Chapter 35
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
POLLY
“A real man doesn’t fuck you for your money. He fucks you because you’re gorgeous. Because you come like a rocket. Because you have eyes that show him everything you’re feeling. He fucks you because nothing has ever felt better.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh.”
Devney Perry, Tinsel
“G ood morning. I sincerely apologize if I crossed a line last night. I understand you are my employee, and I am your employer, so please accept my sincerest apologies for my actions. It will not happen again.”
I scowled at my reflection.
“Don’t be such a weirdo, Polly! You can’t say that!” I hissed at the weirdo in the rearview mirror talking to herself.
I’d just dropped the kids off at summer school and made a pit stop at Daisy’s for donuts.
I’d woken up as Morning Polly who was now replaying Nighttime Polly’s actions over in her head. Morning Polly was rational—Morning Polly, was mature. Nighttime Polly was clearly smoking a joint in one hand and flipping her father off with the other while singing “Free Bird” at the top of her lungs.
Was I the one drunk on antihistamines last night? What other possible explanation could there be for me attacking Jace’s mouth with my own and then essentially telling him to come get me in the morning?
I palmed my forehead. He’s friends with the county sheriff! What if they’re waiting at the house to arrest me?
I leaned forward and blasted cold AC in my face. I had to calm down. The kiss was not illegal. More morally frowned upon, maybe—but at least it was mutual.
I relived the memory of Jace’s lips on mine. How his scent invaded my senses, sweet and something addictively Jace. Maybe I needed to pair that memory with something bad. Like the smell of dead fish. Perfect! When I caught myself thinking about Jace that way again, I’d think of a dead, rotting fish. That should cure me in no time. Feeling marginally better at my negative association plan, I pulled out on the road home.
Jace’s car was still in the driveway and, to my sincere relief, a police cruiser was nowhere in sight. Grabbing the donuts, which I’d thought would be a sweet peace offering but now felt like a pitiful bribe, I went inside, pausing just inside the door.
“Jace?” I called out down the hallway.
I didn’t hear anything. Walking toward the kitchen, I sighed. Maybe he was still sleeping. Maybe I could sneak upstairs and?—
“Ahh!” I crushed the bag of donuts to my chest. Jace was standing at his normal morning spot by the coffee maker, arms crossed. Haphazard red curls notwithstanding, he looked good. Soft gray T-shirt, worn jeans, and bare feet good.
His lips were pressed in a firm line.
You’ve kissed those lips. You know what they taste like.
“Jace! You startled me. How is your hair—I mean, lips—EYES! Your eyes, how are they?”
“Fine.” He uncrossed his arms, leaning back against the counter, face still unreadable.
FINE? That was his reply?
“Marvelous! I got donuts!” I chirped, wincing at my tone. I strode to the island, avoiding eye contact with him. I set two plates on the counter and opened the bag to?—
“Polly.”
“ Jesus!”
A low voice directly behind me had me spinning to see that Jace had moved. He was now directly behind me, less than half a foot.
Jace pointed to himself, an amused smile on his face. “It’s Jace, actually.”
Was he enjoying my embarrassment?
He slowly advanced and I backed up a step, the hard granite countertop pressing into my back. He rested his hands on either side of me, boxing me in.
“Do you want to pick your own donut?” My tenor was unintentionally breathless.
He leaned in close, his sweet scent making me woozy with want. “As good as those donuts are, I’d rather have something else.”
His voice was honey dipped in whiskey dipped in sin.
I gulped.
His multifaceted hazel eyes fixed on me. No, not just on me.
On my lips.
“What?”
“You.”
And then Jace brought his hands to my cheeks, cupping them with gentle urgency, and pressed his lips to mine.
Jace’s kiss was warm and strong and urgent and all the things necessary for life.
