Ignite (Explosive) Read online

  The pounding in my ears drowns out the entire bar as he places his hands on my waist to steady me and I immediately brace my hands on his rigid forearms. I catch my breath before looking up to see his light irises turn slightly darker at the contact. We stand there for a moment as if reveling in the other’s touch until Jace moves his hands to the small of my back and pulls me into him. I feel so tiny in his arms due to our height difference, and it’s a feeling I’d always loved about us.

  Involuntarily, I move my hands up and around his back to feel his shoulder blades as my head rests on his chest, and I can’t help but close my eyes at how intimate this embrace feels. My breathing quickens as I hear the frantic pace of his heartbeat, and I realize that he’s just as affected by this as I am.

  “Don’t worry. I’ve got you,” he leans down and whispers in my ear.

  I pull my head back and look up at him again. “Yeah, you do,” I let out, surprising both myself and Jace. I twist out of his arms and head to the bathroom, wondering what the hell that was about because I know it wasn’t just the alcohol talking.

  I GET ready to flush the toilet when I hear his name.

  “Holy shit, have you seen Jace McAllister? He looks so damn hot. I could just rip his clothes off right here,” an unknown—and very annoying—voice whispers.

  “Oh, girl, don’t even try to go there. You know back in school he only really had eyes for one girl, and as far as I can tell tonight, he still only has eyes for her,” another voice—one not so annoying—answers.

  Ms. Annoying, as I’ve deemed her, scoffs. “Whatever. He never even dated her, but he was with me our whole junior year. Plus, last I heard, she’s married anyway.”

  The lovely voice of reason sighs, “You broke up because he was spending all of his time with her. Even if he claimed they were just friends, you know it wasn’t true. Or at least he didn’t want it to be true. And I saw through Sierra’s Facebook page that Lexi’s husband died like a year and a half ago. I felt so bad when I saw that.”

  “Then the bitch should be grieving, not making a play for Jace. All the better for me,” sneers the voice I know now is Mallory’s, Jace’s ex from high school. I suddenly understand the venom in her voice because she always hated my friendship with him.

  I try to stop my hands from shaking as I listen to them leave the restroom. Who the hell does that bitch think she is to lay claim to Jace and say I need to grieve? It’s been damn near close to a year and a half. Well, almost. See? Listen to yourself, Lexi. It’s okay to let go. I squeeze my eyes shut as I sit in silence, wondering what the hell I’m doing. Knowing that it’s safe, I leave the stall and wash my hands, anxious to get out of there.

  Heading out of the bathroom, I go out on the secluded front porch of the bar. I pull out my phone and know immediately who I need to talk to.

  “Please tell me that you’re naked, breathless, and you’ve just had the most powerful orgasm of all womankind,” Brady answers, making me laugh.

  “Will you be disappointed if I answer none of the above?” I ask, sitting down on the first step, putting my head in my hands while holding the phone to my ear.

  “Hmmm…the weekend is still young, as is the night. You still have two days to make me proud,” he says with a smile in his voice.

  “Is it all about the sex with you?” I question.

  He gasps in mock horror. “My dear, whatever else would it be about?” He laughs as he continues. “But seriously, you need to get laid, so tonight, yes, yes it is. Have you seen him? Let me guess. You walked in, locked eyes, and it was lust at first second sight. Then, knowing you, you spent some time avoiding him before he cornered you. How’d I do?”

  I take a deep breath and let it out before I answer. “It’s annoying how well you know me. And first second sight isn’t even a thing, you dork. But the rest, yeah, you pretty much nailed it. It was a little awkward at first, especially since I practically quivered when he touched my thigh, but then we fell into comfortable conversation and it’s been…it’s been really nice, Brady.”

  “So why aren’t you with him? I mean, I love you and I know how hard it is not to see me every day, but it sounds like things are good there.”

  “They were. I mean, they are. I just… I overheard his ex in the bathroom talking about wanting to have sex with him on the bar floor,” I say, wincing at the thought of her running her hands all over him.

