by JAX
In all of her fantasies about his real life, never could she have imagined this. Had she ever been so young, so sexually uninhibited ?
No, she’d spent too much time running an inn and being all the things Constance had needed her to be. Mom and provider first, fully sexualized woman never. How depressing.
A waiter moved to her side. He smiled at her and she heard the faint whirring of gears when he raised the tray. Android servers. “Would the lady care for a drink?”
“The lady would care for a vat.” She’d taken her time dressing and was clearly well behind the average guest. Draining her glass, she plopped it back on his tray and took another. His polite smile remained frozen. “Do you know where the bride to be is?”
“Up there.” He gestured toward the rock where the waterfall was spilling over.
“Is she clothed?” Evie didn’t know if she should seek her daughter out or avoid her so she didn’t see Constance living it up. Still, Evie was on a mission and potentially catching her daughter in flagrante delecto with a pleasure companion—or worse, her fiancé—was worth the risk.
“As I cannot see her from this particular vantage, I do not know. Should I check for you?” the android offered cheerily.
“Thank you, no, I’ll go see for myself.” Evie drained her second glass and then took a third for company. She’d just lost her champagne buzz from earlier and was downing the sparkling red wine, hoping to bring it back. A little inebriation would ease the reality of Jace being a manwhore and Constance throwing her life away. “This is good, what vintage is it?”
“It’s a unique vintage made just for Constance by Abernathy vineyards. Plenty more if you like from Constance Falls.” The waiter gestured to where some of the other androids were filling glasses from the water—er, winefall.
“Of course it is,” Evie murmured. Really? He made a wine just for her, enough to produce a waterfall? No wonder Constance was head over heels, he kept her inebriated with her own vintage. The sheer decadence stunned her.
All of the beautiful people frolicked merrily. A few health guards had come up. The sea god stared at her as not one, but two women took turns licking and sucking on his exposed shaft. She’d been right; it was just as glorious as the rest of him. He crooked a finger at Evie, calling her forth, but Evie turned away.
All this was so much more than Evie could ever give her. She laughed hollowly. Never in a million years would she even think to give her daughter a life like this. Her most debauched fantasies seemed tame in comparison.
Maybe she should just stay out of it. Just because she’d had a lousy marriage didn’t mean her daughter would have the same fate.
“Allow me to escort you.” A hand fell on the small of her back even as Jace’s warm breath stirred the hair at her nape.
Evie looked up at him, suddenly overjoyed that he was here with her. Alone, friendless, and completely out of her element and he’d ridden to her rescue. Moral support meant the world to Evie. She had only a few people in her life who’d ever offered it to her, and in less than a week Jace had become one of them. She wanted to kiss him for seeking her out when he had so many other lovely offerings to choose from.
“I’m still not sure I want to see what’s going on up there. She’s my daughter after all.”
“I’ll stay with you until you’re ready,” he said. The high-handedness of his statement should have bugged her, but she loved that he didn’t ask, just told her this was how it’s going to be. Maybe that made her weak, but in that moment she didn’t trust herself to make the right call.
“So is this a typical Friday night for you?” she asked with a nod at the people along the side of the river.
“No,” he said, and her heart leapt for a moment, wondering if he felt as awkward and out of sorts as she did. Then it plummeted as he continued, pointing to the sea god, clearly in the throes of release. “Usually at an event like this I’m right there next to him.”
* * *
8
Now why the hell did he say that? Jace could have kicked himself for blurting out the truth. Evie was already squirrelly, clearly overwhelmed by the party and worries about her daughter. Jace was supposed to be selling her on taking a chance with him this week, and so far he was doing a piss-poor job of it.
“Do you like it? Your job, I mean.” Evie turned to look up at him.
What an odd question. He shrugged, hiding the unease her soft query stirred in him. “What’s not to like?”
“Answering a question with a question, very telling.” Evie drained her glass and started walking, and he adjusted his stride to match hers. “Every job—regardless of the perks—has something not to like. Me, for instance. I love what I do, running my inn. It’s hard work, often lonely. There was a day last winter after it snowed. Everything was soft and quiet and I just wanted to sit in front of the fire and read a trashy novel on my comm. But then the driveway wouldn’t get plowed, the steps wouldn’t be shoveled, the soup wouldn’t be ready for lunch. Tech helps me manage to scrape by where in the past running the place was at least a five-person job, but doing it on my own is exhausting.”
“I’m sure it is,” Jace murmured softly. “My job isn’t so labor intensive, though.”
“No, but I bet it’s draining all the same. Why else would you want to be promoted out of the field?”
Her intelligence and insight caught him off guard. Evie might not be a social butterfly, but she read people the same way he did. “It’s about advancement, acknowledgment for all my hard work. Respect.”
She shook her head and dark hair spilled over her bare shoulders. “There’s got to be more to it. I’m sure on occasion you’ve been assigned to someone you don’t really like all that much. You have to hide your true feelings.”