I never wanted to stop kissing him. His lips were somehow both gentle and insistent, brushing against my own, then surging with the most perfect pressure that I flat out moaned . I met his fervor with my own, desperately seeking purchase. My hands instantly threaded through his hair to grip the curly strands and hold on for dear life because I’d never, in my entire life, been kissed like this.
His lips opened and sucked on my bottom lip, a flash of his tongue teasing me, making me desperate. So yes, it was my tongue that licked at his bottom lip in response, eliciting a deep, exhaled moan from Jace.
His left hand slid from my cheek and through my hair, sending tingles through my scalp. His right arm dropped and wound around my back, pulling me in, pressing my body flush against his. My nipples went hard as our tongues caressed each other, licking and sucking, savoring each other, frenetic with want. A deep groan rumbled through Jace’s chest, my peaked nipples practically vibrating as they were pressed deliciously against the firm expanse of his muscular chest. A throb of pleasure pulsed in my clit. Out of breath, I tore my mouth away from his, dropping my hands to the solid countertop behind me.
His red hair was wildly mused from my grip, his lips swollen and pink.
“I’m too old for you,” I panted, chest heaving.
Jace’s response was to slide his hand further into my hair and cup the back of my head, pulling me so close our lips were millimeters apart.
“I think you have me confused with someone who gives a damn.”
And then he devoured my mouth again.
Full-on goosebumps erupted down my arms as his tongue stroked mine. I lost all deliberate thought, acting on pure need alone, throwing my arms around his neck, pressing my body against his. He closed his lips around my tongue and sucked, hard, causing my knees to buckle in pleasure. Jace hooked his arms underneath my butt and lifted, swiftly depositing me onto the island countertop in front of him.
We were both gasping for breath as Jace gripped my hips and leaned his forehead against mine.
“I’ve been dreaming of this since I first saw you,” he panted. “But I’ve been desperate, aching for you, the more I got to know you. Learning about you, laughing with you. Being with you like this . . .”
He trailed off, inching back so he could look into my hungry eyes.
What?! I wanted to shout.
He grabbed a stray lock of my hair that had fallen across my face, flashing a coy smile as he rubbed it between his fingers, then tucked it behind my ear.
“You’re all I want, Polly.” His words were genuine and true, his expression guileless. “The only question is, do you want me too?”
Yes.
The unspoken word hung in the air between us as I searched his face, my desire and longing a battle cry in my body. The typical internal battle, the one that warred between what had been drilled into me as right and appropriate versus what I wanted was no longer there. Jace’s words affirmed that he was here, in this moment, wanting me just as much as I wanted him, essentially melted away my reservations. And without them, I found that the bar of expectation that had been set for me had been broken down, whittled away until it offered no resistance. The war within myself was over before it began.
Maybe what I wanted wasn’t bad. Maybe what I wanted, was actually the right choice.
“Yes,” I whispered. A momentary look of shock passed over his features, followed by heat. Desire sparked in my belly, spreading throughout my body, soaking my center.
“Finally,” was what I thought I heard on an exhale when Jace captured my mouth in a fierce kiss. One of his hands braced on the counter behind me as the other cupped my cheek. I snaked my arms around his body, caressing the firm planes of his back.
He licked the seam of my mouth, and I instantly opened for him. I groaned on an exhale as we stroked and licked and sucked at each other’s mouths. I loved it. Each stroke of his tongue caused a small shiver of pleasure in my core.
I hadn’t French-kissed many people in my life, and to be honest, it wasn’t my favorite. This kiss with Jace obliterated any memory of any kiss I’d had in my entire life. If this was what kissing was like in France, I needed to go there. Immediately. Hats off to France, you know what the fuck you’re doing.
Jace’s lips trailed kisses across my cheek. When he moved to the skin below my ear, giving it a small, playful suck, a bolt of lust shot to my core causing me to arch my neck and gasp in bliss.
It took me thirty-eight years to discover I had an erogenous zone below my ear.
And Jace, the overachiever, figured it out in less than five minutes.
