“Grueling. I’m homesick,” he admitted. “Waking up in a different town every night is weird.”
It was a strange existence, but when Violet thought about it, she supposed she wouldn’t mind going on the road for a while and distancing herself from her mother’s incessant nagging.
“You remember April?” Jeremy asked.
“Yeah.”
“We started e-mailing each other.”
“Good. Then maybe you can get married and give Mom what she wants and take some of the pressure off me. You know she has you and Cass living happily ever after together?”
“Cass?” he sputtered. “Not gonna happen.”
“I know. I told her that, but she’s already designing the wedding dress and picking out flowers.”
“Jeez, Violet. Is it that bad?”
“You have no idea.”
“Well, don’t let her pressure you into something you don’t want, okay? She can’t help it. The woman was born to have grandchildren.”
“Thanks, Jer.”
Violet chatted with her brother for a while and then she finally drifted off to sleep to the sound of hockey highlights on TV.
* * *
The next morning, Violet got ready for work and sorted through the pile of mail on the kitchen counter. Bill, credit card bill, electric bill, credit card bill…
She ripped open the envelope on top and scanned the statement with a frown.
The Palace Hotel in San Francisco, brunch at the Garden Court Restaurant…
She hadn’t made any of these charges. She looked up at the address and Phillip’s name was typed at the top. Crap. She’d opened Phillip’s mail by accident.
She tossed the statement on the counter and then snatched it up again.
Wait. San Francisco? The conference he’d gone to last month had been in Sacramento. Or at least he’d told her it had been anyway.
No, she vividly remembered that it was Sacramento because she thought about how it would be fun to go with him and walk through historic downtown and visit the museums and shops.
Like she cared about where his boring conferences were. Why lie about the city? What had he been doing in San Francisco? And who?
She tapped the corner of the envelope on the counter and let a variety of scenarios run rampant through her mind.
Well, well, well. It looked like Phillip was enjoying some dishonest extracurricular activities of his own.
Violet tossed the statement on the table and left for work with the beginning of a headache nudging the back of her skull.
Chapter Six
Knead Me
At Healing Touch, Patricia greeted Violet with a cheery “Good morning!”
“Mornin’,” Violet mumbled in return and stripped off her windbreaker.
If Phillip was cheating on her then Violet didn’t want to know about it. She’d keep the wool firmly pulled down over her eyes and go along like everything was the same. Too bad she didn’t want the same old same old anymore. After meeting Jace, she was reminded of all the things in life she was missing out on. She’d been perfectly fine with her life before that damn hockey player came along and stirred things up. Or had she? And why should she settle for fine? Phillip was obviously living it up in San Francisco, eating expensive dinners and staying in fancy hotel suites. Fine. Good for him.
Except Violet didn’t want things. Good old fashioned experiences were what she wanted. Looking into a man’s eyes and knowing he was looking at her the exact same way she was looking at him. Lying in bed and talking until the sun came up because you were too absorbed in each other and lost track of time. Laughing so hard your sides and cheeks hurt. Sheesh. She hadn’t experienced any of those things with Phillip. Not in the time they’d been engaged or in all the years she’d known him before that.
Patricia’s voice startled her and Violet whipped around. “How are you and Phillip?” her partner asked. “You never talk about him.”
It was true. What was there to say about him? He spent a mystery weekend in San Francisco without me last month? He treats me like a doormat and I let him because of a promise I made to him? He thinks he’s fooling everyone, but soon everyone else will catch on?
“Don’t have time to chat,” Violet answered abruptly. “I’ve got Molinari comin’ in and I don’t want to keep him waiting.”
* * *
By the time she finished her appointments, Violet barely had time to run home and shower before she had to be at Jace’s for his housecall.
Violet knew she had to keep a grip on herself or else she’d end up gripped around Jace and his hard body. Every time she thought about how close she came to kissing him, a shiver trembled through her body.
Oh, for heaven’s sake, she’d practically thrown herself at him the other day. She’d come this close to kissing him. What guarantee did she have that it wouldn’t happen again?
There was none.
Guarantees aside, she did have a handful of reasons not to pursue anything with Jace. The biggest one was currently tucked inside a box in her underwear drawer.
Another reason was personal and close to her heart. This wasn’t the example her parents had set for her. If they could remain faithful to each other for three decades then Violet could remain faithful through her engagement even if it did seem like an eternity.
By the time she turned onto her street, all logical thought escaped her and Violet was debating whether or not to wear her lacy bra and panties underneath her uniform. She didn’t necessarily plan on showing Jace her underwear, but if he just happened to catch a glimpse of it, he wouldn’t be disappointed.
Sexy underwear? No, the logical side of her brain protested. Yes, the fun side answered.
Why not? Kisses often led to other things, didn’t they? No, no, no, she argued. There weren’t going to be any kisses or lacy underthings or anything at all.
When Violet pulled into her driveway, the last thing she expected to see was Phillip’s car parked on the street in front of their house. Her subconscious argument was forgotten and Violet found her fiancé in the bedroom folding clothes into a suitcase.
