“And she also wanted me to remind you to call if you need a last minute massage or anything.”
“I will.”
“I know you will, but she gets so uptight about things.” She blew out a frustrated breath, hoping Patricia had left her enough room in her schedule today for a quick bite to eat for lunch.
Jace glanced down at the business card and couldn’t help but smile.
Violet James
Healing Touch
Specializing in all types of massage.
We make house calls!
“What gave you the idea to make house calls?” he asked and tucked the card into his coat pocket.
“Well, it started out mostly for our elderly clients, but it’s been a great option for everyone. People are always more relaxed in their own home. And that’s the whole point of a massage, right?”
“Right. You know, you’re great at what you do.” As an athlete, Jace had had a bajillion massages, but none of them had affected him like Violet’s. Her hands seemed to reach more than just his aching muscles and that was a good thing.
She blushed again. “Thank you. Because of your profession, I took the liberty of using more pressure on you than I would on one of my eighty-year-old clients.”
“I’m glad you did. I like it rough,” he said, testing his flirting skills. They may be a bit rusty, but he used to be pretty damn good at flirting if he remembered correctly. He doubted it, but maybe just maybe the guys were right. Maybe he needed a little bit of no-strings-attached action.
Violet glanced away and nibbled on her lip. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Jace looked over to gage her reaction. She had blushed, but she wasn’t completely repulsed. It was a start. “Believe me,” he said. “I’ve had a career-full of massages and you were amazing.”
Violet smiled. “I’ve always been good with my hands.” She started to say she didn’t mean it like that, but by the look on his face, Jace didn’t mind her unintentional innuendo.
“Is that what made you decide to go into massage therapy?” he asked.
Quickly realizing that anything that came out of her mouth at this point was going to sound like innuendo, Violet stopped and gathered her thoughts. “I wanted to help people,” she finally answered. “My favorite grandma had advanced arthritis in her hands.” When Violet needed a break from the testosterone of having three brothers, she visited her grandma, Collette. “When I would visit her at the nursing home, I would massage her hands for her and it always made her feel better. Then, when her friends at the home found out, everybody wanted in on it. So, I put two and two together and realized that I might as well get paid to give massages and decided to make a career out of it. My dad always says that if you find a job you love then you’ll never have to work a day of your life. Know what I mean?”
“Yeah,” Jace chuckled. “You’re talking to someone who plays a game for a living and has the summer off, remember?”
Violet smiled and tried to imagine having the summer off. She hadn’t had more than two consecutive days off in ages. Spending the day getting coffee and massages sounded like heaven.
When they arrived at the gas station, the wind had finally died down, leaving just the bitter cold behind. While Jace bought coffee, Violet purchased a gas can and filled it up.
“All set?” he asked when she climbed back into the passenger seat.
“Yep.”
He handed her a steaming cup of coffee and she decided he was a Good Samaritan in every meaning of the word. “For me?”
He nodded.
“Wow, that’s really nice of you. Thank you.”
Yep, definitely too good to be true.
“So, where’s your car parked?” he asked, pulling out of the gas station.
“It’s in front of the pharmacy over on Oak Street.”
Violet sipped her coffee and went over the morning’s events in her mind. If someone would have told her she’d be riding in Jace McQuaid’s car, sipping coffee and talking about life, she would have laughed in their face. Her brothers were really going to have a field day with this.
“There it is.” Violet pointed as they cruised down Oak Street. “The little blue car.”
Jace pulled into the empty space behind her car. “Nice parking job,” he joked.
“Yeah.” She looked at her crookedly parked car and laughed. “I kind of coasted into it on vapors.”
They shared a look and Jace’s eyes caressed her face. Between his hungry look, the warmth of her seat and the smell of leather and coffee, Violet became dizzy. She quickly cleared her throat and unbuckled her seatbelt. “Thank you so much for everything,” she said, her voice shaky. “You were a real life-saver today.”
“It was my pleasure.”
The words echoed in her head. Pleasure. The word meant different things to different people, but right now the only thing she could think of was Jace’s big strong hands.
My pleasure.
“Don’t forget this,” he said, waking her from her reverie. He disconnected her phone from the charger and handed it back to her.
“Thanks.” She rested her fingers on the door handle. “Your next massage is on me. It’s the least I can do for you after everything.”
“Nah, the Razors are footing the bill anyways. We’ll figure something out.”
We’ll figure something out.
The words bounced around in her brain like pinballs inside a noisy arcade game. Violet fumbled with the seatbelt and finally freed herself. When she opened the door and got out, so did Jace.
“You don’t have to get out,” she told him. “It’s freezing out here.”
Jace shrugged. “That’s okay.” He took the gas can from the trunk and proceeded to fill up the tank of her Jetta for her.
Watching Jace insert the nozzle into the tank had Violet hot and bothered all over again.
“There, all set,” he told her and screwed the gas cap back on. “See if she’ll start now.”
Violet got behind the wheel and turned the key. Sure enough, after some initial sputtering, the engine purred to life and the light on her dash flickered off.
A non-empty gas tank and a charged cell phone. All was right in the world again.
