Jace (6 page)

She hadn’t thought about it.
What did he want in return? If it was sex…Mara bit her lip thinking about it.
She hadn’t had sex with anyone since Corey, unless Mr. Kinky and all her work
orgasms counted.

Suddenly, Mara felt the hair on
the back of her neck stand straight up. The room was dark, with soft rock music
playing over the sounds of chatter and laughter. Even though the alcohol had
subdued her senses, Mara could feel someone’s eyes on her. Swallowing over the
knot in her throat, she slowly turned. Her eyes took in everything, from the
people at the bar, to the college students doing shots near the fire. None of
that she really paid attention to because she was looking for one person.

The corner of her eye caught a
flash of movement. She turned and locked gazes with a man. It wasn’t until that
moment that she realized she’d been holding her breath. She exhaled in relief.
It wasn’t Corey. She didn’t care who this man was, because he wasn’t Corey.
That’s all that mattered.

Relief hit her hard and she
smiled. Instantly, she regretted the action. She was still facing the man who’d
been eyeing her from the bar. He looked like he’d come here alone…and drunk.
There was an empty beer by him on the bar. His eyes were looking bloodshot, his
clothes rumpled. He held some extra weight around his middle and face, but he
was tall. Well over six feet. And when she smiled because he wasn’t Corey, she
ended up smiling at him.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

The man’s eyes lit up like he’d
just won the jacket.

Mara spun around. “Oh shit! I
just accidentally smiled at this guy who was checking me out. Now he’s coming
over this way! Help me!”

Tia sputtered, saw the man,
then grew determined. She came and sat right next to Mara just like a regular
wingman.

The last thing Mara was
expecting was a hand on her thigh. Really, it was the very last thing she would
have expected from the guy. But there it was. A big hand gave her thigh a hard
squeeze.

“Hey, baby. How you doin’?” His
words ran together and he breathed hard, almost sounding out of breath.

Mara stared at Tia. Silently,
as only best friends could, they had a conversation.

What should I do?
Mara
asked silently with wide eyes.

Tia grimaced and sent the
creeper a scathing glare. Then she looked back at Mara with a smirk. The smirk
said,
I’ll take care of this.

“Excuse me,” Tia said to the
man, very loudly. “Get your hand off my girlfriend’s thigh before I break your
damn fingers.”

The hand extracted itself from
her thigh. The man laughed. This was so not good.

Mara winced as the man sidled
up on her free side and slid his arm around her waist. He acted familiar with
her like they were old fuck-buddies. She shivered in disgust at the
thought—gross.

“I don’t think she’s your
girlfriend. Not after the way she smiled at me. Why don’t you give us a few
minutes together so we can get to know each other?” Warm, moist, beer-infected
breath panted across Mara’s cheek. She cringed, pulling away.

She and the man soon got into a
fight of sorts. She didn’t know how else to describe it. She squirmed and
pushed and pinched at the man to free herself, but he was so big. He laughed at
her and tightened his arm around her waist. When he reached up and squeezed her
breast, she actually let out a garbled shout.

This got some attention from
the people around them. They looked alert at the guy, giving him disgusted
looks but no one stepped in to help. Mara wasn’t even sure if anyone could.
Getting angrier by the second, feeling almost claustrophobic in his beefy arms,
Mara slammed her elbow down into his gut. She hit him hard and he grunted but
didn’t release her.

Panic started to set in fast.
This wasn’t fun. She’d been in situations like this before…with Corey. This
hadn’t been fun to begin with, but he wouldn’t stop squeezing her goddamn boob.
She just wanted his filthy touch off of her.

“Tia!”

Tia stepped forward and slapped
the man so hard across the face she was sure you could hear it on the moon. The
man yelled—a wordless battle cry of anger—and lurched after Tia with a sloppy,
open-hand meant to grab her.

Mara simply acted. There were
no more thoughts, only action.

She shoved the man as hard as
she could putting all of her weight behind it. Normally he might not have budged
so much as rocked on his feet, but he was slobbering drunk. So when she pushed,
he toppled backward, slamming into their table, spilling their drinks and
shattering their cups as he busted his ass on the floor.

For a long, very quiet moment,
Mara could only stare down at the man. He looked stunned. The music had
stepped. No one really seemed to be moving. Except Mara’s heart was racing so
fast. The man acted so quickly, she wasn’t prepared. He jumped to his feet with
surprising agility. Then he swung his beefy arm, palm open.

It happened so fast, she stood
there stunned. He’d slapped her, hard, across the face. Pain exploded in her
cheek with an uncomfortable, stinging heat. It fucking hurt. It felt like he’d
hit her with a bat and not just an open hand. People gasped, or maybe that was
Tia. She didn’t know or care right then.

