“Okay, maybe not. But he should shove something somewhere.”
“You’re home,” Jace says, sounding ridiculously relieved.
“Do you need me to help you inside?” I ask my sister, but she shakes her head as she climbs out of the car.
“Call you tomorrow,” she says, waving without looking back as she stumbles up the walk to her small house. Once she’s inside, Jace pulls away from the curb, and I make a dive for his pants.
“What are you doing?”
“Unzipping your pants,” I reply as if that should be self-evident.
“Why?”
“This seatbelt is in my way.” I unclip it and let it zoom away, giving me easier access to his perfect dick.
Once he’s unzipped and I’ve pushed aside his clothes, I’m delighted to find that he’s already hard.
“Did the butt plug talk do this to you?”
“No, you unzipping my pants did it,” he says. “Joy, I can’t drive like this.”
“You’re a smart man,” I say and drag the tip of my tongue around the crown of his cock. “You can drive.”
“Fuck me, Joy.”
“I am.” I lower over him, taking him to the back of my throat, and then pull up again as I lick him firmly. “Can’t wait ’til we get home.”
He buries one hand in my hair, and I go to work on him, licking the length of him along that rigid vein that sticks out when he’s super turned on—the way he is now. He’s breathing hard and moans every time I sink down and grip him with my lips, milking him with my mouth.
He tastes salty, and his skin is smooth.
“Delicious,” I say when I come up for air. “I love your cock.”
“Jesus Christ, if you keep this up, I’ll come.”
“Oh, good.” I’m jacking him with my fist and paying a lot of attention to the tip, until finally I sink down once more and he comes in my mouth, spraying the back of my throat.
It doesn’t trigger my gag reflex. Instead, it’s possibly the sexiest thing that’s ever happened when I’m drunk.
I clean him up and fall back into my seat, a satisfied smile on my lips.
“I could have killed us.”
“But you didn’t.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t you that kissed that stranger tonight?”
I shake my head. “Noel kissed him,” I say with a sigh. “And I thought about doing that to you.”
“Remind me to be your chauffeur more often.”
Laughing. I can hear laughing, and it only makes my headache worse.
I lift my head from the pillow on Jace’s bed and frown. Carl is curled up next to me, purring and kneading the bedding with his one front paw.
“’Morning,” I say to him before I walk to the bathroom and pee longer than I ever have before. “That’s what drinking that much does to you.”
I frown and find some leggings and a loose sweatshirt and, without brushing my hair or my teeth, I venture out to see who Jace is laughing with.
I hope I don’t regret looking like this.
I pad barefoot to the kitchen and rub my eyes as Jace and Levi both look over at me with wide smiles.
“What?”
“Good morning, baby,” Jace says as he crosses to me and kisses my head. “Want some coffee?”
“Yeah.” I yawn and sit next to Levi at the island. “Why are you laughing?”
“I was telling him about you guys last night,” Jace says and looks at me with mischievous eyes as he passes me my coffee. “There was a lot of butt plug talk.”
I frown, thinking back on last night, then smile. “Oh, yeah. That was funny.”
“How do you feel?” Levi asks.
“Like roadkill,” I say and take a sip of coffee. “And like you’re both yelling at me.”
“Not yelling,” Jace says. “I was just telling Levi that I got us tickets to see Hamilton on Friday.”
“I didn’t know Hamilton was in town,” I say. “But, yay! I’ve been wanting to see it.”
“I know. I got us really good seats, and we’ll have to dress up.”
I frown. I have lots of dresses that I could wear, but he’s seen them all already. I want to look better for this, it’s an actual date.
I’ll call Noel and ask her to go shopping with me.
“You don’t want to go?” Jace asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“What? No, I do. Why do you ask?”
“You’re frowning.”
“Oh. I’m just hung-over.” I sip more coffee and feel it dribble onto my sweatshirt. “And clumsy.”
“You’re cute when you’re hung-over,” Levi says with a smile.
“Your flattery will get you everywhere,” I reply. “Also, I have questions for you.”
“Okay, shoot.”
“What happened with you and Starla?”
And just like that, Levi shuts down. He gazes down into his own coffee mug, and his lips tighten.
“Come on, you can tell me. I don’t have to know all the dirty specifics, I just want to know if you’re going to see her again.”
“Not talking about it.”
He’s literally shut down.
“I’m a vault,” I promise him, holding up two fingers. I’ve never been a scout, and I’m not sure that Girl Scouts hold up two fingers. “I’m not a gossip. Was the sex good? Are you going to see her soon? Do you talk via text all day and fall asleep while talking on the FaceTime?”
“Jesus, you could be a detective,” Levi mumbles into his mug before taking a sip. “I’m not talking about Starla, Joy.”
“Oh, did it not go well?” I ask and tsk in sympathy. “I’m sorry. Maybe the sex just wasn’t all that good.”
He glares at me, and I know I’m way off the mark there.
It was good.
“Or maybe she just doesn’t have time for a commitment because she’s on tour all the time. You know how it is, there’s got to be a new guy in every city.”
Now his cheeks redden, and I know I’ve hit a sore spot.
