by J. L. Monro
“But you don’t feel bad.”
“I know. Love you, honey. Talk to you later.”
Coops was right. I was being a total wimp. A little bit of pressure and I was crumbling. In fairness, I hadn’t done this relationship thing before, but then neither had Jace and, apart from the sex ban he thought he was implementing on me, he was doing pretty well. So far.
JACE MANAGED TO get his dad an appointment at a highly recommended rehab center the same day for an assessment. I stayed at the house and waited for them to get back. I honestly believed that this was something they needed to do together, and I promised Jace I would be there when he got back.
I caught up on my emails and then set about preparing a lasagna and fresh salad for them to eat on their return. The appointment had gone well and John decided to check into rehab the next day, so Jace and I helped him pack and gather all the things that he might need while he was away. Not knowing how long he would be away, John felt confident that he would return no longer dependent on alcohol.
I respected him for what he was doing. Granddad always said a change for the good was better than no change at all. Most of the time he’d been scolding Lana, but I think the statement had merit.
Dinner was light hearted, which pleased me. John was looking forward to getting his life sorted, and I could tell Jace was eager to get his dad back and build the relationship that they should have had.
Later on into the evening, John wanted an early night, leaving me and Jace curled up on the sofa together.
“You know I’ve got to go back to work tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“But we can meet for dinner when I finish work some evenings.” How does this dating thing even work? What’s the protocol?
“You’re cute when you’re out of your comfort zone and have no idea what you’re doing.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
He snuggled me in closer to him and I took the opportunity to inhale a deep breath of him. He brought me so much comfort, and I hoped he didn’t know just how much control over me.
Jace’s phone vibrating interrupted snuggle time, but he still kept me close to him while he took it out his pocket to check the message that had come through.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s Luke. It’s his birthday, so the boys are taking him to a bar for a few drinks. He was just seeing if I was coming.” He looked conflicted, and a little confused. I didn’t want him to skip his friend’s birthday drinks because of me.
“You should go. He’s your friend. I don’t mind. I need to get back to my apartment anyway.”
“It’s not that.” He turned so he was facing me and looked me straight in the eyes. “For the first time, I don’t want to go. I have somewhere I’d much rather be. Right here with you. You’re my party.”
“You’re smooth, you know that.”
“Silky smooth, BonBon.”
“Come on, I’ll come with you. I need to stop off at my apartment to change and pick up a few things. Maybe one night you can stay at mine.”
“Is that a wall I hear crumbling?”
“Ass. Now come on!”
Jace was taking his Dad to rehab in the morning, so I agreed to spend one more night at his place.
I knew Coops had been to my apartment over the weekend so he would have made sure everything was as it should be. I’d left it tidy so I didn’t have to worry about Jace seeing any of my unmentionables on the floor.
Suddenly feeling very nervous about him coming into my home, I told him to wait in the car while I got my stuff and changed. He cocked an eyebrow at me, but didn’t say anything. I wasn’t ashamed of where I lived, but all of Lana’s and Coops teasing was playing with my mind. Lana had once said that to call my apartment boring would be an insult to the word. Coops said my allergy to color was palatable. What if Jace thought the same? For so long my family and friends had thought I was uninteresting, but it had never really bothered me before, or I hadn’t allowed it to. Now, I didn’t want Jace to think that about me.
Just as I put my key in the door of the main building, I found myself upside down and tossed over a very familiar shoulder.
“Jace, what are you doing?” I smacked his back, but it made no difference.
“You didn’t really think I was going to sit in the car and wait like a good boy did you?”
“Silly me. You can put me down now.”
“Nah. I like you like this.”
He carried me all the way up the stairs and took my keys from me to let us in. Only when we were completely inside, did he place me on my feet. Before I could say anything, he took off.
“Where are you going?”
“To snoop before you come up with some excuse to try and stop me. I want to know why you didn’t want me to come in. You hiding another man in here?”
