by Calinda B
“You’re so sweet with her, Jace. It’s a heart melter to watch you.”
“I’d rather I was melting your panties,” he said. He turned to Marni, laid her on his lap, and tickled her tummy saying, “Uncle Jace wants to melt his girlfriend’s panties.”
Marni squealed and laughed.
“Jace, stop it!” Zoé said, laughing. When she finally caught her breath, she said, “Your aunt’s really nice.”
“She is that, true. And Marni’s nice, too. And Zoé’s hot,” he said in a sing song voice as he walked his fingers up Marni’s arm. “Don’t you think Zoé is hot, Marni girl?”
Marni giggled and pushed his fingers away.
“Hot,” she said. “Hot, hot, hot.”
“She’s going to have nightmares about me, Jace, stop it.”
“She’s a baby, baby. If I say things to her with a nonsense voice, it’s translated into nonsense. That’s my theory, anyway.” He sat her up and rested her easily in the crook of his arm. “I like to play with her and make her laugh. It’s a hell of a lot more pleasant than when she’s having a tantrum. I don’t know how mothers do it. If I had to do this full time, I’d go crazy. Thank God it’s a temporary situation.”
Marni climbed off her uncle’s lap and took off after the family cat, a big, puffy gray fur ball. “Lulu,” she said.
“Her name is Louise,” Jace said. “And she and Marni need to work a few things out.”
Louise sprinted in the other direction.
Marni toddled back to them. She looked at Jace, pointing in the direction of the cat, saying, “Go. Go. Go.”
“I’m not chasing after that cat, Marni girl. Why don’t you find your auntie?”
She toddled into the house.
“Marni, is that you?” Molly called from the kitchen. “Come in and help me.”
Zoé smiled. “You’re not worried that us being thrust into an instant family kind of situation will, you know…affect our…”
Her face grew red and she looked away.
“Fucking?” Jace said.
“I wasn’t going to say that, but, yes.”
“Yeah,” Jace said, his expression growing somber. “I’ve thought of that. This isn’t the way I wanted my life to go down. My goddamn sister. I check with the sheriff every day. I’ve got his number on speed dial. Jayna’s scumbag friends said something about the San Juan’s but that’s a big region and there are a lot of boats on the water. And, she could be on any one of several islands. What am I going to do? Knock on doors? Fucking hell.”
Marni tottered onto the deck, holding a sticky cracker. She thrust it into Jace’s hands.
“Thank you, Marni,” he said, scooping her up again.
“You know, the other night when Billy stopped by the club, I heard him saying something about partying in the San Juan’s on the Dangerous Intruder.” Zoé made a scowling face. “Is that the name of his boat?”
Jace scoffed.
“Yeah.” He grew thoughtful. “Like I said, it’s a big region. And we used to head out there a lot with the boat. It’s probably a coincidence.” He chewed the inside of his cheek, lost in thought, until Marni slapped his face with her chubby hand. He grabbed it, gave it a soft squeeze, and said, “No hitting. No, no.” Then he let out a huge sigh, turning his emerald greens on Zoé. “You’re the one thing keep me going, baby. You’re the hope on my horizon.”
Zoé stroked his leg.
Molly returned bearing beverages and snacks.
“Here we are,” she said, setting a heavy tray on the deck table. “Help yourself.” She lifted her wine and took a sip. “This is lovely. Washington grows great grapes.”
Zoé sipped at the wine. “It is good, Molly, thank you.”
“Well, Marni and I still have chores to do. We haven’t fed the goats or spread straw for the chickens. I’m thinking she should spend the night. You two need to settle in without having to watch a toddler.”
Jace’s face washed with relief. “Thank you, auntie. I’ll make it up to you.”
After a fabulous dinner, good conversation, wine, beer, and dessert, Zoé relaxed. She looked at Jace, who sat next to her at the dining table.
He eyed her hungrily.
Pushing back from the table, Jace said, “I think we’d better head out, Aunt Molly. I want to show Zoé the house before it gets dark.”
