Chadwick's Rare Find (An Intriguing Romance Novel) (7 page)

“Mr. Jordan, it is so sweet of you to show concern for me. Thank you, but I’ll be fine.  I’ve been alone with Chadwick before. You’ll be glad to know he was well behaved,”  she said with a twinkle in her eyes. 

With a grunt in Chadwick’s direction, his father reached out and patted Brittany on the shoulder before taking himself off to shower and thank his know-it-all wife for such a pleasant experience. 

 Brittany looked at Chadwick and he gave a tight smile as he pointed to the table. “How do you let this down?”

“I’ll let it down and you can carry it out,” she said in an even tone.  It was obvious Chadwick’s father had upset him.   He was tense and she could feel it.  She could always feel when people were tense.  She knew it had to do with her training as a masseuse.  Her mind briefly wondered what Chadwick would do if she offered him a massage.   She watched him from the corner of her eye as he moved around the room.  His movements were lithe.  His body was in good shape. He probably ran every morning.  No, his body was sculptured.  Bodies did not get that way from running.  Chadwick, more than likely, pumped iron.  

After dismantling her table and gathering her towels and oils, Brittany was ready to go.  She picked up her music box and followed Chadwick out the door, as he carried her table.  Within minutes they were outside and at the car.

“Just put your stuff down here.  I’ll put everything in the trunk.” 

Brittany put her bags down and Chadwick laid the table against the trunk of the car.  He walked around to the passenger door, opened it, and Brittany slid in.  She reached for her seatbelt, only to find that Chadwick had it.  She stared at him as he leaned over her, pressing his chest into hers.  She barely heard the click of the buckle.  He smelled so good and it seemed as if tongues of fire were coming from him.  He was so hot.   As he buckled her belt, he silently watched her face.  His warm breath fluttered over her lips and without saying a word, he slid away from her, stood up and shut the door.  

Brittany was breathless.  She gulped for air as he finished putting her things in the trunk. 

As he came around the car, Brittany struggled to compose herself before he got in.  What kind of man buckled a grown woman’s seatbelt?  Whatever he was trying to do, it had certainly worked.  She squeezed her legs together in an effort to still the turbulence that had begun.  

Chadwick climbed into the car and slammed the door.  He jerked the car into drive.  He knew he had startled Brittany by her sharp intake of breath. He was immediately ashamed.  He was frustrated.  It seemed as if he was getting nowhere with her.  Something inside of him snapped and without a thought, he put the car back in park and turned towards Brittany.  

“You know I want you don’t you?” he said. 

Brittany tensed.  She could not believe what she was hearing.  With one question he was challenging her to deny the blazing sexual attraction between them.  She would not lie.  She could not back down. 

“Yes”, was all she said. 

“Do you want me?”  Incredibly he asked the question she knew would come next, but had hoped pride would prevent him from asking.  Turning astonished eyes on him she stared through the darkness.  Chadwick was gorgeous with his clean shaven and smooth skin.  In the darkness of the night it glowed.  Brittany could feel the heat radiating from that skin as she stared at him. 

‘Chadwick, I don’t believe there is a woman alive who would not be attracted to you.  But, I need to be sure of what you’re asking me. Are you asking me if I want to have sex with you or if I want you in my life?” 

He gripped the steering wheel.  He had two sisters and a mother.  He knew when a woman asked a question, it behooved a man to think deeply before answering.  He wanted her to want him sexually and in a broader sense as well, but how did one articulate that.  Answer a question with a question was the way to start. 

“Have you ever wanted a man sexually, but didn’t necessarily want him in your life?”

He was really good at answering questions with questions.   Brittany closed her eyes for a brief second.  She had to steady herself. She already knew she was way out of her league with Chadwick.  He had experience and she didn’t.  For all of her sexual prowess, she was innocent.  So, taking a deep breath she tried to relax.   

“Is that possible?” she asked quietly. 

The question disturbed him.  Again, Chadwick had the feeling something wasn’t right.  He looked at her through the darkness, but he couldn’t see her eyes.  Hitting the switch above his head, soft light illuminated her face.  To her credit she did not look away.  She simply watched him and waited for his answer. 

