No Strings Attached
by Nicolette Day
Copyright © 2013 by Nicolette Day. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.
Chapter One
“It’s a sign.”
Hayden Summers tugged at her heel stuck in the drainage grate outside of the Orchid Lounge. The music vibrated the walls and pulsed out into the parking lot, making her heart thump in time with the song. Apparently the universe wasn’t on board with this whole one-wild-night plan. First, her car refused to start, and then she dropped her phone in a puddle in the parking lot. Okay, so she threwit into a puddle in the parking lot. To be fair, she hadn’t meant for it to land in the puddle. And her ex had just texted her that he was getting married. To her cousin. As if breaking her heart into a thousand pieces hadn’t been enough. He felt the need to move on to her family members now. Freaking parasite. Now her shoe was being held captive by this bitch of a drainage grate. She was starting to think the universe wanted her to be celibate forever. Overhead, a clap of thunder rumbled across the pitch-dark sky, as if to drive home the point. Oh yeah, definitely a sign.
Her assistant grunted and helped her pull on the sleek black pump. “It’s not a sign. It’s a shoe. A. Very. Stuck—” It jerked free, and they both fell back onto the pavement with an umph. Lilly blew a twist of blond hair out of her eyes. “Shoe.”
Hayden grabbed the shoe and frowned. The heel to her Jimmy Choo was…missing. She looked around and spotted it still stuck in the grate. Well, that was fan-freaking-tastic. They might have killed her feet, but they had also cost half of what she’d made on her last freelance job, and this was going to be her only chance to wear them for the next year. She wasn’t exactly up with the fashion scene in Sudan, but she was guessing shoes like these wouldn’t suffice when she was trekking across the war-torn country to get shots that would land her a coveted spot in Timemagazine.
Hayden stood up, brushing her dress off, and helped Lilly to her feet. “It’s okay. I have a pair of flats in your car.”
Lilly laughed. “You are such a Girl Scout. I’ll bet if I stepped on a rusty nail, you’d have a round of antibiotics in your purse for me. I wouldn’t even have to go to the ER.”
Hayden headed for Lilly’s Honda and popped the trunk. So she might be a tad obsessive-compulsive. She stared into her emergency bag. Perfectly folded T-shirt and jeans. Flats. Toiletries. Aspirin and a bottle of water. A box of condoms. Okay, maybe more than a tad.
Lilly held up the box and grinned.
“What? You told me to be open-minded.”
“I said be open-minded. I did not say to pack for a weekend trip to the Poconos. You’ve got enough rubber here to last you a month.”
Hayden grabbed the box and threw it back in the bag, then slammed the trunk shut. “What if I end up going home with someone? Or staying the night?”
“You’re kind of missing the point of a one-night stand.” Lilly checked her hair in the side mirror while Hayden slipped on her sparkly black flats.
“I don’t like to be unprepared.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about that. A zombie apocalypse couldn’t catch you off guard.”
Hayden stared up at the buzzing blue orchid hanging above the black double doors. A strange mixture of excitement and determination overwhelmed her. She’d never done anything like this. But saying the past year had been a dry spell would be an understatement. She hadn’t even had a date in eleven months, let alone a good roll in the sack. And she’d be damned if Shane “the cheating bastard” Peterson would be her last sexual experience before she went off and risked her life. She wasn’t stupid. The job she’d landed with Time might have been a photojournalist’s wet dream—the kind Hayden had built her résumé for years to get a shot at—but it didn’t come with any guarantees. People didn’t always come back from a job like this. Not in one piece anyway.
So she’d made up her mind. She wasn’t getting on that plane tomorrow with regrets. It was time for the universe to pull the stick out of its ass, because God knew it had taken her eleven months to get over the damage Shane had done and do the same. She’d worked her butt off for a year. A year of no social life and no man to warm her bed.
Well, unless you counted her best friend, Jace, falling asleep on her couch every Sunday night during their weekly Walking Dead date. Or in the weeks after she’d left Shane. She’d lost count of how many times Jace had crawled into bed with her and let her cry herself to sleep on his chest, his arms the only thing in the world holding her together. That so didn’t count. Not when she’d been all weepy and pathetic. And definitely not when it was Jace she’d been wrapped around. He didn’t see her that way, and now he never would. Not only did she lack the ability to attract men, she’d somehow managed to push Jace away, too.
