Jace, p.1
Jace, page 1
JACE
ALPHA COMPANY RENEGADES BOOK 3
KALI HART
Jace is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2020 by Kali Hart
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval systems, without express written permission from the author/publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Epilogue
Alpha Company Renegades Series
Sneak Peek DAWSON
1
ZOEY
Weddings always make me horny. I almost say that to the lady sitting next to me, but she might be someone’s grandma. The hardened lines in her frown warn me she might not be terribly receptive to such a comment, either. Plus, I’m not trying to scandalize anyone into a heart attack tonight.
But the thought floats around in my head anyway. I’ve got the wedding bug bad. And it makes my lady bits tingle with want.
One of my best friends, Sara, married a hunky military man today. My other best friend, Makayla, just took off with one of the hot groomsmen. But the room is still crawling with Army hotties. I wish one of them would catch my eye, but so far, not a single one has even tried to check me out.
“You’re quite the dancer,” the woman says to me.
So maybe I have scandalized her after all, because I’m not shy on the dance floor. My moves aren’t always G-rated. And I can’t really discern if she’s giving me a compliment or being sarcastic. But judging by her defined scowl, I’d say she doesn’t approve. “Thank you! Dancing is one of my favorite things.” I add extra bubbliness to my tone, just to annoy her, letting her believe I took it as a compliment.
“You might be careful, dear.” Her words are laced with disapproval as she pushes up from her chair, reaching for her empty wine glass. “You might attract the wrong sort of attention.” With that nugget of uninvited wisdom, she heads for the bar. I doubt any amount of Chardonnay is going to loosen her up, though.
I narrow my eyes at her, but I doubt she feels my little daggers of fire hitting her back.
All my life, I’ve been told to tone it down or be careful. It’s like everyone thinks I belong in some protective bubble. And now Grumpy Granny has joined the cause. But I’ve always suspected the bubble was more for their protection. I’m outspoken and cheery to a fault, but I’m me.
Only one person has loved me for who I am—full, bubbly, unrestrained personality and all. My late brother, Jeb. I miss him every day. He encouraged me to be myself no matter what... Jeb was Army, like many of the guys in this room. Killed in action on a deployment four years ago. His words of love and encouragement, to embrace myself for who I am, have never left me.
I wish he was here to tell Grumpy Granny to cool her judgmental jets.
If only she knew how little attention I attract, she’d change her tune. I’m curvier than most of the other bridesmaids. My dress is long and poofy—true Cinderella style you know—and not showing off my lady business to the world like half the girls in here. Why Grumpy Granny targeted me when there’s such ripe pickings still out on the dance floor makes no sense.
But that’s just the story of my life.
To emphasize my point—or maybe just to make myself feel better—I empty my sangria and get back on the dance floor. I’m not letting Grumpy Granny ruin my fun. I turn it up a notch and meet her criticizing scowl with an extra-large smile and a wave.
After a few more songs, and several glares from my wisdom-giver, I need a break. I pop out a side door in search of a lesser-used restroom to splash some water on my face. My cheeks are flushed, and my hair has fallen out of it’s curly, pinned setup. But I don’t care. If I’m not going to land my future husband tonight, at least I can let loose and enjoy myself.
The music carries out in the hall. I love to dance. Probably more than anything else. The beat grabs me, and I start to tear it up out here where no one can glower at me or tell me to be careful. I do the sprinkler just to be obnoxious.
JACE
I’m late.
Beckett is going to kill me for missing most of his wedding.
The pre-deployment training and gear issue ran longer than expected. And then an older woman was broken down on the side of the road. If you’ve ever seen an eighty-two-year-old woman—I know because she told me—trying to work a tire iron, you wouldn’t have the conscious to drive by either. No matter where you’re supposed to be.
I did call roadside assistance for her, but it was faster for me to change the tire myself. There’s still a grease smudge on my hands I can’t seem to wash away, but I’m impressed with how clean I otherwise managed to stay.
The ballroom is massive, but signs for the wedding point me down a corridor to the right.
Maybe if I just slip inside and take a seat at a random table, he won’t know I haven’t been here for hours.
About to go in the main double doors, I spot a side hallway. It would be more discreet to enter in through a lesser-used entrance.
Beckett gets it. He’s Army, too. But I’m the only one of us who volunteered for a last-minute deployment knowing his wedding was coming up. He’s one of my best friends, and missing the ceremony makes me feel absolutely rotten. But when the Army says show up here, it doesn’t matter what else you had planned. You do it.
I’m digging inside my jacket to make sure I still have the card—my mom would kill me if I showed up without a wedding card—and that’s why I don’t see her until I’m hardly ten feet away.
The most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on is dancing the sprinkler in a poofy maroon princess dress. Her long, dark curls run halfway down her back. Her eyes are closed, but there’s a look of pure elation on her face. Those curves move to the beat of the music, and I nearly come undone.