I grasped the bottom of his shirt in my hands, lifting it in earnest, desperately wanting to feel his skin beneath my palms. I made a noise of frustration when his shirt caught on the button of his jeans. Chuckling low and sexy, Jace backed up a step and reached behind his back, pulling the shirt over his head with one hand. The motion caused his biceps to pop and his red hair to go every which way, making me giggle.
My laughter abruptly stopped as my eyes trailed down his chest to the rippled glory of his abs. He took a step closer to me. Mouth dry, I placed my hands on his upper arms, sliding them gently up to curve around his shoulders, luxuriating in the feel of firm muscles beneath warm skin. I traced his collarbone, then moved lower, my fingers smoothing down to the solid muscles of his pecs; they were so firm, the skin covering them so taut, that for a moment I wondered if he was real.
Without thinking, I flicked his chest lightly with my fingers, then realizing what I just did, covered my mouth with my hand and giggled.
Jace chuckled as he leaned into me, and I felt a puff of air against my forehead before he placed a soft kiss there. The notes of his cologne were fresh and warm and comforting, coming off his skin in waves, drugging my senses. Leaning forward, I nuzzled and pressed an open-mouthed kiss on his chest, making him shudder. My fingers continued tracing down the individual ridges of his abdominal muscles and all humor faded as my fingertips fell below the waistband of his jeans, finding a very prominent bulge.
My mouth watered.
I tilted my head back to look into his eyes.
I gulped, finding them focused on me, serious and wanting. His hands dropped to the hem of my shirt. He raised his eyebrows in question, and I lifted my arms in response. My T-shirt was removed quickly, revealing my bra—which I’d forgotten was beige. Granted, it had some lace and a few petal designs, but I instantly tensed.
A plain beige bra for the middle-aged mom.
Jace, however, wasn’t looking at me like I was plain or middle-aged.
His eyes carved their way down my body, looking at me like he was a starving man in front of a five-course meal.
“I have an IUD.”
Oops. I hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
But with Jace’s starving expression, why shouldn’t I let him know that my restaurant was open for business?
At my revelation, his eyes flashed, and he leaned toward me, putting both of his hands on the granite countertop, effectively boxing me in again.
I took a deep breath in. “I haven’t had sex in a long time. I’ve been tested, and I’m clean. You?”
Jace’s face softened. “I test after every partner. There’s been no one for months. You’re safe with me, darlin’.”
You’re safe with me .
His words pierced my heart, straight through to my soul. Because I did feel safe with Jace. If I was being honest, I felt safer with him than almost anyone else I knew. It didn’t matter that I’d only known him a short time. I felt safe to be myself. Safe to be imperfect. Safe to try something for the first time.
“I know. You’re safe with me, too.” My words were strong. Resolute.
And then we exploded.
Jace practically tackled me, our hands wildly stroking up and down each other as if we couldn’t pick where we wanted to touch first. His mouth trailed kisses down my neck, his hands cupping me over my bra. A curious smirk came over his face as he traced the petal designs on my bra. Then quick as a flash, he pulled a cup to one side and enveloped my nipple with his mouth.
“Jace!” I gasped and threw my head back. Bolts of lust surged directly to my clit. As his tongue continued to lavish attention to my nipple, his other hand reached up to stroke my other breast. I was panting hard, making soft keening noises as Jace continued to shower my sensitive peaks with lapping strokes and sucks. His hands went behind me and with a practiced hand that I didn’t want to even think about, unhooked my bra. Fully bared to him, he growled and cupped my breasts together. I cried out as he swiped his thumbs over each peak. Unable to take anymore, I grabbed his face and pulled him to me, finding his lips swollen and wet.
Licking into his mouth, I experienced the wettest, filthiest, greediest kiss I’d ever had. As much as I didn’t want it to end, I finally let his face go and wantonly leaned back on my hands, breasts on full display.
“Upstairs?” I asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Jace’s expression turned feral. “I’m nowhere near finished yet.”
