Free Spirit Page 12

  “Occasionally. I rarely use that tactic. I don’t want them to think I’m a complete idiot.”

  “Still….”

  Priory pulled Jacey into her arms. “I do not think you’re an idiot. Okay? It was a stupid little game.”

  “I’m here, aren’t I?”

  Priory grinned. “Then the tactic worked.”

  Jacey slipped her arms around Priory’s neck. “Only because I let it work.” She pulled her in for a kiss.

  “See?” Priory said huskily. “I don’t have to teach you a damned thing.”

  For the next hour the only sounds in the room were whispers and sighs.

  †

  The next morning Jacey woke up in an empty bed. Priory was already up and prowling around the house somewhere. She listened hard and could hear the faint clatter of something being moved downstairs.

  “Hmmm,” she muttered. What a night that had been. Despite all her misgivings, Priory was proving to be her ambrosia. A smile touched her lips, then broadened. Maybe things would work out after all.

  The sound of another bang, this time a pot, reached her ears as she guiltily looked at the ceiling. It was Priory’s home, so she could just behave like a visitor. On the other hand, letting Priory do all that work by herself was stupid. They only had the weekend, and who would want to spend the entire time unpacking when there were more pleasurable things to do?

  It was enough motivation for her to move and head for the shower.

  Twenty minutes later, she felt as refreshed as she was going to get as she stepped out of the bathroom. She heard two voices coming from downstairs, one of them male. The conversation was muffled but didn’t seem heated, so she decided to leave Priory to whatever business she had with the man. Instead, she busied herself with unpacking some the boxes in the first-floor hallway.

  Aren’t you the least bit curious?

  Jacey thought she heard a yawn, as if her girls had just woken up. Maybe they had. They’d been quiet since the end of her nocturnal activity. She was glad for the reprieve because they were in full-fledged orgasm mode, yelling and screaming like banshees inside her head.

  “Enjoy yourselves last night?” she asked.

  Oh hell yeah.

  Let’s do that again … and again … and again.

  “She’s busy,” Jacey whispered.

  I’m sure she’d drop everything for you.

  Jacey smiled. She knew that Priory would. “There’s a man with her.”

  “But he’s gone now.”

  Jacey jumped. “You scared the hell out of me.”

  “Talking about me, huh?” Suddenly, Priory was pressed up against her.

  “No. Yes. Maybe.” Jacey blushed. While she was embarrassed, it wasn’t enough to make her push Priory away. She liked Priory right where she was, breathing in her ear. “I heard a testosterone-laden voice downstairs. Problem?”

  “Just the handyman. I wanted a lock installed on the office door.”

  “Office? I didn’t know you had one.”

  “I don’t, at least not yet, but I thought I’d make use of that spare room downstairs. I’m not stupid enough to think buying a house will make me immune to bringing work home. Some of that stuff is confidential.”

  “So, err, where is he?”

  “You little minx,” Priory purred into her ear. “I thought I wore you out last night.”

  “And I haven’t had breakfast yet,” Jacey replied. “No, I just didn’t want any surprises.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “No, really.” Jacey looked over her shoulder at her lover. “Stop looking at me like that!”

  Priory laughed full and loud. “He’s out buying the lock and he’ll be back in about half an hour. So….”

  “I’ll go get my breakfast, shall I?” Jacey disentangled herself from Priory’s hug and went downstairs to eat. She heard footsteps behind her and wondered how much food she could consume before the tension between them would spontaneously combust.

  Jacey had nearly finished her toast while Priory leaned against the countertop with her coffee. Her heated gaze and sexy smile were visible above the rim of the cup, and Jacey felt decidedly warmer.

  “I thought I was supposed to help you unpack this weekend.”

  “I have a bed that needs tending to,” Priory said. “It needs two people. Want to help?”

  “Is that all you think about? Sex?” Jacey said in exasperation.

  “Well, I was talking about the bed in the second bedroom that needs putting together, but if you want to play around in the main bedroom that’s fine by me.” Priory turned and washed out her mug.

