Fever (Breathless #2)(5)

Bethany was utterly confused. But then Jace turned to her and there was something in his gaze that caught her breath.

Interest.

Not just a look like a man gave a woman when he wanted to f**k her. It was something different and she couldn’t put her finger on it. But then, he’d watched her all night. She knew that because she’d watched him too.

“I’m sorry,” Jace began.

“Does this offer come with dinner?” she blurted.

She was instantly mortified, but she also knew in that one moment when he looked at her, that she didn’t want him to walk away. Not tonight. Tonight, she wanted one night in the sun. Where it was warm and bad things didn’t happen. She wanted one night to forget her life, Jack and all the problems that came with both.

This man could give her that. She was absolutely positive on that count. And if he came with Ash, she’d just have to take that too.

She did not want to walk out of this hotel into the cold and back to what awaited her.

“What?”

Jace stared at her like she’d grown two heads. His brows drew together and his gaze became even more piercing, like he was peeling her from the inside out.

She gestured toward Ash. “He said you two wanted a threesome. I’m asking if the offer comes with dinner.”

“Well, yeah,” Ash said, his tone suggesting he was insulted.

“Okay then,” she said before she could change her mind.

She knew it was stupid. She knew it was one of the most stupid things she’d ever done, but she wasn’t going back.

“I have to finish here first,” she said while Jace just stood there, silent and brooding, his gaze never leaving her even once. Not to look at Ash. Not to look away. Fixed on her.

“No you don’t,” Ash said. “You can cut out at any time.”

She shook her head. “I get the second half of my pay when I’m done. I have to finish.”

“Party’s about to break up. Gabe’s not going to remain out on a f**king dance floor when what he really wants is Mia at home in his bed,” Ash said. “I’ll cover your second half.”

Bethany went cold and she took a step back, ice forming over her face. Then she shook her head. “I changed my mind.”

“What the f**k?” Ash demanded.

And still Jace stood there. Silent and forbidding, watching her the entire time. It was unnerving and suddenly that alley door was looking better all the time.

“I’m not for sale,” she said in a low voice. “I get that I asked for dinner. I shouldn’t have. You were offering sex. But I won’t be paid for it.”

Pain crept over her. Distant memories, not ebbing. Choices. Consequences. It all drifted together until it was a murky, impenetrable darkness surrounding her. One day. Just one day in the sun. But the sun wasn’t for her. It never had been.

A low, muttered curse tore from Jace’s lips. The first sound he’d made in forever. Then that mouth tightened. He was pissed.

His gaze skated sideways at Ash and it was then she realized he was pissed at Ash. Really pissed.

“I told you not to do this,” Jace ground out. “Fuck it, man. You should have listened to me.”

This was getting worse. Evidently Ash wanted some action. Jace did not. Ash wanted to approach her. Jace did not. Could this get any more humiliating?

“I’ve got to get back to work,” she said, hastily backing away until her escape route to the door leading back into the ballroom was secure.

And just as quickly, Jace was there, sliding over, a barrier to her freedom. He was so close she could smell him, could feel his heat wrapping around her and it felt so damn good that she wanted to do something really stupid and lean into him. Just so she could feel it brush over her skin.

Then his fingers slid underneath her chin, a touch so gentle she couldn’t help but respond, lifting with him so that her gaze met his.

“You finish work. We’ll wait. Then we’ll have dinner. Anything in particular you like? And do you want to go out or eat in the hotel room?”

The questions were softly worded. They sounded intimate. He never looked at Ash once. His stare was solidly fixed on her and she was too mesmerized to look away. And she promptly forgot that she’d changed her mind about sleeping with them.

Jerking herself from the intensity of the moment, she glanced down, taking in her clothing. There was no going home and changing. No home. No clothes. Certainly nothing she could wear to any place these two would set foot in.

She cleared her throat. “Hotel is fine, and I don’t care. If it’s hot and tastes good, I’ll eat it. Nothing too fancy. In fact, what I really want is a burger. And fries.”

She’d kill for both right now.

“And orange juice,” she finished in a rush.

Amusement glimmered on Ash’s lips but Jace was still utterly serious.

“Hamburger. Fries. Orange juice. I think I can handle that,” Jace said. Then he checked his watch. “People will be cleared out in fifteen. How much time you need to finish?”

She blinked. “Uh, not everyone will clear out in fifteen minutes. I mean even if the guests of honor leave, people always hang out afterward. Especially when there’s food and drink.”

He cut her off before she could say more.

“Fifteen minutes, Bethany. They’ll be gone.”