Second Rate Chances

  Chance exhaled as his eyes stayed focused on her mouth, as their lips got closer together. Makayla could barely hear anything above the noise her hammering heart made. He paused when their lips were so close that Makayla could almost feel him already. His breath light on her lips, he waited another long second; the anticipation was enough to make a whimper escape Makayla’s throat.

  He swallowed, then let his head finish drifting down to hers. The sweet softness of him closed around her and Makayla’s eyes fluttered shut. It had been a while since she’d felt the heat and warmth of another person against her. It had been even longer since she’d felt more than just warm lips pressed against her.

  She let go of his hand, hers running up his back as their kiss deepened. Chance’s hands tightened around her waist, pulling their bodies flush. Warmth oozed throughout Makayla’s body as his masculinity enveloped her senses. Her fingers threaded back through his silky hair and an erotic sound of approval escaped his lips when she lightly grazed her nails along his scalp. One of his hands left the curves of her hips, lifting up to cup her cheek.

  Tilting his head more, he lightly stroked his tongue along hers. It was more than she’d intended to do tonight, but as desire pooled in her, it suddenly didn’t feel like enough. Not sure what she was thinking, or if she even was anymore, she reached down to tug on his jacket. Stepping backwards, she pulled him with her. Their mouths never separating, they haphazardly made their way down the hallway that led to her bedroom.

  When they got to the door, Makayla kicked it open with her heel. She was already tearing off his jacket when he kicked the door shut with his foot.

  Chapter 3

  Be Careful

  Makayla took forever to stir to life the next morning. She felt worn out from the night before. Odd, but understandable, since she hadn’t dated in a while, and she had maxed out her body with Sofia pre-date. And the end of last night had definitely been a long time for her. In fact, she could scarcely remember the last time she’d made out with a boy.

  Stretching out her still aching muscles, she reached a hand over to feel the warm body beside her. She was almost surprised to feel Chance still lying next to her. She’d sort of thought he’d take the moment of her unconsciousness to bail on her. It gave her delightful butterflies that he’d stayed.

  Her hand drifted over his rising and falling chest. Twisting around, she looked over to the silent, sleeping man occupying her bed. A soft light filtered in from her windows, highlighting one side of his face. His lips were partly open as he breathed the long inhales and exhales of slumber. His full lips were an almost irresistible invitation. She resisted the movement, not wanting to wake him, but thoughts of his mouth on hers made her smile.

  Reaching up, she ran a finger down his cheek. He was slightly stubbled, already needing another shave. She traced his jaw line, the beauty of his structure apparent to her. Sitting up, she longed to see the deep brown eyes he was currently hiding from her. She could wait, though. Instead, her eyes drifted down his body.

  He was fully dressed under her covers, much like she was. They’d both fallen asleep that way, after a rousing make-out session that had ignited her body with need and desire. She’d surprised herself by not caving into it, and had even told him no when he’d tried to unbutton her jeans. It had nearly shocked her when he’d accepted her answer without complaint. He’d seemed content to just kiss her and feel her body over her clothes.

  When the moment had boiled to a point that was nearly too much to handle, they’d both pulled away…then cuddled under the covers and fallen asleep. Makayla had felt his desire for her, and had known that he’d wanted her, but he hadn’t again tried to press her to go any further, and she found herself really respecting him this morning. Kind of funny, to suddenly respect the morals of a thief.

  He inhaled a deep, awakening breath as she reminisced over their evening. Cocking a brow, he slowly opened an eye. Makayla smiled at finally seeing what she’d wanted to earlier. “Good morning,” he whispered.

  She smiled wider. “Good morning yourself.”

  His smile languid and sleepy, he wrapped his arms around her. “I think I could get used to waking up like this.” Pulling back, he shook his head. “I’ve never slept with a girl on a first date…well, not slept-slept anyway.”

  Makayla laughed and ran a hand back through his hair. “Me either…it was nice.”

  Leaning down, she softly placed her lips on his cheek. Once they separated, she bit her lip. “So…Chance…do I get to know your real name yet?”

  Chance smiled, adjusting himself on her pillows. “I suppose that’s warranted…since we have shared a bed together.” Makayla laughed and he closed his eyes, smiling. Just when she thought he was going back to sleep, he opened his eyes. “My name is Colton, Colton Burke.”

  “Well, Colton…it’s nice to meet you.”

  He chuckled underneath her, closing his eyes again. “Keep calling me Chance…nobody calls me Colton.”

  As Makayla studied his face, she asked, “Why do you go by Chance? How did you get a nickname like that?”

  The soft smile on his face relaxed into blankness. Opening his eyes, he stared off to the left of Makayla’s vision. He shrugged. “It’s a long, slow story…” His eyes drifted back to hers. “I don’t want to bore you with it now…maybe later?”

  He lifted a questioning brow and Makayla smiled. “Okay, some other time then.” Chance smiled at her answer and rolled her to her side, so they were facing each other. Makayla reached up and threaded her fingers back through his dark hair. Even though she barely knew him, even though having him in her home was a bad idea…let alone having him in her bed, Makayla felt completely comfortable lying beside him, like she’d been doing it her whole life.

