by Saxon James
“Fuck no.” I’m about a breath away from actually crying and I force myself to keep my shit together. “Who the hell would be dumb enough to leave a guy like you?”
His head bows forward and he pinches the bridge of his nose, clearly trying to hold it together as well. Both our sandwiches are almost unsalvageable by this point, so I hesitantly take his hand and walk him over to the bin. We dump the desserts and clean up. I’m not sure where we go from here when I turn to leave and Blake’s hand tightens around mine, pulling me back.
“There you go proving you’re the smart one again.”
I cock my head to the side.
“Only an idiot would leave a guy like you,” he murmurs. “I was a complete fucking dumbass.”
“So … what …” I can’t bring myself to ask. What does that all mean? Where do we go from here?
“Do you remember what you asked me the first time we came here?”
I nod. “Obviously. I told you to be prepared when I let myself go.”
“And I told you it wouldn’t matter. No matter how you look, I’ll love you anyway. But I didn’t just mean that.” He steps closer, hand sliding over my hip and I’m fighting a losing battle when the first tear leaks out. “I’ll love you anyway, anywhere, no matter what. You want to go to New York? Sweetheart, I’m there.”
I don’t give him a chance to say anything else as I slide my hand over the back of his neck and tug him down for a kiss. My mouth connects with his and pure goddamn bliss races through me; a feeling a thousand times better than our sex the other night. That had been tainted with desperation, this, now, nothing could ruin this moment.
Jace and I are unstoppable. They hand out wins to the other teams, but we know who’s got the winning product. Lea and Jace have gotten pretty friendly so her and her husband come over now and then for dinner and drinking and some nights we play music and Tiffany and Chloe come over too. They’re making more of an effort to be friendly but I can’t shake the notion those sisters can’t be trusted. Jace feels it too, so while some nights it’s great to have all three teams along with some of the crew and our builders hanging out, it also sets us more on edge with those two there.
“We could just not invite them,” Jace grumbles.
“That’s a little passive aggressive though, right?” I give a shirt the sniff test before deciding it’s okay and throwing it on.
He pouts. “Why should we have to pretend to be friends just to make them more comfortable about not being left out?”
He’s definitely got a point. A good one. The number of thinly veiled insults they sling around when we gather at our house is rubbing on me. Jace has done an amazing job, and if they suggest one more time that an item he’s bought is tacky, I’ll throw it at their damn heads.
I take a steading breath. “Only a few more weeks, sweetheart.”
He wrinkles his nose and it’s so adorable, I want to grab him and drag him back to bed. Given how full steam ahead everything’s been, we haven’t been finishing work until well after midnight and waking up before the sun, so all opportunities to fool around have been minimal.
There’s no denying how much I love passing out with him in my arms, but hell, it’d be so much better after fucking his brains out. My cock perks up at the mere thought, and I have to hurry to wipe my brain clear of anything remotely fun when there’s a knock at the back door and Chloe’s voice yells out to us.
I press a quick kiss to Jace’s head. “Be nice.”
“Always.” His innocent smile is almost believable.
Chloe and Tiffany have brought a platter of foods I wouldn’t poke with a stick. There’s weird cheese and too hard bread sticks, and instead of dip, there’s something that looks all grainy and another that’s gelatinous and … wrong.
“Aw, you brought dog food,” I tease, but am not actually teasing.
Chloe giggles and bats at my shoulder. “I’ll have you know this is truffle and artichoke dip, silly.”
“Who choked on a dick?” Jace asks.
Chloe’s face blanches and I try not to laugh at Jace’s deadpan expression.
“I—that’s—ah, that’s not what I said, Jason.”
“Besides …” Tiffany sighs from beside her. “You’d be the only one around here doing that, right? Unless … I mean, unless things have cooled down since that video of you cheating.”
I’m about to jump in when Jace answers without missing a beat. “Oh, Tiff.” She scoffs at the nickname. “When you’re doing it right, you never choke.”
He grabs my ass as he reaches across me to grab a beer from the counter. Instead of letting him get away though, I wrap my arm around his waist and press a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth. Those full lips twitch with a smile and the look he gives me is pure love, no more pretend.
Lea and Russ choose that moment to stumble through the open back of the house, clearly already a drink or two in. Jace heads off to meet Lea and I watch him go, barely able to wipe the smile from my face.
“Interesting …”
The voice pulls my attention back to Tiffany. “What is?”
She turns her mouth down like she’s shrugging with her lips. “You guys just seem different. While the rest of us are feeling the pressure, it seems like it’s gone in reverse for you.”
There’s something in her voice that makes me feel uneasy. “We’ve done this before. Guess it’s easier when you have a set routine.”
Her eyes narrow a little. “Yeah. Of course.”
I’m about to move away to join the others when she keeps talking.
“Don’t you think it’s so weird what people have been saying about you guys since the show launched?”
I frown, guard immediately going up. There’s a reason Jace monitors our Total Fabrication social media page. If there are people out there saying homophobic shit, I don’t want to know about it.
Something must show on my face because she smirks. “Nothing to say about it all?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Tiff.”
“You haven’t seen?” She looks legitimately surprised as she hurries to pull out her phone.
