Read The Chase, Volume 2 for Free Online

resolve to keep my distance from him waiver.
    After a few seconds, I finally managed to push him off me. “You promised.”
    He shot me a smoldering smile that left my knees weak. “By now, you must know that I’m not great with promises.”
    “Well, try . Or else, I can just leave now.” I turned away from him, ready to hail down a taxi.
    “Fine,” he said quickly. “I’ll try. Now, come on, our reservation is waiting.”
    I turned back to him and smiled. “Thanks.”
    We walked inside Prebechu, an unassuming restaurant in the Mission District.
    “How did you hear about this place?”
    I looked around the small restaurant. It wasn’t located in a questionable block of town and the simple decor wasn’t something I thought fit Dean’s personality. I’d thought he’d want to go to some upscale five star restaurant.
    He laughed as he saw the uncertainty on my face as I looked around the restaurant when we sat down. “Don’t underestimate this place. It just opened a few months ago and the food here is simply amazing. Plus, it’s Guamanian food, which is unique and not something you find often, even in a foodie city like SF. They even import a lot of their ingredients directly from Guam, and everything is executed well and the flavors are nothing like you’ve ever had before.”
    I looked at him and realized I was seeing a side of him that I’d never have thought could exist. This guy had passion, and for something other than sex. And to my surprise, he was right. The food at Prebechu was incredible. After an hour, and a few cocktails, I found myself lost in our easy and natural conversation and completely forgot who he was and who I was.
    “No, you’re lying.” I giggled.
    “You wanna bet? I totally can touch and cover my nose with my tongue.”
    He stuck out his tongue and curled it up and over his nose.
    I laughed so hard, my sides started to hurt. “Stop!” I begged as I try to breath.
    He finally lost it and started laughing himself. Suddenly, he stopped and looked at me and flashed me a warm smile that caused my stomach to flip.
    “You know what?”
    “What?” I asked breathlessly.
    “I love the way you laugh. It’s contagious.”
    I smiled back at him. So many thoughts and emotions whirled inside, and against all reason, I felt myself let down my walls. “Can I admit something?”
    “Sure.” He leaned in from across the table and placed his hands on mine. My breath caught and I felt my heart pound violently against my chest.
    I look a deep breath. “So you probably know that I agreed on meeting you for dinner tonight because I was trying to get you off my back. I wanted to try to convince you that what happened between us was a mistake and that it’d never happen again. I needed you to believe me and I thought getting the chance to sit down with you in a public place would give us a chance to talk things through.”
    He laughed. “I had a feeling that was the case.” He then paused and licked his lips. “And has that changed?” There was a seductive smirk on his lips as his fingers moved slowly up and down my hands, causing every hair on arms to stand up in excitement.
    I nodded, unable to speak. All I could concentrate on was how turned on I was by his simple touch.
    “So what do you think now?”
    “I…I don’t know.” I looked down and broke our eye contact, unable to think when I looked into his eyes. “I think you’re an interesting person. And…”
    “Interesting enough to date?” He intertwined his fingers with mine and began to seductively massage my palms with his thumbs.
    At that moment, I couldn’t speak. I could barely think. All I could do was nod. My chest heaved at the intense pleasure of his rough thumbs circling rhythmically against my skin. I wished we were alone in this restaurant. I wished he didn’t make that promise to me. I wished this wasn’t just a dinner.
    “I’m taking you back to my place tonight.”
    My eyes widened as I saw the hunger lit