I rolled my eyes. That man could seriously frustrate me to distraction. While Jace made a song and dance of looking in every room, cupboard, and closet, I made my way to my bedroom to pack a fresh bag of clothes. It didn’t take much time, so I quickly took a shower before I got ready for us to meet Luke. Jace came into the bathroom while I was showering.
“Do you mind?”
“Not at all. Just a shame I can’t jump in there with you.” Jace had gotten ready before we left his place. I couldn’t deny that I was disappointed that he wasn’t joining me.
“I like your apartment. It’s nice and clean.”
“But?”
“I didn’t say but.”
“But you were going to. Go on. I doubt you’re going to say anything I haven’t heard before.”
“You’re so defensive. All I would say is that it doesn’t reflect you at all.” I hadn’t heard that. I stopped shampooing my hair and looked at him over my shoulder. “You’re warm and loving, everything that represents home to me. It just doesn’t show here. It’s like your fake front that you put on for others. It’s not the real you.”
“Oh.” I felt uncomfortable. Was that a compliment or just an observation? I think he could tell I was squirming slightly under his analysis, which was made all the worse since I was still naked.
“Come on, BonBon, get you bum in gear. I’ll wait for you in the living room while you get ready.”
He left me to get ready, and I quickly jumped out the shower to get dressed. Once I’d finished drying my hair, I went to my closet to pick out a dress to wear. When I opened the door, there was a little cobalt blue skater dress hanging on the door with a note.
Dear Sis,
I absolutely LOVE that you are finally getting some on a regular basis. Saw this when I was out with Coops and we both thought that this would look phenomenal on you. I know Jace is bound to take you out again soon. If I wasn’t your sister, and you were a guy, or if Coops was straight, we’d both do you.
Wear this with the silver stilettos I bought you. They are under your bed.
Have fun, gorgeous!
Love, Lana and Cooperella! x x x
Sometimes there was nothing to do but love that girl. She was annoying as hell but just as loveable.
When I stepped out into the living room, I couldn’t have asked for a better reaction from Jace. He looked at my face and smiled so devilishly, I wanted to strip him down right where he was. He then took his time to scan my body from head to toe and right back up again.
“We could stay in, I really don’t mind. I’d have more fun stripping you out of that dress.” He looked back down my legs. “The shoes stay on though.” It was seriously tempting.
“Remember what you said? No sex.” I walked past him to pick my keys up off the table, bending inappropriately in front of him so he could catch a glimpse of what I had on underneath my dress, or more importantly . . . what I didn’t. The sharp intake of breath told me that he’d seen.
“Mr. Bryce, if you want control, you’re going to have to take it because I sure as hell will not be giving it away easily. Now, let’s go; the last t
ime I met your friends, I was late and I don’t want to make a habit of it.” I sauntered through the doorway and headed for the stairs. I heard the groan behind me, and soon he was hot on my trail.
Jace moaned and whined about going home the entire way to the bar. I will not deny that I let my dress ride up every now and again while we were in the car. It was fun playing with him.
Once we actually got to the bar, he was even worse . . . to my delight.
“That dress so much as makes it to mid-thigh, we will be going home right that second, and I will be spanking your ass for showing the men in here what is mine.” Thank God, I’d opted not to wear my thong because I would have had to remove it. His tone and the fierce possessiveness in his face melted me on the spot.
“Did I just turn you on, baby?” All I could do was whimper. Why had we come here again? He chuckled and leaned in to kiss me. Gently warming me up and coaxing me to open up to him. I grabbed the lapels of his jacket and pulled him closer to me, and his arms came around my body affirming his desire to be one with me. “We could just leave, BonBon. No one would know.”
“Mmmmmmm.”
“Come on, let’s go.” He took my hand and spun me around so that we could walk back to the door, when I huge hand came down on his shoulder.
