Say You'll Never Love Me (34 page)

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Want to find out about Jared before he met Raynie? He first appeared in his brother’s story,
TELL ME A SECRET.

Here’s a sneak peek.

Chapter One

According to scientific studies, Maggie knew even good girls got aroused by bad boys. The personification of that research, Jace Sloan, strutted into the campus library with the confidence of a peacock, leaving a trail of pheromones to settle on every coed in the room. A wave of whispers circulated, each female mesmerized by his imaginary plumage.

She surveyed his approach. He appeared to shift into slow motion, his stride lyrical, as if shuffling to a soulful beat leaving no doubt as to why girls found him irresistible. He looked as if he could take you to hell, and you’d enjoy the trip. Leaner than the men in her fantasies, he had the same blue eyes and dark hair, and a small paper-thin scar on his chin made him just dangerous enough.

Drumming fingers in rhythm with her throbbing headache, she glanced at her watch. Thirty minutes late as expected. This wasn’t her first experience with a college jock. Sophomore year, she’d tutored Texas Tech’s star quarterback, and what a jerk he turned out to be. But this time, Dr. Adams assured her it would be different. Apparently, the professor made a mistake.

At least she was sitting in one of her favorite buildings, surrounded by the comforting scent of books. Technology was great, but holding a hardcover, the pages and words transporting her to places she dreamed about, made her happy.

A strand of unruly hair fell into her eyes and she puffed it away, then slid her glasses up on her nose and decided to look on the bright side. Given Jace’s reputation, he’d never stick with tutoring and she’d be off the hook. Besides, helping a self-centered pretty boy pass anatomy was the last thing she wanted to do.

“Maggie Fielding?” He looked sure of himself, and she felt uneasy. “I’m sorry I’m late. My truck had a flat.”

Motioning for him to take a seat, she checked the time again and frowned. “I understand, but I also have to study, so try to be on time.”

His grin disappeared. He grabbed the chair across from her, spun it around and straddled the seat like he was doing it a favor.

She got right to the point. “There’s a technique that may help you. Do you know what a mnemonic is?”

“No. Sorry.”

“I’m sure you do, just not the word for it. You use the initials of words to help memorize information. For instance, to name the cranial bones, we’d use, Old People From Texas Eat Spiders. Old would be occipital, People would be parietal, From would be frontal, and so on. Get it?”

“Yeah.” His answer came out warm enough to raise the temperature in the room. It elevated hers and she scolded herself.

“If you agree with the method, that’s what we’ll use.”

Before he answered, Maggie caught sight of a curvaceous blonde wearing a halter top slightly larger than a baby’s bib. When she reached Jace, Booby-babe leaned down, planted palms flat on the table and provided him a clear, full view. A necklace with the number ten-and-a-half escaped from between bulging breasts and dangled in mid-air. Maggie thought how horrifying it’d be if every girl wore a numeric rating, realizing hers would be a five, at best.

The girl handed him a note and whispered, “Are we still on for Friday night?”

“You bet.”

“Well, here’s my number just in case you lost it.”

The bottle blonde retreated with long fluid steps, the sway of her hips enough to tempt any man. Maggie wished her own butt looked that good in jeans. Shaking the notion from her head, she gave attention back to her new student.

He stuffed the note in his shirt pocket as if nothing had happened. “Yeah, that’ll work.”

“Okay, here are some test cards.” She shoved them toward him. “I’ll quiz you on them next Monday.”

He shuffled through the deck, then arranged them in a neat stack with the same enthusiasm as the card with Blondie’s phone number.

Across the room, another young woman headed their way, boobs jiggling, bleached curls bouncing with each step. Maggie expected her to throw hands in the air and lead a cheer.

“Hey, Carla,” he said.

Miss Perky Perfect tossed her hair and beamed at him. “After the other night, I expected to hear from you.”

“Sorry, I’ve been busy. You know, practice, studying.” He gestured toward Maggie, then lowered his voice. “I promise I’ll call you later.”

She eyed Maggie with a what’s-he-doing-with-you glare and walked away.

