Deadly Desire

by Audrey Alexander

  The arms let go, and she stumbled two steps forward. Before she could turn, something shoved her to the ground. Her face met the concrete. Sharp pain exploded in her cheek, her heart roaring in her ears.

  “What do you want?” she managed to breathe out as her vision swam. She couldn’t see a damn thing except the black creeping into her eyes. “Take my purse if you want. Just take it. I have money.”

  “Stay out of this, or I’ll tell the world the truth about your relationship with Jace Holt,” a voice growled into her ear.

  She sucked in a breath and struggled to turn her head and face her attacker, but whatever he’d done to her, she was far too weak. Footsteps crunched on snow as he walked away, the sound almost drowned out by the thunder of her heart in her ears. The world tipped underneath her and nausea bubbled up in her throat.

  Gritting her teeth, she fumbled to pull her phone from her purse. A tiny voice inside her said she needed to call the cops, but instinct overrode any logic in her mind. Her fingers found the first contact in her phone. The number dialed, and a moment later, his voice rang in her ears.

  “Jace, help. I need you.” And then the world went black.

  Carrie awoke in darkness, and panic made her choke out a cry. Her heart banged against her ribcage as she wildly glanced around her, but there was nothing to see but black.

  “Shh.” Jace’s soothing voice met her ears as strong arms enveloped her body. “I’ve got you. You’re here with me. You’re safe now.”

  Carrie’s frantic breathing slowed as she twisted to wrap her arms around Jace’s neck and bury her face in his shoulder. His arms tightened around her, strong, warm, safe. She breathed in his scent, a musky aftershave with the hint of gin. The familiarity of him crashed over her, and her entire body sagged with relief.

  Whatever had happened, he’d found her and brought her to safety, just like she knew he would.

  “Tell me what happened to you, Carrie,” he said, murmuring the words into her hair. His breath was hot, tickling her ear, and a need pounded through her that she’d never felt before. She pulled back just enough for her lips to brush against his skin. His body stiffened in her arms, but she didn’t let him go.

  “What are you doing?” he whispered.

  Fear from the night still shook through her. Flashes of pain. The sound of that voice in her ear. She needed to feel Jace, she needed him to consume her thoughts until nothing else in the world existed but his touch.

  “I need you, Jace,” she whispered, opening herself up to the idea of letting him in, so much so that her heart felt as if it were about to explode. She pulled her shirt over her head and climbed onto his lap.

  That’s all the encouragement Jace needed. His mouth took hers in hunger, his lips and tongue taking her breath away as his kiss betrayed his own need. She arched her back, and her nipples hardened as his hands found her breasts, cupping them in his palms. Moaning, she reached for him, but he pushed her back onto the bed. Straddling her, Jace leaned down and brushed hot kisses on her neck, on her cheek, on her lips, until Carrie could barely take his touch any longer. His lips disappeared down her belly, stopping just at the edge of her thong.

  He was teasing her, and her body trembled from the desire pulsing through her veins. If he didn’t take her now, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stand even a whisper of a touch.

  “Jace,” she moaned as he pulled down her bra to expose her breasts. They spilled from their cups, and his mouth found her nipples, lipping and sucking. Thrills of pleasure spread across every inch of her skin until a wetness dampened her thighs. She groaned and wriggled against his mouth, her chest heaving with each labored breath.

  “Mmm, you’re so gorgeous, Carrie,” he murmured against her nipples. The vibration of his voice sent new waves of pleasure through her body. “I’ve missed you so much.”

  He edged away, flicked on the bedside light, and pulled his shirt over his head. She sucked in a breath and stared at him, admiring the way his hard abs rippled as he took off his pants and dropped his boxers to the floor. Her eyes drank in his body. Every inch of him she’d missed all this time. His erection taunted her, teased her. She wanted to reach out and wrap her hands around his length before pushing him inside her wet sex. Her mind was consumed by a need she hadn’t felt in years, body begging for him to take her, hard and fast and strong. She needed to feel Jace in every way that she possibly could, to drown out the fear of the night.

