Friction(80)

He gives my ass cheek a stinging slap. "Stop apologizing. We’re done with apologies because I forgive you. I forgive you, Lucy.” I shiver as his eyes roam over my body in slow appreciation. Taking in my bra and panties, he gives me a pained look. “Take them off, Lucy, or I’ll rip them to shreds.”

Keeping my gaze locked with his, I move my hands to the thin straps on my shoulder before Jace lays a rough hand on mine to stop me. "You’re too slow, love, and I have no patience to wait for you." His deep, sensual growl sends sparks through my veins, and my skin is on fire as he rips away my undergarments, tossing them carelessly on the floor.

The feel of the cotton sheets beneath me draws a sharp moan from my slightly parted lips, and my teeth bite down on my upper lip to keep from screaming when Jace moves down my body, and I feel his warm breath fan the inside of my thighs. I clench my fingers around the pillows to keep from reaching down to grab his hair.

My hips buck when the tip of his tongue dips between the folds of my sex to move in a smooth, circular motion. I see stars. I see stars already and he’s barely even touched me. His fingers splaying on my thighs, his tongue continues its exploration of my sex, darting in and out until I’m breathless and begging him for more.

"You're so wet."

He says something else, something that will probably make me unravel a little more, but those words are drowned out by the raspy moans falling from my lips.

“And you taste so good,” he’s saying when the buzzing in my ears stop. Licking and sucking deep on my clit, he continues until the climax hits me, and I’m practically singing his name.

He moves up and over me until his cock presses against the opening of my sex. Releasing a rough growl, he pushes himself inside me in one powerful thrust. I let go of my hold on the pillows and lace my fingers into his dark hair as he pushes deeper. Harder.

The sensation of flesh against flesh is almost too much to bear, and I’m trembling again when I lift my legs and wrap them securely around his waist. With each stroke of his cock, he takes a little more of me. Makes me want him more. Makes me fall a little faster.

"Jace," I rasp when I feel the beginnings of another orgasm work through my body. "I'm going to come soon. I don't want this to end, but ohhhhhh … right there. Right. Fucking. There.”

“Say that again, love. That naughty, filthy—”

“Fuck,” I say. “Fuck.”

The waves come crashing down just as the walls of my sex clench around his cock. He keeps going, pushing deeper, each stroke—each movement—creating a tension that tears me apart.

Several thrusts after he makes me incoherent, Jace finally releases himself, a loud groan of pleasure ripping from his lips just before he tells me he loves me again.



I lose count of the number of times we make up, but I know my body will ache tomorrow. That’s a feeling I’ll gladly welcome. Several hours later, Jace is fast asleep, one tattooed arm wrapped around my body and his forehead to mine. He’s breathing lightly, his warm breath fanning my face with each inhale and exhale.

Reaching between us, I cup his face between my hands, biting my lip when he turns toward me, his mouth twitching even in his sleep. To be able to lie next to him again and feel his heart beat against mine is everything.

I place one more kiss at the corner of his mouth.

“I love you,” I whisper.





Epilogue





Five Months Later




“You know, Williams, I’ve never been to a wedding,” Jace whispers, his warm breath tickling the side of my face, filling my senses with the scent of wintermint gum. “It’s not … what I expected.”

“Not enough metal for you?” I turn slightly to gaze into his blue-gray eyes, and my heart feels like it skips a beat. Or three. His effect on me is still like nothing I ever imagined and it’s breathtaking. He lifts one shoulder, and a slow grin inches across his features.

“Why the hell would I expect metal at a wedding?” he demands, and I draw in a breath when he playfully nudges my ear with the tip of his straight nose. “After, perhaps, but not during the actual—”

“Hush, Exley. They’re giving their speeches to one another.”

Placing one hand possessively on my thigh, he grins and sits back in his seat but says nothing as we watch the bride and groom speak just before they begin cutting the cake.

It knocks me off my axis when I realize that he’s been in my life nearly eight months now. I hadn’t planned to fall for him when I stepped foot into EXtreme in January—hadn’t wanted love because my awful experience with Tom had dug so deeply beneath my skin—but it’s what happened. It’s where we are now.

And no matter how crazy Jace drives me, how many times I want to slap him when he calls me Lucy-I-Know-Fucking-Everything-Williams, I wouldn’t change this.

I couldn’t.

After he forgave me for what had happened at Mr. B’s party, we had launched into a routine. Breakfast before we each went to our respective jobs. Dinner after work. And more often than not, I spend my nights with him, learning and taking and giving. He’s told me more than once that it’s the most orthodox arrangement he’s ever been in—even if I do creep off in the early hours each morning to go back home to Worcester before we start all over again.