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CHAPTER 1
Present day
"He's driving me insane. I can't work with him, Merrick. You have to do something."
"Calm down, Grace, and tell me what the problem is ... this time."
Grace counted to ten and tried to concentrate on not losing her cool. It wasn't easy. "He's a Neanderthal," she stated. "I want to work for you. Not him."
"Tattle-telling again, Gracie?"
Every muscle in her body went rigid at that deep baritone. She turned around and had to brace herself when she saw Jackson lounging against the doorjamb to Merrick's office. "Don't you ever knock?"
He winked, which only infuriated her more. "The door wasn't closed, and your voice tends to carry. I was curious what had you all in a tizzy."
She stepped toward him and gritted out, "Call me Gracie one more time and I'll —"
"Enough!" Merrick shouted. "Both of you, get in here and close the damn door."
Grace recognized the tone. Merrick rarely got angry, but when he did it was wise not to push him. She stepped closer to his desk and sat in a chair facing him. She refused to look at Jackson, though she could hear the door close behind her.
"Sit down, Jackson," Merrick said, his voice brooking no argument. Out of the corner of her eye, Grace saw Jackson taking the chair next to her. "Grace, I asked you to work with Jackson because that's where you're needed right now. I need a marketing rep, and that's what you're good at. With Chloe five months into her pregnancy, I need Jackson to pick up some of my slack. That means you need to pick up some of his slack. You knew this when you took the job."
Grace drooped. It was all true. She had known what she was getting into. She'd wanted to work at her cousin's company so badly she'd purposely squashed her concerns about working alongside the much too attractive Jackson Hill. The man put her on edge, and she'd never understood why. He simply rubbed her the wrong way. Or maybe the real problem was that he rubbed her just exactly right, which scared her. She didn't like being scared. It pissed her off.
"I need to know if this is going to work," Merrick said, his gaze bouncing from her to Jackson then back again. "You two have been going at it for the full two months you've been here. It's driving me crazy, and I can't afford to be any crazier than I already am right now. The baby will be here soon and I need to focus."
"I don't see the problem," Jackson said, his voice full of confidence. "Grace is a good worker. I have no beef with her whatsoever."
She clasped her hands in her lap and just barely kept herself from saying something she'd regret. "The only problem I have is that you can't take no for an answer."
He chuckled. "Really? Because I don't recall asking a question."
Technically, it was true. He hadn't asked her on a date. But he'd hinted. At times it even seemed he took great pleasure in pushing her, making her imagine things she had no business imagining. Having sexual fantasies about her boss was surely a no-no. She peeked over at him and caught him staring at her. The heat in his gaze couldn't be missed. He wanted her. He might not have spelled it out, but the signals were there. She'd effectively evaded them too. Working every day with him was stealing her control, though. She'd snap soon, and then where would she be? Just another of Jackson Hill's conquests, she was sure of it. He hadn't tried to hide the fact that he wasn't into long term relationships. And she wasn't interested in being a notch on his belt. That left her with one solution. Quit working at Vaughn's Business Solutions. The thought made her gut clench.
"I want to talk to Jackson alone for a minute. Take a break, okay?"
She saw something in Merrick's expression that worried her. He'd had the same look the day Ronny Walsh had put a tack on her chair in her seventh grade science class. She'd made the mistake of crying about it in front of Merrick. She didn't know what Merrick did, but the next day Ronny had come to her with an apology. It hadn't been her intention to get Jackson in trouble, only convince Merrick to transfer her so she wasn't in such close proximity to the infernal man. She suddenly felt very guilty.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," she said, unable to hide the worry in her voice.
Merrick looked down at his watch, then back at her. "It's noon, time for lunch anyway."
Merrick wasn't letting up. She would get nowhere with him now. Grace sighed and stood, but as she glanced over at Jackson, she was surprised to notice he didn't seem at all concerned. Did the man have no sense of self-preservation? When he winked, she wanted to throttle him. She threw her hands in the air. "I give up. I'm going job hunting. I'll be back in an hour."
As she yanked the door open, she wondered for the hundredth time why she'd thought she could handle working with Jackson Hill. Surely she'd been under some sort of spell when she'd accepted Merrick's job offer. There simply wasn't any other explanation.
*
It was all Jackson could do not to laugh as he watched Grace stalk out of Merrick's office. He'd gotten to her, and she was running scared. It was only a matter of time now. He'd been lusting after the little blonde imp from the moment he'd spotted her at one of Merrick's family's cookouts. He'd tried the subtle approach, but that had gotten him exactly nowhere. She'd shot him down like a clay pigeon. The more he'd gotten to know her, the more he'd come to realize that Grace used sarcasm to keep people at arm's length. Especially him. She was damned good at holding him off. Jackson was getting desperate. If he didn't get her to submit soon, he'd explode.
"Quit thinking about her."
