by J. L. Monro
It was when we were alone and back at the hotel that I knew I was truly falling for Jace. He gave me attention like I had never received and I reveled in it.
We had just come back in from dinner and were lying in bed after another energetic love making session when Jace’s phone rang. He snuggled into me, clearly wanting to ignore the sound, but after the fourth time, it became apparent that someone really wanted his attention.
“Aren’t you going to answer that?”
“I don’t want to. I want to have you again.” He began to tickle my stomach and swing his leg over me so that I was underneath him and at his mercy. When the phone rang again, I’d had enough.
“Jace, just answer the phone and then we can get back to this right away.”
He pouted and nipped my lip before rolling away to pick up his phone.
“You got Jace.”
I saw his body instantly tense, so I sat up and moved over to sit next to him.
“When did it happen? Is he ok?” This let me know it was something to do with his dad. “ Yeah, ok, I’ll be there in a few hours,” he said and hung up.
“Jace?” He didn’t respond. “ Jace, talk to me.”
“It’s Dad. He drank himself into a stupor and passed out. When he woke up, he was in a rage and lashed out at one of the caregivers who was there at the house. That’s who was on the phone. She just quit. She’s gonna wait until I get back before she leaves, but she won’t be back.”
He looked tired and drained. The playful, loving man that I was with just a few minutes ago was gone. Right then, all my fears fell away because I could see a difference. I didn’t want to be another crutch like I was to my sisters. For Jace, I wanted to be his support and not because I felt obligated, but because I loved him. Whoa. There’s an admission. I wasn’t sure I was ready to admit it aloud, but I was not afraid of it either.
I moved behind him and put my hands on his shoulders in an attempt to massage some of the stress out of him. I placed my lips against his neck.
Let’s go see your dad.”
Jace turned to me and looked surprised. “A part of me thought you would run away from me again. I don’t think I could cope if you did. I need you more than anything, Mara; I want you at my side forever.”
“Forever is a long time.”
“It’s not long enough.” Oh. My. I think I just swooned. He pulled me around onto his lap, and for the next few minutes, he just kissed me. It wasn’t like the kisses we’d shared before. It was passionate and it was just as intense, and it felt as though he was trying to talk to me. With each peck and nip and gentle suckle, he was telling me exactly how he felt about me.
We were back in England in a few hours and back at Jace’s in record time. I had offered to go home and call him later but he wanted me with him. I had no idea what to expect, and I don’t think Jace did either.
The caregiver who had been looking after Jace’s father greeted us as soon as we got through the door. “Hello Mr. Bryce. I am really sorry about this, but he’s just outdone himself this weekend, and I really can’t manage anymore.”
“Hi, Ana, what happened?”
“The drinking as usual. As you know, he has the capacity to make his own decisions, so I can’t stop him from drinking, but he just wouldn’t stop. Then he passed out. I called the ambulance, but by the time they arrived, he was already starting to wake up. He wouldn’t go with them and when they left, he was just so aggressive. Mainly verbally, but you know he likes to throw things when he gets into a rage.” She genuinely looked sorry to be leaving, but I could also see the strain that had taken its toll.
“Don’t worry, Ana. Thank you for all that you’ve done. Tell the agency not to send another worker for now. I’ll give them a call myself shortly. I’ll stay here and look after him until he settles down a bit.”
She offered him a weak smile and left.
I turned to him and took his hand. “What do you want to do?”
“I need to go and see to him. I don’t know what state he’s going to be in.” He blew out a heavy breath and raked his fingers through his hair. “He’s my dad. He’s supposed to be the strong one. I’m so tired. It never gets better. He’s just swirling in a pit of despair, and I’m scared, Mara. I’m scared that one day I’m going to go to check on him and he’s gonna be dead.”
I pulled him close to me and he wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on the top of my head.
“Come on. Let’s do this.”
“You’re coming with me?”
“Yes, I am. I’m going to be there for you as much or as little as you need. You’re not on your own with this, anymore.”
“I think I just fell in love with you a little more.”
“You can show me in orgasms. Now come on.” He chuckled and led me to his dad’s room.
I held my breath. The last time I had seen his dad he called me a prostitute. Who knows what status I’d get today.
His dad was in his wheelchair looking out the window. He turned as he heard the footsteps come into his room.
“Has Ana gone?”
“Yeah, Dad. You didn’t really leave her much choice.” The coldness in Jace’s voice was not like him, but I knew it was more frustration than anything else.
“I didn’t mean to treat her like that.”
“Well, you did. Now, she’s gone. Therefore, it’ll just be Mara and me helping you for a while.” His dad looked at me and then hung his head a little lower.
“You don’t need to do that; just put me in a home.” I saw the air leave Jace’s body. No matter how angry or frustrated he was with his dad, it was evident that he didn’t want him in a home. He was going out of his way to make such special adaptations to his new house to accommodate his dad’s needs and it was more than clear just how much his dad meant to him. Right now, he was just lost for words.
I was looking around the room to get an idea of what type of man Jace’s father was. There wasn’t much to go on other than the chessboard in the corner. It wasn’t a new one, so I assumed he’d had it for years.
