by Alyson Hale
Jace moves his arm so he can clasp my hand. “That’s awful, Kyri. I’m sorry.” Guilt hangs heavily in his eyes, though I’m not sure why. Maybe he regrets making me talk about my childhood.
“We’re fine now. Happy, even. It’s just been hard. As you can see, we don’t have much, and it’s a struggle sometimes just to put food on the table, but we get by. I’m really proud of myself and my mom for making it this far. We’ve been each other’s rock. A couple of strong women battling against the world.” A wobbly smile creeps onto my face, and I brush my hair back.
“And how old are you?”
“Twenty-two.”
“How old were you when he left?”
“Eleven.”
Jace’s eyes widen. “So you’ve been helping your mother take care of the family since you were a little girl?”
“Not in a monetary way…not at first, that is. When I was fourteen I got my first job babysitting, and then when I was sixteen I started working at Planet Slushie in the mall. I only just recently got the job at The Blarney Stone.”
Which has already helped us a ton. My tips have been huge ever since I started working there. I don’t think I’ll ever work in fast food again after this.
“But I had to be the strong one for my mom at first. When Dad left, she fell apart. All she could do when she got home from work was fall into the sofa and cry. I learned to cook just so Elyza—my little sister—and I wouldn’t starve.”
The muscles in Jace’s jaw work as he stares at my face. He grunts, shaking his head. “No eleven-year-old girl should have to go through that.”
I shrug. “Well, that’s reality for you. It’s not always picture perfect.”
The corner of his lips ticks upward. “Very true.”
Chapter 12
Jace
Warmth burgeons inside of me as I watch the woman I’m falling for smile into my eyes. Reality may not be picture perfect, but I know of something real that is, and she’s sitting in the booth beside me, threading her fingers through mine.
After we’re done with the meal, we leave the restaurant and walk side-by-side down a busy street filled with bright neon signs and charming light posts. The busyness of the city reminds me of London, though the character of Atlanta is quite different from home. It’s still strange to me to see everyone driving on the wrong side of the road. Disorienting, even. Furthermore, I’m still not used to the time change, so I’m getting quite exhausted already.
I try to muffle a yawn behind my hand, but Kyri notices. Her face falls. “Are you bored? Do you want to go home now?”
“No love, I’m not bored in the least.”
I chuckle at her naiveté. A hot-blooded man like me, “bored” in the presence of an extremely fuckable woman? Not hardly.
“Just adjusting to the time difference is all.”
“Oh, right. I bet you’re tired. I can just take you back to where you’re staying if you want.”
My stomach drops. Taking her back to the campsite with me right now could end in disaster. Meeting Rick there could blow everything I’ve been working toward over the past three days.
“Actually, do you think you could walk me to the nearest hotel? It would be nice not to stay in a trailer for a night.”
A bright smile livens up her gorgeous features. “I know just the place.”
Kyri finds us a towering, rich hotel in downtown Atlanta for me to stay the night. Lights sparkle through the windows, beckoning us. I follow her in, finding the view in front of me more fascinating than any I’ve seen so far today.
Once I’ve checked in at the front desk, I take her hand, hoping I’m not being too presumptuous by bringing her upstairs with me. Nothing has to happen tonight. I’m just not quite ready to say goodbye to her yet.
“Will you come upstairs to say good night?”
“Of course.” She forces a nervous smile. I squeeze her hand and let her follow behind me.
Once we’ve reached the top floor, I lead her down to room 528 and stand outside the door with her, trying to gauge her reaction.
“Thank you for tonight, Jace. I had an amazing time.” She beams her smile at me, and all my insides turn to mush.
“It was wonderful for me too.” I take both her hands in mine, rubbing the backs of them with my thumbs. They’re so smooth and delicate. I take one up to my lips and press a reverent kiss to her skin. Trembling, she pulls her hands back down. “Good night, Kyri.”
