No Strings Attached by Nicolette Day Read Free Book Online

talk to me and kicked the doorstop out,” Jace cut in, grabbing his shirt off the floor and pulling it over his head. “She didn’t know about the knob. We’ve been stuck in here for hours. Thanks for the rescue, asshat.”
    Nate’s grin earned him a death glare from his brother, but he just waltzed in and set the box down. “Yeah, you both look like you’re miserable.”
    With escape possible and Nate analyzing her freshly sexed state, the room suddenly felt too small for the three of them. She couldn’t breathe. It didn’t matter if the world outside hadn’t existed a few minutes ago. It existed now. What the hell had she been thinking? She was leaving tomorrow! And Jace… She didn’t want to imagine a life that didn’t include Jace when she returned. Would he even be able to look at her after this? Go back to Sunday nights eating Chinese takeout on her couch as if nothing had ever happened? Because she didn’t think she could. Heart in her throat, Hayden snatched her clutch off the floor and pushed past Nate. “I…I need some air.”
    She sped through the nearly empty club and made it a few steps into the parking lot before a warm hand seized her wrist, bringing her to a halt. “Hayden, wait.”
    She couldn’t face him. Not yet. Maybe not ever. She scanned the parking lot for Lilly’s car, but it was gone. So much for girl code. Her assistant was probably cozied up with some frat boy, reliving her college days.
    Jace spun her around and gripped her shoulders. The look in his eyes was frantic, desperate. She’d never seen Jace like this, hanging on by a thread. “What… Were you just going to leave?” He sounded angry, hurt, and confused. He gestured back at the club. “After all that?”
    “No…I just want…”
    “What?” His chest heaved, and he gripped her tighter. “ What do you want ?”
    Did she want to leave it alone? Forget it? She looked up at Jace, at the light sprinkle of rain gathering in his hair, running down his temple. In twenty-six years, no one had ever managed to make her feel even a fraction of what Jace had in that room. She was scared as hell about what would happen when the sun shed light on the whole mess in the morning, but for right now…she wanted to finish what they had started. For tonight, she wanted to imagine that she could actually have this. That it could be real. The look in his eyes was almost enough to fool her into thinking it was true. She slid her hand up his chest and gripped the fabric of his shirt in her fist.
    “I want you to take me home,” she whispered. “And I want you to stay.”

Chapter Six
    Jace didn’t even remember the drive to Hayden’s apartment. Years from now, he was sure he’d only remember this. His mouth crushed against hers, conveying just how much he wanted her as he licked the rain from her lips. She fumbled blindly with her purse, searching for her keys. When she finally pulled them out, he grabbed them and opened the door, then kicked it shut behind them once they’d stumbled into the dark.
    “Please tell me the movers haven’t taken your bed yet,” he murmured against her lips as her bottom hit the back of the sofa. He really wanted to take her on a bed. Laid out so he could see and taste every inch of her, worship her the way she deserved.
    She smiled into his mouth. “You’re in luck,” she said. “The big stuff doesn’t get picked up until tomorrow.”
    He grunted his approval, lifted her up, carried her down the hall, and kicked the bedroom door open. The smell of Hayden drowned his senses. Lavender and freshly washed linens. It smelled like the only home he ever wanted to know. He spotted a stack of her favorite prints propped against the wall and placed her on her feet. The black and white photo of the day Nate had come home from Afghanistan caught his eye. The seconds it had taken for his brother to walk out of that airport terminal to where Jace stood waiting had seemed like hours. But she’d caught the