Chapter Twenty-Four
The ride home was silent, partly her fault. Allie didn’t know what to say or how to feel.
Seeing that woman bend over in front of Jace felt like someone had ripped her heart right out of her chest. He’d freaking lost it and said those horrible things. He had a point. No man wanted a woman chasing him, especially not a woman he didn’t want, but he could’ve gone about it another way.
At first, she’d been relieved, but after, it got her thinking. Maybe when he was tired of her, he’d treat her the same. She began questioning the real reason he wanted to keep them a secret. So when he tired of her, he could get rid of her and no one would be the wiser?
After how much he claimed to care, it didn’t make sense, but it wouldn’t be the first time a man lied to her. She hated it, but she couldn’t help her mind often drifted to the worst-case scenario. Her mood took a turn, and then she’d just wanted to go home.
As soon as he parked, she hopped off his SUV, headed up the stairs, unlocked her door, and entered. Still, she avoided looking at him but heard when he closed the door and locked it.
“Allie?”
She had no choice but to meet his gaze. Damn, in that moment, she hated how much she wanted to throw caution to the wind and kiss him, have him take her right there on the floor in her living room. She wanted to forget that one day she, too, could be at the end of his public, nasty, pain-filled remarks.
“Want to share why you aren’t talking to me or lookin’ at me?”
She swallowed, garnering the strength to ask what she had to. “I…”
His brows furrowed. “Allie?”
She folded her hands into each other. “Will you treat me like that when you’re done with me?”
His eyes widened, his jaw clenched. He was silent for a long moment, holding her gaze. “I won’t ever be done with you.” His voice rough and filled with emotion.
The breath rushed out of her. He’d said and done so many things to show her he cared, but she couldn’t wrap her mind around what he’d said then. It implied more than dating, implied long term and commitment. It was too soon for that. It had been a week since they’d first had sex, six days since they began dating.
She looked away from him, her mind scrambling.
“Allie?”
Her gaze shot to his.
“Now, you think I can do what I’ve wanted to do since you set foot at the compound?”
She hesitated, then finally nodded. Not a moment later, he pressed her against him, buried his fingers in her hair, slammed his lips to hers, and invaded her mouth.
How she’d missed it—his mouth, his hands, his warmth, all of him, and it hadn’t even been a day.
Then and there, she knew. If she wasn’t gone already, she was falling hard and fast. Maybe it was a mistake, but it was a mistake worth making, a mistake she wouldn’t regret. No man, except her brother, had ever made her feel important, wanted, needed, and treasured, and Jace did that for her. Of course, he did it differently. Making her feel desired too, and he did it seemingly unknowing.
“Fuckin’ missed you so much, baby,” he whispered against her lips.
The words pierced through her chest. She shivered.
Totally a mistake worth making.
Delving into her mouth, he cupped her butt and lifted her off the floor. She wrapped her legs around his waist. He reached for her jeans, unbuckled, and unzipped them, then dug his fingers in under her thong until he touched her heat. He ran his fingers along the length of her. She moaned, her legs tightening around him.
“Always fuckin’ ready for me. Always fuckin’ wet.” He growled and yanked her blouse down exposing her breasts. He dipped his head and swirled his tongue around her nipple, then sucked. His finger found her clit and rubbed.
She was so close already. “Please…” She moaned, digging her fingers into his back.
He chuckled, pressing himself against her, the length of his erection touching her. Not a moment later, he released her. Gasping for breath, her feet hit the floor. She wobbled.
A breath away from her, he demanded, “Pants off.”
That one word, that one demand. A shudder ran through her. She removed her pants quickly.
His hooded eyes on her, he shook his head. “Thong too, Allie.”
She removed her thong. Her body trembling, she held her breath, waiting.
“Couch.”
On trembling knees, she walked to the couch and sat. Her eyes lifted to his.
He stood feet away, looking so damn sexy fully clothed. Desire clear in his eyes, he raked her from top to bottom. “Open your legs.”
She parted her legs.
“Wider, Allie.” His tone harsh.
He clenched his jaw then slowly strode to her, each step purposeful. Kneeling in front of her, he placed his hands on her thighs and spread her legs wider. He dove his tongue in her flesh.
She screamed, arching her back off the couch.
He didn’t stop. He dove deeper, harder, faster. Then he sunk his fingers in her, and the world melted away.
