Jace (5 page)

Standing was the best and worst
idea ever. Mara apparently liked it as she rubbed her tits against him in
subtle writhing motions and their hips were locked close together. Their lips
slipped against each other in wet glides.

That’s when Jace realized that
Mara Colgen was a
kisser
. Not a peck ’em and leave ’em kind of gal, but
a tongue-sucking, mouth fucking,
can’t-get-enough-of-your-taste
kisser
and wouldn’t you know it, but Jace was the same way.

Grabbing her ass, Jace weighed
the globes, squeezing, lifting and squeezing some more. His cock was not only
punching his zipper but trying to blow a rocket through it. Her breaths came
faster at his touch; she wiggled with those little hips squirming against him.
If he wasn’t crazy, he might think she was into this even more than he was. But
that was impossible.

Then suddenly she pulled at
Jace hard, grabbed at his muscles, rubbing him in ways he ached to answer to.
This was going too far. Some tiny, miniscule piece of logic poked through from
the back of his head. It must also be the stupid part of his brain because it
didn’t see who was in his arms, kissing him like she wanted to be riding his
dick in this very moment. Fuck, he was already trying to figure out how he’d
arrange that when logic screamed louder.

You’re at work, asshole!

Fuck! Reality started to creep
back in, removing the lust-filled goggles around his eyes. Though reality did
nothing to put his raging hard-on back down to normal. The hardest part of all
was ending that kiss. Their first, mind-blowing, incredible, holy shit kiss,
ever.

Jace cupped her face and kissed
her hard, eating her up. He ended it on a hard kiss that was sure to make her
lips swell. Only afterward did he pull away. Mara was slow to open her eyes.
She looked like she was coming out of a good sleep. When she wobbled he
steadied her with his own shaking hand. The flush spread from her nose and
cheekbones down to her neck. He bet if he lifted up her shirt, she’d be red
down to her tits.

Holy fuck, did he want to see
her tits. Right now.

Get a hold of yourself,
Mathews.

Right, focus. He scrubbed a
hand over his face “That was the best damn kiss of my life, but we can’t do
this here.” His voice sounded raw, like gravel.

She swallowed and very slowly
took a step back, disengaging their tightly pressed bodies. His body protested,
wanting to fight against the separation. “Wow.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. That about
summed it up.

She looked around in a daze,
grabbed her purse. She looked drunk with glossy eyes and flushed skin. Funny,
he felt the same way. “So, I’ll see you later. Okay, take care then, bye-bye
now.”

With a wave, she opened the
office door and left. Like that, she was gone.

Six minutes later, Jace Mathews
finally moved from the place he watched Mara slip out of his office. He took
one step, then another, until he collapsed into his chair. Finally his heart
rate was under control, his dick down, and mind back to normal.

He hadn’t wanted her to go, but
his mind had been like jelly after that kiss. That kiss had stolen IQ points
from him. Now that he had his brain back, he pulled out his phone and dialed Mara
Colgen’s number. He estimated it’d been seven minutes since she sidled out of
his office after giving him the Kiss of all Kisses. She should be in the
parking lot by now. He made a note to ask how she was getting around town.

She answered on the fourth ring
sounding out of breath. His dick stood straight up at the sound. So much for
waiting for it to go down on its own.

“Hello?” she answered.

“That was…” he couldn’t even
say anything. He had no idea what to say, yet he felt like he should say
something.

“Yeah, I know.”

“You left. I didn’t know if I
had done—”

“No!” She sounded astonished.
“I had to leave because I was seconds away from taking my pants off and riding
you and that would have been bad for several reasons only one of which is
because I’m loud when I have sex.”

His dick swelled to full
capacity. Jace grimaced, wondering if the thing might actually explode if he
didn’t empty his balls soon. “Funny, I’d had a similar thought.” Without all
that added spice about how loud she was. Ah damn…now he had something really
hot to try to not think about.

“Oooh,” she said in a
breathless, sexy whisper.

Jace had to clear this throat.
“Anyway, I wanted to make sure that we were all…clear. I’ll be by your place
tomorrow morning to begin installing your security system. Around ten.”

“Oookay.”

His mouth twitched. “And,
Mara?”

“Yes, Jace?”

His eyes closed. Everything
about those words and the way she said them in breathless anticipation made the
possessive male inside him want to come out and play.

“Call me when you get home
safe. I just want to make sure you made it fine. Do you own a gun or any kind
of weapon?”

