“Well, you’re not wrong,” Melanie said quietly. “I would’ve thought the worst.”
“Right. I figured that,” Jace repeated. “So I looked up your address and came by one day when I knew you were still at the office. I thought…hoped…you’d like the doll. And really, Mel, I just wanted to give you a Christmas present. That was it. Or it was supposed to be.”
“I love the doll, Jace. She’s upstairs in my bedroom, with the other three I own.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Only three? I thought you collected antique dolls.”
“Not really. I have a few from when I was a kid.” She inhaled a mouthful of air, still finding this entire situation mind-boggling. She could almost believe she was asleep, dreaming. “Why did you think I collected them?”
“The Christmas potluck at work. We were sitting at the same table, and…you mentioned the dolls.”
She thought back. “I remember the potluck, but I… Oh, wait. Kurt asked me about gift ideas for his daughter, wanted to know what my favorite—” Jace averted his gaze when she broke off to stare at him. “You asked Kurt to do that, didn’t you?”
“Well, you sure weren’t going to tell me.”
One question answered. “And the other gifts?”
A ruddy flush darkened Jace’s complexion. “I…ah…see, it’s like this, Mel. I haven’t gone out of my way to find gifts for you, but I’d be out somewhere and see something and I’d think of you. So, I guess you could say the other gifts happened more by accident than with any purposeful thought.” His eyes rounded. “Wait. I didn’t mean…I would go out of my way to shop for you. Absolutely. It just didn’t happen that way, that’s all.”
“But why those books?”
Jace finished off his wine. “I like bookstores, especially stores that carry rare copies. I tend to haunt the local shops, seeing what they just got in. Besides, who doesn’t like books?”
Was he purposely avoiding her question? She tried again. “But how did you know which books to buy?”
“It’s really not that big of a deal.”
She arched an eyebrow and waited.
“All Gazette employees fill out a bunch of forms when they’re hired. They’re supposed to help Kurt figure out who to give certain assignments to, or for any of us to find out if another staff member might have a connection to a story that’s unraveling.”
She narrowed her eyes and gestured for him to continue.
“It was a great idea that no one has really used, because who wants to pour through a bunch of forms looking for one tiny bit of information? Anyway, those documents are slowly being indexed and entered into our database.” Jace closed his eyes for a millisecond. “I sort of dug yours out and entered the information myself. I figured I might learn something I could use to get you to agree to a date.”
“Really, Jace?” This should have annoyed her. It would have, not so long ago. For whatever reason, though, his actions didn’t really bother her. Maybe because he normally didn’t have to put forth so much effort to get a date. It made her feel special. Like he really, really went out of his way to get her attention. She cleared her throat. “So, what did you learn about me?”
“Besides what some of your favorite books are? Um, favorite movies—though you didn’t write down how much you like horror flicks. That came as a nice surprise.” Jace fidgeted. “Some names of people you’ve worked with, the college you went to, and… Well, not a lot else.” A grin—the first one she’d seen from him all evening—lifted the corners of his mouth. “Contrary woman that you are, you wrote ‘not applicable’ on more than half the questions.”
“Because more than half of them weren’t applicable. I don’t have any political connections, I don’t play sports, I rarely visit clubs or go barhopping and I definitely don’t have any interesting hobbies.” Melanie wrinkled her nose. “I’m kind of boring.”
“You are anything but boring.”
“Well…eye of the beholder, I guess.”
“I have a discerning eye. I know of what I speak.”
Melanie forced a laugh. Her attempt at hiding how strongly his softly spoken words affected her. This—what she was feeling, the strength of those feelings—couldn’t be happening. She was just overwhelmed. Tired, maybe.
That was a lie. Hadn’t she always known that there was something about this man, about Jace, that flat-out got to her? Yeah, she had. “Maybe you should have your eyes checked, then.”
“My eyes are fine, Mel.” He hesitated a second, and then, “I expected you to be angry. I…wouldn’t blame you if you were.”
“Why? Because you thought of me and brought me gifts? Because you knew me well enough to know that was the only way I’d accept them? No, Jace. I’m not angry.”
“But there’s something bothering you. What is it?”
“I…guess I’m confused. Not so much about you.” Ha. Another lie. “See, I built up this entire story of where—who—the gifts were coming from.”
“Who did you think the presents were from?”
She opened her mouth with the full intent of brushing off Jace’s question. What she said, though, was, “My father. Because all the gifts were related to my childhood, I grasped on to the idea that he was behind them.” The now-familiar heavy weight of emotion pressed against her eyelids. “That he might want to reconcile or something.”
The edge of Jace’s jaw hardened. “Dammit, Mel. I’m so sorry.”
“For what?” she asked softly. “You didn’t know about my father then, and you certainly had no idea what I would think.”
“But I caused you pain. I… My goal was to make you happy.”
“It isn’t your fault, Jace. I didn’t even begin to think it was my dad until that last gift—Alice in Wonderland. My father read to me from that book almost every night.”
“Ouch.” Jace winced. “I can still be sorry that my actions hurt you.”
