Chapter 31
THIRTY-ONE
The ride back to the hotel room was almost unbearable. At every turn, Jace found some excuse to touch me, swiping my hair over my shoulder and resting his rough hand over my knee. By the time we parked the car, the tension made me tighter than a string—one more touch, and I’d unravel right there.
“Shit,” I hissed as we climbed out of the car. “My stuff is in Hadley’s room. I should text her and meet up with her.”
“Later.” Jace’s grip tightened on my hand as we left the parking lot and entered the hotel lobby.
Anticipation filled the air as we stepped past the glass double doors; fans in emerald-green jerseys filled the lobby, and the chatter echoed off the marble floors.
Several stopped us as we tried to get to the elevators, asking for Jace’s signature on different items. He gave me a questioning stare, but I just nodded, not wanting to ruin the moment for him.
He’d given it all on the field tonight; if people wanted to celebrate him, I wouldn’t stand in his way, at least until someone got bold and asked about his hotel room.
The curvy blonde smiled seductively up at him, and my vision went red—even more so when she placed her hand on his arm, her fingers stroking his skin.
I was right fucking there. Her ignorance dragged my insecurities up from deep down—ones I tried so hard to ignore.
For years, I’d battled intrusive thoughts about my body, letting others dictate what size or shape I should be.
As I’d gotten older, I’d gotten better at tuning them out, focusing on the parts of myself I liked compared to what the world wanted me to be.
Most of the time, it worked. I loved my body, loved that it had grown Anna into a healthy, strong baby, loved how it moved and embraced my curves.
Of course, I had days when I wished my thighs were smaller, or that my jean size was a single digit instead of two, but they were less and less lately.
But seeing this woman throw herself at Jace?
Knowing he had his pick of amateur models and influencers?
It made me bristle. I stepped forward to say something, but Jace slid her hand off him before I could.
“Not interested. I’m taken.”
She pouted, mumbling more under her breath, too low for me to hear, but Jace’s glare intensified. “No. Now, back off before I get hotel security over here.”
And then, he was right back with me, throwing his arm over my shoulder. Her shell-shocked expression followed us across the room, but I didn’t care, too busy loving his claim over me. When we entered the elevator, I tried to step away, but he kept me to his side, toying with the ends of my hair.
But jealousy knitted its way through me, and my mouth flew open without warning. “How often do people throw themselves at you?”
He grimaced. “Not as often as they used to. But there’s always one or two looking to score with a player after the games.”
“And do you?” God, I hated asking, especially when Jace turned to stare at me. “I mean, after all, that’s how we started.”
Jace shifted his arm away from me, turning to crowd me against the wall.
The metal railing cut into my lower back, and my neck strained so I could meet his scowl.
His hands came onto the bar next to mine, and he pressed his body into mine.
“You were never like them, Kinsley. Yeah, in the past, I made a lot of mistakes, let a lot of women into my bed for all the wrong reasons. But not you. Never you.”
I shook my head. “I’m not upset about it, Jace. It was only supposed to be one night.”
“No, it wasn’t.” His voice was low and fierce, as his stormy eyes met mine. “I never agreed to that. In fact, I was already plotting ways to see you again when I woke up and found you gone.”
My head spun, unsure how to process this information. Jace had mentioned it before, but it never held this weight, never made those butterflies in my stomach swarm to almost lethal levels. He searched my eyes and then swore under his breath. “You don’t believe me.”
“I do.” My words came out quiet—too quiet. “But you’ve had your pick of women for years. How am I the special one? After all, I’m just—”
“Just what?”
“Ordinary.”
Jace’s nose flared, and he leaned in a little close.
“You are the furthest fucking thing from ordinary, Kinsley.” My mouth opened, but his hands found my hips, silencing me.
“You’ve haunted me for years, baby. These curves, those fucking tempting lips.
Everything about you calls to me, and I can’t get enough.
And that’s just your body.” He pulled back and searched my eyes.
“Every day I spend with you, every little detail I learn about you only makes me want you more. You’re fucking extraordinary, Kinsley. No one else could ever compare.”
“For years?” I breathed out.
Jace nodded. “I haven’t been with anyone since that night. Didn’t even try. Because why would I want anyone else when I’d already found you?” Jace admitted. “But I’ve made a lot of mistakes, Kins, so I don’t expect you to feel the same—”
“I do.”
The words echoed in the small elevator car, tension filling as we climbed the floors.
Jace shook his head, but I placed my hand on his cheek, stopping him.
“You’re everything I’ve ever wanted, Jace, just the way you are.
No, your past might not be ideal, but neither is mine.
We’ve both made mistakes, and we’re going to make more in the future.
But I want it all—the good days, and the ones that hurt like hell.
