Fair Play (16 page)

While dancing with her father, she again felt the eerie sensation that someone was watching her. She quickly searched the area, but didn’t see anyone.

“Is something wrong?” her father asked, concern in his light green eyes.

“I don’t think so. I got the strangest feeling, as if someone was watching me, but I don’t see anyone.”

Charles scanned the restaurant. “I don’t notice anything unusual either.”

“I guess it’s just my imagination.”

He noticed her looking around for him, but knew she’d never recognize him because of his disguise, a simple black cap and pair of cheap sunglasses he’d picked up at a nearby discount store. He’d been watching Debra dance with Maureen’s husband, another offense to add to his list of reasons to exact his revenge upon his ex. Not only had she told her lies about him in the courtroom, but the bitch divorced him, then married her bastard’s father. When she’d met him, she was so hot for him to marry her, but the only thing that slut had wanted was a paycheck coming in so she could spoil her whore of a daughter. He knew what she was up to from the beginning. That’s why he never gave her all the money he made. She was a stupid cow and had never figured it out.

He laughed. Maureen was all over him while they were dating, flaunting her body, making him think she wanted him badly, but as soon as he married her, she became the ice queen. That first night together, she got all pushed out of shape because he didn’t treat her like she was a princess. She acted like some virgin, complaining that he didn’t know how to be a gentle lover, and didn’t know the first thing about making love. After, she was untouchable. She thought he was going to sit around panting after her, but he showed her. He didn’t need her. There were plenty of women willing to take care of his needs, and they didn’t want him to treat them like princesses. Her time was coming, and soon. He blew a kiss to Debra, then to Maureen before he left.

As Dani and her father were walking off the dance floor, Jace saw a good-looking guy ask her to dance, and she accepted. What was she doing dancing with a strange man? On top of that, they were dancing a little too close, and she was smiling a little too much. Earlier she’d acted the same way with Dave. Damn! Had Charles already talked to her?

His temper flared when he noticed her dance partner caressing the small of her back as he leaned over to whisper in her ear. Dani laughed, making Jace’s blood pressure spike and he could feel his pulse pounding in his neck. He was proud that he kept his temper in check, until he saw Dani’s dance partner slide his hand lower on her hip, then move his body even closer.

He’d be damned if he was going to sit quietly watching some pervert paw his woman. And what did Dani think she was doing letting that guy touch her? She should’ve slapped him the minute he started caressing her. She belonged to
him
.

He stalked onto the dance floor, cut in, and immediately pulled Dani close to his body to show ownership.

“Were you having fun letting him paw you the whole time you were flirting with him?” Jace growled.

She edged back to look at him incredulously. “What are talking about? I wasn’t flirting, and he certainly wasn’t pawing me. We were just dancing.”

“Oh, is that what they call it now? And what do you call it when you were dancing so damn close to him, you could feel the pulse in his pants?” He glowered at her as he waited for her answer.

Dani tossed her head. “Don’t be absurd. I wasn’t dancing close to him, and I most certainly did not feel his pulse. You’re acting like an ass.”

“You think I’m being absurd and acting like an ass? Come with me, and I’ll show you exactly what an ass acts like.” He yanked her off the dance floor, then dragged her outside to the side of the building, where they could talk in private.

“You think I’m absurd? Why? Because I don’t like my lover flirting with a guy right in front of my eyes, or I don’t like to watch my lover letting some guy stick his tongue in her ear? Or maybe it’s because I don’t like my lover letting some stranger rub her back and pull her close enough to feel his erection? Which one of those things do you think makes me absurd?”

Dani’s face flushed. “You’re being totally ridiculous. None of that went on while I was on that dance floor. If I wanted to do any of those things, do you honestly think I would do them right in front of you?”

“Are those the kind of things you do when I’m not watching?”

Dani put her hands on his chest, pushing at him. “You’re an unmitigated ass. I can’t believe you’re accusing me of cheating on you. Get the hell out of my way. I’ve heard all I want to hear from you. When you can think and talk like a reasonable man, maybe then I’ll consider talking to you, but I refuse to talk to you when you are acting like this.”

Jace gripped her arms so she couldn’t leave. “So now you’ve had enough of me?” Through clenched teeth, he ground out. “You belong to me, and I’ll be damned if you think I’m going to sit idly by and let some low-life degenerate rub his body all over yours and fondle you. You will not flirt, nor share your body with anybody but me.”

