All Good Things(17)

"I came to see you, Olivia." Jace stated as though it was obvious, but it was not. There was no reason for him to be here...and this late! It was inappropriate, I thought, before I remembered I was in New York...the city that never sleeps.

I took in a deep breath and tried to act as though his voice didn't affect my body so intimately. "Yes, but why?"

His brow raised. "I promised you when I left the hospital, I would see you again."

Oh, jeez! I was such a fool. He had never been interested in me, for goodness sakes. The sexual tension I'd been entertaining had been entirely one-sided. Maybe I should have taken Trey up on his offer of dinner. It was obvious, by the fact that I was imagining stripping for Jace this very moment I was in need of a man. But, he didn't want me. He wanted me to reimburse him the money he'd paid for my stay at the hospital...and the cruel businessman he was probably wanted interest!

I glared hard at him. "I can pay you whatever you paid the hospital, but I won't pay interest and you will have to take monthly install-,"

"What are you talking about?" Jace growled. One moment he was across the room and the next, there were only inches of space separating us. And those inches were sizzling with electrified energy. If he reached out to touch me, I was certain I would combust.

It took all of my concentration to speak. "That is why you're here? You do want me to pay you back?"

Jace ran a hand viciously through his hair as he scowled down at me and my heart lurched in my chest. He was intimidating. "No. You will not be paying me back, Olivia."

I fisted my hands and his eyes glowed with amusement. "Then, why are you here?"

"I wanted to see you."

My eyes widened. Oh God. This is what I had feared and desired most. Jace wanted to see me. Just me. "Oh,"

His brows furrowed as he shifted his stance. It was really hard to concentrate with him in the same room. His very powerful energy was raw and all consuming. My skin tingled with awareness every time he moved. I knew it was my body's way of begging silently for his touch.

"Oh?" He cocked a half-grin. "That's all you have to say?"

I shrugged, helplessly. "I don't know what else you want me to say."

His blue eyes burned. "Would you say what I wanted you to say, Olivia?"

A frown tugged the corners of my mouth at the reaction my body entertained at his words. My stomach muscles clenched and my core felt uncomfortably warm. "No, I don't suppose I would, Mr. Ru-,"

"I said to call me Jace." He growled and I nodded, abruptly halting my response.

"Jace," I whispered and he stepped closer to me. I scolded myself for my quick need to please him but was distracted by his decadent scent. He smelled...heavenly sinful. He was temptation wrapped in the finest package. God help me, I am weak against him.

"What are you doing tonight, Olivia?" His deep voice rumbled through me, ricocheting through my body, demanding an answer.

"I'm going home. I um," What was I supposed to tell him. I had a date with my cat? Seriously, he would bolt from the shop without ever looking back.

"You um?" he prodded and I blushed. Without warning, Jace lifted his hand. He pressed his knuckles against my flushed skin, swiping gently across my cheek. The action was both innocently affectionate and embarrassingly erotic. I hadn't expected such gentleness to stem from such powerful hands. "You don't know what you do to me when you blush. Your heated skin tempts me to do things you couldn't even begin to imagine. It begs for my touch."

Wow. What was a girl supposed to say to that? His confidence aroused me to an extreme and I was worried if I didn't put some space between us, I would lay down for his taking right here on the plaster dust coated floor. Oh, this was so not the girl I wanted to be...but, I couldn't fathom breaking away from his touch. He was like a drug, and I knew I would be irrefutably hooked at first taste.

"What are you doing tonight?" Jace asked again. His tone was commanding and I found myself answering as though compelled.

"I was going to go home and curl up in bed with white hot chocolate and a book." I murmured as his thumb caressed the delicate skin beneath my eye. His palm cupped my face and I couldn't help but lean into his touch. He made me feel hunted and safe at the same time. My nerves were on high alert, stimulated by his presence alone.

"You were going to go home?" He asked in astonished surprise. "To a bed and a book?"

I nodded meekly. "Don't forget the white hot chocolate."

He frowned. His thumb stilled and he dropped his hand from my face. I wanted to cry out at the broken contact, but I took to wringing my hands instead. I didn't want him to know how ridiculously desperate I was for him. I told myself for the past week I wanted nothing to do with Jace, but it was more than obvious, I had been lying to myself. I wanted everything to do with Jace.