All Good Things (31 page)

"I'm treating you to an ice cream." I said factually. "Please, let me."

"No."

I shifted uncomfortably as he handed the nervous teller his debit card. When he finished pressing his pin into the machine, I shook my head, reached for my ice cream and walked out onto the patio. I left him to follow me.

I cringed as I watched Jace chewing off the top of his ice cream. Jeez, that had to hurt the teeth. I thought, as I licked mine the way normal people eat their ice cream. "You like it?"

He shrugged. "I've always liked ice cream."

"Hum," I nodded. "So, how did you come to be the owner of Rush Industries?"

He gave me a hard look as though the question had the force to punch him in the gut. "My father passed it onto me."

"Oh," I nodded. "You always wanted to take over?"

His eyes were serious as he answered. "No. I wanted to be an architect."

I was taken aback. He wanted to be an architect? How did he end up running a multi-billion dollar corporation? "Why didn't you?"

"Life held responsibilities I simply could not turn away from."

"You must have loved your father dearly to take over his company when it was not your interest to do so."

He laughed, but there was no joy in the sound. My skin tightened over my bones. "I loathed the man."

I was speechless. "You loathed you father?"

"I did." He nodded. "He was a controlling son-of-a-bitch."

"But, why would you take over his company then?"

Jace shifted, popped the end of his cone into his mouth and chewed. "We should leave. You will need to change for dinner."

I frowned as he stood, waiting for me to follow suit. I nodded crisply, dropped the remainder of my cone into the nearest can and followed him to his car. We drove in silence to his condo.

"Why are we here?" I asked. "I don't have any clothing to change into here."

"I know." Jace stated.

"Well, what are we doing here?"

"I had Gabe call my personal shopper with your sizes. She delivered an assortment of outfits. I'm sure you will find at least one of them to be to your liking."

I didn't know why, but I was offended. Having someone I didn't know shop for something I considered personal, took a bite at my already upturned nerves. "Why would you do that?"

Jace looked over at me as though just considering the possibility of offense. "I thought you would find it convenient. You'll be spending a lot of time with me here and I want you to have clothing to change into." He frowned. "You made a point of voicing your dislike for wearing the same outfit twice."

I shook my head. "I didn't enjoy feeling like I was a one night stand. That's what I meant by saying I didn't like wearing the same outfit twice." I sighed at the image of myself creeping from his penthouse, in the early morning, on route to my own apartment to change for the day ahead. "I didn't think you would have your personal shopper buy my clothing."

Jace looked uncomfortable. "Please, do not argue with me." He glanced at his watch. "We only have an hour and a half before we have to leave."

"Fine, because we are going to meet your family...I won't press this. But, I want you to know it's far from over. I do not want to feel like doll for you to dress."

Jace bristled at my comment. "You are not a doll, Olivia." He snapped. "And, if I remember correctly, you signed a contract with the knowledge I would be purchasing clothing for you."

My mouth dropped at the mention of the contract. I'd signed the damned thing during a moment of sex-hazed satisfaction. It should be null and void.

Without looking at Jace, or acknowledging his comment, I stepped from the car. I walked to the elevator and pressed the button as he came to stand beside me. He did not say sorry for bringing up the contract, or for being so ridiculously hurtful about his words. Instead, he weaved his fingers through mine and pulled me into his chest. As we waited for the elevator to arrive at the parking garage floor, Jace's hands started a slow exploration of my stomach. I wanted to be mad at him. I wanted to push him away...but, I couldn't. I could not deny myself his touch. It was like a drug and I was irrevocably addicted. There was not much I could think of him doing that would persuade me to refuse the fire his touch ignited.

I leaned my head back against the nook of his shoulder and sighed, closing my eyes. I let the tension release from my body as his hands moved to the waistband of my leggings. His fingertips skimmed my skin, trailing a path of fire in their wake. God, what did this man do to me?

Without shame, I pressed my hip into his hand, reveling in the sweet pressure the weight of his fingers provided as he dipped his hand lower. He rubbed my aching spot overtop of the material of my leggings and, I sighed, unable to control the effects of his touch.

