by Calinda B
“You sound like Jace.”
“Then he sounds like my kind of guy.”
Sharon whizzed by again. “Zoé! Get your tail moving.”
“What if I can’t trust him, though?” More like, what if I can’t trust myself to make a decent choice for once.
“Now that,” Devon said, “is another matter altogether.”
Chapter 28
Jace
At ten fifteen in the morning, on the day Zoé was supposed to move in with him, Jace sped into Zoé’s driveway, slammed on the brakes, leaped from the truck, and sprinted to the door. He pummeled on the door with his fist. Today he was supposed to pick up Zoé and her stuff to move her to Port Townsend. Only, she wasn’t answering his calls or returning his texts. Fear had been his constant companion for the last few days. What did I do now? Or, worse, is she okay?
“Zoé! Open up the goddamned door.” He waited a few seconds before starting the assault again. “Goddamn it, Zoé, open up, so help me God.”
The door swung open. She glared at him, her eyes swollen and puffy, her long, disheveled hair swirling around her face. “Stop it! You keep that up the neighbors will call the cops.”
He pushed past her, and threw the door shut with a thundering crash. “Why haven’t you answered my calls? Tell me. Why? Are you okay?”
“I didn’t want to, that’s why.” Zoé crossed her arms over her lovely breasts, staring at his chest.
He looked around at all the unpacked boxes. Books, plates, cups, pillows, and sheets were strewn around the once tidy living room. “What the fuck is this? Why aren’t you packed?”
“I’m not moving in with you, that’s why. I changed my mind.” Her brown eyes met his, flashing with fury.
“Oh, God.” Jace’s chest heaved. He ground his teeth together and took several deep, calming breaths. “What the fuck did I do now that I don’t know about?”
“You tell me. But first, get away from me. You’re too close.” She cast her eyes at the floor.
He backed up and put his hands out. “Baby, please look at me.”
“No!”
“Baby. Eyes. Up. Here.” He said each word slowly and distinctly until her gaze met his. “Tell me you haven’t missed me.”
Her head began to turn away. “Go away.”
He wrapped his fingers around her throat and jaw and turned her face toward his. “Tell me you don’t want me.”
“I don’t want to look at you,” she said. She faced him, her eyes wild with confusion.
“And yet here you are, looking at me. Actions speak, baby.” He bent his head to connect his lips to hers, delighting when she yielded to him, moaning softly into his mouth. He reluctantly drew away from her and leaned his forehead on hers. “Fucking hell, woman, I’ve been dying over there. I had to take care of Marni, my boss’s boat got torched, I tried to call you…Why didn’t you answer my calls?”
She blinked. “Your boss’s boat got torched?”
“Yeah. It’s still salvageable but it’s quite damaged. We think it was O’Reilly.”
She chewed her lip.
“Tell me, baby,” he said, putting his nose on her cheek and nuzzling her. “Damn, you smell good.” He took a long, deep inhale of her clean fragrance. “Tell me why you didn’t answer my calls or texts. Zoé, please.”
“You tell me,” she said, her voice a whisper.
“How can I tell you what I don’t know?”
“Baby, talk to me,” he said, fingering the side of her silky soft cheek.
“It was Billy,” she blurted. “He came into the club a few days ago.”
“Fucking hell,” Jace said, all the energy draining from his body. “What did he say?”
“He said you threatened to slit his throat.”
“He what? And you believed him? You think I’m capable of that?”
“And he said you were caught having sex with a teenager on his yacht.”
“Goddamn it, Zoé! And you believed him?”
“I didn’t want to!”
“But you did, right?” Jace’s eyes filled with fury.
“I wondered, yes.” She cast her eyes away from him.
“Zoé, you’ve got some serious trust issues if you believe Billy O’Reilly’s bullshit. Why do you always think the worst of me?”
“Because I got hurt. Badly. I don’t trust myself to make a good choice in men. And, you are wild and uncontrollable and I’ve never been that way. I’ve been responsible since…” She let out a sob. “Since I lost my brother! I’m scared I’ll lose you, too. If I let go and love you, I’ll lose you.”
