by Sienna Skye
“A hot bath sounds amazing. Is there room enough in that tub for two?”
“I’ve never tried.”
“Let’s go find out then.”
He took my hand and led me to my bathroom. He started the water and tossed in some bath oils. While the tub filled, he lit candles and told me to turn on some music. When I came back, the overhead lights were off. The soft dancing light of the candles illuminated the room. Jace was standing there. He had already shed his clothes.
“Come here.”
I stepped closer and he stood behind me. He grabbed the hem of my dress and pulled it over my head. As he unhooked my bra, he leaned in close and whispered in my ear.
“I seem to recall you telling me about a night you spent in the tub. After the first time I kissed you. We are going to relive that night. You are going to show me what I missed.”
“You want me to—”
“Ah huh. And I am going to help.”
Chapter Twenty One
Jace
I stepped into the tub and reached out my hand to help her. I sat down, sinking into the water, and then she sat in front of me. I laid back and pulled her against me.
“The night we kissed on the porch. You pleasured yourself while you were in the tub. Made yourself come.”
She squirmed a little, but it wasn’t from being needy. She was embarrassed.
“I can’t believe I told you that.”
“I was fucking glad you did. I want to know how you play with yourself. How you make yourself come.”
“I don’t think you need any lessons in making me come.”
“Is that so?” I asked.
“You know it is. Why are you teasing me?”
“I’m not teasing you, baby. I want to watch you make yourself come. It will be incredibly hot.”
“It will be a turn on for you to watch me play with myself?”
“Fuck yeah.”
“I’ve never done that before.”
“You’ve never had sex outside at a gala before either.”
“That was different.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s your argument? Sweetheart, you’re going to tell me you could fuck me like a wild woman outdoors while about five hundred people were mere feet away and could walk out at any moment and catch us, but you can’t play with your pussy while you and I are alone sitting in this tub?”
“Yes, that is exactly what I am telling you.”
I laughed harder then. “Do you think I can’t figure out why?”
“I don’t even know why,” she said somewhat incredulously.
“Would you like me to tell you?’
“Oh yes, enlighten me.”
I couldn’t see it, but I knew she rolled her eyes.
“Masturbating is something you do when you’re alone.”
“Your argument is invalid already. I usually don’t have sex in front of people either.”
“Let me finish. You are hesitant about opening yourself up. Leaving yourself vulnerable. This would be me watching you and you showing me a very private part of yourself. I wouldn’t be participating so all my attention would be focused on you. On your every movement, every hitch in your breath, every moan that passes from your lips, every change in your body. You don’t like that attention on you.”
I knew I hit the nail on the head. She knew it too. I was hyperaware of every physical reaction she had to every statement I made. Still she needed to deny it.
“Okay smarty pants. Then explain for me why it was easier for me to have sex with you when there was the possibility of being caught.”
“Because it was a possibility. Because that thought intrigued you, excited you. But, deep down you knew that if someone were to come out, I wouldn’t let it get that far. I would protect you and keep that from happening.”
Madison was silent for a few moments. I stayed quiet while she considered my words and wrestled with her own thoughts. When she was ready to speak, she started with what was easiest to admit.
“It did excite me. Having sex outside, I mean. I guess on some level I knew you would protect me, so it made me feel free to enjoy it. I never doubt that I am safe with you.”
“It sounds like there is a ‘but’ in there,” I told her.
“I’ve never met anyone like you, Jace. You know what I’m thinking…feeling. Even when you don’t come out and say it, I know you do. It’s not just me, I know that. Other people have said the same thing about you. It’s a little scary.”
“Me knowing you…your thoughts and feelings. Your fears. Your desires. It shouldn’t be something you are afraid of. You just said you never doubt that you are safe with me. That shouldn’t just be you trusting me to keep you safe from other people or from some dangerous situation. You should feel safe sharing yourself with me. Because I will protect your heart just as fiercely as I would protect your body.”
She stilled for the briefest of moments. Then she grabbed my hand and entwined her fingers with mine.
“That first time you kissed me, you awakened something in me. Not something I forgot was there. Something I never felt before. It took me by surprise, but it was something I wanted to explore. I felt the overwhelming need to indulge my senses. I poured myself a glass of wine.”
“To relax and indulge your sense of taste.”
“Yes. I lit some candles and lowered the light.”
“To appeal to your sense of sight.”
“Yes.” Her voice was breathy now. The way she was squirming had nothing to do with embarrassment or insecurity. She was aroused. “Next, I put on some music.”
“To satisfy your sense of hearing.”
“I added a fragrant bath bomb.”
“To please your sense of smell.” I took in the scent of her hair and kissed the top of her head. “Let’s see, what’s next?”
“I let my fingers roam my body.”
“To please yourself with touch.”
She nodded. “I imagined you touching me.”
“Show me, Madison. Where did you touch first?”
“My neck.”
“Show me.”
She lifted her hand and ran her fingertips down her neck.
