Chapter 37
Rachel
O nce we returned to the house, I walked over to the windows and slid them shut. After I flipped the locks, I gazed outside at the beach and the endless black of sea and sky. The sand appeared white with deep-blue shadows, painting another world on top of our own.
I was barely registering the scene before me, my mind returning to Jase. His eyes hadn’t left me since we fled the club, and I did everything I could to pretend I didn’t see him but failed miserably. The memory of what we did while dancing kept replaying in my head during the drive and the very slow walk back up the front steps. It was like a heated, twisted loop of images—his firm hands touching me, his fangs in my neck, the sensation of being claimed.
Frustration welled up, and I clenched my fists—and thighs—I should have left the dance floor when things got too intense. Now it was all I could think about.
I shouldn’t have allowed that to happen. But I did. Why?
Jase wasn’t my friend. But as the question lingered, I had to admit the truth: I wasn’t even sure if he was still my enemy.
Lucy vanished down the hall while the rest of us unpacked a few things we’d left at the door when we first arrived—water bottles, snacks, and anything else we could scrounge up for the night.
She and Tony have been extra cautious regarding Jase being around me.
It was likely because Jase bit me on the dance floor and Lucy was ready to punch him in the throat for that. They didn’t want him to lose control again. I never told them that I gave him permission to drink from me. Granted, I was drunk.
“I’m not going to sleep, but I might close my eyes for a while,” Lucy said, emerging from the hallway. “Not that it does much, but it can help with recharge, and we’ll need our energy tomorrow. Staying up all night just because I can is also boring as hell.”
“I’ll take the couch,” Tony added. “Rachel, you take the other bed.” He nodded at Jase. “Just keep the lights off, and I’ll fall asleep fine.”
After discussing our plans for tomorrow morning, I found extra blankets in the hall closet and set them up for Tony before heading into the bedroom. Lucy changed into her sweatpants and tank top, slipping under the covers on the other twin bed. I noticed Jase heading toward the simply furnished office down the hall, decorated with beach-themed knickknacks and a chair facing the large window overlooking the sea. I needed sleep, too, but the sounds of the waves were more appealing. Remembering Jase’s solitary walk earlier, I decided that was what I probably needed, too.
An hour passed before I got out of bed, my legs tangled up in the sheets before I slipped out the back door. I needed space to breathe, and being inside the house with Jase only twenty feet away wasn’t where I wanted to be. The cool night air would clear my mind. The thought of the ocean and the waves crashing against the shore felt like the only escape from the constant battle inside my head.
Once outside, I walked down the wooden stairs and stepped onto the sand, the grainy texture pressing against my bare feet. I closed my eyes, breathing in deeply. The saltwater filled my lungs, the wind caressing me gently and pushing the loose strands of my braid from my face. I allowed myself to enter a meditative state, a familiar exercise the coven taught me to keep me grounded.
After a few minutes of deep breathing, I opened my eyes and glanced up at the office windows Jase had been brooding by earlier. He was no longer there. Although my anxiety had lessened, what happened at the club left me deeply conflicted.
“Taking another nightly walk sounds like a great idea. I’ll join you,” Jase said, his smooth, irritatingly calm voice causing an involuntary ripple down my spine and my stomach to twist.
Though Jase being here wasn’t the worst thing, I let out a frustrated breath. “That would defeat the purpose of walking alone. You had your time earlier. It’s my turn.”
There was no way I’d admit to him or myself that his presence was oddly relaxing.
He laughed at my remark. A dark sound that only made my irritation grow even as my shoulders eased.
Jase had a nice laugh.
“You’re not walking alone,” he said.
I whirled around, eyes flashing with annoyance. “Sorry, Daddy, I need some space from you.”
“Funny,” he said, “considering how you let me finger fuck you on the dance floor. I doubt space is your top priority.”
My chest tightened, and my cheeks burned red from embarrassment and something else. I bit my lip. “That was a mistake. Just like you said before pushing off me and leaving me standing there alone,” I muttered. “It was a mistake that won’t happen again.”
His green eyes glinted in the moonlight like emeralds as he drew near. “I don’t think you believe that for a second. The moans you made are a little contradictory to that statement.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Jase was right there before I could, his hand cupping my left cheek. The words died on my tongue as he suddenly crashed his lips against mine like he’d done in the club when he had me pinned against the wall. His other hand tangled in my hair, pulling my head closer as he deepened the kiss.
No. No. No.
I fucking hated that I liked it.
It was nothing like the kiss at the club, though. This kiss was rougher, more demanding, a silent claim that made every part of me burn with wanton need.
When he pulled back, I couldn’t catch my breath. “Stop doing that. What the fuck do you want from me?”
