Touch of Doubt (Law vs. Love Book 2)

Touch of Doubt

Copyright © 2015 Audrey Alexander

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electrical or mechanical means including photocopying, recording, or information storage or retrieval without permission in writing from the author.

Cover design by Bayou Cover Designs

Interior design and layout by Audrey Alexander

Chapter icons made by Freepik

Carrie Simmons stared at the news story on her phone. Madison Holland had been found dead in her apartment on Fifty-Seventh Street, gunshot wound in her head. There’d been no sign of a struggle, and the police had several leads, but the article didn’t say much more than that.

Her heart banged inside her chest. This couldn’t be a coincidence. Madison had been involved in Anders Holland’s death, and it had led to her very own downfall. Carrie was certain of it. She thought back to her own brush with the attacker two nights before and shuddered. This could have been her on the news instead of Madison.

Jace slid back into the bedroom, balancing a coffee mug and a tray packed full of wafting breakfast foods: poached eggs, bacon, spinach, and freshly-toasted bread. The hunger Carrie had felt only moments before had been replaced by a growing sense of dread, and she couldn’t even look at the food, much less dig in like nothing at all was wrong.

Jace must have sensed Carrie’s mood because he put the tray of food on the nightstand and eased onto the bed beside her. He brushed her hair back from her eyes, so gentle she could barely believe it was Jace. “Don’t tell me you’re having doubts again already.”

“No, that’s not it.” Carrie shook her head and handed Jace the phone, watching as he scanned the article to judge his reaction to the news. Even though she hated herself for it, she had to wonder why Jace had wanted to know the address of Madison’s apartment last night. His face remained as cold and closed off as usual, though she caught a slight twitch in his jaw before he handed back the phone.

“What do you make of that?” Carrie asked.

“She was a girl way in over her head,” Jace said, betraying none of his thoughts or emotions. “It’s unfortunate that things had to end this way for her, but I can’t say I’m surprised.”

Carrie raised her eyebrows. “I find it pretty shocking myself.”

“She got involved with a murderer.” Jace stood and retrieved a coffee from the breakfast tray, handing the mug to Carrie. “A murderer who saw you dropping by her fake apartment. It was only a matter of time before they decided she was more of a liability than an asset.”

“Her last name was Holland, Jace.” Carrie gripped her hands around the hot mug, the scent of the strong brew bringing more clarity to her thoughts. “The article doesn’t say it, but I’d bet money that she was related to Anders Holland.”

Jace clenched his jaw before glancing away. He didn’t seem particularly surprised by that news, either. He was hiding something, Carrie was certain of it. No, she didn’t think he was a killer. Jace could never do such a thing. Besides, he never would have had time to make it to Madison’s apartment and back before Carrie arrived at his penthouse last night. But all of that didn’t change the fact he was acting a little strange.

“Is there something you’re not telling me?” Carrie finally asked, shifting on the bed to face him. She was still completely naked, and the sheet fell from her shoulders, drawing Jace’s eyes down to her breasts.

A wicked smile began to play across his lips. “Yes. I forgot to mention that you may need to eat your breakfast cold this morning. By the time I’m done with you, it won’t be warm.”

Carrie’s face went hot, and her thoughts about Madison scattered out of the forefront of her mind. Jace took her warm coffee from her hands and settled it next to the cooling food on the bedside table. Her breath began to quicken, hands tensing around the slick sheets. She knew she shouldn’t stay. She knew she should leave and get ready for work. But Jace was brushing the hair back from her shoulders and drinking in her body with his dark and dangerous eyes, and nothing else seemed to matter anymore.

“Have I ever told you that you’re more beautiful in the morning than at night?” he asked in almost a growl.

Carrie shook her head and felt her body instinctively shift closer to Jace. He reached out and grazed her nipple with his hand. Shivering, Carrie leaned in and pressed her mouth against his, letting her need for him overcome every other thought inside her mind. His mouth moved under her lips, hungry and hard. Gasping, Carrie dug her fingernails into Jace’s arms as he squeezed her nipple, shockwaves of pain and pleasure shaking through her.

Jace pulled away and stood from the bed. Carrie watched as he disappeared into his walk-in closet, his muscles tensing seductively with each step. When he returned a moment later, one of his dark business ties dangled from his fingers.

Carrie’s eyes widened, and her heartbeat picked up pace. “What are you doing?”

“There are some things I want to show you.” Jace moved back in close and pressed his finger under her chin to force her eyes to look into his. “Do you trust me?”