“No…no, no, no.” Lilly put her hands on her hips and frowned. “I know that look. You are not bailing. If I can put up with the Antichrist tonight, you can put on your big girl panties and have one night of fun before you leave me.”
Grateful for the distraction, Hayden shook her head. “Nate is not the Antichrist. If you would take the time to get to know him, you’d like him.” How could two people so close to her repel each other so strongly? Putting Jace’s brother and Lilly in a room together was like trying to get oil and water to mix.
Lilly snorted. “Doubtful.”
“If it’s too much for you, I do have wine and a new label maker at home. I’ll even let you help me finish labeling the moving boxes. Going once, twice…” Hayden grinned.
A look of pure horror crossed her friend’s face. “Dear God, you are like one bad date away from collecting cats and wearing crochet sweater-vests with animals on them. Aren’t you?”
“Of course not.” Hayden looked up at the starless sky and thought about how much she’d miss this. The bustle and buzz of downtown Charlotte. The scent of magnolia trees laced with the breeze. Jace. “You know I’m allergic to cats. However, I can’t make any promises about the sweater-vests. They do look cozy.”
“Ha ha.” Lilly leaned on the trunk and grinned. “Make fun now, but when you’re knee-deep in sand and craving a pumpkin latte, you’ll be thanking me for dragging you out of that apartment so you could have a memory to keep you warm at night.”
Hayden laughed as they made their way over to the big metal doors of the club.
“Having a good night, ladies?” The bouncer’s lips quirked as he perused Hayden from head to toe, clearly amused. She should never have let Lilly talk her into this dress. She tugged on the edges of the tight black fabric that disappeared mid-thigh, longing for her trusty Levi’s. He held out his big hand. “IDs.”
“You’re not seriously going to card me, are you, Ron?”
He laughed. “Sorry, doll. I could get fired if I don’t.”
She dug into her bright red clutch and pulled out her wallet, then flashed him her ID at the same time that Lilly dangled hers over Hayden’s shoulder. “Happy?”
He took a good look, as if he hadn’t known her for three years and her best friend and his brother didn’t own the bar. “I’d be even happier if you’d tell Jace I deserve a raise.”
She shoved her wallet back in her purse. “If he ever decides to talk to me again, I will.”
A lump swelled in her throat. Jace had pretty much shut her out the last two weeks. To be more exact, since the night she told him she was taking the job in Sudan. She thought he’d be proud of her. He’d always been her biggest cheerleader—even more so than her own parents. Whether he was reading her work over her shoulder when they met for their morning coffee or texting her while she was on location, Jace was always the one making her believe she could accomplish the impossible. But not this time. This time, he’d gotten pissed off and then disappeared, putting an impenetrable wall up between them.
“Oh, he’ll talk to you all right.” Lilly grabbed her arm and steered her through the doors, blowing a kiss to Ron. “In this dress, anyone with a dick and half a brain will have something to say to you.”
Hayden squirmed again, pulling the fabric. If only it were a couple of inches longer. Maybe then she wouldn’t feel like her vagina was on display for the entire club to see.
“Stop fidgeting,” Lilly scolded, tossing her mass of thick blond curls over her shoulder.
“I can’t help it. It’s so short.”
“That’s the point.”
Lilly tugged her toward the bar. Jace didn’t get behind the bar much anymore, but when he did, he always drew a crowd. A squealing, bouncing, nausea-inducing crowd, just like the one in front of her.
“Looks like your boy is here,” Lilly said, standing on her tiptoes, looking for a seat. How she hadn’t broken her neck in those five-inch zebra-print heels was beyond Hayden’s comprehension. They defied the laws of physics. “How are my boobs? Jace Jennings worthy?”
Hayden turned away and ignored the ugly burn in her chest when Lilly tugged on her bra to ensure the girls were on display. She hated when her assistant flirted with Jace. And the fact that she hated it just irritated her even more. “For God’s sake, Lil, will you stop adjusting? You’re on the border of nipple territory. I think they’re good.”
