Jace: Rebels Advocate (Book 4)

by Sheridan Anne

  I do as I’m told and hurry along after him. The second I walk through the door, my mouth falls to the floor. Rylee lays on the bed with her legs up in the stirrups, red in the face while some doctor stands between her legs. “Cami,” Rylee cries. “I need you. I can’t… I just… I need you.”

  I race towards her and scoop her hand into mine. “You can,” I tell her before looking up at Cole who has possession of her other hand and looks as though he’s about to pass out. “You’re going to do incredible. You’re the strongest woman I know. You just need to push as hard as you can and get this little guy out, then it’s all over.”

  She shakes her head as a drop of sweat rushes down the side of her face. “It hurts too much. I can’t do it.”

  “You can and you will,” I tell her, being a little more firm. “You built The Dark Room all by yourself when hundreds of people told you that you couldn’t do it and you beat down the guy who held you at knifepoint. The Rylee I know does not give up, now this little boy is depending on you to get him out, now don’t you dare let him down. You got that?”

  She swallows and scrunches up her face as though she’s about to burst into tears, but eventually nods her head. I look back at the doctor who stands between her legs and she gives me a grateful smile and mouths ‘thank you’ before turning her attention on Rylee. “Alright, Rylee,” she says in a soothing tone. “On this next contraction, you need to push.”

  Ryle nods and looks absolutely terrified, but she has no other choice. This baby is coming now whether she likes it or not. Cole presses a cold towel to her face and helps to calm her with the breathing exercises that they’ve learned over the past few months, and I have to say, from watching him looking after her, he’s going to make a great daddy to this little boy.

  The contraction comes on and Rylee takes a deep breath before giving an almighty push. With the push, comes the squeeze of my hand that has a bone breaking.

  “Fuck,” I grunt out in pain. It hurts like a bitch, but I don’t dare remove my hand from hers. She’s in the middle of pushing and if she has to go through that, then I can deal with this for just a little while longer. Hell, not one person in the room has even noticed, all attention is on Rylee’s hoochy, right where it should be.

  She continues squeezing and the tears of pain come pouring out of my eyes. The baby’s head finally comes out and she lets up on my hand. I instantly pull it away and offer her my wrist when she’s ready to get the body out.

  I swear, I must only be in here for fifteen minutes before the most precious little baby boy is placed on her chest and all the pain of the labor is instantly forgotten, except my broken hand of course, though, I keep the attention away from it. I wouldn’t dare ruin this moment for Rylee by letting on just what had happened.

  I watch in awe as Cole and Rylee look down at their son and instantly fall in love. There’s this look in both of their eyes that I can’t even describe. It’s absolutely breathtaking and no doubt it’s the love of a parent. It’s unconditional, it’s raw, and it’s beautiful.

  Cole places his hand down on his son, while Rylee spills tears of joy.

  My tears of pain are replaced with tears of joy and I look down at Rylee. “He’s beautiful,” I tell her while trying my best to wipe the tears away.

  She looks up at me and gives me an exhausted but loving smile. “Thank you so much,” she says. “I couldn’t have done that without you.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” I tell her. “You’re the strongest woman I know. You would have been fine without me, but I’m so happy I got to be here. That was the most magical thing I’ve ever seen.”

  She smiles up at me before looking back down to her son. “What name did you decide on?” I ask her.

  She looks up at Cole and they give each other a knowing smile. “This is Isaac Cole Lewis,” Cole tells me.

  I look down at the beautiful little boy. “Hello, little Isaac,” I say. “I’m your Aunty Cami and you’re going to be my best friend. I’m going to love you so much, you’ll hate me.”

  The little guy lets out the most adorable yawn before screaming the place down. The nurses take him away to get measured, weighed, and dressed while Cole helps Rylee to get herself cleaned up.

  Little Isaac is given back to Rylee and he instantly falls asleep after the massive day he’s just had, while one by one, everyone pops in to quickly meet the newest addition of our big family.

  The pain in my hand starts to really make itself know and eventually, the tears start to reappear which is when I make an excuse to Rylee that the emotions of the day are starting to get to me. I give her a kiss and congratulate the happy family for the hundredth time before reminding Rylee to get a little rest and letting her know I’ll be back first thing in the morning.

  I say goodbye to everyone in the room and slip out before anyone notices that I’m actually in a world of pain.

  “Cami,” I hear from behind me.

  I let out a breath and turn towards the man I should have known would come out here after me. “Jace,” I sigh as I wipe another tear off my face. “I can’t handle another round with you right now.”

  “I… I’m not here to fight with you,” he tells me as he places both his hands on my shoulders so he can really look at me. “I just wanted to make sure that you’re alright.”

  I nod my head but the tears continue to fall. “I’m fine,” I tell him.

  He narrows his eyes on me. “Then what’s with the waterworks?” he questions. “Were you thinking about how much you want a baby?”

  I shake my head, but let’s be honest, I was thinking about that earlier, but not enough to cause the tears. “No,” I tell him before finally giving in and holding up my hand. “My hand hurts. I think Rylee fractured a bone when she was pushing.”

