by Banks, Maya
And just as quickly, Jace was there, sliding over, a barrier to her and freedom. He was so close she could smell him, could feel his heat wrapping around her, and it felt so damn good that she wanted to do something really stupid and lean into him. Just so she could feel it brush over her skin.
Then his fingers slid underneath her chin, a touch so gentle she couldn’t help but respond, lifting her face so that her gaze met his.
“You finish work. We’ll wait. Then we have dinner. Anything in particular you like? And do you want to go out or eat in the hotel room?”
The questions were softly worded. They sounded intimate. He never looked at Ash once. His stare was solidly fixed on her and she was too mesmerized to look away. And she promptly forgot that she’d changed her mind about sleeping with them.
Jerking herself from the intensity of the moment, she glanced down, taking in her clothing. There was no going home and changing. No home. No clothes. Certainly nothing she could wear to any place these two would set foot in.
She cleared her throat. “Hotel is fine, and I don’t care. If it’s hot and tastes good I’ll eat it. Nothing too fancy. In fact, what I really want is a burger. And fries.”
She’d kill for both right now.
“And orange juice,” she finished in a rush.
Amusement glimmered on Ash’s lips but Jace was still utterly serious.
“Hamburger. Fries. Orange juice. I think I can handle that,” Jace said. Then he checked his watch. “People will be cleared out in fifteen. How much time do you need after that to finish?”
She blinked. “Uh, not everyone will clear out in fifteen minutes. I mean even if the guests of honor leave, people always hang out afterward. Especially when there’s food and drink.”
He cut her off before she could say more.
“Fifteen minutes, Bethany. They’ll be gone.”
It was a promise. It wasn’t speculation on his part.
“How much time do you need?” he asked impatiently.
“Thirty minutes maybe?” she guessed.
For the second time, he touched her, his fingers gliding over her cheek and up to her temple where he toyed with loose tendrils that had fallen from her clip.
“Then we’ll see you in thirty minutes.”
• • •
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Praise for the novels of Maya Banks
“Heated investigative romantic suspense . . . Intense, transfixing.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Definitely a recommended read . . . filled with friendship, passion and, most of all, a love that grows beyond just being friends.”
—Fallen Angel Reviews
“Grabbed me from page one and refused to let go until I read the last word . . . When a book still affects me hours after reading it, I can’t help but Joyfully Recommend it!”
—Joyfully Reviewed
“I guarantee I will reread this book many times over, and will derive as much pleasure as I did in the first reading each and every subsequent time.”
—Novelspot
“An excellent read that I simply did not put down . . . A fantastic adventure . . . Covers all the emotional range.”
—The Road to Romance
“Searingly sexy and highly believable.”
—RT Book Reviews
“A must-read author . . . Her [stories] are always full of emotional situations, lovable characters and kick-butt story lines.”
—Romance Junkies
Titles by Maya Banks
The Sweet Series
SWEET SURRENDER
SWEET PERSUASION
SWEET SEDUCTION
SWEET TEMPTATION
SWEET POSSESSION
SWEET ADDICTION
The Kelly/KGI Series
THE DARKEST HOUR
NO PLACE TO RUN
HIDDEN AWAY
WHISPERS IN THE DARK
ECHOES AT DAWN
SHADES OF GRAY
Colters’ Legacy
COLTERS’ PROMISE
The Breathless Trilogy
RUSH
FEVER
FOR HER PLEASURE
BE WITH ME
Anthologies
FOUR PLAY
(with Shayla Black)
MEN OUT OF UNIFORM
(with Karin Tabke and Sylvia Day)
CHERISHED
(with Lauren Dane)
Specials
“PILLOW TALK” FROM FOUR PLAY
fever
maya banks
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
For more information about the Penguin Group, visit penguin.com.
This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.
FEVER
Copyright © 2013 by Maya Banks.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
BERKLEY® is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Berkley trade paperback ISBN: 978-0-425-26706-6
An application to register this book for cataloging has been submitted to the Library of Congress.
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Berkley trade paperback edition / April 2013
eBook ISBN: 978-1-101-62038-0
Cover photo by Boris Mrdja/Shutterstock.
