Chapter 23
Shannon
“I think this one is good,” I said as I sat next to Jace on the couch back at the apartment.
We’d left his parents’ place a few hours ago.
Zara was fast asleep in her room, and we’d spent the last hour filming a video to post to his social media.
In it, he explained how someone had been using his identity to lure his fans into false romantic relationships online.
That he’d now identified the person doing it, as well as the victims, who his team would be contacting in due course.
He warned that if anyone was approached online by someone purporting to be Jace, that it was a scammer and to cease all contact.
It took a couple takes, but we finally had one that was clear and concise, communicating all the important information that people needed to know without naming any names.
Dixon, or should I say, Samuel, was so brazen he’d probably try to sue Jace and the band for slander or something crazy like that if we actually named him.
I watched as Jace tapped the button to upload the video then swiftly set his phone to “Airplane Mode” before putting it down, his head dropping into his hands.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, just … this is going to be all over the internet. People will be speculating, amateur detectives will be trying to figure out the identity of the person I’ve refused to name. It’s just going to be …”
“A lot.”
He lifted his head and shot me a tired smile. “That seems to be the perfect way to sum up the last few days.”
I brought my hand to the back of his neck, softly massaging. “Did you talk to the others yet? Do they know you’re putting this out there?”
“I saw Angus and Kami today before I went to pick Zara up from school. Elias is dealing with enough right now, but I’ll talk to him when he’s out of the clinic.
Angus and Kami are fine with me posting about it.
They think it’s the best way to prevent Samuel from scamming more of our fans.
The information needs to be spread as far and as wide as possible.
It’s how Robert Ansary finally got the better of Samuel back in the U.S.
and why he needed to move on to a new identity. ”
“I hope it works.”
We fell into silence, and I continued rubbing his neck. Jace closed his eyes, his muscles loosening, and I watched as his tension slowly melted away. It was a good thing he’d shut off his phone because his notifications would be going wild right now if he’d left it on.
“Don’t fall asleep here,” I cajoled softly. “That back of yours might be impressively muscular, but it needs you to start sleeping on an actual mattress. You’ve slept on enough couches the last few weeks to do you a lifetime.”
His eyes opened as he gazed up at me, something burning in the gold shimmer of his irises. “Is that an invitation?”
“You know that invitation’s been open for a while. You’re the one who was insisting on a chaste sleeping arrangement.”
Jace reached up to toy with a strand of my hair. “That was me, wasn’t it?” He tilted his head, a sexy smirk shaping his lips. “Maybe it’s time to move forward. I mean, we have been giving each other regular orgasms. The next step is surely to sleep in the same bed.”
“Right,” I chuckled. “The logical next step.”
Another silence fell while he just gazed up at me, taking me in, before he let out a heavy sigh. “I need to shower first, though.”
Reluctantly, he drew away and grabbed a few things from his bag before heading into the main bathroom.
I watched him go, desire coiling tight in the pit of my stomach.
Normally, I’d go into my room and wait for him to be done, but I wasn’t feeling normal.
I was pent up. He’d given me an orgasm only a few hours ago at his parents’ house, but it wasn’t enough.
I heard the shower come on, and suddenly, my brain wasn’t in charge anymore.
Something else took over as I went to the bathroom door, hesitating only a moment before opening it and stepping inside.
With the noise of the shower, Jace didn’t hear me come in.
I stood there, back pressed against the door, as hot, misty steam filled the room.
Jace stood under the spray, his perfect, sculpted body on full view.
I allowed myself a moment to drink him in, my eyes tracing the colourful tattoos and hard muscles as water sluiced over his skin.
I stepped forward and suddenly he became aware of me.
Jace turned, his eyes hot as our gazes connected.
He didn’t breathe a word, only shot me a sexy, knowing smile as he continued running his hands over his deliciously flat abs, bubbles of soap washing down his stomach.
My thighs quivered. I took another step forward, hands going to the tie of my housecoat as I loosened it and let in drop to the floor, leaving me in only a tank top and sleep shorts.
My brain was so fried by arousal that I didn’t even think to remove anything else as I slid open the shower door and stepped inside.
