So Sensitive (26 page)

“I want that, Wade. Very much.”

He shook his head. “No,” he bit out. “You lied. No cock for you. Come. Do it now.”

As far as punishments went, Gracie had had worse. The forceful command seemed to do the trick, as Gracie felt her body climbing higher and higher. She pumped her own pussy with her fingers. Just when she thought she couldn’t take another second of the pleasurable torture, Wade spanked her backside once more. Hard. Gracie’s body bowed as she exploded, screaming his name over and over.

“That’s the sweetest damn sound, baby,” Wade said, his voice deep and rough, as if ready to come himself.

“Hey, I wanted to—”

Gracie froze at the familiar male voice. It did not belong to Wade.

“Oh, fuck!”

“Out, goddamnit!” Wade shouted, even as he moved to stand behind her, protecting her with his larger body.

She heard the sound of shuffling feet. “Fuck, I’m sorry. Fuck!”

Wade slammed his palm down on the counter beside her. “Out, Jonas! Now!”

“Uh, right. Shit.”

Gracie heard a door slam shut. She slumped against the counter. “Oh. My. God.” Her face was sure to be as red as her ass right now.

“I’l kil him. He’s dead.”

Gracie heard the rage in Wade’s voice, and al she could think about was stopping the runaway train of his anger. “Uh, I’m sure it wasn’t intentional.”

He kissed the top of her head and grumbled, “I’m stil gouging his eyes out.”

Gracie pushed her hips backwards. Wade got the hint and moved away. She reached down and pul ed her jeans back up. The denim scraped over her sensitive reddened flesh. She winced. Crap, that wasn’t at al pleasant. She attempted to ignore the sting as she buttoned and zipped.

Turning around, she saw Wade staring at the closed door leading to his PI business next door, a frown marring his brow. She reached up and cupped his check in her palm. He turned and stared down at her. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m sure he’s as embarrassed as we are.”

Wade’s eyes widened. “You’re defending him? He just saw your ass, which is red as hel from the spanking I just delivered, and you want to make excuses for him?”

Put that way, Gracie had half a mind to kil Jonas herself. “I . . . He must have had a good reason for walking in here after you told him to knock from now on. Maybe it’s about my stalker.”

Immediately, Gracie knew it was the right thing to say. Wade’s gaze shot to the door connecting his office to his home. He ran a hand through his hair and bit out, “Go upstairs and pul on something more comfortable. I’m going to talk to Jonas.”

Gracie bit her lip, unsure if that was guy code for “I’m going to beat him into the ground,” or not. “Is this your way of getting me out of the way so you can punch him?”

Wade looked back at her. To Gracie’s relief some of the rage was gone. He was definitely stil pissed, but it was no longer at the boiling point. “Baby, Jonas and I have known each other for a long time. Trust me; he’l expect what’s coming.”

She rol ed her eyes. “I don’t understand men at al .”

He closed the little bit of distance separating them and cupped her bottom in his palm. She sucked in a breath. “Sore?”

“Yes.”

“Pul on a pair of my sweats, pretty baby.” When she hesitated, he said, “I promise to ask questions before I start beating on him.”

For a possessive, hard-edged man like Wade, Gracie figured the promise was as good as it was going to get. Rising up on her toes, Gracie pressed her lips to his and murmured, “No blood, please. I can’t stand the sight of it.”

pressed her lips to his and murmured, “No blood, please. I can’t stand the sight of it.”

He smiled, but she noticed it was strained. “Go, before I forget he’s even here and drag your sexy red ass up those stairs.”

Gracie didn’t need to be told twice. She went. By the time she was on the upstairs landing, she turned and realized Wade was already gone.

She real y hoped he didn’t kil Jonas. Besides the blood, she didn’t want to be the cause of the men’s long friendship coming to a sudden halt.

24

W
hen Wade walked into the office, he saw Jonas pacing back and forth, oblivious to the fact that he was no longer alone. Wade stayed across the room. Hel , if he moved closer he’d end up breaking his promise to Gracie.

His hands fisted at his sides in an effort to keep himself under control. “You’d better have a damn good reason for not knocking, asshole.”

Jonas stopped and turned. The only thing that kept Wade’s anger in check was the red color staining Jonas’s cheeks. Gracie had pegged it.

Jonas was embarrassed as hel .

“Shit, Wade. I wasn’t thinking.”