“I’m not allowed to have any feelings,” Jace corrected her. Gripping her shoulders, he turned her to face the suck-off contest. Three of the android waiters stood at parade rest, their pants and vests folded neatly behind them. The silicone shafts between their legs were hollow, and the artificial sacs below had been filled with wine from the falls. Three bridesmaids knelt before them, slurping greedily like the cocks were massive straws, trying to pull the liquid up into their mouths. The woman who emptied the scrotum first won.
He gave Evie a moment to take it all in. “Look at the androids’ faces. See the distant, vacant expressions? That’s what I have to be when I work. A blank slate, ready to fuck or be fucked at a moment’s notice, to act happy about it.”
The amount of venom coating his words surprised even him and left a bitter tang on his tongue.
Evie took his hand in hers. His health guard had been up since he stepped into the room, so he couldn’t feel the true texture of her hand as she twined her fingers with his. The gesture touched him deeply. Such an innocent display of affection amidst the hedonistic glory surrounding them. When was the last time he’d held hands with a woman just for the pure joy of it?
It wasn’t all innocent, though. He wanted her so badly he ached from unspent lust. In a few more hours he’d be free to love her endlessly, to explore her body to his heart’s content, to make her come for days with her blue eyes staring up into his with the same comfort, same deep desire he spied there now.
He’d never grow tired of looking into them, of seeing her.
“Evie,” he started, then didn’t know how to continue.
She licked her lips and he wanted to kiss her, to claim her in front of the entire wedding party so there could be no doubt that she was his and he was hers.
“Hey there, lover.” It was the drunken redhead, the model who had arranged this event.
Jace barely stifled a wince. He’d been dodging her all night. Frantically, he scanned the crowd, looking around for Reg to foist her off, but his wingman had disappeared.
Evie released his hand and stepped back. “I’m being selfish, keeping you by my side. You should get back to work.” Without waiting for him to reply, she turned toward the stone step
s and strode uphill.
“Been looking for you.” The redhead plastered herself to his back, one hand snaking over his hips and heading south. She must have won a suck-off competition because her hands were coated in wine and grass, and her words slurred impressively as she whispered that he was next on her menu.
Jace gripped her wrists, but that didn’t keep her from pressing her artificially inflated breasts against his back. Damn, she was determined. He’d sent two other pleasure companions to see to her, but she kept coming back to him like a boomerang.
“Come on, baby. You don’t want me to report that you’re playing hard to get.”
Her threat made him narrow his eyes. The customer may always be right, but she was the type to hold a grudge, to complain if she didn’t get her way—spoiled, selfish cow. He had to diffuse this situation before it got out of hand.
“I told you, I’m already contracted for the duration of the trip.”
“By whom?”
“Evie,” he called out a little bit desperately.
She turned back to him.
Help. He mouthed the word, begged her with his eyes. He might have to stay here in his ridiculous getup, but if Evie announced her prior claim on his body, the redhead would have to look elsewhere to satisfy her needs.
Evie rolled her eyes but made her way back down the steps.
“By her.” Jace pointed to Evie.
The redhead peeked over his shoulder and snorted in derision. “Grandma Fatass, huh? Poor baby, I doubt she’d know what to do with you.”
Jace’s fist clenched. He’d never thought about hitting a woman before, but he wanted to strike the heifer down for insulting his woman.
Evie didn’t bat an eyelash, though, and when she spoke, her Southern accent came out extra thick. “Age before beauty, sugar booger. Scurry on back to the party before your bedtime.”
“Bitch,” the redhead spat.
“Really?” Evie raised an eyebrow. Jace hoped she wasn’t wearing a laser pistol in her garter, because the expression on her face told him she considered annihilating the other woman. No great loss, but he didn’t want to see her arrested at her daughter’s bachelorette party. “That’s the best you can do?”
“At least I don’t have to pay men to fuck me.” The bridesmaid slurred as if she hadn’t been attempting to hire him to do exactly that.
“Honey, that’s nothing to be proud of. Most men would fuck anything in a skirt, fat ass or not. This one at least is smart enough to get paid for it. And my credits are just as spendable as yours. Go find someone else to play with before I spank your spoiled ass.”
The other woman backed up. Jace braced himself in case she made a grab for Evie. Job or not, he wouldn’t stand by with his thumb up his butt while his woman was attacked. But Red cast them each a heated glare and sashayed off to make trouble elsewhere.
“Skippy,” Evie muttered and looked at him. “Better stick close. You’re like a juicy T-bone tossed in the tiger’s cage. We’d be morons to think that they wouldn’t try and eat you.”
“Thanks for rescuing me.” Crooking her in with his elbow, he dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “My hero.”
Jace’s job was a total suckfest, at least in Evie’s opinion. She had to ward off two more drunken advances before she spied Constance sitting on what appeared to be a crystal throne shaped like a giant cock and balls, sipping from a wineglass the size of a fishbowl. Thankfully her daughter wore a slinky dress, covering all of her privates.
“Hey there, baby girl,” she called out, waving the hand that wasn’t entwined with Jace’s. Keeping in physical contact with him had her palm sweating. Or maybe the alcohol was catching up with her.
“Mama! So glad you made it!” Constance hopped up and pushed past the flock of bridal attendants who constantly surrounded her.