  Jace’s eyes blazed as he climbed back on top of her. His fingers traced shivers down her body, leaving a hot trail of pleasure in their wake. When his hand reached her thong, he paused, a delicious smile playing on his lips. Carrie squirmed, lust and need making her ache so much she could scream. He pulled off her panties and tossed them to the floor. Her heart could barely contain itself as he settled over her, and before she could catch her breath, he’d pressed his cock inside her, slowly filling her until all she knew was Jace.

  Her eyes fluttered as a moan escaped her lips. Jace groaned almost in time, his hips rocking against her body as he began to take her hard. She reached out to wrap her arms around him, but he took both her wrists in his hands and captured them on the bed above her head. He grunted as his pace quickened, his cock throbbing with each and every thrust.

  “You’re mine, Carrie,” he said as every inch of him filled her up to the brink. “Say you’re mine.”

  “I’m yours,” she gasped, barely able to breathe from the sensations tumbling through her.

  Jace’s groans filled her ears just as pleasure ripped through her body, her climax shuddering through her so hard, a scream escaped from her throat. Her head swam and her ears rang, but a sweet, delicious satisfaction poured through her, making her head and eyes so heavy, she could barely remember what day it was.

  Jace collapsed onto the bed beside her. “Come here.”

  She answered his command and climbed into his arms. And as her eyelids began to flutter shut, she lost herself to dreams of Jace.

  When Jace awoke, memories of the night before flooded his mind. Carrie still lay in his arms, her vanilla-scented hair splayed across his chest. Her body was warm and soft, and a tremor of emotion stirred inside his chest. An emotion that Jace had buried years before.

  He shifted out from underneath her and slid out of bed. Jace knew he needed to be careful now. Getting Carrie close had always been his plan, but he wasn’t quite ready to let her into his life completely. There were things she didn’t know about him, things that might push her away. And he didn’t think he could handle it if he let down his guard, and she decided to leave him all over again.

  All that mattered was that she was safe. Whoever had hurt her would pay.

  Carrie shifted on his silk sheets, her eyes fluttering open. When she saw him standing over her, her cheeks flooded with color and her hands tightened around the smooth material that barely covered her breasts.

  “Good morning,” Jace said, flicking a button on the wall. The panels covering his penthouse windows began to open, letting the bright light of the morning into the room. Sun beat down on Carrie’s skin, making her look even more gorgeous than she did in the dark. He didn’t know how that was possible. He’d never met another woman who was more beautiful in the morning than at night.

  “Jace, I…” Carrie trailed off, speechless for once. He smirked to himself as he slid on a pair of black boxer briefs, as her eyes trailed down to his bulge. He’d fucked the words right out of her.

  “I’m going to make you a coffee and order us up some breakfast.” He frowned, thinking back to the moment he saw Carrie’s body sprawled across the sidewalk in the snow. “And then we’re going to talk about what happened to you last night.”

  Her mouth opened in protest, but he wasn’t having any of that. Carrie, as strong as she was, needed taking care of, and he knew he was the only man who could do it. In the kitchen, he poured her a cup of espresso and dialed in to the concierge to order her the works. Poached eggs, toast, spinach, just the
way she liked it. She needed to refuel after her ordeal last night.

  When he returned to the bedroom, Carrie was fully dressed and sitting on the bed. Frowning, he handed her the espresso. “There’s no need for that. You can stay and take a shower before you go into work. And if you need a fresh pair of clothes, I can always get something sent in for you.”

  “Jace, don’t be ridiculous.” Carrie took a timid sip of the coffee before continuing. “I’m perfectly capable of showering and getting ready for work at home. It’s not like I live far away.”

  “Yes, but you’re mine,” he said, easing onto the bed beside her and staring hard into her big blue eyes. “And anyone who is mine gets the very best of things. That includes not having to do the walk of shame in the morning.”

  Carrie blushed and glanced away. “About this whole mine thing…listen, I don’t think we should take it so literally.”