“Good night.” As I turn to open the door, I see equal parts relief and disappointment in her eyes. There’s also a touch of self-doubt. She doesn’t have to say a word, and I can read everything she’s thinking. Clearly, she was expecting me to invite her in, and the fact that I didn’t is making her feel inadequate.
Fuck taking it slow. There’s no way I’m going to let my girl feel like I don’t want her, not even for a second.
As she slowly turns away from me, I grab her by the wrist and whip her around to face me. Her eyes pop wide open with surprise. Taking her jaw in both my hands, I pummel her lips with mine. A high-pitched squeal leaves her throat. She relaxes into my touch and returns the kiss full force. I scoop her up by the legs and carry her into the room with her legs hooked around my waist.
Once inside, I place a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the outer knob, shut the door, and lock the chain in place. This incarnation of female perfection isn’t going anywhere until I ravage her from the lips down.
Slamming her ample arse against the closed door, I blast her with a kiss, relishing the low, carnal moans that rip from her throat. Our sexes grind together underneath our clothes. Her touch sets me on fire. I become an animal, clawing at her sides and devouring her lips with a passion I’ve never felt for any other woman.
Her lips break free of my hold for only a moment.
“Fuck, Jace…I want you so bad.”
“Then you’ll have me,” I growl, swinging her body around in the direction of the bed.
I toss her down on the crisp white comforter, saying a silent prayer that I’m able to contain myself until she has at least one climax. The way she has my cock throbbing is unnerving. I’ve never felt so close to coming just from dry-humping a woman underneath our clothes.
Her breasts separate underneath her shirt and bra, making a tantalizing gap between them that’s just the right size for me. If we knew each other a little better, I’d let my cock spring free, shove that shirt up, and fuck her right between the tits underneath her bra. The thought makes a surge of saliva pool in my mouth.
I lean down over the bed to grasp her lips with mine again. She holds my jaw, moaning into my mouth. Slowly, torturously, I kiss my way down her neck and over her clothed chest, making my way to the dessert I’ve been craving since we left the restaurant. Making quick work of unbuttoning and unzipping her shorts, I kiss over the exposed strip of her soft belly and down to her panty line.
She moans my name as I slide my hand underneath her shorts and rub over the thin fabric separating me from her sex. I pull it to the side ever so gently and tease her with my fingertips, feeling a shiver roll up my spine at the sight of her other set of red lips.
“You’re ready for me, aren’t you darling?”
“Yes.” She hisses, bucking her hips toward me.
In one movement, I pull her shorts and panties off her legs and then I run my hands back up them. She shakes with desire when I spread her legs and see her gorgeous pussy awaiting my mouth. Her nipples harden into pebbles that I can see through her shirt and bra. It’s the most erotic thing I’ve ever seen, and she’s not even fully exposed to me yet.
Leaning down, I make gentle contact with her pussy and tease her with my tongue. She tries to squeeze her legs around me, but I hold them apart, wanting to get as deep as I can. Curling up toward me, she buries her fingertips in my hair and pushes me back, whimpering. I detach from her to reassure her.
“It’s all right, love. I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Sorry.” She pants, her
cheeks flushed with pleasure. “I guess I just freaked out. I’ve never had anything like this before.”
I rub my palm down the length of her right thigh, loving how plush it feels underneath my toughened skin. “Then I think it’s about time you did.”
Returning to her, I continue to taste her, rubbing in all the right spots until she comes with a rush of warm fluid. It’s a good orgasm, but I know I can do better. I want her screaming my name instead of whimpering from the fear of the unknown.
Kyri watches as I rip off my shirt and trousers and pull a small foil package from my pocket before dropping them to the ground. I set it down on the bed, because there’s something else I need to take care of first.
Sliding my fingertips underneath her shirt, I pull it up, letting the feel of her silky skin fill me from the outside in. Her abdomen is so soft I have to drop my nose to it and breathe in her scent. I’m finally able to identify it—lavender and vanilla. She smells like pure womanhood, sweet and alluring. I kiss up from her belly button to her breastbone as she helps me lift her shirt over her shoulders and head.
