Tempting Grace (Vaughn)

“Yes.”

“Then why are you so embarrassed?”

“Laugh all you want, but I notice it’s grabbed your attention.”

Jackson glanced up, his eyes hot with unmistakable arousal. “Have you read the part where Hunter rips Libby’s gown off and takes her against a tree?”

Grace licked her lips and willed her voice to sound steady and calm. “It’s my book, of course I read it.”

Jackson stood, and Grace instinctively sank back into the chair. He wouldn’t let her retreat. Suddenly he was bent over her, cupping her chin in his palm. “I think I’d like to take you against a tree. Under the moonlight, in the same rough, untamed way Hunter takes Libby.”

“That’s bound to get us arrested.”

Without warning, he kissed her. His soft lips lingered a few seconds, drawing a moan from her, before he lifted and whispered, “Hmm, it’d be worth a night in jail.”

The doorbell rang. Saved! She sped to the door and slung it open, so glad for the reprieve she didn’t bother checking the peephole.

“Oh, my God! Jordan!” She flung herself into the man’s arms. He laughed and wrapped himself around her, holding her tightly.

“What the hell?”

Grace winced and pulled out of Jordan’s embrace. As she turned back around she noticed Jackson standing with his fists clenched at his sides. He was not a happy camper. Well, too bad. She could hug whomever she wanted. Grabbing Jordan by the hand, Grace pulled him inside her apartment and shut the door. “Jackson, this is my neighbor and very dear friend, Jordan Davies.”

Jackson moved up beside her, close. As if to show the other man she was taken? She wasn’t pleased by that notion and tried to discreetly step away, but he only followed her. Before they managed to turn it into a dance, Grace kept still and opted to get him back later for his arrogance.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jordan,” he said as he held out his hand. Jordan took it with a smile. “I was just making plans with Grace. She’s coming to Vegas with me for a few days.”

Okay, maybe she wouldn’t wait until later.

Jordan raised an eyebrow. “Damn, Grace, I didn’t even know you were dating anyone. You could have said something.”

“I’m not dating him. It’s a business thing, not pleasure.”

“We’ll see,” Jackson replied a good dose of humor lacing his words.

Grace elbowed him in the ribs, but the imbecile never even flinched. “Do you have to be so impossible?”

His knowing grin had the palm of her hand itching to smack him. “He called me a chicken,” she explained to Jordan.

Jordan crossed his arms over his chest and said, “And going to Vegas is going to prove you’re not?”

“It’s complicated,” she growled.

“Not really,” Jackson inserted. “In fact, I think it’s pretty simple.”

She stared daggers at him. Why couldn’t she have magical powers or something? She could zap him into a toad or something. Refusing to engage in yet more verbal warfare, she attempted to put the focus on Jordan instead. “So, out with it. How long before you’re deployed again?”

“I’ll be stateside for the next six months, then I’m back in Iraq.”

“Jordan is a hero,” Grace told Jackson.

Jordan flashed a sexy smile. “At least that’s what I tell the ladies.”

It was odd she’d never been attracted to Jordan. He really was handsome with his sandy-blond hair and dimples. And he had dreamy brown eyes. They were so dark you could barely make out the pupils. But in the two years she’d known him, Grace had never felt even the slightest bit turned-on by his flirtations. Jackson, on the other hand, had only to look at her to get her motor humming. Which was frustrating as hell, because she had the feeling Jordan would be way easier to handle.

She gave up thinking and headed for the kitchen, calling over her shoulder, “Your usual, Jordan?”

“Sounds great, hon,” he answered in his normal laid-back way.