Fever (8 page)

hard as he’d taken hers.

Breathless, frantic, hot. Their tongues rolled and clashed, their lips arching and molding against

each other.

Her cry was sharp, echoing across the room. Her head flew back, her breasts arched forward. She

closed her eyes and let out another cry as she went liquid around him, her release catapulting Jace to

his own.

He followed her, his own cry mixing with hers. He vaguely heard Ash’s growl and then the entire

bed shook as Ash pounded into her ass, forcing her forward onto Jace’s chest.

Jace caught her, wrapping his arms tightly around her, holding her as Ash drove into her over and

over. She nuzzled into his neck and hung on to him as if she feared falling. And then Ash went still,

his face showing agonizing strain. He leaned over, his chest pressed against Bethany’s back, and the

three lay there, quiet, shaking, still quivering in the aftermath of explosive orgasms.

Holy fuck but Jace felt turned inside out. He’d come so hard, it had felt as though every ounce of

liquid in his body had been ejaculated into that condom. He’d never resented a condom so much in his

life. He wanted to come inside Bethany. Feel her squeezing every drop of semen from his cock.

He reached up for a lock of hair, toying idly with it as he attempted to regain control of his

shattered senses. He wasn’t sure what the fuck had gone on here exactly. All he knew was that

Bethany was a complete game changer.

She lay over his chest, sandwiched between the two men. Her eyes were closed and her chest

heaved as she struggled for breath. Ash uttered a groan and then finally levered up, pressed a kiss to

Bethany’s shoulder and then he slipped from her ass, alleviating the intense pressure around Jace’s

cock, which was still buried in Bethany’s pussy.

She moaned softly and Jace immediately wrapped his arms around her, covering the bare expanse

of her back now that Ash was gone.

“I’m wasted,” Ash said. “Long day, long evening. I’m going to leave you two to it and crash in the

other bedroom.”

Jace nodded, relieved. Ash never did stay after. He never slept with the women. He fucked them

and then left them to Jace. Not that Jace typically indulged in cuddle time either, but he at least shared

a bed with their partners afterward.

But he made no move to separate himself from Bethany. He liked the feel of her surrounding him.

He was still hard even after the mind-numbing orgasm, and he also knew he should pull out soon

before the condom leaked or broke under the strain, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Not yet. He

wanted a few more moments of her in his arms, her limp, warm body cuddled sweetly into his.

She stirred against him and he stroked her hair, kissing her forehead as she fluttered around him.

God, but she was making him even harder.

“Need to take care of the condom,” he said.

When she would have lifted herself off him, he wrapped his arms around her and rolled so she was

beneath him. Then he eased from her pussy, regretting every inch he lost of her.

Her eyes were a mixture of sleepy and confused, almost as if she couldn’t quite process what had

just taken place. That made two of them. He had no idea what the hell had happened. He could safely

say he’d never felt so . . .
possessive
. . . over a woman, much less one he’d only met a few hours ago

and one he knew nothing about.

It was a situation he’d remedy immediately.

His nature was to control. To come in, take over. It was what he wanted now. It was his first

instinct. To lay down the law, inform Bethany that she was his and that he’d take care of her now.

There were several problems with that and they buzzed heavily in his mind as he rose from the bed,

tore off the condom and disposed of it. Not bothering with his underwear, he crawled back onto the

bed and pulled Bethany into his arms before reaching down to pull the covers over both of them.

He didn’t want to scare the hell out of her and he had a very good idea that she wasn’t like other

women. She was different. Somehow more fragile. The last thing he wanted was to push her too hard

and scare her away.

The other problem was . . . Ash. What the hell to do about his best friend? A friend he shared

everything with and had never had a problem sharing a woman with.

Never again would he share Bethany with Ash.

He closed his eyes, inhaling her sweet scent as he surrounded her with him, with his touch. Hell,

who was he fooling? It wasn’t that he was surrounding her with him. No, he was surrounding himself

with . . .
her
.

He sighed, knowing that this wasn’t going to be easy. It was likely going to be messy as hell. He’d

talk with Ash in the morning. Let his friend know how he felt and go from there. He had no idea how

Ash would respond. It wasn’t as if this had ever come up between them. They were always so in tune

with each other. Jace had never had to worry that he would tire of a woman before Ash or vice versa.

Or that he’d want a woman Ash wouldn’t. They were in sync. Their bond went deeper than simple

friendship.

Only now, things had changed in a huge way. Ash was his friend. His brother. As close to him as

Mia. And yet for the first time, Jace sought to cut him out of the picture. He wanted no part of Ash

when it came to Bethany. And that was fucked up. He knew it was fucked up. But it didn’t change a

damn thing.

He just hoped to hell that Ash would understand. He had to.

He glanced down at Bethany, knowing he’d been quiet. He’d said nothing to her since Ash had left,

other than he had to take care of the condom. Not exactly romantic.

Fuck it all. He was worried about being romantic?

He shouldn’t have worried. Bethany was sound asleep, her eyelashes resting gently on her cheeks.

He sucked in his breath at how beautiful—and vulnerable—she looked. He was instantly assailed by

a fierce surge of protectiveness that defied explanation.

Whatever this was between them, it wasn’t going away. It was here, tangible and solid. Now he

just had to figure out how to play this out, because when morning came, he was not letting her go.

chapter six

Jace came awake with none of the sharpness he usually possessed. He was a habitual early riser.

He didn’t even own an alarm clock. He woke every morning at the same time no matter whether it

was a workday or not.

This morning, however, he roused reluctantly, his body loose and sated, contentment slogging

through his veins. He reached automatically for Bethany, wanting the feel of her skin beneath his

fingers.

