11. Kayla
Quickly climbing out of bed, I sneak over to my dresser and open the top drawer. Through my closed bedroom door, I can finally hear Jace walking out of his room and into the kitchen. He always gets up before me and is ready and waiting by the time I leave my room. But not today. Today, I plan to surprise him.
Since he is apparently completely unfazed by all the annoying things I do to make his life miserable, I’m going to switch tactics and try something else. Instead of subjecting him to what are essentially irritating pranks, I’m going to make him uncomfortable. I’m going to make him squirm in his seat and nervously glance over his shoulder as he worries about someone seeing him. Seeing me. Seeing us.
After stripping out of my sleep shorts and top, I search through my underwear drawer until I find the sexiest lingerie that I own. They’re made of black lace, and they perfectly accentuate my curves.
On the other side of the door, I can hear faint clinks and thuds from where Jace is moving around in the kitchen.
Once I’m finished getting changed, I brush my hair and let it flow down my back. Then I put on some makeup too.
By the time I’m done, the noise from the kitchen has stopped. A chair scrapes lightly over the floor as Jace no doubt sits down at the table.
I check my appearance in the mirror. A wicked smirk spreads across my lips as I draw my hands over my hips and then turn to look at myself from all angles. In only a pair of black lace panties and a bra in the same material, I look like any man’s dream. And Jace’s nightmare.
A silent laugh rolls from my chest. Let’s see him sweat now as he worries about how my father will react if he finds out that Jace has seen me dressed like this.
With a sultry sway of my hips, I at last walk out of my bedroom and into the combined kitchen and living room.
Jace is seated at the table, eating breakfast. He is fully dressed in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt that contrasts against his slightly tan skin. His brown hair is, as always, effortlessly messy in a way that makes me want to run my hands through it. The muscles in his forearms flex as he cuts into his food.
Surprise flickers through me, and I lose that swaggering in my step for a second, when my gaze lands on the plate in front of him. Or rather plates. There is one plate full of scrambled eggs and bacon, another one that contains something that looks like a panini, and a third one is piled high with fruit.
I’ve known that he eats breakfast, of course, since I’ve sometimes heard him in the kitchen when I’ve woken up early. But I’ve always just assumed that he eats hardboiled eggs or something similarly boring like most health freaks. Not this.
My gaze darts between his face and the little feast he has made for himself. There’s a sparkle in his eyes and a small smile on his mouth as he eats. As if he truly savors the food.
It surprises me so much that I forget what I’m doing for a moment.
Jace starts looking up from his plate.
I lurch into motion again. With that seductive sway in my hips, I saunter across the floor and towards the table where he is seated.
He turns towards me as he catches the movement in the corner of his eye, and opens his mouth as if to say something.
Then his gaze lands on me.
And he jerks back slightly in his seat as surprise pulses across his face.
His stunned gaze quickly flicks up and down my body.
I give him a sly smile, and wait for him to start glancing over his shoulder in worry.
He doesn’t.
Instead, he quickly wipes the astonished expression from his features and simply returns his attention to his food while casually saying, “Morning.”
“Morning,” I reply as I walk up to the table.
“Shouldn’t you get dressed?”
“I am dressed.”
He looks up from his food again and casts a deliberate glance up and down my body while raising an eyebrow. “You’re going to school like that?”
I wait for heat to flood his cheeks when he draws his gaze over my half-naked body. But it doesn’t. The infuriating bastard doesn’t look affected at all. After that first moment of surprise, he is acting as if he’s looking at a mediocre landscape painting and not my hot fucking body in lace lingerie.
Annoyance ripples through me.
But I make sure to keep the irritation off my face as I arch an eyebrow at him. “Last I checked, this was my kitchen. Not uni. And I can dress however I like in my own home.”
Jace watches me in silence for a few seconds. Then he shrugs. “Alright.”
And then he goes back to eating.
Curling my fingers into a fist, I fume in silence as I glare at the frustrating man at my kitchen table.
After blowing out a discreet sigh of exasperation, I give my body a short shake to get rid of the annoyance. I’m far from done. Let’s see him ignore me when I turn up the heat.
I walk over to where I put my bag last night and move it over to the edge of the couch, which is straight in Jace’s line of sight. Then I stroll over to the bookshelves where I keep my course books and pull out a few. After sauntering back to my bag, I position myself with my back to Jace and drape my hair over my shoulder.
Then I slowly bend over and start putting the books into my bag.
The position puts my ass on full display in those tiny lace panties. And when I’m bent over in that suggestive pose, there’s no way that Jace isn’t blushing. Or glancing nervously around the room as if he’s worried that my father will suddenly materialize and kill him for looking at me.
While sliding the final book into my bag, I angle my head and discreetly glance back towards the table.
Jace is holding his panini now, biting into it with a completely unaffected expression on his face.
I grind my teeth.
God damn it. What do I have to do to get a reaction out of this guy?
Shoving my bag shut again, I straighten and flick my hair back behind my shoulder before turning around. Jace chews his bite of panini, watching me with a casual look on his face.
Maybe he needs it a bit more up close and personal.
With a sly smile on my lips, I walk back to the kitchen table until I’m standing on the other side of it, right opposite Jace. Holding his gaze, I lean forward over the table and reach for his plate of fruit. If I was any closer, my tits would be in his fucking face. He has to react now.