“I picked up on that part already. The question is why weren’t you thinking?”

Jonas pul ed a flash drive out of his jeans pocket and held it up in the air. “We had a visitor at Gracie’s apartment last night. The camera picked him up.”

Wade tensed. Could this be the break they’d been waiting for? “Her stalker?”

Jonas nodded and went to the desktop computer, pul ed out the chair, and sat. “Yeah, but don’t get too excited. The crafty little bastard hid himself wel . A hood over his face, gloves, not a spec of skin showing.”

He popped the flash drive into the slot. Wade strode across the room and knelt down, his gaze riveted to the computer screen. The front door to Gracie’s apartment came on the monitor. Within a few seconds a figure appeared on her front stoop. Jonas was right. There was no way to tel who the midnight cal er might be. Hel , he couldn’t even swear it was a man. “Looks about five feet seven, give or take. Maybe one hundred and seventy pounds.”

Jonas nodded. “And no way to tel his race. If it even is a he.”

Wade leaned forward and watched as the shadowed figure lifted his hand to the door. “What the hel ?”

Jonas sighed. “You aren’t going to like it.”

Wade swung his head toward Jonas. “What aren’t I going to like?”

“He left Gracie a note.” Jonas pointed to the desk. A Ziploc baggie sat next to the keyboard. Damn, Wade hadn’t even noticed it there. He’d been too intent on trying to identify the stalker.

Wade picked it up and read the neatly typed note through the clear plastic. “Motherfucker. I’l kil him.”

“I want to see it.”

Wade and Jonas came to their feet and swung around at the strained feminine voice. Gracie stood in the doorway, wearing one of his army Ts and a pair of dark blue sweatpants. The clothes swal owed her up. They were ugly as sin, but she looked adorable. Young, sweet, and too damn far away from him. Her gaze darted toward Jonas, then away just as quickly. He heard Jonas curse under his breath. Wade held out his hand. Gracie came to him, as if she’d been doing it her entire life, and entwined her fingers with his.

“Uh, Gracie,” Jonas began, waiting for her to look at him before continuing. “I’m sorry for earlier. I wasn’t thinking.”

She blushed and looked down at the floor. “It’s okay.”

Jonas’s lips thinned. When he stepped closer and cupped her chin in his palm, coaxing her to look at him, Wade wanted to protest. Seeing another man’s hands on Gracie set him on edge. Knowing they both needed to get past the embarrassment was the only thing keeping him from leaping between the two.

“Gracie, I’m not going to lie and tel you I didn’t see anything, but I would never do anything to embarrass you intentional y.”

Gracie’s head came up, her gaze connecting with Jonas’s. “Of course you wouldn’t. I know that.”

Jonas relaxed and held his hands in the air. “Believe me when I say it won’t happen again.”

“No, it won’t,” Wade gritted out as he pul ed Gracie in tight against his side. Gracie elbowed him in the ribs and glared up at him. Wade wouldn’t be swayed. One slipup was al Jonas would be al owed. Next time he’d find himself on the floor nursing a broken nose.

She rol ed her eyes and shook her head. “Whatever. You have something to show me, remember?”

Wade handed her the plastic baggie. “We need to get this to Detective Henderson. I doubt they’l get anything off it, but it’s stil evidence.”

Gracie began reading the note aloud. “ ‘
Did you like the gift I left? Soon, Gracie Lynn. We’ll be together soon, my love. Yours Forever
.’ ”

She frowned and handed it back to him. “He’s talking about the black rose he left on my kitchen table.”

Rage threatened to consume Wade. He knew better than anyone that getting emotional could cloud his judgment, but knowing Gracie was trying to be strong, trying not to let it eat her up inside, tore at his gut. He wanted this over already.

Wade shoved a hand through his hair. “Yeah. That’s not why he left the note, though.”

“Then what is it about, Wade?” Gracie asked, her voice rising in anger. “I’m so sick of the mind games with this jerk.”

Gracie stepped away. Distance, emotional as wel as physical. He knew what she was doing, and it made Wade want to put a fist into the wal . Better yet, into her stalker’s damn face. Christ, did she think that a few inches of carpet between them would keep him from knowing that she needed him? Hel , no. When would she learn that she wasn’t in this alone anymore? He wasn’t about to let her erect her little wal s. Hel , he’d just barely penetrated a few of her barriers; backtracking now wasn’t an option.