“Oh, baby. Please don’t cry.” He sucked the tears from her face, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. “You’ll never lose me.” He looked deeply in her brown eyes. “That’s why I called you the other day. Right before the fire. I was going to tell you but then I wondered what you’d think of me when I told you Billy’s cockamamie story. I hesitated. Then, after we got the fire out, I had the night from hell, dealing with Marni, going crazy because you wouldn’t pick up the goddamned phone.”
“I tried calling you, too.”
Jace blinked. “You did?” He fished his phone out of his pocket and thumbed the screen. “Don’t see anything. That’s odd.”
“I did. I texted and called. Maybe you were out of cell signal.” Zoé frowned. “Why would he make up something like that?”
Her beguiling gaze made him want to throw down his heart, his soul, and everything he was made of at her feet. “Because he’s Billy O’Reilly. The guy’s a psychopath. That’s what he does.”
“Who’s the teenage girl?”
“Her name is Lila. She’s my neighbor and she also babysits for me. She stopped by to get advice from me about dating. I told her to wait. She’s only fifteen. I wanted to flay the eighteen-year-old who asked her out.”
“Feeling a bit protective, were you?” She smiled and bit her lip.
“Hell, yes. I’ve known Lila since she was a little kid.”
“So why would he say he could pin underage sex on you?”
“Because the guy’s full of shit. He’s got a twisted mind. Lila was helping me detail his goddamned yacht. She snooped in his closet, found the suitcase I told you he dragged out of that warehouse, and then she opened it before I could stop her. It was filled with sex toys, guns, money and, I suspect, a shitload of drugs. He snuck up on me and caught me while I was poking through the contents after Lila had left.”
“Why would he leave that on the boat, knowing you were going to work on it?”
“It was a setup, no doubt. He said my fingerprints are all over the suitcase, which they are. Said he was going to tell his lawyers. I told him Lila’s were on there, too, and that’s where he got the idea to pin drugs and underage sex on me. It’s pretty fucked up.”
Zoé closed her eyes.
“Jace,” she said, under her breath. “I’m sorry. I feel so stupid right now. I knew he was full of shit but I got scared.”
He placed his finger under her chin and tipped her face upward. “Look at me, baby.”
She looked right and left.
“Baby, eyes up here.”
Her eyes trained on him, blinking back tears.
“Oh, girl, more tears? It kills me when you cry.” He used the edge of his shirt to gently wipe her face. “You can’t do that to me. Ever again. Please don’t ever block my calls.”
Fear of losing her ripped through him like machine gun fire.
“I got scared, Jace.”
“I know you did, baby.”
“I got scared, thinking I was about to make a terrible mistake by moving in with you. And thinking…knowing…I can’t trust myself to choose a good man.”
“Shhh,” he said. “I’ve been scared, too. I freaked out when you didn’t answer my calls. I was sure I’d moved too fast and scared you away.”
He pulled her against him and embraced her tightly in his arms. His heart pounded in his chest, knocking against hers, conveying wha
t words could not.
She sobbed and clung tight to him.
“I don’t know what to do with you, Jace,” she mewled into his shoulder.
“Yes,” he said, “you do. You’re just afraid to do it. You want to love me, baby, I know you do. I want to love you, too.”
“But you don’t trust me.” She wiped her teary eyes against his shoulder.
“What did you say?”
She turned her gorgeous face up to his. “You’ve got to trust, me, too. I told you —I’m big enough to take all of you, each piece. I get scared when I think you’re withholding from me. I get scared that you think I can’t handle it…that I can’t handle you.”
His heart ricocheted inside his ribcage, bashing about like a caged animal. “Is that what you think I’m doing? You think I’m afraid to tell you things because I think you can’t handle it?”
“Aren’t you? Didn’t you tell me yourself you withhold stuff because you’re scared I’ll judge you and push you away?”
He released his grip on her, pushing a long strand of her golden-brown hair from her eyes. “I guess I did. Busted.”
