Enjoying the Chase (47 page)

She smiled. “Am I allowed? Won
’
t that ruin the macho image I have of you,
when I see you fall on your butt?”

I puffed out my chest and narrowed my eyes.
“I used to be junior skating champion. I won a trophy and everything. I
’
m not falling on my ass tonight. You don
’
t forget how to skate, it
’
s just like riding a bike, you never forget,”
I
bragged.

“Junior skating? That was ages ago. You do
know that you
’
re a little old now
though, I mean, if you fall you might break a hip,” she laughed as I poked her
in the ribs.

“Less of the old! I
’
m only twenty-five!” I countered, shocked and slightly offended.

She nodded. “Yep, quarter of a century!
Like I said… old,” she mused, sticking out her tongue and jumping away from me
when I lunged for her, dropping my overnight bag onto the floor.

I grabbed her and threw her over my
shoulder, slapping her ass hard enough to make her squeal and giggle. “That
’
s it, you
’
re coming with us so I can show off my mad skills on wheels,” I
insisted. DJ came skipping back into the room, laughing as he looked at the
pair of us. “Ready, Kid?” I asked. I barely even noticed that my headache had
started to go.

As it turned out, apparently you
do
forget how to skate.

I groaned as I moved on the sofa, making my
butt and back hurt from the small movement. Rosie giggled behind her hand,
looking anywhere but at me. I sighed deeply. “Can we stop with the laughter
now? Seriously, it
’
s bruising my
ego, and I really think I
’
m
bruised enough already.” I pouted, rolling my eyes as she snorted with laughter
then chewed on her lip, looking at me with amused eyes.

“I
’m sorry; I just
can’
t get the image out of my head. I mean, when you
grabbed that old guy and pulled him down with you too…” she trailed off,
bursting into another fit of giggles.

I cracked a smile, thinking of the guy
shouting at me as I dragged him down to the floor with me and DJ. It was pretty
funny. “Whatever, Stripes. Next time you come with us then and show us how it
’
s done, little miss
stand-on-the-sidelines-and-shout-instructions,” I teased, flicking her nose.

She grinned and settled against me, her
laughter dying out as she looked at me tenderly. “Thank you,” she whispered,
looking
contentedly at me.

“For what?”

She sighed and shook her head. “You don
’
t even realise what you
’
re doing, do you?
” she asked, her eyes
locked on mine. I had no idea what she was talking about. What was I doing?
“Nate, you were so tired from work, and yet you still took my son skating. That
was just…
adorable.
” She
smiled as she traced her hands around my neck, gripping them tightly into the
back of my hair. “Want to go to bed?”

I felt my balls tighten instantly at the
word bed, it was like one of those reactions from Pavlov
’
s dogs. They salivated at the sound of a bell, my dick hardened at
the word bed. Maybe I really was a sex pest and had just never realised.

I smiled, pulling her closer to me. “Sure,
I
’
ll go to bed with you, but no
naughtiness with a kid in the apartment,” I joked, pushing myself up from the
sofa, lifting her with me, making her gasp and wrap her legs around my waist.

“What the,” she recoiled, “
you can’
t be serious. Nate, he
’
s always gonna be here, does that mean you don
’
t ever want to-” I cut her off by kissing her.
There was no way I was sticking to that rule, he lived here, we
’
d have to find a way around it, we
’
d just be quiet or something. She laughed and
broke the kiss. “Thank goodness for that, I thought you were serious.”

I smiled.
“I was
kidding. But, to be honest, I don
’
t
think I
’
ll be up for much more
than making out tonight. My ass hurts. That old guy was freaking heavy when he
landed on me,” I joked.

She snickered again as I carried her into
the bedroom, eager to get into my side of her bed again, I
’
d been fantasising about it all week.

Chapter
Twenty-Five

“Momma,” A voice said quietly.
What
the hell?
“Momma.”

It suddenly dawned on me that I was at
Rosie
’
s apartment and that her
body was practically on top of mine. Her face was pressed into the crook of my
neck, her arm and leg were slung over me – and damn, was it comfortable!

She moved stiffly, and I glanced in the
direction of the voice. I could barely see from the light of the alarm clock,
but I could just make out DJ standing by the side of the bed, clutching Woody
doll to his chest.

“Hey, Baby, what
’
s up?
” Rosie whispered, moving off me
carefully.

“I had a bad dream,” DJ answered, sniffing
loudly.

“Shush, Baby, Nate
’
s sleeping. What was your dream about?” Rosie whispered as she moved
to sit on the side of the bed, rubbing her hand over her face.

“Bad guys came in and got us,” DJ answered,
as he started to cry again.

“It
’
s okay, Baby, no bad guys will come in here, you don
’
t need to worry about that. Come on, let
’
s get you back to bed,” Rosie whispered,
standing up and taking his hand.