Wade tamped down the instinct to drag her close, to know she was safe and prove to her that she could lean on him, that he wouldn’t bend under the pressure, and focused instead on the threat. Pointing to the computer monitor, Wade said, “He came straight to the front door, even after trashing your place. He’s playing with us. He knows we’re watching, but it didn’t scare him off. He’s trying to prove how smart he is.

Preening for you.”

Jonas shoved his hands in his front pockets, as if he too had a hard time watching Gracie stand there, separate, alone. “The cops are driving by regularly, and we’ve got your apartment wired. Yet he stil couldn’t resist leaving the note.”

Fuck this. Wade wrapped a hand around her nape and pul ed her close. “This wil end soon. I promise you.”

Gracie shook her head, equal amounts of anger and fear chasing across her expressive face. “You can’t make a promise like that, Wade.

This could go on for weeks. Months even. We’re completely at his mercy.”

“No, we aren’t,” he ground out. “We stil have those e-mails.” He kissed her, hard. The flavor of her lips was a subtle seduction that he ached to explore further. Remembering they weren’t alone—and that they had a job to do—Wade pul ed back and held out his hand. “Come on, let’s get to work.”

She took his hand, but didn’t budge. “The police have been through the e-mails, Wade. I’ve read them until I’m blue in the face. You’ve even gone through them. I just don’t see what else we could learn from them.”

“Jonas and I skimmed them, but we didn’t go through them thoroughly. We were more concerned with learning their origin then. And the police may have gone through them, but I’m not sure they were looking too closely.”

“Could it real y hurt at this point?” Jonas added.

Gracie sighed. “I suppose you’re right.”

Wade tugged. She relented final y and al owed him to pul her into his adjoining home. He placed a kiss to the silk of her hair and released her. “Want to boot up while I make us some lunch?”

At the reminder of what they’d been about to do before he’d gotten distracted by seeing her ass up in the air, a temptation he hadn’t bothered to deny, Gracie blushed. “Uh, yeah.”

Jonas cleared his throat and pul ed out a chair. “If you’re making lunch, I want chicken parmesan.” Jonas looked over at Gracie. She’d already sat down at the table and was tapping the keys of her laptop. “You haven’t tasted heaven until you’ve had Wade’s chicken parmesan.”

“He made cannel oni yesterday. It was delicious.” Gracie grinned up at him, and it was al Wade could do to keep from slinging her over his shoulder and dragging her sexy ass right up the stairs.

“He rocks the kitchen, that’s for sure.”

“I was going to make sandwiches. Something fast so we could get to those e-mails.” Gracie and Jonas both pouted. Wade rol ed his eyes.

“Fine, but you two are on cleanup duty.”

25

A
fter lunch—rather, after she’d completely stuffed herself with more of Wade’s divine cooking—Gracie and Jonas had cleaned up as promised. She had to admit, working side by side with the flirtatious man had helped dispel some of the nervousness she’d been feeling toward him ever since he’d walked in on Wade spanking her. Oh, God, her rear stil stung when she sat. It was an erotic reminder, one that sent little pulses of heat to her pussy.

It was impossible to stay upset with Jonas, she realized, and she had a feeling Deanna was going to have quite a job on her hands if she meant to keep him at arm’s length.

As Gracie sipped her second cup of coffee, she watched as Wade and Jonas careful y read each e-mail—for what seemed like the fourth time. “I don’t see how we’re going to find anything new, Wade. This is getting ridiculous. No name. No indication of where he met me.” She threw her hands in the air. “There’s nothing! He gives no real details about himself or his life. It’s al about me.”

Wade pointed at the computer screen. “Here,” he said, his voice low and even, “the first one.”

Gracie leaned toward Wade, attempting to read the e-mail in question. It was the first e-mail her stalker had ever sent her. “What about it?”

“He says: I saw you for the first time today.”

“Yeah, so?”

“And the next one is dated a whole week later, Gracie. On another Monday, when he writes: I’ve missed you, Gracie Lynn. It’s been too many days since we last spoke.”

Jonas rubbed his hand over his jaw, frowning at the computer. “It’s not another employee at that office she works at. He wouldn’t just see her on Mondays if that were the case.”

Wade shook his head, pinning her with a look. “Go over your schedule for me again. What do you usual y do on Mondays?”

“I get to work at about eight in the morning. Lunch at my desk usual y. I get off at five in the evening and go to the store.”