“I will. I have a Taser. I’ll
put a bottle on the door handles or have Tia sleep over with me. Don’t worry,
I’ll be okay for one more night. And I’ll be thinking about you when I come
tonight.”
Click.
She hung up.

Jace didn’t like that at all.
If her ex had already been in her house then they needed to make new
arrangements. Shit. She couldn’t stay home alone again. It was too much of a
risk. If only she hadn’t sprinted out of here like she did.

He called her back again. She
answered on the first ring. He found himself smiling at her breathless tone.

“Yes?” she asked.

“I don’t think you should be
alone tonight. Can you stay at your friend Tia’s place?”

She hesitated. “Oh, I wouldn’t
want to bother her.”

A woman’s voice piped up in the
background. She sounded like she was in a car. “Who’s that? Is that him? Give
me the phone.”

“No, Tia, this isn’t your phone
call. And you can’t talk to him. Ever.”

“I said give me the damn
phone.”

“And I said I won’t do it. Now
shut up and drive.” Her voice came back clearer like she wasn’t holding the
phone away from her. “Ignore Tia. She’s mental.”

“Mental! Tell him we’ll be at
The Inferno drinking margaritas and eyeing hotties.”

The Inferno.
Jace sidled
over to his computer and performed a quick search. Inferno
was a bar
with discount margarita night today.

A sigh came across the line.
“I’ll be at The Inferno drinking margaritas with Tia while
not
eying
hotties,” Mara repeated, sounding grumpy.

“Good, now tell him that if
he’s so hot he can come, but only if he brings a hot friend too.”

Apparently, Mara didn’t want to
repeat that. “Did you hear everything she just screamed?”

Jace’s lips twitched. “Yeah, I
think I got it. Remember what I said about tonight? Do not stay alone.”

“Okay,” she said, quietly.

“Later.” He hung up quickly.

Otherwise he might end up doing
something like lingering over goodbyes.

Dang. Already he missed talking
to her.

Chapter
4

Mara ended the call with wildly
sexy man, Jace Mathews. Her whole world felt like it was spinning upside down.

“You are so embarrassing,” Mara
told Tia. “Only assholes treat their friends like that.”

Tia snorted. “
Puhleaze
, a
real friend takes their girl to the bar to get drunk while she drives you home
safely afterward. In fact, I wish I knew someone like that. She sounds like a
wonderful person.”

Mara burst out laughing and
slapped Tia’s arm. “You’re something, you know that?”

“I know it.”

They headed to work at
Aphrodite’s Love. When their workday was over, they headed to the bar.

The Inferno was known for its
fiery atmosphere. Inside the circular room was a burning fireplace with real
wood logs toasting. A big metal vent tented out from the ceiling to catch the
flames. Mara and Tia liked the place because they didn’t get hassled by guys
often and the cute bartender served tasty margaritas. They found their usual
table near the bar which was further away from the live band playing soft rock
in the corner. Jenna, their usual waitress, brought them their drinks. Mara
sipped at her fresh cold margarita and sighed.

“So, what did he say about your
case?” Tia asked.

“He said he is going to take
it.” Mara’s head was still spinning after that…meeting? She didn’t even know
what to call it. Her breath shuddered remembering the feel of his lips pressed
against hers. Holy cow. That had been incredible. Hands down the greatest kiss
in her whole life.

“What happens now? Is he going
to go Kevin Costner on you and start shadowing you while wearing an earpiece
and speaking into the mic at his wrist?” Tia mimicked speaking into her wrist
while looking stern.

Mara burst into giggles. “I
don’t think it quite works like that. Maybe if I was a diva singer. By the way,
thanks for driving me, mom. I needed to get out today and relax.”

“Anything for my daughter.”

They snickered. More drinks
came and they talked about Corey for a little while. Since she wasn’t really
comfortable with that subject, Tia tried switching to Jace—no thanks. Mara
refused to even touch that one yet. Her lips were still tingling from that
kiss. After a while, Mara began to feel the signature ‘good feeling’ that
margaritas did to her. Meanwhile, Tia cut herself off from alcohol and switched
to coffee.

When her coffee arrived, Tia
snapped as if just remembering something juicy. “Oh my god. I completely forgot
to tell you. He was at the coffee shop again.”

He, the creeper. Tia’s coffee
creeper. This was going to be awesome.

Mara’s jaw dropped. “Tell me
all and don’t leave any of the good stuff out.”

Tia squared her shoulders. “Oh
trust me, girl, that won’t be a problem. So, it all started while I was in line
at Dante’s Coffee. I love that place because it’s close to work in the morning,
right?”

