpkin, I love you, and I want you to be happy. You couldn’t have picked a better man to share your life with, and I am happy for you.”

She loved Chase, and her dad had just given her his blessing to be with him. She was on the verge of getting everything she always wanted. “Thank you, Dad. You have no idea how happy you have made me.”

“Trust me, honey, I know. I need you to do me a favor, though. I need you to stay close to Chase in the next few days. This should all be over soon, but I need to know that you are protected so that I can focus on catching this guy. Promise me.”

Kerri knew that there was a lot her dad wasn’t saying, and if she took the time to read between the lines then she could probably figure it out, but she didn’t want to. For once she agreed with her dad. She would stay close to Chase and let her dad handle the situation. Soon it would all be over, and they could start living a normal life.

“I promise, Dad. Just be safe.”

They said their good-byes, and Kerri hung up. She breathed a sigh of relief. The phone call had gone way better than she expected, and she was ecstatic. She had no idea that her dad wanted out of the company just like she did. Maybe they should have had this talk a whole lot sooner. A sound behind her drove Kerri from her thoughts, and she turned to see Chase leaning against the door.

“How long have you been standing there, Chase?”

Instead of responding, Chase stalked over to her and held her by the shoulders. He was so close that Kerri had to lean her head way back to see his face. He had a neutral expression on his face, so she couldn’t tell what mood he was in.

“Chase, what’s wrong?”

“Did you mean it?” he asked.

Did I mean it? What in the world is going on?
Chase shook her shoulders to get her to focus back on him.

“Did you mean what you just said to your dad?”

The
lightbulb
finally went off for Kerri, and she looked into Chase’s eyes. She saw hope shining in them and smiled. “Yes, Chase, I meant every word. I’m not sure how much you heard, so I will say it again. I love you, Chase Matthews. According to my dad I have been in love with you since I first laid eyes on you. Either way, I love you. If you will have me, I am willing to spend the rest of my life with you.”