Chapter 6
Jace
The bedroom door clicks shut behind us with a soft finality that makes my pulse spike.
Actually alone. I can’t remember the last time Bree and I were alone with a bed.
Well, there was that time I brought her all those clothes—sweaters and pajamas and that soft green blanket that reminded me of her eyes when she actually smiles.
We sat on her bed while I showed her everything, but it never even crossed my mind to…
Gods, she was so fragile then. So breakable.
The idea of making a move would have been like kicking a wounded bird.
She’s always been so careful about boundaries, about making sure we’re never in a position where things could get complicated.
Even that morning when she kissed me in the backyard—told me I wasn’t expendable, that I was everything—she pulled back before it could turn into more.
Made us holy-shit-we’re-alive pancakes while she teased me about kissing being “exhausting.”
And now here we are, and she’s not running. She’s not building walls or finding excuses to leave.
She’s just… here. Standing by her bed with that new confidence I’m still getting used to, looking at me like I’m something she wants instead of something she’s afraid of.
My heart hammers against my ribs. This is either the best moment of my life or I’m about to spectacularly embarrass myself.
Maybe both.
“Jace.” Her voice is softer now, without the audience of the others. More vulnerable. “Thank you. For backing me up out there.”
“Always, sweetheart,” I say, trying for my usual grin even though my heart’s doing something complicated in my chest. “Though I have to say, watching you shut down Thane’s doom-and-gloom routine was pretty satisfying. Guy needs to learn when to quit while he’s behind.”
She sits on the edge of the bed, and the mattress dips under her weight in a way that makes this feel real. Intimate. Not some dream I’ll wake up from disappointed.
I cross the room slowly, needing to have her near. When I reach her, I don’t sit—just stand close enough to catch the vanilla and honey scent that always clings to her skin.
“I need to tell you something,” she says looking away for a moment, and my stomach drops because that tone never leads anywhere good.
“Oh great,” I say, forcing lightness into my voice. “Are you about to tell me this was all an elaborate prank? Because I should warn you, my ego’s pretty fragile when it comes to a certain beautiful woman luring me into their bedroom.”
But then she looks up at me with those green eyes, and there’s no fear in them. No walls. Just… honesty.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time,” she admits. “About us. About what it would be like to—” She stops, takes a breath. “I’ve wanted this. You. For longer than I was brave enough to admit.”
The words make the butterflies in my stomach turn violent. In the best way. The kind that knocks all the air from your lungs and makes you wonder if you’re dreaming.
“Well,” I manage, voice slightly hoarse, “that’s definitely not what I expected you to say. Though I’m not complaining. At all. Like, seriously, zero complaints here.”
She said that without a single tremor in her voice. God, she’s finally sure of herself. Finally sees what we all see.
Christ.
I sit beside her on the bed, our knees bumping together. This close, I can see the flecks of gold in her eyes, smell the vanilla and honey scent that clings to her skin. Everything about this moment feels charged, electric.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I whisper, because it’s the truth I’ve been carrying for months. The fear that’s kept me from pushing, from asking for more than she was ready to give.
“You won’t.” She reaches up, fingers trailing along my jaw with a touch so gentle it makes my chest ache. “I trust you.”
And then she kisses me.
Soft at first, tentative, like she’s testing whether this is real. But when I respond—when I cup her face in my hands and kiss her back with everything I’ve been holding in—she makes this low, pleased sound in her throat that completely undoes me.
She tastes like mint and something sweeter. Like coming home after being lost for too long.
“Is this okay?” she asks, her hands already working at my belt, and I nod because words seem impossible right now.
“More than okay, sweetheart,” I manage, studying her face. Looking for any sign of doubt.
But there’s nothing. Just want and certainty.
My belt hits the floor, then her shirt comes off, then mine. Each piece of clothing falling away feels like shedding armor, like finally being allowed to touch something precious I’ve only been able to look at from a distance.
Her skin is warm under my hands, soft curves that feel both familiar and somehow different. Smooth in places where I remember scars.
“Hey,” I pause, running my thumb along her shoulder where a faint mark used to be. “What happened to—”
“I don’t know.” Her eyes widen, like she’s just noticing too. She looks down at her arms, her expression confused. “The chamber… maybe whatever happened there…” She trails off, touching her own skin with wonder.
Then she takes my hands, guiding them over her body with a confidence that catches me off guard—moving with a certainty I’ve never seen from her before.
“Don’t stop,” she whispers, her green eyes dark with want. “Please don’t stop. Not tonight.”