It didn’t matter because
suddenly someone stepped between her and the man.

It was Jace Mathews. And he
looked positively livid.

“Did you hit her?” Jace asked
the man.

The man didn’t answer, was too
nervous. Jace stepped into the man’s face, so close they could kiss. Jace was
huge, not quite as tall as the man, but where the other man was fat and beefy,
Jace was hard and strong. He was also a professional.

“I asked you a question. Did
you hit her?”

The man stood up, shaking his
arms out like he was about to throw down. Mara grabbed Jace’s shirt. “Please,
let’s just go. I just want to get out of here.”

She thought she saw some of the
tension leave Jace’s shoulders. She thought he was about to back away and take
her home. That’s all she wanted to do after today—go home and take a long bath
and just try to forget for a little while that her life was in the shitter at
the moment.

But then Tia snapped. “He
grabbed her ass too!”

Fuck. Any lessening of tension
in Jace vanished like it never happened.

In the blink of an eye, he
moved. He was fast and smart with his actions, like he already knew the best
course to lay this man down.

Jace’s fist crashed into the
man’s face, stunning him. A second later, he grabbed the back of the man’s head
and slammed his knee into him. The man howled in pain. But it didn’t stop. Jace
hit him again. The man attempted to fight back but it was pathetic. He was not
a match.

Mara stood frozen in fear. Old
memories surfaced. Memories she normally kept buried so far down below she
pretended some days that it never happened. That she’d never been where this
man was at—on the other end of violence. For some reason tears burst from her
eyes and spilled down her cheeks uncontrollably. Her memories were wrapped up
in this violence, connected. She’d been in this man’s position before. Not
exactly the same one, but so close that the memory of Corey punching her in the
face made her take a physical step backward.

“Stop it,” she said.

Jace’s head spun to look at
her.

He was standing over the man,
breathing hard, one hand curled into a bloodied fist. Her stomach twisted with
sickening nerves. She’d seen that look before. A sound escaped her, a sob. Tia
was staring at her with the saddest expression. Like she knew what Mara was
feeling and could do nothing to stop it from happening.

Jace blinked and the violence
in his gaze faded that fast. It was gone. Even though she shook from seeing the
rage there, that look was gone now. She was so confused. She’d never seen
anyone go from hot to cool that fast. Corey hadn’t. When he got mad…he’d rage
for hours and it always had to end big. It never ended with him just passing
out on the couch. No, he had to have a big blowout finale before he did that.
Mara flinched at the memories, her thighs squeezing tightly together.

Chapter 5

Tia was striding to her with
their purses in hand, but Mara only had eyes for Jace. He was staring at her
with an expression she’d never seen in her life.

It was so different, unlike
anything else. He was looking at her as if he’d just made the worst mistake in
his life.
In his life
. That’s why the droop of surprise to his mouth,
the widened eyes and raised eyebrows were aligned in the most unique way.
Things like this never happened in real life, at least not to people like Mara.
They happened to lucky people or mean people who made their own luck. How is it
she went from feeling crazy over heels about this guy to never wanting to see
him again so quickly?

Tia was almost to her. Time
moved so slow, yet she knew in moments she’d turn and never see Jace Mathews
again. Because she couldn’t do it. Not again.

More tears fell. She didn’t
even try to wipe them; she didn’t care that people were openly staring as if
this was a group discussion on domestic abuse and violence.

Regret flashed in his eyes
along with something else that made her gasp. Pain. He hid something deep in there.
Something that had him towering over a broken man on the floor.

“Where are you going?” He was
back to masking his eyes, looking stoic. People milled about on their
cellphones, probably calling the cops. For the second day in the row, Mara was
the cause of a public disturbance. Talk about bad luck.

“Home,” she heard herself say.
“I just want to go home.”

Tia finally made it to her. She
wrapped her arm around Mara’s waist and guided her away. Jace stepped forward
and Mare jerked her head hard. “No.” He stopped walking, eyes intense. “We’re
done.” That sounded so deep, so persona. She tried to make it not sound so
revealing. “You’re done.”

They turned and stalked out of
the bar. All of a sudden a task as simple as walking back to the car felt
strange. The heat from the asphalt was so warm she could feel it through her
high heels. The air was balmy and made her hair fall flat and sweat form along
her neck. Tia had her arm wrapped around Mara’s waist. She wasn’t even trying
to say anything.

Mara got the tears under
control. Her eyes stung and she rubbed at them only to cringe at the runny
mascara all over her hands now.

“Don’t want to freak you out,
but you got a tail. Tell me what you want to do?” Tia was in serious mode now.

