A Long Way From Here

10

He was in the middle of the most fantastically brilliant dream when the cow started mooing. The dream shattered, Sonny's skimpily clad figure melting away as the large animal strolled in, a fork sticking out of its rump. The Heinz 57 in his hand sent Chad jerking upright in bed frantically searching for an escape route. He liked his steaks rare, but mooing and on the hoof was a little much for him.

It took another two moo's for Chad to realize that it wasn't a cow and that his dinner wasn't being served alive. In fact, it was morning, the sun was shining through a crack in his imperfectly closed curtains, and Sonny's phone was still ringing.

Sonny.

For a moment he thought that she'd left, or maybe that he'd just dreamed it all, from the fight to the kiss to the—yeah, to the incredible night he'd spent worshipping her. But he hadn't, she was still sleeping there, completely oblivious to the still mooing phone. It cut off abruptly and Chad's cell started ringing from somewhere on the floor. He groaned softly as she started trying to bury her face in the pillow.

Without any regard to his state of dress Chad slid from the bed to his knees, digging through discarded clothes until he found the source of the annoying ringing. Grabbing for his jeans, he searched for the pocket with the ringing phone. It was just starting a third ring when he found it and cut it off with a vicious stab to the talk button.

"Yeah?" he demanded tersely, trying to be quiet at the same time. Waking Sonny up wasn't high on his list of priorities, even as he realized that they were probably going to be late for the morning's shoot.

The sound of traffic swelled in his ear before Owen tossed him a far too awake hello. "I was trying to get a hold of Allison, she never answered."

Chad's eyes darted back the bed where she was once again peacefully asleep. Her dark hair was curling around her face and down her back and the sheet itself was pushed down to her waist. She was on her stomach leaving the slim silver limned scars from her car accident visible. Owen was lucky that was all that was visible, otherwise Chad would have already hung up in favor of renewing his worshipful adoration of her body. As it was, Chad still had to turn away as he settled himself on the edge of the bed—the temptation to ignore Owen and wake her up by running his mouth along her spine was too strong to deny while looking at her.

"It's in the kitchen, you calling her woke me up," he explained to his friend trying not to sound too short. Besides, it was true enough. And there was no need to mention that the phone was there because that's where they'd left it on the way to his bed for a night of wild debauchery. "We're going to be late, I know, I know."

"Actually, you're not. Today's Sunday, we're all having a breather, recall?" Owen was chuckling, but Chad ignored it. He was tired, it was expected that he'd get his days mixed up. Especially after last night.

"Then why are you calling me at," Chad glanced around for a clock, knowing that his watch was somewhere on the other side of the bed. He'd flung it there when it had tangled in Sonny's hair. "Eight-fifteen in the morning. Why? I could still be asleep."

"Tomorrow's a by day, as well you lazy bastard," Owen taunted Chad. But the humor quickly settled as he explained that the venue for shooting had cancelled at the last minute. "I'm trying to reschedule it, but it mucks up the schedule. Figure we could all use a few days worth of lie-ins to survive this."

"Yeah," Chad murmured. "We could always try somewhere else instead of rescheduling. It's not like it's the last theater in London, and we certainly aren't filming a show. We just need a crowded foyer."

"Do you think I've not thought of that?" Owen asked. "Right, sorry, I know you're just trying to help. It's your baby, too."

Chad grunted. "Well, it'll keep till later. Why don't you go back to sleep so we can all be sane later?"

He thought he heard Owen calling him rude names as he flipped the phone closed, but Chad ignored it in favor of glancing back at the sleeping woman next to him. He'd been good long enough—it was time to pay some attention to her. The phone and Owen were utterly forgotten as Chad's fingers crept along the dark blue sheet pulling it back slowly until it slipped down past her waist so that her entire back was clear to his eyes. The line of her waist as it descended from her shoulders, the dip and curve before the rising slope of her bum were entrancing as his eyes slid higher up.

She was self conscious about her scars. Chad knew she was, if only because she was actually a very private person. But on the canvas of her back they weren't ugly or disfiguring. Smooth along the surface of her skin and a pink-white so pale that it shone silver. There were a lot of them, more than a dozen scattered in an imperfect pattern. He traced the thin line of the one closest to his hand, just above her waist on the left. It was less than an inch long and he couldn't feel anything other than a thin smooth line.

He traced another, and then another, memorizing them and her body and the way she felt beneath his hands. She shifted a little; he didn't stop. The cell phone and Owen were long since forgotten—Chad never noticed when he dropped the phone to bring his other hand up to touch her. He pressed a kiss to the base of her spine, tongue flicking out to taste her skin. He lapped at it, the salty sweet of her skin smooth under his mouth, his fingers beginning to tug at her flesh demandingly as he moved further up.