“Cut him some slack,” Jace says. “He doesn’t want to talk about it.”
I ignore Jace, still focused on Levi. “You know, you’re my favorite.” I lay my hand on his shoulder and pat it. “And I’m your friend. You can talk it out.”
“I’m not your favorite,” he scoffs.
“Always have been,” I swear, holding up my two fingers again, but he just shakes his head and drains his mug, then stands.
“See you later, man.”
“You know you want to tell me!” I yell after him, but he just waves and leaves. “Well, that wasn’t helpful.”
“You know, I never used to be jealous of the way you flirt with my brother,” Jace says, catching my attention.
“I don’t flirt with him.”
“You always have, Joy.”
I scowl and stare at him, blinking slowly. “No, I’m just friendly, and I try to draw him out of his stoic shell. He’s always so serious.”
“It’s okay,” he says with a pretend sigh. “I’ll just have to get used to the flirting, I guess.”
“I don’t flirt with him, you jackass.”
He laughs and drinks my coffee.
“Hey! That’s mine.”
“That’s what you get for flirting with my brother.”
“I’m going to—”
“What?” he asks, his whole face lit up with humor. “What are you going to do, Joyful?”
He hasn’t called me that since college. I hated it then, too.
“I broke you of saying that.”
“Broke me?”
“Yes. I trained you to not call me that.”
He shakes his head. “Well, Joyful, it looks like I’ve been untrained.”
“No more blowjobs in the car for you, my friend.”
He stops short, staring at me. “That’s just cruel.”
“You get what you give.” I shrug and give him a look that says “I don’t make the rules.”
“Now, I shoul
d take a shower and get this hangover washed off of me. I have to pick Angela up from the clinic today and take her and the puppies home. What have I done? I don’t have time for puppies.”
“I’ll help,” he says as he follows me back to the bedroom. “And we have babysitters for when we need them.”
“I need a puppy nanny,” I mutter as I whip my sweatshirt over my head and toss it on the bed. “And a lobotomy, because I’m clearly crazy.”
“No lobotomy,” Jace says as he wraps his arms around me from behind, palming my breasts. “Can I take a shower with you?”
“Do you promise to be good?”
“Not a fucking chance.”
“Okay, then.”
~Joy~
“This is the best day ever,” Noel says as we walk into Neiman’s. She looks like a kid on Christmas morning.
I look like I’m headed to the guillotine for a crime I didn’t commit.
“This is hell on Earth,” I mutter as I trudge behind her, barely looking at the clothes on the racks. “Maybe I should just wear a dress that I already have.”
“No, you said yourself, he’s seen all of those multiple times. This is a real date, and it should be something nice. Sexy. Alluring.”
I roll my eyes behind my sister’s back. “That’s a little dramatic. I really just don’t want to suck.”
“You’re going to take his breath away,” she promises me as she leads me into the evening gown section, and we comb through rack after rack of sparkles, silk, and satin in all colors of the rainbow. Within three minutes, I’m completely overwhelmed.
Noel has four dresses draped over her arm and hurries to find a sales girl.
“We need a dressing room, please.”
“Of course. I’m Claire, and I can help with anything you need.”
I want to apologize to Claire ahead of time for my sister’s over-exuberance and my lack of interest, but I keep my mouth shut and follow the woman into a dressing room.
“Do you need any help?” she asks me.
“No, thanks.” Getting in and out of a formal gown is old hat to me after years of attending functions with Jace.
I strip out of my sundress, already prepared by wearing a strapless bra, and reach for the first gown.
It’s black and has a tapered hem, starting mid-thigh in the front and skimming my heels in the back.
It also makes my boobs look nonexistent.
“You have to show me every one,” Noel calls through the door.
“Even if it sucks?”
“Yes. I have to know how it sucks so I can find you something that doesn’t suck.”
I open the door, and Noel covers her mouth with her hand, her eyes going wide as she cringes.
“Yeah, that’s not you.”
“Not unless I’m a twelve-year-old boy who loves to dress in drag.”
She giggles and flips her hand at me, gesturing me back into the room. “Next.”
I can’t get out of the black number fast enough and change into a red dress that rests on one shoulder with a giant rose. Aside from the ugly rose, it’s not bad. It hugs my curves in all the right places.
When I open the door, Noel nods, tapping her lips with her finger. “I like it.”
“This rose is gaudy.”
She nods again. “I agree, but the fit of the dress is great. Is it comfortable?”
“Are these dresses ever comfortable?”
“Good point. Try the blush-colored one. I think it might be a winner.”
I do as she asks and shimmy into the light pink dress. It’s sleeveless but has straps on my shoulders, and a V-cut that dips down past my cleavage. I have to strip out of my bra altogether.
When I walk out of the room, Noel gasps and her eyes fill with tears.
“If Jace reacts like that, this will all be worth it.”
“Joy,” she breathes. “That dress was made for you. The color is stunning, and the way it dips between your breasts? Jesus, I wish I had boobs like you.”
“And I wish I had breasts like you,” I reply with a wry grin. Noel’s curves are kicking. “But I agree. I love this one. I think I’ll need some dress tape to keep it in place around my boobs, but otherwise, it’s great. Wait, how much is it?”