Her brilliant brown eyes glistened with tears and ferocity. “I want you to trust me, too, Jace Savage. If I’m going to move in with you, it has to be an equal partnership.”
“There’s nothing equal about it when it comes to you.” Seconds ticked by as he studied her, his cock springing to life inside his jeans. He took her hand and placed it on his erection. “Feel what you do to me. You make me completely fucking crazy.”
She palmed him tentatively, looking up at him with big doe eyes, lips parted.
“You’ve destroyed any reason I possess.” He took her hands, lacing his fingers with hers, and dipped for another taste of her delicious mouth, claiming her, entering her with his tongue. He drew back a millimeter, murmuring into her lips, “Don’t ever block me. Promise me. If I call, you answer.”
“I promise,” she said into his mouth.
“I don’t believe you,” he said, urging her backward.
“I promise,” she said, more insistently this time.
Her pulse throbbed in her neck.
“I still don’t believe you.” He pushed her against the wall, trapping her hands over her head, and circled his hips against her yielding flesh. “Promise me. Convince me you mean it.”
She spread her legs, grinding against him. “I promise, Jace.”
“Say it. Say the words. I’ll never block you again.”
“I won’t block you,” she said. “Ever again.”
“You need me, I’ll answer the fucking phone.”
Her eyes closed, mouth parted, panting.
“Say it.” He pressed her into the wall, surrounding her.
“You need me, I’ll answer the fucking phone.”
“Dirty mouth,” he said with a smile.
Her eyes flew open, flashing fury. “You need me, I’ll answer the fucking, goddamned phone.”
“That’s better.” He pressed his lips tenderly on her mouth and kissed her softly. “We never got to finish our kissing practice,” he said quietly. “I say we do a kissing marathon. Half the night kissing…the other half…” He nudged her with his stiff cock. “After you move in with me.”
He gave her another long, lazy kiss, savoring her vibrating groan into his mouth.
“Is that going to be the carrot that I’ll follow to get me to Port Townsend, Jace?” she asked, looking oh-so-succulent and sexy.
“No, this is the carrot,” he said, grinding his thick erection into her. “That’s just one of the many ways I get to show you how much I love you.” This time he could hold his fears at bay, still hoping he was making the right move.
Chapter 29
Zoé
At five in the evening, Zoé and Jace pulled up to his Aunt Molly’s house in Jace’s truck laden with boxes of essential stuff. They’d have to return tomorrow for the rest.
“It’s sure pretty over here,” Zoé said, eyeing a bald eagle soaring overhead.
“I can’t wait to show you everything I love about this region,” Jace said. “And find new places together.”
Zoé picked up his hand and kissed it, as she’d done countless times since they left her home in Seattle. Then, she turned and stared out the window, biting her lip. Am I making the right decision? Are we moving too fast?
“You ready to meet my favorite aunt and my niece?”
“What?” she said, pulling out of her mental brooding.
“You there. The gorgeous brunette in my truck. Ready to meet my aunt?”
“No,” she said, full of fret and apprehension. “What if she doesn’t like me? What if the child cries when she sees me? What if…?”
Jace leaned over and pulled her close for a scorching, searing kiss. When he let go, he said, “Baby, enough. They’ll love you. And if they don’t, tough shit. It’s their loss.”
“Okay. Let’s do this, then.” She gave him a wan smile and stepped from the truck, gazing at the cedar planked home before her. It sat along the bank of the Sound, surrounded by a sprawling lawn. A willow tree stood to the right. A huge garden spread along the left. Goats bleated in the distance. The sharp barks of seals on the distant rocks caught her attention. “Does your aunt have to listen to them all the time?”
“What, you don’t like the sound of harbor seals?”
“I don’t…I’m not that familiar with them. I’ve heard them when I’ve been to the aquarium but I haven’t been there in years.”
“You haven’t spent much time near the water, have you?”
“Nope, not this kind of water. I just do my thing in town, in the city, spending time in the gardens of life.” She smiled at him. “I’ve spent time on a river or two with my dad but that’s a different kind of water.”
“Like I said, can’t wait to share my world with you, baby.” He draped his arm over her shoulders possessively and guided her to the front porch.
