Chapter 9 Jace
NINE
JACE
Lannie is in my bedroom and all I can think is…I’m glad I cleaned the floor.
How is it possible that I get to kiss and touch this gorgeous man? My crush. But this doesn’t feel like a crush anymore.
He pulls off his Henley—slowly—and every exposed inch of his body is perfect. Well, not really perfect—there’s a scar where a badger scratched him a few years ago. The farmer’s tan because he wouldn’t mow his and our yards shirtless. A bruise on his shoulder—
“What’s that from?”
He ducks his head. A shy Lannie is cute as fuck. “I tripped over a rock.”
“A rock?” I laugh.
“It was a big rock, Jace.”
“And you didn’t see it?”
He rubs the back of his neck and shrugs. “I was trying to help an otter cub.”
And this is exactly why I love him—fuck. But I don’t dwell on what that means because his shirt is now off and I get to touch him.
My hands fit perfectly on his waist. Lannie sucks in a breath, and my eyes dart to his, trying to memorize his expression. I lean in and gently kiss the bruise on his shoulder.
“Jace…” My name comes out with a rush of breath.
I brush my fingers through the dark hair on his chest and then slowly trail them down to the waistband of his jeans. There’s so much I want. What if I don’t get this chance again?
It was never like this with Felix. He rushed everything. Not that we did much. I would always stop it. And I’m so glad I did.
Lannie is my first. “I’ve never touched a man before,” I admit, watching the desire on his face. In his eyes. “Not like this.”
“You’re my first too, Jace—my first guy. Can I undress you?”
I need to pinch myself. Maybe this is a dream. But I nod. Just in case it isn’t.
Excitement mixes with nervousness. Lannie has seen me without a shirt. Summers. Going to the pool. Time spent at the lake. Fishing. Swimming.
But this is different. Lannie grabs the edges of my shirt and pulls my shirt over my head. His eyes wander over me. Taking in everything. I feel exposed. Wanted.
He smiles. And it’s so Lannie. “You’re beautiful, Jace. Sexy.”
Is he just saying that? “I’m really not.”
“Uuuuuu.”
“Hey.”
“This isn’t up for debate.” He cups my cheek. “There are things we can agree to disagree on. Whether I’m a good Rook player—”
“You’re not.”
“But you being gorgeous isn’t up for debate.” Lannie’s eyes shine with amusement. “I’m the more experienced one. I know these things.”
He’s talking too much. I need more touching now. I start to mention that, but talking becomes impossible when his hand settles on my chest. “Your heart is beating so fast.”
“Because of you.”
His hands circle my waist, and leaning in, he kisses that same spot on my chest. I can’t help it.
I slide my fingers into his silky hair and grab on.
My heart rate triples as he kisses across my chest. I swear he’s going slow on purpose.
But then his mouth is on my nipple and he sucks.
I gasp as desire shoots through me. My hand tightens, holding on.
He flicks his tongue over the hard nub, and I’m seconds away from losing it.
I pull his hair to get his attention. Lannie’s eyes are hazy with desire. His mouth open. His lips wet. Fuck.
“Bed. Now.”
He scrambles out of his jeans, and I feel a moment of disappointment. I wanted to strip those off. But I’m distracted by the bulge in his underwear and the head of his cock peeking out. My mouth goes dry. I’m excited. Nervous.
“Do you need help?”
“No.”
If Lannie touches me right now, it’ll be over.
The birds are there again, fluttering in my stomach.
But I give him a saucy look as I slide off my jeans.
If I had any doubts before about Lannie being attracted to me, they’re gone now.
His gaze is on me, and in a moment of bravery, I pull my briefs down until my cock pops out.
His breathing is shallow. His pupils dilated. All because of me.
“Bed,” I say again. “Now.”
He grins and lies back on the bed, stretching his body out. Well hell. Placing his hands behind his head, he puts himself on display. For me.
Emotion clogs my throat, but I find my voice. “You’re still wearing underwear.”
“Yeah.” Lannie bites his lip playfully. “I was hoping you’d take them off.”
Oh-my-god. But I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge. My hands shake slightly as I hook my fingers in the sides of his black briefs. They barely cover his swollen cock, and in another moment of bravery, I kiss the exposed tip and suck the precum into my mouth.
He jerks in response. “Jace.”
I strip his briefs down and off and return to my goal. Tasting him.
“I need to kiss you.”
Kissing is also good. He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me against him.
Our bodies slide together. Skin on skin.
Lannie hand curls around my nape as we kiss.
Possessive, yet gentle. I’m so turned on.
I feel like a live wire needing something to ground to.
But the moment our cocks slide together, everything else ceases to matter.
Lannie groans and wraps his hand around both our shafts.
“Lube?” he asks breathlessly. And for a moment, I’m thrown. Not because I don’t have any, but because my brain is stuck on Lannie clutching both our dicks in his hand.
“Jace?”
“Right. Sorry.” I lean over to the top drawer of my nightstand and grab the lube. He holds out his hand, and I pour probably more than we need. But I’m working on limited brainpower.
Lannie chuckles. Deep and husky and low in his throat.
“Hurry. Please.”
Lannie kisses me. “We’ve got all night.”
He wraps his hand around us again, and this time it’s smoother and so, so good. I kiss Lannie hard as I thrust into his hand.
“So damn hot,” he says, and then his body tightens and he’s coming. The sight sends me over the edge. Our cum mixes together on our bodies.
How can anything ever top this experience?
We clean up, and surprisingly, Lannie wants to snuggle. I tuck my face into the crook of his neck when he pulls me against him.
“Was that okay?” he asks.
I laugh. Seriously? Shouldn’t I be the one asking that? “You were perfect.”
He brushes my sweaty hair off my face. “Perfect, huh? But that’s just a guess, right? I mean, I was your first.”
He never ceases to amaze me. Is he really okay with all this? I tilt my head as if considering his words. “A guess, maybe. But with a statistically high probability.”
That earns me another kiss and a slap on the ass.
Lannie stays, and I’m glad Nikki’s with her boyfriend. We wake several times in the night, me reaching for him or him reaching for me. It’s almost an unspoken rule. Have as much sex as possible and don’t talk about Lannie going home tomorrow.
In the morning, we shower together, and I make breakfast. It’s not awkward. Almost as if we fit so well together, there’s no room for doubt.
But all of that changes when we say goodbye.
I brush my hand over his shirt. “I don’t know how to do this. Let you go. Pretend this never happened.”
“Then don’t.” He tips my chin up, his eyes searching. “This started as me helping you, but I don’t want it to end.”
Hope makes me giddy. “What about Mom and Dad?”
He hesitates. “I can’t ask you to hide. I know what that’s like.”
I touch his face. “What happened with your parents?”
He swallows. “My father is a leader in the church. Questioning things wasn’t allowed. At a certain point, I decided I couldn’t do it anymore, and they decided they no longer had a son.”
I hug him. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’m not.” His lips brush my temple. “I found my family—found you.”
“I don’t want to tell anyone,” I say quickly. “Not until we figure this out. Not even Nikki.”
“That’s good.” Lannie laughs. “I think she’s the source of all the gossip.”
I’m pretty sure he’s right. But without her gossiping with my sister, we wouldn’t be here. “So we’re agreed? Secret boyfriends.”
“Secret boyfriends.” Then he cradles my face in his hands and kisses me long and deep.