Jenna eased in behind me, glancing at my king-sized bed, then across to the couch and the bean bag I liked to read in.
“Wow, this place is bigger than my apartment.”
“Almost.” I snickered, feeling like a rich prick for a second.
It seemed wrong to be living the high life when she was working two, sometimes three jobs just to stay afloat.
I did what I could, paying for anything any chance I could get, but I was aware she didn’t want to be seen as some charity case.
“I feel bad taking your bed.”
“Don’t.” I grinned at her. “I’m stoked you’re staying. Here, let me find one of my T-shirts you can wear for pajamas.”
“Thanks.” Her smile was sweet enough to make my chest constrict.
Edging over to my desk, Jenna checked out my stereo system, fiddling with the buttons until “Your Guardian Angel” softly filtered into the room. I swallowed, my throat thick as I watched her beautiful body in my space.
I wished I could drop to my knees and sing the song right to her, but I wasn’t sure if that was going too far.
The clamshell had opened a little more throughout the night, and I didn’t want to do anything to make it slam shut again.
Clearing my throat, I moved to my drawers and started rummaging around for a shirt she could wear. If I found my biggest one, she could turn it into a modest nightshirt. I wanted her to feel comfortable and relaxed enough to fall asleep here.
Yanking out an XL Ripcurl T-shirt with blue waves on the front, I stood up and walked it over to her. Unfurling it, I held it up against her body and laughed. “This will be huge on you, but think of it like a nightgown.”
She gazed up at me, her brown eyes swirling with what I thought was desire.
I was too nervous to hope for it and then make the wrong move, so I leaned forward and just pecked her lips before whispering, “Sleep well, Jenna.”
I put on my best smile, then turned for the door.
She was staying.
That was enough for now.
It didn’t matter that the idea of peeling off her clothes and helping her get into the T-shirt was damn overpowering. I could think of plenty of things to do in between changes, but I wouldn’t, because deep down I knew she’d been hurt before and I wasn’t going to be the guy to pressure her.
If it was baby steps to the end goal, then I’d take them. As long as we weren’t going backward, I was happy.
Grasping the door, I pushed aside the longing and disappointment swirling in my stomach.
“Jace.” Jenna’s voice hitched and I spun around to make sure she was okay.
“Yeah?”
Her teeth brushed her bottom lip, her brown eyes searching mine before she knocked me off my feet.
“Stay,” she whispered, and with trembling hands slowly unbuttoned the front of her dress.
My throat dried up, the lid on my desire flying free as she slipped the dress off her shoulders. It crumpled around her feet and my eyes slowly worked their way up her underwear-clad body. She was in a simple white bra and panties combo, and I’d never seen anything so sexy. She was a sculpture—her muscles defined, her curves delicious, her dark skin tantalizing.
“I want you to stay.” Her voice had a sexy, husky edge to it that blended with the romantic song. Her eyes swirled with a mixture of longing and uncertainty.
Clicking the door shut, I swallowed and slowly walked across to her, drinking her in before stopping a mere inch from her body.
“Are you sure?”
Placing her hand on my face, she nodded and closed the gap between us.
15
Jenna
Jace’s sure hands cupped my hips as I pressed my lips against his.
The way he looked at me while he crossed the room calmed my fears. His eyes drank me in like I was the most beautiful thing on the planet. Like it’d be a privilege to have me.
As his tongue met mine, the desire pulsing through me burned any lingering uncertainty to ash and I was taken by the sudden urge to feel him…all of him.
With the music building around us, I gripped the bottom of his shirt and tugged it up. He lifted his arms and helped me out, tossing his shirt aside while I quickly unhooked my bra. Our naked torsos were soon pressed together.
It felt so divine I had to fight the urge to cry. “Your Guardian Angel” covered us with its beautiful lyrics, foretelling the kind of love I’d find with a man like Jace.
I wanted it.
I needed him.
Jace’s body was strong and sure, yet his touch was featherlight.
He skimmed the pads of his finger down my naked back, deepening our kiss until I could barely breathe. Tipping my head back, I sought some much-needed air as his mouth explored the ridge of my jaw and then traveled south. Each brush of his tongue against my skin sent sparks flying from my center to the outer reaches of my body.
Everything tingled and vibrated, my breath hitching as he sucked my nipple into his mouth. He dropped to his knees, his gentle hands exploring and owning me in a way no one ever had before.
Inching my underwear over my hips, he trailed his hands down my legs while kissing my sweet spot and making stars scatter before my eyes.
I moaned, my knees suddenly buckling as he worked a kind of magic I’d never known.
Catching me against him, he let out a low chuckle and walked me to the bed. It was kind of awkward, as he was still on his knees, but he held me tight against him and soon I was lying back on his soft mattress, my body open to the pleasure that he refused to stop handing out to me.
I floated out to sea and rode a few tidal waves, my uninhibited cries growing in volume as he took me over the edge.
His laughter was soft and triumphant as he trailed his tongue up my body, rounding each breast before lying on top of me. I could feel his desire, yet he still stopped to check.