Something about this feels different, but I can’t put my finger on what—
The thought flickers through my mind, but then her mouth is on my throat and I lose the thread of it completely.
She kisses and nips at my neck, her teeth grazing my pulse point in a way that makes me groan.
Her hands slide up my chest, and then she’s pushing me back against the pillows with a confidence that takes my breath away.
“Let me,” she says, and there’s something commanding in her voice that I’ve never heard before.
Wait, since when does Bree take charge like—
But then she’s straddling me, her hands mapping my chest with deliberate intent, and black Ether brushes across my skin like silk. The half-formed thought dissolves like smoke, leaving only the overwhelming sensation of her touch.
“You’re mine tonight,” she whispers against my ear, and the possessiveness in her voice sends heat straight through me. She bites gently at my earlobe, then trails her tongue down my throat.
I try to reach for her, to touch her the way I’ve dreamed of, but she catches my wrists and pins them above my head. “No,” she says, smiling down at me. “I want to explore first.”
The Bree I know would have blushed at saying something like that, would have hidden her face in embarrassment. But this version looks me straight in the eye, unashamed, as she leans down to kiss and bite her way across my chest.
This isn’t like her, something’s—
Silver-threaded darkness curls around my thoughts like fog, and suddenly the concern seems silly. This is Bree finally coming into her power, finally taking what she wants. This is everything I’ve hoped for.
She releases my wrists and sits back, her hands moving to the button of my jeans. “These need to come off,” she says with that same confident smile, and I lift my hips to help her pull them down along with my boxers.
Her remaining clothes follow quickly—pants, underwear—until we’re both completely bare. She slides down my body, and I watch, mesmerized, as she takes me in her mouth without hesitation. The sight of her like this—bold, confident, owning her desire—nearly undoes me.
Her lips wrap around my cock, tongue swirling around the head before she takes me deeper. She works me with her mouth and hands, alternating between slow, teasing licks and deep, hungry pulls that make my hips jerk involuntarily.
“Bree,” I gasp, but she just hums around me, the vibration making my vision blur.
When she pulls away, her lips are swollen and her smile is wicked. “I want to be on top,” she says, and climbs back up my body with feline grace.
She positions herself over me, taking my cock in her hand to guide me to her entrance. She’s already wet, and she sinks down slowly, taking me in completely. The moan she makes is pure satisfaction, like she’s claiming something that’s always been hers.
“God, you feel perfect,” she breathes, starting to move with a rhythm that drives me wild. She rides me like she owns me, hands braced on my chest, head thrown back in abandon.
I try to flip us over, to take control the way I always imagined I would our first time, but she presses her hands firmly against my chest, holding me down.
“Stay,” she commands, and something in her voice makes me obey without question.
She moves above me with increasing intensity, rolling her hips in a way that hits every perfect spot. I can feel her getting close, her inner walls starting to flutter around me, and I reach between us to touch her clit.
“Yes,” she hisses, grinding down harder against my hand. “Right there.”
When she comes, it’s with a cry of triumph that echoes through the room, her body clenching around me as she takes her release. The sight and feel of her coming undone above me pushes me over the edge.
Only then does she lean down to kiss me, allowing me to thrust up into her until I follow her over the edge, spilling myself inside her with a groan of her name.
Afterward, we lie tangled together in the mess of sheets and moonlight streaming through her windows. She traces lazy patterns on my chest with her fingertip, humming something low and tuneless under her breath. Something I don’t recognize.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard her hum before.
“That was…” I start, then stop because there aren’t words big enough.
“Worth the wait?” she suggests, and there’s laughter in her voice. Easy, comfortable laughter that makes my heart squeeze.
“Hell yes,” I say, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Definitely worth the wait.”
She tilts her face up to look at me, and her smile is radiant.
“See?” she says, eyes sparkling with satisfaction. “I told you I wasn’t going to break.”
The words should be comforting. Should make me feel proud, relieved, grateful that she’s finally found her strength.
Instead, something cold settles in my stomach like ice water.
Because the Bree I know—the Bree I fell in love with—has always been a little broken. It’s what made her real, what made her human. The cracks in her armor were where the light got in, where she let people love her despite her fear.
That’s not Bree’s voice. Bree would never taunt her own fragility.
This version, lying in my arms with that perfect, confident smile, doesn’t have any cracks at all.
But as I lie here feeling her Ether coil around us, I let out a breath and bask in the afterglow of finally getting my girl.