Jace

by T. A. Grey

  Jace perked up in his seat as if his mother had just walked into the room. A rush of excitement burst down his spine. He checked the glass paneled wall that separated them from the hallway but he didn’t see any woman.

  Stupid, Jace. Do you really think she’d come to your work?

  Maybe you need to get some action if you’re that hot over this lady.

  Yeah, some action with her would do just fine.

  “Would it be so bad if we actually stayed focused and got some damn work done around here?” Frank asked, scowling.

  “Yeah, it would be,” Kyle said, smirking.

  “Dang, you missed her, Mathews. Sexy thing, a regular curvy mommasita,” Gio said. “She’s my type.”

  “Every woman’s your type,” Jace said.

  “This is true,” Gio agreed, laughing.

  “Twenty says I’ll get her number,” Kyle said. He pulled a twenty out and slapped it on the conference table.

  “This has to be breaking a rule somewhere,” Frank muttered. “Gonna get my ass fired…” his murmurs trailed away.

  Gio slapped his own twenty on the table. “I’ll take that bet. How ’bout you, Mathews?”

  It was on the tip of his tongue to say that he wasn’t interested. His mouth had already moved to speak the first word.

  But then she walked by.

  The team started posturing like a bunch of apes. Everyone save tired Frank and quiet Mac. Jace spotted her strolling down the hallway. She looked lost and confused with her button noise pinched.

  It was her. Mara Colgen. The sexy sex toy operator.

  His gut clenched with excitement. Blood started burning a fiery length through his veins.

  Standing, he slapped a hundred on the table. “This one is mine.”

  He marched out of the conference room, ignoring the outraged calls from his friends. Mara was here. Something had happened when he met her. He wanted her naked. His need for her had nothing to do with her job. It wasn’t even because she was astoundingly beautiful. No, it was because when he looked at her and their gazes met, something special flashed between them.

  His dick twitched when she spotted him. Her reaction at seeing him said it all; it explained exactly why they were going to be together. Because the moment she saw him her lips rounded into an O while her cheeks flushed scarlet and her pupils dilated. Yeah, he liked that…because he felt about the same way.

  There was something good about Mara. Something wholesome and pure like light.

  “You came,” he said.

  They squared off. She wore a red T-shirt that hugged her fine curves and dipped low down the front to tease him with the sight of her breasts. She had full breasts and a slender waist that flared out into hand-holding hips. Hips he could grip as he made love to her. Shapely thighs were shown off in a flowery skirt. She looked real and womanly. She didn’t wear makeup and he didn’t smell any perfume. Everything about her was down to earth and real. He liked that.

  Mara’s lips twitched. “I did come.”

  That’s all she said. A double meaning hung in her words and in the way her lips fought a laugh.

  Damn, but he wanted to know what she meant by that. “I’m glad you did.”

  Her cheeks blushed like a ripe strawberry. Pluck, pluck, pluck, he thought. Had he been right? Had there been a double meaning there? Had she ‘come’ with one of her sex toys and did she do it while thinking of him? He liked how she could blush and be brazen all at the same time. Why was it he found himself fighting smiles whenever he was with her?

  “Come with me.” Jace grabbed her hand and towed her down the hall to his office.

  For some reason holding her hand didn’t seem odd at all. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to do as if they’d already skipped certain pertinent steps to get to the coveted hand-holding.

  He reluctantly let her hand go and gestured for her to take a seat in his office. Instead of sitting behind his desk and therefore further away from her, he took the seat next to her normally used for clients. Mara bit her lip, still smiling at him. When she smiled her whole face lit up and eyes tilted down. Freckles trailed across her cheeks making her look even more sweetly feminine. Every time she smiled at him he fought the impulse to instantly smile back at her. She could snag him with her little finger so quickly and she didn’t even know it.

  Cute. Adorable. Sexy. Fuckable.

  “You didn’t call me.”

  She laughed. “I just did actually. You didn’t answer.”

  His heart skipped a beat. “Sorry about that. I was in a conference and had my cell turned off. Did you leave a message?” He hoped he didn’t sound as eager as he hoped.

  “No.” She bit her lip, not saying any more.

