by Meg Ripley
“When—where is he now, did Arty tell you that?” Natalia stressed, already pushing herself to her feet in a frantic search for her shoes. “Come on, Mom, what else did he tell you?”
“Well, he didn’t tell me much, but he said he was worried! He mentioned that Nathan had been asking around for information of Davis Jordan—”
Oh no.
“—But that boy hasn’t been back since that incident at the gas station. It makes no sense why your brother would want to find him instead of stopping by to greet his parents! It’s as if I mean nothing to my children anymore—”
Last night. Nathan had arrived yesterday… and suddenly Jace’s words came back to her full force. He knows my brother is here… he probably knows why.
With a final and hurried farewell to her mother, Natalia ended the phone call, tugging a few pain pills from her bag and tossing them into her mouth before rushing out of her room. She had to go find her brother. She needed to know why he was back here; she could only hope it wouldn’t spell trouble.
****
The reunion between the two siblings had been nothing like Natalia had hoped for. She had all but sprinted toward the pub, hoping that she might find a sign, or maybe find Arty waiting for her to tell her about Nathan’s whereabouts. Instead, when she managed to push her way through the doors of the pub, she found the most unlikely sight.
The pub was empty, save three people there, and the place was in such disarray; a bar fight could be the only logical explanation for it. There were tipped tables and upturned chairs; broken glass glittered over the ground, but it was not enough to distract Natalia from seeing her brother’s face glancing up at her through a bloodstained napkin stuffed up his nose. She recognized the familiar tousled black hair and the shape of his slumped shoulders as easily as she could recognize her own and the years that had passed between them suddenly disappeared—just for a moment—like a wisp of smoke.
Sitting on an opposing chair sat none other than Jace Dillinger, nursing a split lip with a bag of frozen peas, his own dark hair stuck up, framing his face dangerously. His green eyes had widened in surprise upon landing on Natalia. Arty stood between them, huge arms crossed, acting as a wall between the two wounded men.
Natalia didn’t care much for the others, taking several steps toward her brother’s hunched figure automatically. She stopped when his brows furrowed, and she remembered exactly what had transpired; the wall of distance returned.
“G’morning, Natalia,” Arty said somberly.
“What the hell happened?” she asked, ignoring Arty’s greeting.
“These two dumbasses,” Arty grunted, aiming a sharp glare at the two men, “started a ludicrous fight here a few hours ago. Nearly called the cops on the two of ‘em, but managed to get them to sit their asses down.”
Natalia threw her brother a different glare this time, irritated that his temper still hadn’t changed. “Why?”
“Nice to see you too, Nat.” Nathan spoke finally, his voice sounding partially muffled through the napkins stuffed up his nostrils.
“Fuck you, Nate!” Natalia snarled, fists clenching at her sides. “You don’t get to act nonchalant after all these years. Not even one phone call?! I understand why you’d avoid Mom and Dad, but I didn’t realize I’d been so unimportant to you that I’d be cast in the same list!”
“I had my reasons, Nat.” Nathan replied, giving her a half-shrug. “I didn’t owe you or Mom and Dad any explanations.”
“Asshole,” she hissed finally taking those final steps toward her brother. She saw Arty give a start toward her, probably worried she would do something drastic. She wanted to hit him, punch him in his stupid nose for causing her this anguish, but Jace had done that already and all she could stomach to do was to fall to her knees and crush her twin against her chest in a bone-snapping embrace. She felt his arms wrap around her just as quickly, and she nearly broke down when she felt him wheeze against her. “Why do you always have to be such an asshole?”
“Sorry…” he muttered softly against her ear. Tears burned down her cheeks as she clenched her fingers into his jacket. “I wanted to say hi when I saw you yesterday.”
Natalia pulled away, searching Nathan’s face with surprise. “You—what?”
“I did want to tell you that I knew something about your brother,” Jace piped in, earning their attention. “See, I’m not so bad.”
