Steal You Away

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chase felt her shoulder stiffen under his wandering lips. Unfortunately, it took a while for the realization to penetrate his sexually foggy brain. The only thing he was able to think at the moment was how hard his cock was. How soft and warm her skin felt beneath his lips. How the sweet smell of lavender was slowly driving him out of his mind, and how she had admitted to the world she wanted to be with them. In his mind, she had proclaimed to the town she was theirs, and he couldn't wait to get her to bed to prove it.

"I didn't say that," she sputtered, whipping her head towards Trent and then back at Chase, forcing him to remove his lips before she gave him a concussion. "I said I wouldn't have...you know...if you shot anyone, but that doesn't mean that we are." Her voice ended on a panicked squeak.

It would have been rather cute if those wide green eyes weren't filled to the brim with worry, cow kicking him straight in the gut. Though it hurt to see it, it didn't necessarily surprise him. To be honest, he had expected Mackenzie to make a run for it after their little display with Hart and Cooper. But, instead, she had stood her ground, even going so far as to try and protect the Casanova wannabes. It irritated the fuck out of him that it had been necessary for her to attempt to save their dirty rotten woman stealing asses, but he had to admit, it had been fun to watch.

Not too many people had the gumption to stand up to Trent when he was riled up and armed. Most would have dove under the table for cover, but not Mackenzie. She had balled her little fists up and planted herself firmly between his brother and his intended targets. Chase couldn't help himself. He had fallen even deeper in love with her after seeing that.

She was no wilting flower when push came to shove, so the anxiety he saw now perplexed him. What was the real problem here? Everything had been going so smoothly. Had they pressed her too hard? She seemed to have been opening up, and now, it felt as if they had taken a huge step back. If she backpedaled any further, they would have to jump in the truck and throw it into overdrive to catch up.

He exhaled a frustrated breath. There was no doubt Mackenzie shared the same attraction. Those kisses she'd been laying on them today were plenty of proof. So what was it? Every time he thought he had a solution, something came up to make him feel as if someone kept moving the shells and asking him which one the pea was under, forcing him to keep guessing. They needed to get to where the real problem was hiding so they could open her eyes to the possibilities and move on to bigger and better things.

He winced inwardly, adjusting himself delicately in the chair. Things couldn't get any damn bigger, he grumbled to himself. Scooting up closer to her, he let his knee brush against hers under the table. She froze at the contact, sucking in a sharp breath through her nose. He could see her pulse beating wildly at her neck, and he resisted the urge to place his lips over the spot to feel the butterfly fluttering.

"Relax, Mackenzie," he murmured, coaxing her to look at him. "Nothing is going to happen until you are ready for it." Glancing down at the untouched plate of food, he plucked a delicious piece of BBQ rib meat and held it up to her lips. "Open," he demanded softly.

"But he said...and you think...and I didn't mean," she stuttered, angling her head away from the bite he was offering. Her kissable lips devoid of lip-gloss were now their natural shell-pink and were in the process of being butchered under her teeth. Her cheeks were blushing a red so bright; it almost looked like she had a sunburn.

Chase slowly shook his head. "We aren't talking about that. There will be plenty of time to discuss things later." He wiggled the piece of meat under her nose. "Right now, all we want you to do is eat and enjoy the rest of the BBQ."

Trent snorted, lifting his beer to his mouth. "Speak for yourself," he muttered before taking a swig.

"Trent," Chase warned, sending him a look that had all sorts of shut the hell up punctuating it.