Chapter 40
CHAPTER 40
JACE
I’m in love with Kinsley Jones.
Do I want to tell her?
Every second of every day.
Have I told her?
No. I have not.
It’s not that I’m a coward or worried she doesn’t feel the same way.
Okay, I’m a little worried she might not feel the same way.
For me, these feelings have been there for years. I’ve loved her since the first time I woke up with her in my arms all those years ago. That love didn’t disappear when we were apart, it just tucked itself away until we could be together again.
But for her, we’ve been together for only two months. Then again, we’ve spent that time being around each other practically 24/7. Hell, we’ve been opting to share a hotel suite for the past month since she stayed with me at my flat in Monaco.
So is it really too soon?
Asking for a friend.
Because the words are on the verge of bursting out of me.
Literally.
Just last week I bit my tongue so hard I swear I was seconds away from adding a scar right alongside the other one.
And it’s getting harder.
Every morning she wakes up in my arms and the moment her eyes flutter open, I have to roll out of bed and rush into the loo so I don’t let them slip out when I’m under a sleepy haze.
My sister says I need to man up and tell her. That there’s no way Kinsley doesn’t feel the same. When I asked her how she knows that, she shrugged and said she could see it in the way she looks at me. “It’s the way Mum always looks at Dad,” she said.
I’d always wanted a love like my parents. The kind of love that withstood it all. Where the love between you is so powerful that others can’t help but stop and marvel in it. A love that inspires romance novels and people daydream of.
The kind of love that knocks you on your arse and changes how you view the world. Because with them everything is brighter, more colorful. The bad days aren’t as crushing when they’re there to hold you through it and the good ones are something you’ll never forget.
It’s the kind of love that crosses lifetimes and universes. A love that finds you over and over again because you were always meant to be. Then. Now. Forever.
I thought I had it all those years ago.
Then it was gone.
Now I have my second chance at that love.
And I plan on making this the final beginning to our inevitable forever.
I know I have to tell her.
There’s a lot I have to tell her.
And I will.
Just not tonight.
Sydney volunteered to watch the boys so I could take Kinsley out on a date. And she eagerly accepted the extra few quid I slipped her to keep them overnight.
Tonight is for just me and her. It’s only our second kid-free date and I want to give Kinsley a night where she can dress up in one of her dresses and not have to worry about anything other than having a good time.
I love our boys with all my heart, but it’s always good to take time to be just Jace and Kinsley.
I look up from my phone when the bedroom door opens and Kinsley steps out. Her light blue sundress hugs her chest, the skirt flowing out from her waist, ending just above her knees. Her hair cascades over her shoulders in soft waves, half pinned up in the golden clips I gave her a couple days ago.
“Jesus, sweetheart. You look stunning.”
I walk over and cup the side of her face, tilting her head and kissing her softly. She hums, placing her hands on my chest. “You don’t look too shabby yourself, handsome.”
I thread our fingers, bringing her knuckles up to my lips. “Are you ready to go?”
She nods and we make our way to my waiting car outside the hotel. I help her settle into the passenger seat before sliding behind the wheel.
I drive with one hand on the wheel, the other on her thigh as she rests hers over it. Every so often I glance over and watch her as she takes in the city outside the window with a soft smile.
When I pull up to the restaurant, I hop out of the car and open her door. As it always does when we touch, my skin tingles when her hand slides into mine.
We’re seated right away at a secluded table in the back side of the soft lit patio. I pull out her chair for her before settling in my own across from her.
“I feel like you’re so far away,” she whispers.
The table between us is maybe two feet long, but I hate any amount of distance when it comes to her anyway. With a glance around the area, I get up and drag my chair to the side.
She giggles as I shuffle things around the table so that my place setting is next to hers. I lean over and with my hand cradling her jaw, pull her to me for a soft kiss. “Better?”
She hums, taking my hand and laying them on the table. “Much.”
The waiter comes over and takes our order, smirking at the new seating arrangements. He leaves a moment later and I watch the candlelight dance over Kinsley’s face.
“What?” she asks.
“I’m just thinking about how lucky I am.”
She smiles. “About as lucky as I am.”
