The Next Play: Part One Page 9

  “Jace, stop,” he grunted, when she tried to move from between him and the chair, intending to storm out of there. “You’re not leaving.”

  “Of course I am. And it’s Jocelyn! J-O-C-E—”

  “Shut up,” he snarled, his big hands suddenly curving around her hips and yanking her against him. She gasped as she crashed against his hot, hard-muscled body, and the ridiculous ease with which he picked her up and spun around, setting her down on the top of his desk, left her mouth gaping like a fish. Then he pushed his hands into her hair and started lowering his face over hers, and she slammed her mouth shut so quickly it left her teeth aching.

  “Open your mouth,” he growled, the guttural words completely at odds with the soft, seductive brush of his lips across hers, his breath warm and minty. “Open it wide.”

  She shook her head no like a stubborn child.

  “Yes,” he groaned, using his hold on her hair to tilt her head back even more as he pushed his powerful thighs between her legs, causing her flared skirt to rise. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since the conference room. I need to know how you taste.”

  Before she could think of a way to dissuade him, his tongue stroked the seam of her lips once…twice, and she gave in with a breathless moan, unable to resist. Her hands clawed at his broad shoulders as he covered her mouth with his, and it was pure freaking deliciousness. He kissed her like he needed the flavor of her mouth to survive, and it was the lushest, most passionate experience of her entire life.

  Drowning in the pleasure, Jocelyn got lost in the textures and taste of him, his wicked tongue rubbing…delving…thrusting, taking her mouth as if he meant to consume her—or commit her to memory. Harsh breaths were greedily taken as they broke apart for air, then immediately went back for more, one big hand still fisted in her hair, while the other curled possessively around her hip. When he pulled her closer, her breasts got crushed against his solid chest, and she could feel the heavy ridge of his thick erection pressed up hard against her belly, causing her to instinctively rub against him. He growled in response, the hand on her hip sliding around to her ass, while the kiss just kept getting hotter…hungrier, until she was reeling from the exquisite sensations, feeling like something wet and succulent was filling her up, pressing against her seams, about to tear her apart.

  Desire. Sweet and painfully sharp. So intense that it suddenly scared the hell out of her.

  “No,” she gasped, jerking her face to the side to break the kiss even as she clung to his muscular shoulders, digging in with her nails. “We have to stop. I…I can’t do this.” Not here. Not now. Not with you.

  Something that sounded ferociously primal rumbled deep in his chest, vibrating against the tight tips of her breasts. “Damn it, Jace, give me your mouth back. Now, or I’m going to take something you’re not ready to give me.”

  “You wouldn’t force me.” Despite the trembling of her body, her words were firm. He might drive her crazy, but she knew, deep down, that she had nothing to physically fear from this man.

  “No, I don’t force myself on women,” he told her, rubbing his bristled cheek against her smooth, sensitive one in a way that made her want to feel that soft, auburn stubble all over her body. “I would never do something that vile. But…”

  She had to swallow twice before she could say, “But what?”

  “But I could make you want it.” His long, strong fingers slid up the inside of her thigh and stroked once over the damp crotch of her panties, making her shiver so hard she would have tumbled off the edge of the desk if he hadn’t been standing between her legs. Stroking her again, he held her locked in place with the raw, blistering intensity of his stare. “I could make this little pussy so hungry that it forgot all about your uptight moral standards. Monogamy is for fools, Jace, and there are no goddamn hearts and roses. Not in the real world. So save yourself some trouble and learn to live a little, before it’s too late.”

  She gasped with hurt and shoved hard at his shoulders. “You can be such a jerk,” she choked out, hating how quickly he could pull her in, only to suddenly make her feel like killing him. It was like the guy wanted her close, then panicked when she was actually there, in his arms.

  He gave a sharp, bitter bark of laughter, and then another one of those arrogant smirks lifted the corner of his mouth. “And you’re a starry-eyed little fool. One who’s driving me fucking crazy, because I can’t seem to think about anything but getting my dick shoved up deep inside you every second of every goddamn day.”

