All About Charming Alice (17 page)

“Sounds nice.”

“You think so?”

“I think so.”

Her hand was trembling when she slid her key into the lock. Now what was going to happen? Were they going to walk up those stairs and go to their separate rooms, she wondered. She didn’t want that. No way. Time to put Rose’s Plan B into action. How exactly could she go about doing that? He wasn’t making things easy for her, not really. He had stepped in closer, was helping her out of her coat and her knees started knocking again. Did he have any idea what happened to her when he stood close like this?

“Jace?”

“Yes, Princess?”

Well, now what? Was she going to ask him to spend the night in her bed? Of course she wasn’t. “It was nice … ” She took a deep breath. “Dancing with you.”

“That it was.” His reply came with the barest hint of a smile. “That it was. Very nice.”

She waited. Would he say something else? Make a gesture? Reach out for her?

His eyes traced the line of her mouth, caressed the sharp planes of her face and her skin burned as strongly as if he had touched her. But he didn’t make the slightest move.

She couldn’t stand here in the vestibule, waiting forever, could she?
No. She couldn’t
.

“Well, good night,” she said. And immediately felt like kicking herself. She’d just ruined everything. But why didn’t he make a move? Why had he left things up to her? Or maybe she’d been mistaken. Maybe he didn’t want her after all.

There was a strange, unreadable expression in his eyes. “Good night.”

They walked up the stairs silently. Separated on the landing.

Closing her bedroom door behind her, Alice sighed. So much for Rose and her so-called infallible Plan B.

It had been a complete failure.

• • •

The clock chimed three. Three in the morning. Sleep was impossible. Here she was, standing in the middle of the corridor, agonizing. She had lain in bed for the last two hours, tossing, turning, and agonizing. Might as well do the agonizing standing up. Still, what was she doing here in the corridor, running tonight’s scenario through her head for the millionth time?

She’d failed at seducing Jace, and she didn’t need Rose to tell her why. She’d stopped short of showing him how much she wanted him.

But she
did
want him. And she was, deep inside, pretty sure he wanted her too. Although he certainly hadn’t done much to show her that. Not recently, anyway. Except tonight, when they were dancing …

Your move now, Alice
.
What exactly would that move be? She tiptoed in the direction of Jace’s door. This was ridiculous. He was probably sound asleep. He’d think she was crazy if she went in there. If only she could think of an excuse, say she heard a noise, for example …

A floorboard under her foot groaned.
Oh God, what if he heard that? What if he came out? What would she say?
“Hi Jace. I’m just standing here, lurking in the corridor, agonizing, debating whether I should go in and seduce you.”
Of course she couldn’t say that.

Jace’s door suddenly swung open. There he stood, a towel tied around his waist, sarong-style. Alice’s eyes traveled over the broad wonderful expanse of his chest. His arms had the beautiful lines of a sculpture, all ropy muscle and tight tendon. He was beautiful, gorgeous and utterly desirable. He must also be thinking how strange it was to find her standing out here. She felt like an utter fool, a total idiot, or like a guilty child caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar.

“Alice … is something wrong? What are you doing out here in the corridor?” His face expressed concern. Surprise. And pleasure?

She took a deep breath. “Um … nothing. Nothing’s wrong.”

She felt his eyes taking in her pale, flimsy robe, the long curl of her hair tumbling over her slender shoulders, and his eyebrow quirked.

“You always lurk in corridors at night?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” She swallowed.
Oh hell! Go for it, whole hog,
said her inner voice. It was a killer, that inner voice.

“And?” His eyes were amused.

“Look,” she swallowed again. “I was thinking of just coming to your room for a visit.”

“Oh?”

“You are making things difficult for me.”

“What am I making difficult for you?”

“Actually, I was just here, lurking in the corridor, agonizing, debating whether I should go in and seduce you.”

This time the silence was long. Endless. She closed her eyes, unable to look at Jace. She hadn’t really said that, had she?
Oh yes, she had
. Now, all that had to happen was for the floor to open up under her feet and gobble her up. Which it didn’t.

She heard a sound. He was laughing and Alice felt a sudden mixture of terror and fury burn through her.