“I’ll be fine.” She smiled to add a punch of weight to her statement. “At least now I can stop looking for him.”
Jace’s eyebrow quirked. “You’ve been searching for your dad?”
“Sort of. I haven’t done a lot, though.”
Interest apparently piqued, Jace leaned toward her. “Find anything?”
“A little.” She filled him in on what she knew. Strangely, she drew comfort from the conversation. When she finished, she shrugged. “See? Not much to go on.”
“Sometimes you don’t need much. I, ah, could do some checking for you. What’s his first name?”
“David, but no. Don’t. I need to think on this. Decide if I still want to move forward.” Probably, she would. But the when and how needed to be her call.
Jace looked as if he was going to argue, but didn’t. “So…we’re okay? At least as good as we were before?”
“We’re fine. I’m glad I know, and I…appreciate your kindness.” Jeez, that was lame. “We’re better than we were before. Though,” she teased, “I’m curious about the newest gift.”
Jace paled a shade but leaned over to grab the gift, his movements slow and methodical. His focus remained on her, intent and unwavering, as he passed her the present. “This one is different from the others, Mel. I hope you like it.”
“I’m sure I will.” Doing her best to ignore the fluttery spasms in her stomach, she picked at the tape and removed the wrapping paper. The tiny white envelope stuck to the top of the long, rectangular box snagged her attention.
“There’s a card. You’ve never…” Her voice caught. “There’s a card,” she repeated.
“You’re very observant,” Jace replied, his voice steady. Firm.
“Why?”
“It was time.”
God, this man confused the hell out her. “Why were you tr
ying to hide this, then? Why were you so set on leaving?”
“I wanted you to know, Mel. But I didn’t necessarily want to be here when you found out.”
“In case I was angry?”
“Nope. I can deal with your anger, especially if it’s deserved.” Jace shifted, moving a few inches closer to her. Close enough that she felt the heat of his body, the muscular press of his thigh against hers. “In case I was too chicken to go through with it.”
“Oh.” Melanie didn’t know how to react to that. Didn’t know what to say. Choosing the obvious, she said, “I’m going to open this now.”
“Go ahead.”
She carefully peeled the envelope away from the box and pulled out the card. The front only held an image, that of a bright yellow smiley face. Opening the card, she read the handwritten, solitary sentence, “Consider me in your corner.”
Her eyes grew watery in a rush of sappy emotion. “Jace.”
“It’s the truth, Mel.”
She tried to find the right way to express how much this sentiment meant to her. But then, she realized she didn’t have to. He knew. It was why he’d written it in the first place. In the end, she settled with “Thank you.”
“You haven’t seen the actual present yet,” he pointed out. “Maybe open that before thanking me.”
“I doubt that it’s better than this, but okay.” Before tucking the card away, she read the sentence one more time. Something hard sort of softened and popped in her chest, and she felt herself take one tiny metaphorical step toward…believing.
“Are you trying to see through the box with your X-ray vision?” Jace teased.
“If I had X-ray vision, you’d be in trouble, buddy.” The sexual innuendo slipped out before she could stop herself, but she didn’t take it back. Just let it sit in the air between them and focused on the present. She lifted the lid from the box, saw what resided inside, and burst out laughing.
“You like?” Jace asked in humor.
“Well, yeah. Who wouldn’t?” She picked up the brightly colored, almost gaudy necklace and laughed again. Red, pink and purple conversation hearts were strung on the stretchy band, each one printed with a Valentine’s Day message. She read “Love,” “Ever After,” “Spice it Up,” and “Yum Yum,” before saying, “You’re a funny man, Mr. Foster.”
“I figured all the cool girls need a necklace like this, and you’re the coolest of them all. So I had to get it.” Jace tugged the necklace out of her hands. “Look at me.”
She couldn’t not look at him, even though she knew to the tips of her toes that what came next could very possibly be her undoing. Not could be, would be. Because there wasn’t a chance in hell that she was going to turn away.
Not when her entire body craved the feel of his.
So she looked at him, at Jace. His wide mouth curved into a smile. He carefully brushed her hair away from her face. Stretching the necklace taut, he placed it around her neck. “Just as I thought. You look damn good wearing Valentine’s Day. Even if you’re not a fan, the holiday suits you, Mel.”
“Well, the necklace is…charming. I’ll give you that.” Lightly, almost without consideration, she traced her finger along the strong, firm line of Jace’s jaw. Other than his quick intake of breath, he didn’t react. “You know which heart is my favorite?”
“Um…no,” he said with the slightest of hitches. “Which one?”
“The one that says ‘Spice it Up.’”
His body stilled, and unasked questions hovered between them, but he didn’t ask them. “That’s a good one.” He stared at her, his eyes dark and penetrating. Searching. “I rather like ‘Yum Yum,’ myself.”
“Hmm. Yes, yummy things are…good.” Now she trailed her fingers up to his temple and then laced them into his hair, waiting for him to kiss her, to touch her. Why wasn’t he? Flustered, she placed her other hand on his knee, squeezed, and waited for him to pounce on her.