“Are you sure?”
My eyes started to glimmer as my love for his sweetness broke me apart.
With a soft sniff and a smile that I hoped would say everything I needed it to, I bobbed my head and let out a shaky laugh.
He grinned and reached into his side cabinet for protection.
Skimming my nails lightly up his defined torso, I felt him flinch beneath me.
“That tickles,” he snickered, jerking when I hit a sensitive spot.
I laughed and couldn’t resist doing it again.
He yelped and shifted back on top of me, squishing me into the bed and distracting me with a kiss that only heightened my body’s desperate need.
I managed to catch my breath and whisper between kisses, “Hurry up and put that thing on.”
He sat back with a laugh and wrapped himself before gliding back over me again.
His body was like a heavy blanket, covering and protecting me. It allowed me to open myself up to him, take him as he slid into me and found a heady rhythm that sent me out to sea again. My body buzzed with a warm electricity. I’d never felt so good—from my spinning head to my tingling toes.
I gripped his body, wrapping myself around him as he lost himself within me. His moans of pleasure filled my heart; his cry as he came made me soar.
When his quivering body relaxed on top of mine, I relished the warm puff of air against my neck as he caught his breath. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, clinging to him as I fought the urge to cry. I’d just made love to Jace Tolson, and it was beautiful. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever experienced.
It made me realize that it could only be that with him.
He was the one I was supposed to be with.
The one to love me and look after me.
The one I should have waited for.
“I love you.” I murmured the words so softly I’m sure he didn’t hear them.
Gripping his back, I pressed my cheek against his and fought the happy tears that so desperately wanted to break free and cleanse me of my past.
16
Jace
Her wake-up murmurs were adorable and only confirmed what I already knew.
I was in love with this woman…and she loved me.
I heard her say it last night, but she whispered it so softly I couldn’t help wondering if she didn’t even want me to hear her.
So I didn’t say anything.
I just kissed the side of her face and reveled in the feel of her beneath me…wrapped around me.
Jenna let out a sweet moan and moved against my side, her smooth leg rising over my naked thigh. We fit together like a perfect puzzle, like we’d always been meant to be. I ran my hand across her leg, my desire growing. Every square inch of her that touched my bare skin sent sparks firing from my lips to my feet.
I usually didn’t sleep naked. What if there was a fire or something? But after feeling how good Jenna’s skin was against mine, I couldn’t stand the thought of putting clothes on, and so we lay through the early hours of the morning, skin on skin.
I hardly had any sleep. It was kind of impossible to fully relax with Jenna the Hottie beside me, but I wasn’t going to complain.
“What time is it?” Jenna murmured into my chest.
I reached for my phone. “Nearly eight.”
She whined in her throat, gripping me a little tighter as she protested against the thought of getting up.
I grinned triumphantly, before nudging her chin up so I could kiss her nose.
“I’ll be there to pick you up at the end of the day, and you can come right back here if you want to.”
She smiled and brushed her lips against mine.
I found her tongue easily and had to fight the urge not to take things further.
I didn’t want her to be late for work.
In spite of that fact, I couldn’t help gliding my hand over her curves and rolling her onto her back. Covering her, I nestled between her legs and was ready to go in an instant.
She giggled beneath me. “Not a bad way to start the day, I suppose.”
“Brown eyes, I could start every day with you this way.” I grinned, curling my tongue around her earlobe before exploring her luscious neck.
“So you like waking up beside me, then?”
I stopped what I was doing to gaze at her. “I love it.”
The expression on her face was precious, and I took a mental snapshot while singing, “It’s fine by me, if you never leave…” I kept going with the chorus of Andy Grammer’s song.
She laughed, brushing her fingers up my back. It was a beautiful sound, but I happily cut it off as I took my exploration south and found all her sweet spots again.
My fingers walked her body, evoking all the right moans and whimpers. I took her to the edge and then right on over it. Watching her fall apart with desire was a thing of beauty. I knew it was a privilege, sensed it right down to my core, and I wanted to savor every second.
Which was why, after we’d finished, I walked her into my shower and washed her from head to toe. She braced herself against the wall and let me take her one last time before getting out.
Holding her that way while she came with me was magical, and I couldn’t wait to do it again.
We had quite happily entered that silly season where too much sex was never enough. I wanted to pleasure her in every way I could. I wanted to wake up with her beside me, I wanted to fall asleep with her in my arms.
Yeah, it was fast, but I was giddy with love and pretty sure that nothing could pop the balloon I was floating in.
Jenna held my hand as I drove her to work. Gavin didn’t have to come for this one because I wasn’t even getting out of the car. I was simply dropping her off and going straight back to the mansion.
She kissed my knuckles as we pulled up outside the restaurant.
She always left a change of clothes in the employee’s locker, so she jumped out of my car in her summer dress, looking too good to drive away from.
I knew I wasn’t supposed to leave the vehicle, but I got out anyway, capturing her hand just before she walked inside.
