“Alright!” I hated being told what to do.
He hung up and I looked over at Candace. As much as I wanted to finish our little tryst, I felt like I needed to get back. Lacey had made it clear that she didn’t want anything to do with me, but she hadn’t left my place. It didn’t make sense. For a reason that I couldn’t explain, I wanted to know if she was alright. “I need to go.”
She sat up. “Right now? We’re in the middle of somethin’ here.”
I grabbed my jeans and ignored her pleas. “Look, I didn’t come here to fuck you. I came here to set things straight. I can’t change the way I am. You can deal with it, or tell me to fuck off. It is what it is.”
I could tell she was upset, but trying her best to hide it. “It’s fine. I know the routine.”
I kissed her on the cheek before walking out. The whole ride home I thought about how my balls were going to hurt like hell if I didn’t finish myself off. I was pissed that I hadn’t just finished what we started before heading home.
When I arrived, I found my place empty. I text Ford and he said he hadn’t seen her. After checking her car I walked around back and found her asleep in a chair. She was curled up and not even wearing a warm jacket.
I picked her up and carried her inside, right into my bedroom. She shot up. “I’m not sleeping in here with you.”
I kicked my shoes in my closet and closed the door. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“What about the spare bedroom?”
“The mattress sucks. I prefer the couch.” Why did she want to know? I gave her my bed and was letting her stay, even though she wasn’t going to give me any.
I tried to get comfortable on the couch, but it wasn’t my bed. Lacey had come out to use the bathroom and asked for something else. “Can I borrow a t-shirt?”
“First my bed and now my clothes. For someone that won’t get naked with me, you sure do expect a lot,”
“I got locked out. Don’t worry, though. I won’t make this a habit.”
“I don’t mind.” I grabbed the first thing in my drawer and tossed it over. “Is this good?”
She smiled and all I could think about was her naked body wearing my clothes. “Thanks for bringing me inside. How did you know I was out back?”
“Ford text me and asked if you were staying with me. When I got back and you weren’t here, I text him. He said you weren’t there either, so I checked out back. I figured you’d locked yourself out of both places, bein’ as you were so upset earlier.” Okay, so he’d really called me, but it didn’t matter. It was still a call and they were still concerned. All that mattered was that she was inside and she wasn’t going to freeze to death.
“You’ve been a good fake boyfriend today. Thanks for that.”
I had to make my intentions known. “How about I keep up the lie and sleep in here with you?”
She crossed her arms and seemed immediately annoyed. “I’m not sleeping with you, Joey.”
“I didn’t want to sleep.”
She threw a pillow in my direction. “Stop!”
I’d no sooner got myself comfortable again on the couch when I heard her screaming my name.
“JOEY.”
I ran in the room, thinking she’d seen a mouse or something. “What’s wrong?”
She patted the bed. “If you promise not to try anything, we can share.”
“So glad you get to make the rules in my apartment.” I wasn’t going to argue with the offer, even though I knew nothing would happen. In fact, I’d probably have my testicles explode before Lacey offered to relieve the pressure.
For a little while I lay there next to her, smelling her hair and thinking about how different she was. I was still perplexed to be in a situation where I’d promised to never let myself get in. Still, she was so fragile, beautiful and enticing. As much as I was fighting it, I knew being around her was going to break me. She already was. I’d been sleeping with Candace for years and couldn’t even fuck her in my bed. I had to take her in the guest room. Here I was days later, lying in bed next someone, comforting her, as if she meant something to me.
I knew I had to say something; to do something to show that I wasn’t the asshole that everyone thought I was. I wanted her to see me as someone that cared. I leaned over and kissed her on the shoulder. “Goodnight Lace.”
Lacey did something that shocked me. She grabbed my hand and laced it with hers. It was something that I’d never done with a woman. It was such a little detail that meant so much to a relationship. Since I’d never had one, I didn’t understand the importance of it.
Not until she spoke and sent chills all through me. “Don’t let go.”
And I couldn’t. A part of me wanted to. I thought about standing up and saying something perverted, but I couldn’t move.
Chapter 9
I woke up early the next morning, with my arms still wrapped around Lacey. I still couldn’t understand how I’d managed to sleep with a woman all night long and not get mad at myself over it.
Gently, I slid my body off the bed without waking her. For a couple minutes, I just stood there, watching her wrapped up in my covers so sound and beautiful. She was the description of fragile and the more time I spent with her the more I felt like I needed to protect her, not just to have sex with her, but to actually know her. I grabbed my phone off the bedside table and snapped a picture to remind me of how beautiful she was lying there in my bed.
I was going against every rule I’d ever made for myself and being in this uncharted territory made me nervous, like I wasn’t in control.
Deciding to not seem like a stalker, I retreated to the living room, where I turned on the news. Then I went into the kitchen to make coffee and some breakfast. It gave me a little while to clear my head. Cooking always had. It was my escape from reality.
I would imagine that most men cleared their heads with women and booze, and while they were both fun, they didn’t sooth me like standing in a kitchen and creating something to surprise one’s palate. It was an art.