This time when she moved Chad knew that she wasn't just shifting in her sleep. The delightful sound from the back of her throat, the sudden tension as he swept her hair to the side to pool in a dark mass on the blue of the sheets, the sudden sharp breath she took in as he pressed another warm, wet kiss to the sharp plane of her shoulder blade—

"Chad," she murmured throatily, nearly whimpering when his fingers ghosted along the curve of her breast where her arm was flung out across the bed.

"Good morning, sunshine," he replied softly, lips tickling her ear before leaning further to capture her mouth in a searing kiss. She rolled beneath him, just enough to give him full access to her mouth and body, her own hands seeking his and pulling him closer.

Needy noises sprang from her lips as she kissed him. Chad was conceited enough to be pleased that she wanted him still, that the night before wasn't (so far) a one night stand, a mistake in her eyes. He needed it not to be a mistake, he needed her. His breathing sped up as did his pulse, the slide of her body beneath his driving him halfway to madness.

She smiled at him when he pulled away, panting as his eyes burned into hers. "Good morning," she whispered as she pulled him back down to kiss him again. It was chaste this time; Chad enjoyed it just as much as the rest. "We're late, aren't we?" The question was unhurried, so lazily resigned to tardiness that Chad almost laughed aloud.

"Mm, no," he told her as he settled next to her, working his way under the sheet. Her body melded to his, hot and lithe, one leg coming up to settle him against her in ways that made him ache to just lay her back and take her again and again and again. He resolutely ignored that desire in favor of telling her they had all day in bed to look forward to. And food. Definitely food.

"Owen called, we have today and tomorrow free. Business as usual again on Tuesday."

"Oh, that's nice," she breathed against his throat as she Tucker her face there, lips pressing themselves to his pulse.

He agreed. "I was thinking we should eat. I have some croissants, some eggs, and I might even have some bacon."

"Breakfast in bed? I accept," she teased him. He kissed her again.

Sonny moved again, nearly wiggling her way underneath him. The invitation in her eyes had Chad rethinking his priorities as slim fingers traced lines down his sides. "Of course," he said as his mouth found her throat to suck the tender skin there, "we could always eat later."

"What a wonderful idea, Chad," Sonny told him before she pulled him back to her.

xXx

Breakfast had become lunch after another spate of lovemaking. It was gentler than it had been last night, something which Chad approved of. Not that he was a prude; sex for the sake of sex was perfectly acceptable. But knowing that Sonny had been willing to make it more than just a physical need for sexual release made it all the better for him. She'd led the dance between them that first time, but he'd choreographed the steps as he led her from bed to shower.

It had been a study in sensuality to share the shower with her. So much so that Chad had every intention of convincing her to join him in the overly large tub with him later. He had candles, music and a bottle of wine that just screamed, "Romance! Seduction!" And he wasn't afraid to use either of them, either. In fact, he was looking forward to it rather eagerly.

"These are really good," Sonny told him as she settled onto the edge of his bed, her plate balanced carefully on her thighs and her hands juggling the sandwich he'd made her as well as a glass of very American iced tea.

What she had teasingly suggested as breakfast in bed had become a shared lunch in bed, another thing of which he approved. Her willingness to lounge about with him meant that Sonny was happily wearing an old dress shirt of his and the lacy panties he'd nearly ripped off of her the night before—and nothing else. He was only wearing a pair of pajama pants so Chad figured they were even in both what they were clothed in as well as what they were thinking.

He had every intention of making love to her again after they'd refueled and was certain she would agree.

And if she didn't Chad planned on persuading her. Vigorously.

"Chunked chicken breast, apple, grapes, and celery with a bit of mayonnaise. Makes a nice yet classy chicken salad that sits well on a croissant."

She looked at him oddly, one brow arching as she obviously fought back a laugh. "Did you come up with that all on your own?"

"Nah. Recipes dot com." Chad chuckled. "You learn all sorts of easy things when you live the bachelor lifestyle. And I like eating good food."

"Makes more sense knowing that." Sonny took another bite, her dark eyes watching him. Chad tried not to be self conscious, but he was pretty sure he was failing in spectacular fashion. "You've got money. Why not a personal chef?"

"Do I strike you as the type to want my own personal set of paid slaves?" His voice was dry as he told her that, trying not to shudder at the idea of strangers around all the time. "I don't actually like the maid service much. But it's nice having a good cleaning done every few weeks," he admitted grudgingly. "But it's not like I let it go to hell in between visits."

Sonny laughed as she picked a piece of grape from her sandwich and popped it into her mouth chewing thoughtfully. "Five years ago you could have starred in Entourage and had a small army of your own that was more than all of theirs combined."

He choked on his water, sandwich dropping to his plate as he tried to breath around the liquid running down his windpipe. "Jesus, Sonny, I wasn't that bad."

"Alright, you weren't," she smirked at him. "But you had a more intricate beauty routine than I did. And I was a sixteen year old girl."