"I dislike it when you challenge me." Jace said against my earlobe. I moaned. The deep throaty sound echoed through the parking garage. "But, I love it when you make that sound."

I moaned again as he pressed harder at the ache he'd created within me. Oh, I needed him. I wanted him. Only he would do.

The elevator dinged and Jace stepped away from me as the door opened. Lucky for me, no one stepped out to see the haze of lust burning in my eyes. Only Jace was subject to such a view.

I followed Jace into the elevator. When the door closed behind us, his eyes blazed. "Stand in the corner, Olivia." Jace pointed to the corner he wanted me to stand in, and I moved slowly to oblige his command.

I stared straight into his eyes as he typed a code into the elevator and it stopped moving. My heart raced as he stocked toward me. It was unnerving...but, I was completely turned on. Jace's blue eyes were hot as they settled on my breasts.

"You're breathing so quickly." He stated.

I gulped. "I am."

My words were choppy and he grinned at their sound. His hand moved to the hem of my shirt, and he pulled it up, before dipping his fingers into the band of my pants. My breath caught in my throat as he moved his hands deeper. I gasped, a whimpered sound, when his fingers found their target. He spread my lips and stroked his finger over my wet folds. Unable to stop myself, I pressed into his hand. He pinched my clit in response and, I cried out. It was a pained pleasure, serving only to trap me deeper into the lusty haze.

"Watching you unravel in my hand is a delicacy." Jace spoke huskily.

I closed my eyes as he moved two fingers slowly inside of me. His thumb continued its delicious assault on my clitoris and, within moments, his lips were pressed hotly against mine. With every flick of his fingers inside my body, I moaned. He swallowed every sound as though he was a man starved. It was an erotic thought...that this brilliant, beautiful man, would be starved for me. It emboldened me in a way I never imagined possible.

Jace kissed me relentlessly as my body climbed higher and higher up the rungs of ecstasy. I moved my hands over the carved contours of his immaculate chest before dipping them into the collar of his dress shirt. The skin of his back was hot against my fingertips and as his strokes quickened, my nails bit into his shoulder blades.

My body had become a bundle of over stimulated nerves in only a few short moments. Every inch of skin over my body was charged as my insides quaked in desperate search of release.

"Come for me, Angel." Jace begged.

Those words were all I needed to come undone in his hand.

Completely.

My body slouched against the wall as I breathed in deep breaths of the warm air that had been trapped in the elevator with us. It tasted of Jace. It tasted delicious. Decadent.

My eyes opened to find Jace staring down at me with tender care alight in his spectacular eyes. My heart swelled to a point of pain and I pressed my lips shut tightly to keep from speaking the three little words with the power to ruin everything.

"From now on, do not argue with me. Do not deny me." His words were stiff, but in his eyes there was emotion so potent, my breath caught. "If this proves anything, it's that you cannot resist me. You cannot resist this."

I sighed heavily. Jace was right. I couldn't resist him. I didn't want to resist him...but I wanted so much more then he was giving to me. God, I only wanted his love. Everything else was irrelevant. I understood this part of Jace that craved the power control provided him. I recognized the need within his eyes, as the same need plaguing my own father. The only difference was, unlike my father, Jace seemed to strive for more. Within his quest for control he was slowly, but surely, picking away at the stone barrier he'd built up around his heart. I couldn't help but wonder if he even realized his guard was crumbling...I hoped; no, I prayed, it would crumble faster.

There was no doubt in my mind I would wait for Jace until the end of time. However long it took him to accept the affections of another as his equal partner, I would wait. I loved him. I couldn't turn away from him for something so simple as a consuming need to control every minute aspect of his life and surroundings.

In all his faults...he was the embodiment of perfection.

