“Maybe you should ask Roxanne. I have a feeling she’ll be more than happy to explain what was said,” Rose suggested.
Jace thought about it for a moment, then nodded, “I’ll call her.”
“Have her meet you somewhere. Here if you’d like,” Rose offered, then turned and went back inside.
Jace followed her inside, grabbing the phone on the wall and dialed Roxanne’s number. It was answered on the second ring and he spoke before she could, “Roxanne can you come over for a minute? I want to ask you something.”
“Sure, I’ll head over now,” Roxanne replied in a seductive voice.
Jace hung up without a farewell and waited an hour on the porch for Roxanne. He was on his feet instantly when she pulled up and he was stalking across the yard when she climbed out in a barely there dress.“What the hell did you say to Natalia? I told you to back off and leave her alone!”
Roxanne’s eyes grew wide, then anger snapped in them. “Yes, jump to her defense! You don’t even ask me, your girlfriend, what happened? No wonder your other relationships didn’t last! No one can compete with Natalia, the girl you are in love with, but are too stupid to realize it or too ashamed. Yeah, I told that twat to end your friendship. I was sick and tired of living in her shadow and vying for your affection. She’s just a whiny brat that’s just as big of a coward as you are. So, I told her some things that I knew would scare her off. Looks like it worked.”
Jace’s eyes snapped in anger. He barely held it in as he spoke in a low voice, “Get in your car and get the fuck off my property! You and me? We’re over. If you even say Natalia’s name, I’ll make you regret it.”
A sneer marred Roxanne’s pretty face. “You bastard! I was helping you! Fine. Fuck you and your twatty girl.” She climbed back into her car, gunning the engine as she flew out of the drive.
He never knew what Roxanne had actually said. He’d tried getting Natalia to talk to him again, but she wouldn’t. It hurt him that she gave up their friendship so easily. Scrubbing his hands over his face, he rose from his chair and paced his floor.
Well, there were a lot of options on what could happen while they were up here. He could continue ignoring her like a coward. Or, he could go out there and see what happened. Taking a deep breath and running his hands through his dark hair, he chose the most direct option and headed out of his room, following his nose to the kitchen.
CHAPTER SIX
Natalia stirred the pot on the stove as the stew boiled. She continued to face the stove even after she heard Jace’s door open, letting him be the one to start the conversation.
“Hey, Natty. What are you cooking?” His voice sounded a bit unsure.
Natalia glanced over her shoulder with a small smile on her lips, “Potato Bacon Stew. Would you mind getting the table set? It’s almost done.”
“Sure.”
Natalia studied Jace. His tall frame had filled out over the years into a muscular build. He should’ve looked awkward holding dishes and walking around the kitchen, but he seemed to be in his element. His shoulder length, dark brown hair looked messed up as if he’d been running his hands through it. He just set the last dish when he turned, his soft blue eyes catching hers. “What would you like to drink?”
“Um, tea please,” Natalia answered, then turned back to the stew. She listened as he walked around getting the drinks, trying not to think of how his jeans molded to his perfectly shaped ass.
“Anything else?” Jace asked from right behind her.
Natalia jumped in surprise. She turned and glared at him.
Both of them seemed to realize they were falling into old habits and neither minded in the least.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” Jace defended with an innocent look on his face.
She wagged a finger at him. “That look doesn’t work on me. You intended to scare me. Just you wait, I will get even.”
“You’ve never been able to get even, so I’d like to see you try.”
“Just for that, you can carry the pot to the table, mister,” Natalia retorted with her nose in the air.
Jace laughed as he picked up the large pot easily and carried it to the table, placing it on a trivet.
Natalia grabbed an ice cube from her glass. She waited until his hands were away from the pot, then reached up and dropped the cube down his collar.
He jumped and jerked around, trying to dislodge the cold item.
Natalia bent over laughing.
~*~*~
Jace got the ice cube out of his shirt. “Think that was funny, do you?” he growled playfully.
