Chadwick's Rare Find (An Intriguing Romance Novel)
CHADWICK'S RARE FIND
by Heidi SEXton!
CHAPTER 1
Chadwick had lost his way again. It never ceased to amaze him that he, the intelligent one in the family, was geographically challenged. No detailed amount of directions could ever help him once he was lost. This situation wasn’t entirely his fault though. Some of the blame lay with his eldest sister, Adanna. She had chosen to live in the hills away from civilization and felt absolutely no compunction about throwing the family into chaos and confusion by having two to three family gatherings a year. She demanded that everyone attend and if they didn't she would hold outrageously long grudges that inevitably ended up involving half the family instead of the one or two individuals that were actually absent or rather, unable to attend most often due to no fault of their own. So, inevitably, upon receipt of her lofty RSVP invitation, family would scramble about trying to secure rides with one another or making sure the correct address was in their global positioning systems.
Unfortunately, Chadwick's global positioning system was his phone and he had no signal. He felt sure he was not far from her home. He could see the three and four story houses looming along the crest of hills that marked the area where Adanna had made her home. Here in San Diego Valley the roads were darker at night and much more challenging. Chadwick was used to getting lost, but he had never quite learned the art of staying calm when lost. So, while driving along the darkened hills of San Diego Valley he could feel a sweat breaking out on his forehead and around his lips. His eyes flit here and there searching for lights, any sign of business. He needed to pull over and get directions. His cell phone was useless in the hills. He rarely had a signal. The more he thought, the more panicked he became. He tried to tell himself that he was being unreasonable. How could a man of thirty-five with his renowned sense of business and management be lost to the point of panicking? What virile man panicked anyway? It was a decidedly unmanly thing to do. Men did not panic and especially not at being lost.
Suddenly, his cell phone rang, jarring his already heightened nerves. He did not see the car pulled over on the side of the road ahead of him nor did he see the door as it was swung open. But he felt its impact as he swerved into it. He heard glass breaking and he felt his airbag deploy. That was the last thing he remembered as his car careened out of control.
#
Brittany could not believe what had just happened. She had pulled over to look at her directions. She was on her way to one of her wealthy client’s home to give a massage. Brittany had lots of clients in this valley where all the houses looked the same and all the street names started with St. Something-Or-Another. From one week to another she would feel as if she was getting a better understanding of the lay of the land, but the similarities of every street had her going in circles again and again. Brittany hardly ever got lost. She was excellent at reading maps and following directions. This area could be a challenge to anyone. She would not be surprised if the residents themselves got lost every now and then. So, she had a habit of pulling over and consulting her directions at certain points in order to keep from making circles. She had just reassured herself that she was going in the right direction. Then she had decided to get her bag out of the trunk. Just as she opened the car door pandemonium broke loose. She felt, rather than saw, her car door being torn away. As her car rocked from the impact she heard glass shatter and the sound was deafening.
Just as suddenly as the explosive noise began, it became still and quiet. Brittany sat stunned for a few seconds. Realizing someone might be hurt, she stepped out of the car and looked around. She saw the taillights on the opposite side of the road. Grabbing her bag of towels from the trunk she crossed the street. There were no sounds, just an eerie silence surrounding the car. As she approached, she took notice of the exterior of the car. From the back there was no sign of damage, although the two back wheels were suspended in the air. The driver’s side had no damage as well. Brittany imagined the other side was banged up pretty badly from the impact that had snatched her door off. Approaching the driver’s side of the car, Brittany looked through the window. She could see that the two front seat airbags had deployed and that a man was lying back in the seat with white powder all over his face, obviously a by-product from the deployment of the airbags. He seemed to be the only occupant of the vehicle.
She opened his door. He didn’t move. He was a big man. He was tall and had a wide chest and big arms. He was wearing a short-sleeve black shirt that stretched across his chest and muscles. She grabbed his wrist to check for a pulse. There was a very strong pulse. She checked him over for injuries. There were none that she could see. Opening her bag, she took out a towel and wiped his face. She was stunned to see that he was beautiful. He had thick black eyebrows and long luscious eyelashes. His tanned skin was flawless with a set of full lips. The squareness of his chin projected strength even though he was passed out. He looked as if he was just sleeping.
Being a masseuse, Brittany had a keen interest in skin textures. So, looking at this man with his perfect skin presented a temptation that she dared not resist. She touched his lips with her fingertips first. Then she ran her hand over his forehead and down the sides of his face. Satisfied, she slapped him hard on the face. He jerked forward and stared at her.
When he opened his eyes, Brittany gasped. She had heard the saying that looking into someone’s eyes is like looking into their soul, but she had never experienced it until now. She looked into the eyes of this man and could not look away. She saw myriads of emotions cross his face, but she would always remember the magnetism of his unguarded look.
The first words that came out of his mouth were, “Is anyone hurt?”
Brittany felt his breath flutter across her face and suddenly realized her mouth was less than an inch from his. In order to keep from bumping her head, she backed up a little while still bent over. Straightening up, she waited silently by the car, as he unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed out.