“You.” His voice was a promise, low and unwavering. “Just … you.”
“Me?”
“Well, maybe not when you’re being a brat, like right now,” he smirked, and I gaped at him.
“Talk about contradictory. You kissed me at the club and then pulled back like I burned you, right before you ran away like a little bitch,” I retorted, but then I instantly regretted how harsh that sounded.
His expression hardened as he wrapped his hand around my throat, pulling me closer. He slammed my body against his, gripping my hair tighter in his fist. The possessiveness of his hold sent a rush of heat through my body, igniting something deep within me. “For the longest time, I told myself all I wanted was to kill you,” he confessed, his voice rough. “I thought I could convince myself it was revenge, but it was never about that. I’m not afraid to admit that anymore.”
My heart raced in my chest as his thumb grazed the edge of my jaw. “Let go of me,” I demanded, even though every part of me didn’t want him to.
A wicked, slow smile tugged at his lips. “You really want me to?”
He traced my lips with his thumb, pausing as if savoring the moment. Then, with gentle pressure, he pressed down on my lower lip, parting my mouth ever so slightly. His feather-light touch sent a welcoming shiver straight down my spine again; his gaze locked onto mine. It felt like a storm brewing in the depths of his beautiful eyes, making my pulse quicken.
I glared at him, and my breaths grew shallow. The anger I wanted to feel melted under the weight of his touch, and I swallowed hard. I couldn’t even bring myself to respond. The words I wanted to say would be a lie, yet the truth would betray me.
“I thought so.” His smile deepened. “Because you feel it, too?”
I shook my head, ready to deny everything. How could I admit what I felt to the man who had disrupted my life so severely not that long ago? This feeling of being drawn to him couldn’t be real.
Jase’s lips brushed mine again before I could stop him, and this time, the kiss was ruthless—leaving me fighting for air.
I told myself to push Jase away, to fight back, but my body had other ideas. Instead, wetness pooled between my legs. Before I could clench my thighs together, Jase’s hand released my hair and slid down my body, and he ran his palm gingerly up my inner thigh, stopping right between my legs. His grip on my neck tightened just enough to keep me grounded, and I melted into him as he rubbed my pussy, my pajama shorts creating a barrier of friction to his touch. As the pleasure built, my hands fisted his shirt, pulling me closer.
“We’re going to finish what we started in that club,” he breathed against my lips as he released the kiss. “Lay the fuck down, angel. I have to taste you.”
It was pretty obvious in his tone he wasn’t talking about my blood. Slowly, against my better judgment, I kneeled against the sand and settled my back on the ground, the grains getting into my long hair.
Jase didn’t waste a moment teasing me—I wanted him to take me immediately. It was as if he needed this more than anything and was ready to take it. He slid my shorts down my legs, taking a moment to admire me, and then he settled himself in between my thighs, his breathing heavy as he inhaled my aroused scent.
“You have no idea how much I have wanted to do this.…” he professed. It was an unexpected confession. I barely had the time to draw in a breath, let alone say anything, before he used his fangs to snip the fabric of my panties and began feasting on my wet pussy.
Oh my God.
His tongue found my clit, circling it mercilessly and stimulating me in all the ways I loved. My finger knotted into his wind-whipped black hair, my eyes rolling back into my skull as I struggled not to scream in pleasure. It felt good.
So fucking good.
My body was entirely under his control, and at that moment, I didn’t want to have it any other way. Waves of bliss rose through me, crashing against the very essence of my being. Soon, it became apparent that his tongue wasn’t enough; he needed to touch me more.
Fuck yes.
Jase pushed two fingers into my soaked entrance and rammed them inside just as fiercely, almost like he wanted to both please and punish me.
My lips parted, but it was nothing but heavy gasps. I was shaking. My body was shaking beneath his hands and mouth. I needed him closer.
His mouth and fingers weren’t enough. I raised my hips, grinding them into Jase’s face and prompting him to take more of me.
And oh God, he did.
He brought me to the heights of pleasure that had one of my hands fly to my mouth, only to prevent a scream that would have undoubtedly broken from my lips as my orgasm struck. Unexpectedly, hard and fast. I squirmed desperately, lost in the whirlpool of pleasure that wouldn’t release its hold on me. My entire body was trembling, but Jase didn’t stop.
Instead, he seemed determined to draw out the pleasure as much as he could, reminding me I belonged to him at that moment. The pleasure dragged on and on until my vision swam.
Then and only then did he release me, his lips glistening beneath the moonlight.
A lingering thrill hit me as I came down from the high, reminding me that this wouldn’t be the last time, no matter how much I didn’t want to admit it.
I wanted more.