On the Fly (Crimson Romance) (22 page)

“I
know
you are. There’s no other way you could have paid your debt just like that.”

“Paid … what? Jace, what are you talking about?”

“Stop scamming me, Madden. Your bookie or loan shark or what-the-hell-ever left a message that your debt’s been paid. Now how could you do that if you weren’t back at the tables?”

The sleep evaporated from his eyes, and he stared at her like she was an apparition. “I didn’t. I didn’t pay it.”

Frustration made her want to scream, and she planted her hands on her hips. “What, he decided to call it a scratch out of the kindness of his black heart? Yeah, that happens.”

“Jacey, listen to me. I didn’t pay it. I swear on my life.”

Even Madden wasn’t a good enough actor to fake the seriousness, confusion and anxiety she saw building in her brother. Lightheaded, she sat on the edge of his bed. “Then … what happened?”

He scrubbed a hand over his face and blew out a slow breath. “I don’t know. But you’re right. He wouldn’t just forgive it. He said it’d been paid? Someone else must have paid it. That’s the only answer.”

“That’s not possible. No one else knew about your debt.” Well, Carter did — she’d told him on their Halloween date — but what could that have to do with any of this? It wasn’t like she’d gone into specifics.

Madden stared into space for a minute. When he balled his fist and hit the mattress, he nearly bounced her off.

Dread sank low in her stomach, and her face and hands felt cool and clammy. No good could come of asking. “What?”

Madden drove a hand through his hair, clenched his fingers in it. “No. He wouldn’t have.”

“Who wouldn’t have what?”

“There’s no way.”

“Madden!” She slapped his arm, and he blinked, focusing on her as if he’d forgotten she were in the room. The apprehension in his eyes made her swallow hard.

“I may know who did it. But it’s such … I can’t believe he would — ”

Jacey grabbed a fistful of his T-shirt. “Tell me now, or I will throw your two-hundred-dollar hair gel down the garbage disposal.”

He winced then dropped his gaze. “When we were in Dallas, Phlynn and I went out for drinks. We talked about you. Mutual admiration society, by the way. We bonded over how great you are. I told him how I hated myself for making you sell the house because of my mistakes … ”

Her stomach dropped somewhere in the vicinity of her feet. Understanding hit her like a crosscheck to the glass.

Tuesday, February 21st

It had been hard to make it through the workday without storming down to the practice rink and cornering Carter right there on the ice. How dare he? How could he go behind her back and assume responsibility for Madden’s debt? The nerve. The arrogance.
I’ll just swoop in and save the little lady from her problems because clearly she can’t take care of them on her own.
Mocking him in her head only raised her heart rate more.

Her nails cut into her palms, and she breathed through her nose as she strode up the walkway to his front door. She knocked hard enough to bruise her knuckles. Footsteps sounded, then a pause before the door swung open. He stood there in nothing but sweatpants. The view was so spectacular, she almost lost focus. Almost.

Carter’s smile dropped when he saw her expression. “Jacey. What’s wrong?”

She squeezed her fists tighter. Hitting him was waaay too tempting. With a deep breath, she looked around for nosy neighbors or hidden cameras and aimed for an even tone. “Can I come in?”

He still looked at her oddly, but he stepped aside and motioned her forward. She waited until the door closed completely before rounding on him. “How could you
do
that?”

“I do a lot of things. You’re gonna have to narrow it down.” The blank look on his face was all the more infuriating.

She smacked him on the arm and pushed at his chest. “You
know
what I’m talking about. How could you pay Madden’s debt?”

It was almost comical to watch understanding dawn on his face seconds before
oh, shit
replaced it. “I … ”

“Thought I couldn’t handle things myself? I needed a white knight to charge in and save me? Did you think I’d fall at your feet in gratitude and owe you forever?”

“Whoa.” He held up his hands in surrender. “I don’t want you to owe me at all. I didn’t even want you to know I did it.”

“You didn’t think I’d find out? Madden’s debt just disappears, and I’d what? Assume the money fairy took care of it? How stupid do you think I am? I’ve been taking care of myself — not to mention Madden — since I was a little girl, Carter. I’m not helpless.”

