Thrill of the Chase (Dangerous Love) by Elle Keating Read Free Book Online Page B

the middle of a club. Josh must have omitted her little tryst on the dance floor and the lost thirty minutes. Erin mouthed the words “Thank you,” and he winked at her. Yep, he was too good to her.
    “Nice of you to join us, sunshine. We have a big day ahead of us.”
    Erin groaned. Moving day. She was going to need a bagel and a lot of coffee. Immediately.
    “It won’t take too long. Two hours…tops,” Josh said as he sipped his coffee. He appeared to savor the taste, and she grew envious. She needed her daily jolt of liquid bliss desperately, and she retreated to the kitchen.
    “Oh no, you are not helping me move.” Erin poured herself a cup of coffee, grabbed an Asiago bagel and slapped on the cream cheese. “I’m not putting you to work,” she said.
    “Too bad,” Josh said. She childishly stuck her tongue out at him.
    “Kids, kids. Enough,” Paul playfully scolded them both as he set his coffee down on the counter.
    They devoured their coffee and bagels and got to work. Erin was completely moved in within an hour and a half. Not that it was a huge feat; they only had to travel three floors down and she didn’t own a whole lot of stuff. But nevertheless, her new apartment was ready to be lived in, and Erin smiled at this first taste of true independence, postcollege.
    She was sitting cross-legged on the floor of her bedroom and folding clothes to put into her empty chest of drawers when her thoughts were hijacked by Chase. With Paul and Josh long gone, she was alone and free to envision herself with Chase on the dance floor, her body melting into his, his hands fondling her ass as they kissed. Erin let her mind relive the scene in the limo, and she dropped the shirt she had attempted to fold for the third time. He had been gentle but clear about what he wanted. She could still feel his breath against her thighs, how his tongue slipped past his teeth and tasted her while she moaned for him. She threw the godforsaken shirt into the drawer and stood. She contemplated getting a shower for the sole purpose of releasing her pent-up frustration. But that would only be a temporary fix. She needed to stop thinking about him. She wasn’t ready to throw herself into a relationship, as she’d proved last night. She had been whisked back in time, to that hellish place, with six simple words.
    She chose plan B, stress-induced eating. The safer choice. Her refrigerator bare; Erin grabbed her purse and decided to head to the market. But when she opened the front door, a delivery man stood there, his hand fisted and ready to knock. “Oh, sorry,” Erin said.
    “No problem, miss. I have a package for you.” Erin looked down at the large paper bag in his hand and recognized the Whole Foods ogo. It had to be from Paul. He knew about her healthy obsession with their salad bar and, more recently, the new Mexican bar with the help-yourself pan of guac.
    “Who is this from?” she asked, taking the bag from the man.
    “I’m not privy to that information, but he or she did leave this card.” Erin thanked him and took the card. When she tried to tip him, he adamantly refused and left. Erin removed the card from the envelope and read the message…and almost dropped the bag on the floor.
    Erin,
    Thought you might be hungry after your move. I’m sorry about last night but I do not accept your resignation. See you on Monday.
    —Chase
    Arrogant asshole. Why would he assume that she would just renege on her decision to quit and show up to work tomorrow morning, as if nothing had happened? And how the hell did he know she had moved into her new apartment today?
    The smells coming from the bag temporarily distracted her, and she contemplated whether she should just throw its contents in the garbage. But her stomach won out, and unless he had someone spying on her from the balcony, he would never know that she had gorged herself with the food he’d had delivered.
    Erin had just ingested her second enchilada when she heard her