“Do you play chess, Mr. Bryce?” He actually wheeled around to look at me when I asked.
“It’s John. No Mr. Bryce needed.” He stared at me for a second. He must have been placing where he’d seen my face before and the concentration on his face was quickly replaced with a look of shame and embarrassment. I’m guessing he remembered what he said to me the last time we met.
“John?”
“Yes, I play chess. Although, I haven’t for many years now. Not since . . .” I didn’t need him to tell me when the last time was that he played chess. It was written in the air.
“I haven’t played for years either. My dad taught me how to play but it’s not something I pick up much now.”
“He doesn’t play with you anymore?”
“No, he passed away when I was six.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. I sometimes play on my own but it’s not the same as having an opponent. Would you like to play? We’ve just come back from France, and it would be nice to relax over a game.”
He looked at the box for the longest time and then looked at me. I was holding my breath because I thought he was going to tell me he didn’t want to play, but he didn’t.
“A game would be nice.”
“Jace, I would love a coffee right now. Would you be able to get me one, please?” Jace stood with his mouth agape. I’m not sure why, but I knew I would ask him later. “Jace?”
He finally snapped out of it. “Yeah, sure. Dad, do you want anything?”
“I’ll have a coffee as well. Thanks, son.”
Jace hurried out the room as I got the game of chess down and set it out on a table next to John’s bed.
“I used to play with Jace’s mother; that’s why it’s a little dusty.”
I continued to lay out the pieces while I spoke. “Daddy always said that you should keep your mind sharp and that chess was a good way to keep it active.”
“You’re dad sounds like he was a smart man.”
“He was. He was the absolute best. My mum found the game boring. She enjoyed being creative. I think my sisters take after her more, but I was a daddy’s girl. Always will be.” For the first time in years, I was able to talk about my parents without a knot forming in my stomach.
“You’re mum not alive, either?” He asked the question as though the very thought that I might not have both my parents was absurd.
“No, they died together in a car crash. My grandparents raised me and my three sisters.”
“Oh, God, I am so sorry.”
“Please, it’s okay. I mean I still hurt for them and miss them terribly. Almost every day I wonder what it would be like to have them here with me, to guide me, and sometimes just to hug me, but I’m learning that I can’t live in the past.”
“I know what that’s like. I still miss Jace’s mother. She was the other half of my heart. She balanced me like no other. I just feel alone and abandoned without her.”
“Sometimes, I’m angry at my parents for leaving me. Maybe if they hadn’t loved each other as much as they did, they would be here with me now.”
“I know that feeling. I know it’s stupid, but I feel like she could have fought harder to stay with me. She didn’t fight hard enough or think what it would do to me if she left.”
“You can’t keep living in the past though, can you?”
“No, you can’t.”
We both sat there. Deep in our own thoughts. Battling our own inner pain.
“I’ve been a terrible father, you know.”
“Yet, he still loves you. So that means there’s time to change.”
“I don’t know where to start.”
“Daddy always told me that sorry was a good place.”
“It doesn’t seem enough.”
“Well, Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
“Wise little head you’ve got on your shoulders. You remind me of his mother. It’s probably why he’s so taken with you.”
I tried to hide my blush while I fiddled with the pieces some more.
“Let’s get this game sorted shall we.” Both of us were a little rusty at the game but we were content to play to the best of our ability in comfortable silence.
After a little while, there was short knock on the door, and Jace sheepishly entered the room. He put down the coffees and didn’t look like he knew what to do.
“Hey, why don’t you take my spot and play chess with your dad, and I’ll see about putting some dinner together.”
“Yeah, that would be great.”
“How about you, John? You gonna join us for dinner?”
“I can’t tell you the last time I sat down for a proper home cooked meal. Jace isn’t the best of cooks.” He looked at his son with a half-smile and when Jace returned it, I thought that at least some progress had been made.
“Sounds good. I’ll see what miracle I might be able to create. I’ll call you both when it’s ready.”
I left them both in the room, took my coffee with me, and found the kitchen. It was deceptively large, and even though John had said that Jace wasn’t much of a cook, the kitchen was well stocked. I was able to put together a good meal and a dessert.
I was just rolling out pastry for the apple tarte tatin I was going to put in the oven when I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist.
“Thank you,” he purred into my neck, nibbling and kissing me to distraction.
“For what?”
“My dad. This is probably the most content I’ve seen him years.”
“All I did was talk to him. Nothing more.”
“Yeah, but it was a lot more than I’ve been able to do in a long time. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Go back in there and keep him company and I’ll call you both for dinner.”
He gave me a final kiss that lasted longer than I was expecting, but finished a lot sooner than I wanted it to.
I THOUGHT THAT it had probably been a very long time since the two of them had sat down together at a table amicably so I went for a traditional dinner with lots of sides to fill them up. John still looked quite gaunt and there was an urge in me to see him looking well and healthier.
I’d made a traditional roasted chicken with roast potatoes and parsnips with carrots smothered in butter. My tarte was in the oven baking so it would be ready shortly after they finished their meal.
I went to go get Jace and John, and I couldn’t help but eavesdrop on them talking. It was only for a minute and only enough for me to hear that they were talking about nothing consequential. Still, it was progress.
