“Tell me you’re here to tell her that you love her, otherwise, you should probably fuck off.”
I grin at the strange woman. “I just need to see her. You know, make sure she’s all good.”
The woman smiles back at me. “You do love her, don’t you?”
“Like you wouldn’t fucking believe.”
Her head disappears back into her apartment for a moment before she sticks it out. “Here,” she says before holding up a little silver key. I walk down and gratefully take the key from her hand. “If I hear any yelling coming from down there, I’m going to pull your testicles out of your throat,” she warns.
“Believe me,” I tell her. “If I ever hurt her again, I’d beg you to do it.”
She narrows her eyes on me for a moment before deciding she must like what she sees. She nods her head. “Have a good night, Jace,” she says before pulling back into the apartment and closing the door.
With that, I turn towards Cami’s door and slide the key into the lock. I give it a flick and open the door to find her apartment in complete darkness. I was right, she must be fast asleep.
I lock her door behind me and make my way down to her room before realizing that finding a man in her apartment in the dead of night probably isn’t the best thing. I walk into her room and find her in a silk nightdress that rides high on her legs. She looks so fucking beautiful that it hurts.
I pull off my shoes, lose my shirt, and drop my pants before walking around to the other side of her bed. I slide myself between the sheets and reach out for her. Her eyes fly open and she lets out a gasp as I begin to pull her to me.
“Babe, it’s just me,” I murmur into the darkness as I pull her body tight against mine.
“Jace?” she questions in her sleepy haze.
“Yeah, babe,” I say. “Go back to sleep.”
She rolls in my arms and instantly snuggles into my chest before letting out a little moan. I hold her a little tighter and lace her fingers through mine. She yawns as she begins drifting back to sleep and I run my thumb across her knuckles. “I love you,” she whispers.
Those three words paralyze me and bring me home, just like every other time she has said them. “I love you too,” I tell her before closing my eyes and letting the night claim me.
Chapter 21
Cami
This waiting game is driving me insane. It’s been three weeks and five days since Jace’s trip to the hospital and all I want to do is shake him.
I mean, I can sense that he’s so close. Most days he slips in through my door and climbs into my bed. All he does is hold me. He pulls me tight into his arms, he runs his fingers down my hair, he tells me he loves me, and then we sleep.
I’m not going to lie, I absolutely love having him in my bed and hearing him utter those three words that make me feel so damn complete, I could explode, but fuck, I need him to touch me, and not in the rubbing his hand up and down my back kind of way. I need him to throw me up against the wall and remind me what it’s like to be a woman. I need him to screw me within an inch of my life. I need him to make me gasp for breath. I need him to make me scream.
My time will come though, and I don’t doubt that it will be incredible. I can only imagine how good it would be, and I don’t mean just the sex. I already know that’s so incredible that it has to be illegal. What I mean is how good it would be truly being with him, as in being the woman he comes home to every night. It’s all I’ve thought about for the past two years.
I can picture it so clearly. He would come home and within a second, his eyes would be on mine with nothing but fire within them. He’d be on me in two seconds with my back slammed up against the wall, both of us scrambling to undress the other before he gave it to me with everything he’s got. Every position. Every damn night.
He’d hold my hand everywhere we go. He’d smile that smile he reserves only for me. He’d treat me like a queen by day and a demoness by night. It would be everything I could possibly dream of. We’d cook together each night, he’d bombard me in the shower, we’d snuggle on the couch. It’s going to be magical.
The old Jace would never have slid into my bed each night. In fact, he would have gone to extraordinary lengths to avoid it. He would have hated the idea of leaving me in the morning and hurting me further, so the fact that he’s in my bed nearly every night and still there in the morning, tells me just how close he is to making the leap to being my man, but I swear, if he doesn’t make that leap soon, I’ll be going out and buying myself a whole lot of cats.
I rush around my apartment getting my ass dressed as there has been something seriously missing for the good part of the year. Jace’s self-defense class. Before my spontaneous trip away, I used to go to that class every single week, hell I’d even go a few times a week if I could. It was a religion for me. Nothing got me hotter than watching Jace in instructor mode. He’s confident and charming and watching him run that class like a boss does all sorts of things to me. Since being back, I haven’t indulged in that guilty pleasure, and it’s about time I did.
I can’t wait. Seeing him like that… wow. It does things to me. Real bad things. But, if I don’t get my ass dressed and out the door, I’ll be missing it, and that will be a tragedy.
I pull on my smallest training crop, one that I know he can’t resist and grab a pair of shorts. I get myself dressed and tie my shoes before walking past the bathroom and doubling back. I think a little spritz of perfume I know he likes would be the magic trick, you know, right after putting my hair up in a high bun that shows off my bare neck.
After throwing a water bottle in my bag and grabbing my keys and phone, I head out the door and drop down into my car. Before I know it, I’m halfway there, singing along to my playlist and doing my best car dancing possible.
I look down at the time. I’m cutting it really close and I know Jace hates tardiness to his classes, but I have a slight feeling I’ll get away with it.
