by Winters, KB
“Although, I think you got part of that headline wrong,” he continued. “The single part.”
My heart raced even faster, as the oxygen in the room got sucked out. I was in over my head and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep treading water. “You’re not?”
He shook his head slowly, his blue eyes never leaving mine. “I’m very taken, Kat.” He pressed in closer, leaving less than an inch between our bodies, and dropped his mouth to my ear, his breath hot on the side of my neck. “With you.”
Before I could say another word—not that any came to mind—his lips pressed into the skin at the base of my earlobe, and he licked down my neck. I gasped as he pulled the neck of my sweater aside to give his mouth access to my shoulder and collarbone. I squeezed my legs together against the rapidly building heat and pressure between them, and arched against the wall to stay on my feet, as his every touch melted me from the inside out, like molten lava. “Jace,” I whispered into his ear as he rimmed his tongue under the hollow part of my collarbone. I shivered and said his name again, “Jace.”
He met my mouth, in a slow kiss that took the rest of my breath away, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing our bodies flush against each other. We fit together so perfectly that it was easy and natural to begin the slow dance together, each shift and movement sending a new rain of shivers over me as the kiss deepened and became more urgent. Jace’s hands rested on my hips, swiveling them against his pelvis, letting me feel the hard bulge underneath his tight jeans. “Oh God,” I moaned.
“It’s even better without the apron,” Jace teased.
I laughed and pulled back so he could pull off the apron. He tossed it onto the table and took a beat to stare at me, his eyes wandering over every inch of me, his eyes wide as though I were standing there naked. I looked down at myself and then back to Jace. “What are you thinking?” I asked.
He cocked his head thoughtfully. “How fucking beautiful you are.”
I rolled my eyes and scoffed softly at the line.
Jace’s eyes flashed to mine, slicing into me as he corrected, “Kat, don’t do that. You’re beautiful. I don’t say things I don’t mean. Ever.”
His stern tone sobered me up and for a moment, I wondered if he was really upset with me. Jace didn’t leave me alone for long, instead, he gathered me into his arms and looked down into my eyes. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, and I don’t give a fuck if that’s cheesy.”
I laughed softly and nodded my head, letting his words absorb into me and fill me with a new perspective on myself. If this impossibly hot man thought I was beautiful, then there had to be some truth to it. When I looked in the mirror, all I saw were my flaws—largely in part to the fact that my once upon a time husband, had abandoned my body in preference of another—I was slender, always had been, but my breasts had changed, my stomach had a small roll below the navel, and my hips and thighs had stretch marks on them.
“I want you, Kat, like I’ve never wanted anyone before.”
Jace’s blue eyes were dark and I got lost in them as we came together again. He kissed the side of my face, trailing back to my lips, which he took with a new hunger, plunging past my lips and stroking the inside of my mouth with his velvet tongue, building an intense heat between us that became unbearable. As soon as his fingers slipped under my sweater and grazed my bare skin, I flung the sweater off over my head and let it drop to the floor, displaying the black lacy bralette I’d changed into, knowing he’d see it. There was no lining on the garment, and my hard nipples peeked through, a detail that Jace didn’t miss, his eyes zeroing in on them with a hypnotized look.
“Good God,” Jace breathed, his fingers taking over the path he’d traced with his eyes, running up my rib cage, over the swell of the soft underside of each breast, and then, tortuously slowly, to the tender buds, caressing each nipple, grinning at me when I shuddered.
I was gripped with desire and needed Jace’s skin on mine. I reached for the hem of his shirt and yanked it up, and over his head, tossing it to the floor with my discarded sweater. “Should we take this to the bedroom?” I asked, my voice low and husky.
“I think we need to, cause let me tell you, I have some things I need to do to you right now that I’m not sure I can do with Winnie the Pooh staring at me,” Jace answered, tipping his chin towards a series of magnets on the fridge beside me, his words a seductive drawl as he grinned down at me, still lazily toying with my stiff nipples.