I don’t care about perfect. I just want you. ”
“Fuck,” Jace muttered. “If you don’t kiss me now, mama—”
I slammed into his lips, not giving a single care about anyone seeing us.
As our mouths moved against each other, I poured everything into it: my admiration, my acceptance, and, most of all, my need for him.
My hips moved of their own volition, sliding against the hard length pressing into my stomach.
I had to squeeze my thighs together, trying to temper the growing ache between them.
Blessedly, the elevator doors dinged open, and Jace lifted me into his arms. I leaned back, smacking his bicep. “You need to stop carrying me, hotshot.”
“Fuck that.” He grinned as he stole another kiss from me. “My legs are longer, and we’ll get into my bed faster. About to fall the fuck apart here.”
I pinched his arm, and Jace laughed loudly, bolder than I’d ever heard from him before.
With only a few long strides, we reached the door of his room, and he slid the key into the lock.
After we stepped inside, Jace placed me back on the floor.
The room was nothing special—a king-sized bed in the middle of the room, nightstands flanking either side.
My fingers slid along the plush white comforter as I moved through the space, taking in the beach-themed elements and Jace's belongings stacked neatly on top of the furniture. The far wall opened to a balcony overlooking the water, the dark waves crashing against the moonlit sands. I toyed with the gossamer blue curtains, the color similar to the ocean in the early dawn. Even with my back turned to him, Jace’s stare dug into my skin, making me squirm with need.
But when I turned to face him, he stood by the door, his hands gripping the handle.
“Jace?” I moved closer to him. “Are you okay?”
He inhaled then nodded. “I want to do right by you, Kinsley. Want to do this right. I’ve made a habit of rushing into sex first, not bothering with anything deeper.
” His azure eyes met mine, and my heart beat faster in my chest. “If we do this, I need you to know I want more. I want to have you again in the morning, and as long as you want after that. I don’t…
” He sucked in a sharp breath. “I don’t want this to ruin us. ”
“Jace, if I didn’t want that, I never would have gotten on the plane.
” I placed my hands on his chest; his pulse thundered beneath my touch.
“It might change us, but I refuse to believe it’ll be for the worse.
We’ve already lost so much time to fear, Jace.
Don’t let fear take this moment from us too. ”
He stared at me, as if weighing each of my words for their validity.
Whatever he saw in them must have been answer enough, because he leaned forward and kissed me.
It was tender, adoration and apprehension evident in his touch.
His lips trembled against mine, and I gripped his shirt in my fist. That move was enough to make him pause, but when he resumed our kiss, there was a newfound passion to it.
That consuming desire inched through my core as his tongue danced with mine, and his teeth grazed my lower lip.
As I reached under his shirt, needing to feel his skin underneath my fingers, Jace’s hands moved down and gripped my ass, dragging my core against his hardened length.
We shifted toward the bed, never parting for more than a breath.
Our hands gripped, searched, wandered, explored every inch of skin as our clothes tumbled to the floor.
Jace leaned back, his breath haggard as he took me in, standing only in my underwear.
Old, insecure thoughts wove their way through me, and I tensed under his gaze, moving my arm to cover the scar across my abdomen.
Jace placed his hand on top of mine, sliding it away as he dropped to his knees. “Is this…”
I nodded. C-section scar, a permanent reminder of bringing my daughter into the world, of the terror I felt when they wheeled me into the operating room.
For a long time, I refused to look at it, hating how it was a physical mark of everything that had gone wrong.
As his knees brushed the carpet, Jace leaned forward, pressing his forehead to my stomach.
I sucked in a sharp breath when his lips grazed the taut skin, lavishing every inch under his patient lips.
“Thank you,” he muttered as he stared up at me.
He didn’t need to say anything else, didn’t need to make his point any clearer. “There’s nothing to thank me for, hotshot.”
“You gave me a daughter—a purpose. And for this…” His hands slid up my thighs, reaching my apex with a devious smirk. “For trusting me.”
“You make it easy,” I muttered, running my fingers through his wavy hair.
His fingers moved closer to me, stroking my core over the lace of my panties. More. I needed so much more. When I told Jace as much, he just chuckled. “Lean back, mama. Let me get a taste of you.”
I did as he asked, shifting until the backs of my legs hit the edge of the bed.
Sitting down, Jace sat back on his haunches, his hands running smooth circles over my bare thighs.
Fuck, I liked the sight of this man on his knees for me.
Jace smirked as he reached me, his fingers hooking into my underwear and dragging it down my legs.
“Never thought I’d crawl for anyone, Kins, but fuck, I’d do it every damn day for you.
Need to taste you, worship you. Need to make you just as desperate as me. ”