I sat up too so she would know she didn
’
t need to worry about being quiet and waking
me. She glanced over her shoulder, smiling at me apologetically as DJ started
to wail and threw himself at her, wrapping his arms around her legs.

“
I don’
t want to sleep on my own, Momma, I
’
m scared. Can I sleeps in here with you?” he asked through his sobs.

I switched the bedside light on so she
could see better. She was rubbing his back and looked sexy as hell in the
little booty shorts and tank top pyjamas she was wearing. I smiled
appreciatively. She honestly looked adorable when she
’
d just woken up; she still had the lines of sleep imprinted on her
pretty face, her eyes not quite as wide and big as usual where she was tired.

“
You can
’
t, DJ, Nate
’
s here tonight. You
’
ll
have to sleep in your own bed,” she said softly.

He clutched her tighter as his breathing
started to hitch where he was sobbing so hard. “I
’
m scared to sleeps on my own, Momma!”

In that moment, I felt like a jackass. I
was totally screwing this up for him and probably making Rosie wish that she
hadn
’
t said I could stay. This was
the kind of thing that she didn
’
t
want to happen, and I didn
’
t
either, I didn
’
t want to come
between them or take her away from him somehow. He was, and would always be,
her first priority, and I understood and accepted that, I wouldn
’
t want it any other way.

“It
’
s okay, I
’
ll go and
just come back in the morning,” I suggested, climbing out of the bed and
grabbing my jeans, pulling them on quickly.

Rosie turned back to look at me, her
expression torn and undecided. I smiled as I pulled my T-shirt down over my
head, letting her know it was okay.

“Nate, it
’
s fine, you can stay in here, I
’
ll just sleep in with DJ,” she suggested, looking at me pleadingly.
She was probably worried about me driving home at two in the morning knowing
her; she knew I was tired from working.

Walking to her side, I kissed her forehead
softly. I didn
’
t really want to go
and leave her because this was only our second night together, but DJ came
first. “It
’
s okay, I promise.” I
smiled and held a hand down to DJ. “Slap me a high five, Kid.” He immediately
went to slap my hand but I moved it away quickly so he missed. “Too slow,
kiddo.” I laughed as I ruffled his hair, making him smile through his tears.

As I turned for the door, her hand closed
over mine, pulling me to a stop. She was looking at me pleadingly. “Don
’
t go,” she whispered, giving me the puppy dog
face.

“Rose, it
’
s okay, I know you have priorities, and I accept that. You do what
you need to do, and I
’
ll come back
around nine.” I squeezed her hand a little, reassuring her that I honestly didn
’
t mind.

She looked back to DJ, still holding my
hand tightly, stopping me from going anywhere. “DJ, how about you sleep in the
bed with me
and
Nate,” she suggested, looking at him hopefully.

Holy shit.
I
knew how protective she was over him, and the fact that she was even suggesting
this meant that she really liked me. I couldn
’
t help the happiness that was bubbling up inside.

DJ frowned and shook his head fiercely, and
I felt my heart sink a little. She
’
d accepted me, and I knew that he liked me, but I still had a lot of
work to do to gain his complete acceptance. That was alright though, I had the
time and the patience for that. They were both worth the effort.

Rosie glanced at me apologetically before
letting go of my hand and sitting on the side of the bed, pulling DJ closer to
her, looking him right in the eyes. “DJ, did Nate ever tell you what he does
for his job?” she asked.

DJ glanced at me curiously as he shook his
head. “No.”

“Nate
’
s a cop,” she stated, nodding at him, looking almost proud as she
said it. DJ looked at me with wide eyes. When I nodded in confirmation, a slow
smile spread across his face. “Do you know what would happen if a bad guy came
in here, like in your dream?” Rosie asked, grinning happily now. DJ shook his
head, looking at her curiously. “Nate would arrest them,” she said confidently.

DJ
’
s head snapped round to me. “You would?” he asked, looking at me
hopefully. I smiled as my heart skipped a beat; this kid honestly was awesome,
and I was desperate for his approval. I loved the way he was looking at me
right now.

“Yep. It
’
s my job to protect you and your momma.”

He beamed and immediately jumped on the
bed. “Okay then, I
’
ll sleep with
you and Momma,” he announced happily, yanking the covers up over his body and
snuggling in to Rosie
’
s pillow.

Rosie laughed and smiled at me, and I felt
my stomach tingle as goosebumps spread the entire length of my body. Rosie and
her little boy had just accepted me as part of their lives, not just as a
friend, but as something more. This may not have been a huge thing to them, but
it honestly meant the world to me.

“
You sure, Rose?
” I checked, I didn
’
t
want her to do this because she felt like she had to.