  Grabbing his arm draped over her waist, she brought his wrist up in between them. Exposing the clover tattoo on the underside, she said, “Maybe later you can also tell me why you got this?”

  Laughing, Chance lifted his arm closer to his face. “Oh, that one’s easy…” He peeked up at her. “I was hammered…thought it looked cool.”

  Makayla brought her fingers to her mouth to try and stifle her laughter; a couple of chuckles escaped her anyway. “So, no deep, hidden meaning behind it?”

  Chance grinned, enjoying her amusement at his expense. “No…just lots of Jager.”

  Makayla gave up on trying to contain her laughter after that. Leaning down, she lightly placed her lips along the bright green, permanently embedded ink on his wrist. “Well, it’s appropriate. You should count yourself lucky…you could have woken up the next morning with something far, far worse on your body.” She laughed again, remembering a story she’d heard back in college about some guy discovering that he’d gotten a phallic symbol etched on his shoulder blade while he’d been obliterated.

  Pulling her into his body, Chance leaned over to place his lips along the soft spot at the base of her neck. “I’m starting to consider myself very lucky,” he murmured against her skin.

  The spot was like a cattle prod to Makayla’s libido. She inhaled a quick breath and squirmed a little beside him. Yeah, if he kept doing that, he might be very lucky indeed. Sighing, knowing that sleeping with him the morning after her first date was no better than sleeping with him the night of their first date, Makayla gently pushed him back.

  Chance did nothing to resist her movement, just smiled peacefully at her and laid his head back on his pillow. Not entirely wanting to give up contact with him, Makayla tangled her legs up with his; luckily her prickly thighs were still encased in denim. Chance smiled and returned his clover-branded arm to her waist, his fingers lightly stroking her back. It was warm and content and Makayla closed her eyes. Maybe they’d just stay in bed all afternoon like this. At the moment, she couldn’t think of anything better.

  Then her stomach growled, loudly.

  Chance chuckled and Makayla peeked an eye open at him. He was watching her intently, his eyes drifting over her features. “Hun
gry?” he asked, a playful grin spreading across his lips.

  The grin was downright sexy, and Makayla bit her lip. Nodding, she shrugged. “Starving actually.” Sitting up on an elbow, she stared down at him. “Do you want me to make you something? We could eat in bed?” Makayla smiled, loving the image of that moment in her head. She’d never done the whole breakfast-in-bed-with-a-boy thing.

  Chance snuggled back into her pillows. “That sounds wonderful, Makayla.” His eyes briefly flashed around her bedroom after he said it and Makayla frowned. In her contentment, she’d forgotten just who this man was, and what he was capable of. Her eyes drifted over to some of the valuables in plain sight…would they still be there if she left him alone in here? Well, she could strip search him before he left…

  While she was contemplating it, a hand reached up to brush some of her long hair over her shoulder. “I’m not going to take anything, Makayla.”

  Makayla looked back down at Chance watching her. He stroked a long strand of her hair between his fingers and shrugged. “I know that’s what you’re thinking…can I leave him alone in here? And the answer is yes, you can.” He shook his head. “I’m trying to get to know you…”

  Makayla sat up and Chance sat up with her. His face level with hers, he whispered, “I feel something here between us, and I want to see where this goes.” He shook his head and ran his fingers back through her hair. “I wouldn’t jeopardize this over a few baubles in your bedroom.”

  Makayla started to frown over the word baubles, but Chance cupped her cheek and leaned his head against hers. “I like you, Makayla. You can trust me.”

  A wave of hope and butterflies washed over Makayla as he held her close to him. Could she trust him? She wasn’t sure, but…she liked him, too. Nodding, she separated from him. Chance looped his arms around his legs as he watched Makayla stand up. Biting her lip, she glanced around her room again. Maybe he’d be less likely to steal, if he understood just what he’d be stealing.

  “I trust you, Chance…well, I want to anyway.” She looked back at him; he was frowning slightly. “But I know that you can’t always help yourself…so…” Sighing, Makayla glanced at her jewelry. “Almost everything I have of value, my mom left for me when she died. It’s all I have left of her…so if you could please not take anything…”

  She sighed again, hating that she had to beg her date to not steal from her. Chance looked down, his face thoughtful. When he looked back up, his eyes seemed a little sad. “I’m not going to steal from you, Makayla…ever. You have my word.”

  Makayla smiled. She hadn’t missed the fact that he hadn’t said that he wouldn’t steal…just that he wouldn’t steal from her…but it was a start. Nodding, Makayla took a leap of faith, and left him alone in her bedroom.

  When she was done with the bacon and egg breakfast that she’d cooked up, she picked up a lap tray and prepared to take Chance his meal. She paused in front of her bedroom door, listening. It was cracked open but she couldn’t make out the bed from her angle. She couldn’t hear anything either. It was perfectly silent. Holding her breath, Makayla hoped for the best and opened the door.

  Chance was still in her bed, arms crossed behind his head, legs crossed under the covers. His eyes were closed and his face held an expression of peace. Makayla glanced around her room, but didn’t notice anything out of order. Even her mother’s gold necklace was right where she’d left it, part of it precariously hanging off the edge of her dresser.

