Jace (4 page)

“I met Corey at a car repair
shop. At the time, he was working as a mechanic, doing oil changes and fixing
tires. Stuff like that. My car had a flat. I got it towed to that shop because
it was the closet. Corey worked on my car; he was adorable, cute, and flirty.
We started dating. The first six weeks were fun, perfect. I took him to meet my
mom. Everyone liked him. Funny, sweet, good looking and he doted on me. What
wasn’t to like?” She took a deep shuddering breath; tears dotted the corner of
her eyes.

Naturally, Jace’s body tensed.
He knew what was coming. He knew, because he’d seen his mom do it with his
father over and over again. He didn’t say anything, just waited and listened.

“I made him mad, okay? The
first time it happened, it was six weeks in. I…I didn’t know what to do. I’d
never been told what to do when you’re lying on the ground crying after being
punched in the face by your boyfriend. I suppose that would be a weird school
that taught those kinds of lessons in school.” She let out a nervous laugh.

He smiled at her, needing to
hear the rest.

“Let’s see…where was I? Her voice
shook. “Right, after the first time it changed. Everything changed after that.
Like something was let loose in him. He wanted to move to New York, not the
city but in a smaller, rural area. I didn’t understand completely why he wanted
to move, but he had me scared, in love. Yeah, I know, stupid.

“In New York, he got worse. I
think being away from my mom and his family gave him more freedom. I walked on
eggshells for a long time after that. When I finally grew strong enough to get
out, it didn’t happen all neat as I’d planned it. And it all started because I
was sweaty.”

Jace couldn’t help but laugh at
how ridiculous that sounded. She laughed with him and some of the tension left
her shoulders. When she continued she sounded much more normal.

“It was in December, not of
last year, but the year before. We were at home, as usual. We never went out,
because he didn’t like it. It was a cool thirty-eight degrees outside. It
hadn’t snowed much that season so the scenery was sadly devoid of snow. And
Corey was in a mood. I remember just wishing I could be gone already, but I had
to wait for the Greyhound that would take me back home to Florida. I had two
more days to wait and put up with him, sleep next to him.” She stopped and
looked away, tears being held steadfast with a clenched jaw.

Damn, he wanted to pull her
into his arms and fix it, make her feel better, make things right. She had him
thinking crazy. He shook his head to clear the thoughts.

“I was a little cold. We had an
old house with shitty installation so every little breeze could be felt inside.
I’d complain that I was cold and I go to get a sweater.” She paused, staring at
some random point on the floor. “Cut to sometime later and he’s putting the
thermostat all the way up to ninety-three and…”

“And what, Mara?”

He tried to catch her gaze but
she refused to look at him. “I can’t tell you,” she whispered.

He wasn’t even sure if he heard
her say those words or if her mouth moved without speaking and he read them.
“You can.”

“I fought back. I was scared
that this was the end. He was actually going to kill me and I’d never get away
from him. I grabbed his bat. It was this stupid wooden thing that his father
had given him. He said it meant a lot to him. I hit him upside the head a few
times, grabbed my stuff in a jiffy and got the hell out of dodge.”

Bad timing, but his lips
twitched with a laugh. “A few times?”

She shrugged, also fighting a
laugh. “Like three. I was surprised it worked, to be honest. He’d always seemed
so…infallible, so big.”

Jace leaned back in his seat.
“So you think he’s the one who’s been calling you?”

“Actually, after yesterday, I’m
certain. See, after you dropped me off—thank you for the ride by the way—he
called. Only this time he said something. I knew as soon as I heard his voice.”
She sat back down.

“What did he say to you?” he
asked.

“He said ‘tick tock’. Like he
was counting down to my demise.” She said it laughingly, but he could see how
scared she was of this Corey. She might be scared of him, but Jace wasn’t. Jace
couldn’t be certain, but he was pretty sure he was bigger too.

“From now on, we’re going to
see to it that he doesn’t interfere with your life,” Jace said.

She leaned forward in her seat,
pretty strands of hair cupping her chin and shoulders. He wanted to touch it
and find out what it felt like.

“You believe me? You’re going
to help me?” She sounded so damned hopeful that he laughed.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Oh! I almost forgot. Where’s
my car?”

Damn. Jace flushed. He quickly
got his shit checked before she noticed. “It’s at a trusted mechanic right now.
I talked to him yesterday. They’re treating the car as a priority so it should
be fixed in a few days.”

Mara squinted in confusion.
Still, a sweet smile played at her mouth. That mouth. Just looking at it made him
wet his dry lips with his tongue. Thin, shapely lips the color of a rose. He
wanted to kiss her, to feel what her mouth felt like, to taste her, to smell
her. Because already he’d caught a scent and it was sweet.

“I should probably go there,
right? I’m sure there are things I have to sign. I haven’t had a chance to call
the insurance company yet. Not after…Corey and last night.”

“One thing at a time. Your car
is in good hands. We’ll get it taken care of. Now, I’ll need to see your house.
Do you have a security alarm system at all or just a deadbolt?”

She flinched like she was
losing points on a test. “Just the deadbolt and the little flip lock on the
door handle.”

“Do you have a chain?”

She shook her head. “So what do
I do now?”

“My gut’s telling me that we
can set up some cameras at your house. You said you have a restraining order
that’s still valid?”

“Yes, it’s for five years. I
ran away from him almost seven months ago.”

“If he’s breaking into your
house at night while you’re asleep then you must be aware that he’s dangerous.”
He tread carefully here, not wanting to brush her the wrong way.

She laughed, voice strained.
“Oh, I’m quite aware of how dangerous he is. I don’t even know how he got into
my place. Everything looked fine when I checked.”