He arched a pale eyebrow her way. "Well, not all of us were as naturally beautiful as you are."

She blushed prettily, eyes dropping as she ducked her head shyly. "Thank you," she told him softly before taking another bite.

"Like I said," and he brandished the last bite of his own at her, apple dropping to the plate as he did, "any man who didn't tell you how beautiful you are at least a dozen times a day should be shot. Twice."

Her skin turned even more red but she didn't agree or disagree, simply finished her food in contemplative silence. Chad finished well before her, the male appétit evident in the way he wolfed it down, and he settled himself into watching her eat as she had before he'd made her so flushed and red. When she finished she reached for his plate and disappeared to the kitchen with it, returning after a moment to sink down on the edge of the bed. Chad smiled faintly at her sudden lack of inhibition.

"Come here," he told her as he pulled the sheet up and held his arm out, beckoning for her to take up residence there. She did, crawling willingly underneath with him and settling her face into the crook of his neck. He could feel the brush of her eyelashes and she closed her eyes, the steady warm breathes from her mouth as she relaxed with him.

"I never would have pictured this all those years ago," she said softly after a bit, resettling her head on his shoulder, one arm carelessly slung across his waist.

Chad chuckled at that. "I didn't actually think it would ever happen… But I pictured it." The admission was soft, almost wrung from him, but he didn't regret saying it.

He felt her shift closer and tucked her more securely in with his arm. "Is that why you were always an ass to me?"

He mmm'd for a moment. "Didn't your mom ever tell you that when a boy likes a girl he pulls her braids?"

She giggled loudly. "Actually, she did. I thought she'd lost her mind."

"Well there you have it."

They settled into a silence that sent him half dozing despite his faint urge to seduce her again, her fingers making tiny circles on his skin and keeping him from slipping in to true sleep. Owen really had called too early considering how late it had been when they finally went to sleep. All in all considering the way he'd been able to wake Sonny, he might revise his irritation to gratitude.

"You didn't have this scar when we were kids, did you, Chad?" she asked him, rousing him into opening his eyes.

"Hmm? No, not that one. I rode a bicycle into a railing about a year after you left." He gave a pained grimace. "Not my most brilliant moment."

She smoothed fingers across it as if to soothe it. Then her fingers moved to push the sheet down and slide under the pajama pants. Her nails scraped across a patch of patterned dots that he couldn't believe she remembered. Chad made a mental note to find out later exactly how she'd managed to focus enough to notice them—he'd have to work harder to make her a boneless heap.

"How'd you get these?" she asked as she practically caressed his thigh.

His breath hitched as blood rushed to his groin, her touch far too sensual at the moment. "Accident with a BB gun when I was twelve."

To his relief and dismay her hand skimmed up his hip. "How'd you get this one?" Sonny asked quietly, tracing a three inch long scar just above his ribs.

"Game of soccer a couple of years ago. Owen and his cleats," Chad told her.

"And this?" was the soft demand as her fingers moved again, farther up to a jagged pink stripe on his shoulder.

"Wall climbing. Then wall falling." He smiled ruefully. "Also not my most brilliant moment."

She smiled, tilting her head up. Her dark eyes twinkled at him with suppressed laughter. "You're not very graceful, are you, Chad Cooper?"

"Hey!" he protested. "These are sports related injuries!"

She gave him a smile and wiggled against him, one leg coming across his, the top of her thigh brushing against him and completely depleting every other significant portion of his body of blood and his brain of rational thought. "Sports related?" she asked coyly.

Chad groaned as she scraped nails down from his shoulder, one catching on his nipple before she continued down, and this time when her hand disappeared beneath the sheet he could feel slender fingers running down the length of him. He was sure his breathing stopped altogether then as his arm around her tightened, fingers digging into her side. Sonny squirmed against his side and he forced his hand to relax as he breathed out shakily.

"Sonny," he growled through clenched teeth.

"Chad," she retorted in a soft sing-song tone.

"Oh god," he murmured as she lowered her mouth to his chest, laving his skin only to leave it chilled by the air when she moved her mouth elsewhere. "Sonny, you should really stop that now."

She murmured against his chest, "Now why would I ever want to do that, Chad?"

He thought that he should be able to respond with something suave or at the very least witty. There was no way in hell he was going to be able to do that. He went for blunt truth. "Because if you don't, sunshine, I'm going to have to have my wicked way with you again."

The sound that came from her throat was nothing short of erotic and snapped the last of his self-control as she gently used her teeth on him, lips curving into a smile as his fingers dug into her hair and pulled her face up to his so that he could plunder her mouth in a searing kiss. She moaned and he drank the sound in.

In a smooth shift she was suddenly on top of him smiling devilishly down at him. "You're not having your wicked way with me, Chad Cooper," she instructed him, pressing a finger to his mouth when he began to protest. "I," she said as she slithered down his body, "am having my wicked way with you."