by Ward, Alice
“I’ve wanted this since the day I laid eyes on you,” he said, his voice quivering. “Let me enjoy it.”
Sweat began to trickle down the side of my face, under my breasts, as he rocked into me, slow but deep. Each movement of my hips matched his exactly, and my heartbeat fell in time with the strokes.
“God, you’re so fucking beautiful,” he said, bringing his mouth to my breasts to lick away the salt. “I could do this all night.”
My breath hitched at his words, and I was fighting just to breathe. As he started to pick up the pace, I clawed at his back, tried to find air in my lungs to scream as he wrapped my legs around his waist and began to pound into me, sending blinding white strikes to my core, pushing me further and further toward release.
“Come now, baby. Now,” he growled, and it was if those words had been exactly what I needed to plummet over the edge, to fall head over feet into the beautiful abyss that he’d taken me to, a place where thought didn’t exist and plans weren’t needed, a place where I could just exist.
Moments later, as we both shook and panted, he brought his lips to mine. “So fucking beautiful,” he whispered, using his hand to shove away the hair stuck to my face.
I could have been wrong, but I thought I felt my heart swell just before the familiar pang of guilt hit it. What had I just done? How would I ever go back from this? Did I even want to?
“I said to leave the worrying to me tonight,” he said, cupping my cheek and bringing my eyes to his. “If you still want to worry about it tomorrow, I’ll be here to listen. But for tonight, let’s just enjoy this.”
I nodded my head, but unfortunately, some things are easier said than done.
Nightmares plagued me most of the night, obscure dreams of being caught in a storm, cold and alone.
CHAPTER THREE
I awoke the next morning to the sound of chirping birds, squeals, and laughter. Jace’s naked body was curled against mine and his arm was wrapped around me.
“Morning,” he said, voice gruff.
“Morning.”
“Coffee?”
I hummed my approval. How he would get coffee was beyond me, but I figured, if he was offering, he must have had a way to deliver. As he got up to pull on his pants, I found myself caught between laughter and complete awe—awe because his body really was the most gorgeous thing I’d ever seen in real life, but laughter because he was having a hell of a time getting his jeans on crouched down in the tent.
“Don’t worry, firecracker,” he said, finally pulling the jeans up around his waist. “You’ll get yours later.”
Before I could protest or ask him what he’d meant, he’d unzipped the tent and stepped outside. Left to my own devices, I stretched out in the tent and thought about the night before. Despite the nightmares, I didn’t feel a slew of regret, not as much as I probably should have anyway. In fact, I was starting to think that maybe he was right...
Living in the moment wasn’t half bad, or at least it hadn’t been in that exact moment.
But what of today? Would we go back to campus? Would there be more fun under the falls? More ecstasy under the stars in the wilderness? And what of when we got back? What would that look like? What would happen when our time was up? Was I just another conquest to be forgotten and tossed aside? Or would there be more? Did I want more?
I’d pondered all those questions, and then some, by the time he returned. I could smell the coffee, the second he stepped inside the tent and I inhaled it on a deep breath.
“Mmmmm…” I hummed, taking the cups from his hand so he could climb inside. “Thank you.”
After plopping down beside me, he took his cup from my hands and we both started sipping away.
“You know, if you’re hungry, we could go to the little store up there and grab something to eat,” he offered, pulling the cup away from his lips.
“Maybe in a bit.”
“Just don’t think too long about it,” he said. “We have to get on the road.”
I couldn’t stop the sinking feeling in my gut; I’d hoped to spend at least a little more time there in the little world he’d created. Going back to campus, to real life, seemed a little too much, especially since I knew that there would be little reminders everywhere of all the things I’d lost over the past few weeks.
The disappointment must have been evident on my face because he reached across the space between us and cupped my cheek. “Don’t worry. I still have other plans,” he said with a wink. “But I have a gig tonight back in town.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, at a little bar downtown.”
Again, I pouted with disappointment.
“You’re going,” he said, bumping me lightly with his shoulder.
“Oh, but I don’t want to intrude or mess anything up,” I said, quickly. “It’s so last notice.”
“Babe, you are mine right now,” he said. “I’m not letting you out of my sight any more than I have to. I want every single moment possible.”
That got me thinking... or maybe it was the lack of thought that sent the next string of words flying from my mouth. “Why? Why do you want this time? What do you think we’re going to accomplish in such a short amount of time?”
Jace bit at his lower lip and stared at his cup for a moment, as if he were trying to decide what he should or shouldn’t say.
“Tell me,” I urged, placing a hand over his arm. “Please. I—I don’t want to be just another one of your groupies. Someone you can toss aside when you’re all done.”
That did it. My damn mouth had gotten me into trouble, yet again; I could tell by the way his face morphed into one of absolute pain just before the words came flying from his lips.
“T—Toss you aside?” Jace said, his voice thick and heavy. “You think that’s who I am? Haven’t you been paying attention? Andrea, I would give you the fucking world if you let me. Everything I have would be yours—my money, my truck, but most of all, my heart.”
“B—But you—you don’t even know me.”
“I know enough,” he whispered, standing and then exiting the tent before I could try to say another word.