Chadwick narrowed his eyes as he looked at her.  He took a really good look at her.  Her hair was in a ponytail.  He looked at her caramel-colored cat eyes, her straight nose and soft, wide lips.   She was truly sexy, but she wasn’t really dressed to tease a man.  She had on another floral skirt made out of silk, but it was not too short.  It was modest.  Her breasts were full and obviously beautiful, but they weren’t on display. There was no cleavage to be seen.  She was completely covered, too covered.   She had on clear lip gloss.  To be honest, she looked very young, very sweet, and very innocent.  It couldn’t be true.  There was no way he could have misjudged her.  He had been on fire since he’d laid eyes on her.  She had to be the sexual goddess he imagined her to be.   Chadwick had stopped dealing with virgins after high school. 

“Brittany, have you ever had casual sex?”  He had to be careful.  He had to go slow, but he definitely had to find out if his suspicions were correct. 

She squirmed a little in her seat. Chadwick’s voice had changed.  His voice was low and throaty and it seemed to vibrate through her as he spoke.  

This time it did not excite him to see her wiggle around, instead it made him uncomfortable.  He could feel a cold sweat breaking out on him as he waited for her answer. 

“No”, she said too quietly.  She stared into her lap now.  

“Brittany”, he whispered.  She felt his hand cup her chin, as he leaned in and gently turned her face into his.  “Brittany, kiss me.”  She could feel the warmth of his breath on her face.  She stared at his lips, refusing to look into his eyes.  He smoothed the back of his hand down the front of her neck and then around to the nape of her neck to pull her closer.  All of Brittany’s senses came alive.  She had never felt so many things at once.  She had been kissed before, but no simple touch of a hand had ever affected her like this.  She was in a storm. She wished that she was not a virgin.  She wanted to meet this man body and soul as his equal.  She wanted to climb on top of him and wage war; a sexual war that left him calling her name instead of her calling his name.  He was so handsome and so sexy and she was so inadequate.  No book or movie could help her know what to do with this big beautiful man.  

His lips lay on hers.  He didn’t move, just pressed his lips lightly against hers.   As their breaths mingled, Brittany’s toes curled.  She felt heat all around her.  Then his tongue swept the crease of her lips and fire exploded through her.  She gasped and his tongue quickly tangled with hers.  Brittany’s hands found their way onto his shoulders and she held on.  Chadwick was breathing harder as he pressed her head against the back of the seat.  His mouth was greedy as his tongue plunged deeper into her throat.  She felt his hand tugging her skirt up, sliding over her knees and between her thighs.  It was a branding.  It was too much heat for her senses.  Instinctively she squeezed her thighs tight stilling his hand.  

Chadwick became aware that he could not move his hand up her thighs.  He was stunned to realize that he had lost control. He lifted his head away, but did not let her go.  Brittany’s eyes were closed tightly and she was breathing as hard as he was.  Her thighs still gripped his hand.  He knew now that she was a virgin.  He would find out why tomorrow. But for now he had to get her home, before he undid whatever had preserved her chastity thus far. 

“Brittany, you can relax.  I am not going to force you to do anything.”  He felt her tremble and felt a twinge of conscience.  He removed his hand from her thighs and pulled her skirt down.   He kissed her cheek and settled back into his seat. Reaching up, he switched the light off, giving her some much needed privacy as she regained her composure.   

He was shaken too.   Chadwick believed in God, but he wasn’t sure if God bothered to intervene in people’s lives.  How was it that he, Chadwick Jordan, had literally run into a virgin in this day and time?  He had been with enough women to know a virgin without actually having to break her skin.  Brittany had it written all over her, if any one cared to see past her natural sexual wonder.  He was frightened.  He didn’t know what to do with her now.  He knew one thing for sure though.  She had him totally enthralled and he would die before he left her alone.  She would be his wife, just as he had said before.  Only now, the stakes were higher and his sense of desperation was palpable.  

Brittany was silently crying underneath her covers.  She had made a fool out of herself.  She knew that she had seen the last of Chadwick.  He had been too quiet while driving her home.  He hadn't said a word.  By the time she got home, she was extremely nervous and anxious.   He had gotten out of the car, walked around and opened her door.  He had not touched her again. She smothered a sob as she remembered how he had stumbled back, almost falling, in his haste to get away from her, when she had bent over to gather her purse and things.  Even when she passed him in the door as they carried her bags and equipment in, he had been very careful not to touch her.  When they finished unpacking her things, he had backed away from her, while waving and said, “I’ll call you”, and then he was gone.  