Poking his chest with her finger, Dani spewed, “I’m in charge of my body, and I say what I do with it and with whom, not you. You’re not my husband or my father, so don’t tell me what I can and cannot do. You don’t own me.”

Jace pressed her against the wall with his body. Bringing his face close to hers, he stated in a cold, hard voice. “Whether you admit it or not, doesn’t change a damn thing. You. Are. Mine!” He took her mouth in a possessive kiss, crushing her lips in his fury.

When Dani pushed and fought to get away, he softened the kiss. Her hands became still and wound around his neck surrendering to passion. He urged her mouth open with his tongue, slipping inside like a thief to steal what little resistance she had left. He felt her shudder as his tongue tangled with hers. She tugged his body closer, moving restlessly as he continued his onslaught on her senses.

A whimper escaped when his hands caressed her breasts, making her move closer. He moved his hand between them, touching her.

He wrenched a moan from her throat while he caressed her with his mouth and hands. When he grasped her hips and drew her toward him, he felt her rub against him. He continued his assault until her legs gave way. She was his for the taking. He took a step backward.

Immobile, he stared at her as his passion cooled. Her lips were swollen from his kisses, and he knew from the way she looked that her body pulsed with need. Bewitching eyes, cloudy with passion, begged him to finish what he started as she leaned weakly against the building.

“That was to remind you that I’m what you want and need. I’m the one who awakens your body with desire, and I’m the one who quenches your fires. You’re mine, and I don’t share what’s mine.”

Dani stared at Jace, infuriated at his cavalier treatment. She seethed as she tried to compose herself.
So he thinks he can inflame my desire, then drop me, does he?
He acts smug, thinking he has me where he wants me, and that I’ll be complacent to his dictatorial treatment. Well, two can play this game, and his time is coming. Soon.
She straightened her clothes, then smoothed her hair. Lifting her chin, she delivered a scathing look to Jace, then strode into the restaurant while he followed behind.

When they got home, Dani asked her mother if she could have a few minutes alone with Jace, in one of the spare bedrooms before going to bed.

Jace grinned when she invited him inside the room, and Dani knew he figured she needed him to finish what they’d started at the restaurant and was pleased with himself.

When they sat on the bed, he put his arm around her and drew her close. “Are you mad at me?”

“Let’s not talk about that right now. I need to know when we’re planning on leaving so I can have everything ready.”

“Our flight leaves at 3:00 p.m. We should probably get to the airport by a least 1:00 p.m. That gives you some time in the morning to spend with your parents.” Jace reached for her hand. “I know you’re going to miss them, but we can come back every couple of months to visit if you’d like. They’re also welcome to come visit us anytime.”

Touched by his consideration, Dani had to strengthen her resolve for what she was about to do. It was necessary, if they had any hope of their relationship surviving. He needed to understand that his treatment of her earlier had hurt her and would not be tolerated. She knew she wanted no one but him, but she stayed exclusively his because she chose to, not because he demanded it. He treated her like a possession, instead of an equal partner, and he needed to realize it was wrong.

Dani brought her mouth to his, licking the outline of his lips, then lightly nibbled on his bottom lip. She coaxed his mouth open with her tongue, then deepened the kiss. Passion, swift and strong, spiraled into her body, taking her breath, making her heart hammer wildly. Her lips journeyed to his throat, feeling his pulse madly throbbing under her tongue, answering the beat of hers. Her body skimmed sensually over his, her tongue brushing over skin that was hot and tight, exploring, tasting, discovering that teaching him a lesson was like straddling a two-sided blade, hurting as much as it helped.

He gave her no recourse but to continue her assault on his senses or live with his arrogance and possessiveness. Rooting deep, she retrieved her resolve, needing to end this torment. He growled deep in his throat when her hand delved into his pants, finding him full and rigid.

He tried to reverse their positions, but she held fast, knowing she’d be lost and surrender everything if he did. In one swift move, she rose from the bed, gazing into eyes dark and misted from desire. She raked his body slowly, her eyes scouring his body from head to toe. When her eyes latched onto his, she found they had darkened to almost black. Desire warred with purpose, surrender with will power, as her body begged to find relief from the fire blazing in her veins. Biting her inner cheek, to bring sanity and lucidity back, she put her hands on her hips.