  She got you on that one.

  Now she thinks you’re a sex fiend. Lucky us.

  There was a knock on the front door.

  Saved by the bell.

  Jacey looked at Priory. “Let’s get this bed assembled, huh?”

  †

  “Will you stop jiggling it around!” Not that Priory minded. The sight of Jacey’s ass shimmying about was frustrating in the extreme. But she couldn’t take advantage of it, not with the handyman banging around downstairs.

  “It doesn’t fit.”

  “Are you sure you’re doing it right?”

  “What kind of crack is that?” Jacey dropped her part of the bed and straightened up.

  “My side is fine. Here, let me look.” She moved around the frame to Jacey’s side. However, the look Jacey shot her made her think her input was neither appreciated nor needed. “What did you do?” She hadn’t meant the question to cause a reaction, but it did. If Jacey had something in her hand, Priory would have been ducking it.

  “Okay, Miss Smarty Pants. You fix it.” Jacey stepped out of the way and out of the room, leaving Priory to put the bed together single-handedly.

  “What’s her problem?” she muttered.

  “You are such a jerk sometimes.”

  She just knew her luck would run out. Dylan hovered over the bed frame, giving her a disgruntled look. “What do you want?” Priory yanked the frame. “Why won’t this work?” She put a little more force into her efforts and the bed began to bounce.

  “You know what, Convent? You don’t deserve her. I wouldn’t put up with your crap.”

  “Do you mind? I’m trying to concentrate here.”

  “Asshole.”

  Priory looked up and Dylan disappeared. She shook her head and went back to her silent swearing. “Jacey?” she yelled.

  The woman was so … so … exasperating. Just when Jacey had let her guard down and felt that maybe she had misjudged her boss, Priory did something stupid. She couldn’t take it any longer and left the room before she said something she’d regret later. Heck, she regretted it now. Her girls were flipping through her internal dictionary looking for suitable bitchy epithets. Problem was she had already used up all her synonyms in previous mental rants.

  “Shit!” she hissed as she descended the stairs.

  “Having a problem?” The handyman stopped his work and looked at her.

  “That … that idiot!”

  “Something I can do?”

  “No, let her figure it out herself.” Jacey made her way toward the kitchen.

  “Errr….”

  “Sorry? You need something?” Jacey tried to drag her emotions out of anger to something approaching civil. It wasn’t the handyman’s fault Priory was an insensitive bitch. Come on, girls, there has to be another word.

  “No. I just wanted to ask you something … umm….”

  She could see he was hunting for her name. He looked innocent enough, so she obliged. “Jacey.”

  “Jacey. I like it.”

  Oh no. He was going to ask her out, she just knew it.

  “Anyway, I was wondering if you would like to go out for a drink sometime.”

  “A drink?”

  “Or a meal. Or a walk. Or a drive. Your choice.”

  Was he that desperate?

  “Look, errrr….” It was her turn to silently ask for his name.


  “Luke.” He gazed at her hopefully.

  “Thanks for the offer, but I’m not looking—”

  “That’s okay. Sorry to bother you.” He reached into his pocket and drew out a card. “If you are looking, give me a call.” He went back to his work.

  Jacey looked at the card in her hand and continued on to the kitchen. A large cup of coffee was looking good right about now.

  Two minutes later she was sipping her coffee, flipping the card on its side and hitting it on the table. She moved it to the next side and hit it again on the table. Jacey continued to do this as she thought. Her life had suddenly become complicated and it was beginning to wear her down. While she had worried about her private life in the past, at least it had taken care of itself without her input. Now bosses, lovers, and an errant man had made an appearance in her life, leaving her to flounder in the resulting emotional smoothie.

  Priory walked into the kitchen and made her way to the coffee maker to pour herself a cup.

  “That was quick.” Jacey felt a little inadequate that Priory had solved the bed problem already.

