“We really have to tell people, Poppy. Even though our families are on board, most of our friends don’t know about us. It’s weird. They are going to think me moving in with you is weird.” I moved to the kitchen to get some water. “It’s beyond time, I don’t want our relationship to be another LTZ spectacle. Plus, when we got back together, we agreed not to play games.”
“I totally agree.” Alex followed me and sat at the counter crossing her long, tan legs, hooking one foot under her ankle. “It’s not our thing.”
The next few weeks the band was scattered around, living their own lives so Alex and I concentrated on moving me into her house. Because we decided to keep my condo as our place in the city, there wasn’t much to move. After so many years on the road, I never got overly attached to material possessions other than my instruments. Plus, with all our endorsements and freebees, I had enough shoes, clothes, and personal products for both places.
Jen and Becca had finally finished their move into the guest house at Alex’s property, so the four of us spent a lot of time together. My other sisters and folks came back out to visit and met Alex’s dad.
When we were back in the city, we had dinner with Alex’s mom and her brother and sister. Our parents and siblings were fully on board with our relationship, we just needed to pull the trigger and go public in front of my bandmates and Zoey. Which still felt like the hardest part, for some reason.
We weren’t too worried about it though; Alex and I were blissfully happy to be entrenched in our own world.
I was surprised at how much I loved working with the horses. Alex taught me some of the basics, like mucking stalls, feeding them, putting them out to pasture, and my favorite—grooming. Bingo became my guy. When I methodically brushed out his coat every morning and combed his mane and tail, we bonded. He waited at the fence surrounding the pasture for me to give him carrots, and I swear he smiled when he saw me.
Gloria was in worse shape, but Alex was so patient and caring. She’d hired a wonderful veterinarian who had given her an exam and had measured her body chemistry to help manage her appetite. Alex taught me that when horses went for a long time without food, they had physical changes in their body that compromised their ability to digest nutrients, which made it difficult to recover.
It made me so angry that such a sweet horse had been mistreated and malnourished.
Alex had worked miracles, though. At first, she fed her small amounts of special food every hour, then every two hours, then three, and so on. Slowly and surely Gloria gained weight and was able to move to a more normal feed schedule. Meanwhile, Alex started her physical therapy routine slowly. First, by walking her gently through the pastures. As she built up strength, she let her trot and canter on a line. Not only was this good for her body, but it created such an amazing bond between my Poppy and her rescue.
We rejoiced and celebrated each step of her recovery, but the years of abuse took its toll. She had been frightened and defensive, but Alex was patiently working through all of it and a sweet and loving mare was emerging.
Witnessing how she was with the horses made me fall even more in love with Alex each day.
A part of me was secretly ashamed of myself. For as long as I’d known her, I’d been so engrossed in my band. I’d never taken the time to learn why she was so passionate about her rescues.
My eyes were now open. Experiencing just a fraction of what Alex had been doing all around the world made me a not-so-instant convert. Rather than focus on the years I hadn’t paid enough attention, I planned to make it up to her. Nothing would keep me from helping her save as many horses as we could.
Sitting on the front porch with my iPad, I was searching for property in the area when Alex bounced over to me.
“There you are!” Alex bounded up the stairs. “Good Lord, you are so sexy in your reading glasses.”
“I wasn’t hard to find, I’ve been sitting here for an hour.” I set my iPad down and pulled her into my lap.
“I thought we’re taking the four o’clock ferry.” Alex stroked my poppy tattoo. “Are you packed?”
“No.” I sighed. “I’m thinking about bailing for a day or two, they don’t really need me right away.”
“Jace, didn’t you say the movie people chartered a private jet for you guys? You have to go.” She nudged me with her shoulder.
“Not when I’d rather be here with you.” I cradled her head with my hands and drew her to me, kissing down her neck softly and nibbling on her earlobe. “Especially because Jen and Becca are in town and we have the place to ourselves.”