Violet leaned against the doorjamb and turned the keys around on her keychain. “How are you?” she asked, unsure of what else to say.
“I’m well. And you?”
“Fine,” she said flatly. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I’m just packing. I’ll be at the Urologist Conference in Sacramento all next week.”
“Oh. Are you sure it’s in Sacramento and not San Francisco?” she snapped.
His brow furrowed and somehow his nose became pointier. “Of course I’m sure. When I get back, I’ll be staying at the apartment in town for a while.”
“Is everything okay?” She’d come back to the subject of how he liked to swap cities on her in a minute.
“Of course. I just need to be closer to the office. Mother invited us to a dinner party on Saturday in two weeks. Will you be able to attend?”
“Maybe.” It wasn’t Violet’s ideal way to spend a Saturday, but lately it was the only way to spend any time with Phillip. And time was what she needed more than ever. Ever since Jace came into the picture, Violet didn’t know which direction was up. Maybe if she could just have one productive conversation with Phillip she’d regain the perspective she needed.
“Let me know if you are unavailable. I need to RSVP to mother.”
Really, Phillip? Violet wanted to say. You really have to RSVP to your own mother? Give me a freakin’ break.
“And you haven’t forgotten about the hospital fundraiser, have you?”
Violet sighed. He sounded like a father addressing a child. “No.” As Phillip’s fiancé, attending the annual event was one of her duties.
“There are some things we need to talk about before you go.” She glanced at the clock. She’d be cutting it close to Jace’s appointment, but this was important. “Specifically about the mail on the counter.”
Phillip closed the suitcase and carried it
towards the door. “We’ll talk when I get back.”
She moved to block his path but he pushed passed her. “I don’t want to wait, Phillip. We really need to talk now.”
“I have to go.”
She grabbed the credit card statement from the counter and waved it at him. “You told me you went to Sacramento, but this says San Francisco.”
“Sacramento and San Francisco, they’re easily confused.” He grabbed the statement from her and strode toward the front door.
Before she could argue, Phillip walked out and let the door slam behind him.
Violet stared at the door, her mouth gaping open. Once again, Phillip had steamrolled her and then fled the scene without even letting her get a word in edgewise.
What was it that she’d come home for again? Oh, right. Now she remembered.
Sexy underwear.
* * *
The drive to Jace’s cabin was easier the second time. The street signs were more legible except for the light snow falling, threatening to cover them up again. It must have snowed more in the last couple of days because banks of dirty snow were piled high alongside the road. However beautiful the scenery was, Violet didn’t see it because she was busy with her inner dialogue.
The entire ride to August Lake she argued with herself the pros and cons of having an affair. If she was meant to be with Phillip then it would be one last weekend of passion before she locked herself into a loveless marriage. Why couldn’t she indulge in one little fling?
When she finally reached the cabin and parked her car, Violet had firmly decided that no matter what kind of issues she had with Phillip, being unfaithful wasn’t the answer.
When Jace greeted her at the door, he made no mention of what happened, or more importantly what had almost happened the other day and then excused himself to take a shower.
He had been working out again and a light sheen of sweat covered his magnificent body. For a brief moment, Violet wished she could be so dedicated to something, but her jam-packed schedule never allowed for time at the gym.
One flash of his smile and the sinful shiver was back to plague Violet’s body. Thoughts of Phillip and his shady soiree in San Fran rolled away like the fog in the bay and Violet hauled her table inside.
A fire burned in the stone fireplace and it crackled with glowing warmth. Outside, snowflakes fluttered down from the sky, turning the ground white. It was like a scene from a movie, or better yet the perfect mountain getaway for two. A retreat where two lovers could go to escape the bustling life of the city…
While Jace was in the shower, Violet squared her shoulders in determination and set up her table. The massage table she used to make a living. As a professional massage therapist. It was her job and her business. And she was professional. And Jace was a client. Client.
Right?
Right.
When she heard the shower shut off, Violet’s professionalism circled right down the drain and she gripped her fingers around the edge of the table. Once more she had willingly gone inside the lion’s den and all she was armed with was fragranced oil, a thirty-pound massage table and wavering self-control.
After a few slow deep breaths, Violet was ready to be the professional that she was. No more messing around. Jace was a client. She was engaged to Phillip—no matter what he had going on the side. End of story.
“How’s the shoulder?” she asked when Jace sauntered into the living room wearing only a towel.
God, he was a sight for sore eyes. Like a glistening pool of water in the middle of a scorching hot desert. Or a warm, dry shelter in the middle of a raging storm.
“It’s feeling all right,” he replied and sat down on the table. “After a massage, I’ll ice it and it should be good.”
“Have you been doing your stretching homework?”
“Yes ma’am,” he drawled. “I’m a good student.”
“Good.” She tried to ignore her knees’ weakening reaction to his lip curling into a smirk. Somehow he invaded her personal space without even trying. What was it that she’d been telling herself again? Oh, right. Jace was a client.