“Oh!” she squeals when her eyes pop open and she spots me. She drops her foot and straightens her dress. But the damage is done. Sinful thoughts have already crept into my mind about crawling under that poofy skirt. “Don’t mind me.”
Her bashful smile draws me closer. There’s something about her that makes me forget where I’m at or what obligations are waiting.
“You just get here?” she asks, nodding to the card in my hand.
“Shit,” I mutter. “Yeah, I’m running late.”
“You’re Jace?”
She knows my name. “Guilty.”
“Sara’s been looking for you all night.”
Which means Beckett has also been looking for me. “I got tied up…”
“I’m Zoey, by the way.” She brushes her dress with her hands again, like dancing might’ve attracted some dust. I refrain from taking another step closer, only because I don’t want to frighten her. I’ve been known to be a little intense when I get fixated on something. And I’m definitely fixated on her.
“Nice to meet you, Zoey.” I can’t peel my gaze away from her. No woman has ever had quite such an effect on me the moment I met her. I can’t explain what’s happening, but my heart is beating double-time.
“Give me the card,” she says.
“What?”
“You can’t take it to the gift table. They’ll know you were late then. I’ll get it over there.”
“You’re helping me?”
“Unless you have a better plan?” Her crooked smile is the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever seen. It makes me want to devour those lips.
“I guess that puts you in charge, because I didn’t really have a plan.”
Zoey steps forward, pushing my jacket off my shoulders. “Everyone has already taken these off. It needs to go.” As I shimmy out of the coat, she works at my tie. “This too.” Her delicate fingers work quickly at the top couple of buttons of my shirt. Her touch sears my chest. It’s all I can do to keep my hands at my sides.
“All good?” I ask.
She steps back and assesses me, her gaze rolling up and down my body. “One more thing.” She reaches up to my neck and pulls my head down. Her fingers tousle my hair. It’s almost long enough on top to be out of regulation, as I was reminded today. Now I’m glad I put that haircut off one more day.
“Okay, you’re ready,” says Zoey setting my jacket and tie on a stack of extra chairs outside the door. “Follow my lead.”
2
ZOEY
I don’t know why I’m helping the man I just met.
Okay, that’s a total lie. I know exactly why I’m helping him. The moment my eyes opened and I saw him standing there, my world stopped. It’s amazing I didn’t tumble to the ground with the way the earth halted under my feet.
Jace is the sexiest man I’ve ever seen. The way my panties incinerated instantly attests to that. I feel drawn to him in a way I’ve never experienced before. It’s probably all this wedding hype I’ve created in my head.
But if there’s a future husband for me at this reception tonight, it’s Jace. The thought is nuts, and if I spoke it out loud, I’m sure he would ru
Someday, I hope this will be a story we tell to our future children.
“Zoey?” Jace says my name.
“Yes?” I fantasize about him spinning me around, pushing me up against the door, and kissing the daylights clean out of me.
“Are we going inside now?”
“Oh.” Blush creeps up my neck, and I’m glad my hair has fallen out of its bobby pin prison to hide it. “Yes.”
I take him by the hand and lead him straight to the dance floor in the middle of an upbeat song. It’s crowded out here, and I know we’ll blend in. Jace’s eyes widen in what might be flight, but I tug harder. “Trust me.”
Jace leans down and says against my ear, “I can’t dance.” His breath tickles my neck, and I’m finding it increasingly harder to focus. But then I catch a glimpse of Grumpy Granny glaring at me, and it shakes me awake.
“Then I’ll teach you.”
“Zoey—”
I tug him by the hips. “Follow my lead. You’ll be fine.”
It takes a little extra encouragement, but I finally get Jace to loosen up and start to sway to the beat. We’ve got a little work to do, but at least he’s smiling. It’s what Beckett and Sara see from across the room. “See,” I say to him.
“What?”
I tug him down by the neck. “They’ve seen you now,” said Zoey. “They’ll think you’ve been out here dancing all along.” I want to kiss his neck so badly I almost do. More than irking Grumpy Granny, I want to feel his skin against my lips. To taste him.
“You’re right.” Jace’s smile spreads, and I can see him start to relax. His dance moves improve now that he’s not so uptight and anxious. He takes my hand and spins me around in a circle. I land flat against his chest, in a fit of giggles. Never mind that my nipples are harder than rocks with my breasts pushed up against him.
“I hope you’re having fun,” I say to him, not ashamed at how the girls are on display with the way we’re smashed together.
“I am.”
The song comes to a close, and the DJ announces one for the kids. “That’s your cue to go say hi to the bride and groom,” I tell Jace.
“You’re not coming with me?”
I want to, because it feels like the only place I belong right now is at his side. But so far, I’m pretty sure I’m the only certifiable one who thinks he’s my future husband. “You want me to?” I don’t want to overstep my bounds. I got him in the door unnoticed—mission accomplished.