As he stood, she was surprised to see that he was much taller than she had thought. He was rubbing the side of his face she slapped. She nervously looked away.
“Are you the one I ran into?” He looked around frantically and then he spotted her car.
“Yes, but I’m fine. My car is missing a door though.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Without warning he stepped closer and ran his hands down her arms and across her back. He casually ran his hand around her neck. Moving even closer he put his hands on either side of her face. He looked closely at every inch of her face, ignoring her look of disbelief. He then proceeded to press his fingers into her scalp asking her if it hurt to touch here or there.
“I’m fine,” she finally squeaked. Brittany could not believe that he had just touched her so intimately. She was stunned. She disentangled herself from him and stepped back. “We are stranded until someone comes along. My cell phone doesn’t work out here and there isn’t a gas station for miles.” She looked around. Brittany was aware that she was alone on a dark, abandoned road with a strange man who was twice her size.
“My head is killing me. We need to get to an emergency room to get checked out. I want to make sure you’re okay.” His voice rumbled through her in the silence.
Brittany had basically been raised by her mother. Her experience with men was not extensive, but at twenty-two, she knew signs of a real man and this man was showing signs of being a masculine phenomenon. He had personally examined her. He now indicated that he would see to it for himself that she was professionally examined and cleared.
“My name is Chadwick. Thanks for wiping my face – and waking me up.
” He grinned at her. Brittany didn’t give voice to the gasp that rose in her throat, but she could never deny the beauty of this man. His smile made her heart leap. If he was arrogant, he had every right to be so.
“Well, you’re quite welcome. It is not everyday a girl gets to slap a man out of a faint.” Brittany teased him back.
“Okay, okay, that’s enough. You know I didn’t faint. I was knocked out. Anyway, what were you doing parked so close to the road with your door open? You could’ve been killed.”
“Oh no, you don’t. I was parked legally and far enough off the road to be safe with that door open. You came out of nowhere. I think you lost control of your vehicle. So, the real question is what were you doing?” He had gall to be questioning her when it was obvious he had caused the accident.
“What’s your name?” he asked in a deep voice pitching authority. This aggravated Brittany more.
“Answering a question with a question sounds like an evasion. So, what were you doing before you ran off the road?” Brittany stared directly into his eyes and saw the flicker of embarrassment before his eyes went flat. Now she was truly curious. What could he have been doing?
Chadwick stood before Brittany, oddly wondering more about the woman than the accident. She was out on these back roads all alone with a man she did not know and had the audacity to be squaring off with him. He had only just gotten over the shock of waking up to find her lips almost against his. He knew two things about her for sure. One was that she smelled good and the other was that she looked good.
She was a beautiful woman. She was taller than average. Her head came to just beneath his chin, which made her a perfect height for him. She had long curvaceous legs. He had a good look when he was getting out of the car. In the dark she could not see him watching her legs. Her skirt must have been made out of silk. It clung to her thighs. Her skin was all creamy and dewy. She looked wet and sexy. Her eyes were her most striking feature though. They slanted upwards and were the color of caramel. When he looked into them it was as if they were transparent. It was a good thing he was not superstitious and did not believe in curses and spells, otherwise he would have been afraid of her. Her eyes gave the impression that she could cast spells or something. He shuddered and set his mind to figuring out how to get past her inquisition. It suddenly seemed a good idea to just tell the truth.
“I, uh--well, I have a problem with getting lost sometimes and I don’t just get lost -- I get kind of edgy when I am lost, and well, I wasn’t expecting my phone to ring, because I never get a signal up here, and my phone --”
“Your phone rang? Why didn’t you say that already? We need to call for assistance right now.” She interrupted him showing no interest at all in his confession. Secretly, he was glad she was distracted, but at the same time he felt stupid because he should have remembered that he had a signal minutes ago. He should have been calling for assistance instead of standing on the side of the road bickering with this woman he did not know. She still hadn’t told him her name.
Brittany was already leaning into his car picking his cell phone up off the floor. It took Chadwick one long-legged step to reach her. He stood behind her and wondered at the allure of some women. This woman moved in a way that was so natural and unaffected. He watched her legs as she reached in further for the phone, which obviously had fallen to the passenger floor. The skirt she wore was sea-green in color. When she moved the skirt moved in sensual waves across her skin. He was getting an incredible view of her thighs. It suddenly occurred to him that he shouldn’t be looking at her in the position she was in. He reluctantly looked away, but not without realizing his breathing had changed. He took a big breath and let it out.
As she turned around, he took the phone from her hand, a bit more roughly than necessary and grumbled, “Let me make the call. It is my phone.” He knew he was sounding childish, but this strange woman was putting him on edge and out of character. He needed to get his composure. He always knew what to do and absolutely no one, besides his sisters and mom, dared to ever tell him what to do. So, he quickly called for an ambulance and towing services.
He turned around to find that the woman was no longer standing behind him. She had crossed the street and was getting her things out of her car. Besides the bag that she carried on her shoulder she had two more small bags. She gathered her things around her and sat on the trunk of her car cross-legged staring at him from across the road. She was incredibly sexy. He briefly wondered how it was that he could even think about sex in such a situation. He could have killed her when he slammed into her car door. The whole situation was beginning to feel surreal.