I pull up at Rebels Advocate and get myself out of the car, I sling my bag over my shoulder and practically skip into the gym. I find it impossible to wipe the smile off my face, but I don’t care, I love it there. Over the last few months my smile has been hard to come by, but now it seems to be here all the damn time and I wouldn’t change it for a damn thing.
I push through the door and see Jess, the boys paper bitch. “Hey,” she says, giving me a wide smile. “How are you? I haven’t seen you in so long.”
“I know,” I say as she comes around the side of the front desk and pulls me in for a tight hug. “I’ve been good. How are you?”
“Busy,” she grunts. “You know how these boys are. They make sure there’s always endless piles of work on my desk.”
“I bet,” I laugh. “Probably doesn’t help that they all hate computer work and wouldn’t know what filing was if it bit them in the ass.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” she grins. “Are you here for the self-defense class?” she questions.
“Sure am,” I smile.
Her eyes go wide as she cringes. “You better hurry then. You know Jace doesn’t like it when people are late.”
“I know,” I tell her. “Just that fact alone makes me want to dawdle in there as slowly as possible.”
“Oh Jesus,” she groans as she walks back behind her desk. “You’re asking for it.”
“And I hope he delivers,” I say with a wink before walking deeper into the gym.
As step around the corner, I get the perfect view of the studio room. I see both Jace and Luke through the glass wall with their backs to the wall as they address the students before them. Jace doesn’t see me while he busily describes something to the class, but Luke sees me out of the corner of his eye. He grins and shakes his head to himself, but doesn’t say a word.
I push through the door and Jace instantly turns on me, ready and willing to scold whoever dares turn up late to his class. “What the he-” His eyes bug out of his head as he looks down at my clothes and exposed skin and I
can practically see the intense need he has to cover me up.
Jace’s hand waves up and down the length of my body. “What the fuck is this?” he demands. “You’re a fucking designer, and you’re telling me you could find a little more material than that?”
He watches me casually walk through the door with a smirk on my face. I walk over to the side and put my bag down before walking to the very front of the class to stand right before him all while he gawks at me, waiting for my response.
As I stand before him with a perfectly straight face. And then it clicks. Mr. Alpha knows exactly what I’m up to.
I can’t keep my cool and end up grinning at him. “You’re drooling,” I tell him.
At that, he pulls himself together and narrows his eyes while a wicked smirk takes over his handsome face. I've got playful Jace before me and I can’t wait to see how the next hour plays out. He pulls his eyes away from me and addresses the rest of the class. “Alright, now that Cami has finished wasting our time, we can get back on with it.”
I press my lips together, trying my best not to smile at the bastard, but I can’t. The man has this power over me that I can’t explain, all I know is that it’s strong.
Jace goes on to describe what we’ll be doing today, and as usual, he takes charge like a boss. We’ll be working in pairs today and as he tells the group to find a partner, I raise my hand like a teacher’s pet while my eyes burn into his. “Yes, Cami?” he says while trying his absolute hardest to remain professional.
“I don’t have a partner,” I tell him, even though I haven’t bothered looking around to check if there’s an uneven number of participants.
Luke chuckles and I look across to see a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. “I’ll partner with you,” he tells me, solely for the benefit of messing with his best friend.
Jace’s flaming eyes don’t move from mine for one second. “Over my dead body,” he tells Luke before striding towards me. “She’s mine.”
With that, Luke realizes Jace is out of the game for today and he’s going to be taking this class on his own.
Jace grabs my hand and spins me so my back is pressed up against his chest, putting us into the position he requested of the class. Jace the attacker and me defending myself. Though, in this position, I don’t think I’ll be doing much defending. If Jace is my attacker, he can have me.
“What are you doing here?” he murmurs into my ear.
“What do you mean?” I question as his arms wrap around my waist. I can’t help but rest my hands against his arms, completely taking possession of them.
“You know exactly what I mean,” he tells me before gently pressing his lips to my neck for the quickest moment.
“I’m here to learn self-defense,” I tell him as the students around us get started on their work. “Why else would I be here?”
“So, you’re telling me, you’re not here to distract me from my work?” he asks quietly as his hand slides a little further up my body. “You’re not here because you’ve been craving my touch?”
He grinds himself into my ass and I bite down on my lip, desperate to feel him. I find myself briefly looking around but not one eye is on us. “You’re telling me that you’re not here because you want me so fucking bad, that you couldn’t resist coming down here?”
I start panting. How am I so damn obvious around him? “That’s right,” I whisper. “I haven’t been here for a while. My defense skills are getting a little rusty.”
He lowers his voice to a tone that has my insides clenching. “Tell me you’re not soaking wet right now.”
Oh shit. It’s like a flood down there and the way he talks, it’s quickly turning into a tsunami.
I want to turn in his arms and look up into his eyes, but his hold on my waist is too tight. I find myself pressing my ass back into him. “I can’t do that,” I tell him while desperately wanting to gain control of the situation. He’s backing me into a corner right now and if he mentions just how wet I am once more, I’m going to end up dropping to my knees and taking that big dick of his into my mouth in front of this whole damn class.
