Dr. Chase Hudson (The Surrogate Book 2) (22 page)

Fuck me.

God.

She was so fucking sexy and she didn't even know it.

She was going to be the death of me before the night
was over.

I leaned closer, letting my mouth get close to her ear.
“Believe me babe, I don't want to stop either. I want to drag
you out of here, throw you in my car, and watch you ride me until
you're screaming my name.” She took a shaky breath and pressed
her thighs more tightly together. “But I can't do that,”
I said, letting the words be full of the regret I was feeling.
“Tonight you aren't mine to have.”

Her eyes flashed and it was gone too soon to see with
what, but then she moved away from me so we were no longer touching.
“Okay. So what now? You're leaving?”

“No. I'll be here. If you need me, come get me.
Or call me. I'll keep an eye on you. If someone is really bothering
you...”

“I got it, Chase,” she cut me off, her tone
a little sharp, leaving me to wonder where I had fucked up again.

“Ava...” I started, my tone soft.

“I said I got it,” she said, standing
suddenly, grabbing her drink, and moving away from me. She went
toward the balcony, looking down into the crowd below. She seemed
relatively calm. Meanwhile, I felt like someone had my guts in a vice
grip and was twisting them viciously.

It was a sensation that only increased when the man who
had been eyeing Ava earlier finally got up the balls to make a move.
He was tall and broad with dirty blonde hair. Judging by his suit and
the fact that he could afford the VIP lounge, he was well off.
Probably secure, confident, experienced.

That was exactly what she needed.

When he led her down to the dance floor, his hand on
her hip, I just about lost it.

“Dr. Hudson!” a woman's voice greeted me as
I glared at Ava and the guy as they got toward the center of the
dance floor.

I tore my eyes away from them and looked over to find
Natalie. It was a small fucking world. “Nat,” I said,
giving her a genuine smile. Shit may have gone south (and in a very
nasty way) with us in college, but that was forever ago and we had
shared a passionate (albeit tumultuous) relationship for a year. I
had just as many fond memories of her as I had bad ones.

She looked good. A little older, a little less plump
around the cheekbones, a few creases next to her eyes. Still
gorgeous. Tall. Thin. Shapely. Her tits were all but spilling out of
her dress which, at twenty-something was flirty, at thirty-something
was a little less cute and more like bordering on desperate. Still,
it was sexy.
She
was sexy. Time only seemed to make the
sexually confident aura she wore around her magnify.

“You look good,” she said, looking me up
and down. “Time's been kind to you.”

“You're as gorgeous as ever, Natalie,” I
said. It was the simple truth.

“Chasing skirts?” she asked, gesturing to
the empty space next to me.

“Working,” I said.

“Ah,” she said, nodding. “Surrogate
thing, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Mae really got to you, huh?” she asked,
not bothering to sit. She knew it wasn't that kind of run-in.

“It's an important job,” I said, shrugging.
I wasn't going to betray Mae to Nat. Those two never got along after
Nat and I broke up.

“What time will you be done?” she asked, an
obvious inflection in her voice.

I could do it.

There would be nothing wrong with it.

I could drop off Ava and call Nat.

I could roll her around the sheets until it took the
edge off of my frustration.

I could do it.

But it wasn't right.

It didn't feel right.

“Not tonight, Nat,” I said, shaking my
head.

Undeterred, she shrugged. “How about I call you
and we set something up?”

I glanced over toward the dance floor to see Ava
dancing way too close, way too sexually with the lucky asshole who
approached her and I felt the vice grip twist again.

“Sure,” I said, standing. “Call my
office. We'll figure something out.”

Then I was gone,
tearing down the steps, pushing through the crowd. But I didn't
approach. I held myself back, finding some kind
of restraint I hadn't been sure I
possessed. I
leaned against the wall. I watched. I waited. I saw her take more
than two drinks. I saw the guy's hands roam over her body. I saw that
she didn't flinch away.

Finally, I couldn't fucking take it anymore.

“You're so gorgeous,” he told her,
rightfully so.

“Thank you,” she agreed easily.

“Ava...” I broke in, tone way too stern.

Her entire body stiffened and she untangled herself
from her partner.

“She said she ain't with you, bud,” the guy
broke in. There was steel under his tone that I would have
appreciated if she was just another client. He was willing to stand
up for her. But she wasn't just any other client.

“She was mistaken. Ava, it's time to go.”

Ava stiffened all the more, but refused to turn to look
at me. “No. I think I'm good here, Chase. Thanks for your
concern. You may leave without me.” She sounded like a robot.
But her words slurred slightly.

“Ava...”

“I said go, Chase,” she snapped.

Really... what choice did I have? I couldn't exactly
drag her out of there.

I turned and left.

Not really though.

No fucking way in hell was I just going to leave her
alone at a club, drunk, with a guy she didn't know from Adam. I went
outside and I waited.

I didn't have to wait long.

It was only a couple of minutes before she burst out of
the front doors, moving fast.

“Ava...” I called. Her eyes snapped to mine
and they were full of panic. “Hey... babe...” I said, my
tone softening automatically. Her eyes stayed on mine for a minute
and slowly filled with tears before she turned and started walking in
the opposite direction of me. My arm went around her waist before she
got two feet away. “It's alright,” I murmured, steering
her away from the crowd. “Take a breath, Ava,” I said as
we rounded an abandoned side of the building. She tried, but the air
got stuck in her chest. “Hey,” I said, pressing her back
against the building and cradling her face. “Look at me.”
Her eyes slid up slowly. “Breathe. You're okay. I'm right
here.”

