Challenged by You: A Fusion Universe Novel

by Tracey Jerald

  “You’re everything I want,” he groans, his lips making a meal of my neck. I arch against him as the light bristles cause tingles to ripple through my body. Cupping a breast, he drops his head and begins to leisurely draw from the tight pebble as if we have days to enjoy each other rather than hours.

  This isn’t the tumultuous coming together of our first joining, or the heat of the second. This is magic that splits your heart wide open and causes you to take a chance on things you swore you’d never believe in ever again: trust, hope, and love.

  My own hands tremble as they make their way down his body while he switches nipples. As I drag my knuckles across his lower abdomen, Jonas releases my taut nipple with a groan. “I don’t want it to be over too soon.”

  “We have all the time in the world,” I whisper, because in the cocoon we’re in, there’s no sense of time, no sense of anything but the pleasure we’re giving each other.

  “Yes,” he hisses as my hand slips lower to stroke him. His hips push forward into my hand. Moving me further back on the bed, he reaches over to the nightstand and secures protection. He tears it open with his teeth, then rolls on the condom before sitting back on his heels.

  Pulling me up to straddle his thighs, Jonas holds his cock steady as I lower myself on him. I cry out as his hands reach out and tweak my nipples, distracting me just enough so I slide down onto him in one smooth motion. “So full,” I moan.

  “So tight,” he returns as he lifts his hips slightly. I toss my head back when his maneuver works his cock deeper inside of me.

  “I don’t know how long I can hold on,” I pant, as I begin the back-and-forth motion I know will carry us both over the edge.

  “Then don’t,” he rasps. “Take me wherever you go.”

  As Jonas pushes up and I drop down, the clenching sensation, the edge, keeps coming closer. Everything disappears except him, when I cry out his name as I feel that final tightening of muscles before I begin clenching around his hard cock. “Jonas,” I gasp.

  Grasping my hips, Jonas flips me to my back before thrusting his hips hard, pushing through the tiny muscles grabbing at him. My fingers rake across his back as he buries his head against my neck when his release comes.

  Long moments pass where nothing is said. Finally, Jonas pulls his head back and kisses my lips. In contrast to the way our bodies are locked, it’s just a brush, a whisper of a promise when none can be made.

  Not now.

  Not yet.

  But maybe. If what my heart’s telling me to be true is possible, then the magic of maybes might exist with this man.

  Chapter 27

  Jonas

  I’ve got my legs kicked up on my brother’s desk admiring a picture of Trina, Chris, and Annie I took at the zoo while Trina’s having a conniption fit over the speaker. I keep my eyes focused on it when the door flies opens, admitting Julian. Still amused, I wonder if our own twin sixth sense kicked in because it’s rare I’m in the building instead of working out of my home office.

  “I’m starting to know you better than you think, Jonas Rice,” Trina’s railing at me. “You used a food pun in this morning’s critique of Ziki’s!”

  I smirk because she’s not wrong. “I’m surprised you got to read so quickly.”

  “I looked it up online.”

  My eyes widen as Julian plops into his own guest chair without a care in the world. Gesturing wildly to the phone, I point to the door. He ignores me and settles back to listen. Flicking him off, I focus on the woman who’s set on taking a strip off my hide. “You don’t have internet,” I say and then immediately regret it.

  She grits out, “I hook up to Seduction’s Wi-Fi when I get here so I don’t lose power despite my very limited data plan. And don’t try to derail me by reminding me of the fact I don’t have cable. Not cool.”

  “I wasn’t!” I protest. Shit, now I feel like a dick. Julian just wags his finger back and forth, shaming me like our mother would have.

  I bare my teeth at him while Trina’s hurt voice continues. “You’re a food critic! Now that I know you better, do I need to reread the one you did of Seduction to see if you dropped any cutesy phrases in there too?”

  “Hell, no!” I splutter. “Cutesy phrases? I didn’t do that. I was being witty, for Christ’s sake.’”

  “Witty? Is that what you’re calling it?”