Merrick's voice dragged him back to reality. "I wasn't," Jackson lied.
Merrick rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair. "What the hell is it with you two? I can't figure it. It's as if you like fighting with her."
"The truth?"
"No, I'd rather you lied to me," Merrick ground out. "Yes, I want the truth."
"Just remember, you asked," he warned. "Fighting with Grace is like foreplay. It turns us both on. She wants me as much as I want her. She just can't seem to let her guard down long enough to let me in. I've yet to figure out why." He leaned forward in the chair and said, "Maybe you can help me with that one."
Merrick shook his head. "You are aware that I'm not only her cousin, but your boss, right?"
Jackson recognized Merrick in overprotective mode. But Jackson had no intention of staying away from Grace, now or ever. "Is this the part where you warn me away?"
"Grace is my employee, and I protect my employees. You're in dangerous territory, flirting with her. Sexual harassment isn't something I take lightly, Jackson."
Jackson went rigid. "Did she say I sexually harassed her?"
"That's not the point. The point is I protect what's mine."
"I would never hurt Grace."
"But you are making her uncomfortable, and I can't have that. Either back off or I'll move her to a different position."
Merrick had just tossed down the gauntlet. If Jackson pushed the issue he could lose Grace and probably his job, not to mention his friendship with Merrick. Still, he wasn't about to make a promise he knew damn well he couldn't keep. Jackson rubbed his jaw and decided to lay it all on the line.
"This isn't a game to me. I care about your cousin. You can fire me, pull Grace under your wing or whatever, but I won't stop pursuing her until she tells me to stop."
Merrick slammed his fist on the desk. "What the hell is up with you? I've never seen you act like this. You've never dated an employee. Why Grace?"
Jackson had wondered that himself. "She's the most annoying woman I've ever met. She tells me to go to hell and I get a fucking hard-on. She threatens to maim me and I start drooling. Damned if I can figure it out. But until I do, I won't let up. She wants me, she's just fighting it. I scare her." Jackson rubbed his jaw and thought for a second. "No, that's not right. I think the idea of being with me scares her."
"Grace doesn't scare easily," Merrick mused. "But you're right. She's been watching you like a caged lioness. If you aren't careful, she'll have you for lunch. Grace can be damned mean when cornered."
It was now or never. Time to make a deal with the devil. "I have a solution. One that will please everyone."
Merrick drummed his fingers on the desk for several seconds before saying, "I'm listening."
"The Interop Convention in Vegas is coming up," Jackson stated, referring to the nation's biggest information technology convention. Businesses from all over the world attended to view new cutting-edge technologies. It was May, and the convention was a week away. "I want to take Grace with me when I go. If she's still resisting my irresistible charms after that, I'll back off."
"You and Grace in Las Vegas for a week? You think I'll agree to this?"
"I think you want Grace to be happy. I think you want harmony back in your office. Let me take Grace to Vegas. Not the whole week. Three days, that's all I'm asking, and I promise you'll have both."
Merrick got out of the chair and paced. Jackson was almost afraid he was going to fire his ass right then. He had every right too. Jackson was surprised when Merrick said, "If Grace wants to go, I won't stop her. But it's her choice, not yours. You won't force her because you're her boss. Understood?"
Jackson said a silent prayer that Grace wouldn't fight him on this one. "Understood."
Merrick came around the desk and leaned against the edge. "One more thing."
Jackson stood, sensing a battle coming. "Yeah?"
"Grace is like a sister to me, to Blade and Lacey too. I'd be very careful with her if I were you."
He nodded. "I know how close you all are, but this is between Grace and me."
Merrick crossed his arms over his chest. "Grace is all grown up now. Chloe says she can take care of herself, but that doesn't mean I won't kick your ass if you make her cry. Remember that while you're trying to sweet talk her into going to Sin City with you."
Jackson laughed. "Hold off on buying the tar and feathers until after I get back, will ya? I wouldn't want you to waste your money."
Merrick shook his head. "You have to get her to agree to the trip first. I'm not so convinced you've got what it takes."
"We'll see."
"Yeah, we will."
Merrick called his name as Jackson started to leave. He stopped as he reached the door and turned. "Yeah?"
"Has Grace told you about her car accident?"
Jackson's stomach bottomed out. "What car accident?"
"When she was nineteen, she was in a real bad wreck. We weren't sure she was going to make it those first twenty-four hours. It was hard on all of us. The thing is, Grace is the youngest of the Vaughns. I guess you could say she's sort of the baby we'd all like to wrap in cotton if she'd only let us." Merrick paused before adding, "If you really care about her, you should know the accident left a lasting impression on Grace."
Jackson squeezed the doorknob. "In what way? Emotionally?" "Ask her that."