Jace grinned and patted the roof of the car and she rolled the window down. “Drive safe,” he told her.
“I will. Thank you for all of your help.”
“Thanks for the massage.”
“Well, I’d better get back. Pats keeps me on a short leash.”
Jace smiled. “As much as I’m enjoying the view,” his eyes darted down to her chest and back up to her eyes again, “I should get going, too.”
Violet gasped and pulled the windbreaker closed. He winked, turned on his heel and strode to his car.
It took Violet a full two minutes before she was composed enough to shift her car into Drive.
* * *
Jace drove away with his head spinning and headed toward the freeway. Violet James was the most beautiful and fascinating woman he’d met in a long while and she was talented beyond belief. She had worked his muscles with precision and his other muscle into an absolute frenzy. He just hoped he hadn’t scared her away with his amateur flirting.
Smooth one, McQuaid, he thought to himself.
Jace stopped at a red light, his mind taking him back to the blissful forty-five minute massage Violet had given him. He’d had a lot of massages in his day, but there was something in the way she touched him that brought his thoughts past the client/therapist relationship. Sensuality boiled just below the surface as her hands had skimmed his back. The way she moved oozed with sexuality. She didn’t seem to be aware of it even, but it would take a damn fool not to notice.
A car honked from behind him and Jace looked up at the green light. Shaking himself out of the daze, he punched the gas.
Not only was Jace physically attracted to Violet, but he was finding out she had a boatload of good qualities too. That thing about her arthritic grandma was
pure personality gold.
Sure, he’d just met her, but he felt some kind of connection with her. Which was shocking considering he’d sworn off women ever since one in particular had taken a machete to his heart, divorced him, and took his bank account with her. There weren’t enough magic hands that could heal that type of wound. But he might be willing to let Violet give it a shot.
The more Jace thought about it, the more he thought Cody and Sebby might be right. He needed to let loose and just have sex. No strings attached. No awkward first date or uncomfortable morning after. Just pure sex for the pleasure of it followed by an amicable sayonara.
It had been a while. Too long. And Jace made his mind up about Violet. If they did indeed have a connection, he’d keep it strictly physical. It was the only way.
Shit, he thought, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. He was going to need to buy some condoms. It had been a while since he’d needed one. He needed to be prepared if he was going to try out his teammates’ theory.
Yep. Violet could give him mind-blowing massages during the day and then at night…
Well, he had something else mind-blowing in mind for nighttime. Her buttoned-up business partner didn’t have control over what Violet did after hours, did she? Not a chance. And Violet had said herself that sometimes you had to cut loose a little.
He’d only spent a little more than an hour with her, but Jace felt like he knew enough about Violet James to make an educated decision. She valued family, took pride in her career and was beautiful beyond belief.
And best of all, he smiled and as he merged onto the freeway, she made house calls.
* * *
After a long day of appointments and a last minute housecall, Violet finally went home. In the living room, she found Phillip on the phone, deep in conversation. She wasn’t the least bit surprised. Well, maybe a little surprised to see him there because, although they had technically moved in together, he had an apartment on the other side of town near his office where he stayed most nights. But she wasn’t surprised to see that he was on the phone. Phillip had spent most of his adult life with a phone attached to his ear and a displeased look plastered on his face.
With brand new eyes, Violet watched her fiancé as he paced the room. It was strange seeing him for the first time in a week. He’d been at another one of his urology conferences. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he went to them just to avoid spending time with her. Not that she was complaining.
Compared to the friendly grizzly bear Jace, Phillip was a persnickety field mouse at best. Violet hated to compare the two men—it wasn’t fair to either of them—but she couldn’t help it. Where Jace often had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, Phillip’s eyes were cold and dark, devoid of all emotion. Jace’s nose was proportionate to his face and chiseled features. Phillip’s nose was too pointy, but it also matched his too pointy chin. Jace had a masculine lumber to how he walked and Phillip was calculating and mechanical in his movements as he paced in front of the television.
“Sorry I’m late,” Violet told Phillip when he finally disconnected the call. “How are you? How is everything?”
Phillip ran a thin hand through his short brown hair. “Please, Violet,” he scolded, “I don’t have time for pleasantries.”
“Well hello to you, too,” she pouted and sunk into the sofa. After massaging people all day, she could really use one of her own. Too bad Phillip avoided touching her at all costs.
Phillip scowled at her before turning his attention back to his phone.
Violet scowled back. What did she ever see in this man? Everything about him was detached and abrupt. Maybe that’s why she was drawn to Jace like a moth to flame. Jace exuded the warmth she’d been deprived of for far too long. Maybe it was finally time to reevaluate their relationship. Or what was left of it anyway. Certainly, by now her debt to him had been paid in full.
She should probably come clean and tell Phillip she’d flirted with another man today. Or maybe not. He probably wouldn’t even care. It wasn’t like she had actually acted on any of her thoughts. And flirting was harmless, right?