  “Yes,” I yell. Julian raises a brow, but I ignore him. I’m already in hot water with one person I care about. “Well, maybe that’s not the only reason.”

  “I knew it.”

  I want to admit this in front of my brother about as much as I want to go back and eat the pressed duck from the Chinese joint two years ago that still had feathers on it. I shudder, both in memory and what I’m about to do, but realize I have no choice. “I did it for Chris,” I finally blurt out.

  There’s another silence that descends all through the office. Hazarding a glance at my brother, I see I’ve completely dumbfounded him. Quickly, I continue. “For Chris, T. Because don’t you remember? He tried to make a food pun when the pasta was put on the table. Don’t you remember?”

  “He held up the noodle and said…”

  “Give penne for story,” I remind her, even while my heart warms at the memory. “He was trying to make a food pun, Trina, and all I wanted to do was give him a little shout-out by dropping an unobtrusive one in my column.”

  “The best thing olive on the menu is the noodles and sauce,” she quotes the line verbatim.

  “Exactly.”

  “Making it look like a tiny typo.” Her voice is as smooth as brown butter.

  “Uh-huh.” My voice drops to the same level as hers, knowing the storm has passed.

  What she says isn’t what I expect to hear at all. “I’m going to hang up now and pretend like I didn’t call. And if you can forgive my attitude, perhaps if you’re free tonight, maybe you’d like to drop by?”

  Confusion has me frowning down at the calendar blotter on Julian’s desk. “I have two places I’m scheduled to review because you’re supposed to be working.”

  “I know. I was thinking after. Pick me up after work.” Without saying goodbye, she hangs up the call.

  I press End with a wonky smile. I’m positive I can finish up my reviews and be at the back door of Seduction before her shift ends. Before I can speak, Julian says, “When do I get to meet her?” When I blink at him, having forgot for a moment he was even in the room, he declares, “It’s obvious you’re falling for her.”

  Figuring admitting the truth to Julian is essentially admitting it to myself, I say the words aloud for the first time. “I am.” He surges to the edge of his seat. I hold up a hand. “But it’s too new and too complex for me to rush things. I have more respect for her and her children to rush this, Jules.”

  Thoughtfully, Julian rubs his fingers over his jaw. “Falling in love can happen in an instant.”

  “But creating a love that will last takes more than just the fall,” I counter. “It takes a solid foundation, trust, and respect—all of which I’m prepared to give her as long as she needs.”

  “Then why do I feel like you’re worried about something you’re not telling me?” God, there’s that twin bond coming through at the worst possible moment.

  I push out of his chair and move to the pre-war window. Gazing unseeing down to the street below, I admit, “I met Trina because she’s the executive dessert chef at Seduction—remember the review that Chelsea screwed up a few weeks ago? I’m crossing all sorts of lines being with her.”

  “How?” Julian surges to his feet in my defense. “You’re two unattached adults. What’s so wrong with the two of you finding happiness?”

  “I’m supposed to be writing an article on her as recompense for the mistake in conjunction with executing a new review of the restaurant. Professionally, I’m finding it difficult to separate my feelings for the woman from the critic.”

  He joins me at the window. “What do you mean?”

/>   “I mean every time I went in to interview her, I spent more time thinking about her, Trina, not about Chef Trina Paxton.” I fling a hand out toward his desk. “My notes are ridiculous.”

  “So, don’t do your normal behind the scenes with the chef,” he suggests.

  I frown. “What do you mean?”

  “Who was involved with your decision to interview Trina?”

  “Karlson and her boss, Mia Palazzo, one of the co-owners of the Seduction Restaurant Group.” Julian’s wince reflects my own inner turmoil. “Yeah, that’s exactly how I’m feeling. I’m not going to lie, I’d take the blame in a heartbeat before I’d let anything happen to her.”

  “Anything happen to who?” Ah, fuck. Karlson opens the door just on the tail end of our conversation. Then his face softens seeing us frame the window. “I know you both don’t like to talk about her, but your mother…” He clears his throat.

  “What about Mom?” I ask.

  A spasm of pain crosses Karlson’s face. “Are you really asking me about Doria?”

