Chapter 17

A half hour later, they strolled into Connie’s house and she disarmed the security system. For the last few days, it seemed as if she’d been walking through a nightmare and couldn’t wake up.

What a night, she thought.

The fashion show had been spectacular. Being with Trace was like a dream come true. Even dressing up and mingling with clients and others she’d just met had been fun. Not until she spotted Mr. Gray Eyes onstage did the evening start to fall apart.

Never in a million years did she think she’d see him again, especially in a matter of days. At first, when he strutted down the catwalk, Connie thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. It wasn’t until he looked dead at her that she’d almost had a heart attack. Even then, though, she wasn’t a hundred percent sure who she was seeing—the guy at the bank or the one from the restaurant. For all she knew, they were one and the same.

Connie glanced at Trace. He had just shrugged out of his tuxedo jacket and draped it on the back of one of the dining-room chairs. Now he was tugging on his bow tie, looking deep in thought.

He hadn’t said much on the way back. Yet he’d stuck to her like a second skin. Riley, who had one of the company’s cars, had driven them home. While they rode in the back seat, Trace held on to her hand. He acted like if he released her, she’d run away.

For a while there, she thought maybe he was pissed that she hadn’t followed his instructions. The plan had been for her to stay with Noah while Trace talked to the mystery man. But right now, that didn’t seem to be what was bothering him. He was working out something in his head. No surprise there. The last few days had given them both a lot to think about.

She had never seen Trace as angry as he’d been in that back room. Granted, she saw how upset he was when he ran into Indie the other day, but that was different. That day Connie had witnessed Trace in pain. Tonight, though, she saw a different side to him. There was no telling what he would’ve done to Mr. Gray Eyes had she not asked him to let the guy go.

Just thinking about the model’s creepiness had her trembling inside. He might’ve been good-looking, but he was a little scary at the same time. It had been a tense few minutes, standing there with him inspecting her. Trace had just about lost his mind.

“I’m sorry about tonight,” Connie said. “I should’ve waited with Noah as instructed. I wasn’t thinking about the risk I could be in or the compromising position I put you and the other guys in.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. I might’ve overreacted, but seeing the man leering at you did something to me.”

Under other circumstances, Connie would’ve been flattered to have Trace defending her honor. However, this situation made her uncomfortable on so many levels. She never wanted to be the cause of him getting hurt. Nor did she ever want to be the reason he got into trouble with the law.

“He didn’t have a tattoo. At least not one I could see,” Trace said, squinting as if trying to remember something. “The guy at the bank—where exactly was his tat?”

“You don’t believe me, do you?” Connie asked.

Trace’s eyebrows drew together. “What?” He tossed the bow tie onto the table and strolled over to where she was standing in the kitchen. “Sweetheart, of course I believe you. Why would you even doubt that?”

Connie sighed and reached up and fumbled with the French barrette that was holding up her hair. Once she removed it, her long curls fell in layers around her shoulders.

“Because I’m starting to question what I thought I saw at the bank. The only thing I’m a hundred percent sure of is that the robber had the most unusual gray eyes I have ever seen. Like the guy tonight.”

Trace studied her for a long minute, then cupped her cheek and brushed the pad of his thumb over her skin. His tenderness with her, and his ability to awaken her senses, always caught her off guard. In a good way.

She leaned into his touch, and her eyes drifted closed as she finally began to relax.

“There is no doubt in my mind that you saw a tattoo on the neck of the robber.” Connie opened her eyes and met Trace’s gaze. “I just want to know where on his neck.”

“Here.” She pointed to the left side of her throat, below her ear and above her shoulder.

“So right here?” Trace asked, placing a feathery kiss on the spot she had just pointed to. “And down a little lower, right?”

Connie gulped, and her pulse climbed as he slowly peppered sweet kisses along the column of her neck. “Oh, yes. That’s it. Right there,” she breathed and fisted the front of his shirt to keep herself from puddling to the floor.

That was just how good Trace’s lips felt on her heated skin. The passion he stirred inside her was quickly growing, and all thoughts of the fashion show, gray eyes and everything else slid to the back of her mind.

This was what she wanted. Trace was who she needed.

A low growl that sounded as if it was coming from deep inside his chest reached Connie’s ears. She opened her eyes just as he lifted his head.

“I want you so bad, but if this is not what you want, you need to stop me now.”

“I want whatever you’re willing to give me,” she said. “I’m all yours.”

“That’s all I needed to hear.”