“Right,” I said with a soft laugh. I took his hand, and leaving the shirts on the floor, led him down the short hallway to my bedroom. Luckily, the bathroom separated Jax and my room, easing my mind a little that he’d be insulated against the noises I was bound to make.
I didn’t bother turning on the lights, but once the door was closed, Jace flipped the switch, illuminating the room with a soft glow from the lamp perched on top of the dresser to the right of the door. “Perfect,” he said with a smile. “Now I can see you. Although, I think it’s time I got to see a little more, whaddaya think?” He said it, like a question, but his fingers were already releasing the top button on my jeans. “I’m betting there is a knockout pair of panties that go with this.”
My cheeks warmed. “Maybe.” I bit my lip while he unzipped my pants, his fingers skilled but working in slow motion, building the crackling tension until it was almost unbearable.
Jace slid my jeans down my hips, revealing that he was right about the panties. I’d selected a black lace thong that was cut high on the sides and made my legs look longer and leaner. I stepped out of the jeans, and Jace gripped my hips, spinning me around to see the outfit from all angles. I blushed deeper as he inspected me, wondering what he was thinking. When I revolved back the full 360 to face him, he was smiling and his eyes were ablaze with pure lust. “Even better than my dreams,” he said, his voice deep and throaty.
“You’ve been fantasizing about me?” I asked, shooting my brows up and adding a scandalized edge to my tone, even though the thought secretly thrilled me, making me even wetter. I placed my fingers on his bare chest, taking the time to explore his firm chest and elegant lines on all his tattoos, remembering how I’d felt the first time I’d seen them on full display, and as I got nearer the waist band of his jeans, began to wonder just how much of his body was inked. “Care to share some of these thoughts?”
Jace chuckled. “Well, I’d have to say, most of them start out very much like this…” he started, his hands back to exploring my skin, running up the sides of my thighs, over my hips, grazing my ribs, palming my breasts.
I watched him, nibbling on my lower lip to keep from moaning as he lowered to his knees, bringing his face so close, I could feel his warm breath through the lacy fabric. His lips teased the fabric, and when he finally pulled them down over my hips, and down my thighs, I gasped when his lips found my most sensitive part, just brushing my skin with his tongue. He parted me with his fingers, and licked a small circle around my clit, lapping at the wetness. When he grit out a sound of pure pleasure, my hands went to his head, grabbing his thick hair, releasing my own low moan. He used his fingers to separate me as his tongue explored, and my legs were shaking so bad, that when he inserted a finger deep inside me, rubbing along the inside at the perfect curve, they buckled and I fell against Jace.
He got up from the floor and hastily removed his jeans and I marveled at him standing before me in his black boxers, wondering how on earth he had managed to get even more sinfully delicious to look at. My hands couldn’t help themselves, going for the waist of his boxers, and outlining the huge bulge that was tenting the front of the underwear. He smiled but it quickly cut off when I wrapped my hand around his shaft through the fabric. “Fuck, Kat!”
“That was the idea,” I teased, before stripping the boxers off him, wanting—needing—his skin. All of it. Every last inch.
Jace backed me up until my legs hit the edge of my queen sized bed, and kissed me.
He spun me
around. “I want you bent over the bed, spread your legs,” he instructed with a growl in my ear.
I did as he said, and waited, feeling exposed and vulnerable. A moment passed, and when I craned around to look behind me, I saw Jace fishing a condom from his jeans pocket. I watched as he put it on, the sight of his fully erect cock, making me squeeze my thighs together. When he came back to me, he pushed them apart again and knelt down, putting his face between them, his lips and tongue picking up where they left off, teasing and exploring every inch of my pussy. His tongue slid up and down, then back again, leaving me panting and shuddering with each pass. When his tongue rimmed the outside of my ass, I jolted and gripped the comforter for dear life. He hadn’t even started fucking me and I was ready to explode. I couldn’t remember ever feeling this way before. The mixture of excitement, newness, and anxiety mixed together into a new kind of pleasure cocktail.