“Oh, for the love of all that’s holy, they’re both working tonight?” Lilly sighed. “All that hotness on display and a sea of silicone separating us. So not fair.”
Hayden spotted a flash of the brothers working side by side before a group of guys slapping one another on the back blocked her view. Nate and Jace were behind the bar tonight. That didn’t happen very often, and it explained all the excitement. They may have had some attractive bartenders working the club, but none of them compared to the Jennings brothers and the routine they’d spent years developing.
Right on cue, she heard Nate’s voice ring out a command, and a bottle of vodka flew up above the bar. She didn’t have to see to know that Jace had caught it behind his back to make his signature drink. Cheers erupted. It wouldn’t be long before they had girls lined up on the bar for body shots. Hayden rolled her eyes and muttered, “Show-offs.”
“Let’s get a seat.” Lilly leaned down and whispered in her ear, “And I know you said no frat boys, but if I were you, I’d make an exception for the blond one undressing you with his eyes over there.”
Hayden nodded, feeling nervous and fluttery inside. God, was she really going to do this? Yes. But not before she got a drink in her. Or three. She pushed past a group of girls who looked young enough to have bedtimes and hopped up onto one of the sleek leather barstools. Jace was farther down the bar pouring a drink, completely unaware of her presence. His dark hair was styled into messy spikes. The deep, intricate colors of his sleeve tattoo swirled down his forearm to peek out from the navy blue Henley shirt that was pushed up to his elbows.
The way the fabric stuck to his cut, muscular frame was enough to make a girl drool. And he didn’t have to take off his shirt for her to know the artwork didn’t stop there. His parents’ names were inked in old English just over his heart. He laughed at something a girl whispered into his ear, then slid her a drink with a lemon and moved on to the next person.
She sucked in a breath to calm the flutter of nerves that had erupted at the sight of him and arranged the unused cardboard coasters on the bar into a perfect line. One inch between each of them. No more. No less.
“Is he still pouting? I’m the one who should be upset. After you leave I’m going to have to go back to lame wedding photography, but you don’t hear me bitching about it. I’m taking a more proactive approach.” Lilly worked her way up onto the barstool next to Hayden, taking the same sideways stance to keep her red Spandex mini from riding up. “Like getting you laid. I’m thinking I’ll get into the Guinness Book of World Records if I pull it off.”
“Who’s getting laid?” a familiar deep voice rumbled.
Hayden raised her chin to meet Jace’s intense gaze. His eyes looked like mocha with sparks of gold. Something in those sparks caught fire, making her breath catch, and she pulled her hands away from organizing the coasters. He folded his arms across his wide chest and cleared his throat.
“Hayden,” Lilly interjected. “And me if I’m properly persuaded.” She winked, and Hayden kicked her shin under the bar, feeling the heat of humiliation flush her skin. Having a night of reckless abandon with a complete stranger was one thing. Jace knowing about it was another. He’d always been overprotective. There had been that kid who had pushed her off her bike in the sixth grade, the horny frat boy who tried to feel her up at a party sophomore year when she didn’t want it, and a half dozen guys in between. They all had gotten an introduction to Jace’s fist.
A dark look settled across his face. “Shouldn’t you be packing?”
Here we go…
“You haven’t spoken to me in two weeks. Not a phone call. A text. Nothing,” she fumed. “You do not get to dole out a lecture now.”
He’d even skipped out on their morning coffee date at Amelie’s. Amelie’s for God’s sake! They’d never had an argument that could keep either of them away from the magic of a twice-baked chocolate-and-almond croissant.
“If you missed me, all you had to do was say so.” He raised a brow, giving her that cocky expression that he knew would piss her off. He’d been perfecting it for years. “I take it you’re still leaving tomorrow?”
He knew the answer, so Hayden didn’t bother to respond. If she did, it would only lead to another argument. And she didn’t want to spend her potentially last moments with Jace arguing. When she didn’t offer any words, he nodded, and his jaw ticked.
