Flawed Beauty (15 page)

Chapter 5

The
next couple of weeks settled into a routine of sorts. Tate and
Jace
managed to spend most every night together, either at
his place or at hers when he wasn’t working. Since his roommate’s return,
they’d spent every night at her apartment. Together they’d christened every
area of her apartment: the bed, the shower, the kitchen table; and even against
the railing at the top of the stairs. She’d learned to turn a blind eye when he
brought food into the house. He’d even brought his laptop over because he
needed to be able to check his emails, he’d said. But she knew it was because
she’d broken hers. At least he hadn’t run out and bought her a new one. She
could live with borrowing his.

The weekends were the hardest – not
the weekends so much, as watching the women fawn all over her gorgeous man. And
now that he’d made passionate love to her, she wanted him only to herself. Hard
as she tried not to, she felt very… territorial over him. He was very careful
with his dealings with the opposite sex, but it still nagged at her. He had a
lot of screaming women vying for his attention, how could she possibly compete?

It was Saturday night, the bar was
closed, and they were sitting together at the bar, sharing a drink. They were
in a celebration of sorts as they were both off the next day. He leaned over
and began to whisper into her ear all the wicked things he was going to do to
her once they reached upstairs. She giggled in delight and turning quickly, she
pounded her drink and said goodnight to everyone. He laughed as she tugged him
to his feet. She felt for the first time like the twenty-one-year-old she was…
she was happy;
he
made her happy.

The sun was streaming through the
curtains when she forced her eyes open. It’d been a late night.
Jace
was snuggled up against her naked flesh and she lay
very still, enjoying the sensation of just being beside him – normally, either
one or both had to be up and moving. She liked the way her hair blew against
her cheek when he exhaled in his sleep. It all seemed so… normal, sleeping in
together on a Sunday.

As she tried to ease from the bed,
he snaked his arms around her and drew her back. “And where do you think you’re
going?” he rasped groggily.

“To put on the coffee.”

He paused as he contemplated his
specific needs. “Okay, put the coffee on, but come right back.”

She scurried from the bed, put on
the coffee, and returned to find
Jace
getting
dressed.

Frowning, she asked, “And where are
you going, cowboy?”

“The hospital called. I’m sorry, but
I’ve got to go in. This is what happens when you date a doctor,” he said with a
grin.

Disappointment flooded her, but she
didn’t want to make him feel bad about having to go to work. Sidling up to him,
she allowed her housecoat to fall open as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
He groaned as he slid his hands around her middle then down to cup her bottom.

“God, I want you,” he muttered
against her mouth.

“Take me,” she whispered, “quick!”

She giggled once more when, ten
minutes later, he was running around getting redressed. He leaned down and gave
her a quick kiss before darting out the door.

He returned and stuck his head in
the door. “Don’t forget, we’re having dinner with Sean tonight. I don’t know
how late I’ll have to work, so I’ll call you when I’m on my way here.”

He left once more and disappointment
swept through her when she heard the apartment door close. “My prince is gone,”
she moaned.

The day dragged miserably without
Jace
. Tate felt cheated. She felt that her most precious
commodity,
Jace’s
time, had been stolen from her. She
threw herself into her old leather chair when she got a text from
Jace
saying he had to work another shift. He begged her not
to be mad, but promised dinner with Sean the next night. He said he’d call when
he got off work the next day.

Monday came with its promised rain.
It suited her mood. It bothered her how much her life was tied up with Dr.
Jace
Staton
. She almost wished he
had a different job, like a stockbroker or banker – anything that would allow
her more time with him.

On her way home, she stopped by her
post office box to collect her mail. Her box was crammed full, as she’d not
checked it in nearly two weeks. Outside of bills, there was never any urgency
to check the box. Upon entering the apartment, she threw the mail on the table
and went to change for dinner with
Jace
and Sean.
She’d never met
Jace’s
roommate and was a little
uncertain. She wanted Sean to like her, but she was also resentful of having to
share what precious little time she had with
Jace
with anyone. She was selfish and she knew it.

Once dressed, she returned to the
kitchen and poured a glass of the orange juice
Jace
kept stocked in her fridge. Idly, she sorted her mail; circulars in one stack
and bills in the other. She was surprised to see an envelope with
Hallmark
stamped across the back. There was no return address on the outside. Her
immediate thought was
Jace
had sent it. With a smile
on her lips, she tore open the envelope and slipped out the card. It was
lavender with yellow roses winding up a trellis.
Happy Birthday!
It
proclaimed.  She’d nearly forgotten it was in two days. She’d be
twenty-two – most of the time, she felt years beyond that. How had
Jace
found out? She’d never mentioned it. She didn’t like
celebrating her birthday, not since she’d turned the magical age of thirteen.

Flipping the card open, she watched
a one hundred dollar bill float down to the table.
What
the hell
?
She glanced down at the signature and froze momentarily. Blinking rapidly, she
skipped the printed section of the card and went to the personal handwritten
words:

Sorry it’s been so long. Can’t
believe it’s been another year already. Send me a line when you can.
Do
something fun for your birthday… that’s an order, young
lady. Take care of yourself. Love, Alan.

With a touch of melancholy, she
smiled at the words. Alan Tracey, the only person, outside of
Jace
who’d ever really given a damn about her. But in the
end, he’d thrown her away just as surely as her own father had. While he’d not
been to blame for the chain of events Nick had put into play, he’d not stood up
for her – protected her as he’d promised.