Eyes filled with lust, Trace bent slightly, gripped the backs of her thighs and lifted her as if she weighed nothing. Connie wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She loved the feel of him against her as he carried her down the hall toward her bedroom.

Once there, Trace set her on her feet next to the bed and turned on one of the lamps. It cast just enough light to illuminate that part of the room.

“I’ve been wanting to get you out of this dress all night,” he said, his voice thick with need. Connie was glad she wasn’t the only one affected by what they were getting ready to do.

He slid the straps off her shoulders, and the dress glided down her body like a feather in the wind and pooled around her feet. She stood before him in nothing but a white thong and high-heeled sandals.

Trace’s heated gaze slowly traveled down the length of her partially naked body before working its way back up to her bare breasts. Desire sparked in his eyes, and Connie had to squeeze her legs together to control the throbbing pulse beating at the apex of her thighs.

“You’re even more beautiful than I remember.” His voice, just above a whisper, was deeper than usual and filled with unadulterated desire. That made her that much more excited. “I can’t wait to explore every inch of your sexy body.”

He backed her to the bed. Once she was lying down, he took his time undressing. Connie wasn’t shy about letting her gaze rake over his muscular body and the tribal tattoo that graced his chest and torso. It was as impressive as the first time she’d seen it on his beautiful dark skin.

The man was a work of art, perfectly sculpted with precise attention to detail. Thick biceps. Check. Six-pack abs. Check. A long, thick shaft that he knew how to use. Check and check. More importantly, tonight he belonged to her.

Connie’s eyes followed his every move, even when he tossed a condom onto the nightstand. There were moments in the last few days that she couldn’t believe that they were an item. That they were building a relationship that exceeded just having a good friendship.

Trace reached for her foot and planted soft kisses up her leg as he unbuckled her sandal. She squirmed with every touch of his lips to her skin and then started giggling.

“Tra-a-ce. That tickles.” She twisted and wiggled, trying to get him to let go of her leg, but he held tight.

Flashing a wicked grin, he proceeded to give her other leg the same treatment. When both shoes were removed, her thong was all that was left. He sprinkled kisses over her stomach and along the waistband of her thong, then slid the silky material down her legs. He dropped it to the floor and climbed onto the bed next to her.

Connie shivered when Trace’s cold fingertip touched her chest, and he slowly glided it downward, only stopping when he reached her belly button.

“I’m going to have fun with you tonight, and I’m starting right here.” He lowered his head, and when his mouth touched hers, spirals of ecstasy charged through her body.

She wound her arms around Trace’s neck and savored the sweet caress of his lips. With every lap of his tongue, the intensity of their lip-lock grew. He kissed her with a passion that rivaled every other kiss between them.

As his tongue explored the interior recesses of her mouth, Trace slid his hand down her body, and her skin tingled everywhere he touched. A moan crawled up Connie’s throat when he cupped one of her breasts. Squeezing her gently, he ran the pad of his thumb over her hardened nipple.

She hadn’t been with a man since the last time they’d slept together, and she already knew it wasn’t going to take much for her to lose control.

“Man, you feel good,” he murmured against her lips before he moved his mouth lower. Where his hand was caressing her breast moments ago, his mouth and tongue took over.

Connie squirmed beneath him, her hand on the back of his head as he sucked, teased and pushed her closer to her breaking point. It was when his hand slid between her thighs that she involuntarily squeezed her legs together, trying to prolong the intense pleasure building within. Trace wasn’t deterred, though. His finger found its way between her slick folds, and Connie whimpered when he slid inside her.

“Trace,” she breathed. Her hips moved in rhythm with each stroke of his finger as he slipped it in and out of her. Her nails dug into his arms as the pressure building inside her intensified. “I can’t hold...” Her words were cut off when he slid another digit inside her and increased his speed. An electrical current arced within her, and Connie lost it. She began screaming Trace’s name over and over as an orgasm swept through her body and pushed her over the edge of control.

“I love watching you come,” he whispered, “and I’m not done with you yet.”

Body wound tight, Trace reached over and snatched the condom from the nightstand. Watching her release had him barely holding on to his own control. Even now, her body was still vibrating with aftershocks, and he couldn’t wait to get inside her.

He quickly sheathed himself. So much for taking his time with her tonight. He wanted to go slow and get reacquainted with her luscious body, but that wasn’t going to happen. At least not with this first round. He wanted her too much.

“You are so damn beautiful,” he said, and a satiated smile lifted the corners of her sexy mouth.

