A Match Made by Cupid (Harlequin Special Edition) (13 page)

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 trying 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

J
ace’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 slowly 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.

“Very happy to comply,” he said, freeing the last button. Almost too slowly, he spread her pajama top wide open. Shooting her a look of hunger mixed with pure anticipation, he placed his hands under her hips and pushed up, drawing her torso toward him. Melanie dragged a breath deep into her lungs when his mouth landed on her stomach. His tongue circled and tasted, and her breaths became more ragged.

His mouth moved up, until he reached her breasts and found her nipples. A languid glide of his tongue brought forth a moan; a second slide sent a series of shivers cascading through her body. One breath shuddered out of him and then another as he moved on to her other nipple. Melanie ran her hands along his back, finding the hem of his shirt, and reached underneath. His skin was warm and smooth, his muscles hard and tight.

“Shirt off,” she mumbled as she tugged. Lifting his head, he helped her remove the shirt and then returned to his slow exploration of her body. But the sight of him, his washboard-flat stomach and the lean, muscular beauty of his chest, deepened the fire already burning through her until every inch radiated with heat, with longing.

Another long lick, and Jace kissed and caressed his way to the skin just above the waistband of her pajama bottoms. She moaned again and closed her eyes, allowing herself to sink into the moment, into the sensations that Jace ignited with every touch, every kiss. Her senses expanded in a rush of awareness that seemed so much bigger and brighter than anything she’d ever known.

His hands were on her breasts, his thumbs rubbing her nipples in small, breath-stealing circles. Bending her legs at the knees, she tightened her thighs around him and fluttered her fingers into his hair. Never in her life had she felt so alive.

“You are so very beautiful, Melanie,” Jace said, his voice rich with his want for her. Moving back up her body, he cupped her cheeks with his hands and brought his lips to hers. He kissed her softly at first, but then with more intensity, more passion. Hell, more everything. Without breaking the kiss, Jace slid his hand down her belly until he reached her waistband, where he dipped his fingers, feeling for her panties.

She gasped when his finger pushed inside, stroking her, feeling for himself the strength of her desire. Tendrils of pleasure snaked up and down her body, pulsated through her blood and caused her muscles to shiver and shake. But it wasn’t enough.

Not nearly enough.

Breaking the kiss, Melanie pushed her hips hard against Jace’s hand. “You’re killing me here, Jace. I think the foreplay portion of our evening should come to a close.”

She whimpered when his fingers found a particularly sensitive spot. Giving her the wickedest of grins, Jace said, “Is that so?”

“Mmm-hmm. As in, it should end
now
.”

“See? It isn’t so tough being in charge.” Jace winked, leaned in and gave her another scorching kiss. “Anything else you’d like to say?”

“Condoms. Bathroom. Under the sink,” Melanie said in a gasp of mashed together syllables. “And hurry.”

He did. When he returned, she’d already removed her pajama bottoms, and she was more than happy to assist him in getting his jeans off, one leg at a time. That act alone ramped up her courage, gave her the bravery she couldn’t find earlier. His gaze held hers, steady and sure, while he slid on the condom.

Balancing herself on her knees, Melanie put her hands on Jace’s shoulders and pushed until he was flat on his back. She gave him what she hoped was a saucy wink and moved her body into place, straddling him. “I think I rather like being in control. Who would’ve guessed?”

“I’m not surprised in the least,” he said thickly. With that, he gripped her waist with one hand and used the other to pull her to him. Her nipples hardened when they grazed along the firm plane of his chest, and the ball of heat in her belly flared through her limbs, through every cell in her body, when they kissed.

She found the position she wanted—needed, really—guided him there, inhaled a long, deep breath and slowly sank down. Her head reeled back as he entered her, as her body softened and accepted him, and then tightened around him. They moved together as one, her hands clasped in his, their eyes locked on each other. It was a level of intimacy she hadn’t known existed: powerful and gentle, decadent and sweet, calm and earth-shattering, all at once.

Shivers danced along her skin, pleasure and need churned in her veins, and as their pace quickened, so did their breaths. Jace let go of her hands and grasped her hips. She pushed down against his thrust, hard. The muscles in her body tensed, held and exploded in a tidal wave of sensations, one after another, growing in strength, until every part of her quivered from exhausted satisfaction.