They said their good-byes and headed toward the truck.
Once they closed the cab doors, Jace pulled Zoé close. He cupped her face with his hands and brought his lips to hers. She surged with excitement as he explored her mouth with his tongue.
“Fuck,” he said, when he withdrew his lips. “I’ve wanted to do that for the last two hours. I can’t wait to get you home.”
He fished in the glove box for the keys, stuck them in the ignition, and fired up the truck.
There it is again. Instant explosion, Zoé thought, all anxieties, fears, worries, and apprehension about the future burnt to a crisp by this man’s passion —by her passion…by the combustion between them. She scooted close to him and held his hand as they trundled along the road.
They pulled up to a stop sign.
A buxom young woman stood at the corner, dog at her side. She glanced up, looked at the truck, and a grin spread across her face. She began waving madly.
Jace’s face grew impassive as he lifted his hand in greeting.
“Who’s that?” Zoé asked.
“Just someone from my past. Don’t trip on it, baby.” He eased the truck through the intersection.
The woman’s face fell as she watched them go by.
A cloudy thought flitted through Zoé’s mind, dampening her mood. Me and my stupid insecurities. I hate this. She tried to stop it, but like a sudden storm, it took over, blinding her reason. She released his hand.
“What?” he said.
“How many women have you done in this town? How many women have you fucked in the great outdoors and taken pictures of? What am I in for, stud?”
He let out a sigh. “What are you doing, baby?”
“Answer the question.”
“A few. The world is a beautiful place. I like to appreciate beauty in a beautiful place.”
“Will I constantly run into your past? Your past could merely be a few weeks ago. There could be countless women in love with you. Will I find pictures of them all over your house?” Jealousy crept through her system, binding her insides like a spider encasing its prey.
“I don’t know about all over. I don’t have them on the walls, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“But I might find one in a drawer somewhere?”
“Shit, baby, stop with the interrogation.”
“I just want to know what I’m in for…what I signed up for.” She pointed to a breathtaking spot out the window, overlooking a bay. “Did you photograph any of them up here?”
His face grew rigid. “Only Kate.”
“This is your and Kate’s spot?”
“It’s no one’s spot, Zoé, it’s just a beautiful place.”
“I want it to be your and my place, not your and Kate’s.”
“Okay, it’s your and my place. I never considered it mine and Kate’s.”
“So, if this is what you do — photograph and fuck women everywhere — I should consider myself one of a shitload of women with whom you’ve had your way in this town. Just one of the bunch. Another face on the wall.” She crossed her arms over her breasts and scowled.
“No, baby, it’s not like that.”
His jaw muscles did that twitchy, pulsing thing associated with barely held rage, making her wonder about her questioning.
“Are you fucking jealous of my past?” he snarled. “The past that no longer exists until you dredge it up like a fucking excavator? Should I have lived my life as a celibate, wondering if I’d ever meet a beautiful woman who’d drive me crazy with lust and need and make me revisit everything I ever did?”
“No, but…” She turned away from him.
“I don’t trip on your past, baby,” he said, his voice harsh. “I don’t question you or even ask about it. I figure we met when we met and I’m happy we met.”
“Yeah, but I still don’t know that much about you,” Zoé said, her voice growing shriller by the minute. “So you had Kate out here, you did Debbie out there, you fucked Sally in a boat down in the water, you…”
Jace clamped a hand over her mouth, the other holding the steering wheel. “And I’m going to fuck you good and hard everywhere, claiming you in every square inch of this town once you shut the fuck up.”
Zoé bit his hand and scooted away, pressing against the passenger door. “Not if I have any say in the matter.”
“What the hell, Zoé?” Jace sucked the place she’d bit. “You have a vicious mouth, baby. You drew blood.” He shook his hand by his side. “We were having fun.”
“You were having fun doing what you do. I’m just one of the many babes you have fun with.”
