“If you would just have a seat, Deuce. I’ll call Gracie and let her know that you’re here.”
Deuce nodded and walked over to the area of seats to the left of the reception desk. He took a seat, resting his cowboy hat on his knee as he waited patiently for Gracie to arrive.
They had a big task ahead of them. Gracie’s sister Melanie had been gifted with visions from the time she had been ten years old. She was mated to Deuce’s younger brother Luke. They already had a little boy and were expecting a baby girl within the next couple of weeks. Deuce loved his little nephew Robbie to death. He was the best kid ever, and every one of the McKade brothers adored him.
Melanie’s recent vision had shown her that there would be a problem during the birth of her daughter. She had asked Deuce and Gracie to be prepared to take care of her and Luke’s children until she was able to come home from the hospital. All of the brothers would help, as would his brother Spence’s best friend Tim and Deuce’s best friend John.
Since the McKade brothers’ cousin Jamie had mated with John, their family had grown even more, and the women Melanie told Deuce were destined to be the mates of his brothers would bring the support and caring the brothers needed to make their family grow in love. Deuce hoped with all his heart that his brothers would all be happily mated soon. He held the same hope for himself, but he really didn’t believe that such happiness was meant for him, even though he secretly wished that it was.
He was meeting Gracie today so they could go shopping and get everything they would need to set up bedrooms for the children in Deuce’s ranch home. He was actually looking forward to the shopping spree with Gracie. He planned to have her choose the furniture she liked with the hope that someday they would be using it for their own children.
He had adored Gracie for as long as he could remember. As she had grown and matured, her sweet nature had never changed. He had never in his life met a kinder woman. He had watched her grow from a shy and caring young child to the outstanding woman she had become despite the obstacles that life had thrown in her way. He had been witness to her strength as she had stood up to her parents to protect Melanie. They had often been cruel and uncaring, and they had a less than stellar history of parenting.
Gracie had pretty much raised Melanie despite being only four years older than her sister. She was the one who had made sure that Melanie had food to eat and clean clothes to wear. She had been the ever-watchful mother who had helped her with her homework, had taken care of her when she had been sick, and had taken the brunt of her parents’ abuse as they had grown up. She was also the one who had made sure that Melanie had been protected from the cruelty of others when they had mocked her visions.
Gracie had been gifted with an amazing touch that had the ability to soothe. But that same touch had brought her much pain in her life. Deuce remembered how she had been cruelly told by others that she was a freak who caused the feeling of discomfort whenever she touched them. As a result, she had become distant and afraid to touch anyone. Only her women friends, children, and animals were given the gift of her touch because she knew that she couldn’t hurt them.
Deuce had watched her over the years become less and less confident in herself as a woman as the men that she had dated seemed to break her spirit. He knew that her touch had caused them to feel unsettled and uncomfortable. Jealousy reared its ugly head when he thought about any man touching his Gracie, and he found happiness in the fact that no other man had claimed her as theirs. But that feeling was tempered by the fact that he knew that she thought she was broken somehow because of it.
But he knew better. He truly believed that it was the Great Spirit’s way of guiding her to her true mate, for only her true mate would find peace and joy from her touch. Only her true mate would be able to hold her and love her as she deserved. He knew in his heart that he was her mate. He knew that the Great Spirit would bless their mating and grant them the gift of the mating mark of entwined, golden links that would appear on the nape of their necks just below the hairline to prove that they were destined to belong to each other.
He just had to convince Gracie.
Chapter 3
Gracie looked over the Serafin Sportswear account. Something just wasn’t adding up. The numbers were wrong somewhere. The dollar amount charged by the advertising firm and the dollar amount received for payment in their account was off. By a lot. She looked over the costs of the latest television and radio spots. The website creation and upkeep cost looked exactly as it should be. Everything looked fine, but the billing and account balances just didn’t match. She knew she would find the error eventually—it was just so frustrating to not be able to identify it. She knew that if she hadn’t been so distracted by her worries, the mistake would have been found already.
It was already an hour after the time she had planned on leaving work. She was exhausted from a combination of work stress and worry about her sister’s pregnancy. There was very little strength left in her. She needed to go home and rest, but she knew she still had to go shopping for Melanie’s children.
The door to her office opened, and the last person she wanted to see enter, walked in. Tom Phillips was still the most obnoxious and arrogant person she had ever had the unfortunate experience of knowing. He hadn’t changed one bit from the time they had been children.
The fact that Tom’s father owned the advertising company that she worked for kept her constantly on edge. Tom’s daily interaction with her was what bothered her the most. Because of his presence, she was constantly reminded that she was a freak as he had called her when they had been children. She was usually able to avoid him since they normally worked on different advertising campaigns, but lately Tom seemed to seek her out just to harass her. She was at a point where she was completely disgusted with him and his treatment of her, and she was ready to find a new job.
“I need you to work late tonight, Gracie,” he told her as he walked up to her and threw down a file folder to land with a loud slap on her desk. “I want you to organize the Archer campaign before you go home. We need to get it up and running by next week.”