  Shaking her head, she said, “That’s never going to happen.”

  “Yeah?” he asked, that dark velvet voice pitched low and intimate, the same way she imagined he spoke in a woman’s ear while he was riding her, burying that impressive cock inside her with strong, hammering strokes that destroyed her with pleasure. “Then why are you so damn turned on by the idea? Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it, Jace. Because no matter where I get my cock in you—cunt, mouth, or that hot little ass—you’re going to go wild on me. Ignite like a little spark in my arms, and blow my fucking mind.”

  “I’m not agreeing that it’s going to happen, because it’s not. But if it were—you don’t sound very happy about it,” she pointed out, trying to slide out from between him and the desk. But it was impossible to do with him still standing between her legs, refusing to budge an inch.

  “I’m not.” His blue eyes burned with an unholy light, as if they were lit from within. “You’re trouble, and even though I know it, I can’t stay away from you.”

  Wondering if she should just spin around on the desktop and climb off the other side, she said, “You could try. It’s not like you don’t have plenty of other options. I hear women basically drop themselves at your feet.”

  With an arrogant snort, he took her chin between his finger and thumb. Then he waited for her to lift her gaze back to his, before saying, “Yeah, maybe so. But I’ve had too many that are all the same.”

  She jerked her chin out of his grip. “That makes you sound like such an asshole.”

  “Maybe,” he conceded with a shrug. “But at least I’m not holding out for something that I’m never going to find. That doesn’t even exist.”

  “Like love?” she questioned, even though a little voice inside her head was screaming for her to shut up and figure out a way out of there.

  “Exactly like that.”

  She blinked up at him. “Then what about Denny and Gabe?”

  His expression tightened, those long auburn lashes lowering until they’d concealed whatever telling emotion was burning there in the molten blue. “They’re a rare exception to the rule,” he said after a moment, before finally backing up a step.

  Sliding off the front of his desk, Jocelyn breathed a sigh of relief when her feet hit the floor, though her insides were still churning.

  “Jace,” he said, taking hold of her chin again and tilting her face up to his. “I’m tired of playing this game. I’m tired of being with other women and seeing your face the entire time. Tired of fucking them and having your goddamn scent in my head, imagining it’s your taste on my tongue. I want the real thing, damn it. I want it all so fucking bad it’s killing me. And you know what?”

  “What?” she asked, her throat working hard as she swallowed.

  “You want it too. As badly as I do. You’re just too terrified to admit it.”

  “I told you, I…can’t.” But what she really meant was I won’t. “I can’t just have sex with you.”

  “You can,” he countered in a husky rasp. “And as soon as you realize it, I want you to come to me. This is an open deal. Available 24/7. Don’t ever hesitate to ask for it when you want it. Just find me, and I’ll give it to you.”

  She stared up at him with wide eyes, painfully aware of the heavy beat of her heart, her pulse thrashing in her ears. Even her fingers and toes were tingling. “What?” she heard herself say. “What will you give me?”

  His face was flushed, and hi
s dark eyes gleamed. “Whatever the fuck you need.”

  Ouch. That hurt, because there was no way in hell it was true.

  “Will you really?” She stared back at him, wondering what he saw when he was looking at her like that. With so much raw, ruthless emotion. “Can you give me the commitment you don’t believe in? The love you think is for fools? Or just meaningless sex?”

  His expression went from hungry and hot to careful and closed within the blink of an eye. “There’s a lot to be said for a good hard fuck, Jace.”

  “And that’s all you want? The limited use of my body?”

  He let go of her chin to stroke the back of his knuckles over her cheek. “You wouldn’t regret it.”

  She couldn’t keep a sad smile from curving her lips. “That just shows how little you know me.”

  “Not everything has to be a goddamn fairy tale,” he bit out with a blast of frustration, taking another step back and shoving his hand through his hair so hard that it had to hurt.