Mara loved her so much. How would
she deal with any of life without her help?

“I don’t know.” But she knew
she had to turn around and face him.

Jace stopped a few feet away.
He spoke to Tia while looking at Mara. “Can you give us a few minutes, please?”

Tia looked to Mara for guidance
but Mara couldn’t do anything more than shrug. “I’ll be waiting in the car,
honey.”

After Tia was safely tucked in
her coup, Jace scrubbed his hands through his hair, then scratched his beard.
There was drying blood on his knuckles. The skin was reddened and there was
blood around his fingernails.

The sight made her stomach
spasm. When Corey’s hands would look like that, those were bad days. Mara
remembered how the blood would stay caked to his cuticles and around his
fingernails for days. Days after whatever vicious beating he gave her, she’d
have to stare at her blood on his hands. Like a sick reminder.

Now she was staring at Jace
Mathew’s hands with blood on them. It wasn’t her blood, yet inside where she
was still that hurt, scared little girl, she feared him. She feared making him
mad. Was it only a matter of time with him too?

“Mara? I don’t even—” He looked
up as if God could help him. “I don’t know how to explain what happened back
there.” He truly looked sorry, like this was painful for him too.

“It’s fine. I just can’t be
around you.” Why did her heart feel like it was breaking? Like a million little
needles stabbing trying to make it burst. It made it so much harder not to cry
or just collapse.

“No it’s not fine. I lost my
cool back there.”

Mara laughed without humor.
“Your cool. Is that what you call it?”

“Shit.” He looked away, jaw
clenching. “I know what you’re thinking, but I would never hit a woman.”

“Oh, well that’s good.” Mara
laughed nervously. It was a stupid response because she had no idea what to do
or say right now. “I just want to go home.” That’s all she wanted. If she could
just go back home and take a bath, drink a bottle of wine, then she’d forget
all about Jace Mathews, her ex, Corey, and the creep from the bar. She didn’t
want anything to do with the violence, with men and their anger. She’d had
enough. Anger slowly started to simmer in her blood.

“Listen, there are some things
you don’t know about me, but I need you to trust me. I know you’re in danger
and I want to help.”

“Why is that?” she suddenly
asked. All the fear and anxiety from yesterday and today was twisting inside of
her belly into a knot of anger.

“Because I think your ex is
dangerous and will likely hurt you if he can.”

“No, that’s not what I mean.
You’re doing this job for free. I was so caught up in,” she thought of their
kiss, “other things, that I didn’t even ask. Why are you willing to help me for
free?”

Jace scowled, looking like he
really didn’t want to answer that question.

“Well?” She wanted to hear him
say it, not so she could be angry with him, but so that when she remembered him
months from now, she’d know he really had wanted her.

“I like you,” he said. He
started to say more but stopped.

“Go on, tell me.” She crossed
her arms.

A reluctant smile pulled at his
lips like he was helpless to smile. “What can I say? You’re gorgeous, and if I
can get you in bed I’m going to do it.”

Holy hell.

Things just took a turn for the
what-the-fuck. Mara had never had a man speak to her like that. And he did it
with that loopy smile on his face while looking hot and bloody.

“Really?” her voice squeaked.

Before he could say anything,
Tia came out of the car. “I’m not sitting here all night, girl. Are we going or
what?”

Mara nibbled on her lip. She
was still angry at what she’d seen, angry that Jace wasn’t who she thought he
was. And she was sad that Corey was here, sad that her car was trashed, sorry
that she’d ever met this man because for a brief moment she’d considered him
for position in her life as the “one”.

But now she saw that couldn’t
be true. She would not get into a relationship with another a man who used his
fists in any way.

“Yeah, we’re going.” She turned
toward the car, but his voice stopped her.

“Wait, Mara!”

Just looking at him made her
chest feel weird like she was suffocating. It shouldn’t feel this way, not so
soon after meeting someone. But after that kiss she felt like she’d known him
for ages.

“I’m following you home. I’ll
be outside your house tonight. Lock up all your windows and doors. If you need
anything, call me.”

Mara shook her head wildly.
“Hold on. What’s going on here? Didn’t I already fire you?”

“I think she did,” Tia said.

“Right, I fired you,” Mara told
him.

“You can’t fire a free employee,”
Jace said, a scowl on his face. She hated the fact that they stood here talking
like this instead of smiling and kissing like she wanted to be. But the blood
on his hands could not be ignored.

“I did. Goodbye now, Jace.”

Tia got back in the car. Mara
grabbed the door handle but was pulled away. Jace immediately let her go and
stepped back a clear foot at her outraged expression. He threw his hands up
defensively. “We’re not done talking about this and I don’t care what you say.
You’d be stupid to turn down my help. I saw Corey’s police record.”