Lacey walked into the kitchen wearing only a t-shirt. Her hair was rough in some spots, but she still looked beautiful. I smiled, thinking about having her in my bed all night. I still didn’t understand it, but having her there and never doing anything sexual still made me feel satisfied. I couldn’t shake how weird it all was. “Hey.”
“Thanks for letting me stay.”
“No big deal, Lace. I’m not a monster, like you assume. I could tell you needed a friend.” Hearing myself say the word shocked the hell out of me. My actions were as if I was having another out of body experience.
Lacey sat down in a chair and folded her hands together. She had this funny look on her face, like even she knew I was acting funny. “Yeah, is that what we are? Are we friends?”
I shrugged my shoulders and tried to think of something witty as I tossed around the sausage in the pan. She had me so messed up in the head. “I guess we are, until you tell me otherwise.”
Lacey actually snorted at my comment. “You don’t give up do you?”
I knew by taking the conversation back to sex, I could still get to her, even if my head was still in a clusterfuck. “I know what I want. Is that a bad thing?”
“It is when you know you’re never going to have it.” She didn’t understand that fighting me only made me want her more.
I let her comment simmer while getting her a cup of coffee. She was in my kitchen, in nothing but a t-shirt. I didn’t want the chance of her getting mad and wanting to leave. Unlike Candace, I wanted Lacey to stick around, even if I wasn’t going to get laid. “You want milk?”
“Yeah, I can get it.” She stood up and our hands met at the refrigerator door. As we touched, I turned and saw the shock in her eyes. For the first time, she didn’t look like she was appalled by me. She started to pull away. “Sorry.”
I grabbed her hand and held it between us, testing the waters of what I’d just witnessed. When she stayed calm, I brushed the loose hair
away from her face. “You’re just as sexy in the morning, as before you went to sleep.”
“Friends don’t talk like that to each other.” We were standing there staring at each other and this was definitely not the friend territory.
It only took me a second to decide that I needed to feel those puffy lips on mine. “I need to kiss you.”
She took a deep breath and for a minute I could have sworn that she was going to let me. She cocked her brow. “Friends don’t kiss.”
I leaned in, taking the chance on getting slapped, and let my lips drag over hers. “Maybe we shouldn’t be friends, then.”
Our kiss wasn’t the kind that kids had behind the bleachers in high school. I wanted Lacey to experience the best first kiss, so that she could only imagine how good it would be if we were fucking. I wanted her to feign for it when it was over and stress on the idea of it being that good.
We kissed for a good bit before I felt her body starting to pull away. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that she liked it and I wanted it to continue. The growing erection in my pants was going to be a dead giveaway if I didn’t pace myself. I had to remember that she was different than the others. I pulled away, and let my lips linger over hers. “Don’t get too carried away, Lace.” I began to pull away and she stopped me. “I told you that I wouldn’t beg.”
I left her standing there, lingering on the thought of our kiss, while I checked on the food. I knew she liked it and it was only going to be a matter of time before she came back for more.
I wasn’t being conceited. I’d known enough women to be aware when they were turned on and Lacey definitely was. Even out of the corner of my eye I could see that she was flustered. Her breathing was heavier and she refused to say anything.
I went back to where she was standing and drug my lips over hers again. She stuck out her tongue and I licked it before pulling away.
I grabbed her hand and kissed it, before picking her body up and sitting it on the counter. I wedged myself between her legs and kissed those lips again. She tasted of coffee and mouthwash and I wondered if somewhere in the back of her mind she knew this was going to happen. Why else would she have cared about her breath? With one swift tug, her shirt came off. She crossed her arms, covering herself as if she was being shy. Honestly, it was sexy as hell and another thing I wasn’t used to. “Don’t hide from me. I’m a grown man and you have nothin’ to be ashamed of.”
I knew I was pushing the limits and probably already crossed some force-field she’d put up in my benefit, but I had to try. I could feel the chemistry between us and every time her lips touched mine, I wanted her more. It wasn’t just about rubbing one off either. I wanted to experience what this girl was like. Still, I knew I had to be careful with her. “Once you cross this line, there ain’t no goin’ back, Lace. When I get you naked and take you to my bed, it’s my rules, so you need to decide if that’s somethin’ you want. I’ve played this cat and mouse game with you, just waitin’ for you to admit that there’s somethin’ between us. I can wait longer, if I need to.” I kissed her and walked away for a second, letting my words sink in.
“You couldn’t have known that when we first met, because I thought you were an asshole.”
I chuckled but never looked over. “You thought I was sexy.”
“Stop doing that. Don’t put words into my mouth.”
Finally, I turned to look at her. She was sitting there, looking so sexy and there was a million things running through my mind, most of them required her to be naked. “Admit it. You were just as curious as I was. You can hide behind your broken heart, but this never had anything to do with feelin’s. We have sexual chemistry. I could tell from that first night. Like I told you before, though, I won’t beg. When you’re ready to give your body to me, you know where to find me.”
Her demeanor changed as if she were really thinking about it. Then her next words let me know I had been right. “What does that entail; me giving my body to you?”