Jace stilled, caught in that breathtaking second before everything synchronized into being. Melanie watched him, loving what she saw, loving that she could bring him the same pleasure he’d given her. He closed his eyes, and a groan spilled from his throat. His body tensed beneath her for one beat, two beats and then a third, before relaxing in satiated bliss.

Drooping her entire body forward, she rested her weight on his chest and tried to calm her breathing. He cracked one eye open, gave her a lazy, sinful smile and tousled her hair with his hand. “So freaking beautiful,” he murmured. “Exquisite.”

She didn’t argue with him or tease him about having his vision checked. If he saw her that way in this minute, then she’d accept it… Hell, she’d revel in it. “Thank you. You’re beautiful, too, Jace. In a manly sort of way, of course.”

“Of course.” A silent question popped into his expression. He voiced it by asking, “Are you about to send me home?”

“No,” she said softly, still stunned by the sheer power of what had just occurred. “You can stay over. I mean, if you want to.”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.” Tousling her hair again, he said, “Come here, Mel. Let me hold you.”

So she crawled off of him and into his waiting arms. They closed around her tightly, securely, as if she was precious and he couldn’t bear the thought of her being too far away.

Silly notion, of course. Jace was a smart man. Smart enough to have learned that a woman liked to be held after sex. Smart enough to know that doing so allowed a man to fall asleep faster, probably with less pillow talk. She shouldn’t assume that this was anything more than that. Regardless, she wasn’t going to overthink a damn thing. She wasn’t going to overanalyze, either. Not tonight, anyway.

Right now, her only plan was to spend the night in Jace’s arms.

Jace stretched out on his couch to read through his latest draft for “Bachelor on the Loose” and tried to ignore the swirl of nausea attacking his gut. He wished to hell that he hadn’t learned about the
Gazette
possibly being sold, because that information was the only thing stopping him from being done with the column once and for all.

But he couldn’t let Kurt down. He was more than the boss: he was Jace’s mentor. Had been since the summer Jace had interned at the paper, back when he was still in college. Kurt had offered him a job before the internship even ended, on the stipulation of graduation. Jace had been a
Gazette
employee ever since. He owed the guy, simple as that.

Swearing, he saved and closed the file. He’d written about a supposed Friday night out with an innocent-looking vanilla who’d turned out to be anything but innocent. Their fictionalized date included the normal club scene where a local band was playing—Jace had checked to be sure the band actually did play two nights ago—followed up by a nightcap at his “date’s” apartment. Where she then proceeded to shock him by wanting to reenact
the
scene between Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke from
9 1/2 Weeks
.

The article held all of Jace’s trademark humor. It had the normal innuendo he had to rely on to toe the invisible line between sexy and raunchy that was necessary for a paper like the
Gazette
. Kurt would love it, as would Jace’s audience. Melanie, though… God, he couldn’t stand the thought of her reading this and believing it to be true. Especially now. Especially after the amazing night they had shared.

So, okay. He’d push past his stubbornness and tell her the truth before the article was printed. He hoped he’d have built up enough trust by then for her to believe him. He had time. This one wouldn’t appear for almost two and a half weeks, and he wasn’t quite as concerned about next week’s column. After all, when
that
date supposedly took place, he hadn’t yet slept with Melanie. Sure, she wouldn’t like it any better than those that came before, but she wouldn’t believe that he’d left her bed for another woman’s. That was essential.

He refused to hurt her that way, refused to let her think that their night together meant so little to him. Not when the opposite was true. Not when he’d never experienced anything like he’d experienced with Melanie. He still didn’t know what to make of it, to be honest. The sex itself was fantastic, but that hadn’t surprised him. With the physical chemistry between them, he’d known a long time ago that they’d be fantastic together.

But sex with Melanie went beyond the physical. There had been this raw, emotional charge between them that he hadn’t expected. He felt it even now, jumping around inside of him like a lightning rod. It scared the hell out of him, because it erased any of the doubts that Melanie might or might not be the woman he wanted. She was that woman. And she now had the power to annihilate him, to crush him beneath her heel and walk away with his heart in shreds.

That was a power no other woman had ever had over Jace.

And damn, she was confusing him. Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, she’d played the part of a woman interested in him. Since then, she’d steered every one of their conversations toward work-related topics. But she also hadn’t pushed him away when he’d kissed her after leaving the courthouse on Friday afternoon. So he wasn’t quite sure what to think. Still, he worried that she was in cooldown mode, raring up to end things before they barely got started.