“You are so bad.” Alex giggled and then sucked in a breath when I suckled on the hollow of her throat. Cupping her shoulders, I stroked down her bare, toned arms and pulled off her tank top and threw it on the porch.
“Sometimes it’s okay to be bad.” I licked her ear and tweaked each of her nipples between my fingers, rolling them into hard points.
“Don’t I know it.” Alex shifted to straddle and undulate against my cock.
“Poppy, I’ve left you for the band so many times. I don’t want to go,” I murmured, peeling my shirt off and chucking it down on top of hers.
“Beth, I hear you callin’, but I can’t come home right now.” Alex sang a line from the KISS song.
“How do you know the words to so many ancient rock songs?” I grazed her nipple lightly between my teeth.
“I’m a good student.” Alex nodded and nuzzled my neck before scooting off me, pulling down her cutoffs and tiny panties and tossing them on our pile of clothes. Kneeling before me, she unzipped my jeans and pulled out my throbbing cock and stroked me lovingly. God, she was so, so beautiful.
Caressing my balls with one hand, Alex gripped the base and licked the underside of my hard length like an ice-cream cone, before sucking my tip, hard, into her mouth. Purring against me, she flattened her tongue and took me almost all the way down her throat before repeating the sequence several times, driving me to madness. My hips involuntarily thrusted at the sheer exquisite decadence of her deep-throating me.
“Jesus, Poppy.” Sweat broke out on my brow.
“Mmmmm.” She caught my eye and hummed against my cock.
“That feels—ahhhh.” It was all over when she took me fully into her mouth and dipped her tongue into my tiny hole and swirled. An electric storm consumed my entire body and I flooded her mouth.
Lifting her gently to standing, I shimmied out of my jeans, stood, and led her through the house to her bedroom. Worshipping her tight, lithe body until she came apart became my mission, which I accomplished. She flopped into my arms like a noodle, staring at me through glassy, blue eyes. Her expression was dreamy. Open. Emotional.
She breathed out softly. “That was unbelievable.”
We’d had moments like these over the years. Moments where I knew we were meant for each other. Since we’d moved in together, each time we made love bonded us even closer. I’d never felt so sure of anything in my life. We were solid. Definitive. I had full trust in who we were individually and as a couple.
Alex reached for me and nothing mattered but the elation I felt when I was with her. So intense. So exquisite.
When her breathing slowed and she fell asleep, I quietly slipped out of bed and went to the porch to retrieve my iPad. Grabbing my device and our pile of clothes, I went back to her and crawled back into bed. Loading the Alaska Airlines website, I checked flights in the morning. Finding one that left around 8 a.m., I quickly booked a first-class ticket to LA for the next day and texted the guys to let them know to go without me.
“When do you have to go?” Alex mumbled, half-asleep.
“Not until tomorrow.” I lay back down and wrapped my arms around my beautiful nymph. “I want to stay here with you.”
“Can you do that?” Alex wriggled back against me.
“I just did.”
Chapter 22
ALEX
Once Jace returned from Los Angeles, we had every intention of in
viting the band over, so they’d know we were serious. Unfortunately, Ty and Zoey went another round in the drama department and by the time they made up, the guys were once again spread out and doing their own thing.
So, it never quite worked out.
Then Zoey left her firm, moved in with Ty, and was in her own sex bubble. Rather than make it such an issue, we figured I’d just come with Jace to New York for the premiere of Phantom Uprising.
Easy peasy.
Plus, we had our own shit going on.
With the holidays and winter right around the corner, Jace, Becca, Jen, and I were busy from dawn to dusk getting the ranch ready for our first cold season. We built a dry hay-shed and had enough delivered to get us through any potential snow days. Luckily, we didn’t get too many in the Pacific Northwest, but I didn’t want to be caught off guard. I bought a large generator and put together some emergency supplies.
Becca and Jen gave all of our blankets a wash and the tack a good thorough cleaning and conditioning. We also bought some new bedding for the stalls, in case of bad weather when Gloria and Bingo had to stay inside.