We meet in the middle for a tender kiss that’s interrupted by our appetizers being delivered. We dig into the bread and dips, Kinsley reaching over to wipe my chin when some escapes out the side of my mouth.
Laughter breaks out next to us and she glances over. I follow her gaze to the family seated at a table on the other side of the patio.
The mum is wiping off the face of her youngest as the dad and two boys laugh when the little girl grabs another fist full of her food, smearing it over the mother’s face.
Instead of lashing out, the mum licks her lips and rubs her nose against the toddlers, her shoulders shaking.
“Do you want more kids?” Kinsley asks softly.
Our eyes meet and I tilt my head. “Do you?”
“Yeah. I think maybe one or two.”
An image conjures in my mind. A little boy with my blond hair and her golden eyes chases Beck and Coop around the back yard. A little girl breaks away from them, toddling over to me. I pick her up and brush her dirty blonde curls out of her piercing blue eyes.
Turning to my side as Kinsley tucks herself under my arm, I lean down and brush my lips against hers as our little girl giggles and the boys groan.
I blink and the image burns itself into my hopes and dreams.
“One or two sounds perfect.” My voice is barely a whisper and she smiles.
Music filters through the small patio area and I glance around as older couples stand. They make their way to a cleared area off to the side and begin to sway to the romantic melodies.
I look over at Kinsley as she watches the couples. Pushing my chair back, I hold out my hand and she looks up with bright eyes. She slips her hand into mine and I guide her to the makeshift dance floor, spinning her before pulling her tight against my chest.
We sway to the music, her hand in mine tucked against my chest. Her other hand plays with the hair at the base of my neck and my thumb brushes her hip.
“Thank you for tonight.”
“I should be the one thanking you.”
“And why’s that?”
“For giving me a chance.”
“Jace—”
“I care about you a lot, Kinsley. I have for a while now.”
“Me too,” she whispers and I shake my head.
“You have no idea how much you mean to me.” I lean my forehead against hers. “But I’ll spend every day of the rest of my life showing you if you’ll let me.”
“Jace.” She breathes out shakily as she presses up on her toes, sealing her lips over mine.
The kiss starts off slow but it isn’t long before her fingers lace through my hair and my hands flex on her hips as we steal each other’s every breath.
Her body fits perfectly against mine and I groan when she shifts, her hip brushing against my quickly hardening cock.
Pulling back slightly, her dazed eyes slowly blink open. They dance between mine and her finger slides over my lips. “If we don’t stop, I don’t think I’ll be able to make it through dinner.”
As if on cue, I see the waiter drop off our food.
“Okay, sweetheart. Dinner first. Dessert later.”
The drive back to the hotel is filled with soft brushes of my hand on her thigh and the press of her lips to my knuckles.
I toss my keys to the doorman when we pull up out front of the hotel and practically run through the reception, a giggling Kinsley trailing behind me with her hand in mine.
We jump onto the lift just as the doors are about to close and I silently thank whatever cosmic force out there that allows us to have the small area to ourselves.
Pulling her against me, I tilt her head back with a hold on her jaw and seal my lips over hers in a hungry kiss. She moans into my mouth as I walk her backwards until her back meets the wall of the lift.
Her leg lifts, wrapping around my hip and I drop my hand, running my fingers over the smooth skin. My lips trail down her neck and she drops her head back against the wall, her heavy breaths filling the quiet space.
I slide my hand under the hem of her dress until my thumb brushes against her center. “Tell me, angel, how long have you been this wet?”
“Since I walked out of the room to see you standing there in your suit.”
I pull back and she smirks up at me before using her hold on my hair to pull my face down to hers. She rolls her hips, causing my thumb to press against her and we both groan at the contact.
The lift dings and I glance to the side as the doors open on our floor. Bending, I lift Kinsley over my shoulder and she squeals, laughing as I quickly walk down the hall to our suite.
I’m just getting to our door when a key is held up in my periphery. I chuckle and tap her arse. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
Her laugh quickly turns into a moan, when I slip my hand up her skirt and my fingers under her underwear, brushing against her.
The room is dark except for the light coming through the large windows and I head straight for our room across the shared space. Kicking the door closed, I toss her onto the bed and she bounces with a giggle.
