“Why?” I ask curiously. “It sounds dangerous that you need me so much.”
He chuckles, his hand coming up to push some hair out of my face. “I do need you so much, that’s why. You make me feel alive, and I think I forgot that. You’re the one with the biggest heart, the biggest soul, and the utmost courage.”
I shake my head at him. I sit up, maneuvering toward him, forcing him onto his back. “That’s not true.” My defamation of his claim is gospel to me. My big heart, fearless courage, and martyr’s behavior will be my downfall I’m sure. “What I do, I do for you.” I follow my words with kisses upon his chest. As my lips travel above his heart, I hover a little, applying attention there for a moment. As I move on, I leave my hand behind; the beat of his heart pulsates into my palm. As I move up his body, reaching his neck, then his jaw, I feel the beat keep the same steady rhythm, but the moment our lips latch on with greed, I feel the beat skip. I smile against the kiss and enjoy the effect I have on him.
“We’re not doing this, not this way,” he speaks, stopping me. I peer down at him, my hair throwing my face like a messy halo. He catches my curiosity and just smirks like he knows something I don’t. “I have dreamed of how I would have my first morning back with you, and I intend to make it true.”
“How do you intend to do that?” I ask him, growing more and more curious.
“Like this,” he says gently, but rolls me over and onto my back. “I’ve missed this,” he says climbing onto me. Immediately I’m pinned beneath him, and I feel desire swirl from within. It’s been a long lost feeling, but Jace has awoken so many parts of me in such a short amount of time. I really shouldn’t be surprised.
I say nothing as he pulls my pyjama bottoms down, taking my panties with it. He works quick and with stealth to rid himself of his boxers and then climbs back into position. As I feel his hardened penis against my inner thigh, it elicits sparks to fly. My heart swells with hope and already I’m biting my lip and clawing at his shoulders, pulling him down toward me, getting a sweet dose of his kisses.
It’s when I hear a clatter outside I remember I heard Eli earlier. He’s not exactly quiet in the morning. It was in the silence of the early morning light, I listened to them discuss today, discuss me, discuss Jace being here. They even reverted to discussing me escaping the club again. I know any sort of noise, and they’ll be onto us. I don’t particularly want them busting in during this.
“We can’t be loud,” I muse, pouting slightly. “I heard Eli talking to Bree earlier. They’re going to be starting breakfast soon.”
“How long have you been awake?” he asks and then shakes he’s head. “Don’t even bother answering that, I want to use my time wisely here.” He leans down, his face level with mine, inches apart. “I know one way of keeping you quiet and if I’m on a limit, I’ll enjoy it far more this way.”
“How’s that?” I ask.
He doesn’t answer me vocally. The first thrust pushing all air out of my lungs and all life back into my soul. He deliciously fills me with his length while also covering my mouth with his. Successfully, he silences my moan down to a muffle.
He begins a rhythm - it’s hard, but it’s calculated, and I can’t help the way my body reacts to a sexual void being filled. As my back arches by default from his thrusts, my head pushes back and Jace’s lips leave mine as he begins to attack my jaw and neck. He peppers it with kisses, leaving those delightful trails of worship. Jace doesn’t even try to quieten me, he’s so infused in the moment, he just pumps me harder and faster.
We get lost in allowing our bodies to find that one true unison that the world falls away in pieces. I’m lost in oblivion and I can tell Jace is too as nothing breaks his stamina. I buck my hips as he pumps into me harder and faster, all the while I try to keep myself quiet. Jace grunts, moaning in pleasure, and I don’t care he failed at silencing me because the way my body yearns for him makes me believe again.
As the orgasm bursts, my entire body thrums with enchantment. The euphoria that takes over as I clench around his throbbing erection is breathtaking and as I calm, my breathing staccato, my heart racing, there’s only one thing to learn - I’m definitely not broken.
“God, I really have missed you,” Jace comments again, he’s breathless and still buried deep in me.
I smack him playfully. “You missed the sex.”