Jace was surprisingly handy and installed a ton of new floodlights around the property. Next, he and Jen paved a wide pathway from the house to the barn out of flagstone. We all took a few days to check all the fences, mow the pasture one last time, have all the equipment serviced, and install an automatic waterer for the barn.
After a couple of weeks of intense labor, we were done. Becca cooked us an amazing dinner. Over a few bottles of wine, we made a list of all the things we planned to do next year, once we had more horses to take care of.
Life was perfect. The holidays were planned. Jace only had a few more band commitments, and then we’d have an entire year just to be together. With no other responsibilities other than the ranch.
Satisfied with my life, I was relaxing in the living room with a glass of wine and a book when my phone pinged.
Zoey: U there?
Alex: Y
Zoey: So, apparently, Ty is a gazillionaire.
Alex: ??
Zoey: He wants me to work for his foundation.
Alex: So, your dream job – awesome.
Zoey: Are my dreams coming true? I’m having a hard time believing all of this is happening.
Alex: It is, embrace it.
Zoey: I’m sorry I’ve been so busy. I do want us to get together.
Alex: I’ve been busy too, let’s do it soon.
Zoey: Yes! Love you
Alex: Love you.
“Hey, I hate to interrupt.” Jace stood in the doorway, buff arms above his head gripping the crown molding. His sweats hung low on his hips, and my mouth salivated at the happy trail that was visible from his taut abs to the waistband.
“I’m on board with a sexy interruption!” I motioned him over.
“I have the info for New York, get your mind out of the gutter.” Jace came over and sat next to me.
“Oooh!” I squealed. “Let me see!”
Just as we began to go over his itinerary, Jen knocked on the front door and came in without waiting. Her face was crumpled with grief.
“Jen, what’s wrong?” Jace bolted to her. “Is it Mom?”
“No.” She erupted in tears. “I need to speak with you alone.”
“Anything you say can be said in front of Alex, Jen.” Jace scolded. “We don’t have any secrets. Tell me what’s going on.”
“I just got off the phone with Jessica.” Jen could barely talk.
“Jessica?” Jace seemed clueless.
“Cassie’s sister.”
Jace’s face went white. “What did she want?”
“Cassie’s dead.” Jen’s voice caught; tears streamed down her face.
“Wait. What? Shit.” Jace plopped down next to me shellshocked. I gripped his knee, searching his face for a reaction.
“She was killed in a car crash a few days ago.” Jen sat down opposite us. “She left behind the baby I saw her with. A girl named Helena.”
“Oh.” Jace’s face was still blank.
“The funeral is on Saturday.” Jen closed her eyes and sighed heavily.
“I can’t go. I’ll be in New York,” Jace’s voice was strangely robotic, completely devoid of emotion.
“The family wants to get some DNA from you, J-bird,” Jen said softly. “As soon as possible.”
“Why?” Jace asked, his voice distant. Detached.
“They think you’re the baby’s father,” I interjected, trying to catch his eye.
My heart was beating out of my chest. How could this happen just when we found our perfect balance? Our lives were completely shattered with one phone call. Shaking the negative thoughts from my brain I decided it didn’t matter.
I would be there for Jace, in any way he needed me to.
“Jen, let us have a few minutes,” I said gently.
“Sure.” Jen stood to leave. “I’m heading back out to our place. I left her number on the kitchen counter.”
We sat silently for at least fifteen minutes. Jace’s hands were clasped in a giant fist, his elbows resting on his knees. His head hung down; his hair was tousled around his face. I remained where I was, unsure of what to do or say. I was so scared about whatever was going to happen next, I almost relished the limbo we were in.
“Fuck.” Jace finally broke the silence.
“You should give her a call.”
“I know, but I don’t want to.” Jace looked at me, fear permeated his gaze.
“This little girl could be a huge blessing to your life.” I eeked out a smile, trying to be positive.
“I don’t want to be a father to her child.” Jace’s voice caught. “I’m feeling like I’m having an out-of-body experience right now. How the fuck does this happen?”
