Instead, I returned his smile, running my hand over the bed to smooth out wrinkles I didn’t real y mind in the first place.

Jace leaned back in my desk chair, his Kentucky Wildcats T-shirt stretched across broad shoulders. He was descended from the original Kentucky wildcat, which, of course, was more than just a mascot. “Don’t be mad at me,” he said.

“None of this was my idea.”

“I know.” I tilted my head to the left, stil trying to work out the muscle cramp.

“You can stay. Until you start to bore me.”

“Why, thank you, Your Highness.” He stood to perform a deep, highly sarcastic bow. But instead of returning to the chair, he sat down behind me on the bed, brushing my hand away from my neck. Careful not to tug, he gathered my hair and laid it over my shoulder, then began massaging my neck at the base of my skull.

His touch was firm and warm, and his fingers moved with confidence, seeking the tensest muscles. I moaned with relief, then stiffened and flushed from embarrassment. Jace only laughed and rubbed harder until I relaxed again.

“So, how ya doin’, kid?” he asked, moving down to work on my shoulders.

“Not too bad, for a prisoner.”

He chuckled, sounding distinctly unsympathetic. “Could be worse.”

“How?”

“You could be a hostage.”

I huffed, plucking imaginary fuzz from my comforter as he moved lower, kneading the muscles

between my shoulder blades through the thin cotton of my shirt. “At least a hostage has hope of a ransom.”

His hands hesitated for a moment, his breath stirring my hair as he sighed.

“Your dad’s only trying to do what’s best.”

“For whom?” I pulled away, turning to half face him.

“For everyone.”

“What’s good for the gander isn’t always good for the goose, Jace,” I said, resorting to a mutilated cliché. It didn’t help. He couldn’t understand. Tomcats were immune to my particular plight, a fact I’d envied al of my adult life.

“You’re not poultry,” Jace said, grinning as he brushed a strand of hair from my shoulder. “And anyway, after everything that’s happened the last couple of days, you have to admit us watching out for you was a good idea.”

“The hel it was.” I beat Jace over the head with that stupid fancy pil ow as I spoke, punctuating each word with another harmless blow, even when he brought his arms up in defense.

“I…watched…out…for… my…self.” After one final whack, I dropped the pil ow into my lap and sat frowning at Jace. “Marc wasn’t even there. But don’t you dare tel Daddy. I’m getting ready to try my hand at blackmail.”

“A new hobby? What, you get tired of the disappearing act?”

“Funny.” I smacked him one last time with the pil ow. “But I’m not kidding. He has no right interfering in my life. For that matter, neither does my father.”

Jace’s grin faded slowly. “My father died when I was three, and my stepfather never gave me anything but a hard time. Your dad gave you five years of freedom.

Why isn’t that enough?” With nothing appropriate left to rub, his hands settled aimlessly into his lap, and I stared at them to avoid seeing the dejected look in his eyes. He was taking it too personal y. It wasn’t like I’d left him in particular.

“Because my life isn’t his to give,” I said, my words clipped short in frustration.

“It’s mine, and I should be able to do whatever I want with it.” Why is that so hard for everyone else to understand?

Jace shrugged. “So, what do you want to do with your life?”

My hand clenched around a handful of my comforter. “I don’t know yet.”

Instead of laughing, he nodded as if he understood. He probably did. If Jace had any long-term goals, surely he wouldn’t have stil been working for my father.

He ran a hand through his straight, light brown hair, and my eyes tracked the movement automatical y. “Your dad never sent Marc, you know. He could have, but he didn’t.”

“Until today.” I tried not to pout. I real y did, knowing I’d never be accepted as an adult as long as I acted like a child. But old habits real y do die hard.

“Today’s different.”

“No, today’s the same.” I straightened out of my slouch, drawing his gaze up with me. “It’s the same as tomorrow wil be, and the next day. It’s the same as it was when I left.”

“Not quite,” he said, and the grin was back. He shifted into a more comfortable position, wrinkling my comforter, and leaned forward, blue eyes gleaming. “You’re out of practice now.”

Out of practice? A slow smile spread across my face. He wanted to run.

“Is that a challenge?” My pulse quickened at the thought of a race, my heart already preparing to increase the blood flow to my muscles. I leaned forward in anticipation, my breath coming fast and shal ow. My aggravation was gone, overwhelmed by my love of the chase.

“It’s a fact.” Jace’s eyes sparkled as he edged subtly toward the side of the bed. “There’s no way you could have kept in shape up there, with nowhere to stretch your legs.”

I flashed him a smile, brazen and cocky. “You’d be surprised.”

His eyes narrowed. “I’d be astonished.”

“To the tree line?” I asked, and he nodded. “Let’s go.” Pulling the barrette from my hair, I hopped onto the floor, kicking off my shoes one at a time. I was already halfway to the hall when Jace tackled me from behind. My knees and elbows hit the carpet with a rapid series of thuds. He fel on top of me, pinning me to the floor on my stomach, his body stretched the length of mine.