by Parker, Ali
And my body needed him.
Desperately.
The road took a gentle curve to the right. Within another quarter mile, it gave way to gravel. The trees on either side grew denser and closer together. It was no longer maintained, and Jace kept going until the truck was flanked by trees on either side. He killed the ignition. The headlights went out, but his daytime running lights stayed on, painting the trees in close proximity amber.
He took his seatbelt off.
The soft click had my insides aching for him.
He reached across the console and undid my seatbelt, too. Then, like a man as possessed by desire as I was, he ran his hand from my knee up my thigh to my hip. “Is this happening?”
I bit my bottom lip and stared into his eyes. There was nothing as compelling as their pale green. In the light of day, I could see the streaks of hazel in them. But here, in the dark, they almost looked emerald.
“I think it is,” I whispered.
The clock on the dash read eleven o’clock. We’d told Marie we’d be home by eleven thirty at the latest. We had time. Not much, but enough.
Jace reached up to cup my cheek. His thumb traced the line of my jaw while he slid his fingers into my hair. “I’ve been thinking about this since I saw you at dinner on Friday.”
I trembled under his touch. “Me too. I didn’t envision the truck. Or the forest. But this...” I trailed off, closed my eyes, and pressed my cheek firmly into his palm. “I dreamed about this.”
Jace took a sharp breath before he closed the space between us. His lips grazed mine, gently at first, and then our mouths crashed together in a passionate kiss that had me breathless in three seconds flat. I ran my hands up his chest to grip the collar of his shirt so I could pull him in closer. He braced himself on the console as the kiss deepened, and I lifted myself up to him, arching my back so my breasts were crushed against his chest.
A moan escaped his lips, and I pushed him for more—for everything.
He ran his hands under my shirt. His palms whispered across my skin, and he traced the line of my bra. I was brought back to that night together six years ago. With my eyes closed, it was almost like we were back in that room. Like nothing had changed.
Except everything had.
It just didn’t matter right now.
I reached for his belt and worked to undo the buckle as he pulled my shirt over my head. He threw it into the back seat and immediately set to work undoing my jeans. I lifted my ass off the seat, and he worked them down my thighs, over my knees and calves, and tugged them roughly off my ankles.
And just like that, I was practically naked.
“Help,” I pleaded, drawing down his fly and then pulling at the waistband of his jeans.
Jace struggled his way out of his pants. The small cab of the truck wasn’t making the job easy for either of us, but he managed. Then he began popping open the buttons of his shirt.
I cast a wary look around outside to make sure we were alone. We definitely were. A couple squirrels and owls were about to get a good show, but there were no people around for miles.
Jace shrugged out of his shirt, and I was suddenly very self-conscious sitting half naked in his passenger seat. His body was as taut and toned as it had been six years ago. Muscled shoulders gave way to a swollen chest. A patch of dark hair in the middle of his chest thinned out and painted a line down his stomach, between his abs, right down to his navel, and then plunged into his boxers.
I licked my lips as memories of the prize between his legs swarmed up in my head.
“You’re so beautiful, Emelia,” Jace whispered. “Just like you were that night.”
“You’ve done well for yourself, too.”
He smiled and made his way over the console. He reached for the side of my seat, pulled a lever, and I found myself sliding all the way back. I was practically in the back seat when he went to his knees in front of me and pushed my legs apart.
I’d spent many sleepless nights after our hookup thinking about all the things he’d done to me with his tongue. Many nights. I fell asleep thinking about it, dreamed about it, and woke up panting with wet inner thighs.
Excitement rolled through me when he pulled my panties to the side. I gripped the edge of the seat beneath me, my stomach rolling and flipping with anticipation as he plunged between my legs. His tongue flicked over my clit, and I flinched. He smiled and closed his eyes, and I watched him work for as long as I could before the pleasure consumed me.
I pressed back against the headrest. Jace’s tongue danced along my clit and sent little tremors of heat through my veins. I whimpered and twisted my hips, but he held me in place, sliding his hands up under my hips to lock his forearms down over the top of my thighs.
Biting down hard on my tongue to stop myself from crying out, I plunged my fingers into his hair and lifted my ass off the seat. His tongue rolled up and down as he tasted all of me. The pleasure intensified, and the tight knot below my belly came untethered.
“Don’t stop,” I pleaded, tightening my grip in his hair. “Please don’t stop.”
He sucked my clit between his lips and ran his tongue over it.
My toes curled.
“Yes!” I screamed. The knot burst apart, and pleasure scattered through my entire body as the pressure gave way. Jace was relentless between my thighs and didn’t stop until I was a breathless puddle in his arms.
Then he pulled my panties off, dropped them on the mat below his knees, and nodded up at me. “The bra, too.”
I reached behind my back and undid it. I pulled it off and let it dangle from the tips of my fingers. He snatched it away from me and descended upon my naked body, worshipping my hips, stomach, ribs, and tits with wet kisses. When he reached my lips, he rewarded me with sweet kisses.
I reached for his boxers and drew them down, freeing his cock from their confines. He was swollen in my hand, long, and hard. The knot below my belly reformed as I stroked him.
