Fever (21 page)

them atop his thighs.

“That’s better,” he said.

“Everything go okay at work?” she said, reaching for a neutral topic.

He smiled at that and let out a chuckle. Her brow furrowed in confusion. “What’s so funny?”

“You sound positively domestic. Asking your man how his day at work went.”

The heat left her cheeks. She was sure she paled and then she dropped her gaze, embarrassed by

her presumption. Just as quickly, her earlier confidence fled, leaving a giant gaping hole as

uncertainty took firm hold.

“Hey,” he said softly. “What the fuck, baby?”

He leaned forward, causing the water to swirl and ripple around her. It sloshed up her neck but

suddenly her chin was lifted as he nudged upward with his fingers. She reluctantly met his gaze.

“Bethany, I liked it. Do you have any idea how much I looked forward to coming back to you? That

I hated every fucking minute of my time away from you? I counted the minutes until the goddamn

conference call was over. Hell, I didn’t want to leave you to begin with.”

Warmth reentered her face and she smiled, bigger this time. Confidence crept back in, easing the

flutter of insecurity that had threatened to take root.

He reached for her, pulling her toward him. Clumsily, she got to her knees, water sluicing down

her body. It lapped precariously close to the edge as she straddled him.

She was just a bit higher than him, enough that her breasts just cleared the surface of the bubbles

and were directly in front of his face. He didn’t look as though he minded at all.

He wrapped both arms around her, easily encompassing her waist and then she was pressed firmly

to his chest, their wet bodies colliding.

He slid his cheek over the swell of her breast and when he got to the nipple, he sucked it gently

between his teeth, giving it an experimental tug. When she moaned, he sucked harder, finding a rhythm

that was destined to drive her insane.

She wiggled in his arms, against his body. She was slick but he held her tightly, not allowing any

space between them.

Never lifting his mouth from her breast, he moved one of his hands down to the juncture of her legs,

where she cradled his cock against her pussy. The other arm remained firmly around her, anchoring

her so she couldn’t move.

His fingers brushed across super-sensitive skin, flicking ever so lightly over her clit as he went

seeking lower, finding her entrance before toying with it. Circling, teasing, inserting barely the tip of

his finger inside before retreating.

She palmed his shoulders and then curled her fingers into the muscles in his back. Her nails dug

into his skin, but he didn’t protest. He kept sucking at her breast, moving to the other to give it equal

attention.

A deep sigh escaped her. Pleasure was liquid silver in her veins, spreading to every part of her

body. Never had she imagined being pleasured in a tub full of suds and hot water. It felt sinful and so

very naughty. Deliciously so.

Fairy tale. Definitely a fantasy. Some bizarre alternate reality because things like this did not

happen in Bethany Willis’s life. They never had. Never would. But it was nice to live the dream just

for a while. As long as it lasted.

In this dream, she was wanted. She was desirable. She and Jace were equals. There wasn’t an

overwhelming disparity in their lives, their statuses. She fit into his world. She
belonged.

The last made her chest ache even as Jace slid two fingers deep inside her, causing completely

different parts of her body to ache. His gaze lifted to hers, his eyes piercing and so intense as he

worked deeper into her. He thumbed her clit again before spreading the two fingers, stretching her.

Belong.

She wanted to belong to him. Wanted to believe in something more than one more night on the

streets and the hope that she’d still be alive come morning.

Damn him for making her dream, even for a moment. This wasn’t real. He wasn’t real. She had no

idea what game he played, but she couldn’t let him make her believe. He would break her heart. He

would break
her
.

His fingers slipped deeper and she cried out when he pressed into a point so sensitive that she

nearly came on the spot. She shuddered wildly in his arms and gripped his shoulders tighter. When

she realized her nails were likely breaking the skin, she yanked her hands away.

“Sorry,” she said in a stricken voice.

His arm left her waist long enough for his hand to grip one of hers. He lifted it back to his shoulder,

clamped it down and then he did the same with the other.

“I like it,” he said huskily. “Mark me, baby. Dig those nails deep. I love the way they get sharper

when you experience pleasure.”

She closed her eyes and threw back her head when he slipped deep with his fingers again,

caressing the slick walls of her pussy. He found her G-spot again and exerted just the right amount of

pressure.

Her thighs spasmed and she went weak, but he held her close, supporting her as she leaned her

forehead against his.

“Wonder how fast I can get you off,” he murmured. “You’re so fucking responsive. So

hypersensitive. Every time I touch you, you do this sexy little shiver that makes me crazy. Your

nipples pucker and become so hard that all I want to do is spend the night sucking them.”

She gave a full-body shiver at the husky, naughty words murmured so close to her mouth. He

smiled. Smug and beautiful. So damn cocky but so damn gorgeous that it made her weak.

“Yeah, baby. Just like that.”

His thumb stroked her clit, adding the perfect amount of pressure as his fingers continued to glide

through her wetness. His teeth grazed her nipple, toying, teasing, and then he sucked hard, tugging

strongly.

“Jace,” she whispered.

It was all she could manage to say. His name. Her anchor.

Her hands left his shoulders and went to his hair, diving into the unruly strands. She loved the

messy, dark look he wore. He had beautiful hair. She curled her fingers into the silky mass and

gripped so tightly she could swear she’d pull him bald.

She rose up from the suds, water cascading down her body as she rode his fingers.

“That’s it. Ride my hand, baby. Come for me.”

She fidgeted and ground downward, wanting, needing more. She cupped the back of his head,

holding him against her breast as he sucked and nipped at her nipple. Each time he bit into the

puckered crest, a liquid bolt of pleasure seared through her veins like fire.