I looked away and smiled, knowing exactly where her questions were leading. After turning off the burner, I pushed my way between her legs and touched the strap of her bra. “First I get you naked.” I kissed over her neck. “Then I carry you to my bed.” After exposing a nipple and then finally pulling off her bra, I sucked on one of her nipples, testing out the waters of how far she was willing to take it. She ran her hand through my hair and watched what I was doing. She was making me crazy and it was all I could do not to pull down my shorts and give it to her, right there on the counter.
All on her own, Lacey reached her hand down my shorts. The moment she felt how hard I was I knew it was game on, until a knock at the door happened. “Just ignore it.” I said before kissing her hard on the mouth again.
The person kept knocking.
I knew I was going to have to go see who it was. Thinking it was just Ford, I opened the door. Shayne stood in front of me and I could tell from the look on his face that he knew Lacey was inside. “What do you want now?”
“Don’t act like I’m interupptin’ somethin’. I know this is all some show to piss me off.”
I started to open my mouth, to protect her, at least until she could get her shirt back on and come up with some excuse why that’s all she had on. I knew that we weren’t in a relationship and obviously, he did too.
Then Lacey shocked me by walking out of the kitchen topless. “Just a show?”
I was beyond belief.
Shayne looked genuinely taken back. He just stared at her for a few seconds, as if to punish her with his mind.
I crossed my arms, holding my ground because we were in my apartment. No matter what the situation was, he was still the one who hadn’t been invited. Shayne looked at me for a second and then back to Lacey. “I…came to talk to you.”
“We were in the middle of something, obviously.” Lacey was being harsh, making it a point to him that he was intruding. I’d never seen this side of her and I liked it.
“Please. It’s important.” He was pleading with her and I knew it was another way of him saying they needed to talk alone.
I clenched my jaw and couldn’t believe I’d let myself get into this kind of situation. While motioning to the couch, I looked over at Shayne. “Have a seat, man. I’ll give you two some privacy.”
I went into the kitchen, knowing damn well I’d be able to hear everything they were saying. As they spoke, I found myself feeling something that I’d never experienced before.
I was jealous and that could only happen if I liked this chick a lot more than I should have.
Chapter 10
If these two people weren’t in my house, I probably wouldn’t have cared too much about what they were saying. Since Lacey had left me with another stiff erection, I felt like I was more vested in the outcome of the conversation.
I could tell from Lacey’s voice that she wasn’t too happy about being interrupted from what was about to happen between us. “What do you want, Shayne?”
I almost laughed out loud.
“I saw this goin’ differently.”
She snapped at him again. “Sorry that I ruined it for you.”
“Lace, please. Just hear me out.” The dude was begging and she wasn’t hearing it.
“If you’re going to tell me not to see Joey, I’m afraid that’s not going to happen.” Damn. If I were him, I would have walked out right then.
“This is about me. I mean, I don’t like you bein’ with him, but I get that my opinion doesn’t matter to you.” He paused, like he was trying to find words, but I couldn’t actually see what was happening. “The baby ain’t mine, Lace. I never slept with Ashley and I never will. The reason I took responsibility was for Parker’s sake. He’s got a real chance at goin’ somewhere. I can’t let this keep him from that. I know in time, he’ll be ready to step up, but for now, it’s the least I can do to make amends with myself for what I did to Ford, Sky and even you.”
Her tone was beginning to change. “I never asked you
to punish yourself.”
“No, but I’m sure you wished worse for me.”
I started messing around with a couple dishes, shoving them into cabinets so it didn’t seem obvious that I was eavesdropping.
“I may have said things, but I didn’t mean them. You hurt me so much, Shayne. I thought we had something special, but to you I was just a piece of ass.”
The room got quiet for a few seconds and I half expected that Shayne had gotten up and walked out.
“You’re wrong, babe. I may not have admitted it, but you were so much more than that. I was stupid for takin’ you for granted. If I had a second chance, I’d do so much differently. I’d start by makin’ sure everyone knows that you belonged to me and I belonged to you, but it’s too late now. You’ve moved on and it’s clear to me that I lost my chance.”
I approached the doorway, but didn’t peek my head out. Lacey was obviously crying. I could hear her sniffling. “All I ever wanted was for you to love me, Shayne.”
“I do.”
I shook my head knowing damn well Shayne didn’t love the chick. He dicked around with her heart and was pissed that he’d been caught.
“I want to believe that, Shayne. I swear I do. It’s just that I don’t think I’m ready to be able to trust you.”
“Yeah, I get it.”
Her next words made my stomach curl. It made it clear that the woman wasn’t ready to give herself to me, not when she was still holding that lit candle for him. “But I don’t want to let you go, either.”
“What are you sayin’, Lace?” Shayne needed to be slapped. She was clearly giving him hope and he was playing dumb.
What a douche!
“Can I meet you at your house later so we can talk?”
“No. My dad kicked me out last night. Apparently, havin’ a kid is against the rules, even if it ain’t really mine.”
I covered my mouth to avoid them hearing me laughing. He’d gone and fucked up even more with his family. How stupid could he get?
“Where will you go?” When she asked that I wondered if Shayne was lying to her to get her to sympathize. It was a good plan, and she was taking the bait.
Restore Me (Book 2.5 Kin Series) Page 6
