Fever (4 page)

changed her mind and slip into the cold night, embracing what was
real
.

Jace suddenly looked at her, his gaze seeking, almost as if she’d broadcast her thoughts in real

time. He stared at her a long moment, his finger pressed against the button to the floor. When she

made no move, he straightened and leaned against the far wall, still studying her as the doors closed.

“You’re nervous,” he said, still staring at her.

She gave him a
duh
look and he smiled again. He had a killer smile. It wasn’t easy and charming

like Ash’s. Smiling seemed to come natural to Ash, like it was in his makeup to be this easygoing,

flirtatious guy who women fell all over themselves for. Bethany didn’t get the impression that Jace

was much of a smiler. He seemed way more serious than Ash. And if she was honest, that brooding,

badass persona hit every single one of her buttons. Because this was a man she’d feel safe with for

the night. He was a man a woman felt very secure around.

“Nothing to be nervous about,” he murmured as the elevator stopped.

As she started to step off, he put his arm out to stop her and then he pulled her into his arms. She

landed against his chest and his head was angled so their mouths were close. So close she could feel

the harsh exhalation of his breath.

“Bethany, there’s nothing to be nervous about,” he said again, that mouth hovering so temptingly

over hers.

He trailed a finger down her cheek to the corner of her mouth just as the elevator started to squawk

because the doors had been left open for so long. He ignored it, focused on her, watching and

absorbing like he could reach into her thoughts. Or like he wanted to, at least.

“I’m okay,” she whispered.

And then he smiled. Really smiled. Not one of those twitch movements where it looked like he was

about to smile or that he was fighting it. A full-on, teeth-flashing smile. And man, did he have

beautiful teeth. Perfectly straight. Ultrawhite. Million-dollar smile. But then, everything about him

was aces . . . right down to his shoes.

So far out of her league. So far it wasn’t even funny.

Visions of
Pretty Woman
danced in her head.
Cinderella
. A one-night fairy tale. Only she knew

better than to ever dream of happy endings. Fairy tales were nice to read. They were nice to think

about. But they weren’t remotely realistic. Fairy tales didn’t happen to girls like Bethany.

So she’d take her one night and tomorrow she’d go back to doing what she did best. Living one day

at a time, taking it as it came. Surviving.

He gestured for her to proceed from the elevator, and as soon as she stepped out, he fell into step

beside her, his arm wrapping securely around her waist. It felt good. Too good. It was too easy to get

all wrapped up in the fantasy. This man didn’t give a damn about her. He wanted to get laid. She

wanted warmth and food and a means of forgetting her shitty existence. That was an arrangement she

could deal with.

A moment later, he opened the door to a sprawling suite. She hesitated just inside the door as she

saw Ash setting out plates of food onto the polished dining table. There were three places set and it

was obvious she was in between them. Her glass of orange juice was sitting by a plate with a burger

and fries and on either side were plates with steaks.

The smell wafted to her and her stomach immediately clenched. She was starving and she’d never

smelled anything so good in her life.

Ash turned and gave her that lazy smile, his eyes glowing with charm.

“You ready to eat?” Ash asked.

Oh yeah. She was ready to eat. It was all she could do to calmly nod and not throw herself at the

table and start tearing into that burger.

Jace put his hand to her back and guided her toward the table. Clenching her fingers to disguise the

shaking, she took her seat and then pushed up to the table and the delectable plate sitting before her.

Still, she picked up the glass in a casual manner, like she wasn’t starving and could hardly wait to dig

into her food. She sipped at the juice but put it back when it hit her empty stomach hard.

Maybe food first was a better option.

Burger, fries and even orange juice was a luxury—one she was going to enjoy every second of.

As Jace and Ash took their seats on either side of her, she nabbed a fry, dragged it through the little

container of ketchup sitting next to her plate and then slipped it into her mouth.

“You sure you don’t want some steak?” Ash asked, nodding downward at his plate.

As she stared at the succulent piece of beef on his plate, her mouth watered. And the smell. God

that delicious smell was killing her.

“Uhm,” she began.

Without another word, Ash cut a section of his steak and then forked it onto her plate. It was a little

pinker than she liked, but what did she care? It didn’t even matter to her what it tasted like. It was

food.

“Thanks,” she murmured.

She was aware of Jace’s gaze the entire time she ate and so she very carefully restrained herself,

making sure she took her time and didn’t seem too eager. She chewed each bite carefully. Sipped at

her juice and was grateful when she finished that Ash produced more.

She wanted to eat all of it, but her stomach rebelled. She had gone too long without enough and she

was used to surviving on far less. Her stomach refused to take another bite when she was barely half

done with the burger and only a few bites into the steak.

“You aren’t eating much,” Jace observed when she pushed her plate back.

“I snacked on party food earlier,” she lied. “It was really great, though. Thank you.”

He studied her a long moment and she fidgeted uncomfortably. He didn’t look as though he

believed her, but he didn’t push the issue. And why should he care if she ate or not? She was here

because they wanted sex. They wanted to scratch an itch, though why with
her
, she’d never

comprehend. She highly doubted they had any problem getting any woman they wanted in bed, which

meant they could be as choosy as they damn well wanted to be.

“Few things you should know,” Ash spoke up.

Her gaze drifted to his and he’d lost that playful, flirty look. His eyes were serious. Brimming with

hotness that took her breath away. In that moment he looked just like Jace did. A hell of a lot more

brooding and . . . badass. Which was kind of weird considering the word
badass
would have never

come up in one of her descriptions of Ash.