Feeling guilty, Violet squirmed in her seat. “Look, Phillip, we have some things to talk about. Maybe tonight after dinn—”
Phillip’s phone rang again. “Dr. Krandall,” he answered without giving Violet a second glance. He began moving around the room again and then stopped in front of the window and pinched the bridge of his nose. “…and the hematuria test? Positive? Yes, I’ll be there right away.” He ended the call and spoke to Violet without looking at her. “That was the hospital. I have to go. I’m needed for an emergency intravenous pyelogram.”
“What about dinner?” Violet asked. Not that she was disappointed. She always found dinner with Phillip’s parents to be as awkward and uncomfortable as a Pap smear. They were snooty people and so blatantly uppity that she never knew what to say to them. She had the feeling they didn’t think she was nearly good enough for their precious Phillip. And they were probably right.
“I’ll call Mother and bow out,” he said, his voice tight.
“But I don’t want to go by myself,” she whined. The few hours she had to herself in the evenings were precious.
Phillip sighed and came toward her. “Don’t sulk. I’ll inform Mother of the situation and that neither one of us will be able to attend dinner.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks.”
When he bent down, she thought he was leaning in for a kiss, but he was only reaching for his keys on the end table. “Goodbye,” he said.
“Good night,” she said, but Phillip was already out the door.
* * *
Violet lay in bed troubled by the day’s events. Jace had awakened feelings in her that she hadn’t felt in years. She thought she’d been content with working too much and being engaged to a man who didn’t give affection and had the warmth of an Antarctic glacier. But she wasn’t. Too much was missing from her life.
She loved the flexible schedule she used to have. She had controlled her hours and could schedule three day weekends whenever she wanted. Before she and Patricia began building up their client list, Violet had taken extended weekends all the time.
That was one of the biggest differences between Violet and Phillip. Violet liked to be in control of her time and set her own schedule. As opposed to Phillip who was chained to his BlackBerry twenty-four-seven. Always on-call, always working. Violet loved to be spontaneous and take a drive to the coast on a whim. Or spend half the day in bed eating Oreos and watching re-runs on TV. Phillip, on the other hand, rarely took time off for a vacation and when he did, it was to one of his boring conferences and the itinerary was planned right down to the minute. The more Violet thought about it, the less she could find in common with her fiancé. Sure opposites attracted, but Phillip was from a completely different universe.
Now her own schedule was filling up and her life was starting to look a lot more like Phillip’s. Violet shuddered at the thought of working every minute and having nothing to show for it.
There had to be moments of relaxation and fun and flirting built into each day. If not, then what was the point of it all?
Time was starting to slip away from her. What little time she had when Patricia cut her loose at the end of the day was spent trying to tiptoe around Phillip and his ever-changing moods.
She knew what was missing from her life. Before, she was sure it was financial stability, but that was soon resolved when her client list grew substantially. Now the one thing her life was missing was…someone like Jace.
Her body ached and writhed with need. Need she had been content to ignore until Jace had snatched away her self-control. His eyes had practically undressed her at every opportunity. She hadn’t been embarrassed or ashamed, she’d only wanted more. Her legs drifted apart under the sheets and she rested her palm on her abdomen.
No. She wouldn’t give in. She wouldn’t touch herself when all she wanted was to be touched by a man. She wouldn’t
settle for the disappointing substitute of her fingers drumming over her aching clit.
But she’d been suppressing her sensuality for so long. Trying to focus on what really mattered. Her career. Her obligations to her family. But didn’t sex matter too? Sometimes the world even seemed to revolve around it.
She thought about Jace’s beautifully honed body with sculpted muscles. The way he’d looked at her like she was the only woman on earth. The way his voice rumbled deep in his chest when he laughed.
Giving in to her body’s needs, Violet sighed and slid her hand between her thighs.
Chapter Four
The Cabin
Two days later, in a rare blissful moment between appointments, Violet lounged in a chair in the Healing Touch office while Patricia poured over the books. The office was small, but immaculate. Not even a paper clip was out of place. Patricia was always organized, but Violet could tell something was wrong by the perturbed look on her partner’s face.
“What’s up, Pats? You’ve straightened that same piece of paper five times already.”
Patricia sighed and looked up from the desk. She fiddled with the cap on her pen and finally spoke after a long sigh. “Carter saw Dennie’s truck circling his school this morning.”
Violet sat up straight, her eyes wide. “What happened? Did something happen?”
Patricia sighed again. “No, nothing happened. By the time a patrol car showed up, Dennie was long gone.”
“Is Carter okay?”
“Yeah. He was pretty proud of himself for spotting the truck. He knows that Dennie is a just bad man who the police want to talk to.”
Violet reached over and patted Patricia’s hand. “It’ll be okay, Pats. Carter did the right thing by telling his teacher. He’s a good boy.”
Patricia’s eyes glittered with a mother’s love. “Yes, he is. It’s too bad his dad and I couldn’t work things out.” She glanced at her watch and jumped up. “Shoot, I’ve got to go. I have an appointment.”
Patricia shoved her purse strap over her shoulder and waved a piece of paper in front of Violet’s face. “Making out-call massage sessions was one of the best decisions we ever made.”
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