“Did you stop there?”
“No. Then here.” She moved her hand to her collar bone and caressed herself.
I could feel myself starting to get hard. I didn’t need to prompt her to continue.
“Then here.” She started to play with her breast. “But I didn’t do this.” She started to pinch her nipple.
“You are doing it now, though.”
“Yes. I didn’t imagine you doing it that night, but I love when you play with my nipples like that.” She rolled her nipple between her thumb and finger and her back arched as the pleasure built.
“Is that where you stopped, Madison?”
“No, I wanted more.”
I groaned at the way she said the word more. Watching her touch herself was hot as hell, but the image in my mind of her imagining me playing with her made me crazy with need.
“Did you wish my hands were on you, baby?”
“Yes. I pictured what it would feel like to have your body weight on mind. To have your hands explore my body. I wanted to come so badly, so I did this.” She moved her hand down between her legs. The motion made the water splash ever so slightly. She started working herself with her fingers. “My eyes were closed, but I opened them because I wanted to see how my body was responding to my touch.” She kept working her clit with one hand, while the other moved to her breast. “You like this. You’re hard.”
“I fucking love this. I want to watch you come on your fingers. Then I am going to fuck you hard so I can watch you come on my cock.”
My dirty talk was all she needed to put her over the edge. Her body shook as she called out my name. Her hand moved from her breast and grabbed my arm. She arched back against me as her hips rose out of the water. I couldn’t just watch anymore. I nipped at her neck and rolled her nipple betw
een my finger and thumb. She gasped my name and begged me not to stop.
She settled but was still breathing heavily. She released the death grip she had on my arm and reached her arm back to run her fingers through my hair.
“Thank you for sharing that with me. I loved it.”
“I can tell,” she laughed as she wiggled herself against my hard-on.
“Yeah, I’m not quite done with you, yet.”I slid down into the tub a little further, pushing my feet against the other side of the tub to brace myself. “Lay all the way back against me.”
“Is this even possible?”
“We’re going to find out,” I laughed.
I adjusted her body on top of me until I could line my cock up and slide inside her. But then I didn’t move. I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the feeling of being inside her, of her body against mine, and the fact that she opened herself up to share more of herself with me. I didn’t want to break the connection. Didn’t want to leave. Ever. I wanted her by my side. I wanted forever.
She was starting to wonder about my stillness. I could tell. I knew she would be concerned something was wrong. I didn’t want to let her mind go there. I pushed my feet against the end of the tub and thrusted in slow steady strokes. She relaxed again and turned her face to kiss me. One of my hands held the side of the tub and I wrapped my other arm around her as I fucked her harder. The motion caused the water to unsettle and some sloshed over the side of the tub.
Despite the heat of the moment, the similarity between the water and my mood did not escape me. I went from being peaceful in the stillness to wanting to claim her with wild fervor.
“Harder, Jace. Fuck me harder.”
She grabbed the side of the tub to steady herself as I took her harder and faster.
“Like that…or do you want more?”
“More. God, Jace. I need more.”
“Hold on tight, baby.”
I fucked that woman so hard I was afraid I would hurt her. Her screams of pleasure erased those thoughts from my mind. I grabbed her hair and pulled hard. I felt her tighten and pulse around me.
“Fuck Jace, yes!”
The fierceness of her words set me right over the edge. I grunted as I came. My energy depleted, I let my body calm in the water. Madison rested against me, her body as limp as mine.
We lingered in the tub letting the warm water envelop us. I was surprised the water was still as warm as it was. The peace of the moment lulled me into relaxation. It was the first moment of calm I had since the day Morgan called me. My eyes closed and I felt myself start to drift off.
When the water started to cool, I woke. Madison’s body was relaxed, her breathing easy. She must have fallen asleep, too.
“Hey love. Wake up, it’s time to get out. The water is cooling off.”
She didn’t say anything, but she nodded and stood up. I followed her out of the tub and wrapped her in a towel before drying myself off. I tossed a couple of extra towels on the floor to soak up the water we spilled on the floor.
“Will you stay here tonight?”
“I’d like that a lot.”
I put out the candles and turned off the music and we headed off to bed. I put my cell phone on the nightstand next to me in case Trey called.
Madison snuggled up against me and rested her head on my chest. I was just falling asleep when she spoke and startled me awake.
“I was just thinking about this whole thing with the guy threatening Julia. It’s got to be hard to narrow that down since so many people know her. I mean I didn’t even realized Ralph knew who she was, but he does.”
“Don’t you think that is more about you and me, though? He’s seen Julia with me, and he used that to get to you.”
“No, I mean before I ever met you guys. I always read the Ask Nikki column. Back when we were deep in the middle of getting a divorce, he asked me if I knew what I was doing. Meaning I would never be able to survive without him.”
“Which you obviously did.”
“True. Anyway, when he asked me that, I was so frustrated with him and I told him I was chasing my happiness.”
“I’ve heard Julia say that while giving advice.”