“Do you have a condom?” I asked tightly.
He nodded and had to pry himself away from me to fish one out of the pocket of his jeans. He rolled it on before I had the chance to return the favor of oral, and then he settled between my thighs again, tapping the inside of them to make me spread my legs farther. Then he shook his head. “Not enough space. Flip over.”
I did as I was told and went to my knees on the seat. Jace fingered another lever, sending the back of the chair down flat. Then he pushed me forward so I was lying on my stomach and gave my ass a hard slap and a squeeze.
I giggled into the leather seat before looking over my shoulder at him and wiggling my hips.
Jace leaned forward and ran his cock between my legs. I whimpered and clutched the sides of the seat. He chuckled deeply behind me. “You want it, baby?”
I nodded.
“I can’t hear you.”
“I want it,” I whispered.
“Louder.”
I looked back at him and met his lust-filled green stare. “Fuck me.”
Jace eased his cock into my pussy. A groan escaped him as he filled me up, and I winced at his size. He waited for my body to adjust and for my muscles to relax, and then he slowly worked himself in and out of me. I lifted my hips from the leather, holding my ass in the air for him to drive in deeper.
“Yes,” I cooed as my eyes rolled back in my head. “Harder.”
He obliged. His thrusts were deeper and harder, and I couldn’t hold on to the breathless sighs and moans that escaped my throat. There was nothing in the world except for me and him and how good he was making me feel.
“Your pussy feels so good.” Jace growled and leaned over me. He kissed my shoulders and the back of my neck as he fucked me, and then he grabbed my elbows and drew them to the middle of my back. He pressed down and held them there with one hand, and used the other hand to squeeze my ass and press my cheeks apart. “Fuck. I’ve missed this body of yours.”
“It’s all yours,” I whispered.
&
nbsp; Jace slapped my ass again and fucked me harder. Stars exploded in my vision as the euphoria set in, and I didn’t realize I was screaming with pleasure until he clamped a hand over my mouth and fucked me wildly.
I came hard and fast, my breath coming in great shuddering gasps when he took his hand away from my mouth. His hips slapped against my ass, and seconds later, he gave in to his own climax.
He rolled me over when he was done, and I reached for him. “Do we have to go home?”
Jace’s gaze softened, and a smile touched the corners of his perfect lips. “Yes. But not yet. We can steal a few more minutes.”
I wanted so much more than a few more minutes. I wanted endless hours alone with him. But I would take what I could get, and I smiled when he ran a hand up the inside of my thigh and then cupped my pussy.
“What are you doing?” I asked, trying to play it cool.
Jace chuckled. “You didn’t think I was done with you yet, did you?”
I rolled my hips against his hand and giggled.
A few more minutes spent like this was a pretty good deal too, I guessed.
Chapter 15
Jace
“This is the life.” I kicked my heels up onto the footrest at the end of John and Marie’s sofa and clasped my hands behind my head. “Good company. A comfortable seat. And a home-cooked meal. Doesn’t get much better than this.”
Marie, who was in the kitchen, clicked her tongue at me. “Don’t get used to it. This isn’t the sixties, Jace. You and John are on dish duty.”
I cracked open one eye and shot a dark look at John, who was sitting on the opposite sofa. He had his reading glasses on and was presently combing through a book called, “So You’re Going to be a New Dad: Tips on how NOT to Fuck your Kid up”. Apparently, Marie had found it at a used bookstore, found it hilarious, and brought it home for her husband. He didn’t look impressed.
“You hear that?” I asked.
John looked up from his book.
I nodded toward Marie in the kitchen. “Apparently, you and I are on dish duty.”
“Sounds right,” John said before turning his attention back to his book.
I sighed and turned my attention to my son. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor in the middle of the living room, his eyes glued to the TV, which was playing one of his favorite cartoons. “Hey, Pax. You gonna help your old man do the dishes after dinner?”
Paxton didn’t even look away from the TV. “Sure.”
“Good boy,” I said.
Marie chuckled in the kitchen. “Nope. Paxton is off the hook. Chef’s rules. You and John are doing dishes. Paxton and I will put our feet up.”
I groaned dramatically and swung my head back to look at John. “Hey. Daddy to be. Put your book down. You have company.”
John arched an eyebrow and put his book down on his lap. “I’m studying.”
“You can’t study for parenthood.”
“False,” Marie called from the kitchen.
I held up a hand. “Hush, Chef. The dish boys are talking.”
Marie laughed. “All right. Be that way. No dinner for you.”
“I take it back,” I said.
“That’s what I thought,” she quipped.
John was smiling knowingly at me. “Careful. She’ll spit in your food.”
I shifted in my seat. “I wouldn’t put it past her.”
Marie called Paxton into the kitchen to help her set the table, leaving me and John in the living room with the bubbly music of his cartoon playing in the background. John didn’t pick his book back up. Instead, he folded the page he was on and set it on the table beside his corner of the sofa. Then he took of his glasses and placed them on top of the book.
“So what did you and Emelia get up to after you left the dance?”