  His eyes widen in horror. “Fuck, Cam,” he says. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “I didn’t want to upset her,” I tell him as he slips his hand into my good one and starts leading me down the hallway. “This was about meeting her son not about how hard she squeezed my fucking hand.”

  He shakes his head in disbelief. “Sometimes you’re too much of a good friend,” he tells me.

  “Where are you taking me?” I demand as he continues leading me through the hospital. “It’s late, I just want to go home and get some painkillers.”

  “You’re getting an X-ray on your hand. I need to know if it’s actually broken or if you’re just being dramatic, then I’ll take you home.”

  I let out a sigh. There’s no point arguing. I’m too tired and the emotion of the day has completely drained me. So, I allow him to drag me along and wait for another two hours in the emergency room waiting area, before finally confirming that indeed, my hand is definitely broken.

  Chapter 13

  Jace

  I get Cami in my truck after loading her up with as many painkillers as possible and drive her stubborn ass home. I still can’t believe it. She just sat there with a broken bone in that precious hand of hers and pretended like nothing was wrong while she was in incredible amounts of pain, just so she could be there for her friend.

  I mean, it’s inspiring, but it’s fucking stupid.

  It felt like it took a lifetime waiting in that emergency room with her as neither one of us spoke a word. Her name was finally called and the second she got up to go get her X-ray, she latched onto my hand and refused to let me leave her side. Her X-ray was done in a matter of minutes, and sure enough, the bone was fractured.

  I’m not going to pretend I know what it’s like to push a baby out, but if it’s worthy of needing to squeeze your best friend’s hand so hard that you break it, it must be bad. I’m glad I’ll never have to do it.

  Cami is dosed up on some pain meds as the pain was becoming a little too much and I have to say, I was surprised when the doctor opted to go for a cast rather than a splint, so it must have been pretty bad. I mean, I’ve broken my hand plenty of times and only ever had splints or a brace, but th
en, that could have something to do with me outright refusing to get a cast.

  It’s past five in the morning by the time I actually get her home. She struggles to carry everything in the one hand while trying to open the door, and I find myself getting out of my truck and helping her up to her apartment.

  I unlock the door and get her inside, and to be honest, it’s nice using the fucking key for a change, rather than having to break the door down and getting odd looks from her neighbors.

  Cami walks over to her kitchen counter and dumps all her things down with a sigh before kicking off her heels. I can’t help but walk over to join her. “Thanks for staying,” she tells me as she leans forward on the counter. “You didn’t need to do that.”

  I walk right up behind her and bring my hands down on her hips. Her body stiffens at the touch and I hate myself for bringing that reaction out of her. I splay my fingers and she eventually relaxes. “I’m sorry,” I murmur. “I wish I hadn’t ruined your night.”

  She’s silent for a moment while allowing herself to think about her answer. “Why didn’t you tell me about Iraq and the blackouts?” she questions silently.

  I let out a breath as my thumbs run back and forth over her hips. “I didn’t want you to know what I was capable of.”

  “You’re not a monster, Jace,” she tells me.

  I close my eyes as her words flow right through me. She’ll never know just what that means to me, to have her know what I’ve done and not think I’m a monster. It’s almost as though I can feel myself healing from within. “You were right,” I tell her. “I’m punishing myself.”

  At that, she turns and looks up at me with eyes filled with an intense desperation that it’s impossible to look away. She doesn’t say anything just lets me talk. “I’ve been thinking about it all night. I hate myself for what I did to my dad, just thinking about it makes me sick. How could I allow myself to find happiness after I did something like that? What if I did that to you?”

  Her eyes continue searching mine before she brings up her good hand and places it against my cheek. “I think it’s about time you forgave yourself,” she whispers before pressing up onto her toes and bringing her lips to mine.

  My hands move from her hips and slide right around her waist so I can pull her in tighter. The taste of her lips is intoxicating and I can’t possibly leave without taking more.

  I deepen the kiss and take over control.

  It’s like the sun rising in the morning and all the fucking moons aligning at once.

  I hate myself for doing it, but I pull back to make sure she doesn’t regret this and all I see is love in her eyes. I push back a strand of hair off her face and let my fingertip linger on her skin. “I fucking love you so much,” I tell her.

  “I know,” she whispers, refusing to say the words back, though I don’t possibly deserve it. “Take me to bed, Jace.”

  My eyes widen as I look down at her. “Are you sure?”

  She nods her head. “I need you to touch me.”

  My arms curl around her even tighter. “Babe,” I say.

  “Don’t,” she argues. “I know. It doesn’t change anything. You’re still going to walk out that door and it’s still going to crush me when you do, but I need you to touch me.”

  I shake my head as the fear of hurting her again takes over. “Cami, I can’t,” I tell her, though the need within me is stronger than it’s ever been. To feel her skin on mine and expose every inch of her body to my touch would be a fucking gift, but I can’t do that to her again.

  Cami pushes up on her toes again and presses her lips to mine. “Please,” she murmurs against my lips. “Take what’s yours.”

  Fuck me.

  I can’t resist her any longer.

