Jace: Rebels Advocate (Book 4)

by Sheridan Anne

  The photo of Jace and I fades away and the song continues to play. The photo is replaced by another, this time just one of me smiling at the camera. I glance over at Rylee who’s looking up at the screen with a smile on her face. I mean, why isn’t she gawking at it? “What the hell is going on?” I question.

  “Shut up and watch,” she tells me.

  I look back up at the screen and do my best to focus on what’s before me. Obviously, something is happening here and I need to be paying attention. I remember taking this particular picture, well, I wasn’t the one taking it. I was sitting on Jace’s couch and he was annoying me by taking picture after picture on his iPhone. It was so annoying but the whole time, I couldn’t stop laughing.

  Again, the picture fades before it’s replaced with another. This time, it’s me at the old Style me Crazy. I stand behind the counter, completely in my own world as I lean forward on my elbow, again, it was a photo that Jace had taken. My heart rate starts to pick up as Rylee slides her hand into mine.

  The picture fades and is replaced with another. This time, a selfie I had forced Jace to take with me one night at Cole’s place. Next up, a soundless video of me laughing before trying to steal the camera away from him. That’s replaced by another photo, and then another, and then another. On and on it goes, videos and photos until the song comes to an end.

  Every single photo was a memory of my time with Jace and it didn’t take me long to realize that the string of photos and videos were put together in order, from when I first met him to the very last one of me in my red dress at the re-launch of Style me Crazy.

  I find silent tears running down my cheeks before I start looking around. It’s clear Jace had made that video just for me, so surely, he must be here.

  I turn right around and gasp at the sight I see, even in the dim lighting of the theatre, it’s clear as day that the man standing at the very back of the theatre in a suit is Jace King.

  My eyes instantly roam all over him as I push myself up from my seat. He grins down at me as though he has a secret that he’s been dying to tell me.

  My heart practically leaps out of my chest. I need to hold him. I need to tell him just how grateful I am that he put that video together. He’s nothing short of amazing, and I swear, he just made my heart explode.

  As I squeeze my way past all the girls’ knees to get to the aisle, it’s then I notice all the audience in the theatre aren’t random people. In fact, I know every single one of them. My family. My friends. All the fucking boys. Bec, Lilly, and Kim. Hell, even all the people I know and love from The dark Room are here.

  “What the hell?” I murmur to myself as every last eye in the theatre lands on me.

  Jace’s grin doesn’t move from his face as he takes a step down the stairs. My heart stops. I need to get to him. He needs to hurry because I’m not going to be able to run fast enough.

  Every thought in my mind disappears. All I see is him. I don’t care that suddenly every person I know on the planet is in this room. I don’t care that my face is up on a movie screen. I don’t care that my head is pounding so hard it makes it hard to breathe. All I see is him.

  He takes another step down the aisle and I find myself taking one in his direction. Every step he takes is met with one of my own, right up until he stands right before me, taking my waist in his hands and pulling me in.

  I don’t get a chance to say a single word because his lips are already on mine. His fingers splay out over the back of my waist, taking up nearly my whole back with his large hands. My own travel up his strong chest to find home around his neck before my nails run up the back of his head, claiming him as my own.

  I breathe him in as I kiss him, and good god, he smells like a wet dream. All too soon he pulls away and rests his forehead against mine. He reaches up and wipes the tears off my face before his hands come up and untangle mine from his hair. He laces our fingers together and I take in the moment. It’s nothing short of perfection. “I love you, Cami,” he says.

  How did I get so lucky? I close my eyes as the words wrap around me. “I love you too,” I whisper back before looking up at the man who makes me feel so damn alive. “That video was amazing.”

  Pride shines through his eyes and I can’t help but push up onto my tippy-toes and press my lips to his one more time.

  As I pull away, he smiles down at me. “Come on,” he says before leading me all the way down the stairs until we’re standing so close to the screen that I could reach out and touch it.

  Jace comes to stand right before me and I find myself grinning at him like an idiot. “What are you doing?” I laugh as his thumb runs across my knuckles.

  At that, he drops down to one knee and smiles up at me with his heart in his eyes. “Something I’ve been wanting to do since the day I met you.”

  Chapter 24

  Jace

  Her mouth pops open in surprise. “Jace?” she gasps as the whole cinema gasps right along with her.

  I can’t tear the smile off my face. She looks fucking radiant and seeing the love in her eyes shining down at me has me feeling things that only she’s capable of making me feel.

  She’s my whole fucking world and what I’m about to ask her has been torturing my mind for over two years. To finally get the words out is going to be incredible. Right now, I feel like every damn star in the universe is aligning and the second I walk out of this room with this woman, we can finally start the rest of our lives together. Well, that’s assuming she says yes, but I highly doubt she’ll be saying no. Though, I’m kind of throwing this on her. I mean, I’m asking her to skip the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing and straight up be my wife.

  Fuck, I can just imagine her in white, walking down the aisle to me. Just the thought of it makes my chest ache with need.

  I wipe the smile off my face to let her know that what I’m about to say is serious. I want her to hear every damn word and feel every emotion that runs through me.

