by Winters, KB
I smiled and dropped the sheet away, revealing my naked body to him—at least, as much as could fit in the frame. “How’s that?” I asked, laughing softly at the semi-shocked look on Jace’s face.
“That’s pretty fuckin’ good,” he said.
I smiled and ran my finger lazily down my body. “So, you know, I was just entertaining myself, since I’m all alone over here.”
“A fuckin crime…” Jace replied. “I take it that means you liked my email?”
I licked my lips and nodded. “Uh huh.”
“Show me, baby. Show me how much you like it.”
I hesitated for a moment, fidgeting with the edge of the discarded sheet. Then, my mind made up, adjusted the computer so Jace could see my entire naked body. He let out a string of appreciative curses as I backed away from the camera to let him see everything. “Well, it started like this,” I described, arching back, my hand going between my legs.
“I love it already,” Jace said, and I smiled at the breathless edge to his voice. I was driving him completely wild.
I rubbed my pussy, rolling my body with the waves of pleasure. My clit was sensitive from my first orgasm, and it didn’t take much to get worked up. Especially knowing I had an audience. I gasped and arched.
“Baby, get up on all fours, I want to see you from behind.”
My eyes popped open at Jace’s bold request, but I figured if I’d gone this far, might as well go the rest of the way. I flashed him a naughty girl smile before spinning around on my knees.
“That ass,” Jace growled. “God, I could do some damage. Kat, bend over for me, now.”
His authoritative voice sent shivers up my spine and my pussy throbbed, pulsing with even more excitement as I leaned forward. I gulped back a jolt of fear at the thought of what Jace was seeing. The camera was far enough away that it wasn’t going to be a close up of my asshole, but he was getting an eye full, that was for sure.
“Moan for me baby, I need to hear it,” Jace’s voice instructed.
I started rubbing myself again and moaned his name, my tone a desperate begging as I rocketing into a new level of pleasure. The vulnerable position, the audience, the feel of my fingers, the wetness drenching my thighs, and the memory of Jace’s dirty email were joining together to drive me to the edge of sheer insanity. I rocked back and forth and put two fingers inside myself as deep as I could from the odd angle, and used my thumb to stroke my clit, moaning and panting Jace’s name, as I crashed over the edge, spasming and screaming until I released and crashed down onto my elbows, my ass in the air as I finished.
“What are you doing to me?” I called out, my words muffled slightly in the mattress. I turned around and crawled to get closer to the computer where Jace was waiting. I smiled at the screen, instantly knowing what he was doing, although I couldn’t see below his chest.
I watched him, unapologetically, as his eyes blazed at me. After another moment, he released and puffed out a breath of air. “Shit, that was hot.”
“Mmhmm, but still not the real thing…” I said, instantly hating how pouty I sounded. I knew he missed me, and wanted to be home. I didn’t need to add to his frustration by piling on my own. “Sorry, I just—this is hard. Harder than I thought.”
Jace smiled, but his eyes were ringed with sadness. “You’re kinda killing my buzz here, babe.”
I laughed at his expression. “Right.”
We were silent for a moment, staring at each other, each lost in our own thoughts. “I’ve never done anything like that,” I confessed.
Jace laughed. “Well you were excellent, ten out of ten!” I rolled my eyes at his teasing tone. “No, seriously, Kat. You’re amazing. I don’t know how the hell I found you. You’re the perfect mix of smart, sweet, sassy, and baby, you’re sexy as hell. What are you doing with a ragamuffin guy like me?”
I smiled at him, his words a perfect summary of what I’d been thinking. After my marriage went belly up, I didn’t think I’d have a shot in hell at finding a man to love me and Jax. The “single mom” title was usually a barrier that most guys wouldn’t cross. But then, Jace wasn’t most guys. “I think I’m pretty lucky too,” I replied softly.
“Damn, I wish I was there.”
I nodded, not trusting my voice to keep from cracking as a lump balled up in my throat.
“Soon baby. Soon. Then we can start our life.”
I warmed from head to toe. “Our life?” I repeated.