Tate didn’t know how long she sat
staring off into the distance, but jumped when her
cellphone
buzzed at six o’clock –
Jace
calling to say he was on
his way.
Jace
reminded her of Alan. He was strong and
kind and made her feel special… worthwhile, even. Would he, like Alan, toss her
aside? Most likely, she thought.

When he arrived at her door, her
heart constricted in her chest.
He looked so tired and worn, and there were dark circles under his eyes. She
reached up and ran her fingertips over his tired features.

“Long day?”

“Too many late nights, I’m afraid. I
may have to leave the band. I’m not a teenager anymore. I can’t burn the candle
at both ends like I used to,” he lamented.

Secretly, she would be happy if he
left the band, except she’d probably never see him.

“Do you want to cancel for tonight?
We can always have dinner with Sean some other time.”

“No, we hardly ever get to go out.
Besides, I want to show off my girlfriend to my best friend. Kind of rub his
face in it that I’ve snagged such a young
hottie
,” he
grinned.

Her heart leapt at his “girlfriend”
comment. It made her feel as if she belonged to him – a part of something with
him.

Running her hands up under his
striped linen button-down shirt, she whispered into his neck, “Oh yes. You’re
such an old, decrepit man. Don’t know how I stand to look at you,” she said as
she licked up his ear.

He grabbed her and crushed her to
his chest and kissed her senseless.

Murmuring against his lips, she
whispered, “Take me now, I beg you.”

“Told you, you would be begging me
before it was over,” he grinned. “Now, get your things and let’s go. We’ll make
nice, eat quick, and then we’ll come back here and I’ll ravish you until you
beg me to stop.
Deal?”

She groaned her disappointment.
“Deal,” she muttered.

They met Sean at a Mexican restaurant
called,
Taco Rios
. It was loud, colorful, and had margaritas as big as
your head.
Jace
and Tate wisely agreed to share a
mango flavored one. Dinner with Sean Devlin was fun. Tate could easily see why
the two would be friends. They shared a lot of the same interests and both had
a strong creative side. Sean had jet-black hair and nearly black eyes. He was
as nice-looking as
Jace
, but in a more hard-edged
way. Being as he was also a doctor, Tate was surprised to see tattoos covering
both of his upper arms. On one was a cobra, which seemed to wrap its body
around his arm with a mammoth head and yellow fangs. On the other, he had a
Harley Davidson motorcycle heading off into the sunset on old Route 66.

Pointing to his tattoo of the
Harley, she asked, “Do you ride?”

“Not as often as I’d like. The only
chance I ever get to ride is when I make the trek back home.”

“
Ahh
.
Where’s home?” she asked.

“In a little town that I’m sure
you’ve never heard of in Tennessee.”

“Sweetwater?”

Sean lifted his eyebrows in surprise.
“I didn’t know you and
Jace
spent so much of your
time discussing little
ol
’ me,” he jested.

She grinned. “We don’t. I just
happened to be admiring your photos on the bookcase and saw the one taken at
the Lost Sea.”

“Oh yeah.
My family likes to go there a lot.
It’s a pretty neat place. You ever
been?”

“No, never been anywhere in
Tennessee. What is the Lost Sea?”

“It’s listed as the second largest
underground lake in the world. I think the largest is in Africa. The Lost Sea
is all part of the Craighead Caverns. If you ever get to New York and visit the
American Museum of Natural History, you’ll see the bones of this magnificent
Pleistocene jaguar, which is touted to be nearly 20,000 years old. It was
discovered in the caverns. You should go sometime. It’s well worth the trip. “

“Did you ever take any pictures
inside the caverns?” she asked.

“Tons and tons.”

“I’d like to see them sometime. It
sounds like a really interesting place.”

Waggling his brows at her, he said,
“Oh yes, come to my bedroom anytime and I’ll show you my etchings,” he joked.

“I think not,”
Jace
countered with a laugh.

“Are you allowed to swim there?”

“No. I’m not sure if I’d want to
even if you could. It’s so deep, I’d be afraid of what could be lurking down
there. Might be monsters and goblins, oh my,” he said with an infectious grin.

Jace
brought her fingertips up to his
lips and kissed them lightly as he drove through the city en route to her
apartment.

“I think Sean might like you a
little too much. I might need to keep my eye on you two,” he teased.

Staring at his profile under the
passing lights, she smiled. “I don’t care who Sean likes, I only care who you
like.”

“Isn’t it obvious? I like you,” he
said, flashing her with his white-toothed smile.

Her smile faltered a little.
But
would you if you knew the real me
?

Her smile dropped further the next
day at lunchtime, when, while still at school, she received a text from him:

 
Have to work a couple back
to back shifts for the next two days. It’ll be Thursday before I’ll get a
break.
Will stop by Zeal’s at the end of your shift then.
Okay?

She texted back:
Okay, I’ll miss
you.

She exhaled heavily. She was glad
she had to work or she’d go crazy without his presence. The day seemed to lose
some of its luster. Well, at least she’d be able to catch up on some of the
sleep she’d been missing.

She woke fifteen minutes before her
shift and had to dress quickly and run down the stairs, throwing her curly hair
up into an elastic band as she rushed. She must have been more tired than she
realized. She reached the back door at the same time as the DJ, Nelson Gray.
Zeal’s offered a live band on Friday and Saturday nights only. Nelson Gray
provided the music for all other nights. He reminded Tate of an aged hippie
with his long grey hair held back in a ponytail like hers. He wore round shades
with black lenses inside gold frames. Tate wasn’t sure why, but he made her
uncomfortable and she tried to avoid him whenever she could.