  Brady laughs. “If she was going to have any chance with him, she wouldn’t be talking about it in the bathroom. She’d be out there working him, and it sounds like he’s been either with you or pursuing you all night.”

  He has a point. I giggle as I tell him, “I’m the reason they broke up. She wanted him to spend less time with me and he refused.”

  “See? She’s got nothing on you. So go in there, drink some more, and get your man.”

  I sober up at his suggestion of ownership. “She also said I should still be grieving my husband, so it’ll make it easier for her to get with him,” I whisper.

  “That skank-ass bitch! Do I need to come down there? I am not allowing her to ruin all my hard work. You’ve come such a long way. Don’t you dare start feeling guilty again. I’m sorry, babe, but he’s gone. Jace isn’t. I’m not saying fall in love and marry him this weekend, but give it a chance. Who knows, maybe nothing will happen? But you can’t live your life without love—or at least a chance at it.”

  I sigh, knowing he’s right. “I know, Brady. I guess that’s why I called you. It’s like I know deep down that it’s okay to move on. I guess I just never really thought it would happen.”

  “Keep telling yourself that. And I’m always here to be the annoying buzz in your ear. Call me day or night, but for now, go see if your past and your future can collide.”

  “Thanks, Brady. Love you.”

  “You, too, girl,” he says as we both hang up.

  I go back into the bar and head back to the table, nerves fully intact. Sierra’s at the table alone as I sit back down. Looking around the bar, I spot Jeremy waiting for what I’m guessing is another round. My eyes flick around the room before I see Jace talking to a very chesty, dark-haired woman whose shorts are borderline criminal, and her shirt—if it can even be categorized as one—scoops so low that I can almost see her nipples.

  “Is that—?” Sierra cuts me off before I can finish.

  “Mallory Buchanan. Mouthy Mallory, in the flesh with a new set of tits paid for with many oral favors, no doubt,” she jokes, shaking her head as if remembering how that nickname was earned. I cringe, remembering the year Jace dated her.

  “How in the hell could Jace stand dating her for our entire junior year?” Sierra asks, echoing my thoughts.

  “Hell if I know. I guess he had his needs,” I reply, shuddering at the thought of her fulfilling any of those.

  Before I can respond, my sister nudges me under the table with her foot. “Looks like someone’s trying to move in with a reunion of her own,” she comments, forcing me to look over and catch Mallory’s long, red nails digging into Jace’s bicep as she squeals over the size of his muscle. I flinch, remembering her comments in the bathroom. Jace takes that moment to look up and finds me watching him. He shoots me a look that is a mix of both frustration and annoyance, and I can’t help but grin at his discomfort. I raise my eyebrows and he looks pleadingly at me, waiting and wishing for me to intervene. I take a swig of the beer Jeremy just dropped in front of me as I watch him squirm under her touch. I’m surprised to find that I’m pleased that he looks out of sorts with her, and it’s all I can do not to stand up and rescue him. It’s not until I see her grab his face with her hands that I’m up out of my chair so fast you’d think my ass was on fire.

  “OH, JACE, I’ve been sooo worried about you ever since I heard about you joining the Army. I can’t imagine you doing something so dangerous,” Mallory coos in the most annoying baby voice I’ve ever had the displeasure of hearing.

  She continues as she latches onto my bicep,
effectively scratching me in the process with her too long nails. She doesn’t notice as I flinch at her touch, not wanting anything to take away the reminder of Alexa’s arms around me only moments before.

  “But I do have to say, I love how the Army’s filled you out. I can only imagine how the rest of you looks underneath all those clothes.” She flutters her eyelids in a way that I think is supposed to be seductive, but it really just looks like she got some sand in her eyes.

  I look around for backup when I catch Alexa watching Mallory with an expression of disgust. Meeting her eyes, I pray that she can see the SOS message mine are trying to convey. A small smile comes to her face as she takes a pull of her beer, and she quirks her eyebrows up in amusement. That little brat. She’s seriously enjoying this. Suddenly, there’s a hand grasping my jaw and Mallory turns my face to hers.

  “It’s been so long since we’ve been together, Jace. How about a dance for old time’s sake?”