“I never said you were — ”

“Your gesture said it for you.”

He released a frustrated breath then got down on both knees.

Confusion and anxiety thrummed through her. She could feel her heartbeat in her face. “What are you doing?”

“I need you to listen, and the towering thing that usually works for me seems to be making you madder.”

In spite of herself, she almost laughed. His deer-in-headlights desperation struck a chord, so she bit her tongue.

“You … are the most self-sufficient person I know. You could run NASA all by yourself. The military could learn something about organization from you. I admit it wasn’t my place to pay Madden’s debt, but I didn’t do it because I wanted anything in return or because I didn’t think you could handle it. I didn’t
want
you to handle it. Jacey, every time I talk to your brother, he tells me how much you’ve sacrificed for everyone you love. And I thought just once, the tables should be turned.”

His words sucked all of the oxygen out of the foyer. It was like falling into a vacuum. She couldn’t breathe, and the atmosphere seemed to squeeze her chest until starbursts flickered at the corners of her vision. She angled around him and sat on the steps that led to the second floor. Head between her knees, she tried to make the room stop spinning. A big, warm hand rubbed her back and the nape of her neck.

She managed to get enough air to speak. “Did you say what I think you just said?”

“Let me say it again. You’re an amazing woman. You do so much for everyone, and you deserve it back. And I want to make sure this last part’s really clear.” He knelt in front of her and lifted her chin with a rough fingertip so she had to meet his gaze. “I love you.”

Her breath left in another rush, and she rubbed her face. Every woman dreamed of hearing a speech like that, and he sounded so genuine. But so had Alex. It wasn’t fair to judge Carter by the standards set by her bastard ex, yet her cautious heart whispered it wasn’t safe to take Carter at his word. She hated the inner debate. Cheating wasn’t enough. Alex had to leave her with the gift of doubt that kept on giving. The vicious what-ifs flew faster and faster around her head. Carter’s fingers curled around hers and stopped the inner taunts in their tracks.

“You don’t have to say it back. You’ve been through a lot. But I’m here, and that’s how I feel.”

His calm, steady gaze didn’t waver. Was this what it felt like to have a rock? Her whole life, she’d poured all her energy into being that stable presence for the people who needed her. She hadn’t ever wondered what it might be like to take that kind of strength from someone else. It hadn’t seemed possible. Maybe deep down she expected everyone to disappoint her.

But this man. This man with the haphazard bed hair, the five o’clock stubble and purple-black bruise on his left cheek from a brawl in the last game, was the antithesis of the polished, clean-shaven, manicured Alex. Carter didn’t promise or ask for anything. He simply offered. And in his eyes, she found a raw vulnerability she’d only ever seen in a mirror.

She held out her arms. When he leaned forward, she fell into him and held on tightly. Jacey squeezed her eyes closed. Just for a minute, she drank in everything he wanted to give. Just for a minute, she silenced the voice that said to depend on anyone for anything was to invite pain. And in that minute, she felt wildly free and weightless.

“So you’re not mad.”

The mumbled words were muffled by her hair, and it took her a second to process what he meant. She laughed a little and leaned back. “About what you did? I most certainly am. About why you did it? No. What’s done is done, but Madden will pay you back.”

He opened his mouth, and she pressed a finger to it. “No argument. I can’t be in a relationship with that kind of debt.”

He kissed her finger then pulled it away from his lips. “It’s not a debt.”

“It is. For this thing to work, I have to feel like your equal. I can’t accept that kind of gift. Do you understand?”

It took him a second, but he nodded. Then the corner of his mouth quirked up in the half smile that dominated her dreams. “Does this mean you want it to work?”

Her heart pounded. Admitting it meant admitting to herself that she had something very big to lose. But who was she fooling? She’d had something to lose the minute he walked into her office. She tried for a smile and rolled her eyes. “Yeah … I guess.”

He tickled her sides, and she laughed, nearly wiggling down the steps. Before she could slide away, he fastened her in his arms and stole a kiss. A really good one. After a couple seconds of
really good
, it shifted into
Dear God, yes,
and she couldn’t remember why she’d come over.