  “Luke offered to take over. He said he didn’t like ‘my sister’ looking so sad. Where did he get that idea?” She retrieved the milk from the refrigerator and added it to the coffee in her mug.

  “Sister? I don’t know. I didn’t say anything.”

  “Maybe it had something to do with the spare bed in a separate room, or maybe it was the fact you called me an idiot. I’d say it was probably the second.”

  “Does it really matter?” Jacey didn’t care.

  “I suppose not.” She spotted the card in her hand. “What’s that?”

  “It’s a business card. Luke gave it to me.”

  “Why would he give you one? I already have the details.”

  “He asked me out.”

  It was silent for a few moments, so Jacey finally looked up. The strange look on Priory’s face prompted her to ask, “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” She took a drink from her mug. To Jacey, Priory didn’t seem to want to discuss it. She didn’t either, but Priory’s reaction seemed odd.

  “Okay.” She wasn’t in the mood to play verbal games with her boss. “What else needs to be done?”

  “Are you in a hurry?”

  “I’m just tired, okay?” Jacey snapped.

  “Maybe this weekend wasn’t such a good idea after all.” Priory gazed into her coffee mug. “Although last night was pretty good.” She graced Jacey with a smile.

  Jacey knew she was fishing for a compliment, or at least a confirmation. “Yeah, it was.”

  “Are you going to take him up on his offer?” The statement was offhand, but it had layers of meaning.

  “Are you jealous?” Jacey suddenly felt better.

  “No!” Priory drawled.

  “Yes, you are!” Jacey countered with a certain amount of smugness. So the relationship meant something to Priory after all.

  “No, I’m not!” Priory snapped.

  Jacey decided to keep quiet. She didn’t want to have an argument that they both knew she had already won. Her girls had other ideas.

  In for the kill.

  I wonder if we can get a present out of this.

  Stop being a gold digger, Jayde.

  There was always one in the group.

  Stop it, everyone. Go back to your dictionary while I soothe some ruffled feathers.

  Awww, came the chorus.

  “Hello? Anyone home?”

  “Sorry. What?”

  “You drifted off there for a minute.”

  Jacey wondered if it had been more than a minute because Priory no longer had her mug. “Just thinking.” She decided to let the matter drop. “What’s next?”

  “That depends on you.”

  “Me? What did I do?”

  “You said you were tired. Do you want to call it quits?”

  That was a double-barreled shotgun question. As much as going back to her apartment and rolling into a ball sounded like bliss, Jacey just knew saying as much would be equal to a verbal nuclear bomb. “No. Come on.” She offered her hand for Priory to pull her to her feet. “I’m here now. Let’s get this finished.”

  Priory looked at her sadly. Now what did she do? Jacey went over her comment in her mind. “I’m here now.” Like an afterthought. Her exhaustion was allowing her girls to dominate the conversation, and she needed to get back in control. “Race you upstairs. Loser pays for dinner.”

  The race turned out to be a slow saunter. They met Luke on the stairs and moved out of the way to allow him to pass. He’d looked like he was about to say something when there was a knock at the front door. Priory turned and trudged down the stairs.

  “All fixed,” Luke said brightly. “You had the base around the wrong way.”

  “Thanks,” Jacey responded. Of course it was around the wrong way. What else could possibly go wrong?

  Priory opened the door.

  “I’m here about the plumbing.” A short, rotund man stepped into the house without so much as an invitation. “Where to, lady?”

  Priory bristled. Lady. Hah. “Upstairs, first door on the right. The toilet’s been acting up.”

  “No problem.” He was already on his way up the stairs before Priory had closed the door.

  Jacey amended her internal comment. What could go wrong? Plenty.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jacey staggered into work on Monday thoroughly exhausted. They had worked hard that weekend. So hard in fact that they fell into bed to sleep on Saturday night with only a kiss to nourish them. Priory had finally gotten a clue that she was tired and decided to slow the relationship down. Jacey knew it galled her to do so, but she feared they would burn out if they didn’t.