He threw back his head and groaned. “Jesus fucking Christ, Zoé, how many times do I have to say it —you’re not one of the many, you’re the one.” He pulled into a turnout. “You’re the only one, baby.”
Anger and desperation laced his words.
“How many women have shared the bed we’re sleeping in tonight?”
“Seriously, Zoé? That’s where we’re headed now? The number of women I’ve had in my bedroom?”
“Yes,” she said, pushing his hand away as he reached for her. “That’s where we’re headed. How many? Two? Twelve? Nine hundred?”
“I’d be dead if I had nine hundred women in my bed,” he said. “Either that, or in some clinic somewhere, under constant care for a crippled dick. Jesus fucking Christ! You really want to know how many women have slept in my bed?”
“Yes!” she spat out.
“I’m hoping for one, but if things continue here, it might be none.”
Zoé’s eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”
“It means, I bought a new mattress last night at one of those open late bed stores. You weren’t answering my calls. I tried to think of everything I could to make you feel at home when I brought you here, because by God I knew I’d bring you here.”
“You bought a new mattress?” she said, in a horrifyingly squeaky voice. “For me?”
“For us!” he thundered.
“Jace, I don’t know what to say. You really did that for me?” Her insides flooded with shame. I’m so stupid for not trusting him.
His piercing emerald eyes shattered her wall of jealous insistence.
“It nearly killed me when you didn’t answer my calls. And now you’re here questioning me? Questioning my actions in the past when I didn’t know you existed? Fuck, Zoé. This must stop.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, biting her lip. “I…I get so jealous of you and the many women you’ve had. I can’t believe you really love me. I get…I get insecure.”
“Baby, don’t,” Jace said, reaching out to touch her face. “They were only the pathway to get to you.”
This time she didn’t resist his touch. Her eyes fell closed, soothed by the warmth of his palm.
“I’m not Jack. I’m sure as fuck not Billy.”
Her eyelids flew open. “I know, but…”
“You’ve got to stop running me through the filter of what they did to you. I may not be perfect, girl, but I’m trying my hardest to be a stand-up man for you and show you how much you mean to me.” Jace’s face looked so earnest she thought he might shatter. “I’ve been hurt, too, you know. Played on, played out, heart smashed to bits.”
“I know,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I promise I’ll try, too. Give me a chance.”
“I can be patient. You’re worth it, Zoé Dubois.” He reached out to stroke her cheek.
“I’m worth it?” she said, her chin trembling.
“Yes, baby. Totally worth it.” Leaning across the console, he ran his fingers through her hair.
His reassurances shattered her insides. “I haven’t had many partners, Jace,” she said, closing her eyes again.
“That just means you’re untarnished, baby. That’s one of the things I love about you. Some of the women I…” His mouth snapped shut.
Zoé’s eyes popped open. “Fucked. Say it. Some of the women you fucked.”
He shook his head. “Some of them were all used up by age twenty-five. Old inside. You’re young, fresh, vibrant, alive, not sullied by a sordid sexual past. You’re perfect.”
“Is that what you are? Sullied by a sordid sexual past?” She squeezed her eyes shut to stop the flow of tears, pressing her thumb and finger into her eye sockets.
“No, baby, not the tears.” He sighed. “Oh, hell. I can’t change what I did in my past. I can only show you that you’re my everything. You’re my world now. I want to be a better man, baby. Because of you.” He drew his fingertip along her jaw, stroking her lips. “Open your eyes and look at me, baby. Please.”
His quiet, deep voice spiraled into her head, like a caress.
“Zoé,” he said, in a near-whisper. “Open your beautiful eyes.”
She let her eyelids flutter open, feeling all kinds of stupid. “I’m sorry, Jace, I…”
“Shhh, baby, it’s okay.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly, once, twice, three times, four.
The fire of arousal kicked into instant, roaring flames. She circled his neck with her hands and deepened the kiss, teasing his mouth with her tongue. Her hands stroked his face, lined with a day’s stubble. Her fingers pushed into his thick, wavy hair. Her body pressed against his solid chest.