He gripped my hips, sliding me off the counter and onto shaky legs. He deftly undid the button at my waist, bringing my jeans and panties down to my ankles. Stepping out of them, I kicked them across the kitchen, kind of sure, but not totally sure, what he was going to do next.
Fully naked before him, he gently pushed me back against the island. My skin protested at the cold from the granite as Jace lowered himself to his knees. His eyes trained on mine as he slid his hand up my left calf to my thigh, picking my leg up and draping it over his shoulder. He raised his eyebrows and smirked.
Wait, was he really going to do that while I was stand?—
Jace dove straight for my aching, drenched center.
If French kissing wasn’t something I’d done very often, a man going down on me was practically nonexistent. Sex was missionary and brief in the latter half of my marriage. I came, sometimes. He came, every time. Quick. Efficient. Check it off the list.
I braced my hands on the counter behind me as my right leg threatened to buckle as Jace licked my clit rapidly back and forth with sure strokes. I sucked in a breath, closing my eyes from the pressure building inside of me. But it was when he started to massage my clit with his tongue that I shouted his name, then clutched and held onto the back of his head, keeping him there.
“Keep going, a little harder,” I begged, desperate for release.
He proved to be a good fucking listener as the force of his tongue intensified. I was shamelessly seeking friction, gripping the back of his head, canting my hips in time with his sure strokes.
“Ahh!” I was close but not quite there. Jace brought his fingers to my core and parted me, pushing in with two fingers, giving me the exact amount of pressure, exactly when and where I needed it.
I cried out, arching and gasping as waves of release pulsed through me. Thighs shaking, the only thing holding me up was Jace’s hand which slid to grip my ass, my right leg, and an elbow I’d pressed onto the countertop.
As my orgasm faded, he gently pulled his fingers from me and helped ease my thigh off his shoulder. He never broke eye contact with me as he stood, the intimacy of the moment thick between us. I was still catching my breath, the internal pulses of release still throbbing in my core.
Once he could tell I was steady on my feet, he towed off his shoes, then yanked his pants to the ground. He pounced on me so quickly, grabbing the back of my head and pulling me to his mouth, I didn’t have any time to process a fully naked Jace.
Our lips parted as we shared the taste of myself on his tongue. Feeling the press of his hard length against my lower belly, I pulled back. Pressing my forehead to his, I looked down between us to see what rested there, straining up to me. He was thicker than my previous partner, all one of them, and I could see the deep, pink tip already leaking clear fluid. I reached down to trace that bead of moisture, transfixed as I painted it around the head of his cock. Then I wrapped my hand around his impressive girth, stroking him, luxuriating in the velvety softness. It was Jace’s turn to groan and exhale, his eyes closing in bliss as his head fell back.
I felt powerful and sure as I stroked him up and down, already in a frenzy by the idea of where I wanted him most. I moved in to taste his arched neck, giving a slow lap of my tongue along the muscle there, as if I was licking where I was stroking, tasting salt and sweetness of my tongue. Jace’s moan filled the room as I sucked just below his ear.
“Do you want me to get something from my room? We can keep going or stop here, the choice is yours,” Jace rasped. I tilted my head back to see if he was really asking permission to keep going—like I hadn’t just ridden his tongue in the middle of my kitchen and wasn’t palming his dick like I was claiming it as my new territory. I looked between Jace’s eyes, wondering how he could go from damn fucking sexy to earnestly sweet in less than a second, but the fact that he didn’t assume anything, the fact that he was giving me an out, was all the answer I needed.
“I want you. I want to feel all of you, no room stops needed.”
An almost giddy grin came across his face before he kissed me again. It started sweet, but then my hand, which had gone still, squeezed and stroked up, prompting a low growl from his throat.
Jace picked me up, my legs wrapped around him, my clit pressing against his perfect washboard stomach, igniting an urgency within me again. I kissed and sucked on his neck, rocking against him as he walked us through the kitchen and unceremoniously sat on the couch, me mounted on his lap.