Cover design by Rita Frangie.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Contents
Praise
Also By Maya Banks
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Ch
apter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-one
Chapter Forty-two
Chapter Forty-three
For really terrific friends who always have my back. You know who you are. Love you!
chapter one
Jace Crestwell tapped Gabe Hamilton on the shoulder and when Gabe turned, Jace grinned. “You’ve hogged my sister long enough. It’s my turn to dance with her.”
Gabe didn’t look happy with the interruption. He and Mia had been solidly glued to one another for the past hour, but he grudgingly took a step back and Mia smiled radiantly as Jace took Gabe’s place.
The entire ballroom of the Bentley Hotel was decorated for Christmas, a nod to the fact that above all else, Mia loved Christmas, and it was also a well-known fact that Gabe would do damn near anything to make his new fiancée happy.
And, well, Gabe moved fast when he wanted something, if nothing else. He’d started planning the engagement party the moment he got his ring on Mia’s finger. Almost as if he were afraid she’d change her mind unless he got the ball rolling immediately.
It was pretty funny for Jace to see his friend in knots over a woman. The fact that the woman in question was Jace’s sister was a little weird, but Mia was happy and that was all he could ask for.
“Are you enjoying yourself, baby girl?” Jace asked as he turned her around on the dance floor.
Her entire face lit up. “It’s fantastic, Jace. The whole thing. It’s positively magical. I can’t believe Gabe pulled this off so fast. It’s just . . . perfect.”
Jace smiled back at her. “I’m glad you’re happy. Gabe will be good to you or I’ll kick his ass. I already made that clear.”
Her eyes narrowed. “If he isn’t good to me, it’s not you he has to worry about. I’ll be the one kicking his ass.”
Jace threw back his head and laughed. “That I have no doubt about. You made him work for it. I gotta admire that.”
Mia’s face became somber and Jace frowned, wondering what could have possibly made her so serious on a night she should be over the moon.
“I know you gave up a lot for me,” she said in a quiet voice. “I always wondered if the reason you hadn’t married and had children of your own was because of me.”
He stared at her like she’d lost her mind.
“Maybe now you can stop worrying about me so much, and you know . . .”
“No, I don’t know,” he said. Then he shook his head. “You’re a nut, Mia. First of all, just because you’re getting married doesn’t mean I’m going to stop worrying about you and looking out for you. That’s just a fact, so get over it. Second, don’t you think if I’d gotten married before now, especially when you were younger, that it would have made things easier? For both you and me? You would have had a mother figure instead of being stuck with an overbearing, overprotective brother as your sole source of support.”
She stopped mid-dance and threw her arms around him, hugging him fiercely.
“I don’t regret a single thing about the way you raised me, Jace. Not a thing. You did a wonderful job and I’ll always be so grateful for all the sacrifices you made for me.”
He hugged her back, still shaking his head. Nut. Total nut. She was aglow with happiness over her impending marriage to Gabe, and now she wanted everyone she cared about wrapped up in that same glow. God help him. He and Ash should probably be ducking and running.
“It was no sacrifice, Mia. I don’t have a single regret either. Has it ever occurred to you that I didn’t want to get married and have kids?”
She pulled back with a frown and then her gaze skirted sideways to where Ash was standing across the room with Gabe. “Yes, I suppose it did.”
Jace barely suppressed a sigh. It was obvious Mia had a very good idea of his and Ash’s sexual proclivities when it came to having threesomes with the same woman. It wasn’t exactly something a brother wanted his sister to know about his sex life, but there it was. He wouldn’t apologize for his lifestyle, but neither was he going to get into a conversation about it with his baby sister.
“Play hard and live free,” he said by way of explanation.
Mia frowned and cocked her head upward.
Jace chuckled. “It’s our motto. The three of us, Gabe, me and Ash. Only you changed the game for Gabe. Doesn’t mean Ash and I are eager to follow his lead.”
She rolled her eyes. “For God’s sake. You make Gabe sound like a pussy.”
Jace cleared his throat. “If the shoe fits . . .”
Mia pounded him on the shoulder. “I’m so going to tell him you said that!”
Jace laughed again. “The man would probably admit to being a complete pussy when it comes to you. And that’s not a bad thing. I want him to treat you right.”
They were interrupted when Ash stepped in, sweeping Mia into his arms.
