SEAL'd Perfection Book 2

by KB Winters

  She spun the bag around on the table and looked at the logo. “Jace, what are you doing here?”

  I knelt on the floor next to the mess she’d clearly made out of frustration, and started stacking the pots and pans into orderly piles that slid into the drawer. “They told me you were sick, so I thought I would bring you some lunch. Soup and a cheese sandwich.”

  I glanced over at her and found her already staring back at me. “I’m still mad at you, you know.”

  I laughed softly. “I figured, you didn’t exactly bother hiding it when I saw you at the store on Saturday.”

  Her cheeks tinged with a crimson color, and she buried her nose in the bag, breathing in the savory aroma. I took the seat next to her and unpacked the bag, setting a bowl of soup and a wrapped sandwich in front of each of us, and then unpacked the plastic spoons and wad of napkins, before stashing the empty bag under my chair to get it out of the way. She picked up her sandwich and started peeling the wax paper away little by little. “Why are you being so nice to me, when I was such a bitch to you?”

  “I like you Kat, and I know you’re scared, and I’m not going to push anything, but you need to know I like you.” Her green eyes were searching mine and I found myself wishing I knew what she was looking for. “I care about you and when you care about someone, you do things for them. You’re sick—I brought you stuff to make you feel better. Simple.”

  She nodded slowly and turned her attention back to her sandwich wrapper. “Thank you,” she said softly. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about the other night—I still don’t know why I freaked out like that. There’s just…a lot going on.” Her voice was wavering and uneven and the sound twisted my heart.

  I reached over and helped her unwrap the rest of her sandwich. She smiled sadly at me and took a tiny bite. We ate in silence for a few minutes, and when she set down her food and pushed away what was left of the soup, I leaned back in my seat, giving her space, before asking, “So, what really happened? I’m thinking there’s more to your pots and pans party than a faulty drawer…” My voice was gentle, but she still flinched at the question. “If you don’t want to talk, that’s okay, too.”

  “No, it’s all right,” she replied, sucking in a deep breath, before continuing, “Mitch, that’s my ex, Jax’s father, is having a baby with his mistress-turned-wife, and is going after full time custody of Jax. He told me I had to go to a mediation meeting today, to hammer out a new arrangement, or else he’d take me to court. So I called in sick to work, which, I was, this weekend, but it was mostly to go to the meeting. Anyways, I get there, and he had this huge list of all the ways I’m failing as a parent, and is blackmailing me, in front of our freaking mediator, that if I don’t give him what he wants, he’ll take it to a judge.”

  “Oh my God, Kat, I’m so sorry, that’s…that’s crazy fucked up.” My mind was spinning trying to process everything she’d just said. Her eyes were red, and I knew she’d been crying and was close to tears again. I scooted my chair over to hers and pulled her into my arms. “Where’s Jax now?”

  “He’s next door, with Hilda. She took him so I could go to the meeting. I just got home a little while ago and needed a minute to…decompress,” she explained.

  I nodded, my mind reeling with what to say next. After a long minute of silence, I reassured her, “It won’t work, you know? There’s no way a judge could meet you and say you’re an unfit mother or whatever that bullshit is. I’ll come and be a witness for you, whatever you need.”

  She snorted. “That would be interesting,” she mused, almost to herself more than meant for me.

  “What do you mean?” I asked, tipping her chin up so she met my eyes with hers.

  She bit her lip. “Nothing, sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “Kat? Tell me.”

  She shifted her eyes away for a beat. “Mitch knows who you are, like from your show and stuff on the internet. He’s using you against me, saying that I’m hanging out with the wrong kind of people, he brought up a bunch of stuff, and I don’t know if it’s true or not…something about trashing hotels, partying, drinking…”

  I jumped up from the table, exploding out of my seat. My fists balled together and I had to bite back the urge to swing at the wall. It killed me that I was being used as a pawn by her asshole ex.

  “If you wanna throw the pots and pans, go for it, it actually helped a little,” Kat sighs, pointing at the drawer I’d fixed minutes before. Her voice and posture reminded me of a dry sponge, every drop wrung out.

  Her resignation stopped me in my tracks, and my anger dimmed as I stared at her. “It’s funny how being a decorated war veteran doesn’t come up in my resume. It’s like those six years didn’t exist or something. Now I’m just the side show who tattoos people on TV after most of the country has already gone to bed,” I spat out, leaning over one of the wooden dining room chairs, letting my body weight sag against my arms braced along the back of it.

  Kat reached over placed her hand on one of mine, silently reminding me that she was there. “Those years existed Jace, the people talking shit don’t even know you— you can’t let it get to you.”

  I shifted my eyes to her. “But it’s hurting you, and your baby. You were right, we can’t do this.”

  Kat turned in her seat, placing her other hand on my arm. “I’m ready to fight, Jace. I’ve never been strong enough before, to actually call Mitch out on his bullshit, but this time I am.”

  “What are you saying?” I asked her.

  Her green eyes locked with mine and she offered a small smile. “I like you too.”

  Fireworks exploded in my chest as my heart ricocheted around, bursting with joy at her simple declaration. Without another thought, I leaned over her chair and crushed her lips with mine in a searing kiss that sealed the words between us.

  Chapter Eleven — Kat

  Jace’s lips took mine in a possessive, body-melting kiss. His lips were soft, but the sense of urgency and hunger behind them took my breath away, instantly, and left me gripping his shoulders, hanging on for sweet life as he devoured me. His fingers were warm on the back of my neck, but each touch sent shivers down my spine, waking up every fiber of my being with an electrified jolt.