“It’s going to be okay, Jace. We will figure all of this out, I’m not going anywhere.” I got up placed my hands over his.
“Yet,” Jace spat and abruptly stood and walked into the kitchen.
I followed him but didn’t react. This was intense. Fighting with him over a stupid comment wasn’t going to help things.
He picked up the slip of paper Jen had left him and grabbed his mobile and punched in the number before I could stop him. My initial worry was that Cassie’s family shouldn’t have his direct, private phone number. But it hit me that if Helena was Jace’s daughter and Jace and I were together, the infant child would become part of our lives. I involuntarily shivered and wondered if it was me that Jace was worried about.
In the middle of my own thoughts, I didn’t pay close attention to his conversation. My brain fogged over. Mostly Jace grunted “nos” “I don’t knows” “uh-huhs” and “okay.” He asked why her family wanted him to take a paternity test when Cassie told Jen that Jace wasn’t the father of her kid a few months ago.
Unfortunately, judging by his frustration when he hung up, he didn’t seem to get any answers.
“So?” I said tentatively.
“They are demanding that I do a DNA test. Cassie apparently left a will naming me as the girl’s father.” Jace slumped down on the couch. “If I don’t agree, they are threatening to go to the press and then to court.”
“If they threatened you, maybe we should get a lawyer.” I tried to be helpful and include myself so that he knew I’d stand behind him. “I could talk to Zoey when I’m at her house tomorrow.”
“No!” Jace held up his finger. “No. No. No. I do not want Zoey or Ty or any of the guys to know about this. Not yet. Maybe not ever, if I can help it.”
“Okay. Then we need to find a lawyer.”
“Alex, let me just process. And think.” Jace scrubbed his hands over his scruffy face and kept them over his eyes.
I marveled at how gorgeous he was even in a stressful situation. Physically, he did it for me like no one ever would. His hair was streaked a million different colors of blond, his body had developed a leaner, muscular physique from his work on the ranch, and his piercing green eyes
—Gawd.
But watching him try to control his emotions in order to reason through this situation—I loved him. I loved every single part of him, and if Helena was part of him, I knew I’d love her too.
“Jace, babe. We should do whatever we need to do to find out if Helena is your baby.” I sounded almost enthusiastic, I hoped he could tell that my intentions were good.
“Well, sure. You want to make sure this baby isn’t mine,” Jace said sharply, cutting me off.
“No. Yes. I mean—” I stammered before recovering. “What I meant was that either way we need to know.”
“Alex. Please. Can you try to keep your thoughts to yourself right now? Is that too much to ask? It’s a lot to take in, and I just want a few minutes to sit here and think.” Jace brought his fists back up to his eyes.
“Okay.” I felt hurt but supportive of his own process.
So we sat in silence again for easily half an hour.
“I’m scared out of my mind right now,” Jace finally said so quietly I could barely hear him.
“I know. What can I do?”
“Make all of this go away?” he said sadly.
“I wish I could.” I tried to empathize with him.
“Yeah, I know you probably do,” he muttered and brought a shaky hand to his brow.
In all the years I’d known him, I’d never seen Jace break down. My earlier assessment of his calm demeanor was wrong. He was freaking the fuck out. I held out my hand to him and he clasped it to his chest and pulled me over. Wrapping my arms around him, I hugged him as tight as I could.
“I’m not going to leave, Jace,” I tried to assure him. “No matter what.”
“Don’t make that promise, Alex.” Jace stroked my hair. “I might have a baby to take care of soon. Jesus.”
“We will cross that bridge when we come to it.” I looked up at him, but he was staring off into the distance.
“I should just go and see her,” he said, almost to himself. “If I see her maybe I’ll know whether I need to lawyer up.”
“I disagree, before you see her you need to get a lawyer, Jace.” I stroked his chin. “You have deep pockets. You need to protect yourself, or at least have some help with this process.”
LIMITLESS: A Less Than Zero Rockstar Romance: Book 2: Jace & Alex Page 23