She straightened up and, catching the look in his eyes, she started backing up.
He stalked closer and closer until she was trapped between him and the counter.“Natty, Natty, Natty. Rule one of getting even is to make sure it’s something that can’t be turned against you,” he lectured in a mock sympathetic tone.
Natalia blinked in confusion, then surprise when he lifted his hand with the ice cube in it. “No, that isn’t fair. I was getting even.” She reached for the ice.
“Fair is fair, Natty. It isn’t about being even, it’s about being the one on top.” He grinned as he reached behind her and easily batted around her hands to drop the ice down her shirt. Feeling particularly playful, he pulled her into a bear hug, pinning her arms to her sides, as she wiggled to get the ice out of her clothes. He regretted the hug instantly as Natalia rubbed against him, causing him to have a very big problem.
She stopped when she felt his erection and stared up at him in shock.
Jace body pulsed in arousal as he watched a blush spread across her cheeks. Throwing caution to the wind, he leaned down just as she was rising up on her toes. There was only a breath of space between them when the howling of the storm outside and the window rattling broke them apart.
“Um, let’s eat before it gets cold,” Natalia suggested in a gasping voice.
Jace stepped back. “Yeah. Potato Bacon Stew is my favorite.”
“I remember. It’s mine too.”
Jace pulled a chair out for her, happy that the almost-kiss wasn’t making things too awkward. “We’ll probably lose power soon, so after dinner I’ll bring in some wood if you’ll get the bedding from our rooms and put it in the living room. We’ll need to camp out in there to stay warm.”
“All right. Does this happen often?” Natalia asked between bites.
“Only during really bad storms. This one is expected to drop several feet, so there will be power outages.”
She nodded in understanding and they finished their meal in silence. They cleaned up after, putting everything away, before going their separate ways. After their near-kiss, it just seemed too awkward.
~*~*~
Natalia went to her room first. She dug through her bag and pulled out a large, very old man’s sweatshirt. Pulling off her still damp shirt and after a little debate, her bra, she put the sweatshirt on. She turned and pulled the blankets off her bed along with her sheet. Folding them, she placed her pillows on top, then carried them into the living room and set them by the couch before heading to Jace’s room.
Natalia paused a moment to study the room. The furniture looked dark, flowing perfectly with the hardwood floors and pine wall paneling. Heavy, dark blue curtains surrounded both windows matching the color of the blankets on his bed. Not wanting to take too long, she pulled the bedding off. While she folded them, she could smell him on the blankets, a mix of sandalwood cologne and man.
With a sigh of longing, she added his pillows, then picked up the stack and carried them into the living room. When she set them down, her attention was drawn to Jace as he carried in another load of wood from the attached garage.
He’d taken off his thick sweater and wore a tight white T-shirt that molded perfectly to his chest. His muscles bunched and shifted under the shirt causing her arousal from earlier to stir again. He glanced up when he placed the last stack and smiled. “Now we just wait for the power to go—”
Before he could finish the sentence the lights flickered then went out, sending the house into complete darkness. “Well, I best get the fire going. You want to bring those blankets over?”
“Sure.”
The only sounds in the room were of stuff being moved around and cursing near the fireplace, “Where the hell did the matches go?”
Natalia dropped the bedding and stumbled her way to the fireplace, “Here, I’ll help you look.” Just as she found what she thought was the fireplace, Jace rose from his crouch in front of the hearth to search the shelf above, causing her to slam into him. She was falling backwards when she felt strong arms wrap around her, stopping her descent.
“Are you all right?” His voice sounded in her ear.
“Yeah,” she replied breathlessly.
“I’ll look for the matches, you get the bedding.” He set her away from him, hands lingering longer than necessary.
Natalia dragged the blankets closer to the fire and made a nest big enough to fit them both.
When he was done, he sat next to her. They sat in silence for a while as they watched the fire grow to a healthy size. Jace glanced over at her, then looked again when he noticed the sweatshirt. “Is that my sweatshirt? And you can still wear it?”
