Fever (11 page)

seats.

A moment later, the car pulled into traffic and silence settled over the backseat.

“Where are we going?” she asked, the tremble still evident in her voice.

He reached for her hands, turning them both palm up so he could inspect the scrapes.

“What happened, Bethany?”

She went so still against him that he had to look to make sure she was breathing. There was such

darkness in her eyes—
hopelessness
—that it took his breath away. And he knew, without a doubt, that

he’d done the right thing. No matter what demons she battled, what her present or past circumstances

had been. He’d done the right thing by tracking her down and taking her away.

• • •

doing? How had he found her?
Why
had he found her?

Seeing him in the shelter had been a huge shock. One that had rendered her incapable of the

simplest thought process. She barely offered a token protest when he’d hauled her away and stuffed

her into the back of his car. Wasn’t this kidnapping?

“Bethany, look at me.”

Though his tone was gentle, there was no mistaking the command in his voice. It was one she

couldn’t help but obey. She turned her chin and peeked up at him from beneath her lashes and her

breath caught in her throat.

He was such a beautiful man. So dark and brooding. Power emanated from him. Anyone would be

a fool not to sense his strength. It was plain for all to see. He wore authority like he’d been born to it.

Though she’d sworn he was a man who’d always make a woman feel safe, at this very moment she

was a nervous wreck. The look in his eyes suggested she wasn’t safe at all, though she wasn’t sure

what it was she wasn’t safe from.

He wouldn’t harm her. Of that she was sure. But there were many other hurts than just physical.

“Don’t be afraid of me.”

Her lips twisted. “That isn’t something you can just dictate. Telling someone not to be afraid of you

doesn’t make it so!”

His gaze hardened. “Have I given you any indication that I’m going to hurt you?”

“You just carried me out of the shelter against my will! What you did was kidnapping! Why were

you even there, Jace? How and why did you find me? I don’t understand.” Her words came out much

higher than she intended. There was a shrillness to her voice that spoke of her panic.

He put his fingers to her cheek, pressing in just enough that she felt his touch and was powerless to

turn away.

“You need me,” he said simply.

Her mouth gaped open and she stared back at him in astonishment. She had no idea what to say to

that. What could she say?

Then he leaned forward and put his lips to her forehead in the gentlest of kisses. She closed her

eyes, savoring the sweetness of the gesture. This man was trouble with a capital
T
.
She
was in

trouble. In a big, big way.

Tonight you’re coming back to my place,” he said as he sat back in the seat. He spoke with a

calmness she sure as hell didn’t feel. “Tomorrow I’m taking you to my sister’s apartment. She’s not

using it anymore. It’s furnished, so you won’t have need of anything.”

Her mouth fell open again at the certainty to his voice. It wasn’t a question. He wasn’t asking her

anything. He spoke as if it was already decided. As if she had absolutely no say in her destiny.

“This is insane,” she whispered. “You can’t just rearrange my life like this. I can’t stay in your

sister’s apartment.”

He lifted one eyebrow and leveled his steady gaze at her in a manner that made her feel stupid.

“You have somewhere else to stay?”

She flushed. “You know I don’t.”

“Then I fail to see why this is an issue. Mia isn’t using the apartment. She’s living with Gabe until

they marry. Her roommate has moved in with her boyfriend. It’s empty and it’s paid for. You’ll stay

there, at least for now.”

Her brow crinkled at the addition of “for now.”

He smiled as if realizing the source of her confusion.

“Eventually you’ll move in with me but I accept that you need time to adjust to our . . . situation.”

“You
are
crazy,” she muttered. “I’ve been kidnapped by an insane person.”

Jace scowled as they pulled to a stop in front of an ultramodern high-rise across from Central Park.

A steady rain was now falling. He reached across to take her hand, pulling her toward the door as he

climbed out.

“Hurry so you don’t get wet,” he said even as he rushed toward the entrance.

She was forced to run to keep up with him and by the time they got inside, she was out of breath.

She grimaced as the denim stuck to her knees ripped away, aggravating the scrapes all over again.

Jace saw her expression and he swore as he stared down at her torn jeans. Taking her arm, he

directed her toward the elevator and ushered her inside. Despite his effort to get them inside before

they got wet, her clothes clung damply to her and she shivered.

The elevator opened into an elegant foyer with marble floors and a huge, crystal chandelier

suspended from the ceiling. He nudged her forward and she stepped hesitantly into his apartment.

“We need to get you out of those clothes and I need to tend to your injuries,” he said grimly.

His statement made her hug herself tighter as if she could keep her clothes on with her action. Yes,

he’d seen her naked, but the idea of being naked in front of him again made her feel extremely

vulnerable.

She’d called him crazy, but she was more insane than he was because she was allowing this. It

could be said he’d given her little choice, but she hadn’t fought
that
hard.

“We need to talk, Jace,” she stammered out. “This is nuts. I can’t be here with you. I don’t even

know why you were at that shelter or how you knew I’d be there!”

He put a finger to her lips and his expression brooked no argument. “There’ll be plenty of time to

discuss our situation after you’ve had a hot shower and I’ve looked at those scrapes. You’re right. We

have a hell of a lot to discuss, and believe me, we’ll get there. But my first priority is ensuring that

you’re taken care of.”

She glanced down at her bedraggled appearance and decided that a hot shower would definitely be

welcome. Whatever his explanation was, she’d deal with it a lot better when she was warm and dry.

“Okay,” she murmured.

His mouth twitched suspiciously. “There. That wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

She frowned. “What?”