God, what’s with all these blondes and their double-D-dumplings? Maggie rounded her shoulders and tried to disappear into her B-cups. From the looks of both girls, Jace preferred cookie cutter Barbies.

Maggie sucked in a deep breath and frowned again. Gathering her books, she shoved them into her backpack and attempted to look unconcerned. An old familiar burn started in the pit of her stomach, rose to her chest and squeezed the air from her lungs. A sensation she’d not experienced since age sixteen while crushing over Daniel Radcliffe in a Harry Potter Marathon Movie weekend. She swallowed the knot in her throat. “We’re done for tonight. As I explained in the email, this was a meet and greet. I’m doing this as a favor to your professor, so if you can manage to be on time next Monday, we’ll have a regular session.”

Jace stood and leveled an incandescent gaze. “I’ll try not to let it happen again. You want me to walk you to your car?”

She tried to match his stare, but couldn’t pull it off, so as a diversion, she rummaged in her purse, produced a business card and snapped it toward him. “Well, in case you have another flat, here’s my number. I’d appreciate a call.” She slung her bag over her shoulder. “And no, I don’t need an escort.”

He accepted the card and stuffed it in his jeans pocket. “No problem.”

She walked away.

~~*~~

At nine fifteen, Maggie dropped her backpack onto the floor and strolled into the kitchen. Still upset about her new student, she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and downed half of it in one gulp. She’d watched him play football plenty of times but had never taken a close look until she’d googled him. Roommate Sarah Henderson interrupted her thoughts.

“So what’s your opinion of Jace?”

“Not much.”

“Whataya mean?”

“I mean, I wasn’t surprised. He came in late and made an excuse, but I’d be willing to bet he was with a groupie.” Maggie slid the band from her ponytail and shook it loose. “I admit he’s gorgeous. As a matter of fact, he’s the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.” She stared into space and spoke in a far off voice. “He’s like a box of candy—and every girl in the room wanted a piece.” She snapped from her trance. “It was pathetic.”

“Come on, Maggie, just because your mother sucked at the choices she made doesn’t mean every man in the world is a jerk. But in this case, Jace is a charmer, so you should be careful.”

Maggie walked past her into the living room, plopped onto the sofa and folded her feet under her hips. She took another swig of water, then held the bottle as if toasting. “He’s not my type.”

Sarah broke into a full laugh. “My God, you’ve been on three dates in your entire life. I’m not sure you know what your type is, or if you even have a type.”

Maggie grimaced. Sarah was right. She didn’t have any experience with men in the dating arena for sure and not many role models. “From the looks of fans who came over to talk, unless I have gargantuan breasts and big-bar hair, I should have said I’m

not his type.”

Her friend crossed her legs Indian style and Maggie expected a lecture, but instead, Sarah said, “Sam tells me Jace has never had a long-term relationship. He sleeps with a girl a few times, and he’s done. That pretty much makes him a manwhore. Will the interruptions be a problem?”

“Not for long. While I waited, I made a decision.” She finished off the water, replaced the lid and picked at the label. Sarah’s warning wasn’t necessary. Maggie realized the moment she saw Jace, he’d be trouble. “I’ll meet with him a couple more times and call it quits. That should satisfy Dr. Adams. I agreed to try tutoring and made it clear if Mr. Football Superstar didn’t apply himself, I’d end it.” She wadded a piece of the label into a small ball and rolled it between her fingers. “For the record, I can already tell. Jace Sloan will be a total waste of my time.”

~~*~~

In three long strides, Jace crossed the room and dropped his bag onto the floor, still thinking of Maggie. She was a strange one. All business.

His roommate, Sam Morgan glanced up from his book. “Hey man, you’re cutting it kind of close to curfew. How was the tutor?”

“Plain with a brain.” He sat on the edge of the bed and retrieved his notes.

“Definitely not your usual sort.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You don’t go for the smart ones and you seem a little pissed. What’s wrong? She wasn’t dazzled by your charm?”