His expression darkened to a scowl when his gaze drifted from her face, down her throat, past the curve of her breasts, and stopped where the rest of her disappeared behind the bar. A shiver of warmth spread down her spine, around to her belly, and she took a breath to stop it from going any farther. The universe was a cruel bitch for making the hottest man in the room the one who found her as sexually appealing as a goldfish.
On the other end of the bar, an air horn blared.
“It’s that time again, ladies!” Nate held a megaphone to his mouth, and the crowd started to scream. “You know the drill. I need three pretty ladies on the bar and one lucky son of a bitch who loves tequila.”
Hayden started to back away, but Lilly grabbed her wrist and thrust her hand up in the air. “I’ve got one right here!”
Hayden’s face flushed red and she jerked out of her friend’s grasp. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Lilly smiled, a challenge in her eyes. “Helping you let loose and leave boring Hayden at the door. That was the plan, wasn’t it?”
Yes, it was. And she was right. Hayden needed this. It was just a body shot, for God’s sake, and tonight was supposed to be about shedding her inhibitions and having fun. What was the worst that could happen? Jace wouldn’t let some freak manhandle her more than necessary.
“Fine.” She placed a foot on the barstool. “Help me up.”
Lilly squealed as Hayden hopped up onto the bar. Jace caught her by the elbow, the look on his face wary. “What are you doing, Hayden?”
“You needed a volunteer, didn’t you?” She shrugged out of his grip and lay back on the bar. “You got one.”
Jace took a step closer, his hand resting in a clenched fist next to her hip. His jaw tensed as he looked her over.
“Got your guy over here, Jace!” Nate yelled.
“No,” he growled. “I’ve got this one. He can take the other two.” He grabbed the bowl of limes Nate slid over to him and plucked a bottle of tequila from under the bar.
Hayden’s eyes widened, and she sat up on her elbows. One girl was already laid out at the other end of the bar with her shirt hiked up. “Wait. What are you doing?”
“A shot.” He leaned close enough to whisper in her ear. “Or would you rather me beat the shit out of some poor guy for putting his mouth on you?”
Hayden gasped. She should have been pissed off—she’d never taken his caveman crap in the past, and there was no reason she should start taking it now. In fact, she should’ve hopped right off that bar and told him to go screw himself. Instead, all she could think about was the fact that Jacewas about to put his mouth on her, even if it was only because he was being overprotective and unreasonable. He nudged her back down, his jaw clenched.
Music thumped all around, and the light over the bar flashed like a dozen erratic spotlights. The anticipation was almost too much. Her heart was about to beat out of her chest. Jace picked up a lime wedge and held it to her lips. “Open.”
She parted her lips, and he gently placed the lime between them, then pushed her skirt up her thigh another inch. God, if he went any higher, she was going to lose it. Right here in front of all these people. It was like her body had no idea that it was her best friend with his hands all over her. Well, it might have known, but right now, it didn’t seem to care. The next thought fled from her mind as his tongue made contact with the inside of her thigh. He left a hot, wet stripe of moisture against her skin, then sprinkled salt over it.
Nate laughed at her expression and slid his brother a shot of tequila. “Better hurry up, bro,” he said. “I don’t think our girl’s cut out for this.”
Jace’s gaze connected with hers, and there was so much heat in it she squirmed against the bar. “Ready?”
She nodded, and then he was licking the salt from the inside of her thigh, lingering, kissing every grain from her skin. Heat pooled between her legs, and a familiar ache worked its way down her belly. Jace took one last lick that went a little higher than necessary, then stood and downed the shot. He stared at her, his lids heavy. “Relax, Hayden,” he whispered.
And then his mouth was on hers.
Hayden closed her eyes and shuddered as Jace sucked the lime from between her lips, wishing she could taste Jace instead of the lime, drowning with want for something that was inappropriate for about a thousand different reasons. The sound of people clapping and drinks being ordered brought her back. When she opened her eyes he was staring down at her, his hands braced against the bar. Was he shaking?
He looked away, and for the first time ever, she couldn’t place the emotions that were scrawled across his face. He was still mad she was leaving, obviously. She got that, but didn’t he understand she couldn’t give in? She pushed herself up until she was eye level with him. “I don’t want to leave things like this.”