“Giving me control. I’ll warn you now, Bethany. I’m very used to getting my way.”

What the . . . ? She hadn’t said anything about giving him control!

She opened her mouth to tell him just that but he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her, thoroughly

shutting her up in the process.

chapter ten

Bethany sat on the bathroom counter as Jace meticulously examined every scrape and cut on her

body. And he was thorough. She was completely naked and he hadn’t left a single inch of her skin

unexamined.

His lips were set into a fine line but he remained silent while he tended her wounds. She was still

cold. Cold on the inside. Bone deep. She wasn’t sure she’d ever feel warm again.

After she’d spent several minutes shivering, Jace cursed—something he did commonly around her

—and lifted her down from the counter.

“I’ll start the shower. You need to warm up. After you get out, I’ll bandage the scrapes. I don’t

think you need stitches in any of the cuts but I’ll apply antibiotic ointment so they don’t get infected.

While you’re in the shower, I’ll fix us some dinner.”

He didn’t wait for her agreement. That was pretty laughable since he hadn’t asked her for her

opinion once. He leaned in, turned on the shower and then came back to where she was standing

without a stitch of clothing on. And to think she hadn’t thought her day could get any more bizarre.

He slid one hand up her bare arm to her shoulder, squeezed reassuringly and then left the bathroom.

She sagged against the counter and then turned to survey her reflection in the mirror. She looked like

death warmed over. Tired. Haggard. Worried. Scared.

There were a million words that swirled in her mind.

She closed her eyes and swayed precariously until she gripped the edge of the counter to steady

herself. For tonight, at least, she was safe. Even if she had no idea what had possessed Jace, she was

fiercely relieved that he’d brought her here. Where no one could possibly find her. Where even Jack

wouldn’t know where she was.

A reprieve. However short it was, she welcomed it.

Knowing she was wasting hot water, she stepped into the shower and groaned as the heat cascaded

over her aching body. It was sheer bliss. The most wonderful thing she’d ever felt.

She tossed her head upward, letting the spray wash over her face and down her neck. Her scrapes

stung as the hot water abraded them, but she was careful to clean all the cuts in her skin.

She remained in the shower until her body grew heavy and sluggish from being exposed to the

intense heat for so long. After rinsing her hair one last time, she reluctantly turned off the water and

stepped out.

Warm air washed over her, surprising her. She glanced upward to see that Jace had evidently

turned on the bathroom heater and it was nice and cozy after her half-hour shower. He had decadent

towels. Huge and fluffy, so soft that she felt surrounded by a cloud. She could almost wrap it twice

around her body.

It was sinfully wasteful, but she used two towels, one for her body and the other to wrap in her

hair. It was a frivolous luxury that gave her a giddy thrill to indulge in.

She blinked in surprise when she realized that there was a change of clothes lying on the counter

that hadn’t been there before. And a thick robe hanging on the back of the door. There was also a pair

of slippers. The man had thought of everything.

Her gaze tracked to the clothes again and she frowned. Like he kept women’s clothing just lying

around his apartment?

She picked up the pair of jeans and the T-shirt and quickly saw that both were too big. Not by

much, and truthfully, a year or so ago they would have fit. She hadn’t been as thin then. Not as lean.

More fleshed out. She’d had more of an actual shape.

Now she was reduced to boobs and not much else. No hips. Not much of an ass. Angular features

due to weight loss. Life on the streets was hard. It aged a person before their time.

After taking the time to dry herself completely, she pulled on the pair of panties stuck between the

jeans and the T-shirt, embarrassed that she was borrowing some other woman’s underwear. There

wasn’t a bra, and she supposed it didn’t really matter anyway. She only had two and both were

almost falling apart. The one she’d taken off—or rather Jace had taken off—was dirty and torn. It

wasn’t salvageable.

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t already gotten up close and personal with her boobs. Seeing her without a

bra wouldn’t be a shock.

She tugged the T-shirt over her head and it hung loosely over her hips. It didn’t even stretch tight

over her breasts, which meant whoever the shirt belonged to was more endowed than she was.

After pulling on the jeans, she took the towel off her head and dragged her fingers through her hair

in an attempt to rectify the bedraggled wet-cat look. She was only moderately successful and she

wasn’t about to rummage through Jace’s drawers to borrow a brush.

She blew out a deep breath, squared her shoulders and then turned to the door. She hesitated, her

hand gripping the knob. Total chicken. The idea of facing Jace terrified her. Not because she thought

he’d hurt her but because she knew she didn’t stand a chance against him.

Worse, she wasn’t certain she wanted to stand up to him. It was far easier to allow him to take

charge. Being taken care of was such a foreign concept that it tempted her. It dangled before her like

the proverbial carrot before the donkey.

She jumped when the door vibrated against her hand.

“Bethany? Are you finished?”

Swallowing, she opened the door to see Jace standing a few feet away. He glanced down her body

and frowned.

“I need you to take those jeans back off. I was supposed to bandage you up before you got

dressed.”

“I forgot,” she said in a low voice. “I assumed since you left the clothing there that you intended for

me to get dressed.”

“Not a big deal. Come into the living room. We’ll do it there.”

He reached out his hand to cup her elbow and then he guided her out of the bathroom, back through

his bedroom and then into the sprawling living room.

He had a truly spectacular view of the city with panoramic windows.

“Slip out of your jeans,” he said. “Then get comfortable on the couch. Dinner is just about ready.

By the time I get you all fixed up, we can eat.”

Knowing it was useless to argue, she unfastened the pants and let them fall down her legs.