“Some of them have worked here for years, Jace,” Dalton reminded him. “A few even feel entitled,” he added, thinking of Cal Arrington.
“They can feel entitled all they want, but I’ll be holding them responsible for the success of their departments. But more than anything, I want to know who’s responsible for passing off Granger trade secrets.”
* * *
An hour or so later, Shana leaned back in her chair and gently rubbed the back of her neck, trying to work the stiff kinks out of it. She released a deep breath as she thought about what Jace had said. “Jace’s Law.” She had a feeling he would be fair with his employees, but at the same time, his expectations would be stern. She agreed with that approach.
There were three departments that Jace would need to concentrate on, and all three of them were currently overstaffed. Granger had to redefine itself, and there was no choice in the matter if they wanted to regain their position as a market leader in aerospace. Five years was a long time not to have been awarded a huge contract instead of the crumbs that had been left over.
There was a knock on the door, and she glanced up. “Come in.”
Jace walked in. “You’re still here.”
Shana nodded, trying to ignore the stir in her stomach and the way her heartbeat had begun throbbing in her chest. “I see you haven’t left, either.”
“No,” he said, coming to stand in the middle of the room. “I had planned to join Dalton at McQueen’s. It’s becoming his favorite hangout, but some female called and he dumped me to hook up with her.”
Shana couldn’t help but smile. “I understand he’s moving away from the family estates.”
Jace chuckled. “Yes, but for him it’s a good thing. Sutton Hills was never the same for him once our mother died and my father left. He was close to Mom.”
“Did you continue to live in your parents’ home?”
“No, we moved in with Granddad. My parents’ home, although located on the grounds of Sutton Hills, was on a different part of the estate. On a good, clear day you can see the rooftop of my parents’ home from Granddad’s kitchen table.”
Shana wondered how Dalton felt about his father being convicted of his mother’s murder. “How did things go this weekend when you visited your dad?”
She watched a smile touch Jace’s lips...lips that had shown her what a fantastic and passionate kisser he was. “Dad’s doing okay for a man who’s locked behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit.”
She was tempted to ask how he knew that for certain, when the evidence against his father had been so overwhelming. From what she had read, his father’s fingerprints had been on the murder weapon, a gun that Sheppard owned.
“It must have been hard on you and your brothers while growing up,” she said softly.
“It was, for a number of reasons. The hardest was when the parents of some of our friends—people we’d known for years—felt we were no longer good enough for their offspring to hang around with. That was hard for three teens to digest.”
And then, as if he didn’t want to discuss his father with her any longer, he said, “I want to run something by you that I noticed in your report. It was something you recommended.”
“Okay,” she said, giving him her full attention and in ways she wished she could control better. She was convinced that cleft in his chin was her weakness.
“Revamping of engineering technology.”
She eased back in her chair. “I noticed it’s been years since Granger has built an aircraft.”
“The last time was the year before Dad went to prison. She was a beauty,” he said, sliding into the chair across from her desk. “Last year, Granddad mentioned plans in the works to build another one. This one would have this special supersonic hydraulic pump. He wanted to move forward, but the Defense Department wouldn’t approve the plan. They kept finding things wrong with the design. Norm Ellison is my man in charge of the designing of the aircraft, and I’ve asked for a detailed report. I want to know why this hasn’t gotten off the ground.”
Shana didn’t say anything for a minute as she recalled the bio she’d gotten on Ellison. A graduate of MIT, he’d been top of his class. His name had also been on Kent’s list as someone of interest.
The whole purpose of today’s meeting was to provide Jace and his brothers with a list of what was wrong with Granger. A company that built air performance planes and airplane parts should be doing very well. But Granger wasn’t.
“Here,” she said, handing him another report. “I’m one step ahead of you. What’s in that report should be included in Ellison’s when he gives one to you. I wondered why Granger Aeronautics, which had been at the top of developing innovative ideas a few years ago, hadn’t come up with anything lately.”
The room was silent while Jace slowly flipped through pages and pages of data. She couldn’t help looking at him, liked looking at him. He had perfectly angled cheekbones, and she thought the line of his jaw was set in a way that didn’t leave room for guessing when he was displeased about something.
Knowing it was rude to stare, she forced her gaze down at the papers spread out on her desk. When he had walked into her office, she could tell he was tightly wound, tense, and everything inside of her had responded even when she hadn’t wanted it to.
Earlier, when he had been in here, she had felt need and want sparring to unleash within him, even when Dalton had been sitting beside him. His tense state had stirred her womanly core because she knew the reason for it.
What she needed was to call it a night and go home and jump-start her weekend. Last weekend, she’d been on a mission of checking out her father’s love interest. This weekend, he and Mona would go out for pizza. Her sixty-two-year-old father was acting like a teen who’d finally gotten the most beautiful and popular girl in school to go out with him.
“Interesting.”
She lifted her head and looked over at Jace. He was staring at her. “I thought so, too, but didn’t want to say anything until I researched it some more. But since you came in here and asked about engineering technology, I figured I’d share what I had gathered up so far. It seems Arrington gave Ellison the order not to work on the design any longer.”
