Friction(79)

“My place.”

We spend the duration of the fifteen-minute drive to his house in silence. Once we’re there, standing in his living room, he says, “I’m sorry it took me this long.”

I blink at him. “You’re apologizing to me?”

He gives me a brisk nod. “I should have done this awhile back, but I told myself it was better this way.” He closes his eyes and a rueful smile lingers on his lips. “I’ve never been so fucking angry in my life.”

A painful weight drops into my stomach. “I’m so sorry, Jace, I—”

“I’ve never been so fucking angry, and it’s because I cared for you. So I let you go like an idiot. I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry it took me so long to react, when you were pouring your heart out for weeks. I’m sorry.”

“Thank you for saying that. Because it hurt that you wouldn’t hear me out. It hurt, even though I knew what I did was so wrong.” I swallow back the lump building in my throat as tears rush to my eyes. I feel so ridiculous crying, but goddammit, I can’t help it now. “I’m sorry for that, Jace. You trusted me, and I hate that I screwed up that trust.”

“Then we’ll start over. Because I forgive you, Lucy—I don’t have any other choice. I sat there, telling you to fix things with your mom, and when shit hit the fan with us, I was a hypocrite. I’m not that person. I left things unresolved with my mum before I lost her, but I’m not going to do that with you. You’re too important to me. I’d rather move forward than let one mistake fuck up a good thing.”

“I thought we were just casual,” I whisper.

He shakes his dark head and takes a step closer to me, reaching out for my wrists and pulling me close to him. “You’re not casual, love. You’re the one I can’t get out of my head. Lucy-I-Know-Fucking-Everything-Williams.” I start to speak, but he stops me, pressing his fingertip to my lips. “You are everywhere. You’re still in my building. Still on my sheets. I heard that fucking awful song you liked so much the other day—the Craig David one—and I listened to the entire thing because I thought of you.”

“That must have been traumatizing for you,” I whisper, and his lips move into a slow grin.

“I don’t want you to work for me, Lucy. Fuck, I don’t think my clients want you to work for me, but I do want you.”

Although I can barely breathe, I melt against him, and I’m lost when his lips cover mine.



"I've missed you," Jace murmurs against my lips, his tongue darting in and out and blurring my senses. “I’ve missed you so much.”

I never would have believed that just a handful of words could affect me so much, but suddenly, I can’t breathe. “I love you, Jace,” I whisper. Swallowing hard to relieve my dry throat, I open my eyes and I’m lost as I stare into his. “I love you, and I’m so sorry for what I—”

"Shh, love," he says softly. “I love you, too. I have for a while.”

For a while.

Does he have any clue what that confession does to me?

When I start to tell him, he cuts me off with his mouth. A raw, husky moan pushes past my lips as Jace’s teeth capture my nipple. An explosion shoots down my spine, arching my back and I buck my hips against his in response.

The sensations he’s sending through my body makes me temporarily forget my apologies, but I promise myself there will be time for that later. No matter what I will make it up to him, but all I want now is to lose myself in him.

"Jace—” The frustrated groan escaping my lips makes him chuckle, so he moves his attention to my other nipple, giving it a rough tug.

"Dear God!" I scream, the fire launching through my body settling at my core. Every inch of me hums and aches, every muscle is so tight from the anticipation of being with him again that I know I’ll detonate if I don’t have him deep inside of me and soon. The desire to have him—coupled with the number his teeth are doing to my breasts—drive me absolutely insane. He grins up at the sight of my head tossing from side to side against the pillow.

"Do you want more, love?" he rasps, his handsome face rubbing between my breasts. Dear god, why does this have to feel so good? He leans away and draws me up on my knees. “Tell me what you want from me.”

"You,” I whisper. “I just want you." Because I love you. Taking my hand in his, he roams it down his torso, toward his erection. My eyes are immediately drawn to his cock straining against his boxer briefs. "I just need to have you inside me, Jace. It's been too long, and I just want you.”

Without waiting for his answer, I move my fingers to his waist and tug on the elastic band until his boxer briefs slide over his hips. He doesn’t even make an attempt to hold back his smirk as he helps me, and my breath catches as he closes my fingers around his erection and jerks my hand up and down. “You drive me crazy every time I think of you. Because I’m crazy about you. I’ve never been in love—don’t even know how to cope with it—but I know that I’ll fight to keep you. No matter how many mistakes we make, I don’t want to let you go again.”

His words make my heart both ache and sing at the same time, and I can’t find the right words as I bob my head up and down. “I’m so sorry, Jace, I—”