“Jace—“ I called out after him. I’d have taken off out of the tent after him, but I still hadn’t dressed.
By the time he returned, I’d wandered up to the convenience store for some food, a shower, and to brush my teeth. He was pulling the stakes out of the tent and getting us ready to go. Rather than try to approach him straight away, I stood back and watched as every muscle of his back rippled with the pulls and lifts of the tent hardware.
“I’m sorry,” I finally said.
His back stiffened as he paused, mid-tie of the tent canvas. “Don’t apologize,” he said, not even bothering to turn around before going back to wrapping up the tent.
“No, I need to.” I took a few steps in his direction but still didn’t get too close; God only knows how much I’d hurt the man. “I—I didn’t have a right to talk to you that way. You’re right, I don’t know you, not really. But I’d like to.”
It felt like he was on me, mouth crashing against mine, hands in my hair, before I even had the chance to take my next breath. But at the same time, it had felt like everything was going in slow motion, as if every movement of every muscle, that lusty gleam in his eyes, had all been there since the dawn of time. And I was swallowed up by it, completely, thoroughly, and with no way to escape.
He hoisted me up, planted my ass on the open truck bed. My legs opened for him as he pulled himself against me, his hands at my butt, holding me to him as I wrapped my ankles around my back. When he dropped his mouth to place kisses along my neck, I threw my head back and released a shuddered breath.
“This, Andrea,” he said between heated kisses. “This is the man I am. I am passionate. I am needy. And what I need is for you to stop all that damn thinking of yours and fucking enjoy yourself.”
As he said those last words, he stepped back, pulled himself out of my tangled limbs and ran a
hand through his hair. I was left a panting mess as he stormed back off to the tent to finish packing up.
***
The second I walked through our dorm door, Becca released a squeal. It sounded awfully funny coming from a girl with more piercings than anyone I’d ever met before. It also grated on my tired nerves.
“Tell me everything,” she said, taking the bag from my hands. “Dirty details. I’m living vicariously through you. Is he amazing? Where did he take you? Was it romantic?”
“Ugh, Becca,” I groaned, flopping down on my bed. “Ask me when I’ve slept a week.”
A sly grin spread across Becca’s face. “One night with the rock god and you’re already tired,” she said, shaking her head. “Psssht, woman up, girl.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re incorrigible?” I asked, pulling the covers around me.
“All the damn time,” she said, flopping down next to me, refusing to take the hint. “Now spill.”
“Fine, fine.” I waved my hand in the air, as if sex with Jace Richardson happened every day. “Yes, he’s amazing. Yes, it was romantic. Turner Falls.” And with that, I pulled the pillow over my head.
“Nuh-uh, chick.” Becca yanked the pillow from my grasp. “You’re not getting off that easy. What was he like? I’ll bet he’s all about control in bed, right?”
“Oh my God, Becca.” I rolled my eyes and stole my pillow back. “I am not telling you every gory detail. Get a sex life of your own.”
Becca’s pierced lip shot out in a pout and then she shrugged. “Fine, then I won’t tell you where he’s taking you tonight.”
“I already know. To a gig somewhere.” I stuck my tongue out at her.
“Not just any gig, chick. The gig.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I asked, propping my arm under my head.
Becca shook her head at me and crossed her arms over her chest. “Not until you spill it.”
I blew out a huff of air, sending my blonde bangs up around my head. I loved her to pieces, but she could be a real pain in my ass sometimes. “Fine,” I huffed. “What do you want to know?”
“Was he the controlling type? Like Fifty Shades shit? Or just rough?”
“Neither, actually.”
Becca’s face scrunched in confusion. “Huh. Surely, I thought sex on legs Richardson would be dominating.”
“He was... in control, but not rough.”
I watched as Becca’s mouth twisted and moved back and forth. “Eh, maybe that’ll come later, after he breaks you in,” she finally said with a wink.
My face scrunched. “What, am I? A horse now?”
“Might as well be,” she said with a shrug. “You’re about as skittish as an untamed mare.”
“Oh, now what’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, sitting up on my bed and throwing the pillow at her.
She caught it, mid-air and then tossed at the foot of my bed. “Just that you overthink everything. And that you’re constantly running from things you don’t understand or can’t plan. Honestly, I’m surprised you even slept with him at all.”
“It wasn’t easy,” I muttered.
“So what happened after?” she asked.
It was my turn to shrug. “Nothing, really. We went to sleep, woke up, I said I was worried about being just another one of his groupies, he got pissed, kissed me, and then we rode home in silence.”
Becca’s mouth dropped open as she blinked a few times, apparently not sure if she’d heard me correctly. “All three hours?”
“Yep.”
“Shit, girl. You must have hit a real button there.”
I shook my head at her. “I don’t know. I mean, he did mention something about his dad, and I know his ex cheated on him... but I don’t see how that—“
“Oh, my God.” Becca’s eyes were the size of dinosaur eggs and her mouth was even bigger.
“What?”
“Jace Richardson has a thing against cheating.”
“I knew that already,” I said, shrugging.
“No.” She shook her head violently. “Like, a serious issue. And maybe he thought that’s what you were saying, you know, with the whole groupie thing.”