Nathan’s face contorted into a violent expression, his gray eyes black with ire as he pointed a finger at the man. “You have no right to talk to her, Dillinger. Not after that shit stunt you pulled last night. Thanks to you, the entire town is convinced she’s one of your whores now!”
Jace let out a bitter laugh, “You know, I would believe your ‘brotherly over-protection’ if you hadn’t been gone for eight years.”
“Eat shit, you bastard!” Nathan shouted, pushing past his sister to lunge for the dark-haired man. Arty slammed a broad hand over Nathan’s shoulder, shoving him back in his seat.
“Nathan, will you fucking stop for five seconds?” Natalia snapped, earning her a shocked stare from her brother. “Jesus, why do you people care so much about what this town thinks?”
“Wait—Nat,” Nathan gasped, his eyes honing on her with an accusatory stare. “What the hell? Did you want this asshole to kiss you?”
“She sure didn’t hate it,” Jace answered. Natalia shot him a fierce glare, he smirked at her in response. When she looked back at her brother, she was rubbing her temple with a hand.
“Why does it matter whether or not he kissed me?” she turned back toward her brother. “I thought we’d gotten past all this when we left this place.”
“I guess we haven’t,” Nathan replied coldly and when Natalia looked at her brother, there was nothing but disdain in his eyes. “You slept with him, didn’t you?”
Everything froze between the two siblings. They had once been two halves of the same whole. She had been able to feel what he felt as easy as it was to breathe. Time had passed and changed things, yes, but she knew their bond hadn’t really changed all that much. Natalia didn’t have to answer for her brother to know the truth. After a short eternity of connected gazes, Nathan broke away first, looking betrayed and angry. All Natalia could do was stare at him in anguish.
Minutes later, Nathan pulled himself up from his chair and pulled out a wad of cash from his back pocket before slapping it on his seat. “This should cover the damages, Arty,” he muttered before walking off, brushing past Natalia with a series of footsteps that made her feel cold.
“Where you going, Kid?” Arty asked with a sigh.
“My parents’ place,” he replied with a grunt, the swing of the door screeched through the uncomfortable silence. “I’ve got some business with my old man.” And with that, the door slammed shut.
Natalia felt her chin fall to her chest, tears raining from her eyes as she felt her brother’s absence choke the feeling of loneliness against her throat. She flinched when she felt a warm and coarse hand wrap around hers; when Natalia looked up, she saw Jace peering down at her with a look of thinly veiled remorse.
“Sorry about that,” he apologized softly. For a moment, Natalia wanted to slap him, push him away, shout at him for ruining everything, but she couldn’t bear heading back to a cold hotel room where she would entertain her isolation any longer. Clenching her teeth, Natalia succumbed to his touch, her fingers tightening around his as she huffed out sobs through her chest. “Come on… let’s get you out of here.”
She had been well known as the Ice Queen of Riverdale High and people had steered clear, but all Natalia really ever wanted was someone warm to understand her. With a tug of hands, Natalia allowed Jace Dillinger to pull her out of Arty’s pub, the ice around her heart cracking so painfully, she couldn’t help but want to sink away.
****
The second time Natalia found herself in Jace’s apartment, she was sober and more emotionally vulnerable than she could have handled any other tim
e. To her surprise, Jace had led her to a chair and brought her a tall glass of cool water and a box of tissues. He had remained silent the entire time, giving her space as she wiped away stray tears and waited for the churning in her stomach to disappear. Several times, her phone went off, her mother’s number blinking urgently on the screen while Natalia stared at it vacantly.
After the fifth time it went off, she was surprised when Jace reached for the gadget and pressed the power button. With a flick of his thumb, the phone faded to a dark screen and doused them both in a swift silence that felt strangely liberating for Natalia. When he set it back down on the table, Natalia couldn’t hide beneath his soft gaze, the way the corner of his lip quirked gently.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked him suddenly.
He pursed his lips for a moment, “I think it goes without saying.”
“No,” Natalia denied. “Tell me….please.”