“Definitely sure, unless you want to
leave?” She actually looked a little worried about my answer. Clearly she had
no idea how much this meant to me at all.

“I want to stay,” I confirmed, even though
those words were barely a tenth of what I actually felt inside. She grinned happily
and turned back to the bed, climbing over DJ and settling into the middle of
the bed. I looked at DJ. “You sure you don
’
t mind me staying here with you two? If you want me to go, you can
tell me. I won
’
t be upset, I
promise.” I needed him to know that he could take his time with this and that
he didn
’
t need to rush into
anything.

He nodded. “
I don’
t mind.” He shrugged and settled into the bed, tucking Woody up on
the pillows next to him.

I grinned and pulled my T-shirt back off
over my head as I walked back around the other side of the bed again. Rosie was
watching me with a small, satisfied expression on her face; I unbuttoned my
jeans and pulled them off too, throwing them over the chair as I slipped into
the empty side of the bed again.

Rosie turned to DJ. “No snoring tonight,
huh?” she teased.

“
I don’
t snore Momma, you do,” DJ rebutted, as I turned off the light
again.

“No way! I bet Nate snores,” Rosie joked as
her hand found mine, pulling my arm across her body as I scooted close to her
back. I smiled and interlaced our fingers.

Was this what being in love felt like? Like
you
’
d won the lottery? Was I
already in love with her? With both of them? I knew I was falling for her, but
was I already there? I honestly didn
’
t know the answer to that question, but it sure as hell felt weird,
and damn scary too. I kissed the back of her head, snuggling closer to her as
she tangled her legs in with mine.

When I woke in the morning, I glanced
to my right, seeing that both DJ and Rosie were still sound asleep. The kid was
lying horizontally across the bed, with his feet on Rosie’s back. She didn’t
seem too bothered though so maybe she was used to it. She was draped all over
me again, her leg pressing down on my crotch making me horny as hell, which
wasn’t a good thing when there was a kid on the other side of the bed. I
gripped my hand around the back of her knee and moved it up so that I could try
and calm myself down. She sighed a little in her sleep and snuggled closer to
me, her hand cupping the side of my neck as she pressed her face against the
other side.

My gaze landed on the clock. It was just
after six in the morning. I rolled my eyes at myself – I never could sleep in
after working the early shift. I just laid there stroking Rosie
’
s hair and looking down at her beautiful face,
noticing for the hundredth time how her bottom lip was ever so slightly fuller
than the top one. After about twenty minutes, DJ moved and lifted his head,
looking up at me sleepily.

“Hey,” I whispered, putting my finger to my
lips so he wouldn
’
t wake his mom.

He sat up in the bed, rubbing his eyes, so
I wrapped my arms around Rosie tighter and rolled to the side, laying her down
on the bed instead of on top of me. As I eased out of the bed quietly, DJ was
just watching me, yawning; I grabbed my jeans and pulled them on feeling a
little uncomfortable just walking around in my underwear in someone else
’
s apartment.

“Let
’
s leave Momma to sleep. Maybe make her some breakfast in bed?” I
suggested, holding my hand out for him to take. He looked at it silently for a
couple of seconds, but didn
’
t take
it. Just as I was about to let my arm drop back to my side, he reached out and
placed his little hand in mine.

Grinning, I bent down and picked up his
Woody doll that had fallen on the floor in the night. “Come on then, partner,”
I whispered, handing it to him. He smiled gratefully, and we headed out into
the lounge.

“Wanna watch
’
toons with me?” he asked, pouncing on the sofa.

“Sure, I love cartoons.” I smiled and sat
next to him, turning the TV on and flicking through channels until we found
some Mickey Mouse thing that he wanted.

“Are you really a cop?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yep, I
’
m a SWAT agent, which is like a cop, but I get a bigger gun,” I
explained, smiling at his awed face.

“You have a gun?” His eyes widened
excitedly. 

I laughed and nodded. “Yeah and handcuffs.”

“Can I see them?”

“Sure. Next time your momma invites me over
I
’
ll bring my handcuffs and you
can try them out.” I grinned at his happy face, and he settled back on the sofa
watching crappy cartoons.

After about half an hour I was totally
bored and starving hungry. “Want some breakfast, Kid?” I asked, pushing myself
up and heading to the kitchen to see what there was in the cupboards. While we
chewed on toast and Poptarts, I eyed him curiously, unsure what to do with him
that would make him like me more. Of course, DJ insisted we watched
Toy
Story 3
again after too. At eight thirty the film finished, and I figured
it was probably about time Rosie woke before Josh was due over.

“Let
’
s make your momma some breakfast, huh? What do you think she
’
d like?” I actually had no idea what she liked
for breakfast, so I hoped he did.

“Eggs?” he suggested, making it sound more
like a question.