Read Submission: Guilty Pleasures #3 (BBW Erotic Romance) for Free Online Page A

worse.”
    Chase finally stopped in front of
the window, looking down on the city below him. There was a long pause; his
voice was low when he spoke.
    “My first reaction, when things
scare me...things I can’t control, like my feelings...is to either drink myself
stupid, or find a woman. I’m past the drinking, for the most part. But the
women...well, they’re harder to give up.”
    He turned back, watching me a
moment before coming to sit next to me on the couch.
    “There have been women, Abby. I
slept with them. Do I regret it? Yeah, I do. I’m not proud of how I acted. And
I regret not telling you.”
    We sat for a moment, before Chase
turned to me. There was a look on his face, something I’d never seen before.
Doubt, maybe? In himself, or me, I couldn’t tell.
    “I’m being honest, Abby, as honest
as I know how to be. No one has asked that of me, for a long time. But I need
to know from you, if you’re going question me, question us...this...what does that
say? About the trust between us? About your trust in me?”
    “Do you trust me, Abby?”
    In the moment I hesitated before
answering, I saw something flash in Chase’s eyes. Resignation, loss...sadness. I
dropped my eyes.
    “I don’t know, Chase.” My voice
was barely a whisper. “I don’t know how to think about this. And it scares me
too.”
    Chase reached over, taking my hand,
rubbing my knuckles with his thumb. I could feel the calluses on his hands, the
rough parts from being on the ranch, the soft parts that spoke of something
else.
    “For what it’s worth, however this
ends, I think I’m a better man for having known you.” He leaned over, kissing
my cheek.
    I smiled. “Stacy said the same
thing. You’d changed. She likes the new you.”
    We sat for a minute, holding
hands. I felt a welling sadness in my chest, like I was losing something
valuable, that it was slipping away as I watched it go.
    “Chase, you have to know how hard
this is for me.”
    He squeezed my hand. “I do. But
you have to know it’s hard for me too. And to not have you trust me cuts like a
knife. I’d lay my life on the line for you. You have to know that. I made
mistakes. Hell, I’ll probably be making mistakes for the rest of my life.”
    Chase stood, pacing again, unable
to stand still. “I’m only human, Abby. You can’t expect me to be perfect.”
    “I’m not expecting you to be
perfect. I wanted honesty, not perfection. That’s all.”
    Chase threw up his hands. “I’ve
been trying to be honest with you, as best I can. I’ll fight for you, Abby. But
I won’t do battle with you over this relationship.”
    The anger I’d felt earlier came
back, blooming hot and heavy in my chest.
    “Do you think I’m doing all this
on purpose to make it hard for you? That I enjoy this?” I stood, my face
flushed.
    “Because I don’t. I don’t want
this...I didn’t ask for this.” I spread my hands, breathing hard.
    The edge was back in Chase’s voice
when he spoke, flinging the words at me. “Don’t want this...or don’t want me?”
    He took two quick steps toward me,
grabbing my arms, pushing me against the wall. Something close by fell to the
floor. I felt his fingers tense against my skin.
    “Because I want you, Abby, more
than I’ve wanted any woman, ever. I want a relationship with you, not just for
an occasional fuck in my bed or a roll in the hay. And I’m willing to work at that,
to earn your trust, whatever I need to do. You have to know that. But you can’t
hold my past against me going into the future. That’s not fair.”
    Chase was breathing as hard as I
was, his face close to mine. I could feel the heat of from his body, feel the
tension, his fingers digging into my arms.
    “Chase...please. You’re...”
    “I’m hurting you? Yeah. I know. I
want to get it through your head how important this is, that I think you’re
about to throw something away that you really don’t want to...that I really don’t
want you to.
    “I love you,