The dorm reeked of dirty socks and burly football players. He toed out of his boots. “We got off to a bad start. I showed up late. It went downhill from there.”

“How come? You left in plenty of time.”

“Yeah, well, I stopped by the store where the new cheerleader works.” “How was she?”

“Flexible. Very flexible.”

Sam grinned and widened his eyes and Jace knew he wanted details, but he wasn’t in the mood.

“I guess it’s a good thing teacher isn’t hot. At least you’ll be able to keep your mind on the subject and out of her pants.”

“I said plain, not ugly.” He wasn’t about to admit his new tutor didn’t seem to be impressed with him. He tapped the index cards on his leg, then flipped through them.

“She’s got wild red hair and beautiful green eyes, but she had on sweats two sizes too big, so I couldn’t tell much about her body.”

“What’s her name?”

“Maggie.”

Sam’s brows rose. He put his book down and plastered on a smug grin. “Maggie Fielding?”

“You know her?”

“Hell yeah. I can’t believe Sarah didn’t mention this. She lives with Maggie.” Sam reared back in the chair and folded his arms across his broad chest. “Oh man, this is too good.”

“If Sarah lives with her, then why haven’t I ever met Maggie?”

“She doesn’t have a social life. Studies or works all the time. She does come to the games when she can, but that’s about it.”

“From the way she looked, I can understand that.”

Sam grinned. “You’d better take notice, bro. Maggie’s a dancer, so under those baggy clothes, she’s hot. I’m talking smokin’ hot.”

“Maybe so, but tonight, she didn’t dress to impress, if you know what I mean.” Jace cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. It was unlike him not to notice the potential in a woman. But with all the attention from the other girls, Maggie faded into the background. “What kind of dancer?”

“That ballroom crap. She and Sarah take the same class. They’ve got a recital in a few weeks. You should go.” Sam laughed again.

“What’s so funny?” “The two of you together. The stud and the virgin.”

“What the hell do you mean?” “Hey, I got the inside scoop and the virgin princess has never been laid.”

Jace leaned forward. The word virgin hadn’t been in his vocabulary for years except in a biblical sense. “What is it, a religious thing?”

“Not sure. Sarah said she’s not interested in dating.”

“Hell, is she a lesbian?”

“Naw. It has something to do with her mother. I don’t know the whole story.”

“Well, when I first got there, I fantasized about taking the band from her hair and running my fingers through it.” He moved to his desk, scooted out the chair and sat. Sarah had probably told Maggie plenty concerning his reputation which explained his tutor’s cold reception.

“Damn man. Is there any woman you don’t want to have sex with?”

“Yeah. Sarah.”

“Well, thanks for that.”

Jace stood, removed his shirt and draped it over the back of his chair. The note from the ten-and-a-half blonde fell out of the pocket. He reached for the phone, punched in the number, and when she answered, he said, “Hey, you want to get together tomorrow night?”

An hour later, he lay wide awake still thinking of the earlier meeting. So they’d gotten off on the wrong foot. He could fix that. No doubt he’d screw her and although patience wasn’t his strong suit, he was up for the challenge.

Sam came back into the room finishing a call. “Yeah, I love you too, baby. Bye.”

Jace rolled up on an elbow. This was an opportunity he couldn’t pass. “What did Sarah say?”

“Nothing.”

“C’mon, what’d she say?”

“Oh, you mean what did Maggie tell Sarah about you?”

He hated Sam having the upper hand. “Cut it out, man.”

“Damn, this is funny. You’ve finally met a girl who doesn’t wet her panties over you, and you can’t stand it.”

“Hey, I’m stuck with her, and I’ve got an advantage. The least you can do is tell me what she said.

“Well, she didn’t buy your flat tire story and she thinks you’re a friggin’ box of candy.”

“What?”

“Yeah, that’s right. You’re a box of chocolates and every girl wanted a piece. Sorry bro, in spite of your sweetness, your days are numbered.”

He stiffened. “Whataya mean?”

“I’m saying she’s going to meet with you a couple more times and then cut you loose. Plans on telling Dr. Adams it isn’t working.”