Finding only an empty spot, he frowned and came more fully awake, rising up on his elbow to stare

at the very vacant space next to him. The only evidence she’d been there was the indented pillow,

though she’d spent the majority of the night with her head nestled on his shoulder, her body curled into

his side.

How the hell had Bethany gotten out of bed without him knowing it? He shook his head and threw

his legs over the edge of the mattress. He pushed upward, stretching as he went in search of her.

He ambled into the living room of the suite, rubbing his hand over his nape and up into his hair. It

was completely silent. And empty.

His gaze went to the closed door of the second bedroom just across the living room and he was

struck by the thought that it was very possible Bethany was inside that room. In bed with Ash. He

clenched his fists and inhaled sharply. He strode across the distance and hesitated once he reached

the door, his hand hovering over the handle.

The very last thing he wanted to see was Bethany in Ash’s arms. Rage sizzled hot in his blood. He

sucked in several breaths in an attempt to get control. His hand tightened around the handle to the door

until his knuckles were white.

He gave the handle a sharp twist and pushed inward, his eyes immediately seeking the bed. His

gaze narrowed and his brows came together when he saw Ash sprawled on the bed. Alone. No sign

of Bethany anywhere.

Ash stirred and his eyes opened. His head lifted, and he scowled when he saw Jace.

“Is the hotel on fire?”

Jace didn’t answer and Ash’s head flopped back onto the pillow.

“No? Then go the fuck back to bed and leave me the hell alone,” Ash grumbled. “It’s too goddamn

early.”

“I was looking for Bethany,” Jace said quietly.

Ash’s head came back up, his gaze sharp. “I left her with you, man.”

“She’s not there. She’s not anywhere in the suite.”

Ash pushed himself up to his elbows, the sheets tangling at his waist. “She bail?”

Jace’s lips tightened. “I don’t know. Maybe she just went down for something.”

Ash lifted an eyebrow as if to say he thought Jace was a dumbass. Jace blew out his breath and

turned around to walk back out of Ash’s room.

“Hang on a sec, man, and I’ll help you look,” Ash called.

“I got it.”

Jace’s gaze swept the room again, looking for anything. A clue. Something that told him she’d be

back. When he got back to the bedroom where he and Bethany had slept, he noted this time that none

of her clothing was where it had been tossed the night before. There was nothing that suggested she’d

been here at all.

“Jace, she left a note.”

Ash’s voice drifted to Jace and Jace strode back out of the bedroom to see Ash standing in the

living room in front of the coffee table holding one of the stationery note cards with the hotel logo.

Ash held it out as Jace walked over and reached for it.

Flipping it open, he frowned as he read the feminine cursive that flowed across the surface.

Thank you for a wonderful night and for dinner. You made it special. I’ll never forget it

or you.

—Bethany

“Son of a bitch,” Jace muttered.

He turned away from Ash and then savagely threw the note across the room. It hit the wall and

fluttered downward. She’d left! Without saying a word. Without waking him up. She’d slipped from

his bed and walked away. He didn’t even know her fucking last name. Or where she lived. Or how to

find her.

He’d thought he had time to find out all of those things. He’d planned to learn as much as possible

about her over breakfast. He’d had it all worked out. Breakfast in bed. Spoil her ridiculously. Make

love again, preferably after Ash left. And then let her know in no uncertain terms that they
would
be

seeing each other again.

“What’s the problem, man?” Ash asked quietly.

Jace spun back around. “She’s
gone
. That’s the problem.”

Ash’s lips tightened and he sent an inquisitive look in Jace’s direction. “What, exactly, were you

wanting from this? Another night? Two? Then what? It’s not like we ever do long-term. I realize this

may not have gone the way you wanted, but you have to appreciate the irony of her being the one to

walk away. That’s usually what we do. She made it a hell of a lot easier on us.”

Jace’s teeth ground together, his nostrils flaring as red-hot anger whipped up his spine. It took

every ounce of control not to lash out at his best friend. He exhaled forcefully and then lifted his gaze

to meet Ash’s.

“Yeah. Easier.”

He couldn’t keep the disgust from his tone. Didn’t even care. He turned and stalked back into the

bedroom to get dressed. He yanked on his pants and shirt, not bothering to shower or shave. He had

no idea how long ago Bethany had left and he wanted to make sure he questioned the staff in the lobby

and the doorman.

His mind was already working through his options when he walked back through on his way to the

door.

“Jace?” Ash called.

Jace paused and turned to see Ash still standing in the living room, a troubled expression on his

face.

“What’s going on, man? You’ve acted differently with her from the moment you saw her at the

party. We’ve fucked a lot of women together but last night you didn’t act like you were down with

what we were doing at all.”

“I wasn’t,” Jace said quietly.

“Then why did you do it?”

Jace stared at him a long moment. “Because it’s what I had to do to have her.”

Without waiting for a response, Jace turned and left the room. He got on the elevator and stabbed

the button for the lobby and simmered with impatience as he waited for the doors to close.

Yeah, Ash was going to think he’d lost his fucking mind. Maybe he had. He certainly couldn’t

explain this . . . He didn’t even know what to call
it
. Obsession?

He knew it wasn’t simple lust. He’d experienced that plenty of times. Lust was uninvolved. Lust

was about sex and sating a need. Physical release with no emotional involvement.

And yet how could he possibly think he had an emotional connection to Bethany when he knew

nothing about her?

He stepped off the elevator with purpose. She may have run, but he was damn well going to haul

her back.

Half an hour later, he was ready to put his fist through a wall. After questioning every single

employee who may have seen her, he’d gotten exactly nowhere. The doorman reported seeing her