He gave her a strange look; one that she couldn’t read. “You know, I’ve known you since elementary school. We were in a few of the same classes for a couple years. You never looked at me; you never really cared. But I would watch you as you studied, and I couldn’t help but wonder why you never cared, when literally everyone else wouldn’t leave me alone.”
He paused for a moment, lifting a hand to rub at the muscles of his neck. The movement was entrancing and made Natalia’s mouth dry up.
“When we got to high school, I did everything I could to get you to notice me. I messed around with lots of girls, but you never even blinked in my direction. You weirded me out, Natalia. And it drove me insane. Then we graduated, and you disappeared for years and I sort of just stuck around here. I got a few odd jobs, fooled around a little more, and even had a girlfriend for almost a year...but nothing seemed to be enough. Then you showed up, and when I saw you, you still had that uncaring look on your face; I honestly felt ridiculously excited. I was a nervous wreck when you agreed to come here, God knows why. I figured, hell, I’ll get in and get out—get that fill and move on with my life. But then you got on top of me and when I felt you, I realized exactly how deep in shit I was.”
“What do you mean?”
Jace grinned at her, and even with a split lip he looked like he was carved from marble or granite stone. Beautiful, untouchable, and completely desirable. “I want you, Nat. I want you more than anything I’ve ever needed before.”
Then he was reaching toward her chin, lifting her face to meet her wide-eyed gaze with one of intent and desire. She knew better than to fall for his words, than to listen to a single thing he said, but something inside her was taught, reverberating like a string with every little touch he cast on her. He made music erupt in her skin, and it had been unlike anything she had ever felt before. Curious and aching, Natalia allowed Jace to press his mouth over hers, and the familiar heat that exploded in her body yesterday reappeared with a brilliant vengeance.
Throwing caution to the wind, Natalia pushed herself to the tips of her toes, closing the distance between their figures and wrapping her arms tight around his neck and shoulders. Jace responded in kind, parting his lips against hers, letting her in to taste that strange, yet intoxicating flavor she found herself addicted to. His hands drifted around her waist, dragging down her back and around the flare of her hips.
The touch sparked her hips to grind against his, forcing Jace to part from their kiss with a sharp hiss. “H-hey, you sure you…?” he trailed off when Natalia tipped her chin to recapture his mouth between her teeth. She gave him a soft moan, pulling at him to lead her back to his bedroom.
Jace shuddered beneath her fingertips, dragging his broad hands down to her thighs before hooking them under her knees. Natalia gave a little bounce at his insistence, wrapping her legs around his waist as he peppered her mouth with kisses. They stumbled a couple of times, and she felt him smile against her mouth when they pushed into his room. When they fell upon the bed, Natalia could feel the heat in her body shoot down to her core and she knew he could see it reflected in her half-lidded gaze.
Their movements weren’t as urgent as their first time together. Jace took his time peeling her clothes off. His hips bucked against hers with more deliberate grazes that left her gasping against his neck and reaching to dig her hands into his hair. When his tongue found the edge of her collarbone, Natalia had found she could no longer deal with his slow pace. She shoved him off, tackling him down to the bed before sealing her mouth over his once more, noting how he moaned when she straddled him.
His hands reached down to her ass, pushing down as she ground hard against him, making the friction rough and delicious.
“Jace,” Natalia moaned, feeling his hands dip past the fabric of her shorts. “I-I want…”
“Yeah?” he replied, rolling over her once more to pin her to the bed. With several frantic kicks and bucks of their hips, the last of their clothes were shed, drowning them both in the sensation of their flesh rubbing together. “Hold on, let me get a condom,” he muttered, but Natalia refused to release him.
“Forget the condom,” she huffed, “Just—just do it already!”
“Are you—” he paused, groaning when she spread her legs wider apart, making him rub against her drenched folds. “Are you on the pill?”
“YES!” she snapped, impatient and wanting him to enter her that very moment. Jace let out another groan, reaching down to rub his fingers against her clit, dragging torturous circles around the sensitive nub. Natalia gasped out a loud moan, bracing her feet against the mattress to grind against his touch. In moment, she felt him align with her entrance, teasing her with mock thrusts that had her biting down hard on her lip.