“Yep. You and me and Jax.”
A tear slipped past my lashes and I didn’t bother brushing it away. “That sounds nice.”
“We can do whatever we want. I’ll get off that God-awful reality show, and do things my way. We’ll get you a design studio, and I’ll use my contacts to get you jobs designing whatever you want. Hotels, celebrity homes, whatever you want! Hey, you want your own show? I could probably arrange that…” Jace asked, a twinkle in his eyes.
“No, no!” I shook my head and laughed. “Believe it or not, you’ve ruined all illusion I have in regards to reality shows!”
Jace laughed, throwing his head back and howling. “Well, shit. I should probably feel bad about that. They have their place, but yeah…a highly not recommended plan. But seriously, we’ll figure out something and you’ll have people begging for you to design their spaces. And then, we’ll have the freedom to take Jax around the world, whatever you want, baby.”
I smiled, my mind cranking out dream after dream. All the things I’d thought of already were mixing with new ideas, and Jace’s words—promises—were like the key in the ignition, bringing it all to life.
We stayed up another couple of hours, fleshing out our vision of the new life that was waiting for us on the other side of the deployment, and when we finally had to say goodbye, I slipped into a deep sleep that saw all those visions to completion in my dreams.
Chapter Eight — Kat
The weeks started to fly by, the days melting together in a blur, only marked by emails from Jace, and my weekly visit with Jax. Everything else faded to one monotonous background as I shifted back and forth between the gears of my life: mother, lover, waitress, student. Jace’s emails became sporadic, but at least once a week he managed to send me a message, some sweet, some friendly, and others were pure lust. I poured over each one, reading them in order every night before I went to sleep, especially the steamy ones, since they almost guaranteed I would have a good night’s sleep. Jace could make me smile, cry, think, dream, and laugh out loud, all in the same heartfelt message. The layers to him peeled away with each message, and I finally saw him as the man he was beneath the inked skin, the scars of war, and the hardness of his life to this point.
He was beyond anything I’d ever dreamed, and in the quiet moments alone with his words, I had to admit to myself that I was falling in love with him. At the end of each reply to him, it was becoming more and more difficult not to tell him how I felt, and end the message with an I love you. He hadn’t voiced it either, but I could feel it. I wrapped myself in his other expressions of affection, and let them carry me through the long days apart.
The only problem was the thousands of miles wedged between us. I tried not to ask often, but as far as I knew, there was still no end date for his mission, so while we talked about things we wanted to do together, and places we wanted to go, when he returned, I still had no idea when that would actually happen. All I could do was dream of the day he would be back in my arms. Sometimes, I pictured where I would be when he got back to town. Would I be working? Would he slip into the diner, sit at his usual table, a big shit-eating grin on his face, waiting for me to see him and lose my mind? Would he show up on the front porch? A big bouquet of flowers in his hands, in his uniform, and burst through the door, searing my lips with a scorching kiss as we stumbled down the hall to my bed, undressing each other as we went?
My mind wandered through each scenario, deliciously imagining each detail in vivid perfection, and while it usually made me miss him more, I coul
dn’t help myself.
On Friday afternoon, I was drinking a cup of tea and reading through one of my favorites, when there was a knock on the door. I closed the laptop lid, and smiled as I went to the door, knowing my little man would be on the other side.
“Mama!” Jax shouted, jumping into my arms as soon as the door was open far enough. Mickey bounded past him, nearly knocking us both over, and after I got him sitting down with promise of a puppy cookie, I turned to see Mitch still standing on the porch, his arms folded, surveying the scene.
“Thanks for bringing him,” I said, hoping to prompt him back to reality and get him to leave. Things had improved between Hannah and I, easing the tension greatly, when she was the one dropping Jax off, but things with Mitch only got frostier as the court date neared.
“Have a good night,” Mitch said, his voice thick with some underlying meaning.