  Julian gapes at me. “I’m in as much shock as you are.”

  Dropping my gaze to my shoes, I contemplate them a moment before conceding their amazement. “Recently, someone pointed out to me I misunderstood quite a bit about my childhood.”

  “What’s that?” Karlson asks tentatively.

  “That I thought something I did caused Mom’s accident.” Even whispering the words sends a shaft of pain deep inside.

  “What? No, Jonas. How could you think that?” Julian is incredulous.

  “It doesn’t matter now. Recently, it was pointed out to me that Mom loved me—us—enough to do anything.” I meet my brother’s eyes, which are damp with unshed tears. “That part of the reason I’ve held back emotionally is because my last memories are of being a brat, not of telling her how much I love her.”

  Julian’s face twists before he turns to Karlson and says, “Jonas is in a bind, Karlson.”

  I straighten to full height. “Jesus, Jules. We’re talking about Mom, not Trina.”

  “The hell we’re not. She’s the one who got through to you about Mom. Tell me I’m wrong?”

  I clamp my lips together, because I can’t. Julian nods knowingly. Turning to our uncle, he says, “Jonas needs help.”

  And that’s when I notice Karlson’s face. It’s flushed deep red with tears sliding down. “Karlson? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, Jonas. Not a damn thing. Now, I’m all ears. Tell me what I can do to help.”

  “Oh, snap.” Twenty-nine years and it hits me, and I laugh. I knew my love of food puns had to come from somewhere. “Karlson, thanks for pudding up with me. You’ve gone above and beyond being an uncle.”

  “I’ll second that,” Julian agrees.

  “That’s because no matter what, I love you both very mochi.” Karlson drops into the abandoned chair. “Now, what kind of a pickle did you get yourself into?”

  “Oh, it’s kind of a big dill,” I continue our pun war.

  Karlson sits up straighter. “Well, spill the beans.”

  I can’t prevent the twitch of my lips. I haven’t had this much fun with Karlson since before Mom died—yet another thing to thank Trina for. “I don’t want to spill them. I feel like I’ve bean looking my whole life for her.”

  Dropping all foolishness, his face takes on a serious cast. “Who is she, Jonas?”

  “Chef Trina Paxton. The executive dessert chef at Seduction.” I wait for him to flip, so I’m surprised when an understanding smile crosses his face.

  “Chelsea mentioned it, but it wasn’t my place to ask,” he demurs.

  “Chelsea mentioned it?” I ask incredulously. Julian chortles behind me. I turn and growl, “This isn’t funny, Jules. What if Trina loses her job? What if she can’t support Annie and Chris? She’d be devastated.”

  “She has children?” Karlson asks. Then as an aside, he complains, “Chelsea failed to mention that.”

  “Twins,” I confirm. The next thing I know, I’m rubbing my arm. “What the fuck was that for?” I glare at my brother, who just punched me.

  “Because you mentioned she had kids, not that they were twins. How old are they?”

  Dropping back into the chair behind the desk, I pick up my phone. I hold out the picture I was looking at when he came in. “Two. We went to the zoo the other day.”

  “Ah, I remember your mother taking you both there,” Karlson reminisces.

  “So did I, which is why I suggested it.” My uncle and I exchange smiles.

  “I don’t see the problem, Jonas.”

  I say two words which cause his swarthy face to pale. “Mia Palazzo.”

  “Oh, God.” Karlson immediately stands and begins to pace.

  “Why are both of you so afraid of this woman?” Julian demands.

  “It’s not a fear,” I start.

  “It’s terror,” Karlson clarifies.

  “For Karlson, it’s terror,” I amend. “For me, I’m not worried. Mia has no bearing on my career. But for Trina? That’s her boss. What if she thinks the review is being influenced in some manner?”

  Now, it’s Julian’s turn to pace—his own mannerism he picked up from our uncle—while Karlson regulates his breathing again after hearing Mia Palazzo’s name. Suddenly, Julian pauses before whirling around to face both of us. “So, call this Mia Pizzeria.”

  “Palazzo,” the two of us correct automatically.

