by T. A. Grey
“Mmm, thank you, baby. I’ll see you tonight.” She hung up then went and cleaned her toy before putting it away.
Before she left his bedroom she put her clothes on then waved to the room. Wherever he was, she wanted him to see her.
Chapter 12
Jace could not believe that he sat in his office with his swollen cock in hand, furiously pumping. And he wasn’t jacking it to some porn but to Mara stuffing herself full with a dildo.
Sexiest woman ever.
Fuck, he tried so hard to stay quiet, to resist, but as her body started trembling from her orgasm, he came with her. His cock was so hard already it didn’t take long. Several hard tugs took him to peak and he grunted as he erupted in his hand.
She hung up on him.
That little minx…
Jace took one last glace at Mara strolling down the hallway of his house. There was a bounce in her step. She said something to Gio which made the guy laugh. Jace shook his head to clear his head. He had work to do and a mess to clean up. He couldn’t be wasting valuable time.
He made it through the rest of the footage in five hours. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t in a hurry to get back home to the beautiful woman who waited for him in his bed. Not that he knew for certain whether she was in his bed or not. He could check his camera system to see her but he wanted it to be a surprise when he found out.
Jace made it home late that night. He dismissed Mac and Gio after being debriefed on the lack of events today. No sign of Corey. All news on his front had died down. Where was the escalation Jace had been seeing? Jace didn’t like this quiet. At least when Corey was acting wild he was popping up on people’s radars. Now they didn’t have a clue where he was or what he was doing. They had to find this guy, because a man like that won’t stop until he gets what he wants. And what he wanted was Mara. No fucking way was Jace going let that abusive son of a bitch get his hands on her again.
The house was quiet. Since he’d arrived home, he hadn’t heard or seen Mara. The boys said she’d gone to bed but they didn’t say which bedroom. He hated to admit it, but he felt nervous about this whole thing. He knew she was nervous about being with him and held reservations because of the night at the bar. But couldn’t she see that he’d never, ever touch her like that? How did he even go about proving it to her?
He did lose his temper on occasion, but never in his thirty-six years had he touched a woman in anger.
Jace found himself staring down the hallway of his house. He laughed at what he saw—both bedroom doors were closed. Did she close them both on purpose so he wouldn’t know which room she was in? God, he wanted her to be sleeping in his bed so badly it made his heart feel all wonky.
If she was there that was a sure sign that she was beginning to trust him. He needed that precious trust from her so bad because he needed her in his life. That car accident was no accident. This woman was meant to be in his life and Jace was ready to do anything and everything to keep her there.
He forced his legs to move down the hall. Her bedroom came up first. Jace pressed his ear to the door but couldn’t hear a thing. Damn. This didn’t help at all. She could be sleeping in there or not. He continued on down the hall to his bedroom door. His heart pounded in his ribcage.
With a loud crack of lightning, the sky opened up in a bright flash and then rain poured down. Rain pelted the windows with a ting sound. Outside, trees drank in the water and leaves hung a bit lower from the weight of the water beating against it.
His heart was beating in his throat like it was trying to escape. Just barely he managed to keep it down. Jace stepped into his bedroom. His eyes went straight to the bed with laser point accuracy. That lump in his throat squeezed impossibly tight for a moment, choking him, before it exhaled in a great whoosh.
His hands trembled faintly as he scrubbed one down his haggard face. Coarse hair chafed his hand reminding him he needed to shave.
Mara Colgen lay on his bed asleep at the very edge of the bed with the sheets pulled up under her chin. Jace’s throat felt like it had rope tied around it getting tighter and tighter. She’d chosen him.
There were so many emotions riding through him he wanted to collapse in relief and shout from the rooftops. He knew what he’d shout, too—her name.
MARA!
Rawr, she made him feel like a beast…and an idiot.
Lips twitching, Jace pulled off his clothes with slow motions. All the while he shook his head with that stupid smile. He felt so happy. Mara was in his bed. She wanted him. She was willing to trust him. He washed up in the bathroom. When he came back out fresh and clean, she still hadn’t moved from her spot on the bed. He wondered if she’d gone to bed nervous or had she embraced it like she had in front of the camera today?
He loved her mix of sensual and shy; it packed a hell of an erotic punch.
He crawled under the covers and with a little coercion, pulled her into him. She slept so close to the edge of the bed she could fall. Of course he had other reasons for wanting her beautiful body away from the edge.
Jace lie on his side spooning her. While he wrapped his body around hers, fitting his cock against her pert bottom, he placed kisses across her neck. He tasted her skin with a lick. Goosebumps beaded across her flesh making him smile. Slowly, the more the more he gently touched her, her body came awake. She shifted back into his hips, moved her head to give him better space to kiss her neck.
And when her chest started to pump faster up and down, he cupped a straining breast through her silk camisole. He could see her nipple. It was the color of peaches. He gently rolled her on her back. Stifling a groan, he sucked one nipple into his mouth, loving the way the hard tip was surrounded by silk. Her whole body rolled like waves were crashing through her. Her pretty pink lips parted and he kissed her ever so softly.