  I look around just in time to see Alexa heading towards us. Her eyes widen as she notices Mallory’s hold on me, and before I can do anything, Ryan fucking Harper swoops in and pulls Alexa to the dance floor. She catches my gaze and shoots me the same pleading look she found so amusing when it was on my face. As much as I do not want Mallory’s hands on me, it feels good to teach her a lesson about leaving me hanging. Plus, I have no doubt that Ryan won’t mind switching partners later on.

  I cringe as Mallory slips her arms around my waist, and I immediately miss the soft, petite woman I was holding a few minutes earlier. Inhaling, I remember the soft coconut scent that I’ve always been able to associate with Alexa, but instead my nostrils are filled with a smell that’s a mixture of booze and tanning lotion. I wrinkle my nose as my eyes water and we accidentally bump into another couple on the dance floor.

  “Bumper dance!” Ryan yells out jovially as he pulls Mallory out of my arms and replaces her with Alexa. This could not have worked out more perfectly.

  I smile down at the beautiful girl in my arms—scratch that, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on. She looks up at me as she grins, and for the first time tonight, I think the smile actually reaches her eyes, which I can see twinkling under the soft light on the dance floor.

  “As much as I love carnival rides, please steer clear of any other dancing couples tonight,” she requests.

  Is she joking? Ryan and any other guy here would have to pry her out of my cold, dead hands before I let her out of my arms again. Creepy, Jace. Just creepy.

  I laugh and kiss her forehead. “Trust me, I have no desire to dance with Mouthy again.”

  She freezes in my arms, and I’m not sure if it’s from the kiss or the mention of Mallory’s more than apt nickname from high school. I’m not ashamed to have gained that knowledge firsthand, but I wonder how either woman would feel to know that there was only one of them I was ever thinking about. Yeah, I’m a bastard.

  When the song changes, I place my chin on her head and pull her closer. I smile as Lady Antebellum’s “Dancing Away With My Heart” comes on over the speakers. I feel like such a chick as I think about how perfectly this song describes us. Closing my eyes, I remember the last time she was in my arms and I sang to her. I can’t help but relive that moment as I start to softly sing about not seeing her and wondering about her over the years. She shivers as my mouth grazes her ear. I know I’m dangerously close, and just like a bomb, one false move and she could go off. I need to approach carefully and with caution until I know she can handle the heat. She just makes it so damn hard to keep my hands off of her.

  I CLOSE my eyes as I feel his hot breath against my neck, traveling up to my ear.

  “Wanna get out of here?” He must feel me tense because he quickly adds, “We can just talk, whatever. I just want to catch up, ya know, away from here.”

  I’m about to say yes when I hear a venomous voice from behind Jace say, “Oh, well isn’t this cozy?”

  “Fuck me,” Jace groans as he turns around to face Mallory, half pulling me behind him. I quickly move around to his side. I’m no high school wilting flower that needs protecting. I roll my eyes at the thought that this bitch still has issues with my and Jace’s friendship. As far as I know, they haven’t dated in over eleven years. Get over it, skank. I feel my face start to pale as I realize that I have no idea who Jace has been with over the last ten years. As far as I know, they could’ve been seeing each other any time during the last decade.

  “How cute. The high school BFFs are still as clingy as they were ten years ago,” she drunkenly slurs, shrugging off Ryan as he tries to pull her back.

  “What the fuck, Mal? This is our reunion, not a place to make a scene. Did you forget that we broke up eleven fucking years ago? You have no goddamn claim to me, and your fake tan, fake tits, and fake nails aren’t going to make me coming crawling back to you,” Jace unleashes on her with a disdain I wasn’t expecting.

  Mallory looks at me with contempt as she moves closer to us. She pokes a long-nailed finger into my face and proclaims, “You!! You were always the issue between Jace and me. You were the barrier that kept us from being close. And ten goddamn fucking years later, here you are again. Fuck, isn’t a damn dead husband enough to keep you away from him? Oh wait, running to Jace every time a relationship didn’t work out was always your M.O.”