  He waves his hand. “Whatever. Just call her and have her tell her chefs to make the menu out of your most hated foods. This way, if they manage to knock it out of the park—”

  “It’s based solely on the individuals themselves,” I conclude slowly. “That’s brilliant, Jules, but that solves only part of the problem.”

  “What? The interview?” My brother scoffs. “You said that was your idea, right?”

  “Well, yes.” It’s rare for me to do a spotlight on a chef, but when I do, it gets noticed in a big way.

  “Then why don’t you do it in my column? Who says it has to be this dry, boring piece only a handful of people are going to read anyway? Tell the world about the captivating chef you’re starting to fall for.”

  “Because,” I immediately start to protest before stopping myself. I turn the idea over and over in my mind looking for flaws. Other than getting Mia’s agreement, I can’t find any fault with this plan at all. “God, it could work,” I admit aloud.

  “You know, Jonas, Julian’s right. Your biggest issue’s going to be keeping it a secret once you secure Chef Palazzo’s agreement. We all know Julian has a big mouth.”

  “Hey!” Julian protests before he admits, “I only resemble that remark with family.”

  “For which we all appreciated when it was time to find out what we were getting for the holidays,” I tell him dryly.

  “Chelsea particularly appreciated it,” Julian retorts. “But back to this Palazzo, do you think she’ll go for it?”

  I hide my smile as Karlson shudders when Julian mention’s Mia’s name. It’s too bad he’s only witnessed her ballbuster side; Mia has a heart of gold. “Make the call, son. You know it’s the right one.”

  Picking up my phone, my screensaver appears. And there she is—Mom. Her arms are wrapped around me and Julian when we’re not much older than Annie and Chris. She’s smiling at us with each of us tucked in on either side. Her easy smile is encouraging me.

  “I have no doubt your mother loved you, Jonas. After all, she peeled the apple, didn’t she?”

  Unlocking the screen, I find a picture the picture of Trina, Chris, and Annie. My heart picks up in tempo. “You have a pizza my heart, T. Let’s see where this thing goes.” Calculating the time difference, I pull up Mia Palazzo’s cell phone. Aiming a withering look at my brother, I say, “You don’t have to stay for this.”

  “I’m not going to miss a moment of this. After all, it’s my column you’re using to come out to the world.”

  Exchanging a resigned glance with Kar
lson, I press Call. “Then you’d better brace,” I warn him.

  Mia picks up after the second ring. “I have children speaking in tongues to one another. The one that actually speaks English is demanding food. Make this quick, Rice,” Mia snaps.

  Despite Karlson waving his hands frantically in the air to warn me off, I decide to plow ahead with the plan. “I want to change the article and have you give your people all the food I hate for the night I review the restaurant.”

  There’s a moment of silence where I faintly hear something that sounds like a Gregorian chant in the background. Then Mia bursts into laughter. “What happened? Did you finally encounter something you can’t resist?”

  With complete seriousness, I answer, “Yes.”

  Immediately she says, “Hold on.”

  There’s an excruciating silence over the phone and in Julian’s office until Mia gets back on the line. “Sorry, I had to check to make sure Cam was going to be home next week to watch the kids because if you think there’s a chance in hell I’m going to miss watching you go down to the biggest challenge ever to my chefs, you’re crazy. Now—” Her voice changes to a purr that catches me off guard. “Tell me how Paxton got under your guard.”

  Julian leaps into the air, fist pumping it. Karlson flops back into his chair, sighing heavily. I swallow hard. “How do you know it’s Chef Paxton?”

  “Because ever since I booted Chef Spencer out, I’ve had Sterling keeping a close eye on the back of the house. Your comings and goings have been noted, Jonas. I just didn’t realize I’d get to have this much fun watching you take the fall.” Even as I process her reply, we all jump when she yells, “Emily, do not put your fingers up Scoot’s… I’ve got to go Jonas. Otherwise my brother’s cat is never going to be the same. I’ll call you back for your list of ‘hates’ when I get to the restaurant.” The phone abruptly disconnects.