© 2013 Sandra Corton

Chapter 5

Another day, another meeting about the wedding. Brianna hadn't even had a chance to go home yet. She sat in Andy's living room waiting for the other women to arrive. She was beyond stressed just thinking about having to face not only Lindsay but also Macy who she hadn't seen for years. Between that and thinking about Chase she wasn't quite sure how she was making it through the day.

She heard Lindsay's voice long before she rang the doorbell. Already Brianna wanted to bite her fingernails down with worry. Lindsay's blonde hair blew back in the breeze from the doorway as she entered. Brianna was instantly jealous of her perfectly straight hair and graceful stance.

Macy followed and Brianna was surprised by the plump woman who used to pride herself on being super thin. Her brown curls bounced around her face that seemed more aged somehow. She smiled and laughed at something Andy said to her but Brianna still saw the mean girl from high school.

"Come in and sit down you two. You remember Brianna from school?" Andy said cheerily as she gestured to Brianna who felt like running from the room. The other two women seemed to force a smile as they sat down on the couch opposite Brianna. "Where to start?" Andy muttered to herself.

"I'd start with the most shocking thing first." Lindsay said dryly as she sent a narrow eyed look to Brianna.

"Fine, as you're the only one that doesn't know Macy, the best man is none other than Chase Montgomery." Andy said simply. A gasp of surprise went through Macy dramatically before she paused and sent them a fierce look.

"So are we talking about Chase Montgomery, action star with the completely ripped bod?" Macy asked suspiciously and they nodded, "You are so teasing me right now aren't you?" She asked staring them down.

"If only." Brianna muttered.

"So it's true?" Macy asked in amazement making the other women nod once again, "Well I claim dibs on him." Macy called out with a clap of her hands.

"Sorry no can do Macy. He is partnered by the only person in this room that's actually slept with the guy." Andy said astutely making Brianna close her eyes and stifle a groan.

"Wait one minute! You're telling me someone in this room has slept with Chase Montgomery? As in touched that naked gorgeous arse?" Macy practically yelled at Andy who nodded smugly. Macy immediately turned to Lindsay who rolled her eyes.

"I wish." Lindsay uttered rather dejectedly. All eyes in the room then turned to Brianna who couldn't help the blush that stained her cheeks.

"Holy hell Bree that deserves a high five if nothing else does." Macy raised her palm sending a look of admiration to Brianna.

"It's not that big of a deal." Brianna said simply as she just stared at Macy's raised hand.

"Oh yeah? You should have seen you two going at it last night." Andy said with a cheeky chuckle.

"Andy!" Brianna said sharply as her face went even redder.

"Oh come on the guy totally has the hots for you. You'd be mad not to jump on him and ride him for all he's worth." Andy snorted making Brianna put her head in her hands.

"Right I need info here. A ton more info actually and Andy you're not allowed to say a damn thing." Macy said as she turned toward Brianna.

"I'm not telling you anything." Brianna said as she sent a quick glance to Lindsay.

"I'm not going to report anything that's said here. Chase made it pretty clear he'd drag me through the mud if I did." Lindsay said her voice full of rejection.

"Okay slow down all of you! It seems I'm way behind the times right now." Macy waved her hands at the other women, "Let's start with you." She turned to Brianna with a curious but surprisingly kind look in her eyes.

"It's nobody's business." Brianna managed to whisper.

"Bree look I know I've been a bitch to you before but right now you are a goddess in my eyes. Please tell me about Chase." Macy begged and Brianna let out a sigh. It seemed there was no way out of this.

"I met him while we were on holiday. We spent four days together and I spent the last night with him." Brianna said quickly while Macy sent her a disappointed look.

"Honey you'd want to do way better than that." Macy told her as she swished her finger back and forth while staring Brianna down.

"What do you want to hear? That is was the best sex of my life? Well it was." Brianna answered as she shook her head, "Now the idiot reckons we are meant to be together and he's determined to convince me of it. All you have to do is look at the two of us together, it's like chalk and cheese." She said her voice full of exasperation.

"No Bree you guys are dynamite together." Andy said seriously as she faced her friend.

"We have chemistry I'll admit that. But who wouldn't have chemistry with him?" Brianna said as though it was obvious.

"You are so the winner in this one Bree. You go get him girl!" Macy let out a little giggle, "Now tell me what touching that hot bod is like, I'm only ever going to be able to dream it." Macy sat forward in anticipation while Brianna had no idea what to tell her.

"How exactly do we know she's even telling us the truth here?" Lindsay said snidely but Brianna was thankful for the interruption.

"You tell me Linny. You saw them last night, maybe not in the compromising position that I found them in but still..." Andy suggested with an unsubtle wink.