As if drawn by a magnet, he crossed the street. He stood before her and just stared. Chadwick was rarely angry at women. If anger was the emotion he was feeling simmering just beneath the surface at the moment, it was paradoxical to his true nature for he was rarely ever mad at a woman and never at a beautiful woman.
“I am going to ask one more time. What is your name?” he ground out between clenched teeth. She uncrossed her legs, pushed her feet against the bumper, and scooted further up on the car. She looked nervous. Good. She needed to realize that she was all alone on an isolated street with a man she did not know.
“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s Brittany.”
He could only blink stupidly. She did not pronounce her name the way an English-speaking person would. She rolled the “r” off her tongue making a sound mostly associated with foreign languages like French or Spanish. It was sensual. She was sensual and he would be glad when Brittany with the rolling r’s was away from him. Something about her was very different from what he was used to in women, which in his experience wasn’t a good thing.
He cleared his throat. Leaning against the bumper of the car, he said, “Well, Brittany, what were you doing out here--”
“Oh, wow!! I need to use your phone to call my client! I can’t believe I forgot to call my client.”
That was the second time she had interrupted him, as if he wasn’t saying anything worth listening to. Did she say client?
“What kind of work do you do?” he asked with real curiosity and a little bit of incredulity. She had better not say she was an attorney. All his preconceived ideas for stereotyping women would be thrown out the window.
“I’m a massage therapist,” she said in a clipped tone. Chadwick smiled. It actually looked more like a smirk. So, he was almost right. He had first pegged her as being a cosmetologist.
He could not help himself. He looked down at her hands. Her hands were beautiful. They were soft and creamy looking. Her short nails were manicured. Fluffy wasn’t a necessarily appealing word to describe her hands, but they were just that. He instinctively knew that her hands held the power to please. Squeezing his eyes shut, he backed away.
There was definitely something unusual going on here. He had never in his life been hacked up so emotionally by one encounter with any woman and it was not for a lack of female companionship. Chadwick knew he was attractive. He was thirty-five, handsome, and financially secure. Women loved him. He loved women. His mother and sisters liked having him around. Not one woman in his life had ever been indifferent to him. But this woman with her beautiful lips, silky-looking skin, caramel-cat eyes, and lush massage-therapist hands treated him as if he was a ten year old boy. Maybe things were off kilter for both of them because of the accident. He would see her safely into the ambulance, exchange insurance information and be on his way.
The ambulance siren could be heard in the distance. He decided not to alert his family until he was off the road and somewhere they could get to him safely. So, he stood waiting, with the now stonily silent Brittany, as the ambulance pulled up. The minute the EMS got out of the ambulance Brittany came alive again. She jumped off the car.
“Oh thank God, you got here so quickly. I’m worried about him”, she said pointing at Chadwick, whose mouth fell open. “He swerved off the road and took my car door completely off. He ended up over there on the opp
osite side of the road in that ditch. I went over to him and his airbag had deployed. He was completely out. I think he may have a concussion. He has been acting kind of strange. I had to slap him to wake him up.” She gave a nervous glance in his direction and thought it best to add, “I didn’t think it would be good for him to stay asleep in case he had a concussion.” Brittany was giving a very good impression of a scared woman when only seconds earlier she had been shooting darts at him with her eyes.
The EMS were jotting down every word she said and before he knew it, they whipped out their stretcher, lowered him onto it, and strapped him down. They put him into the ambulance and were pulling her in as well. She was resisting, but the EMS made it clear that she would not be left on the side of the road and she could call her family to come get her from the hospital after she was thoroughly assessed. Relaxing on the stretcher Chadwick smiled up into her evil caramel eyes as she was pushed gently down onto a bench next to the head of his stretcher. He turned his head towards her lap and stared at her beautiful wet-looking legs. He was subjected to another round of silence.
Brittany sat in the chair fuming. Chadwick was acting crazed for real. He would not wipe that smile off his face and he was staring at her legs. She knew she should not have made that speech to the EMS when they arrived, but he had infuriated her with his high-handedness. It seemed she had been working all her life. People generally respected people for that. She was independent. She made really good money being a masseuse. She knew that Chadwick came from money by the way he dressed and the way he talked. All of her clients were wealthy and only a few of them really knew how to treat people. People tended to think the amount of their bank account validated their worthiness. Well, she knew the difference. She’d seen the rich women who had everything except self-respect and self-esteem. The majority of them were alcoholics. What an ugly thing a drunken woman could be. She almost laughed out loud. Even though she made her living off wealthy people, they sickened her. They and their assumptions were asinine. Things did not make an individual. She glanced down her nose at Chadwick and almost giggled as she remembered how his mouth had fallen open when she started talking to the EMS. She looked at him watching her legs and slowly she crossed one leg over the other making a big show of wiggling around to get comfortable. She saw the smile leave his face. He gripped the side of the gurney and jerked his head away. She smiled to herself and thought, “Now little rich boy you know how it feels to want something you can’t afford.”