I gripped the back of the couch and rode him, chasing the friction I found against him with each tilt of my hips.
Jace’s hands cupped my breasts as he licked and sucked my nipples. “Yes, yes, yes,” I chanted, moving lower on his lap, rubbing my slick folds up and down his hard length, my wetness coating him, my clit pulsing with each push against the head of his dick.
Jace moved his right hand down my body, thumbing my clit, then fisted his cock and lined himself up to my entrance. Slowly, I lowered myself onto his impressive length, my mouth opening from the unexpected fullness. I winced a little bit as I started to slowly move, if I’m being honest. I moved up and down on his cock slowly until the discomfort gave way to pleasure.
Considering pelvic floor physical therapy was the most action I’d gotten after Ryla was born, it was a wonder my vagina hadn’t atrophied into nothing. With that errant thought, I gave a tentative squeeze with my pelvic muscles.
Jace’s eyes shot open as he shouted, “ Fuuuuck !”
Huh. Guess pelvic floor PT worked.
My body hummed as I thrust myself up and down his cock in a steady rhythm. Jace fought for control, his head falling back on the couch, eyes half lidded as I alternated thrusting and squeezing his length, enjoying this power.
“Look at me,” I demanded, not recognizing myself at all.
Jace’s eyes sprang open, brilliant rings of hazel around their dilated centers.
“Don’t come yet,” I commanded, uninhibited and free, taking what I wanted, something that Jace was more than willing to give me.
“I’m trying,” Jace’s voice was strained. He groaned as I bottomed out on his dick. “Fuck, you’re amazing.”
Slowing my pace, I slid all the way up and down again, feeling another throb of his dick as he fought back his release, and I was right there with him. Sweat broke out against his forehead.
“Fight it, Jace. Don’t you dare come.” I changed the cadence of my hips, eliciting another curse. Our breaths came out in shaky gasps. Jace thumbed my clit alternating between soft, sure circles and downward pressure. His left hand, which had been gripping my hip, slide to palm my ass. I cried out when his long fingers skirted the edge of an area I’d never explored with anyone else before.
“Yes, yes, yes,” I chanted in rhythm as I rode Jace hard, coming apart under his perfect touches. My body spasmed, my muscles clenching around his cock, intense pleasure pouring through me as I gave into the most intense orgasm of my life.
Jace finally let himself go, grabbing my ass with both hands, jerking me further onto him as he found his release, muttering a wickedly filthy, “ Fuck”, with each surge of himself inside of me.
As we both came down, I completely collapsed on top of him in a boneless, blissful heap. Jace whispered words like, so good, so beautiful, as his fingers traced soft circles on my back. My forehead rested on his shoulder, and I tenderly nuzzled it with my nose, loving the feel of his skin, so firm yet so soft at the same time. I’d never felt so fully worshipped, so fully sated. It was like I was in my own little haven of happiness.
“Polly?” Jace’s voice rumbled next to my ear.
“Mmhmm?” I was still floating on a cloud; my ears hadn’t yet stopped ringing.
“Do you have things to do today?”
I slowly pulled back. His red curls wild, lips swollen, eyes adoring.
What did he ask me? Oh, did I have things to do today? Of course I did. I was a single mother. I had a never-ending to-do list a thousand tasks long.
He rolled his eyes. “That was a dumb question. It’s just you’re naked and finally in my arms. I selfishly want to keep you here as long as I can.”
I tapped my lips with my finger. He had a point. I had a naked Jace Vargas beneath me and six hours before I had to pick up my kids. “I might be persuaded to put off my to-do list until tomorrow.”
Jace barked a laugh, and I tipped forward. Our kiss was breathless and fun as we laughed against each other’s mouths. Jace leaned his forehead against mine, a gesture that I already was thinking about as ours.
“How about a shower?”