Lost Without You: Book 2 in the Chasing Olivia Series (13 page)

“Where are our manners?” he mumbles aloud. Standing, he smacks Brian and Matt, saying, “Get your asses up and let these ladies sit down.”

“Shit, sorry,” Brian says as he offers his seat to Miranda. I take Jake’s seat and Amanda takes Matt’s. Russell pushes his chair closer to the wall with Finn standing behind him, putting us in a tight semi-circle.

The bartender lines up nine shot glasses and pours the chilled Jaeger across the glasses, not spilling a drop. Russell is closest, so he passes out the shots, as well as the beer I requested.

“Here’s to your wedding tomorrow,” he toasts Amanda, “and to you two beautiful ladies having some fun.”

“Cheers,” we all say in unison.

I shoot back my shot and immediately down half my beer. My nose wrinkles as the Jaeger crawls down my throat, the burn lingering longer than I want it. My shoulders shutter as I fight the urge to reject the nasty liquid. Matt bursts out laughing.

“Jaeger’s not one of your favorites, I see,” he says, still laughing.

“Bleck, I can’t stand it,” I sputter, still trying to rid my tongue of the nasty taste.

“We’ll need to do something different next time.”

“Where’re you girls from?” Finn asks from behind Russell.

“New York,” Miranda answers.

“We’re from California.”

“Yeah, we needed a little bro time,” Brian says.

“You staying on
Providenciales
?”

“No. Parrot Cay.”

Matt whistles through his teeth. “Damn, ladies, you rich or something? That’s where the movie stars go.”

“Hardly,” Miranda mumbles.

“You know, I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before,” Finn says to Miranda.

“You might have. I did some Calvin Klein modeling,” she says, matter-of-fact.

“Shit! I knew you looked familiar!” Finn says, looking over at his friends. “Hey, guys! She’s a famous model!” he shouts.

“No shit,” Brian says, looking pleased with himself.

“How about you? You famous, too?” Jake asks me.

“No, not famous,” I say after finishing my beer.

“Here, let me.” Jake takes the bottle from me and orders another. I look down the bar to see Amanda doing more shots with Russell and Matt.

“Easy, Amanda, you don’t want to be hung over tomorrow,” I shout down the bar.

“What’s a hangover?” she yells back, laughing as she responds.

“What’s a hangover? Are you kidding me?” I say, staring at her in disbelief. I look at a glass of wine and get a headache.

Handing me another beer, Jake asks, “So, if you girls are staying on Parrot Cay, why are you slumming it over here?”

“Honestly? It’s beautiful there, but really boring,” I giggle. “They wanted to celebrate her impending marriage with drinking and dancing.”

“Well, you have the drinking part covered,” he says, clinking his beer glass with mine, “how about the dancing?”

“I’ll need a few more of these first,” I say, smiling.

“That can be arranged.”

Coming from the patio is a familiar song. The band is covering one of my favorites by Shabba Ranks,
Twice My Age
. I immediately start tapping my foot and my head sways back and forth.

“Time to dance!” Amanda announces as she springs from her seat. Russell and Matt follow her to the patio.

“Wait for me!” Miranda yells, jumping up after her.

“I like dancing,” Brian says as he follows behind, leaving me with Jake and Finn.

Finn takes one of the empty chairs while Jake continues to stand behind me, his hand on the back of my chair.

“So, not married, huh?” he says again.

“No, but I’m involved with someone.”

“If you were involved with me, you wouldn’t be here alone,” he murmurs so only I can hear him.

“The guys are doing the bachelor party thing,” I say, defending Chase.

“I wouldn’t have gone,” he says. “There isn’t a chance in hell I’d let you out of my sight.”

I slam back my beer, not wanting to respond to that. “Listen, Jake. I appreciate the compliment, but really, I’m with someone.”

“I know, but you can’t blame a guy for trying,” he says, shifting so his arm is leaning on the back of my chair. It’s a possessive stance, one I’m not entirely comfortable with. I finish my beer and wave the bartender over for another one.

“Maybe we should dance.” I go to stand, but Jake doesn’t move. “C’mon, let’s go dance,” I say, a little more forceful.