“Yes, it’s kind of like her thing. Anyway, it pissed him off and he made some kind of reference about me quoting some out of touch advice columnist. I didn’t even know he knew she existed.”
I don’t think she realized she just made Ralph a person of interest. The timing fit for when the threats started and when Madison and I got involved. I wasn’t completely sold it was him, but I wasn’t ruling it out either.
I wanted to change the subject before she caught on. I didn’t know if there was a connection yet and I sure as hell didn’t want to stick her in the middle.
“Seems like Ralph has laid off a bit. Hasn’t been harassing you as much. He’s been better with taking the kids when he’s supposed to and not bringing them back early.”
“Not really. I’ve just been handling it better. If anything, he’s ramped it up a bit.”
“Has he?”
“Yeah. I figure the kids might have mentioned something to him about you being around and then probably told him that we’re dating.”
“That certainly could be it.”
“You alright? You sound a little off.”
“I’m just really tired. I fell asleep in the tub, too. It’s been a hectic couple of days.”
But really I was taking in everything she said and rolling it around in my brain. There were a couple of things she said that could point to Ralph being the one who was threatening Julia. Not to mention what I knew of his personality. His need to demean women so he could feel good about himself. But, my gut just wasn’t sold on the idea. I couldn’t quite trust that, though. If it were Ralph, that would be devastating to the kids and to Madison. So maybe I was hoping it wasn’t him for their sake. I’d have to run it by Trey. He had no dogs in that fight and would be able to look at it objectively.
Regardless, it was time for Ralph and me to have a few words. Sure, I wanted to see what I read about him and the Julia situation. But whether or not Ralph had anything to do with that, it was time for me to put an end to him harassing Madison. He needed to know that he would have to get through me from now on.
Chapter Twenty Two
Jace
I parked my car across the street from the restaurant. I could see him sitting outside at a table. He was all alone. Honestly, it didn’t matter if he wasn’t. This was getting done today. I got out, slammed the door shut, and walked across the street, never taking my eyes off him.
The place was filled with people from the surrounding corporate offices. I definitely stood out like a sore thumb in my black tee shirt, distressed jeans, and combat boots. I pulled out the chair across from him and sat down. I took off my sunglasses and put them on the table. I wanted to make sure he could see my eyes so there would be no mistake about how serious I was. I leaned back casually in the chair and tapped my hand twice on the table.
He didn’t say anything at first. He sat there looking at me. There was surprise in his expression. Uncertainty. Fear. I wondered how he liked it. How it felt to be the one who was uncertain about themselves. Full of fear over what the person across from them was going to say. I’m sure the irony escaped him. I was silent for a few minutes, but never stopped looking him in the eye. Eventually, he couldn’t help but squirm. I smirked. Time to get this started.
“You and I are long overdue for a conversation, Wescott.”
“Are we?”
He was trying to give off the appearance of being calm. Unaffected. He wasn’t quite selling it.
I leaned in and folded my hands on the table in front of me.
“You see, Wescott, I have a real issue when somebody hurts someone I care about. And you have a bad habit of constantly inflicting pain on Madison. And that is going to stop. Now.”
He sat back, once again trying to give the illusion of calmness. The slight quiver of his lip told m
e otherwise.
“I’ve never laid a hand on Madison.”
“Oh, I know that. You want to know how you can be sure that I know that? Because you are still breathing.” I paused for a moment so he could pay attention to my eyes. The stone cold expression that I reserved for the enemy. I could see him trying to formulate a response. I saw him fail. He had frustration in his eyes. Fear too, but that was there the whole time. “What you do is more insidious. It doesn’t leave any marks or scars that are easy for the eye to see. But, it can be seen by the people who love Madison.”
“Look…Jace was it?” Who was he trying to kid? The fucker knew my name. Did he really think that was going to throw me off my game? “I don’t know what she has told you. Madison tends to get a little hysterical at times.”
Was he fucking kidding me? Could this guy be any more of a waste product?
“Don’t even fucking go there. You like to try to prove what a dominating male you are to Madison. Now you have the chance to really prove it. You can start by being honest. You were such a big man to pull this shit with Madison. At least have the balls to admit to it.”
Silence.
“At least you’re predictable, Wescott. You get off on scaring women.”
I chose my words carefully. While I wasn’t completely sold on him being the one harassing Julia, I couldn’t rule him out yet. There was a flare of recognition on his face, but with a guy like him, it could have been any number of women he had tormented.
“You are so sure of yourself, aren’t you?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, I am. Over the years, you very carefully wore away at Madison’s armor. At her confidence. You created buttons all over her. Buttons you could push at your whim to make her feel like shit about herself. What you didn’t count on was someone who cared enough about her to help her heal. Because your plan all along was to make Madison feel like she couldn’t do better than you. That she lost this great thing. The fact that she was the one who filed for divorce was more than you could take. Proof that she was stronger than you thought. That you hadn’t done quite a good enough job to break her.”