He stares day at me, a crooked grin on his face. “It’s an extension of what I’ve really been missing.” He leans down, kissing me again. These are different. They’re light, showing he’s now sated. “Least the ache’s gone now.”
I giggle aloud, it doesn’t stop him.
It’s like a lightning bolt through me and I stop. The smile remaining bright on my lips as thoughts instill upon me. They’re heavy in weight, enormous in magnitude, and enlightening on my soul. I feel Jace stop kissing me and I wait for him to question my sudden silence.
“Uh oh, you’ve gone quiet,” he says, lifting up to look at me. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
“Nothing,” I fib lightly and shake my head, the smile still remaining. “It’s just this is the first time I’ve felt genuinely happy in months.” I blush, ashamedly thinking back to what transpired only the night before. “Especially after last night’s events.”
“We’ve moved on,” Jace notes quickly. “I am done allowing you to stay there. It’s time I moved my plan forward.”
“What is your plan?” I ask, biting my lip with anticipation.
“I can’t tell you,” he admits, and I feel my heart clench fiercely. “I need you to be as shocked as Delvine will be. I need you as clueless. I need you in the perfect situation.”
“Perfect situation?” I squawk at him, not sure if he means his type or Clara’s.
“You’ll see,” Jace tells me, and I know I shouldn’t doubt him. If I’m still there longer than need be, then I might start to doubt he’ll ever free me, but right now, I don’t want that to cloud whatever time I have with him.
I go to argue, demanding insight, but there’s a knock on the door, breaking down the hostility I feel. It’ll have to wait now.
“Yeah?” I call out, Jace finally uncovering me and falling beside me.
“I’ve got my eyes closed, just in case,” Brianna calls through the door.
I laugh and look at Jace who pulls the sheet up a little. “It’s safe!”
The door opens and Brianna peers in, still unsure. When she sees it is in fact safe, she just enters. She’s still in her pyjamas, her hair pulled up into a sleek ponytail.
“Hey Girlie,” she speaks with a smile. “I guessed you went to bed straight after your shower and your man here came to your rescue, but now you really need a proper breakfast.” She looks passed me to Jace. “You too, Mr. Mason.”
Jace chuckles. “We’ll be out in two minutes.”
The look he gives me, however, tells me we’ll be more than two minutes.
***
The moment Brianna noticed Clara’s car pull up, the tranquillity within the apartment dwindled and the air around us became tense. After spending time allowing Jace and Eli cook breakfast, it seems like a harsh force of reality reminding us all of the life we’re permitted to lead.
“You’ve got to hide,” I alert Jace, looking around for a suitable place that won’t mean he’s caught.
“And you’ve got to act like you’ve had a reawakening,” Jace points back, not quite moving as quickly as I’d like him too.
I roll my eyes. I already know I’m too perked up to be a girl that got finger fucked against her will and can’t go to anyone about a sexual abuse case because Clara would have it covered up the moment my statement was finished.
“Go hide in the guest room closet. It’s empty so there’s room,” Eli points out, and it’s a mad dash to get Jace through the apartment and into the guest bedroom.
Just as I open the door, ready to force him inside, he pulls me to his body, flush so I’m right against his bare chest. I lo
ok up, nerves fizzing to life within, and he leans down and kisses me. It’s not one marking our farewells, or one for the road, it’s just a reminder. I moan against him, but the prickling strain of nervousness forces me to part with him.
“Get in there,” I point and give a small wistful smile. He backs away, a playful look to his face, and I just turn to grab all items of his clothing. I find his pants, his shirt, his blazer, but only one shoe. I make a mad dash searching for it, before I throw every item at him and close the closet doors.
As I walk out to the main part of the apartment, I look over my shoulder to the doors. Jace might be hidden, but I can feel myself hardening up with anxiety as I know Clara’s on her way up.
“Shit!” I mutter as I comprehend the veracity of my actions. I snap. My mentality is shot, and it’s showing. “Shit, shit, shit! She’s come to kill me.” I look up at Eli and Brianna, and I feel all the good vibes within me come clattering down around me. “She didn’t do it last night, she let me go free. What’s to stop her now?”