Evie released Jace and embraced her child. Though she’d seen her only a few hours earlier, Constance appeared even lovelier. Definitely more drunk.
“Isn’t this a great party?” Constance beamed with the jubilance only the truly inebriated could manage. Her daughter’s vague gaze snagged on Jace and she smiled up at him. “Hello, handsome.”
Jace smiled back politely, though she saw the panic in his gaze. Oh hell, would she have to beat her own flesh and blood off him too?
In a distant part of her mind, the thought formed that if Constance hooked up with Jace, David Abernathy might call a halt to the wedding ceremony. Evie felt ill as she imagined Jace touching her daughter the way he’d touched her. Nope, not a possibility.
Threading one of her arms through his, she smiled up at him as she addressed her daughter. “Constance, meet Jace. He’s with me.”
Constance blinked a few times. “Really?”
Evie huffed out a breath. “You don’t have to sound so darn incredulous.”
“But isn’t he a manwh—” Constance blushed as she realized what she almost rudely blurted out.
Ever the charmer, Jace took Evie’s daughter’s hand in his, glossing over the awkwardness. “Miss Ripley, best wishes on your engagement. Illustra wishes you and Mr. Abernathy worlds of joy.”
Constance’s blush grew deeper and she turned back to Evie. “Can I speak with you in private for a second?”
Evie noticed the bridal party, a murder of whipcord-lean crows eyeing Jace’s oiled magnificence like fresh roadkill. “If I leave his side, there’ll be nothing left of him but a smear on the ground.”
“What you do for my ego.” Raising Evie’s hands to his lips, he kissed her knuckles, a curious old-world gesture that should have looked ridiculous in his flaming outfit, but he still pulled off with machismo. “Go talk with her, I’ll endeavor to survive without you.”
Her heart did a ridiculous little somersault at his statement. She couldn’t wait to get him alone and shred that sheer fabric before dragging him into that bed with her. Standing on her tiptoes, she whispered, “Give me five minutes; then you and I are getting the hell out of here.”
“Your wish is my command.” Rubbing his stubbled cheek lightly against hers, he nuzzled her before letting Constance drag her off behind the cock throne.
“Oh, my God, Mama! Oh, my freaking God! You’re paying a manwhore to sleep with you? Does Daddy know about this?” Constance’s eyes were huge in her face.
Evie’s pride had taken one hit too many tonight, and her daughter’s disbelief was the final straw. “You know, this is just great. For months you’ve been telling me I should meet someone and when I finally do—”
“Someone, like an orthopedic surgeon or a plumber. Not a pleasure companion you pay! Honestly, Mom, aren’t you too old for that kind of thing.”
Evie blinked, stunned. “Too old? I’m forty-two! What do you think, my ovaries shriveled up like raisins and I have dust in my vag?”
Constance winced. “God, Mom. Don’t be gross. It’s just that you never go on dates or talked about wanting a man. I mean he’s hot and everything, but why not meet someone your own age that you have stuff in common with that will take you out to dinner and not charge you?”
“He’s not charging me,” Evie said through clenched teeth.
Constance actually snorted. “Yeah, right, your boy toy is just so caught up in you that he’s ignoring a roomful of models for you. Good one. Is this to get back at me because you don’t want me to get married?”
Evie’s jaw hung slack. She’d brought this child into this universe and part of her considered taking her right back out of it. With effort, she gathered her composure. “Jace has nothing to do with the mistake you’re making.”
Constance’s hands shot to her hips. “Getting married is not a mistake. You’re just bitter because of what went on with you and Daddy, and now you’re making a fool out of yourself with a man half your age. You look ridiculous.”
Fighting tears, Evie squared her shoulders. “Maybe I do, but being with him makes me happy. I could never say the same about your father, the load I hauled around for nineteen yea
rs. I hope to God you never feel the way he made me feel.”
Spinning on her heel, Evie stormed off. She forgot about Jace, about the fact that she was on board a space cruiser, and just rushed blindly away from Constance and the hurtful accusations her baby girl had flung in her face.
She’d been drinking, they all had, and the scene was a byproduct of too much booze and too little sense. Yet, her chest ached as though someone had put her heart through a fan and painted the wall with it. Bitter and pathetic, that’s how her daughter saw her? No word of thanks for all she’d done.
Constance was just as shallow and vapid as the rest of them.
“Wait, Evie!” Footsteps thundered down the corridor behind her. Jace gripped her arm and pulled her into an alcove. He took one look at her face and pulled her into his arms. “What happened?”
Evie leaned into his warmth. “I failed. My daughter’s completely narcissistic and selfish, just like her father.” She sank her nails into his back, needing someone to cling to as her world lost its focus. Jace didn’t protest, just held her tighter. Distantly, she took note that he’d deactivated his health guard, that he was holding her skin to skin.
“I can’t stay here.” Her whole body shook as a turbulent storm of emotion and defeat whirled inside her. Looking up into his gray-green eyes, she let her tears spill over. “I need to get off this ship, Jace.”
* * *
9
“Off this ship, babe, what are you talking about?” Jace rubbed Evie’s back as her shoulders shook. “Your daughter is getting married tomorrow.”
