Deadly Desire (22 page)

But Jace knew nothing about his relationship with Carrie could be classified as normal. And for her to rush away from him like that must have meant she’d had at least some sort of reaction to his touch. He almost didn’t want to consider the implications. He’d long since accepted that there could be nothing between them, but Carrie’s actions made him wonder if her defenses might be crumbling after all this time.

He glided through the revolving doors and into the lobby of Hanson, Allen & Chase. As he waited for the elevator, he admired the gold lettering of the law firm’s sign. One day, a new name would get added to the sleek lobby wall. Hanson, Allen, Chase & Simmons. Jace was certain of it. If anyone could do it, Carrie could.

When he reached the tenth floor where Carrie and the rest of the corporate attorneys held court, he eased out of the elevator and strode purposely toward the welcoming desk. A young, perky blonde gave him a bright smile and flicked her hair back from her face.

“I’m here for Carrie Simmons.” He gave the receptionist a winning smile, an expression he knew women were particularly fond of receiving from him.

“Of course, Mr. Holt,” the girl said, reaching for the phone. “I’ll just call her now.”

Jace studied the girl. She might be young, yes, but the way she held back her shoulders and kept the nervousness from creeping into her eyes made him think she might be more put together than most of the other women he’d met recently. Unfortunately, now that he’d seen Carrie again, he couldn’t manage even the hint of interest. This girl couldn’t compare to her in any way.

“Jace,” he said, continuing to smile. “You can call me Jace.”

“Are you seriously flirting with Anna?” Carrie’s voice rang out sharp. “Leave the poor girl alone.”

Jace pivoted to find Carrie’s familiar glare, the one that made her pixie features look cute, almost like a harmless bulldog. Again, he noted her anger, a strong reaction to light and harmless flirting, something that shouldn’t have bothered her if her feelings for him were well and gone.

“It was nice to meet you, Anna.” Jace gave the pretty receptionist a nod before following Carrie down the hushed hallway toward her office. Her spine was stick straight, her shoulders tense. She was back in her skirt suit again. It was long and barely showed her calves, though they were particularly well-toned calves, and the material shifted seductively against her ass.

A part of him wondered how she’d react if he reached out and pressed his knuckles into her skin, rubbing her raw and prickly mood away. Carrie was so tense now, so uptight, she needed someone to take it all away from her. She would turn to putty in his hands, just like she’d done on a regular basis before their parents had decided to tie the knot, bringing everything between them to a grinding halt.

When they reached the small but well-decorated office with a view that offered sights of Madison Avenue below, Carrie quietly closed the clear glass door with a click. His eyes raked over the wall, her achievements to date lined up in elegant oak frames.

Carrie settled into the chair behind her desk and clasped her hands in front of her, as if he were just another client who had stopped in for a quick chat. “Why are you here, Jace? I thought you had a meeting with Rick today to go over your options if the police decide you’re a person of interest.”

Jace unbuttoned his suit jacket and eased into the leather chair across from her. “Rick is not who I want representing me.”

“Well, you’re not going to get what you want even if I wanted to give it to you.” Her cheeks flushed, and she cleared her throat. “It’s against company policy.”

“Then, let’s talk about your exit last night.”

“What about my exit?” Carrie’s face reddened even more, and Jace knew his gut instinct was right, just like it always was. She still had feelings for him, strong ones even. She might be trying to fight them away, but she wasn’t doing a very good job of it if her sparkling eyes and rosy cheeks were any indication.

“You ran out on me,” he said in a low voice. “And it wasn’t because you had to get up early for work.”

“Well, it certainly wasn’t because of anything else!” She raised her voice and fisted her hands on the towering stack of papers on her desk. “You tried…”

Jace tapped his finger on his knee. “I didn’t try a thing, Carrie. If I had, it would have been a lot more interesting than my hand on your elbow.”

Carrie’s face flamed.

“You seem to be getting flustered,” he said, a small smile lighting his lips. “Just like last night.”

“Jace Holt, I hope you’re not implying what I think you’re implying.” Carrie narrowed her eyes and flicked her gaze to the glass door. She lowered her voice and spoke the next words in a hiss. “We’re…
you know
.”

He thought it was interesting how she couldn’t even say the word.

“Only by marriage.” He crossed his arms. “Through parents neither of us are particularly close to. And we were already involved when they met. We should have just told them. I’m certain they would have understood.”

“It’s still not right,” she said. “You know it just as much as I do. No one would understand. No one here at work, no one you do business with, and especially no one in the family.”

Her words stung, even though it was an old argument and one he’d heard many times. He didn’t understand why things had to be this way, why fate had dealt out this particular hand of cards. It was as if the universe had to punish him somehow, and this was how it chose to ensure he’d remain forever miserable. No matter how much power he accumulated, no matter how many dollar signs were added to his bank account, he’d never have the one thing he wanted more than all of it combined.

“Carrie.”

“You can’t tell me I’m wrong.” She shook her head hard, and wavy strands of her hair fell into her wet eyes. “I’ve seen the tabloids, Jace. The slightest bit of scandal, and you show up all over the headlines.”

“I don’t
care
about the headlines,” he almost growled. He wished she could understand that no matter the obstacles they might encounter, none of it would matter in the end.