  Priory graciously returned her to her apartment Sunday afternoon, allowing Jacey to prepare for work and do a couple of jobs around her home. Now it was back to work to resume the mantle of employee.

  Jacey looked up from her work when senior manager, Hudson Eddles, stomped past her desk to Priory’s office. He opened the door without knocking and it slammed against the wall. He was Priory’s boss, even though her department came under an umbrella of multiple departments. Jacey had always disliked Priory’s superior, a rotund little man with a massive small-man complex. His face was red, adding another layer of anger to his already belligerent stance. He bypassed Jacey and went straight to Priory’s door, again opening it without so much as a knock.

  “Miss McAllister!” he bellowed.

  “Yes, Mr Eddles. Can I help you?”

  Jacey couldn’t see Priory’s expression, but if she were in Priory’s place, she’d be trembling right about now. Eddles didn’t bother to close the door, instead content to let Jacey be an onlooker. She decided he was probably in his world-domination mood and wanted her scared as well. He was doing a good job.

  “That contract I asked to be sent to Chilvers at Barco. Where is it?”

  There was silence. It was the kind of silence right before a volcano erupted. “I … ahhh … err….”

  “Is that all you have to say for yourself?”

  Jacey could see where this was leading and stepped in. “It’s my fault, Mr Eddles. It had been a particularly busy day—”

  “I don’t want to hear excuses!”

  “I will personally deliver it…,” Jacey offered.

  “Too late. The deadline has passed and we’re red-faced.”

  Never a truer word was spoken. Eddles’s face had gone from a bright red to a deeper hue, as if the blood vessels had burst from the pressure in his head. Jacey inwardly winced at the thought. What was next? His head would explode?

  Priory emerged from her office, passing Eddles in the doorway with difficulty. Jacey looked at her for some sign of support. Jacey knew very well that the contract hadn’t passed over her own desk and that Priory was the one responsible for the mess they were now in, but she had made the sacrifice. Now she was looking for Priory to step in.

/>   But Priory didn’t look at her, instead concentrating her gaze on the carpet. Jacey’s stomach dropped with a sense of great disappointment.

  “I want your desk cleared by end of business, today.” Eddles left the room in a huff, leaving Jacey and Priory to face each other.

  “Now I know where I stand in your life,” Jacey said quietly. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll leave right now.”

  “Jace. Listen to me.”

  “There is nothing you can say to make it right.” Jacey grabbed her bag and left. She didn’t want to be in the same room with the woman who had betrayed her.

  “Jacey!”

  She could hear the anguish in Priory’s voice, but she didn’t care. Nothing could stop the ache in her heart and the tears in her eyes, and she continued to cry well after she stepped into her apartment.

  Priory’s mind was in disarray with the news from Eddles as she tried to remember whether she had seen the contract he spoke of. She knew very well that if she had, she would have acted on it, and she knew Jacey wouldn’t make that kind of slipup either.

  She had made a monumental mistake when she didn’t respond to Jacey’s silent plea, and her procrastination had cost her dearly. That disappointment in Jacey’s eyes tore at her and she tried to explain. “Jace. Listen to me.” She scrambled for a reason why she had frozen but couldn’t find one. She should have stepped in and taken responsibility for the missing contract and she failed.

  “Jacey!” she called as she watched Jacey’s retreating body. Priory took off after her down the corridor, pointedly ignoring the interested looks and gasps of surprise from the office workers. Priory slowed her steps in an effort to not appear so frantic, but she knew she was. Jacey was walking out of her office and out of her life. She couldn’t let that happen.

  Priory was still about twenty feet away when the elevator doors opened. “Jace!” she hissed. But that look on Jacey’s face as the doors closed—it chilled her to the bone. She pounded on the button and willed the elevator to arrive. It seemed like an eternity before it finally showed up, and she strode into it with purpose, then stabbed at the Ground Floor button. As an added measure, she also slapped at the Close Doors button repeatedly. “Come on…,” she muttered.