Chloe’s eyes flick between Tiffany’s cell and me. “Maybe …” Her voice is softer than I’ve heard it. “Maybe he should be talking to Jace about this.”
I don’t like how she talks like I’m not there. “About what?”
Tiffany hands her phone over showing where she’s searching our couple handle. There are … wow. There’s a lot. I can barely wrap my head around what I’m seeing. There are loads of comments about the show, the rooms we’ve put together, but what I’m not expecting is the sheer amount about our relationship. I expected a few, maybe. Some homophobia, sure. But this … My heart starts to pound faster as I read comment after comment of hatred directed at Jace. Turns out that kiss didn’t go away like I’d thought. Here I was burying my head in the timber and plasterboard, while Jace has been sorting through … urg. Why didn’t he tell me?
Then I see a comment that tunnels my vision.
Jace and Blake broke up long before this show started. They’re just in it for the money. #totalscam
“Jason.” I practically throw Tiffany’s phone back at her as I stalk across the room, grab Jace by the forearm and drag him into the bedroom, closing the door behind us. I can make out conversation coming down the hall as a group arrive from the front, but I’m in no hurry to get back out there. “What the hell is going on? Tiffany just showed me some shit online, what’s it all about, Jace?”
He sighs and drops down to sit on the side of the bed. “Of course she fucking did.”
“Don’t get mad at her. You should have been the one to tell me.”
“I just figured since you’re not big on social media we could get through all this without you having to know. I mute the assholes so miss most of the negative and just respond to the positive.”
“Okay, and what about the people who know we were lying?”
Jace’s lig
ht eyebrows pull together. “What?”
I drop down beside him and bring our page up on his phone. It takes me a couple of minutes but I finally find the comment.
His eyes bulge when he sees it. “Oh, shit.”
“Yeah. Who is this guy?”
His wary expression immediately sets me on edge. “A friend of a friend. We’ve been partying together—”
“Did you sleep with him?”
“What the fuck?” Anger flares in his eyes. “No. I told you I haven’t been with anyone.”
I quickly hold up my hands. “Sorry. I know … argh. Sorry. Knee jerk reaction.”
His anger seeps from him on a long sigh. He takes the phone and clicks on the link attached to the comment. “There’s a whole article about it. Fuck, some people will do anything for the most insignificant amount of attention.”
“What do we do?”
Jace looks up at me with big, lost eyes, no answer in sight.
I take the phone back and answer my own question. “Ignore it. We ignore it, and if we get called into another meeting, we deny it. And it won’t be a lie, because we’re dating again. Right?”
He leans in and pressed his soft lips against mine. “You’re adorable. And the fact you had to ask that just means I need to prove how much we’re really, really dating.” Jace sinks to his knees and goes to push mine open but I quickly grab him and pull him back up.
“Gotta take a raincheck on that.” I pull him down onto my lap. “I saw what people have been saying about you.”
Jace goes stiff in my arms.
“Don’t keep that shit to yourself. I’m here. And the thought of anyone judging you makes me wants to rage. Especially when the disgusting things they say are so far from the truth.”
He gives me a dry look. “They’re not that far from true.”
“We were broken up. My fault, by the way. So no, you’re none of those things.”
“Our fault.” He slides his fingers through my hair. “And damn, I’m glad we got over ourselves.”
I chuckle because he’s right. I find it hard to believe we’ve lost all this time for nothing. I tug him close and let my lips brush against his, but before he can deepen it, I pull back. “Come on, it sounds like everyone’s here.”
He whines. “They can wait.”
“You have no idea how much I want that, but if we’re going to squash the speculation, we better get back out there.”
Jace grumbles but climbs off me and we both head out, prepared to be the coupley-est couple who ever coupled.
The second Chloe finally follows everyone else out, I don’t hesitate. I launch into Blake’s arms and wrap my legs around his waist, mouth crashing against his. Blake’s hands cup my ass as he opens his mouth, tongue immediately seeking out my own. I press against him as he turns to walk toward the bedroom. He stumbles from the living area and down the hall, too busy concentrating on kissing than where we’re going but I couldn’t care less. All night I’ve been close to throwing everyone out and now they’re finally gone, I can revel in his touch.
“Jace …” Blake moans as he kicks open the bedroom door. As soon as we reach the bed, he throws me on it, then pulls his shirt over his head in one swift move.
My dick twitches at the sight of those broad shoulders and tight pecs, and I send a quick thank you to whichever god decided physical labor could make a body look like that.
Blake kicks off his pants and pushes down his underwear then crawls onto the bed until his body runs the length of mine.
“You tired?” he whispers, voice drenched in lust.
I press my hard cock into his. “You’ve woken me up.”
With an evil smile he ducks his head and starts to run open mouth kisses over my jaw and down my neck until he reaches the point where it meets my shoulder. I moan as my eyes fall closed and my head drops back against the sheets.
Blake finds the bottom of my shirt, his fingers dancing across the hem before he pushes it up, over my head, then reaches down to pop the buttons on my fly. “I need you,” he pants.
Oh, yes. My head starts nodding faster and faster. “Please.”