  “That’s your reality, I guess.” Soft, halting words that burned in her throat. “In mine, there’s more to sex than mindless fucking.”

  “Is there?” he asked, pinning her in place with the devastating force of his stare. “Is there really?”

  “There could be,” she said, searching his expression for any cracks in his armor. But he was stonier than a statue, not even that muscle ticking at the side of his jaw.

  “You know what I think?” he asked, and she braced at the sudden ugliness of his tone, his beautiful mouth twisting with a sneer. “I think you need to get laid, and fast. I think you need a good, hard, sweaty fuck to remind you of what it feels like to breathe. To be alive. Because right now you’re nothing but a goddamn punchline, Jace. You’re a fucking joke to every twenty-four-year-old woman out there.”

  She jerked as if he’d physically slapped her, and she could have sworn he flinched, as if the serrated edge of his words had cut at his own insides just as deeply as they had at hers. And in that moment, Jocelyn understood just how broken this magnificent male actually was. He might be tall and cut and breathtakingly gorgeous, and as charming as an angel and devil combined, but that was only on the surface. Deep down inside, under the layers of wicked sophistication and effortless sensuality, he was hurting just as deeply as the rest of them. If not more. It made a woman want to be the one to crawl inside that complicated head of his and heal his fractures, resetting him piece by piece, until he was whole and happy. But she couldn’t be that woman. Not when he kept prodding at her own wounds, jabbing at them when he felt the need to put emotional distance between them.

  “Look,” she breathed, smoothing her hands down her skirt as she tried to erase the evidence of what had just happened, “I think we both need to take a step back from this and regroup.”

  “Regroup?”

  “This deal—I know it’s important to you, and to the entire company. And despite not being as qualified as most of the other administrative assistants here, I think I can be an asset. That I can be truly helpful. So if you want me on the deal, and we’re going to be working together, then let’s just add this afternoon to the list of things we’re going to pretend never happened. Okay?”

  He sighed as he rubbed at the back of his neck, the expression on his handsome face caught between so many warring emotions, she had no idea which one would win. Desire and anger still lingered, but there was concern and regret as well now, along with healthy doses of confusion and frustration. “Jace, I—”

  Not wanting to hear what he might say, she quickly moved out from between him and the desk. “I have to go,” she said, cutting him off, “or I’m going to be late getting home. I’ll be in on Tuesday morning and will come to see you first thing.”

  With that, Jocelyn grabbed up her bag and walked away from him, grateful that he stayed behind, his watchful gaze when she looked back over her shoulder, after opening his office door, as dark as a violent, storm-drenched sky.

  She’d been ready to take the stairs if she needed to, unwilling to stand around and wait for an elevator. But the doors were opening to a car as soon as she turned the corner, and she hurried on, relieved that no one else was on it. Just as the doors started to slide closed, her phone chimed again, and she quickly reached for it in her bag, thinking it would be another message about Davey. But the number was listed as Unknown, and as she read the text, she realized she had no idea who had sent her this crap.

  Unknown: Ask Cartwright about his best friend and the admin/fiancée. About how they both fucked her at Harrison’s apartment one night last summer.

  Oh…shit. She squeezed her eyes shut as she slumped against the side of the elevator, shaking, unable to believe what she’d just read. It was crazy. Madness! Gabriel Harrison was completely in love with Denny, and incredibly possessive. How could he have ever shared her with his best friend? It didn’t make any sense!

  And yet, as impossible as it seemed, Jocelyn couldn’t help but remember standing in the break room with Jonah, after asking him if he liked to share his women, and hearing him say: At times, yeah. Depends on the woman, the situation, the ultimate goal.

  Oh, God. She wished she could just erase that stupid text from her memory, but knew it was always going to be there in her mind, whenever she looked at the three of them. That she would always be wondering…hoping it wasn’t true—but would know, with a sick feeling in her stomach, that it probably was.

  “Jace, what’s wrong?”