“Joely,” Eli steps forward, taking command. “She was worried about you. That Jonah guy didn’t go to Clara with intent to get you into trouble. He was genuinely concerned about you. You scared him shitless, but she wasn’t angry.”
“Not openly!” I begin to pace, potentially ready to burn a hole through Eli’s oak wood flooring. “Fuck!”
Eli strides across the room. His pace is fast, and I’m unaware and don’t move out of his way until he has me caught in his grasp. He gives me a quick shake, trying to get some sense to make an appearance.
“She wasn’t angry, and now, if she is I’ll have something to say.” I can hear his tone bite at aggression. “I don’t know what the hell happened in the room, but what I do know is that client was genuinely worried for you, and the girl who came out of there was near enough catatonic! I won’t allow that to be rewarded with punishment.”
“But you can’t stop Clara,” I tell him deadpan.
The knock on the door ends our conversation. As the knock comes, Eli drops his hands and I resign myself to the fallout. Satisfied somewhat, I make a beeline for the couch and throw myself onto it, just as Eli goes for the door. Brianna remains at the breakfast bar, nursing her cup of coffee and Jace stays out of sight – and hopefully out of mind.
“What took you so long?” Clara barks the moment the door is opened. She walks into the room, looking around until she spots me, then her gaze narrows. If looks could kill, I would be six feet under. “Better yet, what was your issue last night?”
I gulp. What of my many issues do I highlight first? I can’t decide between them and my tentativeness to answering is rewarded by an explosive reaction from Clara.
“How dare you disobey my orders,” Clara snaps as she advances for me across the room. “Again!” She stops, the back of the couch separating us, and I see Sam readying to come for me. “You are the most annoying, infuriating Viper Girl I have ever had! You’re so full of morals and expectations that you can no longer just do a simple job! I have tried to comprehend why you are like you and there are so many disappointing reasons why you are my greatest failure!”
“Well, guess what, Clara?” I bite back, my tone sharp. “You’re the reason I’m like I am! You’re the one who gave me the life of a Viper Girl and you’re the one who trapped me back into it. You’re the reason I’m wary of clients and a little skittish with them because the last time you gave me a brand new client it was so he could beat me to an inch of my life and for a purpose! Your purpose!” I’m seething, pushed to my limits. “You asked Clive to do that to me, that’s on you, and you wonder why I am like I am.” I laugh bitterly. “I’m like I am, because the boss I believed in turned out to be an absolute raving psychopath!”
I see Clara square her shoulders, puff her chest out and redden in the face. Her lap dog takes a sharp step forward, his fist clenching. In a similar manner, Eli steps toward me, acting as my guard. I feel Sam’s eyes harden upon me, and I react. Much like Clara, I explode.
“What’s he going to do?” I ask, snapping again as I flick my hand to Sam. “Throw me in the pit or chain me up outside again? Get me beaten? Oh, no, whip me?” I turn back to Clara, making sure she could feel the weight of my anger. “You’ve done it all. You’ve tricked and played me, you’ve fucking whipped me and branded me with this stupid piece of leather around my neck,” I retort, ripping the collar away and throwing it down. “You’ve beaten me, beaten my husband before my eyes. Threatened me, threatened him, threatened everything I have. What’s your next step, Clara? Because I’m more than curious as to what you have left to use!”
At first I receive no verbal retort, just a round of applause from Clara.
“Ooh, The Runaway Viper has found her voice again!” Clara cheers. “I was starting to worry that the almost mother moment you had days ago was much too much for you handle.”
I laugh at her callous behavior and don’t feel her words stick in my gut like they could have. I’m unmoved by her verbalized attacks now. I don’t know if it was the capture and subsequent life I’ve been living that’s taken its final toll or whether Jace’s kiss of life did it, but I feel stronger than ever.
I can hear my mother’s tone in my voice, repeating the same mantra from when I had awoken in that hospital bed to find out my best friend had passed away – What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Apparently I’m a living advocate for the saying, and I will continue to be.