Man, this woman. This sweet, gorgeous woman was all his, and he planned to satisfy her every desire. The last time they’d been together, she’d made it clear that they could only be friends. Trace had vowed right then and there that he wasn’t giving up. He knew in his heart that she would be his one day, and since things had changed between them, his dream was coming true.

“You’ve been enticing me with this magnificent body for days—tonight and going forward, you’re mine.”

“I’m totally okay with that,” she said saucily, her eyes glittering with mischief.

He hovered above her and nudged her thighs apart before easing into her sweet heat. Damn, she felt good and snug. Her inner muscles tightened around his shaft, and it took everything within Trace to hold on and not lose control.

He kissed her as he started moving inside her, and before long, they rocked in perfect sync, like an intricate melody slowly building to a higher pitch. They hadn’t been together in over a month, but their bodies were still flawlessly in tune. With each thrust, Connie rotated her hips, matching him stroke for stroke as he went deeper and harder.

Trace pulled his mouth from hers. “Connie...baby,” he said as he drove into her faster. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hang on much longer, especially with the way her sex clenched and unclenched around his length. She felt too damn good, and his control was teetering closer to the edge.

“Ahhhh, T-Trace!” Connie screamed after one last powerful thrust. Her body bucked and jerked beneath him as her head brushed back and forth against the pillow. Watching her fall apart again, and the turbulence from her orgasm, pushed him to his own release.

Trace collapsed on top of her, but quickly lifted up on his elbow, not wanting to put all of his weight on her. After catching his breath, he rolled onto his back and pulled her to his side. Their heavy breathing mingled as their panting filled the quietness in the room.

“Damn...that was intense.”

Still gasping for air, Connie nodded, her wild curls brushing against his chest. “Yeah...intense.”

Once his heart rate was somewhat back to normal, he gave Connie a quick kiss and headed to the bathroom to dispose of the condom. When Trace climbed back into the bed, Connie’s eyes were barely open. But she smiled at him, and his heart did a little jig inside his chest.

She was his. He was hers.

Trace wrapped his arm around her, and she snuggled up against him, but he didn’t close his eyes. They needed to finish the conversation from earlier.

“Sweetheart?”

“Hmm.” Connie sounded as if she might’ve drifted off. Trace shook her a little, and she propped her chin on his chest. “I’m awake, and if you’re going to tell me that you’re not done with me yet, I already know.”

Trace laughed. “Ah, you know me well, then. I’ll never get enough of you, but that’s not what I was going to say.”

Connie met his gaze. “Okay, what were you going to say?”

“In the kitchen, before you distracted me with your tempting neck, we were discussing me not believing you.”

“Trace, I know you believe me. I shouldn’t have said otherwise. I guess when you were so quiet in the car, and then you said the guy didn’t have a tattoo...” She shrugged. “I started doubting. Not just you, but doubting myself, too. What if I didn’t really see what I thought I saw?”

“I believe you saw a tattoo on that man’s neck. Me being silent in the car wasn’t about you. It was more about me being disappointed in myself. I was reckless tonight. I should’ve handled Gray Eyes differently or not at all. That situation in that back room could’ve gone bad real quick.”

“Umm, it actually did,” Connie said. “I thought you were going to hurt the guy, and there was a moment I thought he’d hurt you. His eye color is not the only thing unusual about him. There was something unsettling in his stare.”

Trace had sensed that also. “Did you feel that way when you ran into him at the restaurant?”

Connie shook her head. “No, but it could be that I missed it because I was shocked to see him. Or at least see his eyes. Remember when I said that I’ve seen him or those gray eyes before?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’m thinking I must have seen him at the sandwich shop in passing.”

Trace nodded. That was possible, especially since the owner had said that the guy had been there a few times.

“Why’d you choose to corner him in that room instead of just calling the cops?” Connie asked and laid her head back on Trace’s chest.

“And tell the cops what? The guy hadn’t officially done anything. Yes, you recognized that he had the same unusual eye color as the robber, but outside of that, we had nothing. We both know that eye color is not a crime.”

“It’s not just that that made him stand out. It was something in his eyes. An emptiness. A coldness. I swear I felt a chill when we made eye contact at the bank.”

“Did you feel that tonight with the model?”

After a slight hesitation, Connie said, “Not exactly. Tonight wasn’t a coldness that I saw or sensed. It was more like...creepiness.”

Trace kissed the top of her head. “Well, hopefully we won’t run into him again.”

Trace wanted to believe they had, but his gut told him that they hadn’t seen the last of John Doe.