  Her words splash over me like bucket of ice cold water, but unfortunately I’m no star athlete celebrating the winning touchdown. Before I can stop my reaction, my arm reaches out as I slap her Botox-infused face so hard that her head whips to the left the moment my hand connects with her cheek. Rubbing my now tingling hand, I see Sierra walk over to us with a murderous look on her face. Mallory spots her and begins to cower behind Ryan, who’s holding up his hands like he wants nothing to do with being her hiding spot. Jace pulls me into his arms and tightens them, trying to separate the two of us.

  “Everything okay, Lexi?” Sierra asks me while glaring at the bitch who just dealt me a low blow.

  “You’re asking her if she’s okay?! Your cunt of a little sister just bitch-slapped me for no fucking reason, Sierra,” Mallory pleads.

  I pull out of Jace’s grasp and find myself within inches of Mouthy fucking Mallory’s face. She shrinks back as if she’s scared of another blow, and that ignites my fury.

  “If you ever speak of me or my life again, I will do a lot more than slap you. You didn’t know me ten years ago, and you don’t know me now. And you certainly don’t know a goddamned thing about my husband. So shut the fuck up, turn around, and go find a guy who wants to screw Orange Barbie tonight,” I sneer more nastily than I mean to, but dammit if my blood isn’t boiling right now.

  I’m trembling as I replay her words over in my mind. You will not let her make you feel guilty. You will not cry, I tell myself as I close my eyes, trying to blink away the tears I refuse to let her see. I think I could break at any moment when Jace wraps his arms around me and steers me towards the door.

  “You found out back then who I’d choose. Not sure why you’d think it’d be different now,” he comments to a flabbergasted Mallory.

  We head outside where there’s a small crowd of people catching up. Jace pulls me to the side and places his lips on my ear. He tugs at my lobe for a moment before whispering, “Privacy?”

  I feel a tingling run through my body as I answer, “That sounds perfect.”

  I KNOW I’m probably pushing it, but after seeing the way she reacted to Mallory’s bullshit, I knew I had to do something to take her mind off of whatever was going through her brain. Knowing Alexa, she was taking those words to heart, and I couldn’t scramble fast enough to do damage control. There’s no way in hell I’m going to let Mallory ruin the first night I’ve seen Alexa in over ten years, so yeah, maybe I’m a bit brazen in biting her ear. But when she shivers and leans into me, I let out a breath of relief and pray that the moment of hesitation is over.

  We begin walking the short distance to the resort where everyone is stay
ing, and she doesn’t hesitate when I grab her hand. Her palms are no longer sweaty, which makes me smile for some reason. Her small hand fits perfectly in mine, and I wonder how in the hell I went ten years without her touch. We bump shoulders as she slightly stumbles and I feel a jolt of electricity with her closeness.

  “Umm…sorry, I suppose that last whiskey may have been one too many,” she says apprehensively.

  Chuckling, I throw my shoulder back into hers. I look down and she blushes, sending my heart into a damn flutter that I cannot fucking seem to get a grip on. She flexes her hand around mine and grips me tighter. We walk the rest of the way to the condo in silence, enjoying the warm air, the ocean breeze, and the sound of traffic flowing on Highway 98.

  A few minutes later, we’re walking through the sliding doors of the condo building. I’m not ready for this night to end, so I find my balls and ask, “Want to hang out on the beach and talk?”

  For about the tenth time tonight, I feel like a girl as I wait for her answer.

  “I’d like that, Jace,” she whispers, looking everywhere but into my eyes.

  Relief washes over me at the knowledge that this night is going to continue. I know I should probably go up to the room and get something for us to sit on, so I head towards the elevators. Alexa’s eyebrows rise and she looks at me questioningly.

  “I thought we’d grab a blanket from the room to lay out on the sand, and I also have two things for you. A bottle of Merlot and one of Jameson. We can tag team back and forth as we catch up if that sounds good to you?” I ask.

  Alexa takes a deep breath before answering. “How in the hell have you always known me so well? You know tomorrow I’ll feel like death, but chasing whiskey with wine sounds pretty damn good right about now.” She winks at me as she enters the now opened elevator.