“Okay,” he says, shifting forward. I slide off the barstool and grab my new beer, making a beeline to the patio.

The band switched to Bob Marley, playing
Could You Be Loved
. My body sways to the beat as I move through the crowd, making my way over to Amanda and Miranda by the railing.

“This band is fantastic,” Amanda screams over the music as I approach. I nod my head in agreement, watching Russell and Matt dancing directly behind Amanda. She turns her head to the side, looking away from me and holding her drink in the air as she bends and dips, pushing her ass back into Matt. Russell slides his arm up her side as she comes back to standing. I blink once, glance at my watch, and turn my attention to Miranda.

“Hey, guys, it’s almost one in the morning. Are we going to head out soon, or . . .” my words die off when I realize they are falling on deaf ears. Brian swivels his hips behind Miranda, pulling her flush against him as his hand roves over her stomach, moving up.

A tap on my shoulder draws my attention away. I turn toward Jake and he smiles, handing me a beer.

“Thanks,” I shout over the music, taking the beer from him. I sip on the one I already have, trying to finish it. Still smiling, Jake moves in front of me, swaying his body to the beat. My hips shift back and forth as I look back over at Miranda and laugh at Brian trying to keep up with her hips.

One of my favorite songs comes on, and I finally let loose. Slamming back my beer, I chuck one of the bottles into a trashcan nearby and roll my body to the catchy tempo. Jake’s hands brush my hips in feather-light touches before grasping on and moving right along with me.

As we dance, Jake gets closer, his body flush against my back and ass. I get lost in the song, allowing it to wash over me. Swiveling my hips slightly, I rub against Jake, my body moving in sync with his.

Spinning me, he throws one arm behind my back and the other on my hip. As Jake’s hand slides down my back to my ass, he roughly pulls me close. My right leg between his legs, we sway back and forth as one.

Miranda squeals, and I spin to see what happened when I lurch forward. It’s as if everything is happening in slow motion. I grip onto Jake’s shirt, trying not to fall as he’s pulled back by his collar. Steadying myself, I hear another shout and look over as Justin takes a swing at Brian.

Warm hands cover my hips, ripping me back from Jake. My finger snags on his shirt as I look up to see a very pissed off Chase.

“What are you doing here?” I manage to squeak out, thoroughly surprised.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he shouts through gritted teeth as he turns to grab Jake. I grab his arm and try to pull him back. “Stop it, Chase! He didn’t do anything!” I shout as the dance floor starts to clear out.

Chase shake’s my hand off his arm. “Didn’t do anything? He was all over you!” he snarls.

“I’m a big girl, Chase. I don’t need you to save me!” Jake grabs Matt and Russell and follows the crowd off the patio. I don’t know what the hell happened to Finn, but he’s nowhere to be seen.

Miranda screams again and I turn toward her to see Justin pummeling Brian while she and Nathan try to pull him off.

“Justin, stop! Jesus, you’ll kill him!” Amanda screams.

“Chase, do something,” I yell, pointing toward them.

“Shit,” he mutters, running over to pull Justin off Brian.

Justin finally loosens his grip on Brian, leaving him bleeding on the dance floor. Miranda starts wailing on Justin.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? We were just dancing and you come in here and start shit!”

“Are you kidding me?” Justin starts to respond, deflecting punches.

“Don’t fucking talk to me. You guys are all drunk and your testosterone is controlling you. We. Were. Dancing. Jesus!”

“And what the hell are you guys doing here?” Amanda jumps in, pointing at Nathan.

“We’re drunk? Good Lord, look at this mess,” he snaps, looking at us. “C’mon, let’s get out of here before we’re escorted out.” Nathan grabs Amanda’s arm and drags her toward the exit. Miranda follows behind, not acknowledging Justin.

I turn to Chase, his eyes blazing with fury. “This discussion isn’t over,” he growls.

“There’s nothing to discuss,” I yell back, equally pissed. I turn and follow Justin, Chase staying a safe distance behind me.