Warm water fell over me, soaking my clothes as I continued holding his gaze while sinking to my knees. I barely felt the shower floor beneath me as I took in the sight of his thick, hard cock right at my eye level.
A low, seductive chuckle escaped him. “Did you come in here just to look?” he taunted.
Without hesitation, I dipped my head, my eyes on his as I took the head of his cock into my mouth.
The soft fabric of my tank top was plastered to my skin with shower water, my nipples beading so tight it was a mix of pleasure and pain.
A rough, anguished groan escaped him as I took him more fully into my mouth, his hand coming down to caress my cheek while he let out a strangled, “Fuck.” Then, “Angel, what did I do to deserve you?”
Instead of answering, I took him even deeper, loving the way he had to brace against the glass of the shower to keep himself upright.
Water droplets fell down my face and neck as I bobbed my head up and down, and Jace lavished me with a string of praise.
Between my legs I grew wet for him, aroused by how much he was into this.
“You have no idea how incredible you look right now,” he growled, cupping my jaw with his free hand. “You’re so fucking … precious.”
I moaned as I sucked him, and that seemed to turn him on even more.
Before I knew it, he was coming, quickly pulling out to spill himself across my breasts, now fully visible through my soaking wet tank top.
Seconds later, Jace had stripped it off me, alongside my underwear, and tossed both to the floor.
He picked me up and carried me out of the shower.
His arms banded around me as he walked directly into my room, closing the door tight behind him before laying me down on the bed.
Without a word, he disappeared into my ensuite, returning with two towels.
He quickly dried himself off before he climbed back on the bed and took his time drying me from head to toe.
I savoured the treatment. He made every inch of me feel special, adored.
Once we were both sufficiently dry, Jace crawled up my body, kissing his way up my thighs, then my stomach before stopping at my breasts. His eyes flicked up, holding mine captive as he scraped his teeth across my nipple. I fisted the sheets, breathing heavily as my back arched off the bed.
“Yes,” he rumbled.
Jace buried his face between my legs. He didn’t come up for air until I was shaking and trembling against him. He beamed at me, like he’d never been happier and could spend the rest of his life making me come.
Jace lay flat on his back, his head against the pillow before lifting me on top of him.
Both of us completely naked, he held me, and I snuggled into his chest. Before long, I was pressing my mouth to his skin, trailing my lips along his sternum to his neck.
In a matter of seconds, we were kissing again, and I gasped when I felt him harden against my stomach.
On instinct, I lifted myself astride him, slowly sinking down on his thick length and savouring his low grunt of pleasure, his eyes eating me up as he gazed at me from below.
He trailed his hand up my stomach, cupping one breast then the other.
“Wife,” he rasped, his palm moving to the left side of my chest, right where my heart was pounding. “This is my favourite rhythm.”
“It beats only for you. Only ever for you, Jace,” I said past a moan.
His hand remained in place, the other going to my hip, gripping hard as he encouraged me to move faster.
I let go, became a wild thing as I drove our bodies to release.
When I finally dropped on top of him, sweating, breathless, and sated, I pressed my ear to his chest. I closed my eyes and listened to his heart beating in time with mine because that was my favourite rhythm, too.
***
Jace and I found our groove over the next few weeks, our daily lives a perfect dance where we seemed to sink easily into a mutual routine.
We managed to grab private moments when Zara was at school or after she went to bed at night, but our daughter was smart.
She was beginning to ask questions like, “Is Daddy living with us for good now?” and “Can we stay here instead of going back to our house? All three of us?” and “Why was Daddy in your bedroom this morning?”
Okay, so that last one was our fault. We’d been getting sloppy, but honestly, I was hopelessly in love with Jace.
More importantly, I was sure about him now.
I believed he wouldn’t let us down again, and for that reason, it was time for us to tell Zara.
Jace and I had discussed it at length, and we were both in agreement about telling her we were back together.
She’d just gotten home from school, and I made her a snack of crackers with soft cheese and some pear slices. We both sat down in front of her, and Zara glanced up, midway through a bite of cracker.
“Am I in trouble?”