“Oh, I think it might be upstairs in the library.”
He smiled when her cheeks started to turn pink. “Be right back.”
He took the steps two at a time, not wil ing to leave Jonas alone with Gracie any longer than necessary. He hadn’t liked the look on his friend’s face when he’d stared at her breasts. Wade didn’t think Gracie’s piercings were visible through the thin cotton T, but damn, he should have given her a sweatshirt to wear instead.
Wade located Gracie’s purse on the chair next to the bookshelf. She must have put it there after she’d placed the cal to the doctor. Christ, he wanted Jonas gone. Wade wanted Gracie beneath him again. First things first. If they could find out more information about Gracie’s stalker, then maybe they could track the prick down. Gracie would final y feel safe.
Safety trumped his hard-on.
When Wade came back into the kitchen he found Jonas leaning over Gracie’s shoulder with one hand beside her on the table, practical y caging her in. Wade ground his teeth and just barely kept himself from leaping. He handed Gracie her purse. “Do me a favor, babe.”
She looked up at him and smiled. “Yeah?”
Wade stopped, stared. God, she was beautiful when she smiled like that. It lit her entire face. “Grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator and take half a pil before that wrist gets any wo
rse.”
She rol ed her eyes. “Yes, doctor.” Not giving him a chance to reply, she looked over at Jonas and said, “Once it’s booted up just hit the e-mail icon, and it’l pop up. You’l see a folder cal ed ‘Admirer.’ I’ve stored al his e-mails in there. Any new ones that come in wil go in there as wel .” She vacated the chair and turned to Wade. “Mind if I use your restroom?”
Wade cupped the back of her head and hauled her in for a quick, hard kiss. “Use the one upstairs. And take your time.” He wanted to have a word or two with Jonas, and he didn’t want Gracie overhearing.
“Thanks,” she said, her voice a little shaky. She picked up her purse and reached into the fridge for the water, then headed back up the stairs. Once she was out of sight, Wade grabbed Jonas by the front of the shirt. “What the fuck are you doing?”
Jonas quirked a brow, and his lips twitched. “Uh, I thought I was here to track down a stalker. What did you think I was doing?”
“Flirting with Gracie. And you can wipe that innocent look off your damn face, I know you too wel .”
Jonas grinned, as if he weren’t in danger of dying at any moment. “She is a pretty little thing. Al those curves. Mmm, makes a man want to reach out and touch.”
Stepping closer, Wade bit out, “She’s off-limits. Touch her, flirt with her, hel , look at her wrong, and I’l make it so you’re the one with the broken bones. Got that?”
A frown replaced the shit-eating grin. “You’re awful y damn touchy about this one. What’s your problem?”
“This one? Hel , Jonas, she’s not a damn poodle. She’s a woman, and she’s been through hel . Give her some fucking breathing room.”
“Like you are, you mean?”
Wade released him and watched as Jonas went about straightening his shirt. What the hel was wrong with him? He’d never had the urge to hit Jonas before. But then again he’d never been so jealous over a woman either. It was damned unsettling. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Jonas took the seat Gracie had occupied and started going to work on her computer. “You’re panting after her like a bul who’s just spotted the pretty red flag.”
Wade watched as Jonas pul ed up Gracie’s e-mail. He hit a few more buttons and e-mail started to download. He’d connected her computer to their wireless network apparently. It pissed him off that Jonas knew how to do shit like that. It wasn’t that Wade couldn’t; he’d just never wanted to learn. It had seemed easier to let Jonas handle that end of things. Now, he wished he could be the one touching Gracie’s computer.
There was something strangely intimate about it. Jonas was touching something of Gracie’s. Keys that her fingers had stroked. Now Jonas was touching those same keys. Jealousy. A damned ugly emotion. “I’m not panting. You just worry about finding this prick.”
Jonas started to flip through the folder Gracie had told them about. Wade pul ed up a chair and started reading. After the first two e-mails, Gracie reappeared. He looked up and saw the embarrassment. As if somehow she’d brought this al on. Like it was her fault some asshole had set his sights on her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged until she was sitting on his lap. Ah, now that was much better. “You have nothing to be ashamed of, baby. This guy is messed up. If it weren’t you, it’d be some other woman.” And then, because he couldn’t help himself, he kissed her.
Wade pried her lips open with his tongue, too eager to wait a minute longer to taste her sweet flavor. He needed her, ached for her like no other. She opened wil ingly. Her body was pliant under his seeking hands. Her slender arms wrapped around his neck, and his strong hands wrapped around her waist. His tongue dueled with hers. Sucking and savoring her sweetness. He heard someone cough and remembered then they weren’t alone. Gracie pul ed back, ending the kiss. The hunger in her gaze had him wishing Jonas would just disappear.
“E-mails,” Jonas reminded him.
Wade wil ed his raging hard-on down and gritted out, “Right.”
14
Gracie wanted Wade with a desperation she’d never before felt. It was insane the way he could so easily light her on fire. A look, a touch, a simple smile, and she went up in flames. She’d always been too embarrassed to kiss a man when others were around. Public displays of affection weren’t her thing. And yet, had Jonas stayed silent, she knew she would have gone on kissing Wade for as long as possible.
To get her mind off the erection pressing into her bottom, she pointed to the laptop and asked, “So, how does this work exactly?”