Seeing stars, she didn’t notice when he undressed. The next moment, he sank on the couch beside her, wrapped his arm under her, flipped her over him, and buried himself inside her.
“Ride me, Allie. Make yourself come again, baby.”
With her hands on his chest, she rode him hard and fast. He helped her, each hand on her hip, pulling her up and down against his shaft.
“Fuckin’ beautiful. Gonna come so fuckin’ good, baby.”
She was close again, so close. Every word out of his mouth got her hotter, fever-pitch hot.
“Now, baby, now. Come now. Come with me.”
She came, threw her head back, and moaned. He grasped her by the back of the neck and pulled her face to his until her gaze met his. Then and there, staring into his eyes, hearing his rapid breaths, feeling him inside her after that mind blowing orgasm, she knew. She wasn’t falling fast and hard.
She’d already fallen.
“Shit.”
His arms snaked around her back. He hauled her against him, claiming her lips in a searing kiss. “Fuckin’ amazing. Missed you so fuckin’ much.”
She buried her face in his neck and forced herself to ignore the pang in her chest, convincing herself she couldn’t possibly love him. It had been only a week.
“Why me?” She didn’t realize she said the words aloud until his body jerked. Even then, she wasn’t sure if he understood her question.
Pulling her slightly away from him so his eyes captured hers, he cupped her face, tightened his other arm around her waist. “’Cause you’re beautiful, smart, and sweet. You drink beer and drive a Camaro. You can cook. You keep a clean house, and you don’t mind I don’t. ’Cause I fuckin’ love your eyes. They change color in the sun. It’s all that you are, and it’s the way you make me feel. I’m not fuckin’ pissed at the world when I’m with you. I’m just fuckin’ happy. It’s not something I’ve ever been, Allie, not like this.”
Shit. Fuck. Totally warranted. It felt like her heart melted inside her chest, and that pang became a full-blown ache. A good kind of ache, like when you realized maybe the someone you loved could love you back.
Jace pulled her against him. She went willingly, resting her face against the crook of his neck. He shifted, still buried inside her. Her back on the couch, he hovered over her, staring into her eyes. “It fuckin’ killed when I saw you walk in today and ignored me.”
“Um…I…I thought you were angry with me.”
He lifted a brow. “Why?”
“You looked angry.”
He shrugged and ran his fingers down her cheek. “Kinda was. I wanted to kiss you, but I couldn’t.”
She stilled. Maybe Mia was right. Maybe he was falling for her. She was already gone for him, and it happened so fast. “Jace,” she whispered, her throat clogging.
His fingers slid over her lips. His gaze lingered there. “Yeah, baby?”
“I…I’m pretty tired. Can we go to bed?” It hadn’t been what she’d been so close to admitting, but she was glad. She needed time to think. She couldn’t grasp how she could possibly love him knowing so little about him.
He smiled. “Yeah, baby. We can go to bed.”
****
The blaring alarm clock woke him. He blinked several times. Allie sprawled on top of him. Her head on his chest, her legs tangled in his. He smiled, shifted her until her head lay on the pillow and turned off the alarm. Snuggling beside her, he feathered kisses over her face. She stirred briefly but didn’t wake. He trailed his lips down her neck and chest then lapped his tongue around her nipple. She arched her back, moaning softly, and whispered his name.
He grinned against her flesh, loving the game. The same game he played with her every morning for the past six days. She hadn’t lied when she said she was a heavy sleeper.
He kissed her lips. She kissed him back. Finally, her eyes drifted open. A smile spread across her lips.
“Mornin’, baby,” he whispered.
“Morning, honey.”
Every time she called him that, a warmth settled deep in the center of his chest. It replayed in his mind until that warmth spread to his gut.
They rode in his car to get Della and took her to the park, then ate lunch at Allie’s. Since Army hadn’t called her, they decided to head to a movie. After the movie, he drove them to his house.
In the same neighborhood as Army’s house, his had more land, was fenced off, and isolated. It had been a wreck when he bought it. He’d since put a lot of hours, labor, and money into making it a home. It was worth it. He loved the piece of land. Pulling up the drive, he hit the remote to open the gate.
Allie turned to him. “Where are we?”
“J’s house,” Della responded.
Her eyes widened, briefly.
“J has a very pretty house. It’s big. I stay here some times, so I have my own room,” Della continued. “He wanted Mommy and me to live with him, but Mommy said no.”
Looking through the rearview mirror, he met his niece’s eyes. “It’s not big.”