“You are thorough.”
“Thanks, but there are still unanswered questions...like who gave Arrington the right to make such a call.”
“But you will figure things out,” he said smoothly.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” She checked her watch and pushed back her chair to stand. “Time for me to leave. I promised myself that I would be out of here by eight.” She crossed the room to the coatrack, got her jacket and slid it on.
He stood as well, his body tall and trim. “I see you’re not skipping lunch every day like you used to, and that’s good.”
“Melissa is kind enough to make sure I order in something every day.”
He smiled. “Then I’m grateful for Melissa.”
She walked back over to the desk to get her purse and couldn’t stop the feeling of her body simmering, getting hyped, tortured by the sight of him standing there, tall, handsome, legs braced apart with hands in his pockets. “You’re about to leave, as well?” She hoped not. The thought of them sharing another elevator ride was too much.
“In another hour or so. There are a few things I still need to wrap up before I leave. Have big plans for the weekend?”
She thought of Charles. After she had time to think about it, she’d figured it had been for the best that they hadn’t hooked up last weekend. She had been prepared to use him to forget about the man standing in front of her. “No plans so far. I’m planning to have a quiet and restful weekend,” she said, thinking that she planned to relax, lie around and finish the novel she’d been reading. “What about you?”
He eased his hands out of his pockets. The casual motion seemed seamlessly controlled. “I’ll be going through my grandfather’s belongings...giving most of the items to Goodwill.”
; She nodded, thinking it would probably be a tough task for him to do. On more than one occasion, she had heard him speak of his grandfather, and it was easy to see the two had a close relationship. “Will Dalton help you?”
“No, I doubt it’s something he could handle,” Jace said with a pensive expression on his face. “Although he and the old man butted heads more times than I care to remember, they were both good at hiding their true feelings.”
She tilted her head to the side, considering what he said. Her father had once accused her of doing the same thing. Not with him, since with her father she was known to demonstrate an overabundance of affection, but with the men she dated. He claimed she tended to be on her guard. But the way she looked at it, no woman wanted to get burned twice.
“Shana?”
When Jace said her name, he forced those thoughts to the back of her mind. “Yes?”
“Can you give me an estimate of how much longer you think Granger Aeronautics will be your client?”
She weighed what he’d asked. “Why?”
“Because I need to know.”
As far as she was concerned, his response wasn’t good enough. Had he gotten it into his head that once her work with his company was finished that would mean a green light for some sort of tryst with her? She had never slept with any of her clients, while she worked for them or after her work with them was done. They had maintained a business relationship. And things with him would be no different.
Shana placed her purse on her desk while thinking exactly what he suspected she was thinking—that his question had irked her. “I think I need to get a few things straight, Jace. That kiss was just a kiss. It was not a prelude to anything more, not during or after my work here is finished, and I don’t appreciate your assuming it was,” she said in a tone that didn’t disguise her annoyance.
“And was it just a kiss?”
“Yes. Let’s move on. Like I said, it was just a kiss. I’ve had plenty of them in my day, and I’m sure you have, as well.”
He took a step closer to her. “Can you look me in the face and tell me you felt nothing?”
Anger surged within her. What was he trying to get her to say, and why? If he needed to hear it, then she would say it loud and clear...although she would be lying through her teeth. Placing her hands on her hips, she stared him in the face and said slowly, articulating each and every word so he could hear and understand precisely. “I am staring you in the face, Jace, and now please read my lips. I...felt...nothing.”
Judging by the snap of anger that suddenly flared in his eyes, she knew her statement hadn’t gone over well. He proved her right when he said, “I guarantee that this time you will.”
The next thing Shana knew, two powerful arms swept out and pulled her into them.
Chapter Seventeen
Jace had desired women before, but it had never felt like this, an edgy need that had him almost losing control. He wanted her, and she wanted him, regardless of her stating otherwise. And if she needed proof, he would give it to her. He proceeded to angle his mouth unerringly down to hers.
He felt her resistance, which only lasted for a mere second, then he felt a stunning burst of need when she began kissing him back, confirming he had gotten under her skin as much as she’d gotten under his.
Blood was bursting through his veins, and a double dose was roaring in his loins as he continued to take her mouth, devour it. Never had he kissed a woman with such wanting, longing, greed and need. He positioned her lower lip between his in a way that allowed him to deepen the kiss. Pumping his tongue all through her mouth, he used it to tease and demand. Tightening his arms around her, he continued to plunder her mouth as if he were a dying man and she was his only hope for survival. Every nerve ending in his body felt electrified, and he was filled with a passion so raw that gut-wrenching emotions began crashing through him, making his insides tremble. It drove him on to take what she was not holding back.
Shana felt her control slipping, replaced by a wild and tempestuous need that sent everything within her soaring to heights she’d never reached before. She wasn’t supposed to feel this way. Lose her head. The area between her legs shouldn’t be throbbing, begging, craving. But a turbulent desire was revving her body to a state of sexual upheaval that was dazing her mind. His tongue was everywhere inside her mouth, taking and demanding, destroying any resistance she cared to make and forcing her to acknowledge that her willpower was no match against mind-boggling passion.