Mara nodded obediently for Tia
to continue.

“So I’m standing in line
waiting to order—my caramel macchiato thing—and I like feel this guy behind me.
Right away I know it’s him.”

Mara gasped. “He got that close
to you? What a creep.” She didn’t sound creeped out in the least, she sounded
excited.

Tia rolled her eyes
dramatically. “That wasn’t even the first time. He’s never actually touched me.
Let’s just be clear about that.”

Mara grinned but kept her mouth
shut. She’d heard about this creep a few times and she suspected her friend
didn’t hate him as much as she made out to. Because Mara knew Tia. Tia had won
fights against grown men before—Mara witnessed one of those fights personally.
It was amazing.

Tia would break the finger of
the man who’d dare lay a finger on her inappropriately. “You never did tell me
what he looks like.” Another reason why Mara suspected something was up. Tia’s
been pretty close-mouthed on the subject.

Tia scowled. “Nasty. Let’s leave
it at that. Never mind all that, I want to hear about is this bodyguard.
Jace
.
What a name.”

Mara nearly spit her margarita
out. “I know! I said the same thing! And don’t change the subject; we’re
talking about the coffee guy.” She knew the margarita was working its magic
because her voice was loud and gushing.

Tia blew at the steam in her
cup. “Fine, fine. I’ll finish my damn story. So, I can feel him standing at my
back. The man must put off some heat or something. I pretend he isn’t there,
right? I don’t look around and look surprised when I see him. None of that.
Instead, I’m a good girl. I wait my turn in line, order, and pay for my drink.”

“I thought you said this story
was good? This is averagely interesting at best,” Mara teased. Inside, excitement
nearly burst from her to hear the rest of the story.

“Patience, dear girl,” Tia
scolded. “My order’s up. The sweet girl behind the counter calls my name and
slides my delicious, steaming hot creamy coffee goodness across the counter.”
She leaned in close, her eyes glittering with excitement. “I’m leaning over the
counter.”

Mara held her hand up to
interrupt. “Wait, were you wearing that outfit that you wore into work the
other day? The one with that tight white Spanish looking shirt with the blue
jean mini-skirt and five-inch heels?”

Tia’s eyes rounded. “I knew
that outfit was cute. That’s why you remember it. I’ll be wearing that again.”

“Wait, so you were wearing that
outfit in unnecessarily tall high heels and the creepy coffee guy hits on you.
You know, I’m not surprised.”

Tia gasped then slapped Mara’s
arm. “You better take that back before I call the feminists on you. You know
you can’t say shit like that out loud.”

Mara was laughing so hard her
sides hurt. She had an ice-cold delicious drink in her hand making her head
feel light as air and the company of a good friend. For a little while it
helped to take her mind away from the fact that Corey found her.

“So I’m looking adorable, as
always, bending over to pick up my drink and I hear him say behind me,
‘Baby,
you can bend over all day long when it looks that good.’
 
”

Mara’s jaw dropped hard. “He
did not!”

“Did too. I try to tell you.
This kind of crazy stuff happens to me all the time.”

“It might have something to do with
the fact that you dress like a stripper but look innocently beautiful. Really,
it’s not fair.”

Tia sighed dramatically. “I do,
don’t I?”

Mara heard her cell phone
ringing from her purse. Dread filled her gut like a chunk of ice. It was him.
Corey.

Tia noticed the change and
cooled it, looking stern as Mara grabbed her phone. She went to check it just
hoping it wasn’t his number.

Tick tock, Mara. Tick tock.

His countdown whispered in her
head. Yeah, countdown to what, exactly? She didn’t really want to know. Not
really. The answer wouldn’t be good.

But when she checked the phone
it wasn’t fear she felt course through her. “It’s him!” Holy shit. He was
calling her.

Tia frowned. “I take it that
isn’t your ex.”

Mara shook her head, squeezing
the phone in two hands. “It’s Jace. Oh my god.

“Hello?” she answered. Her
voice sounded entirely too drunk, all soft, breathy, and excited.

“Mara.” He sounded unsure.

“Hi,” she said, eyes closing as
she pictured his smile.

“It’s Jace.”

“I know who it is.” She
giggled. Dang it, she wanted to play it cool and act like he didn’t affect her
but…that was proving impossible at this point. There was too much she liked
about it. Besides, it wasn’t every day she met someone she wanted to burrow
against skin to skin. Mara figured that sounded unusual, but holding the big
bear of a man while nude sounded deliciously erotic.