I was already on the edge, and when Jace inserted a finger deep inside me, I shuddered as an intense orgasm ripped through every fiber, releasing the pressure between my thighs, but he didn’t let me rest, instead, he thrust his finger inside me until I was stretched and the juices were pouring from me. “God, Kat, you feel amazing. You taste amazing too. I want to feel every inch of you,” he said, a second before his fingers slid back up, and slowly, he inserted a finger inside my ass. I gasped at the new sensation, but I arched back letting myself go with it, wanting Jace to take me on whatever ride he wanted, because it was all too incredible. He pulled out long enough to stroke me with his sheathed cock, sliding it up and down my pussy, pressing in, then pulling away, teasing me. I pushed my ass higher in the air, moaning and begging for him to give me more. “Jace, please, I need you inside me. Don’t make me wait,” I pleaded.
He stroked his hands over my ass, and finally entered me, his large cock slid inside my pussy, and I had to shove my face into the bed to muffle my moaning. After a few thrusts, he added his finger back inside my ass, and I clawed at the covers, hitting all new heights as he began rocking into me with his throbbing shaft, the tip bottoming out when he was fully inside me. The painful pleasure caused me to spill over the edge of another orgasm and was breathlessly panting while he continued fucking me from both sides. I was still coming down from the buzzing heights of pleasure, when Jace’s cock pulsed, thickening inside me, and like a firework, I was shot back up, ready to come all over his dick again. I moaned loudly into the bed, and when he pushed the finger in my ass just a tiny bit further, my moan turned to a scream as I hit the ceiling again, with Jace not far behind, pulsing as he released inside me.
When he was finished, he pulled out, and I instantly missed him, despite the exhaustion of every muscle in my body. He kissed a trail down my spine, before pulling me upright. I sagged against him, completely spent, and he kissed me, leaving the taste of my own excitement on my lips.
Chapter Twelve — Kat
Jace and I lay still and silent in the darkness, our bodies still tangled together under the light cover of the sheet, heat radiating between us. Jace had caught his breath, but the pattern wasn’t regular enough for me to think he was asleep. I couldn’t see his face in the dark, but I could feel him watching me. There was something so intimate about it, that it was almost more overwhelming than the physical closeness when we’d made love to each other.
Jace ran his hand down my side, caressing my skin with tender fingers, reassuring me that he was there with me, and something about the simple touch, let me know he was feeling the same way I was. Lost in thoughts and the aftermath.
Neither of us said a word or made a move, content to snuggle together, skin on skin, breaths mingled, until our breathing evened out and we slipped away into a satisfied sleep.
I stirred on Jace’s chest at the sound of the doorbell echoing down the hall. It was a soft chime, muffled by the bedroom door, and it took a moment for the sound to register in my love drunk mind, but when it hit me, I jolted upright. The blinds were drawn, but around the edges, I could see light streaming into the room and knew Jace and I had slept through the whole night together. At my motions, Jace opened his eyes. “What’s wrong?” He mumbled, his face halfway buried in the pile of pillows behind us.
The doorbell rang again, following by a pounding sound. “Oh my God! That’s probably Hilda, wondering where Jax is! She’s probably worried sick!”
“Do you want me to go?” Jace asked, sitting up. The sheet fell away from his chest and I sucked in a breath, wishing the situation was different and I could nestle back against him for the rest of the morning.
“No, not yet. She can’t see you leaving. What time is it?” I scrambled, reaching over Jace to snatch my phone from the nightstand where I’d left it plugged in to charge the night before. “Crap, it’s almost seven. I’m gonna be late for work!”
I jumped out of bed and pulled on the first pair of pants I could grab out of the closet, and shimmied into a shirt, before throwing the lights on so Jace could get dressed as well. I closed the bedroom door, picking up my discarded clothing as I ran down the hall to the front door. I stashed the small pile on the kitchen counter, and then went to the door, hoping Hilda wouldn’t be able to tell what I’d been doing with Jace. Not that she would judge, she’d probably say “about damn time, girl!” I smiled and flung open the door to find a stranger on my porch, a woman in a khaki colored skirt and a mousy brown top. Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and before I could ask who she was, she barked, “Are you Katherine Ryan?” When I nodded, she pushed into the room, pressing a packet of papers into my chest.