She wore a silk dress thing that fell right around her nipples and a pair of opalescent matching panties. His cock stood like a steel rod from his hips. He was so hard for her his tip leaked. He kissed his way down her neck, over her breasts, licking her stiff nipples until they puckered even harder. Then he lightly brushed them with his fingers as he kissed down her stomach, over each of her small, dainty ribcages. She was so small compared to him. She made him feel huge, like a big lumbering beast about to wake sleeping beauty the naughty way.
As he kissed her stomach he pushed her silky camisole up over her breasts, baring them to his touch. He fingered her nipples properly then. Her breath hitched and eyelids started to flutter as if she was waking up. Jace quickly lifted his hands away and let her fall back asleep.
Smiling when she relaxed, he kissed the crotch of her panties, inhaling her scent. This time he couldn’t stifle his groan. Fuck. She smelled good. She’d taste even better. His mouth watered.
Pushing her legs, he opened them up and got situated between them. Her panties stretched just perfectly he learned. Jace tugged her panties to the side and revealed her feminine center. He wished the light was on so he could see her better. But he could make out enough—juicy, plump lips already aroused for his touch.
He pet her first, feeling her soft skin, her creamy wetness between her folds. She started to move. Only a little at first with her head siding side to side agitatedly. Jace spread her lips open and found her crowning jewel. Unable to stop himself, he narrowed in on the kill and latched onto her swollen clitoris with lips and tongue.
He lapped at her gently, never touching the bud directly. He wanted to see her worked up, wanted her hot and running her hands through his hair as she pumped her hips against him.
He groaned again at the vision and could no longer keep his eyes opened. Even asleep, she’d enchanted him to do her bidding. With his eyes closed, he tasted all of her sweet honey, felt every little motion she made against him.
Jace slowly, gently lapped at her. He was lost in her taste, in pleasuring her. He inserted two fingers inside her and pumped them making her breath hitch and color flush her chest. She was getting close.
“Jace?” he heard her ask.
He didn’t open his eyes. She was waking up. He heard her come awake. She gripped his hair in a thick handful and moaned loudly. His dick punched the bed with need.
Now with her awake he gave her his all. He tortured her. He kept the pleasure going, endlessly building her up only to back away at the last minute leaving her hanging in erotic suspension. When she came back down he tongued her fast and hard to bring her back up again. She squirmed, she cried, she sounded hysterical…and her pussy was so wet she was dripping. He fucking loved it.
On the third time he brought her up, she dug her nails in and pumped her hips against his wiggling tongue. He let her have it and finally the climax burst from her sweating body. She jerked and screamed, her channel gripping his fingers.
Jace slowly eased her down, lapping her up. Fuck. She tasted too good. He wanted to do it all over again, even though his cheeks were hurting and tongue feeling sapped of strength.
He climbed up her body like the great lumbering beast she made him into. Her arms came around to hold onto him as her legs wrapped around his thighs. She was completely open to him giving him all the permission he needed. Jace stroked his length a few times then rubbed the tip of his shaft up and down her wet core. He teased her clit with it then dipped inside a few times only to withdraw. She was begging him by time he finally pushed in all the way, as deep as he could go.
Their chests touched as their lips collided. They clung to each other as he fucked her hard and deep, each thrust jarring her up the bed, but his hold on her kept her still for his brutal plunges. Her wet core easily accepted him since he’d pleased her well.
When she came again he got to feel her vaginal pulses first hand—like sexy little twitches squeezing his cock. Fuck! Sweat slicked down his body and into his hair. She didn’t seem to care. She was completely into it, so aroused she couldn’t open her eyes farther than half-mast. Hell, neither could he.
Then she did something suddenly and flipped them. Up on top of him, she planted her palms on his chest and began riding him. She looked gorgeous in the night light. He rubbed her thighs and loved the flex of muscles there as she stroked his cock with her pussy.
Jace felt his balls grow heavy. That tingling sensation was growing at a rapid pace. Mara leaned up then slid a hand between her legs.
“Oh fuck, yes,” he said. He hadn’t meant to say anything, the outburst just came.
Mara laughed and her head fell back as she rode him and stroked herself between her legs. “Ohhh!”
Her cry called to him like a siren’s voice. He pounded into her from below, holding her by the hips. Her movements became wild. She exploded above him and he joined her, helpless not to. He stabbed deep and pulsed.
She cried out again, writhing into his movements. They were completely joined, connected.
Jace pulled her down and kissed her. He tucked her next to him but couldn’t stop kissing her everywhere. He rubbed her stomach, her breasts, kissed her neck.
“Mara, sweetheart,” he said.
She lazily ran her hand through his hair. “Mmm,” she responded.
Jace smiled against her cheek and kissed the tip of her ear. “I love you.”
Her body stiffened. The ground began crumbling beneath him too fast for him to catch hold of. He felt exposed like he was naked standing outside in an ice storm.
“You do?” she asked.
He dared to look her in the eyes. “Yeah, I do.” It wasn’t an easy thing to do when your heart was about to be crushed by the woman you loved.
Except she didn’t. Instead, she looked at him and said something else, something that nearly rocked his world. “I—I like you too. I think I might even…feel the same.” She looked scared and timid.