  A darkness settled over Jace’s mind. “I take it very literally.”

  “Jace…you know things between us are complicated.” She fingered the coffee mug, staring down at the bed, refusing to meet his eyes. “I was scared and hurt and confused last night, and I let my emotions get the better of me.”

  “You’re saying you only slept with me because you were so scared.” Jace tried to keep his voice calm and steady, but he felt an anger rising within him. Not at Carrie. He could never be angry with her, no matter what she did to push him away. No, it was at whoever caused this to happen in the first place.

  “No, of course not.” Carrie sucked in a breath and finally met his eyes. Confusion and pain rippled across her face, and he wanted to obliterate whoever had put those emotions there. “I just…I need to wrap my head around this, okay? I need some time to figure this out.”

  “Who hurt you, Carrie?” Jace clenched his jaw and took her soft hand in his. “Who scared you?”

  “I don’t know. It all happened so fast.” She shook her head, eyes wide. “I went to talk to your alibi, and an old man answered the door. When I asked to see Madison, he said she didn’t live there. And then someone grabbed me and pushed me down. I think the guy may have drugged me or something to knock me out.”

  “Tell me what he looked like,” Jace said in a low voice, trying to hide his anger from Carrie. He didn’t want to scare her and make the situation any worse.

  She shook her head, her mussed hair falling into her gorgeous eyes. “I don’t know. I never saw him.”

  Jace stood from the bed and began to pace back and forth on the carpet. Why would someone attack Carrie? It must have had something to do with Madison. He frowned. He’d been into her apartment. He remembered exactly where she lived. To hear she didn’t live there after all could only mean one thing. She’d been playing him. A part of whatever scheme had been planned to get Holland’s body into his penthouse while he’d been gone.

  Carrie must have come to the same conclusion, because she looked up at him with her lips pressed into a straight line. “He said something to me. Something about you.”

  “Tell me.”

  “He said if I didn’t stay out of it, then he’d tell the world about our real relationship.” She looked up at Jace, looking so weak and innocent, the opposite of how she normally came across. “Someone knows about us. Or they’ve at least guessed.”

  “I haven’t told a soul.” Jace made his way back over to Carrie and sunk into the bed by her side. She met his gaze so plainly, so openly. He wished he could follow suit and open up to her about his secrets, but he couldn’t. Not yet. Maybe not ever. “You know I’d never do that to you.”

  “What about your assistant?” Carrie asked. “The guy who came with you to the office yesterday. He heard us arguing about how things are between us.”

  Jace fell silent, thinking. Yes, he had brought Franklin along, and yes, he had been there when they’d argued. Could his assistant really do such a thing? He’d have to look into it, but in the meantime, he had to assure Carrie that everything was okay. He didn’t want her worrying more than necessary.

  “Franklin is loyal. Whoever did this has only made a guess. Perhaps they know about our past and that’s it.”

  Carrie frowned, twisting her hands in the sheets. Jace reached up and brushed her dark waves away from her face, his eyes drifting down to her shirt. The top two buttons were open, giving him a sensual view of her cleavage. His body ached to be inside her, to push her up against the wall and claim her as his once again.

  Carrie’s breath hitched, and as he met her gaze, she licked her lips. He almost groaned from the desire that tore through him. His hands pressed down on her thighs, sliding higher and higher up her skirt toward her thong until…

  His cell phone rang.

  Carrie groaned and flopped back on the bed as Jace reached for the phone on his bedside table, answering in a gruff voice. Now was not the time to be interrupted, but he couldn’t miss a business call just in case his deal for the Times Square building needed his attention.

  “Mr. Holt?” It was his concierge. Surely they weren’t having that much trouble with poached eggs and toast.

  “Yes?”

  “The police are here to see you.” The concierge cleared his throat. “They uh, they’re here to take you in for questioning.”

  Carrie walked into the police station wearing day-old wrinkled clothing, smelling like sex and Jace. It wasn’t exactly the most shining moment of her professional career, and she hoped no one from the office would hear about the situation and show up for support unannounced.

