Fever (Breathless #2)(9)

She sucked in her breath when Jace’s pants hit the floor and he stood in front of her in only a pair of black boxer briefs. They were tight, encasing muscular thighs and very clearly outlining the rigid length of his erection.

The man was beautiful in a scary, oh-my-God way she’d never experienced. Light and dark. Ash and Jace. Two completely different personalities.

Jace was intensely brooding, his gaze devouring her as he reached for the waistband of his briefs. She forgot to breathe. Forgot Ash’s sensual assault on her br**sts. Jace’s c**k surged from his underwear and strained upward, thick and pulsing.

Jace stepped forward, leaned down and roughly hauled her from Ash’s grasp and into his arms. She landed against him, his skin a shock against hers. Her knees barely brushed the mattress as he held her for his kiss. His arms wrapped securely around her, one hand splayed possessively over her ass and the other between her shoulder blades.

Her br**sts were crushed against the hard wall of his chest, and she promptly forgot all about Ash’s hands, which had so gently caressed and teased her ni**les. Her entire body was on fire. This was . . . insane. It transcended simple lust or need. She knew nothing about this man and yet she knew she needed him like she’d never needed anything in the past.

“Her pu**y is mine.”

Bethany blinked as she heard the low growl tear from Jace’s throat. His words were bald in the silence and then Ash’s chuckle skittered through her ears.

“Not like you to be so selfish, man,” Ash said, amusement still evident in his voice. “But I can deal. Her mouth is sweet and I bet her ass is even sweeter.”

Jace shifted and power coiled tautly through his arms. She almost expected him to toss her down and f**k her brains out, but his touch was exquisitely gentle as he lowered her to the bed. There was a reverence in his hold that mystified her.

Her back met the mattress and then his hands slid over her body, caressing and touching as if he couldn’t help himself. His palms glided over her br**sts and then to her belly and finally to her hips. He positioned her so her ass was right at the edge of the bed and her legs dangled over.

To her utter shock, he knelt on the carpeted floor between her thighs. Her breath hiccupped and tore violently from her throat as he lowered his mouth.

Oh God.

“Going to taste that sweet pu**y,” he breathed out.

When his tongue touched her clit, her entire body spasmed. Using his fingers to spread her farther, he licked her again and she shuddered as pleasure rolled through her body.

Ash feathered a hand over her jaw, turning her toward him. Her lips met the tip of his cock, and she hesitated.

“Open up, sweetheart,” Ash said.

Though it was prettily rendered, it was not a request. There was nothing remotely cajoling in his voice. It was a command and one she didn’t think to refuse. Her lips parted and he fit his c**k to her mouth, easing inward as he put one hand to her head to hold her in place.

“That’s it. Suck it,” Ash said as he pushed farther in.

His quiet groan hovered and his fingers tightened against her scalp. She closed her eyes, allowing Ash to dictate the pace. It was fine because she lacked the concentration to be in control. Jace was destroying her with his mouth. His wicked, beautiful mouth and tongue.

Jace wasn’t at all tentative. He stroked his tongue over her clit and then down to her entrance and pushed inward, sucking and licking like she was a delicious treat. Ash leaned up and over her, angling himself into a more dominant position, so she had no choice but to take his c**k as deep as he wanted her to take it.

And then Jace’s mouth left her for the briefest moment. “Don’t hurt her, Ash.”

Ash immediately stilled. Tension she could feel rolled off his body. He stiffened and withdrew and she could see him turn in Jace’s direction, his expression one of fury.

“When have I ever hurt a woman, Jace?”

There was a lot in his voice. Pissed off, surly alpha male rising to the surface. Gone was his playful, flirty demeanor and in its place was something altogether different.

“Jesus, what the f**k, man? Really? You’d say that kind of shit? What the hell are you thinking?”

Bethany tried to sit up, suddenly wanting to not be between these two men. But Jace put a gentle but firm hand on her belly and held her down. He didn’t even look at her, but kept his hand there, a silent order for her to stay put.

“It was just a warning,” Jace said in a quiet voice. “I don’t want to overwhelm her.”

Ash was silent as the two men stared hard at each other. Ash’s lips curled and then he seemed to read something in Jace’s gaze that made him back down. Ash’s eyes went blank and then he lowered his mouth to Bethany’s, kissing her in a manner clearly meant to comfort and reassure.

“I won’t hurt you,” he whispered against her mouth.

“I know,” she whispered back. And she did. Because Jace wouldn’t let him.

“Hands and knees,” Jace said, interrupting the brief tenderness between her and Ash.

She glanced down to see the intensity in Jace’s gaze and she shivered all over again.

Even as she went to turn, Jace was there, his hands against her skin as he helped her to her hands and knees. As soon as she was in position, Jace pressed a kiss to the small of her back.

“Have to get a condom, baby.”