Chasin' Eight (Rough Riders #11)(101)

“If that’s true, why don’t you still live in Wyoming?”

“I did for a while. In a junky old trailer between my folks’ place and Quinn’s house. PBR events are spread out across the country, and I started flying more. Air travel ain’t cheap—” he smirked, “—unless you’ve got a private jet at your disposal.”

“You’ll never let me live that down, will you?”

“Nope. Anyway, since Denver is a hub, me’n a couple of guys rent a three-bedroom apartment close to the airport.”

“Are the other guys bull riders?”

Chase shook his head. “Dylan is a pilot. He’s all over the place. Lance is a troubleshooter for a computer software company. None of us are ever there at the same time. It works well because we’re all at the same point in our careers. We basically needed a place to crash, store our stuff and park our cars when we’re on the road.”

“How’d you meet? Since you all have diverse occupations.”

“I graduated from high school with Lance and he met Dylan through a friend.” When Ava remained quiet, he said, “What?”

She reached for his hand and threaded her fingers through his. “Is that where you were before you decided to hide out at Ginger and Kane’s?”

Yeah. And I felt like a f*cking loser the entire time. Sitting alone in a place as impersonal as another damn hotel room. Wishing I could go home, but feeling like I didn’t have one. Didn’t have anyone I could really talk to either. Not like I’ve learned to talk to you.
Rather that share that embarrassing memory, he brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “Smart and beautiful. How did I get so lucky?”

Ava laughed. “And wily, because you’re avoiding the question, cowboy.”

“Oh, I ain’t the only one who avoids questions.”

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning…why won’t you tell me what you’re working on so diligently? Since you spend hours on it.”

She gazed out the window. “I’m keeping a lid on it because it’s something I’ve never attempted. Being the paranoid type, I’m not sure it doesn’t suck. So, it is an ego thing, with a little superstition—talking about a project while it’s in incubation stage—thrown in to make it really mysterious.” She sent him a coquettish glance. “Plus it wouldn’t do to expose all my secrets to you, McKay. You might get bored with me.”

“Highly unlikely that’ll ever happen.” Chase slowed and took the exit ramp for the Ranchester turnoff, pulling to the shoulder past the stop sign. Then he scooted from behind the steering wheel and said, “C’mere,” hauling Ava onto his lap.
“Chase! What are you doing?”

“Getting me some sugar.” He curled his hands around her neck and brought her mouth to his for a kiss. Nibbling on her lips, he let his thumbs stroke the strong, sexy line of her jaw. When she expelled that sweet sigh of surrender, he swept his tongue into her mouth. The kiss was a hot mix of teasing licks, shared breath and the wet glide of firm lips on soft. This unhurried kiss wasn’t a prelude to anything else. Too often when the sexual heat exploded between them, they couldn’t wait to get to the naked part, ending this deep connection. Which was a shame, because while the sex rocked his world, this stirred his soul.
He slipped his lips down to smooch her chin, then placed a very soft kiss on the side of her throat.
Ava’s head fell back and she whispered, “God.”

“Mmm.” He set her back in her seat and slid back behind the wheel. About a minute later, Ava reached for his hand and squeezed.