“That’s really not what I meant though,” I said, biting at the inside of my cheek.
“Maybe not, but I’ll bet that’s the way he took it.”
Shit, now I felt like a real jerk. “Well, at least I apologized, I guess,” I said, despite the apparent lack of relief in my voice and in my heart.
“Just make it up to him tonight,” Becca said with a wink.
“Oh, you really are awful.” I rolled my eyes and plopped back down, determined to get some rest before whatever was coming later that night.
“I know.”
***
Becca was all decked out in her tulle skirt and intentionally shredded Reckless t-shirt before I even got up out of bed. She was also bouncing off the walls.
“Just wait til you see it, Andy,” she squealed. “It is the most epic event of the year.”
“Yeah, but what am I going to wear?” I asked, staring into my closet. I did still have that number I’d worn the night of the concert, the red leather top and black miniskirt... but wouldn’t that look bad, hanging on Jace’s arm wearing something that ridiculously revealing?
“Your man has already taken care of that,” Becca said, tapping my shoulder.
I whirled around to face her. As soon as I did, my eyes went wide. “Oh my—“
Nodding her head, a shit-eating grin on her face, Becca handed me the outfit she was holding in her hand. “Uh-huh. Now go! He’s going to be here in thirty minutes!”
After taking a quick shower, I slipped into the dress that Jace had left for me. The top of the outfit, fashioned to look like a t-shirt, had the band’s name emblazoned on the front. The skirt, a black and white hi-low, was connected to the top by a studded belt. He’d also left behind a red leather jacket. The sleeves stopped just below my elbow, but were loose enough that I could push them up if I got hot.
After doing my makeup and styling my hair into messy curls, I completed the ensemble with my favorite black heels and one of Becca’s leather bracelets. For good measure, I tossed in a pair of hoop earrings and slid on my shades. I never would have seen myself on the arm of a rock god, but I definitely looked the part, that was for sure.
“Damn, chick,” Becca said, stepping back to admire me in the dress as I twirled around to show off the outfit. “He’s not going to be able to keep his hands off of you tonight.”
I smacked her shoulder, but I was grinning from ear to ear. I did look pretty hot.
Jace confirmed both mine and Becca’s theories when he stepped through the door to our dorm. For a moment, he just stood there, staring at me, as if he’d never seen me before. “Holy hell... maybe I went a little too sexy,” he finally said, smirking.
I looked down at the dress and realized that there was quite a bit of thigh showing. “I can change,” I offered, but I didn’t make it even a single step before he had his arms around me.
“Not a chance in hell I’m letting you out of that thing,” he whispered gruffly against my mouth. “Until I take it off, that is.”
“Uh, roommate here.” Becca said.
We both turned to find her with her finger down her throat, eyes rolling so far back in her head, they were bound to fall out.
“Whatever, miss, give me all the details,” I shot back.
Jace raised a questioning eyebrow at me. I only gave a shrug in response but I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks.
“Well, come on, love birds,” Becca said, already opening the door. “It’s an hour’s drive and I want a good seat.”
“A good seat?” Jace asked, following behind Becca, intertwining his fingers with mine and then pulling my hand so that I was walking beside him down the hallway. “You’re going backstage.”
Becca damn near fell down the stairs before turning around to face us, her face pulled long w
ith shock and excitement. “What?! Seriously?! As in, backstage, backstage?” she screeched, those green eyes of hers sparkling like the North Star. I was pretty sure my expression perfectly mirrored hers.
“Yes, Becks backstage, backstage,” Jace said, chuckling and squeezing my hand.
“Ohmygod!” Becca squealed as she ran, full-speed at Jace. She damn near knocked him over when she threw her arms around him. “You are fucking amazing. I—Can you introduce me to the drummer? Can I take drinks back there? How close will we be?”
“Questions will be taken during the drive,” Jace said, laughing as he peeled Becca off of him and then patted her on the head as if she were a child. His expression didn’t give any indication of being off-put by my friend’s odd behavior, and for that, I was grateful.
“Oh, I’ll definitely be asking lots of them,” Becca said with a wink before sprinting down the stairs at lightening speed.
Jace and I both laughed after her, but the truth was, I was probably just as excited as she was. Not only would I avoid any crazy fans or mishaps like the last time I’d gone to one of his concerts, I’d get to watch him playing, up close and personal. Just the mere thought had my stomach buzzing with excitement.
CHAPTER FOUR
Sitting in the parking lot outside the “little bar,” I felt the buzzing of angry demon butterflies in my stomach. I’d been fine for the first part of the drive, especially with Jace’s hand on my bare thigh. But now, here we were, in the parking lot of a building that had to be at least as big as a football stadium.
“I thought you said this place was little,” I squeaked out, leaning forward to look out the windshield. I couldn’t even see the top of the damn thing.
“Well, I may have exaggerated a little,” Jace said, killing the engine.
I turned my head and shot him a look. “A little?”
“Oh, come on, chick,” Becca piped up from beside me. “It’s not like you’re the one getting up there on stage. Besides, you’re going to be backstage, with me. What the hell could possibly happen with those odds?”