  Her stomach twisted as she settled into the metal seat beside Jace, laying her purse on the table. She couldn’t bear to look at him, not like this and not after last night. She still couldn’t believe she’d given in to his charms. But, more than that, she couldn’t believe that she had been the one to initiate things.

  Jace made her judgement fly right out the window, and now here she was, representing him while he got questioned for murder after having hot sex with him the night before. But wow, she thought, it had been some great sex. She’d forgotten what it was like to be with a man who knew exactly what he wanted and knew just the right moves to leave you gasping for more…

  “Mr. Holt. Miss Simmons.” The bulky detective gave them both a nod and settled into the chair across the table. He scratched the side of his wide face, emitting a sound like sandpaper against a chalkboard. Purple bags lined his eyes. This guy must have had less sleep than Carrie had last night. “Thank you for coming in.”

  “You didn’t give me much of a choice.” Jace’s voice was smooth like butter, but she could still hear a familiar edge in his tone, like an unexpectedly sharp knife that would slice off your skin if you weren’t too careful.

  “Sir, Mr. Holt will be fully cooperating with the investigation,” she said before the detective could latch onto Jace’s frame of mind. It felt strange calling him Mr. Holt. Formal, seductive, thrilling. She crossed her legs.

  “Well, there are a few questions we’d like to ask concerning your whereabouts the night of the murder.” The man shuffled his papers around. “Specifically, between the hours of eleven p.m. and one a.m. When you made the call to the police.”

  Jace glanced at Carrie before speaking, his face full of stone. Completely unreadable. “I went out for some drinks at one of my regular places. Suits & Ties. You can ask Jamie, the bartender who served me. He knows me well.”

  “And that was around…?” The detective scribbled a note and glanced back up at Jace, and something sharp glinted in his eye. Carrie could tell he was looking for something specific. Did the cop know something he wasn’t letting on?

  “I believe I left the hotel around ten-thirty or eleven,” Jace said.

  “Okay.” The detective made another note. “And then where did you go next?”

  Jace made an uncomfortable noise in his throat. This was the question Carrie had been dreading. He had to tell the truth, of course. The girl he’d gone home with was his only alibi between the time he’d left the bar
and the time Carrie had arrived on the scene. But, if Madison had been part of the plan to frame Jace, Carrie doubted she could be found and mentioning her would provide them both with nothing but trouble.

  A crazy idea flashed into her mind. No, she couldn’t. She shouldn’t. If the police found out she lied, not only would her career be over but she could find herself in jail. Jace glanced her way, his face still hiding any thought he might have. Unbidden memories spun through her mind. Jace caressing her. Jace kissing her. Jace coming to her rescue and wrapping her up in his arms.

  “He was with me,” she blurted out before the logical part of her brain could take over. “He wanted some company, so he came over to my apartment.”

  Jace’s eyes bored into her skull, but she couldn’t glance at him, not now. She avoided his gaze and swallowed hard. The detective looked up from his notepad, eyebrows raised all the way up to his receding hairline.

  “He was with you? His lawyer?” The man scratched his face and frowned. “At midnight?”

  Carrie could hear the disbelief in his voice, and she wished she could take back her words and gobble them down. It was too late now, though. No backing out of this one.

  “He’s also…well, my mother married his father about three years ago.” She winced.

  The man looked back and forth between her and Jace, his mouth slightly open in surprise. What had she done? What had she been thinking? There were so many ways the cop could catch her out on this, and she needed to tread carefully if she was going to pull this off without getting completely torn apart.

  “So, you were at her apartment,” the detective said, turning to address Jace as if he’d decided to write Carrie out of the conversation. “You must not have stayed there long. What made you go back to the hotel?”

  Carrie froze. It was a good question, and one she hadn’t thought of when she’d blurted out the fake alibi nonsense. Why would they have gone over to The Grand Rizzato if Jace had come to see her at her place? Well, she knew a reason, but it sure wasn’t going to sound believable to the detective now that he knew they were sort of in the same family.