He didn’t. Okay, either she was really, really bad at this or he simply wasn’t interested. Who was she fooling? She sucked at this. Going a different route, she lowered her voice and said, “Your card said to consider you in my corner. You mean that, Jace?”
“Always. That’s a promise I intend to keep.” He continued to hold himself still, his body tight and restrained. On edge, even.
Well, hell. Here she was, offering herself up, and he wasn’t going to make the move. After all of the flirting, all of the sexual innuendo, after everything he’d done to seduce her…he wasn’t going to push this moment forward. It was up to her. If she wanted this, she was going to have to go for it.
She’d always been a strong woman. Her head wasn’t buried in the clouds or filled with romantic fantasies. And she really didn’t care for the idea of having a man in her life 24/7. But she wanted this. She wanted tonight. She wanted Jace. She’d deal with tomorrow when tomorrow came.
Licking her lips, more out of nervousness than anything else, she fluttered her fingers through his hair and tugged his head down, toward her. “What if,” she whispered into his ear, “I wanted you in my bed? What would you say then?”
His answer was a low growl in the back of his throat. He lightly grasped her arms, bringing her tight to him. There was a fleeting moment, just a second really, where she wondered if this was a good idea, after all. But then his lips were on hers in a kiss that shattered every cell in her body with its intensity.
Jace arched his head back, putting just enough space between them to ask, “Are you sure?”
Melanie nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Not believing she’d be able to form any words even if she tried.
But Jace wasn’t having any of that. “I want this, Mel. But, sweetheart, I need to hear you say it. I need to know that you’re thinking rationally and that this is something you really want.”
Rationally? What was rational about the fire burning through her, the all-encompassing need to touch him, to taste him? This wasn’t rational. This was crazy and like nothing she’d ever experienced before.
So, no. She couldn’t claim to be rational. But she did want this, desperately even, so she found her voice and said, “Quit asking questions and take me upstairs. Please, Jace?”
Luckily, that was all he needed to hear.
Chapter Eight
Jace’s lips skimmed down Melanie’s neck in a tantalizing rush of small, hot kisses. She rolled her head to the side, exposing more neck for him to navigate, giving him more skin to suckle. Good grief, this was heaven and hell all wrapped up together.
She wanted more—so much more—but also wondered how much more she could possibly take.
Myriad sensations thrummed through her body. Each kiss, each touch that Jace bestowed on her, forced her muscles to tense, quiver and then release in a seemingly endless cycle. Her skin literally tingled with pleasure, with a heat that grew hotter and hotter with each passing second. And his scent, that delicious combination of pure male with an edge of spice, surrounded her, excited her and heightened her desire for this…for him…in ways she never could have anticipated. Even the softness of his hair brushing against her feverish skin became nothing short of erotic.
This was Jace. In her bed.
A moan slipped out when his lips reached her earlobe. He stopped there, bit her gently and then wrapped his arms around her and rolled until she was looking up at him instead of down. The weight of him on top of her felt good. Solid and real. His eyes were hooded, darker than she’d ever seen them, and they were looking at her as if she were the most beautiful, desirable woman in the world.
She could hardly imagine that was the case, but it made her tremble all that much harder. It made her want him all that much more.
Which shouldn’t have been possible.
With steady hands, he slo
wly unbuttoned her pajama top, his gaze never leaving hers. The intimacy of that was almost more than Melanie could bear, but she kept her eyes wide open, kept them firmly planted on his. If she closed them, she might discover that this was nothing but a dream. And that wouldn’t only be a shame, it would be torture to the nth degree.
“Mel,” Jace said, his voice deep and husky and seemingly filled with the same need that ravaged her. “Tell me what you like. Tell me what you want me to do.” Tossing her one of his devilish smiles, he winked. “Or better yet…show me.”
He said the words casually, easily, with the conviction that she’d happily agree. But her building pleasure stilled. Suddenly, she felt strange and self-conscious and not comfortable at all. While she’d had sex before, she’d never taken the lead. The few partners she’d shared her bed with hadn’t ever offered, and she’d never felt brave or strong enough to take control.
Now, in this time and in this place, she found she wanted to be brave. Wanted to be strong enough to strip Jace down to nothing and have her way with him. At the same time, the very thought of doing so seemed impossible. And truthfully, she wasn’t even sure what “her way” consisted of. All she knew was that she wanted him.
The trembles of anticipation changed into vulnerability, into fear that she wouldn’t be enough for Jace. That he would compare her to other women and find her lacking.
Swallowing, she slid her gaze to the left of him. “I’m not there yet,” she admitted. “I want this, Jace. Please don’t doubt that, but I don’t think I’m prepared to…to be in charge.” When he didn’t laugh or pull away, her confidence grew enough that she could face him again. “I guess I’m a little self-conscious. So how about you keep showing me, and maybe next time, I’ll show you?”
Her voice wavered there, right at the end, but he didn’t seem to notice. His expression never changed, the desire didn’t leave his eyes and he continued to unbutton her pajama top without even a moment’s hesitation.
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