“My turn,” Ash proclaimed. “Gabe’s only going to wait so long before he reclaims her, so I’m getting my dance in now while his parents have him occupied.”
Jace leaned forward and kissed Mia on the forehead. “This is your night, baby girl. I want you to remember it forever. Have fun.”
Her smile lit up the entire room. “Thank you, Jace. Love you.”
He touched her cheek and then moved back as Ash swept her away.
Jace retreated to the far side of the room and stood back, observing the goings-on at the party. It was small—what Gabe and Mia wanted—a night to celebrate their love.
It sounded corny as hell, but then one only had to look at the two to know they were complete goners. He still wasn’t entirely certain how he felt about his best friend hooking up with his little sister. There were fourteen years separating them and he knew damn well what Gabe’s sexual demands were.
He cringed, remembering the scene he’d walked into when he’d gone to Gabe’s apartment unannounced several weeks earlier. He needed bleach for his eyes because there were just some things a brother never, ever needed to see regarding his baby sister.
He still had concerns over whether Mia really knew what the hell she was getting herself into, but Gabe was a complete mush pile when it came to her. Hell, the man had humbled himself in front of half of New York City to get her back, so Jace guessed Mia would be able to handle whatever Gabe dished out.
Jace was just going to not think about it.
He sighed as his gaze wandered over the crowd and the festive environment. Mia had been a huge part of his life ever since their parents had been killed in a car accident. She had been a late-in-life “oops” baby, but she’d been adored by him and their parents. When they’d died, it had been a life-altering event for both him and his sister.
At a time when he’d been in college and only focused on beer, girls and having a good time with Gabe and Ash, he’d been forced to take responsibility for six-year-old Mia. Gabe and Ash had both been a huge source of support for him and perhaps in a lot of ways Mia had cemented their friendship. So he supposed it was only fitting that he’d be giving her into the care of his best friend now that she was an adult and making her own life.
It would be an adjustment for him, now that Mia wasn’t solely his responsibility. Not that he planned to go anywhere, but things were different now. She was in a serious relationship and she wouldn’t be turning to him with her problems. It should be a relief, but instead sadness settled into his chest at the idea that his baby sister no longer needed him as she once had.
His gaze settled on a young woman picking up glasses and plates from the tables. It was the second time his eyes had settled on her that night though she hadn’t been out much, just periodically to do cleanup. She wasn’t one of the server
s. He hadn’t seen her circling with trays of hors d’oeuvres or champagne. She was dressed in black pants, a white shirt and an apron.
He studied her a long moment before realizing what it was that had interested him. She looked completely out of place. And he wasn’t entirely certain what gave him that impression. The longer he stared at her, the more he thought she looked like she should be an attendee at the party. Not cleaning up after the participants.
Her hair was upswept into a messy bun like Mia wore sometimes, secured with a clip, and the result was a sexy mass of mussed hair that begged a man’s hand to tug at it and set it free. Midnight black, unruly curls, some of which had escaped the clip and tumbled down her neck.
She was slight, not as curvy as he usually liked his women. Narrow hips and small breasted but enough curves straining at the white button-up shirt to be tempting. The rest of her was small. Dainty. Almost fragile.
When she turned, presenting him with a view of her face, he sucked in his breath. Her bone structure was small. Delicately rendered. High, prominent cheekbones, almost as if she were underweight, and a small chin. But her eyes. Jesus, her eyes. They were enormous in her otherwise small face. A brilliant shade of blue. Shock blue, like looking at ice. They were startling against the jet black of her hair.
She was mesmerizing.
Then she hurried away, her arms straining at the weight of the tray that held all the dishes she’d cleared from the tables. His gaze followed her across the room until she disappeared through the door for the kitchen staff.
“Not your usual fare,” Ash murmured beside him.
Jace broke from his reverie and turned to see that Ash had already finished his dance with Mia. A brief look toward the dance floor told him Gabe had reclaimed Mia and that the two were once more solidly glued together. Mia’s eyes were alight with joy and laughter, and some of his earlier tension eased. She was in good hands. And she was happy.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Jace said, an edge to his voice.
“The chick bussing the tables. Saw you checking her out. Hell, you were practically undressing her with your eyes.”