Natalia nodded. “Yeah. It’s lasted this long and it’s still comfy.”
“I can’t believe you stole my sweatshirt! When did you take it?” His expression full of curiosity.
“I stole it when you were going out of town with your friends for Spring Break.” She smirked at him.
“I do believe you pulled the winning prank, Natty.”
“The student surpasses the master,” she jested.
“I wouldn’t say that. I got even with the ice cube didn’t I? I’ll get even with this one as well,” he retorted.
Natalia gave an unladylike snort. “I doubt my sweaters would fit you. Maybe one arm, but then your muscles would get in the way.”
Jace laughed. “Noticed my muscles have you? I knew you couldn’t resist them, no woman can!” he joked with a cocky grin.
“Your ego has grown so big, I’m surprised the rest of us can even be on this mountain,” she mocked.
“I’m not so bad. I just know I’m that good.”
Their laughter died and a long silence filled the room, growing heavier by the minute.
Jace shattered it with a single heartfelt statement, “You broke my heart when you ended our friendship. You didn’t even give me a chance to respond before you left.” He gave her a minute to process before continuing, “I called Roxanne after you left and confronted her. I broke it off with her and tried to reach you but you pushed me away. Why? Why wouldn’t you believe in me to be your friend, trust me with the truth?”
She let out a shaky sigh, then replied, “At the time, the things Roxanne said made sense. Even though I knew most of it was crap, I knew it was partly true.”
“What did she say Natalia? Don’t you think it’s time I knew?” he asked softly.
Natalia laughed without humor. “She made me realize that I was holding you back. Every girlfriend would be brought home and you’d want my opinion…I couldn’t be fair in giving it. I didn’t want you with anyone else—but me.” She gazed up at him with tears in her eyes. “I realized by being your friend, I would lose my heart when you finally found the woman you’d eventually marry. I couldn’t watch it happen when I was so in love with you.”
Jace reached a hand forward and cupped her cheek. “I hate to say it, but it was Roxanne that made me realize I was in love with you as well. She threw it in my face about how I couldn’t keep a relationship because nobody could compare to my love for you. I was going to tell you when I went after you, but that’s on both of us. You should’ve trusted me and I should have tried harder.”
Natalia sniffled. “I guess we were both idiots. I’m sorry, Jace.”
“I’m sorry too, Natty.” He stroked her cheek, wiping tears away.
“I have a confession.” Natalia blurted out, and continued at his raised brow, “I tried having relationships after our friendship ended but nothing came of them. I couldn’t stop comparing them to you. I know the reason is because I still love you.” She dropped her head, so she wouldn’t see his reaction. She tensed when he stayed quiet and started to pull away, but then he tugged her closer. Her breath caught as he placed his hand under her chin, tilting her face up until their gazes met.
“I’m still in love with you too,” he confessed, then crushed his lips against hers.
Natalia gasped in surprise, allowing Jace entrance into her mouth. His tongue moved against hers, tangling in a sensual battle. A breathy moan escaped her as he leaned her back in the nest of blankets. While the kiss grew more passionate his hands stroked down her sides in teasing motions until he reached the hem of her sweatshirt. His fingers grazed the skin underneath causing her to shiver in anticipation.
She fisted her hands in the back of his shirt as she gasped for air.
Jace pulled back for a moment, panting when he asked, “Are you sure, Natty? I don’t want you to back out after this.”
Natalia smiled. “I’m sure Jace. I want this as much as you do.”
Jace groaned, then grabbed her sweatshirt and pulled it off, “Well, what do we have here? No bra? Little miss VP goes top commando in a man’s house?”
A blush covered Natalia’s cheeks as she replied, “I wanted to be comfortable, so I took it off. Now, do something or I will take care of it myself,” she threatened.