  My hand skims up her body and over her shoulder before I slip my finger under the silky strap of her dress and pull it down over her shoulder. I lean in and press my lips to the exposed skin before devouring it and moving up to the sensitive skin of her neck. She tilts her head in her need for more and lets out a satisfied moan.

  The sound is like music to my ears.

  I lift her off the ground and gently place her down on the counter. I pull back from her neck and watch as I release the fabric off her other shoulder. It slides right down and pools at her waist, exposing her naked body to me.

  I take her in like a man who's just been given a roast after starving for years. Her body is like my god and I fucking worship it. I can’t stand to look and not touch, so I trail my fingers down her shoulder and across her chest.

  Goosebumps appear across her skin and she closes her eyes as she revels in the feel of my touch. “You’re so fucking beautiful,” I murmur into the quiet room.

  Her eyes reopen and they look like molten lava, filled with an intensity that I’ve never seen from her before. They flick down my body and I know she wants to see me, but with her broken hand, to do it herself would be achieving the impossible, so I do it for her.

  I reach for the top button of my shirt and pop it open while never removing my eyes from hers. The electricity sparks between us and the intensity grows with each passing second.

  Her eyes linger on my chest as I reach the next button and then the next right until I’m pulling it open and letting the fabric slide down my arms. It feels as though it’s some sort of striptease, but it’s too sensual to receive such a tacky name.

  I step back into her and she immediately reaches out her good hand and claims my skin as her own. I wait patiently as she explores every inch of my chest and abs while loving every single moment of it.

  I watch her eyes as they trail over my body and it’s almost as though she’s doing her best to commit it all to memory so she doesn’t forget a single detail as she knows this won't be happening again. Though, I can’t blame her, I’ve been doing the exact same thing. Studying the way her chest rises and falls, learning the curve of her waist, studying the freckle to the right of her belly button, and of course, the perfect curve and fullness of her breasts.

  Cami’s hand slides around my waist and she pulls me back into her. I go willingly and our lips come together in an erotic dance.

  “Don’t make me wait any longer,” she tells me.

  Who am I to deny her?

  I slide her off the counter and she wraps her legs around my waist as I walk us down to her room. She fuses her lips to mine and she tastes just like heaven. There’s nothing else on this earth that could possibly even come close to feeling as good as this does.

  I push through the door of her room and she unwraps her legs from around me, only then does the rest of her dress go tumbling down to the ground, revealing what lays hidden beneath.

  The last time we did this, alcohol had a huge deciding factor in it, but this is so different. We both have clear minds and were both well aware of the risks involved. I know tomorrow will suck not having her and every day after it for that matter, but just getting to experience her body one more time is going to have to be enough.

  My pants clatter to the floor with the weight of my phone and keys, and before I know it, I lay Cami down on the bed and I go with her, hovering above her and propping myself up on my elbow as to not crush her with my weight. After all, the crushing will be done in the morning when I walk out of here.

  Her legs instantly open, allowing us to come together completely. My erection lays heavily against her stomach and she releases her nails from my back in order to slip her hand down in between our bodies.

  She wraps her fingers around me, and I swear, I could come from just her touch alone, but I don’t dare. I’m going to make this moment last and I won’t stop until she passes out from my touch.

  As her hand begins to move up and down, I fuse my lips to hers once again. My hand on her waist begins exploring and travels down between her legs. I push two fingers in between her folds and find her more than ready for me.

  My fingers rub over her clit and she lets out a breath as her back arches up into me, asking for more. I b
egin drawing little circles over that little bundle of nerves, making her bite down on her lip and moan out before I continue exploring a little further south.

  I find her entrance and I slip my fingers inside.

  She gasps out and clenches her fists around me, so I do it again, and again, and again. Over and over while using my thumb to continue rubbing those little circles over her clit.

  “Jace,” she pants. “Yes.”

  I move my lips down to her neck and devour her as she continues pumping her fist up and down while running her thumb over my tip. Her other hand keeps flinching and I don’t doubt she’s wanting to use them both, and man, do I wish she could.

  I continue my assault on her neck and she continues arching up into me. Moaning. Panting. Groaning. Biting her lip. You name it and she giving it to me.

  She’s so fucking responsive to my touch that the thought alone spurs me on.

  In, out, around, and around.

  “Fuck, Jace,” she groans as she searches out my lips and throws her casted arm around my neck to pull me to her. “I can’t wait any longer.”

  Our lips collide as I adjust myself between her legs. I slide my fingers out of her and line myself up with her entrance. I meet her eyes before slowly pushing up into her. She sucks in a breath as I continue pushing, right until I’m fully seated inside her.

  Cami’s lip gets lost between her teeth and the nails of her good hand digs into my back. She says my name on a pant and I absolutely love it.

  I begin to pull out before giving it right back. As I continue to move, I slowly increase my speed, winding her body up. My lips move down from her lips, past her neck, and I suck in her nipple before running my tongue over the tip.

  She’s so fucking perfect and then has to go and make this moment just that much better by lacing her fingers through mine. That one simple move has taken this from incredible, mind-blowing sex, to binding us together as I make love to the woman I’m so desperately in love with.