“And you’re certain there’s no
way that you bumped into the thermostat and accidently changed it? No landlord
or maintenance guy who was in your house?”

Her cheeks flushed “Excuse me?
Are you saying you don’t believe me? There is no landlord and there is no maintenance
man. There’s only me there and I’m telling you he was in my house. When I woke
up sweating like a pig it’s because he came into my house and left the
thermostat on ninety-three degrees because that’s the last thing he ever said
to me.”

“
 
‘Is
ninety-three hot enough for you, bitch?’
I believe those were the
exact words. You tell me what the chances are of me going to bed with no heat
or A/C on only to wake up to a blazing hothouse. Don’t forget, I heard his
voice yesterday afternoon during that call. He’s
here
.”

She was upset. He had to act
fast before he made this worse.

“We need an arrangement.”

“An arrangement?” Her face
scrunched in surprise.

“I’ve decided to take your
case, but this firm is expensive, Mara.”

She bit on her lip with worry.
“How much?”

Good, her mind seemed to be
coming back down earth. “Anywhere from five-hundred to three-thousand an hour
depending on the difficulty of the job, the danger of threat, and other
factors.”

Her eyes rounded. “Holy crap.”

He couldn’t conceal his smile.
Victory was almost his. “Do you have that kind of money?”

She shook her head quickly.
“Not with the car repairs happening. Who knows how much that’ll be? Certainly
not cheap. I’ll probably have to pay a couple hundred out of pocket on top of
my insurance rate being cranked sky high.”

He felt like a predator, having
her cornered right where he wanted her. “I think we can make a deal then. I’ll
take this job
pro bono
on a few conditions.”

“What conditions?” She
definitely looked interested. And sweet.

“I’m the one who takes the job.
Meaning I’ll work this one alone. You’ll do what I tell you to do involving
your protection. And the only other thing…” he let his words trail off.

She sat forward in her seat.
“What is it?”

He leaned forward so that they
were only inches apart. “We seal the deal.”

* * * * *

A bright flush colored her
cheeks, but she didn’t back away. Thank God. Instead, she glanced at his mouth.
Yes
, he thought, feeling a sudden hunger.

“Seal the deal how?” she asked.

He looked at her mouth. He
didn’t even have to say a word. She knew exactly what he wanted. Her breath
hitched. He heard it; the sound made his heart beat faster.

“A kiss?” She sounded
breathless. The sound stirred an ache deep in his chest, making him yearn to
touch her.

They seemed to move even closer
now. So deliciously close, mouths narrowing in, breaths whispering against each
other like waves.

“A kiss,” he confirmed. He
watched her wet her bottom lip with the tip of a pink tongue.

“A kiss?” she repeated, her
voice a squeak. She had a delightful blush flushing her nose and cheekbones and
a gloss to her eyes. Everything about the look softened something inside him,
yielding. She was this tiny woman who needed protection and he was Tarzan,
primate, ready to kiss her, toss her over her shoulder, bring dinner (and her)
home to his cave. Where he would then commence fucking.
Yeeah.

He found himself moving. One
hand creeping forward to curl around the back of her head. He caught the
slender nape of her neck in his hand. Tangles of soft tresses caressed his
calloused hand like silk. His fingers curled enough to catch hold. And then he
was pulling her beautiful mouth closer or maybe she was the one moving forward.
They were both breathing way too hard, intensely aware of one another. He was
pure male taking what was his by right, by law, by nature. He was Jace and he
was taking this sensual Mara and marking her as his. Forever.

She made a soft sound and the
growing pressure in his chest heightened. All her softness made him want to growl,
to pound on his chest and howl for her.

Their mouths almost touching…so
close her breath blew across his lips. She smelled like peppermint.

Jace groaned deep in his chest.

Then he took. Claimed.

He captured the back of her neck,
holding her still for the kill, and his lips touched hers. He meshed their
flesh together in a warm press, feeling and studying the give and take, the
fullness, and softness of her lips. Her mouth was slim and narrow, beautifully
shaped with a perfect bow at the top. Her kisses were like having a butterfly
nip at him. And he lost himself completely in Mara Colgen’s kiss. For that’s
what it turned into.

He was no longer kissing her.
The moment their lips met, it became her kiss. She stole it from him like
taking candy away from a child. He, who’d been ready to pound his chest in some
ancient ritual just for touching her hair, was evaded by this small, sensual
woman.

Mara stole the kiss with a soft
glide of tongue into his mouth. Her kiss was hesitant but needy with her nips.
The first taste was like a zap down his spine making him jerk. She must have
felt it too for she made another soft sound in the back of her throat. He
reciprocated with his own sound, like that of a beast. Her tongue twitched across
his and the peppermint sweetness clung to her like she’d just been sucking on
the candy before she came here. With a punch, his cock slammed against his
zipper. With that one taste he was harder than he’d been in years. Scratch
that—ever.

It was the most natural thing
in the world when she glided closer, hovering in the air before him, one knee
dipping onto his knee allowing him to wrap his arms around her. She was small
to his large frame making him feel like a big bear holding a baby. He ached
down in his balls to take her to the floor, cage her in with his big body, and
fuck her until she was squirming on his hard cock and panting in his ear.
That’s how she made him feel—like a great big beast.

Her hand slid across his neck
to mirror his hand at the back of her neck. It had to be the thought about
taking her to the floor that suddenly made him snap. Jace stood, needing to
feel the full press of their bodies together. Not for one moment did he stop
tasting her little mouth. God, he wanted to feel that sweet mouth sucking on
his cock like she did to his tongue so gently. His balls panged with need. Holy
hell, he hadn’t been this worked up over a woman in his life.