The tears brimmed over and slid down her cheeks. She
sucked in a breath and leaned against my chest, against her spot,
against the safest place in her world. I slid my arms slowly around
her.

It wasn't long before she pulled away, wiping her
cheeks furiously.

“You alright, baby?”

“Yeah, I... it was too crowded and loud and hot.
I couldn't fight it anymore.”

“You should have left with me.”

Her eyes dropped to my collar. “I was having a
good time.”

I felt the muscle
in my jaw start to tick. “What did you say to your
friend
?”

“I gave him a fake number and I just... ran.”

“A fake number, huh?” I asked, smiling.
That had a certain someone written all over it. “I'm assuming
that was Shay's idea.”

“Yeah it's the number of someone she hates.”

I felt myself snort as I slipped out of my jacket and
placed it around her shoulders. “She's got a good head on her
shoulders.”

“Yeah. Except she's sleeping with Jake.”

There was a bit of bitterness in her voice. “They'll
probably be good together,” I said, placing a hand on her hip
and leading her toward my car.

“They're not together. They're just sleeping
together.”

“Sure about that?” I asked, smirking.
“Those two will be dating in under a week. Mark my words.”

“I thought you were a sexologist, not a love
expert,” she said and I felt my face harden.

“True,” I said in a clipped tone as I
opened the door for her. That was the damn truth. If I was a love
expert, I wouldn't have fucking fallen for a patient. Jesus Christ.

I got behind the wheel and we drove in pained silence
until we pulled into the garage where her car was parked. “We
have our final session on Monday.”

“I know,” she said, looking at her hands in
her lap.

“Seven.”

“As always,” she said, getting out of the
car.

The door slamming had such a finality to it that I felt
it reverberate somewhere deep inside my soul.

After the Session

I went to the group home to counsel the kids.

I helped Eddie skim his walls.

I tried my fucking best to not think about her.

But I thought about her.

A lot.

Tenth Session

Monday came fast. I spent my time wondering what kind
of session we would have. I thought about all the ways I could touch
her, kiss her, press memories into her skin.

But in the end, I wouldn't be able to do it. To touch
her, to kiss her, to be with her. I couldn't do it. Not with knowing
that the entire session would feel like goodbye.

I poured myself a drink and sat down in the chair I had
for our introductory session, staring unseeingly at the wall for god
knew how long.

“Chase...” her voice called softly into the
room.

My head turned slowly. “Is it seven already?”

“Yeah,” she said, walking toward me. “Are
you okay?” she asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

I gave her a humorless smile. “That's my
question.”

“Well, I'm borrowing it,” she said, sitting
down across from me.

My hand rubbed across my brow. “You look better.”

“Better?” she asked, her brows scrunching
together and fuck if I didn't want to kiss her.

“Yeah, I don't know. More like yourself.” I
sucked in a breath, believing to my core it would be the last chance
I would get to say it, “You're beautiful.”

Her cheeks went pink and her gaze lowered. “Thank
you.”

I watched her ducked head. “I figured you wanted
a talk therapy session,” I said, waving a hand out. Frankly, I
didn't know what the hell she wanted. I just knew it was all I could
handle.

“Yeah... I... yeah,” she stumbled over her
words. “How does this go?”

“We can talk about anything you want. How you
think therapy went. Any concerns you have for the future...”

“How do you think therapy went?” she asked,
wringing her hands.

I sat up slowly, putting my elbows on my knees, making
me invade her little space. “Ava, you did so much better than I
anticipated.”

“Yeah?” she asked, sounding like she needed
the validation.

“Yeah baby,” I said, then winced at the
word. I couldn't call her that anymore. “Yes,” I
corrected, my tone more firm, professional. “I really wasn't
sure we would finish the sessions in the allotted amount of time. You
were so withdrawn and timid and then you just... is blossomed too
cliché a word?”

“Chase... I can't thank...”

“Don't,” I said, the word heavy. “Don't
thank me, Ava.”

The silence that followed felt weighted. It felt full
of things that we needed or wanted to say, but couldn't.

“Ava,” I said, before I could think better
of it. “Can you come here for a second?” I asked, holding
an arm out.

She got up and moved toward my chair then stopped. My
hand reached out and pulled her arm toward me. “Closer.”

Her eyes rose to mine, a question there. She bit the
inside of her cheek before she made the decision and slid onto my
lap. I didn't so much as hesitate as I wrapped my arms around her,
holding her tightly against my chest. My cheek went down on her hair
and I just... held her.

No words were said.

We just did what we were good at- being there for each
other.

Her face tilted slightly and she placed a soft kiss
against the material of my shirt. I squeezed her tighter as the clock
ticked an hour of our lives away, my hand moving up to stroke through
her soft hair.

“Chase...” she said quietly.

“Yeah baby?”

She sighed. “You made me so much better.”

“No, babe. You made yourself better. I just
helped you along.”

“Geez, learn to take a compliment, would you?”
she asked, trying to lighten the admittedly depressive mood in the
room.

I chuckled a little. “You're amazing, Ava. Don't
ever let anyone try to convince you otherwise. Promise me that.”

“I'll try.”

“Not good enough,” I said, pressing a kiss
to her hair. “Try again.”

She snorted,
shaking her head at me. “Okay. I'll
really
try.”