I squatted down next to Jax, ignoring Mitch for the moment. “Honey, I put a surprise in your room, why don’t you go see what it is.” Jax’s eyes lit up and he raced down the hall, with Mickey sliding on the wood floors in his haste. I’d found some new pajama’s on clearance that featured the cast of characters from his favorite TV show, and splurged a little. When he was gone, I straightened and faced Mitch. “So, you’re really going through with this, huh? Trying to take him away from me?”
“My legal team advised me not to discuss the specifics with you, but Hannah and I want to move once the baby is here. She wants to be closer to her family. It wouldn’t be possible to transfer Jax back and forth once a week.”
My heart froze solid, a block of ice encasing it at his confession. Had all of Hannah’s friendliness just been a ploy to butter me up? To make me a sympathetic friend, so it would be easier when they took him from me? The thought rolled my stomach. “Mitch, he’s my baby too. He’s all I have.” I pinched my fingers tight together, the pain just enough to stop the tears in my eyes from welling up too much.
“I’m doing what’s right for my family,” Mitch replied, his tone still cold and uncaring. When had he turned into such a monster? Bulldozing through my life without batting an eye? Was I not, once upon a time, his family? Had we not made Jax together, brought him into the world side by side? Looking at my ex-husband was like seeing a stranger.
“I have nothing to say to you, Mitch. I could tell you that you’re a shallow, pathetic, excuse of a man, who knows nothing about keeping promises, or building a legacy, but I know you wouldn’t listen. Goodnight.”
Mitch reared back, obviously surprised by my sharp indictment, but I slammed the door in his face before he could put together a reply. I growled, releasing the frustration that had my chest tight and my limbs shaking, and then forced a smile on my face before going down to Jax’s room. I rounded the corner, and burst out laughing as I found Jax stripped naked, running around the room, with his pants on his head, and the shirt flying behind him like a cape, giggling and chasing Mickey.
The impending court date was still in my mind, but it was a lot easier to shove to the back of my mind, as I launched a tickle attack on Jax, his peals of laughter drowning out my stress.
* * * *
I was feeling a lot less Zen a week and a half later as I walked into the courtroom, my lawyer Kirk, leading the way. We’d deliberately waited so that we could be the second party, and when I saw the look on Mitch’s lawyer’s face, I smiled to myself and understood why. I hadn’t told Mitch who my lawyer was and as we walked up the aisle and took our seats in front of the judge, I sent a silent thanks to the lawyer who had given me Kirk’s name. Kirk’s face was masked with a whole new level of seriousness, but when he glanced at me, he flashed a hint of a smile, a silent reassurance that he was about to kick some serious ass.
And two hours later, that was exactly what happened.
“Mr. Martin, you have failed to provide any proof that Ms. Ryan is an unfit mother. I see no reason to grant your request, and furthermore, the new evidence showing that during your original agreement, certain assets may have been concealed, leads me to remind you that fraud is a serious crime with real life consequences attached. So, not only am I granting Ms. Ryan all of her requests, but I would strongly recommend that you drop this issue, and take the agreement with gratitude that further digging isn’t being done.”
The judge’s words were still ringing in my ears as Kirk walked me out of the courtroom, past Mitch and his defeated team of lawyers, without a second glance. Only once we were down the block, at the parking garage where my car was parked, did he finally break character and give me a heartfelt smile. I looked up into his eyes, edged with wise wrinkles, and broke into the happiest tears I’d ever cried in my life. “I don’t even—I can’t—”
He opened his arms and I stepped into a chaste embrace. “Thank you so, so much,” I whispered, my voice chocking up.
Kirk hadn’t even fully shown me his strategy, he’d mentioned something about Mitch hiding assets during our divorce, but hadn’t told me he’d found proof. He’d presented it to the judge, whose disgust was obvious in his final ruling, each sentence a cleverly crafted threat that if Mitch even tried to go after me and Jax again, that he would be brought up on fraud charges.
“You’re welcome,” Kirk replied. He pulled away and I wiped at my tears. “I don’t think Mitch will bother you anymore, but if he does, you know where to find me.”
I nodded. “Thank you, for everything.”