“Oh, Natty, that’s a delicious threat.” He reached up and jerked his shirt over his head, tossing it to the side. He situated them until Natalia was lying completely on the bedding and he was kneeling between her legs. He leaned down and took one perky nipple into his mouth. He nipped it with his teeth, then soothed it with his tongue and cupped the other breast in his hand, plucking at her nipple.
Natalia kept wiggling and moaning at the sensations coursing through her. She bit her lip as she arched herself up towards his mouth. She tangled one hand in his hair and the other was grabbing at his back.
Even her nails left a wake of red welts, he moaned in pleasure. Slowly, his mouth left her breast and started nipping little kisses down her stomach. He teased her bellybutton, then stopped at the top of her jeans. Dragging one finger down the same path as his lips, he stroked the skin just above the waistband of her pants.
It earned him a moan and caused Natalia to squirm even more.
With a quick flick of his wrist, he unsnapped her jeans and lowered the tab of her zipper. Peering up at her, he smiled as her glare turned to a gasp. He grabbed her jeans and pulled them and her panties down in one go. Clearing her feet of the material, he tossed them aside. He sat back on his heels to stare at the body he’d been dying to see and touch for years.
A shy look crossed Natalia’s face as she tried to cover her beautiful body.
Jace caught her hands and after placing a kiss to each palm, he laid them on the blanket. Slowly, he leaned forward again, and used one finger to stroke her pussy.
She gasped at the sensation and cried out when he spread her open, exposing her clit to him.
He shifted her legs further apart to fit comfortably and settled down on one forearm. He blew on her hardened bud causing her to jerk. Before she could react again, he leaned forward, captured her bundle of nerves with his mouth, suckling and teasing it.
She kept moaning and arching closer to his mouth, her hands tangled in his hair as if trying to hold him closer.
He moved his fingers down along her fold until he reached her entrance soaked with her essences and thrust two fingers in, sending her shrieking over the edge of a climax. Jace didn’t release her until she rode it out with his fingers and mouth. After a few minutes, he pulled away and grinned wickedly at her. “How was that?”
Natalia panted out a laugh. “That was amazing. Now I get to return the favor.”
Before he realized what she said, Natalia leapt forward and knocke
d Jace on his back onto the bedding behind him. She latched her mouth over one nipple, nipping and tonguing it while she teased the other with her fingers. Her other hand was busy grazing her nails over his stomach right above his jeans.
“Natty if you keep that up I’ll have a mess in my jeans.” Jace groaned, earning a wicked laugh that shot straight to his cock.
“We can’t have that, now can we?” she teased as she reached down and popped his button open but paused at the zipper. She reached down with her other hand and started to stroke him through his jeans until he cursed. Laughing again, she jerked the zipper free and grabbed his jeans by the waistband. In a quick motion, she jerked them down, revealing the lack of underwear and all of his naked glory. Reaching up, she stroked one finger from tip to base.
The motion caused his cock to jerk and him to moan.
Natalia grasped his cock with her hand and started slowly stroking it. Staring up at him through her lashes, she took him into her mouth. She swirled her tongue around the tip a few times, then started bobbing her head, taking more and more of him into her mouth until she had him all the way in. Then she started humming, the vibrations teasing his throbbing cock.
“Natty! I’m—close.” He tried to warn her.
Nonetheless, she kept on until he came, swallowing his cum as it filled her mouth. She released him with a pop and smack of her lips, giving him a cheeky grin. “How was that?” she asked, repeating his earlier words.
“Holy shit! I think my brain melted,” he replied in a husky voice. He watched Natalia as she shifted around, growing hard again just from looking at her. “Now, you’re going to get the rest of the experience.” In a flash, he caught her by the hips and flipped her onto her back again. He instantly trapped her lips in a passionate kiss while he stroked her to the edge and backed off, then did it again.
Natalia broke the kiss and snapped, “Take me, damn it!”
Not needing another invitation, he caught one of her legs behind the knee and lifted it to wrap around his back. Staring straight into her eyes, Jace thrust forward. He didn’t stop until he was balls deep.
Stranded With a Billionaire Boxed Set Page 5