  I let out a shaky breath. I know I’ve been thinking about this day for over two years but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m a ball of nerves. I’m a fucking soldier. I’ve fought in war zones, facing down the enemy with guns pointed at me, and that felt so much easier than his.

  “Cam,” I start with her hand firmly in mine. “For over two years you have been my world and I have done nothing but make mistake after mistake. You’ll never know just how badly I regret hurting you, and I swear to you, baby, I’m going to earn your forgiveness no matter how long it takes. I will never give up fighting for what we should have had from the very start.”

  There were already tears pooled in her eyes, but now, they’re flowing freely. “I’ve been such a fool,” I continue. “The second I realized there was an issue, I should have done something about it, instead, I ran away from it because I didn’t want to face what I had done. But you brought me out of that, it was because of you that I got help and because of you that I’m able to stand before you and every damn person you know and tell you that I love you. The second I realized what you were to me, I should have told you, instead, I’ve wasted over two years when we could have been happy. I hate myself for that, babe,” I tell her. “I have so much to make up for and I don’t care if it takes a lifetime for you to learn that you can finally trust me. I’m going to earn that trust every single day. No matter what, Cami, you’re going to know that your heart is safe with me.”

  Cami sniffles as she looks down at me. “Are you sure?” she whispers as another tear falls from her beautiful eye.

  I reach up and wipe it away. “Yeah, babe. I’ve never been so sure in my life. I want to give you the world. Every single day. You will never want for anything,” I tell her. “I want to build a life with you that others could only imagine in their wildest dreams. I want to watch your stomach grow with our children. Fuck, Cam, I want to marry you even if that means wearing a fucking suit to McDonald's.”

  “Are you sure?” she asks again.

  “Babe,” I say. �
�Stop asking me if I’m sure. I’ve wanted this since the moment I met you. I’m fucking sure.”

  “You’re not going to run when shit gets real?”

  “No, I’m not,” I smile. “I want to fight with you over who has to wash the dishes. I want to hold your hair back when you’ve drunk too much with the girls. I want to be the sorry bastard who you force to model your designs at four in the morning when you’re doubting how fucking good you are. I want to be there when you fuck up, and yes, I’ll be the first to tease you about it, but I’ll also be the first to put your world back together.”

  “Cam,” I say as I release her hand and dig into my pocket. I pull out a little velvet box which I’ve had living in my bedside table for over a year and open it up. I hold it out to her and her eyes widen in shock as she takes in the engagement ring staring her in the face. “I want to live my life with you and I promise you, I’m going to love you so fucking hard that you’ll be dying to get away from me. I know I don’t deserve this, and even if you say no, I’m still going to ask you over and over again because you deserve a man who’s going to sweep you off your feet every day. Babe, I want to watch you walking down the aisle in a white dress. I want to make vows to you. I want to become your husband more than you could possibly know. So, what do you say?” I ask her. “Will you do me the greatest honor of becoming my wife?”

  She just stares at me as she tries to register the shock that’s coursing through her. I grin up at her. I knew she’d be shocked. She was expecting me to ask her out and become her boyfriend, but I want so much more than that. Being just her boyfriend will never be enough. Hell, if there was something more than a husband, then I’d be shooting for that.

  She pulls in a deep breath as a smile begins to spread over her beautiful face. “I’ve been thinking about this day since the moment I met you,” she whispers.

  “I know you have,” I say as the smile on my own face begins to grow. Even if she says no right now, I’m still the happiest man on the planet knowing I’ve just given her something that she’s always wanted. “What’s it going to be?”

  A smugness seeps into her joy. “I should tell you no,” she says as the smile continues growing. “I should have you begging to even be in the same room as me.”

  “I know you should,” I tell her.

  “I should have you following me around on your hands and knees, day in and day out, with a box of chocolates and strawberries, feeding me like an ancient Egyptian queen. You could be my slave boy.”

  “I’ll do it,” I tell her as the people in the theatre chuckle to themselves. “Come on, babe. Put me out of my misery.”

  She lets out a little laugh before falling to her knees and crashing into me with her arms around my neck. I catch her with ease as her lips come down on mine. “I love you so much, Jace King,” she tells me with her lips moving against mine. “Of course, I’ll marry you. Nothing in this world could possibly make me happier than being your wife.”

  I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding before crushing her lips to mine. I wrap my arms around her waist and hold her tightly to me. It’s only then I realize I have no idea what happened to the ring. It was in my fingers before, but now, my hands are firmly on her body.

  The people in the cinema start cheering and hollering, though no one is louder than the boys. Not one of them knew I was doing this. They all knew that I was making a big gesture to her tonight, hell, they were all in on making it happen. They helped me with the video, they helped me by stalking her Facebook page to get in contact with her family. They even helped me to rent out the fucking theatre. They thought I wanted to make her my girl, but not one of them knew that my end game was to propose, and from the sound of it, they’re all fucking stoked, but not as stoked as I am.

  I pull back from Cami and I can’t help but spread my fingers over her back as I lift her off the ground and help her find her feet. “I can’t believe you just did that,” she tells me as I spot the familiar little velvet box lying on the ground at her feet.