Message received loud and clear, he consumed her, driving his tongue into her, slipping and sliding along hers, wrapping his arms tightly around her back.
He drew away, resting his forehead on hers. “There’s only you, baby. I don’t even remember what another woman looks like. You’ve taken over all the spaces in my head, heart, mind, and soul.”
“Oh, God, Jace. I get stupid jealous of you. I hate it when I do that. I try to stop it, but…” She shrugged, scrunching up her face. “I’m sorry.”
“I’ll probably do the same someday, baby, but for now, this little problem of yours gives me an opportunity to fuck you hard, reminding you what you mean to me.”
“And what’s that?” she asked, breathless.
“I fucking adore you, baby.” His eyes glittered, bright and full of desire.
“I’m moving up the ladder, huh?” she quipped. “From fucking love to fucking adoration. Me and my dirty mouth,” she quickly added, placing a fingertip over his lips before he had a chance to respond. “Well, then…let’s go home.” And hope we’re not both making a big mistake. We can learn to trust each other, can’t we?
Chapter 30
Jace
Jace swerved the truck into the parking lot of the large natural foods store and café in downtown Port Townsend. “We need to get a few things to take home. I didn’t have a chance to get any food.”
“I never pictured you shopping at a health food store, Jace Savage,” Zoé said.
“They have good produce. When you’ve been spoiled by an aunt with a booming garden, you can’t go back. That and it’s right next to the liquor store where I get my favorite beer.” He winked at her, grabbing her hand. “Let’s do this so we can get home.”
Inside the store, Zoé poked at a bag of mango habanero kale chips.
“We’re being so domestic, Jace.” She dropped a box of granola into the grocery basket. “And I don’t really know what you like to eat in the morning, at lunch, or dinner. How’s that for weird? Moving in with a guy and not knowing his food preferences.”
“I’m a simple man when it comes to food. I like it good, I like it fresh, and I definitely like it in abundance,” he said, squeezing her rear.
She yelped and batted his hand away.
When they finished at the grocery, Jace set the overflowing bags in the back of the truck and l
ed Zoé to the liquor store.
“Jace Savage,” the guy behind the counter said when they entered. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”
“I’ve been busy, Mike,” Jace said. “And you’ve been gone.” He led Zoé to the cooler in the back and retrieved a six pack of Profanity Porter. “I doubt you’ll want this kind, baby. Pick your poison.”
“Is that your favorite beer? Profanity Porter? How appropriate.” She rolled her eyes. “Um, I don’t drink much beer. How about a couple of IPAs?”
“Cool,” he said, hefting a six pack.
“I said a couple.”
“This is a couple. And a couple more for when you run out of the first couple.”
She smiled and shook her head.
They headed to the counter.
“What you been up to, Savage?” Mike said.
“Hanging with my girl, Zoé.” Jace squeezed her shoulders. “Zoé, this is the owner of this fine establishment, Mike Johnson. Mike, meet Zoé.”
Mike nodded, grinning. “You roped yourself a Savage, have you?”
“More like he roped me.”
“I can believe that.” Mike entered the beer prices into the cash register. “A pack of cigs?”
“Man, you haven’t seen me for a while, have you? Nah, I quit.”
“Good man. Yeah, I was in Alaska on a fishing expedition. Got back a month ago.”
Jace nodded, reached for his wallet, flipped the guy a few bills, and waited for his change. “How’d it go?”
“We had a good run. Made a chunk of change to survive another season.” He dipped in the money tray and pulled out a couple of ones. As Mike handed them to him, he said, “You see O’Reilly lately?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Jace’s jaw grew tense. “Why?”
“I don’t know,” Mike said, placing his palms flat, his belly spilling over the edge of the counter. “He’s up to something. I smell it.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Whispers in the wind. Comments here and there.”
“You know he’s suing me, right?”
Mike whistled. “No, I didn’t. What’s he suing you for?”