She opened her eyes, glared at him. “Okay. Laugh at me.” She wanted to punch him. “Talk about making a fool of myself.” She made a sudden movement as if to whirl away, race back to the safety of her room but his hand reached out, grabbed her arm, and held her firmly in place.

“I’m not laughing at you.” His voice had turned gritty, rough. Lifting his other hand, his fingers traced the line of her cheekbone, delicately, softly, descended to the curve of her mouth, and the hot beat of desire cannoned through her. “I’m laughing for joy. You ever heard of that?”

Joy?
“Jace, I want you.” It was almost a whisper. Throwing caution to the winds. “I dream about you every night.”

“I can’t even sleep when I’m in the same house as you,” he said softly. “I want you so much. I’ve wanted you from the first second I saw this stubborn face of yours. And your delicious, lanky body.”

“Good,” she said, her voice deep, breathy. “Now we’re making progress.”

He stared at her. “I can hardly believe this is finally happening.”

She reached out and with the flat of her hand, followed the line of his shoulder before moving down, lacing her fingers into the curl of hair on his chest. Just so he could start believing.

Then, as if no words could show how deeply he wanted her, he pulled her into his arms, lowered his lips to hers and kissed her with all the passion his heart could hold.

There was no resistance in her and her mouth softened, opened in sensual abandon. Her hands slid up, curled around his neck as she arched into him. She wanted him to feel her need, her passion. To let him know she was his tonight. She was his to love.

“I want to love you all night long,” he whispered.

“All night, please,” she murmured back. The heat in his eyes sent desire burning through her.

With his mouth, he traced a line of hot, sweet kisses over her face, down her neck to the high arch of her collarbone.

There was only one way she could respond. Bringing her hands down slowly over his body, she pulled him to her, cupped his firm buttocks, pulling him closer still, causing him to gasp with pleasure as she undulated her hips against him.

Crushing her mouth under his, he cupped her breasts in the palms of his hands and she moaned softly, her knees feeling as if they were giving way beneath her in the wild swirl of desire. His hardness heated her belly, telling her exactly how much he wanted her, spoke promises of the pleasure they would share, and she laughed briefly, thrilled with the power she had to excite him. Her fingers traced the line of the towel hiding his male nakedness from her and sought to undo it.

Her voice was a deep sigh. “I want to see every inch of you.” The towel slid to the floor and now he was standing in front of her, hard, hot and smooth, in all his glory.

“You only want to see?”

“Touch. Lick.” Her knees were about to give way. “Do you think we could get to a bed? Quickly?”

“If that’s what you want,” said Jace, his eyes coveting her with lascivious pleasure. “But that’s the only thing we’ll do quickly. After that, things are going to go slowly.” He reached for her, his hands tracing the long line of her body. “Slowly, all night long.” The heat in his eyes astounded her. “Just the way I’ve imagined them all these nights.” His mouth nuzzled the skin under her ear. “It’s been hell knowing how close you were … so close, and so far away.”

“It has?”

“It has,” he said simply. “I ached all over.”

“All that lost time … ”

He picked her up as if she weighed no more than a pinch of the desert dust, carried her to the bed. “This has to come off,” he mumbled, his fingers clutching at the soft fabric of her gown.

“It does,” she agreed as she pulled the garment over her arms. She needed to feel his skin against hers, needed the rub of his chest against her breasts.

The silken light of the moon played over her soft breasts, invited his mouth to taste. Her waist was tiny, her stomach flat, smooth, just the way he’d imagined it. He could never tire of looking at her, he decided. Or of caressing her with his eyes, these long, pale limbs, the proud arch of her hips, the elegance of her neck.

Then he couldn’t look anymore. He had to touch. Explore every inch of her. Kiss her lovely warmth. Linger, draw flames. His tongue followed his burning touch, seared a hot trail, over her skin, over her belly, down to lap the sweet dew of her femininity, never stopping, always coaxing.

She shivered against him, twisting in desire, forgetting everything but how wonderful it felt to touch him, to feel his fingers as they slipped deep inside her. She exploded in shuddering waves and he moaned, unable to wait another minute. He’d wanted her too much for too long.