“We call the shots in the bedroom. What we say goes. We’ll take care of you. We’ll see to your

needs. We’ll make damn sure it’s good for you. But we’re in control. If you have a problem with that,

you need to say so now before we get into this.”

A heady thrill rolled right through her body. Was he kidding? She fought her overpowering

response to his statement and forced herself to be smart about this. Yeah, being taken care of for the

night was not a turn-off. Giving up power and control for one night where she didn’t have to think,

didn’t have to do, didn’t have to do anything but feel? Not a deterrent.

But she needed to know exactly what this kind of a deal entailed and how deep their kink ran.

“I think that depends on what you want,” she said in a low voice. “I’m not into anything that even

comes close to playing with my life.”

Jace’s brow furrowed and he shot Ash a quelling look. “You’ve scared the shit out of her now,

man. I told you to chill and let me handle this.”

“She deserves to know what she’s getting into,” Ash said calmly. “I didn’t lie to her and I won’t

mislead her.”

“Appreciate that,” Bethany said dryly.

Jace reached for her hand, curling his fingers around hers. It was . . . sweet. And strangely not in

keeping with his badass look and those brooding stares he’d sent her way. This was a guy she would

have expected Ash’s speech to come from. For him to lay down the law to her and tell her it was his

way or the highway.

“We won’t hurt you, Bethany. What Ash means is that we like control. We like . . . submission. Not

saying tonight has to be all about that. Just shooting you straight.”

“I get it,” she said softly.

“And?” Jace prompted.

“And what?”

“You good with that? Can you handle it?”

She took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m good with it.”

“Thank fuck,” Ash muttered. “Now if we’re done with all the talking, can we get to the naked

part?”

“Ash.”

Jace said his friend’s name like a warning. Then he turned back to Bethany, his hand still snugly

circled around hers.

“Go into the bedroom. You can use the bathroom to get comfortable, do whatever you need to do.

Undress and wait for us on the bed.”

The soft words whispered over her skin, making her entire body hum with arousal. The man was

positively lethal.

Wordlessly, she found herself obeying his soft command and rising from her chair. Her hand

slipped from his as she backed away and then she turned, tearing her gaze from his as she walked

toward the bedroom.

chapter four

She was sitting in the middle of the bed, naked, the sheets in a whirl around her, bunched as she

pulled them to cover her nudity. Jace was the first to enter, his gaze immediately finding her. Ash

followed behind, his fingers already going to the buttons on his shirt.

Even as Ash was undressing, making no bones of what he wanted, her gaze was riveted on Jace.

Locked to him in a silent reverie that was unbreakable. His nostrils flared and his jaw flexed and

clenched. There was a near-naked gorgeous man in the room and all she could do was stare at the

fully clothed one, waiting and wanting so badly she hurt.

“Let go of the sheet,” he said in a soft voice. “I want to see you.”

It was soft, but no less of a command, one that sent a shiver over her skin. Carefully, she let the

sheet slide from nervous fingers. It glided down her body to gather at her waist, baring her breasts to

his piercing stare.

“Up on your knees,” he said. “Push the sheets aside. I want to see all of you.”

If she were smart, she’d fear this man. This situation. It had been an impulsive decision borne of

desolation and a need for a temporary reprieve from her reality. No one knew she was here, at the

mercy of these two men. No one cared. No one would worry if she simply disappeared. Except Jack.

And how would he know? She hadn’t told him anything other than she had a place to stay tonight, and

at the time it had been a lie.

“Second thoughts?”

She glanced up to see Jace studying her intently, his expression indecipherable. Her gaze skated

sideways to where Ash stood, naked, gorgeous, his erection jutting forward. When she peeked back at

Jace, he frowned as though he didn’t like her looking away from him.

Her mouth dry, she licked her lips and then she shook her head. “No.”

It was another lie. She’d had plenty of second and third thoughts but she kept coming back to the

fact that tonight she wanted the oblivion found in a different kind of drug. She wanted to be warm. To

know a moment’s peace. Was it too much to ask?

Jace started toward the bed as she levered up to her knees, allowing the sheets to fall completely

from her body. When he reached the edge, he reached for her and then hauled her into his arms, his

mouth descending in a fiery rush over hers.

She closed her eyes and surrendered, melting into his strong arms. The air crackled around them.

Their desire was a living, breathing entity that swelled to enormous proportions.

His tongue pushed in, soft and velvet, warm over hers. Soul-deep comfort. His hands skimmed

down her arms, gripping her tighter and then pulling her even closer as the heated sounds of their

kisses rose and filled her ears.

And then Ash was there, momentarily pulling her attention from the moment. His hands slid over

her bare back and the bed dipped as he moved in behind her. She tensed against Jace and then Ash’s

warm mouth pressed to the curve of her neck and she relaxed. He was going slow, not overwhelming

her. He seemed content to allow Jace to take the lead.

Jace pulled away, and her mouth tingled from his rough possession. He stared down at her, his dark

eyes scorching over her skin. Her breath caught and held. She stared back, her chest tight with

anticipation.

Ash’s hands skimmed over her shoulders, his mouth at her neck, but she only had eyes for Jace as

she waited for the moment he staked his claim. She wanted his hands on her body. His mouth on her

skin. Him inside her, covering her. He was a man who would always make a woman in his care feel

safe, and she was a woman who wanted to feel safe.

As Ash’s hands slid down her arms and then more firmly back up to grasp her shoulders once

more, Jace began to unfasten the buttons of his shirt. Ash pulled her back against his chest, cradling

her against his body as Jace slipped out of his clothing.

Awareness simmered low in her belly as Ash’s heat surrounded her. His palms slid up her belly to