His gaze settled on her mouth for a few moments before he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against hers, as if he were trying to compose himself. “Then don’t leave.”
He stepped back and made his way to the other end of the bar without looking back.
Hayden slipped back onto her barstool, feeling dizzy and hot all over. What the hell was that? Was he messing with her? More tricks to try to get her to stay? If that was the game Jace was playing tonight, then one thing was certain. Yes, she definitely needed a drink.
Chapter Two
Jace Jennings gritted his teeth and reached for a bottle of vodka, trying, and failing, not to watch Hayden and her friend moon over a couple of guys who had sidled up to them as his brother poured them drinks. What the fuck was she thinking, going out dressed like that? Was she trying to get him arrested? Because that was exactly what was going to happen if that asshole’s hand drifted any lower on the irresistible curve of her back. He really needed to get it together.
He still hadn’t recovered from seeing her in the tight scrap of black fabric she called a dress. From having his mouth on her, tasting just enough of her to torture him. He’d had to walk away before he did something stupid or embarrassed himself. He was still hard as granite, even with the distance between them. When she climbed up onto that bar, he didn’t know what he was going to do, but he sure as hell wasn’t thinking friendly thoughts. Maybe brush the caramel-colored hair from her pleading eyes. Kiss her. Drag her to the back, shove that little dress up, and touch her in every way imaginable until she promised not to leave him. That’s what he should have been doing. Making her see him differently. Giving her something she wouldn’t be able to live without.
He rubbed his lips, reigniting the taste of her, and stifled a groan. “Is Ron letting every horny asshole in Charlotte in tonight, or is it just me?”
His brother shook his head and chuckled as he mixed a drink beside him. “Are you referring to allthe horny assholes in general, or just the one talking to Hayden?”
Jace made a grunting sound and focused on making the next batch of drinks for the girl pressing her cleavage against the bar with a come-and-get-me smile. He wasn’t interested. For almost a year, he hadn’t been interested in anyone other than the one person he couldn’t have. It had been easy to ignore his feelings for Hayden when she’d had a boyfriend. He’d been able to go out, bring a woman home for one sweaty night of pleasure that never left him quite satisfied, and then send her on her way. But after that asshole had cheated on her, left her broken and needing him to stitch her back together, it became impossible to lie to himself anymore. He loved her. As much as he’d tried to deny it, she was forever the voice in his head. In his heart. Pushing him to be more, to be better. And now she wanted to go to a place from which she might not come back. A place where he couldn’t protect her. He rubbed his chest, then poured a round of shots for the girls in front of him and slid them over.
“Those guys are regulars, Jace.”
“Maybe we need new regulars,” he grumbled.
“Maybe.” Nate shrugged. “Or maybe you need to stop lying to Hayden about how you really feel about her.”
Jace clenched the bottle in his hand. Was it that obvious? If it was, he needed to get it together. It would only complicate things if she knew. Hayden was hell-bent on leaving. If he brought up his feelings now, she’d think he was just trying to talk her out of taking this job. It would only push her further away. And he wasn’t willing to risk losing her because his dick didn’t understand the boundaries of the friend zone.
“It’s not like that,” he said. “I don’t want her to get hurt again. The last thing she needs is another asshole like Shane in her life. It’s taken her almost a year to get over that shit.”
Nate backed off and let one of the other bartenders take over the already tipsy crowd pushing against the bar. “I call bullshit. You love her.”
“You love her, too.”
Nate laughed. “Yeah, I love her like a sister. You’re in love with her, and you’re a fucking liar if you say otherwise. So, why are you holding back? Why are you just watching this happen? Letting her leave?”
“Letting her leave?” Jace laughed humorlessly and stalked to the other end of the bar to put some distance between them and the crowd. Nate stuck the bottle he’d been holding under the bar and followed. Even with the extra distance, Jace’s gaze still gravitated to Hayden. The guy next to her whispered something in her ear, and she giggled as his hand disappeared below the bar, out of Jace’s line of sight. Motherfucker. This wasn’t how she should be spending her last night at home. She should be spending it with him.