Lowering himself over her, she opened to him, arching high, meeting him, enfolding him as he went deeper and deeper, brought them together. She moaned with searing joy. Jace, inside her. Over her. Around her. Nothing mattered but this moment. This night. All night with Jace.

• • •

Bright white desert morning touched the lids of Jace’s eyes.
Alice
.
The name sketched itself over the surface of his mind just the way it had for some time now. Only this time it was different. This night had been different. Alice had lain in his arms. Incredible. He turned in the bed, reached for her but her place was empty. Only the warm, dusky scent of her hovered in the air.

She had been here. Unless he’d gone and invented the whole thing in his own lust-filled mind.
Impossible
. You didn’t dream about making the kind of love they’d experienced. It had been real, all right. So where was she now? Vanished again? Perhaps regretting the night?

Then he noticed the heavenly odor of coffee and yeasty bread drifting through the house. That was a good sign. Pulling himself out of the warm tumble of the bed, Jace hauled on a pair of jeans, made his way down to the kitchen.

Alice, her back to him, was caught in the dancing blaze of light streaming through the windows and into the yellow kitchen. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders in a wild disorder. She was wearing the same thin, silken dressing gown she’d worn the night before and the hand on her hip delineated its definite and sexy arch. Jace watched her silently, his heart beating a light, staccato rhythm.
Alice. His Alice
. The thought left a soft, silvery trail in his mind.
His Alice? That’s probably pretty wide off the mark,
he chided himself, bracing himself against possible disappointment.

Yet she had been his. For one night of intense, heart-searing love. But Alice was still an unknown quantity to him. He couldn’t know what her reaction to him would be this morning. Could a woman who had shown so much passion withdraw again?

She felt his presence suddenly, although he’d made no sound, no movement. Turning, she found him there, still, in the doorway. Watching her. Waiting.

Shyness — that was the first expression crossing her face. Then he caught the faint, subtle bend of her body as it arched toward him, desiring him still. And saw the sweetness of her smile, caught her aura of a woman who’d spent the night loving passionately. He held his arms open, and she crossed the room with swift steps, folded herself softly against him.

“Good morning,” he murmured, his mouth against hers.

“Good morning.” Soft notes bespoke vulnerability.

“I was wondering if you’d run away.” He was sounding pretty vulnerable too, he knew.

She leaned back in his arms, raised her hand and traced the line of his lips. “I watched you sleep. I don’t know how you managed it.”

“Managed what? Sleeping?”

She nodded, smiled up at him. “I … I was … I mean, the situation was too … exciting for me to want to sleep.”

“We can go back to bed and try again,” he said bending down and giving her another kiss.

He saw the same shyness cross her face again followed by a faint blush. “We could,” she said softly.

“Why did you get up?”

“I … ” Her mouth unsuccessfully fought a grin for a few seconds before she dissolved into laughter. “I got hungry. And I thought that you would be hungry too, and so … ”

“I’m starving. And it smells heavenly, whatever it is.”

“Fresh rolls. And there are fresh coddled eggs with herbs, if you want.”

“Coddled eggs?”

“You’ll see.”

“Alice?” His tone was soft, but there was a serious note.

Her eyes questioned him, faintly wary now.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you?”

“For lurking in the corridor last night.”

“Oh.” She began to laugh again.

“You’ll do it again, won’t you? Every night. I want you beside me every night and every morning. I want that. Very much.”

He watched her, watched how her eyes dilated with pleasure, watched her mouth as it formed the words he wanted to hear. “Me too. I want that.”

His heart was full. He felt the glow of the sunlight as it sparkled through the room, danced just for the two of them. “Have I told you how beautiful you are?”

She pulled back slightly, her eyes denying his words. “You don’t have to say things like that.”

Jace shook his head. “I wish you wouldn’t tell me what I’m supposed to think.” Leaving her side, he walked over to the counter, reached for two cups and poured out the coffee, poured milk in one and handed it to her. “I do think you’re beautiful. And, by the way, absolute perfection doesn’t exist.”