He nodded and opened the door. As he made his way down the hall to his own office, an image of a beat-up nineteen-year-old Gracie sprang to mind, and it nearly made Jackson throw up. He didn't like thinking of her as fragile. She was usually so tough and she handled herself so well around him it was easy to forget just how delicate she really was.
CHAPTER 2
Grace sauntered back into the office, feeling better than she had in weeks. She'd taken a two hour lunch. The first hour had been spent sucking down a latté and devouring a grilled chicken Caesar salad while she attempted to make future lunch plans with some of her old business contacts. She wasn't convinced it would get her anywhere as far as a job offer, but it never hurt to try. The second hour she'd taken the time to go to her cousin Lacey's gym and get in a workout. It didn't quite take away all her frustrations, but it had helped.
Now as Grace moved through the office and spotted Candice, they both smiled a greeting. It still surprised Grace that Candice and Blade were married, much less soon-to-be parents of a baby boy. The marital bliss and pregnancies in the Vaughn family were enough to make a single woman envious.
As she approached her desk, Grace wrapped the strap of her purse around the back of the chair and sat. She tried to concentrate on the new software she'd been working on, but it wasn't any use. All she saw was Jackson's grin as she'd walked out of Merrick's office. It'd been juvenile of her to take her problems to her cousin. She should have known the way Merrick would react. He was always much too protective of her. She could go into Jackson's office and confront him, make him tell her what the two men had said after she'd left. Had Merrick fired him, punched him, or both?
"Stop frowning; your face will stick that way one of these days." Grace looked up from the flat screen monitor to find Jackson grinning down at her, his hands in his pockets. God, the man was yummy. His close-cropped dark hair and chiseled cheekbones had always made her think of a tough guy from an action movie. His hard, muscular frame wasn't anything to overlook either. For the first time she wondered if he'd ever been in the military. He seemed ex-something. SEAL. Marine. Sniper. Dangerous and sexy, both of those words described Jackson Hill's powerful physique and hypnotic silver eyes.
"So, no black eye. Am I to assume you two didn't engage in a fist fight then?"
He tsked. "We're adults. We solve things like men, not prickly teenagers."
She let that one pass, though she had at least a dozen good comebacks on the tip of her tongue. "Still have a job?"
Jackson pulled his hands out of his pockets and braced himself against her desk. As he leaned down, she could smell his masculine scent, like the jungle, wild and untamed. "Hoping Merrick fired me?"
Her cheeks burned at his words. "I shouldn't have gone to Merrick. I'm sorry."
Jackson reached out and touched her cheek. "That almost seemed sincere, Gracie."
She jerked backward, out of his reach, and growled, "Screw it, I'm not sorry."
Jackson's grin disappeared. "Come into my office. I need to talk to you."
"Jackson, this isn't —"
He cut her off with a hand in the air. "I need a little privacy. Please?"
Grace didn't really have a choice at that point and she damn well knew it. Jackson was simply too adorable when he murmured please in that sexy baritone of his. She stood, but before she could follow him into his office, she asked, "Were you ever in the military?"
His head cocked to the side. "Yeah, the Marines. I did a four-year enlistment right out of high school. Why?"
She sighed. "Just curious."
"Uh, okay." He turned and started toward his office, Grace watched the way his ass moved beneath his black dress slacks. God, the man was delicious. A squeeze. Just one squeeze and she could live the rest of her life with a grin on her face.
As he closed the door to his office, panic welled up. Most men didn't send her blood rushing through her veins, and she never felt panicky around them. With Jackson she was the helpless field mouse cornered by the hungry tom cat. Not a happy image.
Jackson moved around his desk and sat, indicating she should sit in one of the chairs across from him. She sat and braced herself, unsure what this new mood of his was all about. He seemed pensive, and she wasn't used to that. Jackson was usually flirtatious or ribbing her until she wanted to pull out her hair, or his. Those were moods she could handle. This serious side had her fidgeting in her seat.
"I want to know why you went to Merrick. Is it so horrible working for me?"
Grace clutched the arm of the chair. He was asking for the truth. Since the moment she'd started at Merrick's company, Jackson had never actually pushed her into dealing with their mutual attraction. He seemed content to let them dance around each other. Dodging him and suppressing her insane attraction to him had just become a thing of the past, though.
"It's not so bad. You pissed me off and I reacted. I'm sorry." He glanced down at his desk and frowned, then moved a few files around. As he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, he said, "Yeah, that's the part I'm fuzzy on, Gracie. What set you off? One minute I was talking to you like any other co-worker, just shooting the breeze, the next thing I know you're growling and stomping off. What did I say?"
She would have to admit it now, or try to lie. She sucked at lying to Jackson. He always saw right through her, somehow. Another infuriating thing about the man. "You were talking about your night with Ginger," she blurted.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Tempting Grace"
by .
Copyright © 2009 Anne Rainey.
Excerpted by permission of Entangled Publishing, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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