“What are you doing?” She laughed as I pulled her back against me.
“Just one more kiss.”
Giggling against my mouth, she let me draw out a heated kiss right there on the street.
I didn’t care if people were watching us. Hell, I didn’t even care if they recognized me. The whole world could know I was dating Jenna Smith if they wanted to.
She finally pulled back and placed her hand on my chest. “I’m going to be late.”
“I don’t even feel bad.” I pressed my palm over her fingers and smiled down at her.
She giggled, her black curls bouncing as she shook her head. “I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah you will.” Grabbing her hand, I kissed the inside of her wrist before finally letting her go.
Walking backward with a dreamy smile, she waved goodbye before disappearing into the diner.
“Hot damn,” I whispered, looking to the sky and feeling one hundred percent owned by that woman.
I wanted to stretch my arms wide and do a spin.
But a noise over my shoulder stopped me.
I didn’t know what the noise was, but as I turned to search the street, something in my gut pinched tight.
Scanning the cars across the road, I looked for signs of passengers, but they were all empty.
“Hey.” A girl smiled as she walked past me. “Are you Jace Tolson?”
“No.” I shook my head at her and her friends, suddenly anxious to get out of there. I didn’t want to stick around signing stuff and posing for selfies. Jenna didn’t need that kind of buzz outside her workplace.
I already knew how cautious she was about dating a celebrity.
Stepping off the curb, I hurried around to the driver’s side and jumped in, scanning the other side of the street again.
Had it been a photographer? A sneaky paparazzo?
Shoving my shades farther up my nose, I took off from the curb, glancing in the rearview mirror and trying to figure out what was bugging me.
A moment before, I hadn’t cared who saw me kissing Jenna, but that feeling changed the second she walked away from me and I was thrown back into the reality of who I was—Jace Tolson, the “sexy” drummer of Chaos.
Shit, was I even allowed to fall in love?
My eyebrows dipped into a sharp V as I imagined how it would all play out.
Eventually Jenna and I would be seen together, photographed. She was going to hate it, but it was part of my job, and I didn’t know how much longer I could hide her away.
But could she accept the idea of publicity? Those sneaky little shots that would be taken when we were just living our lives together?
“Shit, I hope it doesn’t push her away,” I muttered, because after the night we’d just shared, it’d be damn near impossible to live without her.
17
Jenna
I shoved open my front door and couldn’t fight my grin.
As soon as I was showered and presentable, I was heading over to Jace’s place again. When he picked me up from work the day before, we swung past my place so I could grab a few clothes and my car. I followed him back to the mansion and spent the night there again. It was definitely an addictive thing.
My lonely little place was nothing compared to the warmth of that house.
We’d spent the evening messing around on his drum kit. He sat me on his lap and showed me how to hold the sticks. I played a few beats and tested out every drum. He was in charge of the pedals, and together we made a pretty decent sound. I’d laughed in awe and then spontaneously started singing “I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker.” He held my hands with the sticks in them and played the beat for us while I let my voice fly. It was the perfect song to sing with just the drums, and i
t reminded me of my mom. She’d loved Sandi Thom.
After that we walked up to the main house to eat with his Chaos family. It was just Ralphie, Ronnie and Nessa; Jimmy and Flick were out doing something, and Fliss was hanging out with her family. After much laughter and conversation, Jace took me up to his room and we snuggled in bed to watch a movie. We missed the end of it. His fingers caressing the back of my neck soon distracted me so much that we got lost in each other again.
The memory made a pleasant groan ease from my lips and I started stripping off my smelly waitressing clothes. Flicking the shower on, I let it heat while I glanced at myself in the mirror. The carefree smile that greeted me made me pause.
I looked happy.
My sister would be proud. It was what she’d wanted for me.
Tears stung my eyes and I quickly blinked them away, refusing to let any kind of melancholy kill my mood. I was heading over to Jace’s again. Soon I’d be wrapped in his embrace and everything would be better.
I started singing “Something Just Like This.” The Chainsmokers song was playing in my car and I loved it. My voice rose as I stepped beneath the hot spray and washed myself.
It felt so divine, and the next ten minutes disappeared as I sang to my shower head and forgot about the time.
Reluctantly turning off the shower, I dried myself and popped into my room to get dressed. Grabbing a pair of jean shorts, I pulled them on, then went for my black and white striped tee.
And then for the hair. It had been a mission all my life, but I’d learned a few tricks for how to manage my spiral curls. Running my fingers through them, I gently detangled the curls, then decided to do minimal styling and just let it air dry. Hopefully it wouldn’t frizz too much.
Checking my reflection, I patted the top of my head and reached for my makeup. I was just sitting down to apply it when a sharp knock on the door made me jump.
That spike of fear always so close to the surface made me shrink in on myself until I heard “Jenna, I know you’re home. I saw your car. It’s me, Dorothy! Let me in.”
Fine By Me: Chaos Novella (A Songbird Novel) Page 8