Blake grunts and pushes my pants down until they’re around my thighs and my dick slaps back against my stomach. Almost working on instinct, he gives it a solid pump then lifts his fingers to my lips.
“Suck.” It’s impossible to argue when Blake takes charge.
I open my mouth and use my tongue to draw the digits inside. Pretending they’re his cock, I lick and suck, getting them nice and wet, until he pulls his hand away.
“Good.” With one hand, Blake finishes yanking off my pants and then nudges my thighs open further with his knees. He reaches down and lightly circles my hole. A wave of tortuous need sweeps over me and when he starts to add pressure, then nudges one finger inside, I have to remind myself to relax. There’s a slight burn, an initial discomfort from the intrusion, then he starts to work his finger in and out, getting deeper with each thrust. I groan, and when I start to work my hips, Blake adds a second, then a third. As he works me open, Blake drops light kisses and soft licks on my thighs, the creases between my legs and groin, my perineum and my balls. He avoids my cock and the teasing is making me leak. Making my blood thrum with need as it starts to pool in my dick.
“Blake …”
I feel his lips turn up against my hip bone. “Patience, baby.”
Then he pegs my prostate.
A strangled gasp comes from me as I tense up, ass clenching tight around his fingers. It doesn’t stop Blake from nailing his target over and over. My thighs start to shake and when he finally takes my dick in his mouth, I have to physically bite down on my hand to stop from coming.
“Enough,” I beg.
Blake’s only answer is his wicked smile as his mouth works me over.
“Please. I don’t want to come until you’re inside me.”
His fingers leave my ass suddenly and the fast movement brings back a little of the discomfort for just a second before I squirm for a whole other reason. I need him. Now.
Blake fishes over the side of the bed for where we dropped the lube and quickly uncaps it to cover his dick. I watch his long, slow strokes as he works it in before positioning himself at my entrance.
I pull my legs up further, forcing myself to relax as I anticipate the delicious burn that comes with him entering me. Then he stops.
My eyes fly open as I blink curiously up at him. “Everything okay?”
“Ahh …” He looks down between us. “Do we need condoms again?” His voice is strained, like he’s barely checked back in long enough to ask the question.
“No, I haven’t been with anyone since you.”
And I don’t know if he didn’t believe me the first few times I said it, but this time, relief floods his expression. The tip of his cock nudges my entrance, when this time it’s me who stops him. “And you?”
“Also haven’t been with anyone. Can I fuck you now?”
I chuckle at his blatant neediness and pull his lips down to mine. He tastes so good, like a mixture of wine and cheese and the taste of my cock. It’s a possessive taste and only serves to make me harder.
As we kiss, deep and needy, his cock finally breeches me. My slight cry is muffled by his mouth and slowly turns into a moan as he moves deeper and deeper, inching in until he’s fully seated.
The burn is familiar and welcome, slightly more intense after months of going without. Our kiss is sloppy as he waits for me to adjust, and the fact that he still knows my body turns me to jelly.
I whimper as he breaks the kiss which makes his swollen lips stretch into a smile as he smooths my hair back from my forehead. “Ready, beautiful?”
“So ready. I’ve missed this.”
A flicker of surprise crosses his face before his expression softens and he leans down to press his lips gently to mine. “Me too, Jace.”
His big arms wrap around me, squeezing me tight as he starts to work his hips. I pull my legs up f
urther, giving him deeper access as I try to tilt my hips up to meet his controlled, solid thrusts. Each one sends the headboard against the wall with a dull thud and I wrap my legs around his waist, locking my ankles together, limiting his movement as I try to bring him as close as possible.
His pants of Jace, Jace fill my ear on every puff of air as his lips work their way along my neck. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmurs. “I love you. I love you so much. Never letting you go again …”
I moan, drunk off words that are better than any dirty talk he could give me right now. This, feeling like his again, wholly and completely, is what I needed. Him filling me, stretching me, claiming me, it’s better than I remember.
My cock is aching, leaking between our stomachs. Lightheaded I unlock my legs, drawing them up as I reach around to grab his ass, loving the feel of his tight muscles as he pounds into me. “Faster …” I moan as I urge his thrusts longer, faster, harder.
It’s not enough. My head is swimming. Sweat is starting to build on his skin as it slides against mine. My trapped cock is rubbing between us but the friction isn’t enough.
“Please, Blake. Touch me.”
He bites down on my neck as he releases me with one hand and slips it between us. Holding my shoulder lightly between his teeth, he works my dick as his thrusts start to lose the measured control he’s worked so hard to hold onto. He angles up further, finally hitting my prostate and I call out as he pegs it over and over, hand speeding up on my cock.
It’s too much.
My fingers dig into his ass as I release on a long cry they can probably hear next door. It doesn’t occur to me to keep quiet as my head explodes as completely as my cock, tremors wracking through my limbs.
Blake pulls back, pushing my legs flush against my chest as he pounds into me, grunting on each shallow thrust until his hips press flush against my ass and he groans, filling me with his cum.
He doesn’t pull out right away, just kneels there panting, gaze sweeping over the cum slick on my stomach, my dick, and settling on where my hole is still gripping him tight. His eyes flick up to meet mine.