  Too bad. He would have loved to know what she would have said. Would her message be professional and straightforward, or something more unique like she was?

  That’s it, he liked this woman. He didn’t want any games between them. “I want to take you out. Tonight, tomorrow, whenever. Tell me what kind of food you like, what things you like and don’t like, and I’ll give you a time and place.”

  She gave him a big, wicked smile. “Mr. Jace Mathews, are you asking me out on a date?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Her smile waned as she realized how serious he was. He turned his chair to face hers directly. He wanted to see her better. He liked her hair and how it looked in the light. It was long and wavy but as light as champagne. No highlights or anything extra added to her hair, but natural contrasts in her hair. A natural blonde. She had hair he could wrap his hand around. This was good to know because he planned on doing it—soon.

  “I thought I was supposed to ask you out,” she said. There was stunned, teasing look on her face. “I don’t make it a habit to ask men out. I have before but not to someone as…manly as you.”

  “Manly?” That made him want to laugh—and preen like a peacock.

  “You’re healthy and fit and you drive a big black truck. All manly things.”

  His smile flashed and hers grew even brighter, white teeth shining. That only made his smile grow until his cheeks hurt. He wanted to kiss her. Bad. As his mind worked out a strategy to win a kiss before she left his office, her smile faded.

  “So, I came here about something.”

  Instantly on alert, he sat up. “What happened?”

  “See, it’s kind of hard to explain but…”

  “Try me,” he encouraged.

  She sighed, looking like the walls of her life were scraping her at the shoulder and closing in quickly. “Someone was in my house.”

  A muscle in his neck tightened to an unbearable level. He rolled his head to loosen it. “A robbery?”

  “No, no. It’s…you’re probably not gonna believe me. It sounds crazy.”

  Meaning it was probably worse than better. “Try me,” he said.

  “You see, I was in an a bad relationship a while back. Corey…he’s not all there in the head. I thought he was when we first got together.” She paused, as she shook her head. “You don’t need to know that. What you need to know is that he’s hurt me in the past. I do have a restraining order on him but that didn’t stop him before. Also, I think he was in my house last night.”

  Every muscle in Jace’s body froze. Only his eyes blinked. “Why do you think he was in your house?” Every instinctive urge inside him wanted to wrap her up in his arms and shield her from all harm. He couldn’t help it; by now it was instinctual. His mom had been through the very same thing Mara had.

  Her shoulders sagged. She looked tired. For a second he hesitated, but instinct took over and he placed his hand on top of hers. She stiffened at the touch, then relaxed. “I know he was. When I woke up, the thermostat was turned on to heat and the temperature was turned up to ninety-three.”

  “That’s certainly odd. What’s the significance?”

  Her eyes fell to the floor. “It’s…not important. Trust me, it’s not. Just know that it’s something be
tween Corey and me and it’s pretty important.”

  It was curiosity that got to him, but as her security specialist, if she did have a stalker problem, then he needed to know everything about the situation.

  “I want to help, but I need to know about the gritty details.”

  Her fingers twitched beneath his hand as she started to pull her hand away. Of course. This sort of handholding was premature. But then soft fingers tangled with his, pressing close, palm to palm. She’d turned her hand around to hold his. He looked at their joined hands and felt…a surge of power in his chest, like he was Superman, capable of flying right through the roof and out into the universe. The moment faded as he adjusted to the sensation, but still he nearly trembled with the power of emotion he just experienced.

  “I don’t tell my own mom the gritty details, okay.” She laughed, but he could see the painful glint in her eye. “You’re cute, but not that cute.”

  And there was his stupid smile again, pulling up his lips. Hell, he was starting look like Kyle with the grin he wore.

  “I’m going to need the details of your case, Ms. Colgen. Tell me your history with this guy. You don’t have to leave anything out, but try to keep it brief, point by point.”

  Her face scrunched up. “Why’s that?”

  His gaze slid to her mouth. He jerked it away just as fast. He couldn’t be going there right now. “Otherwise, people can find themselves reliving the old memories because they’re remembering how they felt in the situations instead of stating the events as if they were facts. It will help us both to keep the details straight. Now go.”

  At the command, Mara jumped to her feet and started ranting the horrific events of her ex like she was reading a grocery list.

  “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.