"Andy will you just shut up about that!" Brianna said on a groan.

"So what exactly happened last night?" Macy asked with a sly look between them.

"I found this one with her body practically wrapped around Chase's. Let me just tell you they were both decidedly topless." Andy said smugly while Brianna tried not to get up and throttle her friend.

"I am so jealous of you right now." Macy said with a sigh.

"Can we please stop talking about this?" Brianna pleaded with them all.

"Fine by me." Lindsay huffed.

"I'll drop it when you admit to me everything you've done together." Andy said with a grin.

"You know what I'm going home. I'm tired of talking about Chase and my non-existent relationship with him." Brianna got up on a huff, picked up her bag and marched towards the door. Andy met her by her car with a regretful expression on her face.

"I'm sorry Bree. You just don't know how lucky you are. All of us are going crazy with jealousy over it." Andy said as she reached out a hand imploringly to her friend.

"You have Leo. I thought you loved him, I mean you are about to marry the man. If there's anyone that should be jealous here it's me and you know that." Brianna said with determination.

"I do love Leo, he's the best. Ugh I'm acting like some silly fan girl aren't I? But he's this huge star, huge Bree!"

"Yes just like with the boy bands when we were in school. No matter what though I still love you." Brianna told her in a slightly disgruntled voice and Andy smiled.

"I'm pretty sure I don't deserve it most of the time." Andy said ruefully and Brianna returned her smile.

"Stop telling everyone about me and Chase. That will make me happy and I might even love you a teensy bit more." Brianna told her firmly.

"I will and I'm sorry. I just want to brag about my best friend that got THE Chase Montgomery. It makes me happy, but jealous mind you that he completely dotes on you. He will go out of his way for you. I still can't believe this has happened in just three days." Andy said dramatically and Brianna sighed.

"What am I going to do about him Andy? He's so determined that we are meant to be together. He pretty much told me so. I just....can't go through another Terrence disaster. I'm pretty sure it would kill me." Brianna said her voice laced with worry and sadness.

"Okay first thing, Chase isn't anything like Terrence. He's about a zillion times better." Andy grabbed Brianna's shoulders and stared at her friend to get her point across, "Secondly, Chase is way nicer than shitty Terrence ever was. Thirdly he's also far hotter. Fourth thing, he's a caring guy. He's so protective and well loving towards you. Terrence was never any of those things."

"Fudge! You're trying to tell me to give him a chance aren't you?" Brianna whispered as she bit at one of her fingernails.

"Yes idiot of course I am." Andy said with a shake of her head as she pulled Brianna in for a hug, "Go home and think about what I've said alright." Andy whispered before letting her friend go.

"Okay I will."

Brianna couldn't help but think about Andy's words on the drive home. Should she give Chase a chance? It felt like a disaster in the making though. She hadn't been joking about not being able to survive another heartbreak.

Terrence's deception had broken her. It had changed her and for a long while. The thought of being with any man scared her. Chase was not just an average guy either. He came with the word 'trouble' planted squarely on his forehead. What was she to do?

A sigh escaped her as she spied the bunches of flowers on her front porch. He was one determined man. She couldn't help but feel special as she examined the many bunches all in individual vases. Bright colours and flower scents surrounded her as she sat on her rickety porch steps.

She reached for the card on the nearest bunch of flowers and frowned at the sentence that made no sense at all. With that she searched for and retrieved every single card from off the individual bunches. She ordered the cards until they made sense and began to read.

"Tonight I'm going to prove to you how much I learnt about you in Hawaii. And not just where you are the most ticklish." Was the first card.

"Get dressed. I'll be by your house at six to pick you up." Said the second.

"Don't eat anything. I'm taking you out to dinner. No arguments allowed." Said the third.

She shook her head at the tiny cards. Stubborn fool of a man! Even though she could almost feel her body chanting his name she kept denying herself. It was just chemistry and nothing else, she told herself firmly even while she tucked the rest of the cards away to read later. She was so distracted she didn't even hear him pull up.

"Hello Beautiful." He said and she automatically stiffened. She hated being called that.

"Don't call me that ever!" She snapped at him as she picked up a vase of flowers and went inside.

"What beautiful?" She cringed at him saying it and stopped dead in the hallway.

"Yes." She hissed as tears filled her eyes suddenly. Terrence had always called her that. At one point she had actually believed that he did see her as beautiful. It didn't last instead she had ended up feeling like the ugliest woman in the world.

"I'm sorry Bree; I didn't mean to upset you but why not? I find you incredibly beautiful and sexy." He said his voice dropping low and tingling across her nerve endings.

