Irresistible Desire

Rain slashed against the windscreen Of Jacobs car wit fierce intensity. Aware of the dangers inherent in the dark winters night, he kept the speed of his powerful car well under control, watching out for reckless pedestrians. It was late, almost midnight, and Jacob had taken a detour on his way back from a long shift at work. The streets were practically abandoned, as the people he passed all seemed to be indoors, watching the storm outside.

After the day hed had, all he wanted was a hot bath.Grace looked like she could do with both. The poor baby was standing outside in the icy rain, waiting for a bus, her face pinched with cold. She could probably do with a hot man in bed as well but…

Grace?

The name caught him off guard. When had he stopped calling her Grace? She hadn been that when they worked together, had she? And she certainly wasn now… She was so different than any time hed met her before.

And now Jacob thought about it, it had been months since hed seen or heard from Grace. Maybe she no longer remembered him.

Or maybe she still loved him.

He couldn believe how much hope this idea brought him. A sudden wave of warmth rose up from somewhere deep within, causing Jacob to blush fiercely. He didn know what was happening between him and Grace; he just knew that he hoped whatever the reason behind their break apart might have meant something. It could even mean that she still cared for him after all these years, which would make all of this worth it.

If Grace did still love him then maybe it wouldn be too late to start over and try again.

He saw her standing in the pouring rain under a barely glowing streetlight, shivering.

He screeched to a stop and then backed up, thanking God for the lack of traffic. As soon as he reached her, he leaned across and threw open the passenger door. ”Get the hell in! ” The weather obliged, but Grace didn .

The sodden woman outside made a face, as if debating whether to take his less than warm offer.

The rain continued to pour down heavily over her, hard and certainly painful, even through the thick wool of her pantsuit. ”The bus is supposed to come any m-m-m-minute. ”

Her chattering teeth enraged Jacob. For a second, he thought he saw fear in those big eyes of hers but it had to have been a trick of the light. Hed never met a woman less afraid of him than this bedraggled creature. ”Get in here right now, Grace!. ”

She hesitated. ”You don have to shout. I hear you fine. ”

”Well, itll save me having to yell at your stupid ass. ” The temperature inside his car began to rise immediately but Jacob paid no mind to that. He grabbed Grace around the waist and half lifted, half dragged her into his car.Her trembling hands immediately went to the warm air circulating from the ventilation shafts.

He turned up the heat before pulling away from the curb to make a right turn instead of going left.He slowed his car, taking the chance to send a glare Graces way. ”What the hell were you doing catching a bus at this time of night? ” His voice was a lacerating whip. How dare she put herself in such a vulnerable position?

Grace didn answer him; she stared straight ahead, unblinking. She looked small sitting there in the seat beside him. Her clothes clung to her like wet laundry on a washing line; her hair stuck to her cheeks and forehead where it lay flat against her neck.

”None of your b-b-business. ” The sound of chattering teeth destroyed her attempt at a haughty dismissal.

”Grace, ”he warned, in a tone that h