“With that tightness in your shoulder, it’s important to stretch the pectoralis and subscapularis muscles.” There. Bore him with medical jargon and physiology mumbo jumbo. That’ll kill the romantic mood. “Stretching will help strengthen the infraspinatus, rhomboids and teres minor muscles,” she continued, trying to sound as professional as possible. That was the ticket. Keep boring him to the point where all naughty thoughts just dried up and scattered away in the wind.
The smirk quickly disappeared and Jace looked intently at her lips. An involuntary action had her running her tongue over them and his eyes followed the movement.
A primal sound rumbled in his throat. “When you talk like that…,” he trailed off, letting her imagination finish the sentence.
“You like that?” she asked softly. “You like it when I talk about infraspinatus and rhomboids?”
“Yeah,” he answered. “Talk technical to me, baby.”
She smiled and smoothed a hand over his shoulder. His skin was cool and slick and instantly warmed under her touch. “Your shot speed and pass precision greatly depend on the strength of your scapula. One of the most commonly overused muscles is the deltoid which is made up of three sets of fibers. Anterior, middle and posterior.”
“You had me at posterior.”
She was standing between his legs again and his hands ran up and down the curve of her waist and hips.
“There’s the iliac fossa on the interior side of the hip bone. And the piriformis in the gluteal region. Of course, let’s not forget the gluteus maximus, the largest of the three gluteal muscles.”
When she said “gluteus maximus” he cupped her buttocks and gently squeezed.
Just when she thought she’d pulled herself back from the precipice, he was pushing her to the edge again. Her self-control diminished with each touch. The names of the muscles around the pelvis—psoas major and minor—fluttered through Violet’s brain, but she couldn’t bring herself to say them out loud. That would definitely be crossing the line.
Instinct told her to run full speed back toward Red Valley, but she knew Jace would keep snapping her back to the sleepy little lake town like a rubber band was looped around her waist.
His hands glided back up to her hips and the massage was forgotten. Violet tried to remember to breathe. It was hard to remember to inhale and exhale when Jace was looking at her like that. For some reason, she couldn’t think of any more muscles groups. She couldn’t think of any words at all.
Jace leaned forward and kissed her neck. It was such a delicate kiss that if she didn’t feel his breath on her skin, she might have thought she’d imagined it. She’d been imagining a lot of things lately. The way his hands would feel, roving over her naked skin. The way his tongue would feel, tangled with hers…
“Jace,” she breathed.
“Violet.”
Breathing became even more difficult as his eyes bore into hers. “I’ve never been…unprofessional with a client before,” she admitted hoarsely.
“It’s okay.”
“Is it?”
“Uh-huh,” he breathed onto her neck again. Dipping his head, he kissed her neck again and dragged his mouth over her collarbone.
“Because when it comes to you,” she croaked. “I want to throw all the rules out the window.” And throw you down on the table and have my way with you.
“You picked the right guy then,” he said with a smirk. “I never play by the rules.”
She sucked in a breath to clear her head. That was a mistake. It only made matters worse, for all she did was inhale more of his masculine scent. The fresh scent of the soap on his skin, the spicy fragrance of the massage oil, the woodsy smoke from the fire.
“I shouldn’t be doing this,” she murmured. Her brain couldn’t think of any of the specific reasons while his thumbs were rubbing circles on her hips, but she knew they were in there
somewhere.
“Why not?” he asked, tearing his lips from the delectable skin of her neck. “Now seems like a good time to chuck your rules out the window.”
“Just this once?” she whispered and licked her lips.
His eyes watched her tongue glide across her plump lower lip and a look of anguish crossed his face. “It’ll be our little secret,” he promised huskily.
Violet stared into his ice blue eyes. The thought of sharing a secret with Jace McQuaid both excited her and frightened her. She was excited to find out how perfectly his mouth molded to her own and frightened for the exact same reason.
A twinge of guilt vied for her attention. She wasn’t supposed to be doing this. She shouldn’t even be here, alone with him. But Phillip was keeping secrets from her.
Well, she could keep a secret, too.
She closed her eyes and her lips parted. Then, when Jace kissed her on the mouth, the guilt was gone, dissolving like Jell-O gelatin in a dish of boiling water. It was like she had never been kissed before. When Jace explored the depths of her mouth with his tongue, she forgot about everything outside the cabin. Phillip who?
She kissed the corner of Jace’s mouth at the base of the scar and ran her tongue up the length of it. He made a sound against her lips that made her shudder.
Neither of them was aware of the blizzard outside. The falling snow piled up on the driveway and the main road and the trees sagged with the weight of it. Violet could only feel the flurry of desire swirling through her bloodstream.
Suddenly, Jace stiffened and pulled away. “You should know I’m not looking for a relationship,” he told her, looking deep into her eyes.
“Me neither,” she replied, sounding relieved.
Jace relaxed again. With those two words, Violet became the perfect woman. Well, those two words along with the fact that she was a fan of his profession, had hands that knew just how to rub him the right way and she had a slammin’ body. All great attributes in a woman.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked as he peppered kisses down her throat.
“One hundred percent,” she murmured. “It’s just sex, right?” she clarified.
Razors Ice 04 - Hot Ice Page 10