“You think I want this? This…this is her dream. Something she’s been working toward forever. Who the hell am I to ask her to walk away from it? Do you have any idea how many times she put her life on hold for me when Mom was sick? So that I wouldn’t have to do it alone?”
Nate dropped his gaze to the floor, his jaw tense. Jace knew it was chickenshit of him to remind his brother that he hadn’t been around when their mom got sick. Nate had been overseas, doing exactly what their father had always wanted, following in his footsteps, fighting for our freedom. But it was true. Hayden had been the only one who had stayed by his side. He’d had to grow up when he was just a seventeen-year-old kid who didn’t know how to cook a meal or pay a bill. God knows he wouldn’t be the man he was today without Hayden’s help.
“If I ask her to stay for me, it will be the most selfish thing I have ever done. And you have no idea how fucking selfish I am. How badly I want to lock her in a room and keep her from doing this. She deserves better than that. Better than me.”
“Did you ever think she might feel the same?” Nate raised a brow.
“She doesn’t,” he said, watching her appear and disappear through the jittery crowd. “She shouldn’t.” He’d never let himself hope for that. Hayden didn’t need complications right now. She needed him to be supportive. Proud of her. And he was, damn it. Hayden trusted him for a reason, and he’d never give her a reason to question that trust. What he needed to do was walk away and take a cold shower like he had every Sunday night for the past year. And after seeing her in that barely there dress, he’d need a damn cold shower tonight.
The pounding rhythm of a new song began, drowning out the rush of his heartbeat. He looked up, and his gaze clashed with Hayden’s for a split second before Lilly pulled her off the barstool and onto the dance floor. She gave a small smile meant just for him, but her green eyes looked glassy and sad. Then the smile was gone, and the dull ache in his chest roared to life. He made another round of drinks and watched Hayden lose herself in the music. Swaying her hips as her body found a rhythm to match the hypnotic beat. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She’d pulled her hair up, and he could just make out the little orchid tattoo on the back of her neck that he’d dared her to get in college. He’d obsessed over that little branding of ink for far too long. He’d even named his club after it, for fuck’s sake.
He’d only imagined about a thousand times what that spot might taste like. What her hips would feel like in his palms as he licked it from stem to petal.
Down, boy. He glared at the front of his pants, which were feeling ball-strangling tight. Not the time. Not the place. When he looked up, the jackass from the bar was back. Buzzing around her like a horny fly. Jace’s teeth ground together, and his jaw popped.
“Jace?” Nate stepped in front of his view, brows pulled together. “Everything all right?”
Jace dropped his gaze to where Nate was looking. He’d poured tequila all over the bar, missing the shot glass completely.
He blinked and rubbed his hands over his face. “Yeah. Fine. Fucking perfect.”
“Go home, man.” Nate glanced over his shoulder and shook his head as he helped wipe up the mess. “Go home before you start shit you won’t be able to take back. Sleep it off. Talk to her in the morning. Hayden’s a big girl. She can take care of herself.”
Jace watched Hayden for a few seconds more and then nodded. Nate was right. He couldn’t stick around for this. He didn’t want to. And he wasn’t going to make any moves tonight. She’d only look at it as a ploy to get her to stay. He needed to go home, come up with a game plan. He’d have to catch her in the morning before her flight. Change her mind. Make her see reason. How he was going to do that, he didn’t fucking know, but he had to figure it out.
“You sure you guys have it covered?”
Nate laughed. “I think we can manage. But you think you could grab a case of Heineken from the back before you go?”
Jace slapped him on the back. “Yeah, no problem.”
“Hey, Jace?”
He stopped at the sound of his brother’s voice and turned around.
Nate’s gaze flitted to the dance floor, then back. “Make this right with her. Whatever it takes. I don’t want to see her go any more than you do.”
Jace swallowed and nodded. If Hayden left, he wasn’t the only one who was going to end up with a hole in his heart. She’d always been like a sister to Nate. Hell, she’d been like a sister to him at one point, too, but somewhere along the way she’d become so much more than that. She’d become someone he couldn’t live without.
“Whatever it takes.”
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