I follow her down and brace myself with my hands on either side of her head, taking her lips with mine. Her legs instantly wrap around my waist, her fingers diving into my hair as I press myself against her.
She rips at my shirt and I pull back. Buttons fly all over as I rip it apart and shove it down my arms before slamming my mouth back on hers.
Her fingernails scrape down my back and I growl into the kiss, nipping at her lip. I roll my hips and she gasps, tilting her head back at the friction.
“Jace,” she moans.
“I know, sweetheart. Let me take care of you.”
I trail my lips down her neck, nipping at her chest through the fabric over her dress as my fingers curl over the hem of her underwear. She lifts her hips and I slide them down her legs, tucking them into my pocket.
I bunch her skirt up on her lips and kiss my way down until I bury myself between her thighs. She moans at the first swipe of my tongue, her fingers finding purchase in my hair and her thighs are over my shoulders.
I bring her to the edge and she whimpers as I plunge a finger inside her tight pussy. “Are you going to come all over my face, angel?”
“Please,” she breathes.
“Please what?”
“Let me come.”
“Where?” I keep pumping my finger in and out as my thumb rubs over her clit.
Her head lifts and her lust filled eyes meet mine. “Please let me come all over your face.”
I growl and seal my mouth over her clit, sucking hard. Her back arches and she screams as I curl my finger, rubbing that perfect spot inside her.
“Come for me.”
Her legs shake as she pulses around my hand and I lick up every bit of her orgasm. Crawling up her body, I slam my lips to hers and she moans as she tastes herself on my tongue.
Her hands fumble with my belt and she pushes my pants and boxers over my hips. I groan when her hand wraps around my cock, thrusting my hips into her hold.
Pushing up, I stand and rid myself of the rest of my clothes before helping her out of her dress. I wrap my arm under her back and shift us up the bed. My fingers run through her hair as she pulls me in for a kiss and I gently pull out her pins, blindly placing them on the night table.
Rolling us so she straddles me, I smirk at her whimper when she rolls her hips, her clit running along my shaft.
“Ride me, angel.”
My hands flex on her hips and she presses up, her palms firm against my chest as she rubs against me. Her head is tilted towards the ceiling and I watch, enamored, as she takes what she wants.
Her body flushes as her moans pitch and I groan when I feel the first flutters of her orgasm pulsing against my cock. “Fuck, I’ll never get over the sight of you coming.”
She laughs as her hips slow and she looks at me with an easy smile. Leaning down, she kisses me and I thread my fingers through her hair.
We fall into the kiss, her body melding to mine. Her hips shift and we still when the head of my cock notches at her entrance.
I slowly push forward and she whimpers, her legs locking behind my lower back. I wrap a hand around her thigh as the other one braces my weight by her head. The room fills with the sounds of her soft moans and my heavy breaths as our bodies meld together.
“Jace,” she pleads.
“I know, angel.”
“Fuck,” she calls out when my hand dips between our bodies, my thumb circling her clit.
“Come on my cock, angel. I want to feel you squeezing me.”
She nods, her eyes not straying from mine as I pick up speed and power in my hips. Bending down I seal my lips over hers, our teeth crashing as our lust burns into hunger.
The base of my spine tingles and my hips falter.
“Jace, I’m gonna?—”
“Come with me,” I growl, slamming into her.
She jolts and her hands fly up to hold the headboard as I pound into her. The first flutters of her orgasm hit and I thrust forward at a maddening speed, chasing her over the edge. Her arms lock around me as she comes and I throw my head back, coming with a roar, her name on my lips.
The room fills with the sounds of our heavy breathing as I slow my hips, guiding us down from euphoria.
Rolling onto my back, I pull her with me so she lays across my chest. She brushes her lips against my skin, her eyes sparkling in the moonlight. I reach out and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and she turns into my hold, kissing my palm.
I pull her against me and she settles into my side.
Eventually, her breathing evens out and I lay there, my eyes on her angel face, my fingers playing with the ends of her hair, and my heart racing.
I’m not scared to tell her I love her anymore.
But I’m terrified when I tell her everything else … that maybe love won’t be enough.