His aunt opened the door before they got a chance to knock, a beautiful, curly haired toddler sitting on her hip sucking on a pacifier.
“Hello,” his aunt said amiably, putting Zoé instantly at ease.
“Hi, Mrs. Charon,” Zoé said, extending her hand.
“Oh, let’s skip the formalities, shall we? Call me Molly. And give me a hug. You’re going to be family.”
I am? Zoé’s eyebrows rose, touched by the warm familiarity extended to her.
Molly hugged Zoé with her free arm, balancing Marni precariously. When she released her, she said, “You must be the woman who’s captured my boy’s heart.”
Zoé blushed, gazing up at Jace through her lashes. “I suppose that’s me, yes.”
“It’s such a pleasure to meet you.” She jiggled the toddler up and down. “And this is Marni. Marni, say hello to Zoé.”
The child stared at Zoé, in the clear-eyed, direct stare of a child, clutching her aunt, making rhythmical sucks.
“She’s beautiful. She looks like a mini-you, Jace.” Zoé extended her hand toward the little girl and fingered her cheek. “She’s even got the same green eyes. Wow.”
“I look like a chubby, female toddler, huh?” Jace said.
Marni looked up at Jace, dropped the pacifier from her mouth, and said, “Da-da.”
She stretched her arms toward him.
Jace grasped her, swinging her up and down in his usual greeting. “Uncle. It’s uncle, baby girl.”
He glanced nervously at Zoé.
She smiled, touched by his affectionate regard for the child.
“Come in, come in,” Molly said. “I thought we’d have supper on the deck tonight. It’s a pleasant evening and we should grasp those while we can. Summer’s ending.”
“Oh, no, auntie, I don’t want to impose,” Jace said.
“I insist,” Molly said, leading the way. “Your Uncle Adam had to go into town for supplies and he’ll probably stop at the brewery for a pint. Keep me company. I just made lasagna. There’s plenty. Ad
am can eat when he gets back.”
“We don’t want to be any trouble,” Zoé said.
“It’s no trouble at all, I assure you. You’re the first woman who’s made Jace smile in ages. And the way he looks at you, well…. I can’t say I’ve ever seen him so happy.”
Zoé beamed with delight. “Thank you. I’ll be happy to help if I can.”
“You can help by relaxing and taking a load off. Would you like some wine? Beer? I’ve got amber ale in the fridge, and I just opened a bottle of Cab that’s quite nice. Or maybe you don’t drink alcohol?” Her gaze flicked toward Jace in a question.
“Wine would be lovely, thanks.”
“Beer for me, auntie. And you get a bottle of juice,” Jace said, burying his face in Marni’s tummy, making raspberries until she squealed with delight. “Apple juice for this baby girl.”
After Molly disappeared into the kitchen, Zoé said, “This deck is stunning. What a great place. You can sit, watching the water surrounded by your aunt’s potted plants. And this house is amazing! All wood paneling, sky high ceilings, and windows —wow!”
“Yeah, Uncle Adam’s handy with tools. He did a lot of work on the house. He taught me a thing or two, also. I’ll show you my mad skills with a hammer and saw when we get to the house.”
“You’re more than a sex god, then,” she said.
He gave her one of his emerald eye gazes —the kind that made her forget everything, rip her panties off, and toss them into the wind.
“I have to let my goddess rest, leaving me with time to kill. Gotta do something to keep my hands busy. You know what they say about the devil and his workshop.”
Zoé smiled and let her attention fall on Marni. She bit her lip, considering the reality before her. She hadn’t planned to have kids anytime soon and now she lived with one? She glanced at Jace. He stared at her, a crease in his forehead, his leg twitching. She rested her hand on his knee, stilling his frenetic bobbing.
“Oh. Sorry,” he said.
“I thought you might be drilling for oil. Are you nervous?”
“A little, yes. I want you to be happy. I never imagined bringing a girl home while I had a toddler staying at my house. It wasn’t in my game plan. I look forward to her mom showing up so I can devote all my attention to you.”