  Letting out that held breath, Makayla crossed the room to her bed. Chance opened his eyes at hearing her approach. “That smells amazing, Makayla.”

  He sat up as she got closer. Handing him the tray, Makayla gave him a shy smile. “Thank you, Colton.”

  He smirked at hearing his real name spoken, then glanced down at the tray in his lap. “Hmmm…bacon.” He peeked up at her. “I must have been a good boy.”

  His tone had a clear question to it and Makayla smiled. Glancing around her room, she nodded. “Yeah…so far.”

  Makayla lifted an eyebrow in challenge. Chance chuckled and shook his head. Patting the spot in her bed beside him, he said, “Go get your food and come eat with me.”

  Minutes later, Makayla was seated beside her thief, sipping on a morning cup of coffee. Chance happily snacked on some bacon, rocking his feet back and forth under the covers. As much as she hated to admit it, Makayla liked having Chance around. Sure, it was nerve-racking on some levels, since she expected him to pilfer through her stuff at any moment, but it was nice, too. They chatted over their meals, talking about the small, inconsequential stuff people getting to know each other talk about—his favorite foods, her allergy to cat dander, his inability to dance…at all, her fascination with cheesy silent films, and ironically, his obsession with Court TV.

  By the time their meal was done, their trays stacked together on the very end of the bed, Makayla was perfectly at ease with Chance. She even briefly considered taking a long shower…and very carefully shaving her legs. She resisted though, still wanting to wait, even though she didn’t really want to wait. His smile just did her in. And she felt a definite spark of something whenever his hand brushed against her body.

  The attraction was only growing stronger the longer they spent together, but underneath that, something else was also growing stronger. Feelings for him. Romantic, gooey, lost-in-his-eyes feelings. And they hadn’t even had their second date yet, although, their breakfast sort of felt like another date.

  Around noon, Chance stirred from her bed. Sighing, he sat up. His face reluctant, he shrugged. “I wish I could stay all day, but I really should get going.”

  Makayla sighed, sitting up as well. “Oh…okay.” She instantly wondered what he had to go do. She didn’t ask, though, waiting instead to see if he’d volunteer the information.

  Chance cocked his head at her, setting a hand on her thigh. “Aren’t you going to ask?”

  Makayla contained her grin. “Ask what?”

  “Where I’m going…what I’m doing…if it’s illegal?”

  He cocked his eyebrow at her and Makayla’s smile broke loose. “Well, now that you mention it…”

  Chance smiled and shook his head. Watching his fingers stroke her leg, he softly said, “I do have a job,” he peeked up at her, “a regular job. And I have to go in pretty soon.”

  Curious, Makayla leaned forward; her body pressed against his as he sat close beside her. “And…what job is that?”

  Chance’s eyes flashed down her body. For a moment, they locked onto her chest. Makayla instantly remembered the seductive bra that she’d worn last night, and the fact that her top allowed him a peek, if she was positioned just right. As his eyes still hadn’t moved away, Makayla figured she was giving him a peek. It took everything she had in her to not loosen her top and give him a bigger peek.

  Swallowing, Chance looked back up to her face. “Security guard for an office building downtown. I work swing shift there a few nights a week.”

  Makayla’s mouth dropped open in surprise, then she started laughing. “You’re…a security guard?”

  Chance looked offended for a moment, then he smiled. “Yes.” Leaning into her, he raised one corner of his lip. “Some people find me very trustworthy, Makayla.”

  Makayla shook her head. “And some people are idiots.”

  Chance frowned and started to stand. Amused at the situation, Makayla raised herself up to her knees and tossed her arms around his neck. He crashed back down to the bed with a grunt. When he started laughing, his grin gorgeous around his humor, Makayla couldn’t stand it anymore. Running her fingers up through his dark hair, she pulled his face to hers.

  Their lips met instantly. They moved against each other softly at first, respecting each other’s bodies with slow, teasing presses. Then Makayla exhaled and tilted her head, needing to feel a moment of pure passion from him before he left. Slipping her tongue along the edge of his lip, she moaned a little, begging him for more with the sound. He obliged, allow
ing her to stroke her tongue along his.

  Tightening her fingers in his hair, Makayla surprised herself by laying back and pulling him down with her. He quickly twisted his body around, so he was lying on top of her when she met up with her firm mattress. His breath harder, his kiss intensified in their new position. Makayla whimpered, arching her back, begging him again for more. Detaching from her mouth, his lips traveled down her neck, right to the sweet spot that had nearly undone her earlier.

  Makayla murmured yes, then pulled on the back pockets of his jeans. She wasn’t quite sure why her mood had shifted so dramatically, but she just wanted to feel him against her again. Wanted him to tease her with a preview of what making love to him might feel like. Groaning softly, he adjusted his position between her thighs and rocked against her. Makayla gasped and clenched his shoulder. Wow, that was amazing. She suddenly wished they could do that with clothes that weren’t so restrictive, soft lounge pants or something, anything that would let her feel his hardness even more easily. And he was definitely hardening up, that much was certain.