“Nothing,” I said quickly. “I drove her home.”
“Liar.”
“I’m not lying.”
John snickered and draped an arm over the armrest. “You left the dance at eleven o’clock. You didn’t get home until midnight. Remember. I’m married to your babysitter. She tells me everything.”
I winced.
John pointed knowingly at me. “I knew it. You two fooled around, didn’t you? Didn’t you?”
“Keep your voice down.”
John grinned. “That’s not a denial.”
I swung my feet down and leaned forward to rest my elbows on my knees. John leaned in close too. “We took a drive, okay?”
“A drive to where?”
“Nowhere.”
“Some place dark and private where there aren’t any kids? Or prying eyes?” John waggled his eyebrows at me. “Don’t lie to me, Jace. I can see right through you. You and Em boned, didn’t you?”
“Boned?” I asked skeptically. “Who says ‘boned’?”
“I do. Now stop being evasive and answer the damn question.”
I ran my hand down my face in exasperation. “Yes. All right. Yes, we had sex.”
“Where?”
I fought the smile threatening to stretch my cheeks. “My truck.”
John slapped his knee and laughed. “Shit. Really? How the hell did you manage that? I can’t fathom fucking in a car. It was hard enough when we were teenagers. But now, with this gut? Not in a million years.”
I ran a hand down my flat stomach. “There are pros to staying trim.”
“Trim is an understatement.”
I chuckled. “Whatever.”
“How was it?”
“I’m not giving you details, John. Get lost.”
“Fuck you,” John hissed, leaning in closer. “I’ve been waiting for you two to rekindle whatever the hell it is you sparked up at my wedding. It took six damn years. And here we are. You don’t get to withhold the goods from me.”
“Uh, I absolutely do.”
John frowned.
I shrugged. “It was good, all right? I’ll leave you with that. Better than good, actually. She’s…” I trailed off, unsure of what words I was looking for. “It was a good night.”
“You sly dog.”
“What’s sly about that?”
John blinked at me. “You’re sleeping with another teacher. Obviously.”
“So?”
“So. Fraternizing with coworkers isn’t exactly encouraged. In fact, it’s discouraged.”
“What the school doesn’t know won’t hurt it.”
John stroked his beard. “Fair. I won’t tell anyone. Except Marie after you go home.”
“Naturally.”
“Hey. That’s marriage, man. She knows everything.”
It didn’t seem like a bad deal. There was something appealing about the thought of having someone to share everything with, even the bad things. Especially the bad things.
That was the only thing I missed about Gwen. She had her issues, but she was someone to come home to at the end of the day and someone to share a glass of wine with. Someone to discuss the burdens of the workday with and lean on and offer the same support in return.
Yes. I missed that a lot.
Being a single parent was a solitary and often thankless job. My son was my world, and nothing would ever change that, but every now and then, a guy found himself wishing for a little something more. Something sweet.
Something like Emelia.
“What are you thinking about?” John asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
I wasn’t about to confess to daydreaming about Emelia like a lovesick puppy dog, so I came up with something quick to offer him instead. “I don’t want to drag Paxton through another relationship that might end badly.”
“Relationship,” John mused. “Now that’s a big word.”
“Shut up. I’m serious. He went through Hell when his mom left, and it scares the shit out of me to think about ever putting him in a position like that again.”
John nodded along to every word that came out of my mouth. Then he leaned back with a tired sigh. “I hear you, man. Those are valid c
oncerns. But are they really reason enough not to try at all?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you can’t just not go for something you want because you’re afraid of an outcome that might not even come to pass. Right? That’s illogical.”
That was easy for the married guy with the perfect relationship to say. Things weren’t that simple on my side of the fence.
John rubbed the back of his neck. “Listen. I know we’re in different positions.” I appreciated that my friend recognized the thoughts I didn’t have to speak aloud. “And I’m probably talking out of my ass right now and will think differently when I have a child of my own to look out for. But this is Em we’re talking about here. Not some floozy like Gwen. No offense.”
“None taken.”
“She’s a good girl, Jace. A really good girl. And she’s in the same position as you. She has a boy to worry about. She wouldn’t ever put Linden in a bad spot. And maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe it will let you guys move slowly. Take your time. Feel each other out. You can call the shots, and if you get the sense it’s not working out, then you call it without ever even having to get the kids involved. Yes?”
Everything sounded clear cut and straightforward when he put it like that. “I guess.”
John smiled. “Don’t go sabotaging something that hasn’t had a chance to grow. You and Em make sense. I’ve always thought so. See where it leads. Take a chance.”
He was right.
Things might go brilliantly. And how good for Paxton would that be in the end? To have a woman to look up to, someone who could be a positive female influence. Emelia was perfect for that role. And he’d have Linden in his life.
There weren’t many bad sides.
The only negatives were in my own head. I had to stop overthinking.
“Thanks, John.”
My friend grinned at me. “You’re welcome. Now come on. Marie is giving me the death glare. That means it’s time for dinner.” John pushed himself out of his seat. “We’re coming, babe. Hold your horses.”