“Where do you lovebirds think you’re going?” As much as I liked Zack, I wanted to break his jaw right now. “I know what you two were thinking and that’s not gonna fly tonight. It’s Luke’s birthday; you have to at least come and have one drink and dance.”
Jace was looking at him as if he wanted to kill him and that made me a little happier about the fact that our great escape had been thwarted. Zack was right, anyway. Jace should be there for his friend, but it gave me an idea for later.
Reaching the bar, I saw a few familiar faces even if I couldn’t remember their names. Luke came straight over and gave me a bear hug.
“Hey, Luke.”
“You two sorted your shit out then?”
“Yeah, it looks that way.”
Luke looked over my head and his smile dropped. I automatically looked to see what had caused the change in his body language. Brielle. Headed in our direction.
“Mara, I’m sorry. I didn’t invite her, but I should have told the guys to keep it hush hush, so she didn’t show her face.”
“Don’t worry about it Luke. I’m not fazed.” Lie. Big goddamn mother fucking lie. No woman would enjoy bumping into a woman who had slept with her boyfriend at every single damn outing. A woman who clearly wanted her boyfriend like fish needed water.
“Mara, I didn’t know you were going to be here. Who are you here with?” She didn’t deign to be polite or hide her disgust at me being a part of the group.
“I’m here with Jace. Who are you here with?” If her face contorted anymore, I hoped it would get stuck that way.
“I’m here with my new boyfriend, Eric. Eric, say hi to Mara. She’s Jace’s employee.” Eric seemed like a nice guy. If nice guys eye-fucked you while standing next to his new girlfriend. The pair seemed suited to each other.
I was about to correct her when an arm came around my shoulder.
“She’s not my employee, Brielle. She’s my girlfriend. And she’s going to come and dance with me. Catch you two later.” Jace led me off to the dance floor and spun me so my back was flush against his chest.
“Smooth move, Mr. Bryce.”
“I’m always silky, BonBon.” I laughed and we danced the night away.
So much for going home early. It was well into the early hours of the morning before we got back to Jace’s house. I just wanted to climb into bed, but Jace had other ideas. As soon as we got through the door, he scooped me up, and headed for the bedroom.
“Shhhhhh, my dad’s sleeping. I don’t want to get grounded for making noise.” I had to giggle.
Once we were in the bedroom, my dress was whipped off me in record time, and Jace was on me. I didn’t have time to check where the bed was, but luckily, I landed on it just fine. At first, it was frantic and passionate all in one, then he slowed down, and it became sensual. He was still fully dressed.
“Jace, I need you inside me. Now.” I was about to combust.
“No. The next time we make love, BonBon, I want all of you. Not just sex. Not fucking. No holding back. I want nothing between us. When you’re ready for that, you let me know.” He rolled off me and gave me a last kiss before getting ready for bed.
He wanted to use sex to gain control. Challenge accepted. I undressed and then got ready for bed, taking out the little bag that I’d packed just in case of a situation such as this.
I waited until Jace’s breathing slowed. I knew he wasn’t asleep, but he was close. That’s when I pulled out Felix. I named my B.O.B. Personally, I felt giving it a name made it more personal.
As soon as the first vibration hit my clit, I let out a deep moan. I raised my left knee and began to stoke myself with Felix. All the time, I was imaging it was Jace’s cock touching me, his hands over my body. My back began to arch off the bed. Suddenly, the side lamp was switched on and I felt the sheet whipped from my body. I refused to open my eyes and Jace didn’t say anything for seconds so I knew he was watching.
“Fuck this shit.” Felix was ripped out of my hand and chucked across the room. I could still hear him vibrating. Poor thing. Jace climbed on top of me. He didn’t wait for an invitation, hooking my leg over his arm, and driving home.
“Jesus!” He paused for what seemed like forever to gain composure and then he really started to move. I mean really move. I had to put my hand over my head and press against the headboard to stop my head from banging against it. “You drive me crazy, BonBon; I can’t get enough.”