“Of course you don’t, Jace,” Carrie snapped, ears and nose and neck turning bright red. “Because no matter what the playboy of the year does, he still gets to rule over his kingdom. You think my bosses won’t care if one of their associates shows up all over the newspapers for doing something like that? You think clients will want to work with me then? Or is my job not as important as yours?”

The room crackled with tension, and it took all of Jace’s control not to grab her right then and there and
show
her what he thought of the tabloid headlines and the rest of her familiar arguments. The world be damned. He wanted to push her up against the wall, shove her skirt up to her waist, and rip off her cute little pink thong—he remembered her favorite panties very well. He wanted his mouth on her wet lips, his cock between her thighs, and her heart and body all to himself.

He wanted his girl back, and nothing stopped Jace Holt from getting exactly what he wanted.

Jace had rattled Carrie’s nerves once again. She took a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart and rid herself of the intimate memories running through her mind. Her eyes stayed firmly glued to her desk, but she knew without looking that Jace’s gaze held a heat she hadn’t seen in years.

“Jace,” she said, shakily. “I think it’s best if you go see Rick now. He’ll be waiting for you in Conference Room B.”

“I thought I made my wishes clear,” he said, his voice irritatingly calm and smooth. How could he stay so collected with the crackling tension in the air? Perhaps she was the only one who could feel it, but she found that hard to believe. “I don’t want some sub-standard lawyer when I could have you.”

“It’s Rick
Allen
you’re meeting.” She finally looked up to meet his eyes. “One of the managing partners. He’s one of the smartest men I’ve ever met.”

“Very well.” Jace swept up from his chair and buttoned his suit jacket. “You’ll accompany me though.”

“You know what? Fine.” She felt her defenses chipping away. Jace was like that. If he saw a weakness, he kept knocking against it until the whole wall went crumbling down. “I’ll be right behind you. I just need a few minutes.”

His lips quirked. “Agreed. You wouldn’t want to look flustered in front of your boss.”

She glared up at him, but his smile never faltered. He looked smug and one hundred percent in control whereas she knew her face betrayed the opposite. Jace had won this round of whatever twisted game they were playing, and she hated him for it, even though a tiny part of her felt thrilled from the top of her head all the way down to her pinky toe.

“Just go,” she said.

Carrie watched Jace slide out of her office in one fluid motion, like a cat stalking its prey. And she knew exactly who his prey was. She pressed her hands flat on her desk and sucked in a breath of fresh air that didn’t include the tantalizing scent of his musky aftershave. Somehow, in just twenty-four hours, Jace Holt had gotten under her skin.

A knock on her open office door made her glance up, heart in her throat, expecting to see that small smile on his handsome face. But instead, it was only Sarah, Carrie’s oldest friend from law school who had gotten a job at the firm when Carrie had. Carrie’s heart sunk that it wasn’t Jace again after all, but not before she scolded herself for the idiotic reaction.

“Was that Jace Holt I just saw leaving your office?” Sarah asked, brushing a dark strand of her cascading locks out of her face as she shut Carrie’s office door. “What’s that hunk of a man doing here?”

“It’s a long story.” Carrie sighed and met her friend’s curious gaze. Sarah knew the whole long and sordid history of Jace and Carrie. She’d been there when they’d first met, had endured their on and off status through the college years, and had toasted Carrie with champagne when she’d finally found herself in Jace’s arms again three years before. He’d stopped in at the firm’s Christmas party, and she’d ended up in his bed. For weeks, they couldn’t get enough of each other’s bodies. Sarah had been there to hear all the juicy details, along with the complaints that Jace would never be able to fully commit.

And she’d been there to hand Carrie tissues when she’d found out that her mom had eloped with Jace’s dad, in Vegas of all places.

“You okay?” Sarah’s eyebrows crinkled as she took in Carrie’s frazzled state. Because Jace had been right, she was very much flustered.

“I’m fine.” Carrie smoothed the front of her blouse and gave Sarah a strained smile. “He’s just up to his old tricks, that’s all.”

“His old tricks.” Sarah’s concern morphed into a smile, and she shook her head. “I thought he’d given up on trying to get you back into his bed.”

“Apparently not.”

Sarah leaned forward and dropped her voice to a whisper. “Are you going to let him?”

“Sarah!” Carrie gasped and glanced at the closed door. Even though she had her own private office, it wasn’t exactly secluded. The door was clear glass, so anyone who walked by could see inside, and it certainly wasn’t soundproof. “There’s a pretty major reason why I could never do that.”

“But you want to.” Sarah said the words in a singsong voice, the one she used when she was joking around but meant every word.

Carrie sighed and rolled her eyes, standing from her desk chair and snatching a notebook from the clutter. “I swear, you’re just as bad as he is. We’ll talk about this later. I’ve got to go.”

“Where are you going? I thought you had a mountain of work to do today.”

“I’m so swamped, I have moss growing on my shoes.” Carrie stared at the pile of work on her desk, but knew that if she didn’t go into the meeting with Jace, he’d come back in here and probably carry her inside the conference room to force the issue. “Unfortunately, my hands are tied.”

“Carrie.” Rick Allen stood when she entered Conference Room B. Carrie’s palms felt a little damp as she took a seat at the dark oak conference table. Something about Rick always made her nervous. Even though he was the youngest, he was the wealthiest managing partner at the firm, and he had a commanding presence about him that none of the other partners had. He rarely ever lost a case, and when he did, someone usually got fired.