I run my hand down the length of his arm and curl my fingers into his. “You’re fucking killing me, babe,” he tells me.
“I’m all yours, Jace,” I say. “All you have to do is take me.”
He groans low in his throat and I feel the vibration through his chest. I’m losing it here.
Without warning, I slam my ass back into him and use my grip on his hand to rip his hold off me, I do my best not to hurt him, but it would take a lot for a girl my size to hurt a man like Jace. “Fuck,” he grunts in surprise as he doubles over. It only takes him a second to recover and from the smirk on his face, he knows exactly what I’m doing.
I stand before him, grinning like a fool. “I told you, Jace,” I laugh. “I’m here to learn self-defense, not to be seduced by the teacher.”
“Fuck, babe,” he groans as he stalks towards me. “We can do both.”
He lunges for me and I spin out of the way. He grins across at me and I give him a seductive smirk. “You’re going to have to catch me first.”
The sparkle within his eyes is intoxicating. “It’s fucking on, babe,” he promises me before darting towards me with a speed I didn’t know was humanly possible. My alpha man catches me around the waist and I find myself screaming out.
He drags me back to him and the laughter comes ripping out of both of us. “You’re never getting away from me that easily,” he teases.
“Ain’t that the truth,” I grumble. Jace adjusts his hold on me and throws me over his shoulder before storming his way out of the class.
Jace gives my ass a good spank as he heads towards his office. “Ow,” I laugh as I reach down and do the same to him.
He pushes through his office door and a second later, I’m sitting on his desk with my man standing between my legs, devouring my lips as I melt into him.
How is it possible for it to be so damn good with him? I’ve kissed plenty of toads in my life, but this is my prince. I know with every fiber of my being. He’s my man and forever will be.
His arms wrap around me and he scoots me further to the edge of the desk so he can press himself against me. My arms are up around his strong neck but I need so much more. I bring them down and slide my hand up under his shirt to feel the tight ridges of his abs.
I can’t help but roam further over his wide, strong chest. I mean, men just simply don’t come like this. His body is sculptured to absolute perfection. Every inch of him. He’s fucking beautiful and having his body up against mine does ridiculous things to me. It pulls a reaction out of me that I’ve never had with another man. I’ll never get enough of it.
I pull his shirt up over his head and within an instant, I’m drooling. I mean, I have never been so attracted to another human being before. I pull him closer against me as his lips move down to my neck. I gasp at the sensation and it spurs him on.
My arms wrap around him and I dig my nails into his back, needing more. “Jace,” I moan as his hand cups my breast before giving it a firm squeeze. “Please.”
“Babe,” he says with his lips still on my neck. “We can’t do this.”
“Yes, we can,” I tell him as I reach for his pants.
He takes my hands in his and stops me before releasing them on his chest. “No,” he says a little more firmly. “I want to do this right with you.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I say as I wrap my legs a little tighter around his waist and pull his lips back to mine. “We’ve already done this.”
“It means,” he says in between kisses. “That the next time I’m with you, it’s going to mean something. It’s not going to be a quickie in my office. It’s going to be done right.”
“Jace,” I groan, wondering where the wild, animal has gone. “Now’s not the time for you to be a perfect gentleman. I need it.”
I feel his grin against my lips. “Believe me, baby. So, do I, but I’m
serious. You’re going to have to be patient.”
“Haven’t I been patient long enough?” I murmur.
“Yes,” he laughs. “A little while longer isn’t going to kill you.”
I can’t help but smile up at him. “You’re a jerk,” I tell him.
“Trust me,” he says, lacing his fingers through mine and kissing me one last time. “I’m going to make it up to you over and over again.”
I let out a sigh. I guess I’ll be playing all by myself tonight.
Chapter 22
Jace
Holy shit. This is it. I can’t possibly wait any longer.
Cameron Drew is my woman and it’s about time I let her know.
It’s been a few weeks since that trip to the hospital and every moment since the second I watched her walk out that door has been driving me insane with need. Not just for her body, but for her mind and soul, but most of all, I need to hold her heart in my hands and I have absolutely no plans on giving it back.
I have to be with her. She’s my whole fucking world and I’ve hated the past two years of not being with her, but her safety will always, always come first. She’s my number one priority and because of that, I have loved her from afar, but I can’t do it anymore. I need to make her mine.
I’ve been to therapy and I have an ongoing appointment for the next few months. I’ve been taking my medication which is still preventing me from having any blackouts, and even though I’ve only been on it for two months, I’m starting to trust it, however, I’ve been attending regular check-ups with the doctor just to be sure.
So, with the rest of my life sorted out, it’s time to take the one thing that I’ve been holding at an arm’s length.
I pull out my phone and bring up a group text to everyone in our whole group, apart from Cami, of course.
Jace – It’s happening tonight. Buckle in for a wild ride. Shit is about to get real!
I get responses from every single one of them within the space of thirty seconds.
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