“My baby likes that,” he said, lust and approval thick in his voice.

Oh yeah. She liked it all right.

Her release rose sharply. So fast it left her breathless and straining, her entire body so tight it was

painful. She bucked upward and then back down, her body frantically seeking ultimate satisfaction.

She felt pulled in a dozen different directions. His mouth, his hands, his body. He was everywhere

all at once. She was drowning in pleasure. Awash in pure sinful sensations.

His thumb pressed over her clit and then did a tight roll. He kept rubbing in a taut, circular motion.

Her breath hiccupped and then she held it, a cry escaping.

“That’s it,” he said in a gentle voice. But his next words contradicted that gentleness. Gruff.

Authoritative. Demanding obedience. “Come for me, Bethany. Let go
now
.”

She was helpless to hold on. His words washed over her, snapping that rigid tension building and

coiling low in her belly. It ricocheted through her body with enough force to completely shake her.

She spasmed against him and slid down his body, her head falling to his shoulder.

He caught her, holding her so she didn’t fall farther into the water. She buried her face in his neck,

sucking in deep breaths as her chest heaved against his. She bucked and writhed as his fingers did

their magic. Never had she had such an explosive orgasm from a man’s hand. Everything about Jace

unhinged her. She had no control around him.

For the longest moment, he held her, rubbing his hand up and down her back as she breathed into

his neck. Weak, shaking, completely wrung out. She was wrecked. So limp she didn’t have a prayer

of holding herself up.

He dipped his head down to kiss and nibble at her shoulder, sending chill bumps racing down her

back.

“I need to get you out and dried off. You’re getting cold.”

“’Kay,” she mumbled.

He eased her off and back, water lapping up her arms as he settled her across from him. Then he

rose and she let out a sound of appreciation as she saw his rigid erection straining upward. Engorged

and tight. She licked her lips, unaware she’d done so until she caught Jace’s expression as he stared

down at her.

“For God’s sake, baby,” he said hoarsely.

She blinked and gazed up at him innocently. “What?”

He growled low in his throat. “Tease.”

She smiled as he got out of the tub and reached for one of the towels folded on the counter.

Even though he’d gone in to work, he’d taken the time to ensure she was taken care of. There’d

been a steady parade of delivery people through her apartment bearing food, toiletries, household

supplies, linens. Things she wouldn’t have even thought of. But Jace had.

She shook her head. The man was freaking perfect. Did he have any faults? Well, besides his

bossiness, his take-charge attitude, the fact that he’d basically kidnapped her and he wouldn’t take no

for an answer.

The more she thought on those supposed faults, the more she thought they weren’t faults at all.

Jace wrapped a towel around his waist and then reached down for her hand. He held another towel

in his other hand and when he pulled her to her feet and helped her step from the tub, he enveloped

her in its warmth.

He quickly dried her and then arranged the towel around her so she’d be warm before leading her

into the bedroom.

“You in the mood for anything in particular tonight?” he asked.

There was a small overnight bag by the bed and he reached down, pulling out underwear and a

change of clothes. She saw he had jeans and a T-shirt. Definitely casual. She mentally went over the

contents of her new wardrobe. She had a blingy pair of jeans and a gorgeous turtleneck with a

cardigan and scarf that would be casual but still looked nice. And boots. She had a beautiful pair of

fur-lined boots that would look awesome with the jeans.

“Finger foods,” she said before thinking better of it. Then she flushed. Jace hardly looked the type

who went for cheap finger foods. He was more a caviar kind of guy. Expensive steaks, expensive cuts

of meat she couldn’t even pronounce and dishes with sauces she also couldn’t pronounce.

But he went on like he didn’t notice her gaffe. “There’s a place not too far from here. Ash and I

took Mia not so long ago. It’s a pub that serves terrific appetizer-type foods. The nachos are good.

They have burgers, wings, all the usual suspects.”

Her mouth watered. “That sounds utterly perfect. Can we go?”

He smiled and pulled her into his arms. “You get dressed and I’ll take you.”

chapter eighteen

Jace sat in his office, completely distracted by his thoughts. There was a pile of notes from

Eleanor, the receptionist, of calls he had to return. E-mails to respond to. Financials to study. He had

a videoconference in forty-five minutes, but his concentration was shot.

He hated that he’d put Bethany up in a separate apartment. At the time, it had seemed like the right

thing to do. He hadn’t wanted to overwhelm her. He knew he had to move slow—or at least slower—

or risk frightening her away. Because he knew the minute she moved into his apartment, into his

space, into his bed, it was all over.

So here he was, having installed her into Mia’s old apartment knowing damn well he wasn’t going

to spend any time apart from her—only what he had to in order to get his work done and fulfill his

obligations. But if having her own apartment gave her a semblance of power and at least the guise of

having a choice, then he could deal. Because he knew she had neither power nor choice. She was his.

Belonged to him. That didn’t change because she had the appearance of independence.

He was biding his time, waiting for the right opening to make his move. And then she was

completely and utterly his. And he’d be damned if they spent any time apart.

The last week had been a hell of sorts. He was living out of an overnight bag, spending his nights in

Mia’s old apartment because it was where Bethany was. He had a routine of sorts, where he left her

in the mornings with Kaden and Trevor and then dismissed them when he arrived in the afternoons.

But at least she was safe and watched over. Until he had her firmly ensconced in his own apartment,

he wouldn’t rest easy.

A soft knock sounded at his door and he looked up to see his sister standing hesitantly in the

doorway, her gaze wary. She was likely studying his mood, and if Ash was right, she had reason to