“This is to remind you that I’m also what you want and need, but unlike you, I don’t presume to own you. I choose to keep you as my lover, just as you have chosen me to be yours. Don’t ever again treat me as a possession you own, and could throw away at will, because if you do, that’ll be the day that I choose to leave. I love you, but my gift of love doesn’t give you the right to demean it with your arrogance or dominant behavior.

“So now the ball’s in your court. You can either choose to treat me as an equal partner in this relationship, treating me with the respect and consideration I deserve, or you can choose to keep your archaic misconceptions, and we call it quits.”

With her hand on the doorknob, she angled her body to deliver the last of her message. “I’m going to bed. I expect an answer from you tomorrow morning. Good night.”

The click of the door closing sounded like a shot to Jace’s ears. Still in the throes of passion, he struggled to cool down, to stop his lower body from throbbing. He catapulted into the icy cold water of the shower, his head bent as he leaned on the wall for support. The water flowed over him, returning reason, as he digested Dani’s words. The realization that in his jealousy he’d used passion as a weapon to cleave her to his will and confine her, whipped through him with a swiftness that stunned him.

Just because he was her lover didn’t mean he owned her. Nothing gave him that right, not even marriage. She was who he wanted to spend his life with, and he wouldn’t jeopardize that with petty jealousy and fear.

Realization hurled into him, like a comet blazing through space. He didn’t want to be just her lover, but her husband, and now, not sometime later. He’d been acting like a coward, fighting against the finality, the commitment, but most of all, the fear of losing her as his father had lost his mother.

How could he expect total commitment from Dani, if he wasn’t willing to return the same?

What if children came along? Did he want his children growing up, thinking their father didn’t love their mother enough to make a commitment? Disturbed by his reticence, he made the decision to ask for forgiveness and marriage. He wanted her for his wife, as an equal by his side, to raise a family with, and to share the joys and sorrows of his life. He wanted forever.

The next morning, Dani skipped down the stairs, sure Jace would see reason. Shocked, she discovered he had left.

She dropped onto the couch tears cascading down her cheeks. He’d given her no choice but to make an ultimatum, the terms of his demands were intolerable. There’d have been no happiness, just doubt and mistrust, which would have turned to hate.

She wiped her tears, then went to make arrangements to stay with her parents. Vegas could no longer be her home. The agony of seeing Jace, day in day out, never touching or being touched, loving and not being loved, would be too painful to endure.

The doorbell rang, postponing her task.

Her heart plunged to her feet as she gazed into Jace’s handsome, smiling face. She refused to display her hurt, so lifted her chin. “Why are you back? Did you forget something?”

He strode past her. “I went shopping.”

She spun and gawked as he sat on the couch. “After our confrontation last night, I thought you decided to leave instead of trying to come to some understanding.”

She stepped to the couch. “I’m sorry I treated you so harshly last night, but you gave me no choice. It was wrong to use sex as a means to get my point across, but I didn’t know how to get you to understand. Even though I regret my methods, my feelings are the same.”

She paused, searching for the words to get him to comprehend her feelings. “I love you, and want to spend my life with you, but I honestly don’t know how long it would take me to walk away from that love because of your mistrust. I’m with you because I choose to be with you, and you alone. But if you can’t trust me, we can never be truly happy. Your mistrust would fester inside you, until it destroyed everything wonderful between us.”

Her nerves twisted, causing her to shiver. “I think it’s better to end it now, so at least we can part as friends. I’m afraid if we don’t, later on we’ll become bitter enemies, and that’s something I never want. The saddest thing would be to hate the man I know I’ll love for the rest of my life.”

Jace stood and faced her. “I agree. I’m sorry for my domineering behavior, and I believe you said ‘archaic misconceptions.’ I went into a jealous rage. It’s no excuse, but I didn’t like seeing you in another man’s arms. My feelings aren’t something I give easily, but from the moment I first saw you, I couldn’t take my eyes off you. I wanted you with an intensity I couldn’t understand, and thought if I had you, then I’d get over you. Instead, the more I had you, the more I needed you. I can’t get enough of you, and I don’t ever want to.”