I knocked lightly on the door and popped my head through the crack. Both men looked up at me expectantly.
“Dinner’s ready.” I was slightly nervous now that I thought about it. I had never cooked for a man before. Let alone a man and his father. Granddad always loved my cooking but he could have been biased.
“Great, I’m starving.” Jace got up and started pushing his dad’s wheelchair. I led the way to the table I had set.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I used some of the china in the cupboards. I thought if we were going to have a proper meal then we should sit at a properly laid table.” I was wringing my hands in front of me. They were suddenly sweaty. Definitely unchartered territory for me.
“This is just how Layla used to set the table.” I turned to see unshed tears in John’s eyes. “It’s been a long time.” Jace rested his hand on his father’s shoulder and that was all that was said. With John at the table, Jace followed me to the kitchen to help take out the food.
“God, it all smells so good. I haven’t eaten a proper meal at home in years.”
“Wait until you taste it before you get excited.”
“I know I’m going to love every mouthful.”
“You can’t know that.”
“I know I love you. So that’s all I need to know.”
He gave me a kiss on the cheek as he walked past me to take the chicken to the table. I liked this and knew I could get used to it. I wasn’t going to be afraid.
Talk at the table was light and cheerful enough. Jace’s dad asked him about his recent races and Jace steered clear of any talk to do with his father’s health and his drinking problem. The tension was still there, but I appreciated that both of them were avoiding the subjects that neither of them were ready to deal with.
When both men had eaten until they were about ready to burst, I started to clear the table. “What do you think you’re doing?”
I turned to answer John thinking that I had broken some dinner etiquette that I didn’t know about. Damn, things had been going so well.
“I was just cleaning up, John. I won’t be taking long and then I’ll get out of your hair.” Was it me or were the walls closing in around me. I’ve officially outstayed my welcome. I’d gone one-step too far and made myself too comfortable in their home.
“You cooked your ass off today for two men who are less than deserving. The least we can do is clean up after ourselves while you sit down and put your feet up with a glass of wine.”
“I don’t mind really.”
“Better not argue with him.” Jace came up to me, took the plates out of my hands, and set them back on the table. He then proceeded to take me by the shoulders and steer me toward the living room. Once I was sitting down, he took my shoes off each foot in a loving gesture and propped them up on the sofa. He handed me the remote for the TV and brought in a bottle of wine that I presumed was rosé. “Stay there. I’m gonna clean up and then we’re going to spend the rest of the evening curled up with each other. Our French weekend may have been cut short, but I’m going to make it up to you.”
“You don’t have to do any of this.” Jeez. Jace was doing everything he could to bury himself under my skin.
“I know I don’t have to. Difference is . . . I want to.” With a wink, he turned on his heel and headed back to the kitchen.
I looked for the bag that had my laptop in. It was second nature. I never sat and watched TV. If I sat on the sofa, it was only natural that my laptop take its rightful place on my lap. I couldn’t see the bag anywhere and was beginning to panic when I heard Jace shout. “Go and sit and relax. I’ve hidden that god forsaken thing and you’re not getting it back until I say so.”
How dare he! I have work I need to do. Well, no, I don’t, but I could have some. I just didn’t like the fact that I was being told what to do. With a sigh and a pout, I doubted he heard or saw, I slumped back into the sofa and made myself comfortable. I looked at the bottle of wine and saw that it was good label. Oh well, it would be a shame not to drink it.
It was only when I felt my body shift that I realized I must have fallen asleep. I had dozed off with the empty bottle on my chest. Good look! I felt warm arms wrap around my body and I was slowly lifted off the sofa.
“I can walk. I’ll get a taxi home. Pass me my phone.” At least, I think that’s what I said. I was still half-asleep and mumbling.
“Shhhhhhh.” Jace grumbled, his voice vibrating against the side of my face. “How you can argue when you’re half-asleep is beyond me. You’re spending the night with me tonight.” I was too tired to protest. I already felt like I had stayed longer than I should have, but I’d deal with the issue in the morning.
When Jace laid me down on the bed, I lazily scrambled for the top of the bed to get under the covers. I was freaking exhausted. The travelling, the cooking, the emotional connections . . . I was done in. I needed sleep.
“Oh no, Sweaty Betty! I’ve run you a nice hot bath. You’re gonna soak your body and then you can get into bed.”
“I’m tired.” I whined. I stomped . . . well as best as I could while held down, and I pouted. Meanwhile, Jace had begun to strip me. I would have thought it uncomfortable to have a man undress me, but the way Jace performed the act was so slow and sensual I wished that I could get undressed this way every single day.
Starting from the bottom and working his way up, he placed a soft kiss to the bottom of each of my feet before stroking his hands slowly up both my thighs until he reached the button on my jeans. He took this moment to take a quick look at my face searching for consent to carry on. My lips had parted slightly at the deep, dark lust in his eyes. I didn’t protest and he carried on. Popping the button with the flick of his fingers, he peeled the top of my jeans down and placed heavier kisses over my pelvis, kisses that were helping to create a storm at my core.