  I scoop it up into my hands and take the diamond ring out. “I swear to you, Cami,” I tell her as I take her hand in mine. “I’m going to make you so fucking happy.”

  With that, I slide the ring onto her finger and officially make her my fiancé.

  I want to pull her in again but it’s made impossible when the girls crash into her and start screaming in that way that girls do. I’m too busy smiling at her to even notice anyone approaching.

  “Dude?” Luke says, suddenly right by my side. “What the fuck was that? How could you not tell me?”

  I can’t help but grin at him as he pulls me in and claps me on the back. “Good fucking work,” he tells me. “It’s about time.”

  “Thanks, man,” I say, finding it impossible to remove the smile off my face. “You know you’re my best man, right?”

  “There would be trouble if I wasn’t,” he warns me.

  I can’t help but laugh as the rest of the guys come storming in on our bromance. “Fuck, man,” Xander says. “You threw us a fucking curveball there.”

  “That’s a fucking understatement,” Caden grunts. “Now the rest of us are going to have to pick up our game or the girls will be pissed.”

  “Congratulations,” Cole laughs. “Now, what do you say we take all these people back to my place and we throw you guys a fucking party.”

  I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face, especially as I glance across the room to see Cami’s eyes already on mine. “Fuck yeah, man. Let’s show these girls how real men like to party.”

  With that, the theatre begins emptying out and I take my fiancé by the hand. “So, we’re not actually perving on Chris Hemsworth?” she questions as I throw my arm over her shoulder and pull her into my side.

  “Only if you want to, babe,” I tell her as I start leading her towards the door.

  “No,” she says, shaking her head. “I’d rather perve on you.”

  We’re about to walk through the exit when she looks back into the theatre. “What is it?” I ask her.

  Her eyebrows pull down in thought before she turns back and looks up at me. “How the hell did you get everyone in here without me noticing?”

  A smirk cuts across my face and I press my lips to her forehead. She doesn’t need to know all my secrets and it’s not like it’s that interesting. There’s a back door and I simply snuck every last person in here while getting a few strangers to walk through the main doors to keep her suspicions down. “It’s not my fault you’re not very observant,” I laugh as she narrows her eyes on me.

  I can’t help but laugh as I press a kiss to her forehead. “Come on, babe,” I say as I pull her out the door while skipping straight over her questions. “We’ve got a party to get to.”

  Chapter 25

  Cami

  How is it possible to be this happy? When I woke up this morning, my day was about celebrating the fact that shark week was over, now, at the end of the day, I have a fiancé whose hand hasn’t left mine, a ring on my finger that symbolizes a promise of just how fiercely he’s going to love me, and a man who’s taking me back to his home to show me exactly what it means to be his woman.

  He pulls up in his driveway and I reach for the door. As I go to climb down from his truck, he’s already there, helping me out. As I get to the ground, I smile up at him. “I’m going to be so damn happy for the rest of my life.”

  He leans in and presses his lips to mine as his hands scoop down and effortlessly lifts me into his arms. “I can’t wait,” he tells me. “Now, let me take you to bed. I’ve been waiting too damn long for you.”

  He walks us right up to his front door before adjusting me in his arms so he can pull his keys out of his pocket. He slides it into the lock and before I know it, he’s pressing me up against the back of his bedroom door.

  It only takes me a second to realize that I haven’t actually been in his home since before my trip but I don’t have a chance to dwell on it as his li
ps are suddenly on mine.

  He pulls back slightly to allow his eyes to roam over me and even though I’m still fully dressed, I can’t help but feel naked under his gaze. I lock my eyes onto his before pressing my hand into his hard stomach and pushing him back.

  He allows me to walk a few steps before the back of his legs hit the bed. I give him a gentle push and he willingly falls back to sit on the edge of the bed. His eyes flame as he watches me, wondering what I’m about to do.

  I reach up for the strap of my dress and slip it off my shoulder and his eyes zone in on the bare skin as though he can’t breathe without it. I trail my finger over my bare shoulder and pull in a breath that raises my chest up and down.

  My finger moves across my skin and over to my other shoulder where it pushes the other strap down. I slip both my arms out of the straps but my dress remains loosely held up around the top of my breasts.

  My finger trails back down from my shoulder and across my collarbone. I close my eyes as the sensation is starting to become too much for me to handle. Maybe it’s the feel of my own fingertip trailing across my burning skin, or maybe it’s the way Jace’s eyes haven’t missed a single movement.

  My fingers move down and gently pull on the dress which makes it fall to the floor at my feet. His eyes grow hungrier and the burning within them spurs me on. I stand before him in nothing but my underwear and I’ve never felt so exposed. It’s intoxicating.

  I continue moving my hand down my chest and trail it over my breasts before going down over my waist. It tickles slightly and has me sucking in a breath while I bite down on my bottom lip.

  Jace goes to reach out for me and I shake my head. I’m not finished with this performance just yet.

  I reach around my back and unhook my bra before letting it fall to the ground. I run my fingers over myself and feel my nipples hardening beneath my touch. I let out the slightest moan before hooking my fingers into the waistband of my underwear.