“I wanted to make sure you had
plans for tonight. I meant it when I said I don’t want you home alone. In fact,
from the information you gave me, I ran your ex’s name by a buddy of mine on
the force and—”

“You did what?” An icy
sensation slithered down her body. She felt stone cold sober suddenly. “Why?”

He hesitated a moment. “Is that
a problem? It’s standard in cases like this to research the possible perpetrator,
Mara.”

She tried the shake the cold
feeling off but it didn’t work. “It’s just a surprise. I didn’t think that
would be necessary.” Old wounds were stabbed open. Corey Williams police
record. All the terrible things he’d done in his life, if only Mara had known
about it. But how could she have? It didn’t matter anyway, she couldn’t change
the past. The last thing she wanted right now was to discuss Corey.

“Williams’ record shows a long
history of violence and aggression toward women. Tell me where you’ll be
tonight. I’m going to keep watch until we can get your place set up tomorrow.”

“You can’t stay outside of my
house all night. That’s crazy!” Jace had a way of making her feel so
comfortable and relaxed around him. Almost like they were old friends. Just the
fact that he’d spend the night outside her house keeping her safe made her feel
both awkward and elated at the same time.

“I think considering his
priors, we should play it safe, Mara. If it’s money you’re worrying about, then
don’t. I took this job
pro bono,
so it won’t cost you anything to have
me there, and I’ll make sure nothing happens. Listen, I’m going to come by the
Inferno. I’ll take you home since we’re both going there.”

For several long seconds, Mara
couldn’t breathe. She stared into Tia’s equally round eyes as her heartbeat
quickened. “You can’t do that.”

“Mara, if you want me to
protect you, then we’re doing this my way. I’ll be there shortly.”

He hung up.

“So why do you look like you
don’t know whether to be happy or not?” Tia asked.

“Because, Jace just told me
he’s coming here right now and that he’ll be sitting in his car outside my
house tonight. Since I don’t have an alarm system he wants to make sure I’m
safe.” Mara bit her lip. “This feels so wrong since I’m not paying him.”

Tia did a double take. “Wait.
What? You aren’t paying him?”

Mara shook her head.

“Then how is he working for
you?”

Mara sipped on her drink and
pretended to scope out the room. “He may have said he’d do it for free,” she
said.

“Hey, I’m over here. Don’t talk
into your drink. You are not getting out of this. Now tell me all, because
apparently you’ve been sparing details.”

Sighing, Mara put her drink
down. “His firm is really expensive so he said he’d do it
pro bono
,
which does not mean with a boner, by the way. With my car wrecked, I know the
bill’s going to be large. I just don’t have that kind of money to spare.”

“You don’t have to tell me
twice. I work there too and…wait, I didn’t know anything about this. Why did
you leave out this juicy detail? He’s doing it for
free.
If he’s doing
it for free then what is he getting out of the deal?”

Mara blinked. “What do you
mean?”

“Nobody does anything for free,
so what’s he getting out of this?”

Mara blinked again, slowly. “We
sort of…kissed.”

Tia slapped the table as she
bugged out at the news. “Here I thought I had the juiciest story of the day
with coffee creeper and you’re sitting on a doozy like that this whole time.
How was it?”

How did she even begin to
describe it? And how did she do so without getting Tia uber-excited about it?
The last thing she wanted was for Jace to come here and get heckled by Tia
about their kiss. It might bug him out; some people were really personal about
things like that.

“Listen, Tia, he said he’s
coming here. I swear to God, if you do anything to embarrass me even the
slightest, I will never talk to you again.”

Tia snorted. “Oh, please, like
you could resist talking to me.”

True. “Fine, but I will be mad
at you and I won’t do your nails the next time you need a pedi.”

For a moment, fear flashed in
Tia’s pretty brown eyes. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“I dare.”

“So he wants in your pants.”

“What?” Mara gasped.

“He wants to bang you. That’s
why he’s doing this. Please tell me that you haven’t been so long without getting
laid that you’ve forgotten guys like sex. They also don’t mind doing things for
women if they get a little somethin’ somethin’ in return.”

Mara flushed, her body feeling
uncomfortably warm. “Sex. I doubt he wants to have sex with me,” she said automatically.

“Why not? You’re the kind of
girl that guys see as sweet and sexy. A lot of guys find that wholesome thing
very appealing. I bet a big bodyguard type like Jace has a soft spot for sweet
’n sexy. That’s all I’m sayin’.” Chuffing, Tia sat back in her chair to drink
her coffee.