Sensation after undiluted sensation whipped into her, and she didn’t stand a chance when her body began to shudder with a level of yearning she’d never felt before. She groaned low in her throat, astounded that any man could bring her to such a state. Almost making her beg. Moaning like a hussy gone delirious and filled with an ache that longed to be satisfied. There was no doubt in her mind her panties were drenched already.
Breathless and incoherent with desire, she broke away from the kiss, looked up and locked her eyes with his while drinking in the effect he was having on her. “Take me now, and take me hard.”
And to show she meant business, she reached up and shoved the jacket from his shoulders.
The depth of Shana’s need tore through Jace as he heard it in her words, making his erection throb. And when she all but began popping the buttons off his shirt in her haste to get it off him, he was inflamed with desire and reached out and began tearing the clothes off her body, as well. Her jacket was followed by her skirt, and then he dragged off the shirt and bra and practically demolished her panty hose and panties. Kicking off his shoes, he jerked his belt through the loops before dropping his pants and briefs.
Jace’s hands then reached out for her, desperate to touch her skin. Papers went flying off Shana’s desk when he pushed her back on it, lifting her hips and spreading her thighs. And then he thrust inside of her, consuming her entire body with him. Her inner muscles clenched him tight and clung to him. And the pleasurable feeling had him moaning deep in his throat. The desire to mate was fierce, overpowering, and he gave in to his body’s demand.
Shana moaned as well when Jace began moving, taking her hard, pounding into her as if his life depended on it, making her gasp in shock and moan in pleasure at the same time. His deep strokes were powerful and dominant, and they continued while she groaned out his name over and over. He kept going and going, like a wild animal mating for the last time, filling her completely and taking her in a way she’d never been taken. On and on he pounded until she felt pleasure soaking into her bones, making half sobs flow from her lips.
The sound of flesh slapping flesh filled the room, and topped with their heavy breathing and moans, she was shoved even further into an abyss of pleasure and yearning. His penis was pumping into her like a jackhammer, pushing her further and further over the edge and into a free fall of turbulent pleasure.
Suddenly, Shana could no longer bear it and cried out his name. “Jace!”
Her body shattered into a million pieces. She saw stars, colors, bright lights, all at the same time that an explosion blasted her body, from one hemisphere to the other. She felt him shudder and she tightened her legs around him as he continued to plow into her like a madman with relentless thrusts. Need was devouring the both of them, and she felt the exact moment his hot semen shot inside of her, triggering even more spasms. And at that moment, she knew two things...how it felt to get what you asked for and...how it felt to be totally and completely sexually satisfied.
For a second, their bodies went still, too dazed to do anything else. They were still stretched out on her desk, he was fully embedded inside of her, and his face was buried in her chest, between her two breasts.
But then reality began seeping in, making them aware of where they were and what they’d just done. The mere thought that he was still embedded deep inside her sent a sensuous shiver through Shana, especially since he seemed in no hurry to get out. She felt him pulsating, still throbbing, and she couldn’t help but recall the ecstasy t
hat had just moments ago roared through her world. The memory brought a pleased smile to her lips.
He pulled out of her slowly, as if trying to savor just where he’d been. And the feel of him leaving was nearly unbearable for her as he left a burning imprint inside of her. But she knew she had to pull herself together to deal with the aftermath. Before leaving her body completely, he paused to stare down at her, and at the same time they realized they hadn’t used any protection.
“I’m on the pill,” she quickly said in a ragged voice. “And I’m safe.”
He drew in a deep breath and said in a hoarse voice. “I’m safe, as well.” And then he eased completely out of her.
“Jace.”
“Shana.”
They had begun speaking at the same time, and each had a feeling about what the other was going to say...or thought they did. And when he said, “You can go first,” she decided to do so. With as much dignity as she could, she accepted his help off her desk and quickly began putting her clothes back on.
“I’m well aware of what we did tonight,” she said, easing into her skirt without bothering with her panties. “I asked for what I got, and I don’t regret it. The only thing I regret is that our business relationship has been compromised.”
“No, it hasn’t.”
“Yes, it has. I’ve broken a rule, and at this point, the only way I will continue to work with you is if you give me your word it won’t happen again.”
He was putting his clothes back on, as well. She winced when she saw she’d popped off a couple of buttons from his shirt. “I can’t give you my word, Shana.”
She stopped buttoning her blouse. “Why not?”
“Because I don’t intend to keep it.” With his pants on and his shirt open to what she thought was one hell of a gorgeous chest, he turned to her. She thought he looked sexier in a disheveled state. “I tried pretending before that I didn’t want you, tried like hell to fight it, ignore it, wish it away, and you see what happened. I took you on that damn desk for heaven’s sake,” he said in an angered tone. “Without any thought of birth control and not giving a damn if the door was even locked.”
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