Mara sucked in a breath as her
voice rose with anger. “We’re done here. I’d be stupid to be around you any
longer than I already have. I don’t care about Corey’s fucking police record. I
heard all about it afterward, okay? How much of a nut he was his whole life.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have access to police records before we started dating
or I would have stayed away from him!” She breathed hard. She’d been yelling.
Humiliation quickly settled in.

Jace spoke in an irritatingly
calm voice. “You might have seen his police record, but what I’m talking about
has been much more recent, Mara.”

“What are you talking about?”
She didn’t want this. She didn’t want to fight. She just wanted to go home and
cry in the tub for the rest of her life.

Jace crossed his arms. “Three
months ago, Corey Williams was seen with Melody Dempshire, a seventeen-year-old
girl from Connecticut. He’s wanted for questioning in her disappearance. The
police can’t seem to find him anywhere though. He’s not back home, Mara.”

Mara gasped. She’d thought
things couldn’t get worse; no way. Corey might have killed someone.

“That’s not even the only
trouble he’s been in since you left him. That’s just the most disturbing.”

Mara found herself nodding, agreeing
with him.

“Until we get proof he’s
stalking you, you need help. It’s no longer an offer, Mara. You’re getting my
help whether you like it or not.”

“Well, I don’t like it, and
I’ll go stay with Tia until I can get things squared away.” Her voice broke on
the
away
. She didn’t want to move, but there was no question she had to
now. She wanted to stay in her adorable little house tucked in between a copse
of trees. Things can never stay good for long. She’d had seven months of
reprieve from Corey. Maybe this is just how life was going to be from now on.
She’d set roots down in some city, Corey would come along and terrify her, and
then she’d pack and move to another city to do it all over again. Of course,
there was always the scenario most likely to happen—the one where Corey finally
kills her.

“No, you’re not.”

She faced him head on, anger
bubbling up. “Excuse me? Since when do you get a say in what I do with my life?
Oh right; never.”

Jace gazed around the parking lot
looking irritated. “We shouldn’t talk about this here. Let’s go to your place.
I’m driving you so tell your friend goodnight.”

She sucked in a sharp breath as
her jaw fell open. “Are you seriously trying to bully me right now, Jace? What
gives you the right?” Her voice was far too loud for an intimate conversation.
A few passersby watched the scene.

His eyes dipped to her mouth.
With that one look she remembered the kiss, the electric feel of his lips
against hers, pressing inside and tasting. He cupped her cheek so softly she
almost didn’t feel the caress. “What gave me the right is when you came out of
your seat and kissed me.”

Mara gasped as his thumb moved
over and pressed to the corner of her mouth just barely touching her lips. Her
lips trembled with the need to kiss that thumb, to dart out her tongue and lick
him, nibble the thick pad. Then he moved his thumb to push against her lips.
His gaze was dark as he pushed in softly. There was no stopping her next
action; it was involuntary—she couldn’t stop it.

Her mouth opened to allow his
thumb in and then she bit down on the tip of his finger, not enough to hurt,
but firmly.

“Mara.” His voice choked. He
pulled his hand away and held it at his side, fingers wiggling. They both
struggled to catch their breaths.

“I won’t be around someone who
can do that,” she managed to say.

He looked at his bloody hands.
“I’ve never hit a woman in my life.” He put some distance between them. He
still felt entirely too close. “I’m a bodyguard, Mara. When a guy attacks my
client, I intervene.”

“And do you always intervene to
the point that you went to in there? Beating a drunk idiot to a pulp?”

The clench of his jaw said it
all—no. Something had made him lose control.

“I don’t know what your history
is and I don’t care because I’m going home,” Mara said.

Now he took a step closer to
her. “And I’m coming with you.”

“No!”

“Yes,” he said between gritted
teeth.

Tia lowered the passenger
window, and said, “Mara, are you coming or not? He’ll keep you safe, so I have
no problem leaving you with this boy.”

Mara moved to the car, but Jace
slipped his arm around her waist, catching her. Whereas the creepy bar guy’s
arm had made her skin crawl, Jace’s touch made her tingle with awareness along
every nerve ending.

“I’ll be taking her home.
Thanks, Tia.” Jace even managed to give Tia a tight-lipped smile, although it
looked more like a grimace.

Tia stared at Mara. “Tell me
yes or no. I’ll call the police if I have to. Just tell me what you want.”

This was entirely too much for
one day. Mara snapped. “I don’t know what to do!”

Tia rolled her eyes. “Let the
bodyguard do his job then. Call me if you need me. Bye, bye darling.” She
pulled away, leaving Mara standing alone with Jace Mathews.