“I was going to come here and offer you some punishment for your wayward behavior, but clearly you just needed to snap.” Clara always likes her girls with a bit of fire, and when I came back I was submitting to everything on the demand of the threat for Jace’s blood. Now I’ve seen he’s capable of living through the worst of Sam’s attacks, I’m sure he’ll be able to continue doing so. “You could be on the fast track for stealing the head Viper Girl title off Cassidy at this rate,” Clara ponders aloud and surveys my expression, trying to size up whether it’s what I want.
“Great,” I muse sarcastically, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms across my chest. I catch Brianna trying not to laugh at my lack luster exuberance at the idea.
“Joely, Dear, do you not want that?”
“What do you think?” I ask and shake my head in disbelief. “Do I look like someone vying for your attention to be top girl?” I retort, again too snappily.
“Suit yourself,” Clara speaks, somewhat defeated and lost for words. This is a good feeling! “But ultimately, I get the say on the ranking of my girls, and if I want you as my top dog, then you’ll be just that, dog.” She tries to stand stoic, but for once, I can see Clara is only clutching at straws, striving to reinstate her power over me. She then bends down, picking up my discarded, and now broken, collar. “I’ll make sure we have a new one of these made for you. I don’t want to forget quite yet how lowly you sit. Just because I can change the rankings, I can keep them, and I’m pretty damn sure I can lower yours.”
“Okay,” I remark, remaining unmoved.
“I’ll deal with you another day.” She declares defeat without actually declaring it. “I’ve decided a new party is in order. One where we don’t embarrass one another.” She looks straight at me before continuing. “I want a spring ball. I know we’ve just had one, but with the influx of new clients I think it’s time to try the masquerade idea again.”
She’s met with silence. As a bartender, Eli isn’t expected to have input, but Brianna and I should at least have some enthusiasm. To be honest, I just feel like Clara is now running out of ideas.
“Well, seeing as you two don’t seem enthralled by the ideas, I’ll just have to find some way to get you loving the idea,” she speaks, rubbing her hands together as she concocts a new plan. “Await the invites.”
She says no more, just bids a silent farewell to us and ushers Sam and Shads away. As she leaves, I feel something liven up in me, and I have to admit, it terrifies me. Everyone evokes so many emotions in me. I flick between
the good and bad, meddle with the evil side and dance with all sorts of desires, and it makes me feel one thing – confused. This is the me who’s left – this notion of Jekyll and Hyde. And I’m scared of myself. Scared of the me who will be left after I’m freed.
Running my hands over my face, I decide to go to Jace. Allow him out of the closet and spend as much time as I possibly can with him.
“She’s gotten desperate,” Brianna mutters, getting up from her perch at the breakfast bar and taking her cup over to the sink. “She reeks of it.”
I don’t answer as Eli teases back. I follow my ghost steps back to the guest room, finding Jace opening the door and stepping out into the open. He’s now partially dressed. The thought has me thinking he’ll be leaving soon.
“I could kiss you right now,” he says right away.
“Only could?” I ask, giggling some.
“Okay,” he responds with a quick shrug, then makes a quick grasp for my hand. He takes it, pulling me to his body. He kisses me with pride, empowers me with honor and shows me how impressed he is with me. “You make me so proud.”
“Me?” I gasp, not sure what he could be thinking about. I play stupid to the actions I just committed myself to.
“Yes, you,” he reacts loudly. “The way you stood up to her, it was perfect! She needed that. God, Joely, I wish you could see how you’ve grown from the first day I met you to this day. You are incredible.” He watches me closely, then frowns. “You don’t think so?”
“I’m not that strong,” I tell him and look down, embarrassed. “I’m scared,” I admit freely, my eyes become misty with trapped tears, and I just look back at Jace as I admit my ultimate fears. “I’m scared that I won’t come back from this, Jace. I’m scared that you won’t love me if that happens. I’m struggling to love myself, right now, how can you?”
The Runaway Viper (Viper #2) Page 21