“I’m sorry, Tom, but I can’t,” she told him firmly. “I have plans for tonight.”
“Cancel them,” he told her immediately.
“It’s not something I can cancel,” she told him calmly.
“You will if you want to keep your job.”
Gracie looked at him silently. She didn’t know if it was because he was truly ugly or if it was just his demeanor, but she found that she could barely contain her disgust as she faced him. He was just an inch taller than her own five feet eight inches. He had close-cut, dark brown hair and green eyes. Others might think him handsome, but she found nothing appealing in his features. When she looked at him, she saw only cruelty and meanness. The way he had treated her when they were growing up had not changed over the years. He was still disrespectful and demeaning.
She sighed tiredly as his words permeated her soul. She was tired of having this man threaten her job. She was so very tired of being afraid that she wouldn’t be able to take care of herself financially. She knew that he loved every minute of his control over her, which made the helplessness she felt all the worse for her.
“As of noon today I am officially on family medical leave,” she told him finally. “I’ve only stayed to clean off my desk and delegate my accounts. My sister is having her baby soon, and I’m taking time off to help her.”
She didn’t know why she felt the need to explain it to him, but she had decided that she should let him know that he couldn’t depend on her being around to save his ass for the next few weeks. Just the thought of him having to figure things out without her gave her a great deal of satisfaction. She knew he would not be able to function efficiently without her. She was the one who organized all of his accounts even though she had accounts of her own to oversee. He would soon find that she was important in the smooth running of his business—even if he would never admit it to himsel
f or to her.
“You can take time off next week,” Tom insisted. “But you’ll have to stay tonight to get this done before you go.”
The buzz of the phone made Gracie jump. Reaching for the receiver, she brought it to her ear, looking at Tom as she answered.
“Gracie Emery.”
“Gracie, Deuce McKade is here to see you. Do you want me to have him wait in the lobby?” Madison asked her.
Gracie’s heart raced at the thought that Deuce was downstairs waiting to see her. She had to push aside the happiness that immediately surrounded her, knowing he was just there to take her shopping for items they would need to take care of her sister’s children. She wanted to think that he was there to see her because he wanted to—not because he had an obligation to fulfill.
“No, Madison. Please send him up,” she told her friend.
“He’s a hot one, Gracie,” Madison whispered.
“Yes, he is,” Gracie told her, smiling.
“Okay. One gorgeous cowboy on his way up to your office right now.”
Gracie smiled at her friend’s words, hung up the phone, and faced Tom Phillips once again. No matter how much time had passed, she still saw him as the eight-year-old kid who had pushed her down and had called her names.
The memory of the way her skin had felt like it was on fire when she had touched him so many years ago was clear in her mind. She knew that if she touched him right now she would feel that same sickening feeling. She backed up slightly and wrapped her arms around her waist. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach.
She sat down at her desk and closed out the account she was working on that had been displayed on her computer. She clicked to send the three e-mails she had composed to her colleagues detailing the accounts she was transferring to their supervision while she would be gone then logged off and shut down the computer.
Standing up, she pushed in her chair and faced the man who still stood before her desk. He was looking at her with his lip curled in disgust. She knew she was not going to be leaving without being the recipient of his tirade. She had suffered through his nonsense for years. She knew she would be having one last confrontation. Then she could leave.
“Tom, I can’t work late tonight,” she told him again, her voice firm despite its softness. “I’m sorry.”
“No, Gracie. You will work tonight and make sure this campaign is ready to be launched,” he told her firmly, picking up the folder and walking around the desk to stand beside her.
He reached out and grabbed her wrist, hissing immediately as his hand connected with her skin. Gracie felt the same intense pain and closed her eyes to concentrate on pushing it away.
“Damn! You’re still a freak!” he snapped, jerking his hand back and pulling away from her.
“Is there a problem here, Gracie?”
Gracie opened her eyes and looked at the doorway and saw the most welcome sight she could have ever hoped to see. Deuce McKade stood there, filling the doorway with his massive frame, looking gorgeous and intimidating at the same time. She watched him as he stepped forward and crowded Tom until Tom stepped away from her. He took his place by her side, smiling down at her softly before turning and looking at the man who had always harassed this wonderful woman. The instant scowl that came to his lips and the flash of anger in his blue eyes showed just how annoyed he was that Gracie was being bothered again.
“Just a little misunderstanding, James,” Gracie told him softly, trying to take even breaths to fight the nausea she was feeling.
“There’s no misunderstanding, Gracie,” Deuce told her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and taking her left hand in his. “Phillips, I remember telling you once before that you were never to touch Gracie again.”
The sense of peace that came over Gracie as Deuce wrapped his arm around her and held her hand gently within his own made her lean against him in relief. Not only was her nausea gone, she was feeling calm and protected for the first time in a very long time.
“How can you touch her and not feel disgusted?” Tom asked in disbelief.
Deuce continued to rub his thumb over Gracie’s knuckles, settling in to the warmth of feeling that was spreading through him. He wanted to experience that feeling for the rest of his life with the woman who stood so comfortably within his arms right now. His mate.