Swallowing hard, Carrie nodded. Jace pointed at the gleaming black headboard just before he pulled the sheet away from the bed, exposing every inch of Carrie’s body. Goosebumps spread across her skin, as much from the chill in the air as from the heat in Jace’s eyes.

“Scoot back and put your hands over your head.”

Carrie did as he commanded, settling back on the pile of pillows and resting her wrists against the headboard. Jace climbed onto the bed, straddling her as he twisted the tie around her wrists. His erection rose to meet her eyes, and with a gasp, she reached out to stroke his cock with her tongue.

Jace groaned and cinched the tie tight. He shifted closer, pressing his cock against Carrie’s lips. She took him deep into her mouth, moving her head as she licked his throbbing length. His hands gripped the headboard, and Carrie couldn’t help but let out a moan as he hardened even more inside her mouth, a wetness spreading between her thighs.

“Carrie,” Jace groaned before pulling away. “Close your eyes.”

Carrie let her eyelids flutter shut, and a moment later, something smooth and cold brushed against her nipple. Thrills spread across her skin from the delicious sensation, and she wriggled on the bed as the coolness rubbed against her breasts again, hardening her nipples until it was almost too much to bear.

She struggled to keep her eyes closed when the cool bead traveled down her belly and slid against her wet sex. Groaning, she arched her back. Jace’s touch quickened, rubbing against her in a delicious rhythm that made her head roar and her ears ring. Just as she was about to reach her climax, the sensation disappeared, leaving her gasping and desperate for more.

She began to open her eyes, but Jace slid his palm over her face. “Keep your eyes shut.”

And then he was inside her, thrusting at a tempo she could barely comprehend. She ached to wrap her arms around him, but the tie held her in place. His cock pulsed inside her, and his hands gripped her hips, leaving Carrie weak to do nothing but let him claim her as his. He took her hard, fast, and rough, and the intensity of his need overwhelmed her own lust.

When his pace quickened, every cell in her body sparked with pleasure. She screamed out his name, shuddering as he met her climax with his own and emptied his seed inside her writhing body.

Panting, he slowed and dropped a kiss onto her nipple. “Carrie Simmons, you’re mine.”

Jace wanted to keep Carrie tied up in his bed for the rest of the day. Or even better, for the rest of the week. But after he’d given her a small taste of things to come, she’d insisted on leaving his bed and going into work for the day. She’d smelled of him as he’d given her a kiss goodbye, making his need for her overcome him all over again. Being tied up had seemed to excite her, and he was looking forward to giving her more where that had come from.

Jace had always enjoyed being in control and taking command, but he’d had his eyes opened to some of the more pleasurable aspects of domination since Carrie had left him three years prior. And he certainly planned on introducing Carrie to his titillating world now that she’d stopped fighting against the passion between them.

He knew he needed to introduce it slowly, in order to ease her into it all. If he pulled out a whip the first time he took control, it might give her a bit of a shock.

But not everything about the morning had been as pleasant as fucking Carrie as hard as he could. There had been that article, of course. Madison Holland, step-daughter of Anders Holland, found dead in her apartment. Someone had shot her in the night.

When Jace had discovered that Madison was a Holland the night before, he had wasted no time in looking into it. A few phone calls and he had his answer. Madison was Anders’s step-daughter, though the marriage to her mother had ended six months before. Madison had never been on Jace’s radar since she’d lived out in California until her recent move to New York, according to his sources.

Jace slid on his suit and exited the penthouse, opting to take the elevator down to the lobby rather than exit through the back as per his usual routine. Ever since the police had highlighted him as a person of interest, Jace had decided a record of his comings and goings might come in handy in case something else happened. Except when it came to Carrie, of course.

Frowning, Jace exited the elevator and stepped out under a canopy of chandeliers. He’d had to keep his investigation hidden from Carrie, of course. If she found out he’d been prying into Madison’s past, she wouldn’t be happy. Not to mention, he didn’t want her to start skulking around people’s apartments again. It was far too dangerous, and he’d do anything to keep her safe. Even if that meant lying to her.

Jace scanned the lobby. Franklin Snow was scheduled to meet him here, but he saw no sign of his well-groomed assistant. Frowning, he glanced at his Rolex. It was well past the allotted time, and Franklin was always more than punctual. He flicked his fingers toward one of the staff members hovering behind the front desk, and the young woman took quick steps to his side, a bright smile painted on her youthful face as she smoothed her pristine uniform.