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.And doubly glad that Jace had them in his life.Jace suddenly jerked away from the group."Where's Dave?" Chapter 39Jace turned his gaze toward the front of the bus.Smoke billowed, thickand black, from the broken window that he, Aggie, and Sed hadescaped through not fifteen minutes ago.Flames licked the opening.Hewas running in that direction before his mind could grasp the severity ofthe situation.Jace headed to the front of the bus and peered through thewindshield.Dave's unconscious form was suspended from the driver'sseat by a seat belt.The interior behind the driver's compartment glowedan ominous orange.Fire.Jace's heart froze.The person he saw in perilwas not Dave.He saw his father surrounded by the flames."Father!"Jace pounded on the window, trying to rouse him."Wake up!" Hefisted both hands, and using his one-hit-knockout punch, struck theglass.It broke.A hole burst through the middle of a spiderwebpatterned crack.He hit it again, widening the hole.Jace grabbed hisfather by his pale yellow polo shirt."Father! Don't die.Don't be dead.I'm sorry.I didn't mean to.It was an accident.I."Someone broke out more glass from the windshield.Hands struggledto release the seat belt.The heat of the flames brought Jace back to themoment.Dave, not his father, came free from the seat.Jace took astuttering breath and followed Sed, who was carrying Dave from theburning wreckage.A safe distance away, Sed laid Dave's limp body onthe pavement.There was something unnatural about the angle of Dave'sneck.Eric listened to his chest."He's not breathing." He started CPR whileeveryone looked on anxiously.Jace shook so hard his legs gave out.He dropped to his knees on theasphalt.Aggie appeared before him.His demon in black.No, his angel.His salvation.Her fingers stroked his hair so tenderly it made his heart swell.Hedidn't understand it.What had he ever done to deserve this wonderfulwoman? He wrapped both arms around her waist, buried his faceagainst her belly, and sobbed."I've got you, baby," she whispered. The pain inside was unbearable--worse than anything in hisexperience.He couldn't breathe."It hurts," he gasped."God, it hurts.Mercy," he begged her, rubbing his face against her belly."Mercy,Aggie.Mercy.""Let it go now." Aggie's fingers tightened in his hair."Just.let go,Jace."Let it go?Yeah.Let go.Oblivious to anything but the pain searing his soul, Jace cried.Hereleased fifteen years of torment in a flood of tears and snot and sweatand blood at the feet of the woman he knew he could not live without. Chapter 40Aggie tried to picture everything Jace was showing her, but it justlooked like a huge, empty basement to her."You can build at least two soundproof rooms for your dungeondown here," he said."And a sewing room.A storage room.Whateverelse you want.It's yours to do with as you please.""Are you sure, Jace? It will be incredibly expensive to haveeverything done.""You know it's really for me, don't you?" He kissed her lips andtugged her against his chest."Besides, my lady needs her slaves.""I don't know a man who would pay to have the basement in hisbrand new house converted into a dungeon for his girlfriend." Shehadn't expected this when he'd asked her to move to LA and live withhim.She figured she was going to have to redefine herself and give upmost of the things she loved so she could make a new life with him.She'd been willing to try, but Jace didn't want her to change.He lovedher for who she was and supported her in whatever she wanted to do.He never ceased to surprise her.And she'd never stop loving him for it.Jace lifted her left hand and slid something onto her ring finger."Buthe'd do it for his wife, wouldn't he?"Aggie's eyes widened as she stared at the sparkling marquise-cutdiamond on her finger."Um.""Are you actually going to make me ask you?" he murmured into herear.She could feel the heat of his blush against her cheek.She forced her eyes to his before they returned to the ring.Whoa.Itwas gorgeous.And huge.And sparkly.And.and.Jace had given.Did this mean.Was he asking her to.Really? Her thoughts scatteredlike dandelion seed."Um.""Okay, I'll ask you properly, but do I have to do it on my knees?You've got men begging on their knees all the time.It seems stupid topropose that way.""Um."When he started to kneel, she caught him around the neck, crushed hisface into her chest, and squealed."Oh my God." Aggie had alwaysimagined herself being cool, calm, and collected if someone got up the nerve to propose marriage to her.She'd also prepared a speech on howto refuse the little worm audacious enough to ask.As with her everyinteraction with Jace Seymour, things didn't go as planned."Yes.Yes.Yes.Yes!" she cried, tears flying.She kissed every inch of his face ashe laughed at her enthusiasm.He caught her mouth with his and kissed her tenderly until her toescurled, and she clung to him in need."Let's go upstairs," she said huskily."Break in that new bed ofyours.""You mean that new bed of ours.""Yeah." She couldn't stop smiling.Lord, the man made her happy.The doorbell rang.Jace's cat, Brownie, sat at the top of the basementstairs and meowed down at them."We have a guest," Jace said."One of the guys?" she asked, eager to see any of them.She missednot being on tour with them, but they'd cut the Canadian leg of the tourshort until they could get a new bus.And find a replacement for theirlive audio engineer."Eric's supposed to stop by so we can visit Dave later.He's beingmoved home from the hospital today.Do you want to come with us?""Of course."Doctors had told Dave that he'd be paralyzed for life, but apparently,the guy didn't think much of their opinions.Six weeks into his recovery,he wasn't walking yet, but a man with that much determination wouldnot be kept down for long."So that must be Eric then."The doorbell rang again."You know Eric never bothers to ring thedoorbell," Jace said."I think it's probably someone else." He releaseda nervous laugh and ran a hand over his bleached-blond spikes.Someone else?Jace led Aggie to the front door, pressing kisses to the knuckles ofher left hand.It made her acutely aware of the ring he'd put on herfinger."You are not allowed to hate me for this," he said."I could never hate you."He opened the door
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