She rolls her eyes. “You can afford it, no matter how much it is.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m not concerned with how much it costs.”
She just shakes her head and shoos me back into the room. “It doesn’t matter, it’s yours. Go change so we can go to the shoe department.”
I walk into the room and unzip the dress. “I already have shoes,” I call out to her.
“Not for that dress.”
“Black heels go with everything.”
“No,” she says, her voice hard. “They don’t. They definitely don’t go with that dress. You need nude heels, and I know there are some Jimmy Choos downstairs that will be divine.”
“Who the hell is Jimmy Choo?” I mutter to myself as I slip my sundress back over my head and check the price of the gown, almost swallowing my tongue when I see the tag.
“Noel!”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“This dress is two thousand dollars.”
“Oh, good, so it’s not too bad.”
I stomp out of the fitting room and stare at my sister in horror. “Not too bad? It’s almost the same as my mortgage payment, Noel.”
She doesn’t even bat an eye. “I will not have you going on this date in anything less than something amazing. You can afford this dress, and it’s gorgeous. Jace is going to fight a hard-on all night.”
Okay, so the thought of that makes me happy. Ridiculously happy. I used to want to look nice for Jace because I didn’t want to embarrass him in front of his important colleagues.
Now, I just want him to be unable to resist me and think I’m the sexiest woman in the universe.
My, how times have changed.
“Okay, we’ll take the dress.”
“And no bitching about how much the shoes are,” she warns me. “Because they’re going to be hella expensive, and totally worth it.”
“Gird your loins,” I whisper to my credit card and prepare myself for the shopping shitstorm that’s about to happen. “I wonder how Jace is doing with the puppies?”
“They can’t even walk yet,” Noel reminds me. “They just eat and sleep, and their mama does pretty much the same, so I’d say he’s fine. He’s a surgeon, after all.”
I laugh as we take my shopping bag down to the shoe department. “You know, being a surgeon doesn’t mean that he’s stellar at everything.”
“Is there something he’s not good at?” she asks. I have to really think about it.
“He was never good at writing papers.”
“Life stuff,” she says. “Is there any life stuff that he sucks at?”
“He’s not a great cook, but he doesn’t suck. I know. He’s a really bad bowler.”
She smirks. “I stand corrected.”
“Holy fuck, we’re not going anywhere.”
And . . . all of the shopping torture was completely worth it. Jace is standing on the other side of my threshold in a black suit that molds to his body, wearing a grey tie. The suit isn’t one I’ve seen before, so it looks as if he went shopping, too. That makes me smile.
The way his grey eyes roam up and down my body leaves me flushed and turned on.
My God, he’s hot.
“Come on in.” I step back and close the door behind him, then move to get my clutch. But Jace hooks his hand on my waist and pulls me against him.
“I’m serious, I want to strip this magnificent dress off you and fuck you into next week.”
“We have tickets,” I remind him softly against his lips. “And dinner reservations.”
“I don’t give a shit.”
“I might get naked for you later,” I say before I kiss him quickly. “But it’s a first date, so we’ll see. I’m not usually that kind of girl.”
“Everything before was as friends,” I remind him, then step away to grab my clutch and check on Angela. She’s just been outside, has eaten, and is in the whelping box with her babies.
“I should have brought you flowers,” he mumbles with a frown.
“You’re forgiven,” I reply. “Dad’s going to stop by in a couple of hours to check on Angela, so she and the babies should be fine.”
“Let’s go before I talk you into staying.” He holds his arm out for me to take and escorts me to his car. We drive into the city, leave the car with a valet, and walk into a restaurant I’ve never been to before. It’s fancy—maybe the most opulent I’ve ever been.
Once we’re seated and given our menus, our waiter appears to take our drink order.
“A bottle of champagne for the table,” Jace says, smiling at me. He knows I love the bubbly. “And we’ll start with the oysters.”
“Yes, sir,” the waiter says, bowing before leaving us to look over the menu.
“Aren’t you fancy?” I say with a grin.
“I want you to have a good time.”
“I already am,” I reply and reach over to squeeze his hand. “Thank you in advance for tonight.”
He lifts my hand to his lips, keeping his gaze on mine as he kisses my knuckles. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as beautiful as you are tonight.”
“How can you fluster me after all these years?”
“I could ask you the same question.”
The waiter returns and makes a show of popping the cork on the champagne, pouring us each a glass and setting the bottle in a tall ice bucket at the side of the table.
The Cristal has just the right amount of bubble, tickling my nose as I take the first sip.
“That’s a new suit,” I comment as I peruse the menu. “You look quite handsome in it.”
“Thank you,” he says with a smile. “I went shopping with Noel.”
I lower my menu and stare at him in surprise. “No way.”
“It’s true. I wanted something new, and Lia was busy. Noel was excited to go.” I giggle, and he tips his head to the side, watching me. “What’s so funny?”
“My sister is a piece of work.” I sip my champagne. “She took me shopping for this dress. She basically arranged our entire wardrobe for tonight.”
Love With Me Page 11