“Brittany, are you crying?”  It was Amber, the last person Brittany wanted to talk to right now. Amber seemed to never be able to understand what a person was feeling.   One had to spell it out all out to her.  It was really tiresome to have to go through a series of explanations in order for her to comprehend your emotional dilemma.  Already exhausted from giving a one-hour massage and enduring a mortally embarrassing experience with Chadwick, Brittany didn’t have the strength to explain anything.  “What has that man done to you now?”   Amber pulled the cover from over Brittany’s head.  When she saw Brittany’s face, she sat on the edge of the bed and said, “Tell me, now.”  

“I want him, Amber.  I thought he wanted me, but this evening after he kissed me, he started acting strange.  I think I turned him off.”  

“Honey, you couldn’t turn that man off, if you had a seizure and pee’d on yourself.  I saw the way he looked at you and the way he touched you when we were at McDonald’s.  So, don’t even waste your time thinking like that.  Really, Brittany, you can be very slow at times.”  She stood up, patted Brittany on the head, stretched, yawned, and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.  

Brittany sat very still, watching the door Amber had gone out of.  Amber was unnatural.  How could she be so detached? 

 “Here I am crying my heart out and when I tell her what’s wrong, she tells me I am slow and leaves.”  

Brittany had stopped crying and was fussing to herself.  Amber had somehow made her feel really stupid for crying under her covers.  She was right, Chadwick definitely wanted her.  She had no doubt about that. That kiss said it all.  His tongue had touched every corner of her mouth.  She had felt the greed in his kiss.  Yes, he wanted her.  It wasn’t until afterwards that everything changed or was it before.  She said something that had disturbed him.  She saw it in his face when he turned the car light on.  He had wanted to know if she had ever had casual sex.  Of course she hadn’t.  She had not had any type of sex.  Had he figured it out?  Had he somehow realized that she was a virgin?  Brittany covered her face with her hands when she thought about how she had stopped his hand from going up her thighs by squeezing her legs shut.  She was sure he knew.  That explained the change in him.  That’s the only thing that could explain why he had pulled away.  That’s why he had reassured her that he would not force her.  Brittany already knew he would never do a thing like that. She would never have gotten in the car with him, if she felt he was that sort of man.  

Brittany no longer cared if he was rich.  She had seen enough to know that he was not your typical wealthy man.  His money did not wear him, he wore his money.  Chadwick, heart, soul and body completely outshone the wealth. He was a man to be had by any warm-blooded woman.  Brittany hoped fervently that she could be that woman.  

Getting out of bed, she left her small bedroom to go the bathroom.  The floors creaked and she smiled.  She really did like the little house they lived in.  It had been their mother’s home.  Wendy Bradfield had been a deeply God-fearing woman.  She had not been a fanatic, but she had had a deep reverence for God and enjoyed studying the Bible.  Her husband had not shared her beliefs.  He was polar opposite.  He would make fun of her and he absolutely forbade her to “oppress his girls with her nunnery."  Instead of supporting Wendy in her efforts to raise their girls to be wholesome and God-fearing, he had persecuted her and forbade her to even take them with her when she went to the Kingdom Hall, her chosen place of worship.  In the end, Brittany and her sisters learned the hard way that mom's way was the best way. 

Their father had come to a very sad ending.  He had been murdered.  The newspapers said that he had been caught with another man’s wife. It had cost him his life.  If he had listened to their momma, he would probably still be alive.  Brittany was twelve when her father had been murdered.  The whole situation had traumatized her.  Her mother had been wise enough to take that opportunity to show them what the Bible had to say about sex.   Her mother had been very clear that there was nothing wrong with sex, but that it had a proper place and that was only within marriage.  The murder of their father and those scriptural warnings combined were potent enough to leave its mark on every mental and emotional fiber in their little beings.  The Bradfield sisters were vigilant about not having sex before they were married and never ever would they commit adultery, after all, that very thing had gotten their beloved father murdered at the age of forty-five.