Stealing Harper
Page 5

I slammed the door with more force than necessary and stalked out to the living room, “What the hell is wrong with all of you?”
“She putting up much of a fight, Chase?” Drew sneered, and put more bottles of liquor away.
My hands balled into fists again, “You’re all ass**les, and you just embarrassed the shit out of her.” I turned to look at Bree, who looked like she was five minutes from passing out. “You’re on your own tonight, sis. Or ask one of the other guys to take care of you.”
“Chase,” Brad said with a confused look, “seriously? She’s your sister, that”—he jerked his head toward one of the hallways—“is just some chick that ain’t gonna put out for you.”
Don’t punch him. Don’t freaking punch him. “She’s your problem tonight,” I said through clenched teeth and went back to my room.
“That was rude, she’s your sister. She should be in here, too.”
Harper, too? Did no one else realize how much of a bitch Bree just was? “Are you serious? You’re gonna defend her after she just spilled that?”
“She’s drunk. I’m sure she didn’t realize it.”
“That’s not an excuse.” I almost groaned; there she goes being sweet as sin again. “Come on, Harper, get in.”
I watched her crawl onto my bed, and my heart started hammering. Bree slept alone in my room when we had parties, but other than that, no girl had ever been in any of my bedrooms, and definitely not in my bed. And I was about to get in it with her. I could easily go crash on the couch or Brad’s floor, but the thought of waking up next to Harper was too tempting. When she was under the covers, I switched off the lights and crawled in beside her; she immediately flew up into a sitting position.
“What are you doing?” she hissed.
“What do you mean?”
“You can’t get in here with me!”
So innocent. I laughed softly, but inside I was terrified she would actually ask me to leave, “It’s my bed, I’m sure I can do what I want.”
Without another word, her half of the covers were flipped onto me, and the weight left her side of the bed. Her side? No . . . the side she was on. She doesn’t have a side. This is just for tonight, right?
“Get back in the bed, Princess.”
She scoffed, and I sighed. Snarky, sweet, and stubborn as shit. God, I wanted her. I rolled off the bed and picked her up off the ground.
“Oh my word! Put me down!”
With pleasure, Princess. I dropped her onto the bed and crawled over her body, trying to stifle my groan when I felt her body press against mine.
“Chase! No!”
“Calm down, I’ll stay on my side. We can even put a pillow between us if it’ll make you feel better.” I was serious. With the hard-on I was sporting again, I needed a brick wall between us.
She scooted as far from me as the bed would allow, and I forced myself not to pull her back to me. “I swear, if you touch me, I’ll go Lorena Bobbitt on you.”
Lorena Bobbitt? Why does that sound—oh my God, the lady that chopped off her husband’s dick? I busted out laughing and put my pillow over my face. “Oh my God! Princess! You’re my new favorite!” That’s it, that comment right there, and it was sealed. I would do anything to have this beautiful gray-eyed princess lying next to me, as mine.
“That wasn’t a joke.”
I moved closer and let the tips of my fingers trail up her slender arm. Could she hear how hard my heart started pounding at just being able to touch her? “One of these days, you’ll be begging for me to touch you.”
“I’m serious, Chase. I’m not like all those girls I saw you with tonight.”
“That’s an understatement.” God, I wish she hadn’t seen any of that, and she didn’t even know the half of it. “Get some sleep, Princess, I’ll see you in the morning.”
Chapter Two
I VAGUELY REGISTERED a subtle vanilla scent and a small, warm body curled up in mine. That was seconds before I felt it shoot out from under my arms, and I swear I stopped breathing. Did I forget to lock my door? Did I get that wasted last night that I let a girl in here?
“Son of a bitch, what the f**k are you—” Oh good God. Harper. Was she this beautiful last night? “Jesus, Princess! You almost gave me a heart attack. I thought I had a girl in here.” I fell back onto my pillow and ran my hands over my face. I wish I had remembered I’d had her in here; I would’ve made sure she stayed in my arms.
“Chase?”
“Hmm?”
“Sorry you didn’t seem to notice, but I am a girl.”
Thank God for that, or I’d have had to question my manhood. “I noticed last night, trust me.” She just kept staring at me with those wide eyes, clearly confused. Damn she was cute. “I meant, I thought I let a girl stay the night with me.”
“Uh . . . ?”
“Someone I’d been with, Princess. I thought I banged a girl and let her stay here.”
“Oh.” Her face twisted, and a hint of that disgust from last night was there again.
“Sorry. Is that too much for your PG ears?”
“No, I just don’t understand why that would be a bad thing.”
Of course you don’t because you’re innocent . . . and perfect. I sighed; she was perfect. Which meant I didn’t have a chance in hell with her. Princesses need a Prince Charming, not a nightmare of a guy. “Girls I screw around with aren’t allowed to come in my room, let alone stay the night. This is the only place that is mine, and I’m not about to share it with them.”