All that’s left on her body now is a pink lace bra that pushes her breasts up, creating a canyon of cleavage. Folding her knees back against the bed, I lean up to taste the deep V that seared into my memory the moment we met, letting my hardness rub between her legs.
My nose and tongue get lost in her. Her moans and heavy breaths cause her chest to press against my face. I reach around her and fight with the clasp until it springs free and she pulls it off, unveiling her beautiful large chest. Her nipples are small, round, and the color of fresh Georgia peaches. My mouth immediately goes to one of them and I roll my tongue around it like a lollipop. As soon as the sweet tang of her skin hits my tongue, I’m unable to wait any longer.
Nipping at each of her hardened buds, I draw a deep moan out of her. I push up from her and grab the package I laid on the bed. Kyri watches with round eyes and takes in the sight of my big, unruly cock as I stretch the condom onto it. The little piece of latex won’t even cover the damn thing all the way.
Before I ease back down into her paradise, Kyri reaches down to hold my cock in her small hand. I let her roll her thumb around the tip and meet her eyes. Her gaze is hesitant, yet desperate. I know she wants this, every bit as much as I do.
I spread Kyri’s legs again and ease up between them, letting my cock tease her and rub her entrance. “You ready?” I grumble.
Her breasts swell as she sighs. “Yes.”
I rub her legs with my hands as I find her entrance with my cock and tunnel my way into her, one centimeter at a time. Her mouth drops open, and her beautiful green eyes roll up toward the ceiling. It’s clear she’s never felt real manhood inside her. Once she gets used to this feeling, there’s no going back.
My cock hits a barrier a short distance in. Before pushing through it, I meet her eyes again, finding a deep blush stained into her cheeks.
“You’ve never done any of this before, have you?” I ask, partly to confirm what I feel and partly out of incredulity. My beautiful Kyri can’t be a virgin. It’s too good to be true.
Biting her lower lip, she shakes her head. The movement makes her tits wobble. My snake turns to iron inside her pussy.
“You’re all mine, aren’t you?” I lean forward, taking one nipple between my teeth and dragging it out until she shouts with pleasure. “You’ve reserved this kitten for me, and now it’s time for me to claim it.”
Kyri nods, gasping for breath as my cock shoves past the membrane and snaps it. She winces in pain for only a moment.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, keep going,” she breathes out in a rush.
I continue to press myself into her until I can’t go any further. After she’s accepted over half my member, I pump in and out of her, stretching her slowly as I go. She’s insanely tight, just the way I need her to be. Once I’m sure she’s comfortable, I pick up the pace. Her knees dig into the bed as I press down on them to keep my balance. No woman has ever gotten my head to whirl like a carousel before. Every nerve in my body is alive and building to one climax.
It isn’t long before I feel my orgasm fast approaching. I try to hold back the dynamite blast building up inside me as long as I can. Grunting with effort, I push myself all the way to the back of her, fully enjoying the way she doesn’t even flinch underneath me. This girl was made for me. I’m even surer of it now. When I move one hand down to roll my forefinger around her clit, she moans loudly enough to wake everyone on the fifth floor.
“I’m about to come again,” she whimpers, trembling underneath me.
“Let it go, love.” My voice is strained and clipped. I can’t hold it much longer. Moving my thumb to her clit, I rub in slow circles, trying not to make her over-sensitive as I pump inside her, bringing her closer to the brink. She whispers my name.
“Yes, that’s it, sweetheart. Tell this entire building who’s about to make you come.”
“Jace!”
Finally, I feel the ripple and warmth of her juices flooding the outside of the condom. As I watch her incredible body squirm underneath me with the force of her second orgasm of the night, I let myself go, and my pleasure crashes over me like a tidal wave. It’s the most intense euphoria I’ve ever felt in my life. My chest burns with shuddering breaths. If it weren’t for the delicious sensations ripping through my body, I’d think I was having a heart attack.