He gave me a final smile before turning away and I climbed behind the wheel of my car, waiting until Kirk was out of sight before screaming out a cry of sheer, exhilarated joy. Jax would be with me full time, except every other weekend, and one week during the summer to allow for vacations with Mitch, Hannah, and their baby on the way.
Effective immediately.
I threw the car into gear and hurried out of town, racing to get home and give my son the longest hug of his life. He was at Hilda’s and I knew she would be just as excited to hear the news. Just the thought of the reunion gave me chills and kept a smile on my face as I battled my way through traffic to the highway that led out of the city, to the outskirts where I lived.
Hilda had a celebratory dinner prepared and even popped open a bottle of good wine for us to share—something I’d never seen her do before—and we all laughed and ate together like our own little family. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better, my phone buzzed, and I saw a weird number on the screen. My fingers slipped as I answered it, missing the accept button twice in my excitement.
“We did it!” I shouted into the phone. “We did it, Jace!”
Jax cheered loudly in the background, and I laughed, knowing he had absolutely no idea why his mama was so happy. As far as he knew, nothing had changed in his world. He was happy simply because I was happy.
Jace laughed. “Well that answers that question!”
I rapidly fired off the information, replaying what the judge had said, careful not to use Mitch’s name since Jax was sitting a few feet away.
“That’s amazing!” Jace replied, and I smiled at the audible smile in his voice. “I wish I was there to celebrate.”
“Me too.” My eyes welled with tears, a mix of happy and sad. He should have been there. It was only because of him that any of it had been possible. Mitch’s lawyers would have ripped to shreds any lawyer I would have been able to afford on my own. “Thank you, Jace. Without you, none of this would have—I’d still be fighting, or worse…he would have won.” I exhaled long and slow, calming myself. “I just can’t even—I can’t even tell you, how much this means to me and to Jax.--” my voice broke. “You’re not only an American hero, you’re our hero.”
“Hey now, don’t get me all choked up. I’m a big tough SEAL, remember? I have a reputation to protect around here,” he teased.
I smiled and wiped away the moisture from the corner of my eye. “Thank you.”
“Gorgeous, you are more than welcome. I’ll be home soon and we can have a big party.”
&
nbsp; My heart fluttered at the word soon. I nodded, watching as Jax danced around the room with Mickey. More and more I could imagine it, Jace being a part of us. He had already become a part of me, something I’d never expected, but could no longer imagine losing. With each conversation, it became easier to picture him in our normal, everyday, crazy life. Taking Jax to the park, eating dinners together, watching movies, reading stories. All of it made sense to me. There wasn’t one part of it that held me back or made me wonder.
“That will be fun,” I said, unable to find the words to fully explain the things I was thinking. I walked into the kitchen to block out some of the noise. I propped my hip against the counter, and asked, “How are things over there? Any word on when you’ll get to come back?” I held my breath, hoping he had an answer.
Jace sighed. “Not yet. There’s still a lot going on. Hopefully soon.”
I resisted the urge to point out that he’d been saying that for over a month. I chocked it down and forced a smile on my face, not wanting him to hear distress in my voice. The deployment alone was enough for him to deal with—I didn’t want to add to his stress. “Well, all of us will be waiting for you to get back. I’ll cook you the best steak you’ve ever had!”
Jace laughed. “Sounds good to me. Anything else on the menu?” His voice dropped into a low, seductive growl that rippled through me with a gentle shudder.
I poked my head around the corner and saw Jax on the floor, his head propped on Mickey, as he played with his toy dragon, making loud roaring sounds as he made it fly above his head. Satisfied, I went back into the kitchen, and lowered my own voice. “Possibly…what’d you have in mind, sailor boy?”
“Fuck, that’s sexy,” Jace groaned. “I want you Kat, every inch, every drop. You’re not going to be able to walk when I’m done doing everything I’ve been dreaming about.”
Shit. I had to press my lips tight together to keep from moaning as a bolt of heat pulsed between my thighs.
Jace laughed softly when I didn’t respond. “You still breathing over there?”