"Terrence called me that." She pushed the words out while refusing to look at him. She fetched the rest of the flowers as a distraction instead.

"We'll he was right on the money because you are..."

"Don't say it! If I was then why did I find him in our bed with his secretary hmmm?" Brianna spat the words out.

Chase shook his head in amazement. What fool in their right mind would ever give this woman up? Anger hit him next for the pain this guy had caused her.

"He wasn't right in the head Bree. You are the sexiest, most gorgeous woman. I will happily tell you that every day for the rest of our lives." He said truthfully which earned him a bitter chuckle from Brianna.

"Don't make promises you can't keep Chase." She said simply.

She walked off to her bedroom, effectively ending their conversation. She had stripped off her shirt and jeans angrily when he came barging into the room. He stood rooted to the spot staring at her for a long moment before he was across the room and tugging her into his arms.

"Don't compare me to any other man you've ever known Brianna." He said gruffly.

His lips slid down her throat while his hands ran up and down her naked back. With great difficulty she forced her mind to focus away from the maddening touch of his lips and hands.

"You can't see the truth Chase but I can. Every person in my life has ditched me except for Andy. You have to admit that you're really only here for the challenge." She told him rather breathlessly.

"That's what you truly think?" He asked in shock.

"No that's what I know. I'm going to have a shower. You can see yourself out." Finding it excruciatingly hard she pushed out of his arms and left him standing there.

He was beyond furious as he marched up and down her tiny hallway while waiting for her to shower. He wanted to storm in there, snatch her up and make her believe him. He wanted her, more than just her amazing body. He wanted every little part of her. He wanted to know what made her tick, what made her happy. He seemed to know enough about what made her upset. He had a desperate need to find that Terrence guy and rip his throat out for treating Brianna with such disrespect.

"Really Chase? Can't you just leave me alone?" Brianna entered the room, drying off her wet hair and leaving her enticing scent wafting in the air.

"No I can't. I thought that was pretty obvious. Get dressed, I'm taking you to dinner remember." He shooed her back to her room but she didn't budge.

"No." She stated simply.

"Yes." He replied with a devilish smirk.

"Bother! You could have any woman so why don't you bother one of them." She shouted at him as he sat down on her couch and stretched out comfortably. It was hard to take her eyes from off his glorious body but she forced herself.

"It's quite simple Brianna, you're mine. You know it deep down inside but you're running scared. I told you that you wouldn't like the chase but you goaded me into it." He said so smugly that she wanted to smack him for being right. Oh Lordy he was right wasn't he? No of course he wasn't, her mind snarled in protest.

"Ugh!" She muttered as she slapped a hand to her forehead.

"Our dinner reservation won't last forever you know."

"No!" She stated emphatically and was surprised when he grinned quite wickedly at her. It started her pulse running like crazy and tingles spread through her nerve endings.

"Unless you want me to help you get dressed, which could be fun, you had better move that cute booty of yours." He warned as he tapped a finger against those gorgeous, kissable lips.

Dear Lord she was losing the battle and she knew it when all she did was stare at him. She wanted those lips on every inch of her skin so badly. She knew exactly how good he could make her feel. Focus Brianna, she screamed in her mind as her eyes narrowed on him.

"Just try it." Brianna said defiantly and a naughty little chuckle sprang from him.

"Oh you asked for this."

He was off the couch and over to her far quicker than she thought he could move. He threw her over his shoulder and marched back down to her bedroom. Brianna let out a scream of frustration as she pounded her fists into his back.

"Behave my little one." He said as he smacked her smartly on the back side.

"You so did not just do that you....you Neanderthal!" Brianna yelled out even though she was unable to take her eyes off his own very nicely shaped back side.

"I so did and I'm only going to get worse the longer it takes you to get dressed." He told her as he dropped her on the bed.

"You can't always get your own way Chase!" She argued but he just grinned.

"This isn't my way Sweetheart, this is our way." He said smugly and she just gritted her teeth as she scrambled off the bed.

"Look I'm not in the mood to go out to dinner." She tried to reason with him.

"I know. You're frustrated and turned on all at the same time. It won't get you out of dinner." He said as he stretched out and propped his body on his side, filling her bed. She would probably never be able to sleep here again without remembering that image.

"I am not." She protested while he let out a sexy chuckle that had her whole body zinging to life.

"Yes you are." He yanked her back down beside him and she practically fell on top of him, "Prove to me you're not."

He rolled her beneath him then and hers eyes went wide with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. He lowered his head until their lips were almost touching. Oh goodness he was pressed against her so tight that it was hard to think back to any reasoning she had. Warmth licked through her veins as they breathed each other's air for a long time.