“Do you want it?” he asked, and Natalia let out a whine.
“Uh-huh,” she huffed, feeling dizzy with desire. She spotted his grin above her and she nearly kicked him.
“I don’t think you do.”
“Jace!”
He chuckled, deep and throaty, “Alright, alright.” He shifted his hips, burying his length between her legs. They both let out a series of moans, basking in the sensations of filling and being filled; the sensation of completion. “How can you be so tight?” he groaned.
“Mmm,” Natalia hummed in pleasure as he began to move. “Oh—oh, yes. Like that.” Her moans rose in pitch as Jace’s fingers blazed fiery trails over her shivering skin. She let out a particularly loud whimper when his fingers found her perked nipples, dragging jolt after jolt of electric pleasure through her body. Her legs wrapped around waist, hips bouncing as he thrust deeper inside of her.
“Faster,” she urged, but Jace had another plan. Suddenly, he pulled out; when Natalia let out a cry of protest, she could only yelp when he grabbed her hips and spun her over to her belly. She pushed herself up to her elbows, gasping as he hovered above her, lifting her hips up to meet his. She could feel him grinding against her; Natalia’s back arched when one of his hands trailed down below her belly to spread her legs out further, his fingers trailing over entrance just as his cock found its way back inside her.
The new position felt amazing, and when he pushed her further down, she could feel him thrust as her nipples rubbed against the sheets beneath. Each touch of his fingers on her folds made her seize, her muscles tightening and clamping hard before releasing. This time, he didn’t hesitate to plow into her, driving into her with such force it was almost impossible to hold back the screams from escaping her throat.
“Oh! Oh, God—Like that! I’m so close!” she heard herself cry, felt her body spasm and flail as he pistoned his hips against hers. It was incredible. It was amazing.
Suddenly, Natalia’s orgasm slammed into her with the force of a tidal wave. Her inner walls clamped down hard over Jace’s cock, milking him and fluttering over his throbbing length until she was seeing white. He bucked harder, faster, panting wildly in tandem to the sound of their bodies slapping together until she felt him stutter against her, his hot release blooming deep within her.
The two lovers
collapsed on the mattress, gasping for air as they waited for the waves of bliss to pass and leave them sighing gently in each other’s arms. Shifting, she felt Jace’s arms wrap around her waist, pulling her close to his chest, pressing languid kisses over her neck. She met his gaze with a half-smile and a caress to his cheek. She could picture herself really liking him, really liking the curve of his jaw, the perk of his smug lips. Natalia found herself envisioning something with Jace different from anything she’d had with anyone before.
“Can I ask you something?” Jace muttered some time later.
“What is it?”
“Would you…” he trailed off, cheeks flushing sheepishly—she found the sight to be so heartbreakingly endearing. “Would you like to stay with me… just a little bit longer?”
There was a strange warmth in her chest, a strange sensation that made her feel like she could reach out and grab that picture of happiness between her and Jace. She knew her family would shout and shake their heads, and Nathan would probably be insanely mad at her for this, but she had been alone for years, and she was quite tired of the isolation.
“Yeah,” she said softly. “I’d like that.”
And for the first time in a long time, Natalia was content, wrapped in a pair of warm arms and a bright smile.
Who the hell cares what other people think?
THE END
Deadly Fortune
Story Description
Rachel’s life has been a constant struggle. After scraping by to get through college, years of sacrifice have left her with little reward. Chained to a desk in a dead-end position, she often finds herself asking, “Is this really all there is?”
Her luck suddenly changes when, one morning, she notices an anonymous transfer into her bank account for two million dollars. As she comes to grips with her sudden windfall, she finds her life threatened by an anonymous group who is hell-bent on prying her away from her newly gained fortune. A dangerously handsome stranger named Dylan mysteriously arrives just in time, claiming to be sent to protect her for reasons he won't disclose.