“My name is Matilda Parker, I’m with Child Protective Services. These are official orders, signed by a judge, to place Jax Martin in Mr. And Mrs. Martin’s custody. There will be a hearing to decide a more permanent arrangement,” the woman explained, so matter of fact that I couldn’t imagine that she even realized that she was talking to a human, a mother. To her, I was just another number on her docket, a case to be dealt with, not a living, breathing woman who was about to be separated from her child. “Please bring Jax and his belongings, Mr. And Mrs. Martin are waiting,” she said, pointing across the street where two dark cars were parked, engines running, and wipers flashing every few seconds to wipe away the sprinkle of rain.
“Wait! What?” My hands shook as I tried to keep a grip on the papers. I scanned the first few lines, but my brain couldn’t process a word of it. The woman started down the hall and I lashed out, grabbing her arm. “No, no! You can’t take him! Please! Don’t do this! Jax isn’t in any danger here,” I pleaded.
The woman gave me a pitying look for a second, before her stern mask went back in place, and when she spoke again, her voice was softer. “Ms. Ryan, I’m sorry. It’s not up to me. I have orders from a judge. You’ll get to go before the courts and they’ll get this sorted out in due time.”
I shook my head, “Please, no, don’t do this.” She turned away, looked around and I lost my shaky grip on her arm. “Wait!” I said, rallying my strength. “Let me get him, I need a minute with Jax. I need to see my son.”
She considered me and then nodded slowly. “I’ll be waiting on the porch. You have ten minutes.”
“Thank you.”
She left the room but the front door remained open, and I was very aware of the fact that there were police officers waiting below in case things went bad. I looked out at the two black cars, wondering which one Mitch and Hannah were sitting in. My heart thrashed inside my chest, a mix of panic and righteous anger, and it was all I could do to stop myself from storming down the steps and ripping the car door off the hinges to get to Mitch.
Instead, I took a deep, steeling breath and wiped the tears from my eyes. As I walked down the hallway, my steps small and slow, as though I was marching towards the gallows. I glanced at my bedroom door and wondered if I should go tell Jace what was happening. The sound of Jax making noises behind his door, stole my attention, and I gingerly opened his door to find him standing on the other side, Mickey sit
ting next to him, while he snuggled into his blanket. “Mama?” he whimpered.
The sound shattered what was left of my heart, and all I could do was sink to the floor and gather him in my arms, keeping my eyes above his head so he couldn’t see me crying, although I couldn’t stop from trembling as I gripped him tight. “Daddy is here to get you, baby,” I told him, fighting to keep my voice steady.
“Daddy?” He repeated in his tiny voice.
“Uh huh, let’s get Binkie Bear, and go see him, okay?” I pinched my eyes closed and sucked in a sob.
“Mama okay?”
I nodded against his head, no longer trusting my voice. I released him and flicked on the lamp by his bed. He turned and found his favorite stuffed animal, and jumped back to me, “Binkie!”
I smiled through the tears and reached for his hand.
“Come on MeeMee,” he called to Mickey, unable to fully pronounce his name. Mickey understood and sprang to his legs to chase after us.
I led Jax by the hand towards the open front door. Madeline stepped inside and knelt down to Jax. “Hello Jax, I’m Madeline. I’m here to take you to see your daddy.”
Jax’s expression flickered as he looked up at me for confirmation. A lump had lodged in my throat, sealing it off, and I nodded, holding my breath to keep the new batch of tears contained.
“Come on honey,” the woman said, grabbing for Jax’s hand. “Say goodbye to Mom.”
Jax still looked confused, but he did what she said and I ran to him again to give him a kiss. I watched them leave, and waited until I saw Mitch get out of one of the cars and grab him. Only then, did my tears pause, as my heartbreak sharpened to a searing hot poker of hate.
I didn’t know what it was going to take—but I was going to get my baby back. And that douchebag asshole was going to pay. I ran to the bathroom and leaned over the toilet. The knots in my stomach kept me from hurling, but I had to. I needed to let go of these feelings inside.