Free 01 - The Heartbreaker by Carly Phillips

“I can’t. . . We need to go somewhere private, okay?” She glanced up from her kneeling position and focused pleading eyes on Chase.
    She seemed on edge, still in shock. Damned if he didn’t planon taking care of her and not because Madeline Carlisle had asked. He squeezed her shoulder in the only gesture of reassurance he could offer.
    Rick pulled out his notepad. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to need answers before you go anywhere,” he said to Sloane.
    Chase caught the dismay on her face at Rick’s insistence. She wasn’t ready to answer prying questions here. Chase weighed his brother’s dedication to his job against his loyalty to family. Nothing ran stronger or deeper than Chandler family duty. He hated taking his brother’s loyalties for granted, but another glance at Sloane and he knew he would do it anyway.
    He grabbed Sloane’s hand. “We’re leaving. Rick, you can come by my place and she’ll talk to you later.” His tone brooked no argument.
    When Rick snapped shut his pad and slid it back into his pocket, Chase let out a slow exhale. For the first time ever, Chase Chandler had chosen a woman over family.

CHAPTER FIVE
    S loane eased back into a comfortable recliner chair in Chase’s living room of his old but well-kept Victorian house. It felt strange to be here with him now after she’d never expected to see him again.
    The downstairs of his house held the Yorkshire Falls Gazette offices, while upstairs was his private domain. She looked around his home as a woman, not a decorator, seeing the private lair of the man with whom she’d slept. Despite its dark wood and lack of frills, she couldn’t miss the homey touches: the Oriental rugs over the hardwood floors, the pictures of family that were placed in a way that highlighted their importance to him, and the clutter so typical of a man living alone.
    And he was very much a man. As he stood talking to his brother by the window, she sensed his contained energy, the same energy he’d used when he’d made love to her. Sloane studied him now and realized her memory had failed her. He was even better-looking than she’d remembered. And as he gestured around, his grass-stained jeans stretched tight over his incredible behind.
    She shivered and this time shock wasn’t the reason. Lord, the things the man did to her with a single glance. When he’d dived on top of her earlier, she’d recognized his familiar scent, and despite the danger, she’d become instantly aroused. They had an already-established connection, one that made this whole scene even more surreal. How had they come to meet up again? She’dgiven Officer Rick Chandler answers, but she had yet to receive some from Chase.
    She stretched out her feet and her pummeled body felt the pain inflicted when she’d thrown herself to the ground to save Dog. That, she’d learned, was Samson’s pet’s name. The name was yet another sad commentary on the life this man named Samson lived. At least the fire department had confirmed that no one was in the home at the time of the explosion, relieving her fears about Samson being hurt, or worse.
    After leaving the scene, she and Chase had dropped Dog at Dr. Sterling’s, the town vet, so he could be checked out and cared for until Samson returned. No one had addressed the issue of what would happen to Dog if Samson failed to come home. Sloane shivered and wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the chill.
    “Are you okay?” Chase walked over and laid a hand on the cushion behind her head, so close to touching her she automatically became distracted.
    “Of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be? Houses blow up around me every day.” She let out a shrill laugh, knowing she was still on the edge of hysteria despite the fact that a good two hours had passed since the explosion.
    Rick strode to her side, but Chase placed himself between Sloane and his brother. “She’s had enough, Rick. Give her the night to rest and I can bring her by