“Fuck, Jace. Stop talking and make me come.”
AT BREAKFAST, NEITHER Jace nor I could stop smirking at the table. John had even taken to telling us to knock it off. I don’t know how I was going to manage going in to work today. I still hadn’t slept. We’d made love and then we’d fucked until the sun came up.
When John was ready to leave, I gave him a hug and squeeze, something normally out of my comfort zone, but somehow felt natural at the same time. He froze a little at first then returned the hug with more enthusiasm than I could have anticipated.
“You keep my boy out of trouble while I’m gone.”
“I’ll try my best.”
Coops came to pick me up to take me to the office. Jace gave me a long kiss goodbye at the front door with Coops hooting in the background.
“I’ll see you later at your place.”
“Uh huh. Make sure you bring Felix with you. I can’t find him anywhere.” ” He pushed me away from him and turned me around toward Coops car.
“That thing is getting burned at the first opportunity I get.”
I laughed and waved as we pulled away.
Coops and I spent most of the morning catching up on the happenings between Jace and me. When we’d gossiped as much as physically possible, we went back to our desks and got on with some real work. It was late in the afternoon when I got a call from Lana. As soon as I picked up, she was screaming down the phone, but this was not her usual excitement. She was crying.
“Lana, what’s wrong? What’s happened?”
“Oh, Mara. Oh my God, it’s Mitchell. He’s hurt Dana. Really badly this time. She’s in hospital.” Mitchell was Jacobs asshole excuse for a father.
My stomach dropped to my knees. That piece of shit had almost ruined her life once before by getting her pregnant and treating her worse than a doormat, but she’d escaped him and now that he’d come back, he was trying to finish the job.
“I’m on my way, Lana. Which hospital is it?” She was hysterical. There had to be something more. “Lana, talk to me. I’m coming. What are you not telling me?”
“Mills came to see Dana, Mara. She arrived when he was there beating Dana. He killed her, Mara. Mills is dead.”
I couldn’t speak. Mills had been Dana’s friend for years. S
he and her brother had pretty much been a permanent fixture in our house growing up. I hadn’t even noticed the tears falling down my face. They wouldn’t stop. My heart ached so badly.
“Mara, please say something to me. I don’t know what to do. What do I do, Mara? Dana is unconscious. She doesn’t know. I haven’t even told Ma and Pops yet. What do I say to them?” She broke down sobbing.
I took a deep breath. “Lana, stay at the hospital with Dana, in case she wakes up. I will go over to Grandma and Granddad’s and tell them. Call Saz and let her know please, Lana.” She didn’t respond. “Lana!”
“Yes. I’ll call Saz. And Tara. Oh God, I haven’t called Tara.”
“I’ll call Tara, as well. All you need to do is call Saz, okay?”
“Yeah. Oh God, Mara, what if she doesn’t pull through? What about Jakey?”
“Who’s got Jacob?”
“Ma and Pops.”
“FUCK!”
“Okay, Lana. Let me deal with this. I’ll talk to you later.”
“I love you, Mara.”
“Love you, too.”
Lana ended the call first, and I broke down sobbing. My baby sister was lying in a hospital bed at the hands of that monster and her best friend was gone. When she wakes up, she’s going to be destroyed. Mills and Joe were not my family by blood, but they had become part of the family regardless. In all honesty, it would feel unnatural not to have Mills at another family meal.
“Mara, what on earth is going on? What’s wrong?” Coops rushed to my side and held me close. It took me a few minutes to control my tears and explain to him what had happened.
“Fucking hell. Get your stuff together and I’ll take you to your grandparents. You’re in no fit state to drive.”
I was going through the motions; listing all the things I needed to do, the order in which I needed to inform people. Dana was going to need a bag for the hospital when she woke up . . . because she was going to wake up. I couldn’t take losing one of my sisters. There was no way I could survive that.