Jace took my silence as acceptance of his harsh words. He pressed his lips to my forehead in a fleeting kiss that warmed my heart, before he turned to tend to the elevator. As it started its climb to his penthouse, I couldn't help but think, actions spoke so much louder than words. Jace might talk all high and mighty with his need to control everything, including me. But, his gentle kisses and frantic house calls in the middle of the night with white-hot chocolate proved to me, what I realized, he might not yet recognize. Jace cared deeply for me. He might not be in love with me...but, he cared for me in a way that frightened him. If he weren't so determined to show me how my will could bend at his whims, then I might believe otherwise. But, his near frantic need to prove to himself he had me hooked, only served to prove to me just how deeply his feelings for me were rooted.

The elevator door rolled open. Jace grasped hold of my hand as he pulled me gently from the box. He swiped his key card into the door and swung it open. Still, he didn't release my hand. I kicked off my flats and waited for instruction on where to find the clothing he had purchased for me.

"Come." He tugged my hand, leading me to the stairs. "I will show you to your room."

My room? He gave me my very own room? What for? I wanted to question him, but I couldn't find it within me to search for appropriate words...or, even my voice. I was still reeling from his hot touch in the elevator, to his cool words afterward. It seemed everything Jace did resulted in my mind reeling.

I followed him through the hall and my heart jolted when he stopped at a door closest to his bedroom. He turned to face me, his eyes dark and smoky.

"I wanted you to be as close as I could get you." He gestured to the door and I bit my tongue from pointing out his room would have been more effective in getting me closer.

I nodded in response. A frown pulled at his brows as he turned to open the door to 'my bedroom'.

It was beautiful. It was the complete opposite to his. Everything was warm and cozy feeling. The color scheme was golden brown and beige with pops of burnt orange. It was serene. Just looking at the dormant fireplace and the intimate seating area made me want to curl up in my most comfortable, heinous pair of pink fleece pajamas with a steaming cup of white hot chocolate.

"Do you like it?" Jace asked huskily from behind me. I nodded. "I chose these colors because they are how you make me feel inside." His tone lowered and when I turned to look at him, I saw his discomfort shining clear in his eyes. "You make me feel warm."

I sighed at the meaning of those words. God, he was a talker...when he wanted to be.

Jace coughed. "Your closet is through the bathroom." He pointed to a closed door. "You can have a quick shower and get yourself dressed."

He fumbled for a moment by the door and I watched him. I couldn't find two words to put together, so I said nothing at all. Jace nodded, looking unsure as he closed the bedroom door behind me. As soon as he was gone from sight, I felt empty.

***

I ran a hand through my hair as I paced the floor of my bedroom. What the hell had I done wrong? Olivia hadn't said a word to me since we were in the elevator. My stomach felt as though it were being chewed from the inside out. My nerves were fucking shot.

It was obvious there was something wrong...but what? I'd run through the day a thousand times and I couldn't find the glitch that spun my perfect picture into this tense evening we faced.

"Shit," I whispered aloud as I sat down on the edge of the bed. This was not the mood I wanted Olivia in when she met my mother. My mother and sister were the two most important people in the world to me. Never before had I ever shared them with another person in my life, except Caleb. But, I wanted Olivia to meet them. It hadn't taken her long to climb the ladder of my affections. She was quickly becoming the most important person in my life.

It was her face I wanted to wake up to each morning. It was her hair I wanted to run my fingers through when I kissed her lips. It was her I wanted to see in my kitchen every morning...barefoot...and hell, I don't know what I want.

I dragged my hand over my face as I shook the almost thought from my mind. All I knew was, I wanted Olivia...in every way. She was the yin to my yang.

Whatever it was I'd done to upset her, I had to fix it.

Chapter 24

I took a deep breath of air into my lungs and sighed. Damn...she smelled so good. I snuck another peek at her in the passenger seat at a red light. She looked good. The little white dress she wore was cut perfectly to accentuate all the right curves, while at the same time, pulling off that modest look women love. Her heels were nude to match her handbag and she wore a stunning gold watch. Her wavy hair was down around her shoulders...just the way I loved it.

A flashback of the first time I'd ever seen her shot though my mind. I remembered the way her red lips looked as they lifted at the corners in the formations of a smile. She looked like an angel then...and she looked like one now.