“It is, too. It has five bedrooms, and it’s two stories, and it has a pool.”
The way Della said it made it sound like a mansion. He supposed to her it might be, but to Allie, who’d lived in a penthouse in New York, far from it.
He spared a look in Allie’s direction. “It isn’t big. A total wreck when I bought it, had only four bedrooms. Remodeled a lot, pretty much every room, and I added a garage and a master suite.”
She nodded.
He pulled up the drive, waited for the gate to close behind him, then drove up to his house, and parked along the circular drive. It was a two-story brick home with an attached two-car garage surrounded by two large willow trees that shaded the area around it. He’d hung a tire swing on one of them for Della.
He hopped off the car, helped Della out, then walked up the steps to the porch where he’d hung a swing. Turning, his gaze hit Allie, taking everything in. “Allie? You coming?”
She nodded and neared.
He unlocked the door, opened it, letting Della and Allie in first. “Della, wanna get washed up for dinner while I show Allie around?”
She nodded and dashed up the stairs.
He faced Allie. Her eyes wide, she studied his home from the foyer. The layout was open concept. To the right, a small seating area with a brick fireplace. Straight ahead, the main sunk-in living room. It also had a brick fireplace. On the mantle, he had several framed pictures of Della and Tina. A large sectional sat in the middle. In front of it, a flat screen TV. A large window framed a clear view of the backyard, and beside it, a set of double French doors led outside to the back porch and yard.
To the left of the living room was the dining room. There, too, was a large window. A dark wood table positioned in the middle seated six. Between the dining room and kitchen was a hallway that led into a storage closet, bathroom accessible from the backyard, the laundry room, and garage.
The kitchen, twice the size of the dining room, he’d remodeled the most, installing new, stainless-steel appliances, dark-wood cabinets, and light-granite countertops that circled the entire area.
He scanned his home, and then his gaze darted to her. She stood in the middle of the dining room, her eyes on the mahogany wooden table.
She ran her fingers over it. As if sensing his eyes on her, she met his gaze. “This is a beautiful home, Jace.”
She was just being nice. He smiled. “You haven’t seen it all yet, Allie.”
“Think I’ve seen plenty to know it is, but if you insist, lead the way.”
He led her through the French doors outside to the porch and the backyard. The pool sat fifty feet away from the back doors surrounded by several lounge chairs and a patio table for four. He showed her his office, then led her upstairs to the four bedrooms. Last, he took her into his room. He had a four-poster bed, also dark wood, a dresser, armoire, and TV. Beside the TV, a walk-in closet he didn’t think he’d ever be able to fill. To the other side, the en suite bathroom with tub and shower. At the back end of the room were two large windows. In between, a set of double doors leading onto the second-story balcony.
She went to the doors, parted them, and stepped outside. He followed her and found her resting her weight against the railing looking out into his backyard. He came up behind her, wrapped his arms round her waist, buried his face in her neck, and feathered a kiss under her ear.
She turned to face him and pressed her lips against his. “It’s beautiful.”
“Know it’s not fancy or—”
She placed her fingers over his lips. “It’s beautiful and homey. Perfect for a family.” She lifted a brow, then teased, “…or a hot, angry, badass biker with a big heart who loves his sister and niece.”
He hid his smile. “Did you just call me a hot, angry, badass biker?”
Allie flushed. She looked away from him. After a moment, she met his stare. “Before I knew your name, that’s what I called you.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Don’t believe you.”
“Why would I lie, honey?”
His heart squeezed. He loved when she called him that.
“I had names for some of the other guys, too.”
The smile fell away from his lips. Knowing he could come to regret, he asked, “What were they?”
“Dash was Tatted Sleeves, Bud was Tatted Chest and…” She hesitated. “I actually feel guilty about this one, but it’s kind of true.”
Who the hell was it? What the hell was it? He shouldn’t have asked. If she’d called any one of his brothers “hot” he’d definitely have to punch them in the face.
“Ripper was Dead Eyes.”
Dead Eyes? Damn, not bad and true. Sometimes, he swore Ripper was dead inside. Then again, sometimes he showed another side of him, like the night he tried to comfort Allie. “Pretty good.”
She smiled.
After dinner that night with Della, Allie, and Army, he dropped Della off at home and headed to his empty house. For the first time in more than a week, he lay on his bed. He thought about Allie until he drifted to sleep.