"Resist me Bree. I dare you Buttercup." His voice was low and husky, his brown eyes wickedly enticing and those lips beckoned to her. Just like the previous night she couldn't hold back the whimper. This time though he wasn't going to do anything. She was putty in his hands and they both knew it.

"Goodness gracious." She muttered making him chuckle.

"I've missed that about you. Now get dressed Bree." He demanded.

Why was this man put in such a tempting package? He was so ridiculously hard to say no to. His smell surrounded her, his weight pressed her back into the bed and those eyes lured her straight into their trap.

"No." She barely whispered as she tried hard to fight back.

"That was so the wrong thing to say Buttercup." He taunted.

His lips lightly brushed hers, so soft and inviting. His hands reached for the hem of her shirt and before she could protest he had taken it off. Those roughened fingers trailed delicately over her skin as he dropped another tantalising kiss on her lips. She closed her eyes against the onslaught this man brought to her body. His fingers slid down her stomach and slowly undid the button on her jeans.

"What are you doing?" She managed to mutter.

"Getting you ready for dinner since you refuse to oblige me." He said simply, "Love the matching underwear."

His fingers drifted from the top of her bra down to her panties that were still encased in her jeans. Well it wasn't like she would wear her ugliest underwear knowing he was waiting outside her door. In fact she had gone through a bag of lingerie she had never worn.

Andy had forced it on her after the Terrence debacle to try and help her feel more feminine and sexy. It had sat in her wardrobe unused until now. She was now thankful for Andy's insight, especially by the appreciative gleam in Chase's eyes. His hands slid around her hips to slowly remove her jeans and she had to bite back a moan.

"And here you are trying to tell me you're not turned on?" He sent her a sly look as his hand cupped over the very heat of her femininity.

She couldn't deny it when the evidence of her arousal was so obvious. She jerked in his palm feeling her cheeks flush with a mixture of embarrassment and feeling even more aroused with him touching her so intimately. She bit down on her lip hard as his eyes seemed to swallow her whole.

"I love seeing you like this, all wanton and needy. You want me to touch you don't you Buttercup." He whispered as his lips dropped into her belly button

"Chase." She had wanted her voice to be a firm protest instead it came out all soft and just like he said needy.

"I love the way you say my name." He told her softly

He slid his fully dressed body seductively against her. There was something so naughty about it that it set a thrill through her. A beeping sounds snapping her from the haze that had surrounded her. Chase sent her a wink before giving her a brief but thorough kiss.

He pushed himself off the bed and went over to her wardrobe, flinging the doors wide open. She struggled to get herself out of the lust filled daze as she watched Chase go through her clothing.

"Aha got it! I'm glad you didn't get rid of his one." He crowed rather triumphantly.

She had no idea what he was talking about as she frowned at him. Then with a flourish he presented her with the black dress she had worn on their last night in Hawaii. She sent him a speculative look while he sent her a hot one that had her body responding with a heat that dipped low in her belly.

"Really?" She murmured while he just nodded.

"Oh yeah it reminds me of our night together. It's also going to tease me all night that I know what underwear you've got on under there." He said with a melting smile that had her knees going weak.

"Geez Louise." She muttered, "So I guess we're going to dinner?" She asked as she picked the dress up.

"Yes now get dressed so we can leave." He told her as he went to walk from the room.

"What you're not going to check up on me?" She asked sarcastically as she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Buttercup if I stay here too much longer we will never get to dinner."

He sent a searing look her way from the top of her head to her toes. She realised then that she was only in a bra and panties. With a squeak she quickly gathered her dress up to cover her as with one more lingering look he walked out the door.

Chase stepped out of the room and pressed his forehead against the door. This was going to be the longest few weeks of his life. He had to prove to her that they were meant to be.

He had always wanted a relationship like his parents had. They still loved each other after almost forty years' worth of marriage. They had fought but they always made up. They had held hands and supported each other through everything that had happened in their lives. He knew he could have that with Brianna. He just had to make her see it too.

"We'll I'm ready now Bossy." Brianna marched out of her room looking delectable and downright delicious.

Maybe they could skip dinner, he thought as he gazed at her. He sighed knowing he couldn't. If he was going to convince her he was in this relationship with her for the rest of his life then it couldn't just be about sex.

"Let's go then." He said as he offered her his arm.

She linked hers through his rather shyly but that just made him smile. She was unlike any woman he had ever met before but that made her just perfect for him. He didn't want the demanding, shallow women he had seen so much of before. He wanted Brianna. Soft, shy, sweet Brianna. He was going to make her his no matter how long it took to convince her.