Outside the club, Nathan opens the door of the first minivan cab he finds. “Get in,” he shouts behind him. Amanda, Miranda, and I get in first, sitting in the back, forcing the guys to sit in the middle. Justin tells the driver where we’re going and the cab starts to move.

No one says a word the entire cab ride or during the boat ride back to the island, all thirty minutes of it.

Back on Parrot Cay, we head toward our respective cottages. I’m ahead of Chase, making him follow behind.

I open the door and head for the bathroom. “Oh, no you don’t,” Chase hisses as he slams the front door closed. “This discussion isn’t over.”

“There isn’t anything to discuss!” I spin to face him. Ignoring his glare, I shout, “What do you want to hear? Do you want me to tell you I fucked him? Is that it?”

“Did you?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Chase.” Turning away from him, I blow him off. I refuse to feed into his behavior and hold strong as he follows behind.

“You might as well have been, the way you were dancing,” he says, bristling with tension. “He was practically dry humping you.”

“Chase, we were dancing. That’s all. I don’t understand what the big deal is.”

“The big deal is the way he was touching you. No one should touch you that way, except me.” He pinches the bridge of his nose and squeezes his eyes shut, obviously trying to reign in his temper. Opening his eyes, he appears wounded.

“Look,” I say, trying a softer approach, “you need to understand something. When I was with Evan, he controlled my entire life. From what I did and with whom, to what I wore and where I went. This is the first time I’m able to do what I want without fear of someone looking over my shoulder. I didn’t think it was a big deal. I told him I was with
you
. And I
am
with you.”

His face softens, but there’s still fury hiding behind his eyes. “The last thing I want is to oppress you the way Evan did, but you need to look at it the way I saw it. What if you walked into a bar and I had my arms around some random woman, how would you feel?”

“We were just dancing.”

“You might have been just dancing, but I’d be willing to bet he had other ideas.” Walking toward me, Chase pulls me into his arms. “I don’t want anyone dancing with you like that, except me.”

“I never would have let anything happen,” I say.

“I know. I trust
you
, it’s the
other
guy I don’t trust.”

“It’s the same thing. I would
never
do what Evan did to me, and that means being with anyone but you. It takes two to tango, and I wasn’t interested.”

“Olivia—”

“You can’t come running up like Rocky Balboa if you see something you don’t like.” I lean up and kiss the tip of his nose. “I’ll try not to make you crazy, but there’s going to be a learning curve. I want to be able to do the things I want to do without fear of being told no.”

Holding me close, Chase breathes near my ear, “Just no more sexy dancing with strangers, please?”

“Okay, deal.”

Leaning down, Chase places a chaste kiss on my lips. “Now, the fun part.”

“What’s that?” I ask, puzzled.

“Make-up sex.” Chase scoops me up and carries me to the bedroom. “I am going to worship your body. For hours.” Standing me up at the edge of the bed, Chase’s fingertips skim my skin as he takes each layer of clothing off my body, one piece at a time.

When he finishes, he steps back to admire his work. “Chase,” I murmur.

“Mmm,” he hums, his eyes scanning my body.

“We don’t have hours. It’s already two in the morning.”

“The wedding’s isn’t until five tomorrow. We have
lots
of time.” With that, he strips. Positioning me across the bed, he lays naked beside me, running his fingers up and down my body from my neck to my navel. “You’re so soft, so beautiful,” he murmurs as his fingertips ignite my skin, leaving a fire in their wake.

“Chase—”

“Shhh,” he tells me. Shifting, his lips follow the trail his fingers make, leaving soft kisses behind. “I want to savor you. Take. My. Time,” he says in between kisses. I feel the vibrations of his words against my hip as he moves down my body.

Jumping off the bed, he grabs my feet and pulls my body to the edge so my feet are just dangling over the floor. Kneeling by my feet, he picks up my left foot. He runs his tongue across my instep, causing me to squirm. “Stay still,” he reprimands, “or I’ll need to restrain you.”

He continues his delicious torture, running his tongue up the other foot. The sensation runs straight up my body, like an electric current coursing through me. His teeth graze the pad of my toe, causing me to shiver. “Stay. Still,” he repeats, a little more forcefully.