But Jace just keeps his eyes on my face, not once letting his gaze slip down to my cleavage.
I curse him in my mind.
Then I pick up a strawberry from his plate.
He sets down his panini and takes a sip of orange juice. “If you want breakfast, make it yourself.”
“I don’t eat breakfast,” I reply as I bring the strawberry to my lips and bite down.
Shaking his head, he lets out a huff while shooting me a pointed look. “Yeah, I can see that.”
Still leaning forward over the table so that my breasts are on full display, I lick my lips as seductively as I can before I take another bite of the strawberry. Jace’s eyes remain on mine. He doesn’t even glance down at my lips. Not even once.
Fucking hell, what is it with this guy?
I pop the final piece of strawberry in my mouth, placing it deliberately on my tongue and then sucking my finger on the way out.
Jace curls his hand into a fist on the table and shakes his head again before pushing his chair back.
“And now I’ve lost my appetite,” he says as he gets to his feet and quickly starts turning around as if to leave.
Humiliation washes through me.
But then I see it.
The massive bulge in his pants.
Shock pulses through me at the sight of it. God, he must be painfully hard if his cock is straining that much against his jeans.
Straightening in a flash, I quickly skirt around the table before he can walk away. He jerks back, coming to an abrupt halt as I stop right in front of him.
With a wicked smirk on my lips, I tilt my head back and lock eyes with him. “Liar.”
He frowns down at me with what I have to admit is impressive nonchalance. “About what?”
“Losing your appetite. In fact, I’m pretty sure you’re actually struggling to… contain your appetite.”
“Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better.”
“Uh-huh.” I shoot a pointed look down at the bulge in his pants. “So that’s not your cock standing at attention for me?”
A muscle ticks in his jaw, but he doesn’t reply.
“Oh, I see,” I taunt, flashing him a devilish smile. “It’s not your cock. It’s your gun. Man, I didn’t realize that the groceries were giving you so much trouble that you had to keep a gun in your pants while making breakfast.” I flick another knowing look down at his crotch before raising my eyebrows in a show of innocent curiosity. “Or perhaps it’s a pet snake that I have yet to meet. I didn’t realize that you were a reptile guy. I have to warn you, I’m not a fan of snakes?—”
My mocking words are cut off by a yelp as Jace surges forward.
Grabbing my wrist, he twists me around and pushes my arm up behind my back while his other hand locks around the back of my neck.
A huff escapes my lungs as Jace bends me over and shoves my chest down against the smooth wooden tabletop. He keeps one hand on the back of my neck, holding me down, while the other keeps my arm twisted up behind my back.
I blink, my mind scrambling to catch up with the sudden turn of events.
Before I can get my wits about me, Jace places his foot against the inside of mine and pushes outwards in one firm motion, widening my stance.
My heart skips a beat as he steps closer, his hard cock pressing against my ass.
“Is this what you want?” he demands, his commanding voice pulsing through the air and vibrating through my soul. “For me to bend you over the table and fuck you?”
Heat sears through me at his words.
“Answer,” he snaps.
A jolt shoots through me, and my clit throbs. At the effortless command in his voice. At his dominating hands on my body as he keeps me bent over the table. At the feeling of his cock pressing against my ass.
And suddenly, all those ridiculous images that flashed through my mind during the party flicker across my vision again. Images of what Jace must have looked like when he participated in all those adventurous sexual activities that he admitted to when we played never have I ever. And I once again can’t help but wonder what it would be like to fuck someone as experienced as him. What it would be like to fuck him.
Anger quickly follows the thought, burning away those ridiculous images.
I yank against his grip on my wrist while planting my other palm on the table, trying to use it as leverage to push myself up. But I might as well have been pushing against a rock wall. His hand around the back of my neck keeps me mercilessly pinned to the table.
A snarl rips from my throat as I retort, “I wouldn’t fuck you even if you were the last man on earth.”
“Likewise.”
“Good.”
“Great.” He gives me another shove down into the tabletop, as if to truly rub his power over me in my face. “Now that we’ve established that, I’m going to allow you to get up. And then you are going to go back into your room and put some fucking clothes on. Understood?”
I slam my free hand into the tabletop. “I will not be?—”
“I said, am I making myself clear?” The sheer command in his voice sends a pulse straight through my soul.
Grinding my teeth, I struggle on the table again. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t get free. So in the end, I force out, “Yes.”
“Good.”
He releases my wrist and neck and takes a step back. I shoot upright and whip around to face him so fast that my hair smacks into his cheek on the way past. With fire burning in my eyes, I glare up at him.
Power ripples from his muscular body as he stares me down.
Raising his arm, he stabs a commanding hand towards my bedroom door. His unflinching gaze remains locked on me.
“I said,” he begins, his voice dripping with authority. “Get. Dressed.”
Electricity shoots up my spine.
No one ever orders me around. Or manhandles me. No one ever exerts power over me like this. I’m an Ashford. I give the orders.
But Jace doesn’t seem to give a shit about that. He acts as if the world belongs to him. As if everyone should bow at his feet. Me included.
Narrowing my eyes, I glare up at him.
He just keeps staring me down in silence, pointing that commanding hand towards my room.
A faint snarl rips from my lungs as I spin on my heel and stalk away.
But no matter how angry this damn bastard makes me, I can’t block out the memory of how much my clit throbbed when he bent be over the table like that.