Jace smiled so big his cheeks hurt. “Oh yeah?”
She nodded once, hard. “Yes.”
He moved in to kiss her but she turned her head away. His smile faded.
“Yes, but I still can’t be with you.”
His skin hardened as if to take a blow but it was too late. She landed the brutal punch before he had a chance to prepare himself.
“What?” he managed.
She blinked, eyes filling with shiny tears. “I can’t take the chance again.” Tears fell down her cheeks making his stomach twist into vicious knots. “I can’t be in a relationship again with someone who might get mad and…” She couldn’t finish her thought.
“I grew up watching my dad beat my mother. All the time. You never really get used to it and yet, at the same time, you do. For small things, he’d just slap her a few times. That we all got used to. Mom wouldn’t even cry, I wouldn’t say anything, and we’d all go back to what we were doing.”
“You don’t have to---” she said.
“No, I do, because I want you to know what I saw growing up. I want you to understand why I could never touch you that way.”
She trembled and he wanted to pull her into his arms and make everything better. But he couldn’t do that now. He had to explain it all to her. So he told her everything.
He told her about the little beatings. He told her about the big ones, the ones mom had to wear makeup to cover up and couldn’t walk straight for a week afterward. He told her about the police coming and then the days when mom stopped calling them. There was no escape. It was hell on Earth. He would have killed them if they left. Plus, he made sure she had no means to escape on her own easily. No money, no job, no friends, and no more family. They were completely isolated in hell with Ray, his father. Things got better though when Ray was arrested for a series of break-ins and drug possession. Last Jace had heard, he’d landed his ass back in jail after violating his parole and trying to skip the state.
His story finished and the room grew quiet as a crypt. Mara looked away as if lost in his past memories. She looked sad and it made him want to jump and fix it.
“Do you see why I could never do that?”
Mara blinked as if coming out of a daze. She started nodding. Then she pulled away from him and stood up. She looked down at him with tears flowing freely down her face. Her voice cracked as she spoke. “I care about you. I care so much, but if I take that chance again and end up…” she paused to catch her breath, “getting hurt again, then I’ll never forgive myself for being in that situation.”
“You have to trust me, Mara.” He grasped for straws, feeling like he was losing her.
She pressed her hand over her mouth to stifle a cry. “I can’t. I just can’t.”
With that, she left him. He heard her bedroom door close a moment later. It was the sound of his whole world coming to a stop.
Chapter 13
The following morning the temperature seemed to have dropped twenty degrees. Or at least that’s how Mara felt because she couldn’t get warm. She never would have thought to pack a sweater. After all it was the middle of July where the average day was eighty-two degrees.
All that heat had vanished in an overnight storm. The day was wet and gray. Wind blew at the house like it was trying to rip the roof off by the seams.
Today was going to be a bad day. Yep, it was one of those days that you knew were going to be trouble. But there was nothing Mara could to do escape the inevitable. She had to face Jace again after last night. She had to explain herself and make him understand why. If only she were more poetic, smart, or something, then maybe she’d know what to do. Instead, she didn’t have a clue how to go about this. She just had sex with Jace again last night. She’d wanted to be with him one last time and so she’d gone to sleep in his bed knowing full well he’d come home and find her that way.
It’d been beautiful, intense, and simply wonderful to be with him again. Her body felt worshipped under his touch.
How did she explain to him that her trust issues were huge regarding men, because she’d once put all her trust in the wrong man. He’d broken her trust and then he’d broken her. It took her so long to put all the pieces together and still there
were so many days where she felt like a Picasso—like she’d put the pieces together incorrectly and didn’t fit right.
That’s how she felt right now.
Mara wiped the stray tears away then made herself shower and put clothes on. But she still cried in the shower. Her hormones were all out of whack because of everything going on.
It was early. Rain pattered at the house. Otherwise all was quiet. She hadn’t heard him stir from his bedroom. If he stayed in there all day she wouldn’t be surprised with how she treated him.
He said he loved her. It was like a hand squeezing around her heart when he said those words. It wasn’t just the words either but how he said them so genuinely, with that smile on his face and his eyes honest.
He loves me.
She shook her head. A part of her struggled to comprehend that. Yet, at the same time, she knew she felt the exact same way. It didn’t matter that they hadn’t known each other long, because she knew. She just knew that they connected; they fit.
What happened to all that talk about not letting Corey manipulate your life?
That’s something else that’d been bothering her since she left Jace last night to sleep in her cold, lonely bed. She was just looking after herself, though. Staying away from Jace when he might be capable of violence didn’t mean she was letting Corey win. That’s what she’d been telling herself all night.
Yet the more she thought about it, the less it seemed true.
Mara forced herself to leave her bedroom. The house was too quiet. Thunder rumbled and growled outside. It was going to be a long, rainy day.
Mara started coffee and breakfast. She’d been around Jace enough to know he was also an early riser. If he was getting out of bed then it’d probably be soon.
An hour later, Mara had eggs, bacon, and pancakes made. That’s when she heard Jace moving about. Her stomach was all twisted up in knots. But they had to face each other at some point. They couldn’t hide forever. Not while Corey was still running free.