vibrate, and she felt the tremble through every part of her body. Suddenly a rush of desire swept right between her legs. An incredible hunger began spreading from one part of her body to the other. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been this attracted to a man. Her mind nearly froze at the thought.
Before she could draw in her next breath, Jace closed the distance between them, and instead of retreating, she stood her ground while watching the fierce hunger flare to life in the depths of his eyes. Heat was blazing between them, and she felt its intensity. Potent. Stimulating. Arousing.
And when his gaze shifted from her eyes to her mouth, her lips felt a magnetic pull toward his as he began lowering his head. His lips were so close, she could almost taste them and...
The sound of one of her candy bars hitting the floor made Shana jump back. She was appalled at what she and Jace were about to do. Out in the open. In the middle of a corridor. “I need to get back to work,” she said after picking up her candy bar.
He took a step back, as well. “Yeah, and I need to grab a bag of chips out of the machine.” After she’d taken a few steps, he called after her. “Shana?”
She stopped and turned around. “Yes?”
“I am trying,” he said. She knew exactly what he meant.
She nodded. “And I’m trying, too. I guess we need to try a little harder.”
She then opened the door to her office and slipped inside.
* * *
“Drop, damn it!” Jace muttered while pounding on the front of the vending machine with his fist. He knew his anger was not at the bag of chips stuck in the machine but was directed at himself for what he’d almost done with Shana. He’d come close to kissing her, claiming the most sensuous lips he’d ever seen. In one single instant, he’d come close to destroying all the resistance he’d fought so hard to build up with her. There was no excuse for not being able to handle his sexually deprived testosterone.
“Damn it, drop!” he said in frustration, pounding on the vending machine again.
“What the hell is going on out here?”
Jace swiveled around and stared Caden in the face. “What are you doing here? I thought you and Dalton left hours ago for dinner and drinks at McQueen’s.”
“We did,” Caden said, coming up, pulling coins out of his pocket and inserting them into the machine. He chose the same chips Jace had, which made both his and Jace’s bags drop down together. Caden gave Jace his bag of chips. “That’s how you do it, Jace, not by giving the machine a beat-down.”
“Whatever,” Jace said, opening the bag of chips. “So if you left with Dalton, then what are you doing back here?”
Caden opened his own bag of chips, and the brothers began munching as they walked back toward Caden’s office. “I believe in the theory that three’s a crowd. Dalton met someone, a real hot number with a gorgeous pair of legs. I didn’t want to be the one standing in the way of heated desire and unquenchable lust.”
“I see your point,” Jace said, dropping in the chair in front of Caden’s desk.
After sitting down behind his desk, Caden glanced over at Jace. “I understand Dalton talked to you about moving out. I’m glad you didn’t give him any grief about it.”
“I wouldn’t have done that, because I understand. I’ve always understood, Caden. Just like I understood the pain you endured losing your best friend.”
Caden didn’t say anything, but he knew his brother was referring to his childhood relationship with Shiloh. Jace was observant, and Caden wondered when his brother would get around to asking questions. And they were questions Caden wasn’t ready to answer just yet. So he decided to change the subject. “You’d be happy to know I’ve finished reading this stuff,” he said, motioning to the stack of papers on his desk.
“Interesting reading once you get into it. I don’t know how Dad and Granddad handled it all. It’s too much to know,” Caden added.
Jace shrugged. “It’s not so bad.”
Caden released a deep chuckle. “You can say that since Granger Aeronautics is in your blood. I see how easily you handle board meetings and those arrogant executives and managers who think you’re a wet-behind-the-ears, don’t-know-shit CEO. You’re proving them wrong every day. You’re a natural. A perfect fit.”
Jace appreciated the compliment. “What about you,