We hold each other as we come down from our peaks together. Kyri reaches up, grasps my jaw, and pulls my mouth to hers, not even caring where it was a few minutes ago.
“That was amazing,” she whispers in awe.
I chuckle against her lips. “Baby, we’re just getting started.”
Chapter 13
Kyri
Rolling over in the bed, I’m met with the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen in my twenty-two years of existence. Jace Hawthorne is sleeping next to me with the most peaceful look of repose on his face. The corners of his kissable lips are turned up, and it almost looks like he’s smiling in his sleep. One arm is draped over me, and the other is tucked underneath him. The wing tattoos on his chest can be clearly seen on top of his bulging pecs.
I bring up my forefinger and wipe drool away from the corner of my mouth that materialized the instant I saw him. Did last night really happen? Jace took me to an entirely different plane of existence. I can still feel the glorious throbbing between my legs from taking his massive length all the way up into my ovaries…
Well, maybe not that far, but that’s what it felt like. When I imagined popping my cherry in the past, I thought it would be so painful I wouldn’t be able to handle it, but it was the total opposite. There was a little pain, but there was so much pleasure I felt like I was coming completely undone, and looking up at him while I was caught in the midst of it? Every huge inch of his rock hard, ready body?
I’m ruined. Now that I’ve had him, I’m never going to want anyone else.
Gazing at his face, tenderness clenches my chest. “God, I love you, Jace,” I whisper. My cheeks burn and my stomach jumps. I wait for him to stir. He doesn’t hear me, thankfully.
What the hell did I just say?
I “love” him? Usually I only say that in a fangirl, giggly way. This time, there were no giggles. No sighs. No stupid grins.
I meant it, and I hate, hate, hate that I meant it.
Mom was right. I can’t stop myself from falling for him. It’s inevitable. My world is going to come crashing down when he leaves to resume his charmed life. A string of sexy girls on each arm. Miles of paparazzi as far as the eye can see. He’s got a life after last night. I don’t. If I let this happen again and he leaves, I’m going to be utterly destroyed.
Panic seizes me. I carefully roll out from under him to find my clothes, which are strewn all over the room. I find my underwear and shorts, but my bra seems to be missing and so is my shirt. I can’t go out of the hotel topless. Digging in corners and under the bed, I s
earch everywhere for my clothes, but I can’t find them anywhere.
“Fuck!”
My exclamation causes Jace to stir, and my stomach plummets further into my abdomen.
“Hell yeah, let’s fuck,” he grumbles with a smile in his voice, turning over.
“Sorry, Jace, I didn’t mean to wake you.” I slip my underwear and shorts on before he can see me naked again and get any ideas. Crawling around on all fours, I continue to search for my missing garments, startling when I hear Jace’s low, gravelly laughter.
“Looking for your top, by any chance?”
“Yeah.” My cheeks flush again. “Do you know where it is?”
“Maybe.” He doesn’t say anything else. I stand up and my hands go to my hips. He looks up from the bed to face me, his dark hair ruffled from sleep and his shoulders bulging in front of the dark oak headboard.
After a moment of silence, I shrug. “Well?”
“If you can find them, you can go.” He gives me a cocky, self-assured grin, dropping his weight down on both elbows and making his pecs pop out.
My jaw drops. “Did you hide my clothes?” Anger surges through me. This bastard had the nerve to hide my clothes so I couldn’t leave? Did I pass out last night after we had sex or something? How did he even manage that?
“You laid down to sleep naked, so I took the liberty of storing your shirt and bra where they wouldn’t get dirty on the hotel floor. If you can find them, you can leave. If not, you’ll have to stay here and let me look at you some more.” His gaze stays trained on my breasts, and his tongue flicks out to wet his lips.
“You dick!”
He chuckles mischievously as I turn around and look through the drawers in the TV stand. No luck. I cross the room to the folding door near the bathroom and search the closet. It’s not there either.