  Opening her eyes, she jolted away from the wall and watched in horror as Denny stepped onto the elevator with her. Jesus, she’d been so upset, she hadn’t even realized the elevator had stopped at the next floor down. And now she was stuck in the tiny car with the last person in the world she wanted to run into right then, when she was still trying to wrap her head around what she’d just read.

  As the doors slid closed again, Denny placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, her brown eyes shadowed with concern. “Hey, you’re worrying me. Did something happen?”

  Jocelyn swallowed and blinked a few times, unable to think of a single coherent thing to say.

  “Is it Jonah?” Denny asked. “Did he act like an ass again? Do you want me to have Gabe talk to him?”

  Feeling as if she were in a dream, Jocelyn watched her shaking hand lift and twist, positioning the phone so that Denny could read the message that was still illuminated on its screen. After scanning the text, Denny’s eyes went wide as all the blood seemed to drain from her face, her breath sucking in on a sharp, pained gasp. “Oh, no,” she whispered through trembling lips, before jerking her dark gaze back to Jocelyn’s. “When did you get that?”

  “Just now. I have no idea who it’s from.” She wet her lips as she took an unsteady step back, pulling away from Denny’s touch. “Is it true?” she asked, keeping her gaze locked tight with her friend’s shocked, worried one.

  Shaking her head, Denny said, “It’s not what you think, Jace.” It was impossible to miss the urgency in her tone. “Will you go somewhere and have a drink with me so that I can explain?”

  Explain having a threesome with two of the men she worked for? Jocelyn wanted to laugh, but was too raw inside to do anything but stand there and choke back the sob that was building in her throat. “You don’t owe me any explanations,” she forced out, putting the phone back in her bag.

  “Please, Jace. Please just grab a drink with me.”

  Davey was with her parents for the evening, since they often picked him up from preschool and made him dinner, enjoying spending as much time with him as they could. So it was either go with Denny and hear her out, or sit at home in her tiny apartment, brooding, feeling like a complete idiot for every conversation they’d ever had about Jonah. At the time, they’d seemed harmless, just girl-chatting about how hot she thought he was, or what a beast he must be in the sack, when all along Denny had firsthand knowledge. God, it was so humiliating!

  “Okay,” she rasped, wishing she hadn’t left her jacket on the
back of her chair in her cubicle, because she couldn’t stop shaking.

  Denny gave her a brief, grateful smile, and once they reached the building’s main lobby, Den told her there was a nice place just around the corner where they could try to find a table. While Denny sent a quick text to Gabe, letting him know where she was headed and asking him if he could pick her up when he was finished with his meeting, Jocelyn stayed quiet at her side, hoping they didn’t run into anyone from Atlas in the bustling bar.

  “Is it true?” she asked for a second time, the moment they’d sat down at a small table in one of the back corners of the bar, both of them having a glass of white wine. It was a nice place, decorated like a British gentleman’s club, filled with professional men and women who were looking to unwind after a long, tedious week at the office. And even though no one was paying them any attention, she was still careful to keep her voice low. “I know it isn’t any of my business, but you’ve been trying to push Jonah and me together, so it feels like it is my business, Den. Did you really have a…a threesome with them?”

  Denny took a hefty sip of her wine, looking like she needed the liquid courage. “It’s true that the three of us spent one night together, before Gabe and I became a couple,” she said after a moment, her voice soft but clear. She lifted her gaze from the wine glass she’d set on the table with a slightly shaky hand, and then looked at Jocelyn. “An evening, actually. But there’s so much more to it than that.”

  While they sat there and drank the crisp wine, Denny told her about the day that Jonah had approached her late one evening at the office, asking her if she wanted to be Gabriel’s birthday present. Jonah had apparently realized that she and Gabriel were head-over-heels for each other, but a tragedy from Gabe’s past had closed him down, making him think he couldn’t have a future with her. Believing something as extreme as a sexy ménage would finally shake some sense into his best friend—and force Gabe to open his eyes to the fact that Denny was in love with him—Jonah had instigated the events that had gone down that night in Gabe’s apartment.