“You know, I’ve been thinking about that for a while,” he told Tom finally, his voice deceptively calm. “It seems like you’re the only one who gets that feeling when you touch Gracie. So maybe after all this time you should be looking at yourself as the freak, because it’s obvious that Gracie doesn’t cause that feeling with anyone else.”
He leaned forward and kissed Gracie’s temple lightly. She looked up at him with an expression of such gratitude he couldn’t help but smile and wink at her.
“Come on, Gracie Lee,” he told her quietly. “We’ve got to get going.”
He released her from his embrace with reluctance and watched as she opened the bottom drawer of her desk to retrieve her purse. When she took her place by his side once again, he turned them both and led them toward the door. His hand rested on her lower back to guide her as they walked, and he smiled at the way she naturally followed his lead. He crowded Tom Phillips, forcing him to step out of the office and into the hallway as Gracie closed the door and locked it behind her.
“Just so we’re clear, Phillips,” Deuce told him, taking Gracie’s hand in his as he faced the man he still considered a punk. “If you ever touch Gracie again, I’ll rip off your arm and beat you with it.”
“Deuce!” Gracie gasped. “You can’t do that.”
“You sure about that, baby?” he asked, looking at Tom as he spoke.
“I’m sure.”
“Whatever you say, Gracie. I guess we’ll have to go the route of filing a formal complaint for harassment on the job instead. What do you think, Phillips?”
Tom looked at him with contempt, his eyes showing the anger he was feeling. Deuce couldn’t keep the smile from his face as he looked down on the man who had hurt and tormented his Gracie for all of her childhood and, apparently, well into her adulthood. He would love to have a few minutes with him behind the building and see if he would be so smug or feel so entitled again. He actually wished the man would dare him to follow through on his threat. He would willingly spend any time in jail or pay any fine set in order to protect the woman he cared about.
Tom Phillips looked at the two of them, trying to decide how much he would be willing to lose if his father caught wind of the complaint. He didn’t think he would be able to talk himself out of that one, and he knew his father would do anything to protect the reputation of his company—including getting rid of his son. Without another word, he turned and walked away.
“He’s always been a punk,” Deuce muttered angrily, watching the man disappear around the corner at the end of the hallway.
“And you’ve always been my hero,” Gracie teased, pushing at Deuce’s side with her shoulder. “Except I don’t need you worrying over me anymore, Deuce,” she told him, laughing. “I’m all grown up and can take care of myself.”
“I know you can, Gracie,” Deuce told her, smiling. “You’ve taken care of Melanie and yourself from the time you were a little girl with scraped knees and a pretty ponytail.”
Gracie smiled up at him. “Just don’t you forget that, Mr. McKade.”
“I won’t.” He looked at her and smiled, knowing that she didn’t realize that he still held her hand.
“Tom’s been increasingly difficult over the years,” she admitted finally. “I think it got worse after I turned his brother down when he asked me for a date.”
Deuce had to take a deep breath to calm himself. Protective instincts made him want to take Gracie home with him and wrap her in a roll of cotton so nothing could ever hurt her. He had to admit he was more than a little jealous that someone wanted to date her. He had to force himself to calm down. He couldn’t allow himself to lose control. His cont
rol was something he based his whole life on.
“I hope you don’t mind that I came here to get you. I was worried when you didn’t show up at the store,” Deuce finally told her as he looked her over to make sure she was really all right.
“I’m sorry, Deuce. I just wanted to clear my desk so I could take care of Melanie’s kids without worrying about work.”
Deuce looked down at her quietly. He was concerned about the lines of exhaustion and worry that he saw on her face. He wished she was leaving this job for good. He wanted her home with him, helping him to run the family ranch and starting a life and a family with him.
“Don’t apologize, Gracie. I wasn’t annoyed—only worried about you,” he told her gently. “Let’s go. We’ve got a lot to do.”
He started to walk away, not releasing Gracie’s hand as they walked down the corridor to the elevator. Pressing the call button, he stepped back and waited. Gracie pulled her hand from his, turning to face him and sighing sadly.
“Thanks for coming to my aid, James,” she told him softly. “I appreciate you risking the pain to hold my hand until Tom was gone. You didn’t have to do that.”
Deuce looked down at her, the confusion making his brow furrow beneath his cowboy hat. He never expected her to think he felt pain when he touched her. She should know better.
“Is that what you think, Gracie?” he asked softly, stepping back to allow her to enter the elevator as the doors opened before them.
She walked inside it, settled against the back wall of the elevator car, and looked up at him tiredly. “What? That you feel pain when I touch you?”
He nodded. Neither of them moved as the elevator doors closed and neither pushed a button to select their destination. It was silent as they faced each other, the elevator frozen in time and space.
“Of course that’s what you feel. Every man feels that when I touch them,” she spoke softly, her sadness coming across in her words.
He stepped toward her and took her small hand between his much larger ones. “You’re wrong, Gracie. I don’t feel pain when you touch me. I feel settled. I feel warm. And I feel desire.”
Touching Deuce [Cowboy Mates, Psychic Connections 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 2