Carter leaned back and held her face in his hands. She smiled at the way his breath hitched when she reached for the waistband of his sweatpants.

“I — I think we should move this upstairs.”

He had a point. Taking him right there on the steps seemed hot in theory, but in practice it would probably be more painful than pleasurable. She held onto the banister and pulled herself up. After a few seconds to make sure her legs would cooperate, Jacey led the way.

“Do you really think I could run NASA?”

“I think you could have fixed
Apollo 13
with some duct tape and a hair pin.”

She grinned over her shoulder. “I’d only need the hair pin.”

• • •

The sway of her hips at eye level nearly did him in before they even reached the top of the stairs. Those tailored pants hugged her curves. No panty lines. He swallowed hard and tried to keep his hands to himself. At least until they got to the bedroom.

Jacey stood by his dresser and kicked off her heels. She unbuttoned her blazer, but he stilled her hands. “Let me.”

Her arms lowered to her sides, and she met his gaze, licking her lips. He cupped the back of her neck and captured her mouth in a deep, slow kiss. The clothes would go eventually. Right then, he needed to feel her. To taste her. Through the sexual haze, a warm sensation flooded him — something close to the way he’d felt when he hoisted the Cup for the first time. But somehow better, stronger. Holding Jacey didn’t just feel good. It felt right.

He pulled her close, arched his body against hers. She gasped into his mouth. He shivered and fought the urge to tear off their clothes and get to business. A wavering voice in his head argued for the value of taking things slow. Without breaking the kiss, he slid the blazer off her shoulders then fumbled with the small buttons on her blouse.

After he unhooked her bra and peeled the pink lace from her skin, he dipped his head and caught a nipple in his mouth. Jacey moaned and cradled his head to her chest with both hands. He’d been with his share of women, but none had ever made him feel like this — that he never wanted to be with anyone else.

When he was about to burst, he leaned back and unzipped her pants. She dug her thumbs into the waistline, but he stopped her and took over.

Skin, more skin. Just when it seemed impossible, a small, purple, silk triangle appeared between her legs as he slid the pants over her hips and down to the floor. He skimmed his hands from her ankles to her thighs as he stood. Curious, he kept going and found a bare bottom. Correction. Thong.

As Carter rid himself of the sweatpants, his erection sprang free. Jacey’s corresponding smile stole the last of his control. He picked her up. She linked her legs around his waist, and he savored her soft, smooth skin while he kissed a path from her cleavage to the hollow of her neck. When he pulled her hips more firmly against his, her slick heat coated him, and her fingernails bit into his shoulders.

Slow. Go slow.

Carter released a breath and climbed onto the bed, laying her down gently. He had the impulse to slide into her in the same motion but remembered to get a condom from the nightstand first.

She met his gaze, and her eyes reflected passion and need, but that wasn’t all. With shaky restraint, he eased inside her. She cupped his jaw in one small hand. Through that touch, he felt what she hadn’t been able to say.

He lowered his head and kissed her soft and slow. Her free hand slid along his side, over his back. Her body trembled with what had to be the same contained desire, but she took her time. The tenderness of her touch doubled the warmth building inside him. No one had ever been so careful with him. His size and occupation — and, all right, reputation — seemed to invite the illusion of him being unbreakable, impermeable.

No one had ever seen through it before. Not until Jacey. She saw through
him
. He wanted to tell the world. He settled by telling her for the rest of the night.

Sunday, February 26th

“Extra cherries on your ice cream mountain?” The smiling soda jerk gestured to a large tub of maraschinos behind the counter. Under the bright diner lights, he looked a bit like Carter.

“Don’t mind if I do.” Jacey grinned and lifted a spoon the size of her arm. Dream calories didn’t count, right? And this was most certainly a dream. One of her favorites. But she couldn’t think too much on that, or things started melting away. Instead, she focused on the three-foot mountain of ice cream before her and watched as Not-Carter dotted it with shiny, red cherries.

Her mouth watered, and she dipped into a scoop of chocolate first. As she lifted the spoon and aimed for her mouth, a new server appeared and hip-checked Not-Carter out of the way. Huh?