His hand drops to the small of my back as he ushers me across the dance floor. “You can’t leave me now.”
I won’t leave you, future husband.
JACE
Zoey saved my ass. Big time. Beckett is grinning like an idiot when we make it over, and that twinkle in his eyes tells me he’s jumped to a few conclusions about Zoey and me. I don’t mind, but I hope she doesn’t either.
“You two have sure been tearing up that dance floor,” Sara says to me when she wraps her arms around me in a hug. “I’m so glad you made it.”
“I thought you skipped out,” Beckett says to me.
“My fault!” Zoey raises her hand, her tone bubbly and cute as hell. “I’ve distracted him a little bit.”
Beckett claps me hard on the shoulder, his head shaking with a smile. He probably thinks we were making out in the hallway, and that’s why he hasn’t seen much of me tonight. As long as it doesn’t bother Zoey, I’ll let him think whatever he wants. I wish I had been making out with her, because it’s all I’ve been thinking about since I first saw her. Well, that and more.
“Congrats, man,” I say.
“It’ll be you soon enough,” Sara says to me with a wink, like she knows something I don’t.
I give her a smile, but that’s about all I can do. Marriage wasn’t something I ever thought would pan out for me. I was engaged three years ago. My fiancé was supposed to be back home, planning our wedding when I was overseas. Instead, she was screwing the wedding planner.
But Zoey has me rethinking things. Or maybe it’s just the atmosphere and how damn happy my buddy looks right now.
“You two enjoy yourselves,” says Beckett. “Don’t get into too much trouble.”
“No promises,” Zoey says, her gaze sweeping over me. My dick twitches in response. If only Zoey knew how much trouble I want to get into tonight. “Need a drink?” she asks.
“Nah, I’m good.” With the deployment just around the corner, I should probably allow myself to enjoy a cold beer. I’ll have to go six months without. But I want to be completely sober tonight so I remember every detail of my time with Zoey. “Might be nice to sit for a minute though. Get some water?”
Zoey leads me to a table in the corner that is deserted except for the two of us. The water pitcher is still full, and half the glasses unused.
“Thanks for helping me out,” I say to her. “You didn’t have to do that.”
She bounces a little in her seat. “I wanted to help.”
“How can I repay you?”
I see the redness rush to her cheeks before she can dip her head. Zoey reaches for the water pitcher and pours herself a glass, too. “You don’t need to worry about that.” I wonder what naughty thoughts were going through her mind.
I’m about to start the exhausting string of get-to-know-you questions when I spot an elderly woman a few tables over glaring at Zoey. “Do you know her?”
“Ugh,” says Zoey, chugging her water. “She thinks I’m attracting the wrong kind of attention. Gave me a little lecture earlier. I’m surprised she didn’t just come out and tell me to keep my legs closed and my boobs covered.”
I can’t help but laugh. Zoey’s unfiltered words are refreshing. “Who is she?”
“I don’t know. Isn’t that crazy? I have no idea why she’s so invested in my behavior, but she probably thinks I’m trying to seduce you or something.” Zoey sets down her empty cup with a thud. “I wish I had done something to deserve her dirty looks.”
“I can help you with that.”
3
ZOEY
The wicked expression that falls over Jace’s face makes me all tingly inside. “What did you have in mind?” My future husband is naughty, and I love it.
“Oh, Zoey, I have a few things in mind. But let’s start slow.”
“Slow,” I agree. He sweeps his hand over my cheek, drawing me closer. My eyes keep flickering to his lips, but he doesn’t lean in to kiss me. Yet. I really hope it’s yet.
“Look at me, Zoey.”
I lift my gaze and meet those penetrating brown eyes. I swear the man could see clear into my soul if he looked hard enough. It makes me feel vulnerable and naked. I so want to be naked with him.
“I won’t do anything you don’t want me to, so if I need to stop, you’ll tell me. Okay?”
I nod. But I can’t imagine what he could possibly do in this ballroom with dozens of people still around. Just because we’re in a shaded corner doesn’t mean we’re not visible to most everyone. I can’t stop myself from glancing around. What if someone is watching us right now?
“Zoey?”
“I’ll tell you,” I finally say. I trust him. More than I think I’ve ever trusted anyone I’ve been with. My dating history is one short punctuated joke after another, but a couple of them lasted long enough to give me hope. But this man I literally just met an hour ago makes me feel safer than anyone I’ve ever dated before.
“I want to thank you for helping me, Zoe.” He leans in and brushes my lips with his own, ever so gently. Electricity shoots through my lips clear down to between my legs. It’s gentle, and yet, so intense. Like two worlds just collided.
“I—I—you’re welcome?”
Jace laughs low and rumbly. “You’re cute when you’re flushed, you know that?” He kisses my neck, and my eyes fall shut. His lips work slowly, gently. Like he’s kissing a very breakable pane of glass. I’m so turned on right now.