  Each time our lips met, things got hotter, and deeper, until I was left panting against his chest while he gave my lips a break and traced the line of my jaw with his kisses, tongue, and teeth, taking in every inch, before sliding down lower, to rim his tongue around my earlobe. I moaned quietly at the new flash of sensations dancing down my body, and Jace set to work on removing my jacket, unbuttoning the two large plastic buttons on the front, before my mind cleared enough to still his frantic hands. “Wait—” I said, my voice a breathy gasp. “Hang on, just a sec.”

  Jace stopped unbuttoning, and set both of his hands on my waist, holding me firm. “What’s wrong?”

  I pressed my eyes closed together, hating that I was interrupting. My lips were already aching for his again. “I have to go get Jax, he’s next door with Hilda.”

  To my surprise, Jace smiled. “Tell you what,” he paused to press a sweet kiss to my forehead. “I’m gonna go pick up a couple pizzas, and when I get back, we can all have dinner together and after dinner, when little man is down for the count, we can pick up right where we left off.”

  His eyes were deeper blue than I could recall seeing, like two mysterious pools full of secrets and promises. “Really?” I asked.

  “Of course. But, it’s up to you. You’re the mom, and if you think it’s too much for Jax to be around me, especially with…ya know.”

  I nibbled my bottom lip for a moment, buying myself some time to think. I didn’t want Jax getting confused about who Jace was, and why he was around, but a dinner would be harmless enough. Wouldn’t it? Jace’s hands were still braced on each side of my waist, his fingers warm and strong. I wanted him, more than any man I’d ever met. We’d had so many close calls, and I was finally ready to lay it down, and be with
him completely. But, as Jax’s mother, I had the fallout to consider.

  “Okay, but, Jax can’t know you’re staying over, so you can’t sleep here tonight,” I answered, nodding to myself, confirming that it was the right decision. “Is that okay?”

  “Anything you say,” Jace replied, flashing me a smile that warmed me all the way down to my toes. “I’ll be back in an hour with dinner.”

  I nodded again, and he pressed a goodbye kiss to my lips, lingering long enough to remind me of the night we had to look forward to.

  Jace had been gone for ten minutes when I finally calmed down enough to go next door and get Jax. I didn’t want Hilda to question me, and she always had a way of knowing when something was off. When I got Jax, I didn’t say anything about Jace, and only let Jax know we were having company once we were back home again. He ran off to his room to play with Mickey and his toys, and I went to my own room to change and freshen up. I’d showered, shaved, and already had make-up on, because of the court date, but I changed into a pair of dark wash jeans that made my ass look bigger and perkier than it actually was, and slipped on a long sleeve sweater that hugged my gentle curves, and showed just the right amount of cleavage to be sexy, but still mom appropriate. I took my hair down and shook it out into loose waves.

  By the time I was ready, someone was knocking at the door. My heart fluttered at the sound and a goofy smile instantly spread across my face. I fluffed my hair one more time and went to get it, calling for Jax as I passed his room. “Hey bud, I think someone’s here to see you.”

  We both went to answer the door and Jax busted out some crazy happy dance when Jace stepped inside holding two huge pizza boxes. “Jace! Jace! My friend Jace!” He chanted.

  We both laughed as Jax went wild. “For a second there, I wasn’t sure if he was excited about me, or the pizza,” Jace joked.

  “For the record, I’m more excited about the pizza,” I teased, taking the boxes from him.

  Jace leaned in—close enough to whisper in my ear, “I’ll get you back for that later.”

  My body flushed at the string of possibilities that came to mind, and I turned away to take the food into the kitchen so Jace wouldn’t get the satisfaction of watching me blush and melt over his frisky promise.

  “All right my fabulous men, how about you go wash your hands, and I’ll get some slices set out,” I said, remembering the last time Jace had been over for dinner, and how easy it had been for him to get Jax to comply with the pre-dinner hand washing routine.

  I heard the two of them down the hall in the bathroom, Jax was laughing his head off about something and I smiled to myself listening to their silly banter. I marveled that I’d somehow found a man that I connected with in such an electric way physically, but that also had the capacity to warm my heart and make me see a tiny shimmer of hope, that maybe, just maybe, I could have the family I’d always dreamed of—or at least, that I’d dreamed of until Mitch took that dream and sent it through a paper shredder along with my heart.

  I shook thoughts of Mitch out of my mind, shifting to what would happen once Jax was asleep and I had Jace in my bed…

  Luckily, with a three-year-old around, it was easy to keep my mind from obsessing too much—something that was sure to only lead to anxiety—and the evening flew by in a flurry of stories, playtime, and the inevitable struggle to get Jax bathed and ready for his bedtime story. Jace waited out in the living room while I went through the bedtime routine with Jax, and when I brushed away the precious hair of my—finally—sleeping angel, my stomach clenched at the final boundary being removed between Jace and me.

  With a strange mix of excitement and terror, I got up from Jax’s low bed and tiptoed out, leaving him in Mickey’s care as the two snuggled together. I shut the door softly behind me and padded down the wood floors to the living room. Jace wasn’t on the couch where I’d left him, and my heart jumped, panicked that he’d changed his mind and left. The light was on in the kitchen, and I heard a decidedly masculine hum, and followed the sounds, my smile getting bigger with each step, until I rounded the corner and found Jace standing at the sink—then, I burst into a muffled laugh.

  “Is this funny?” Jace asked, spinning to model the royal purple apron he must have found hanging on the inside of the pantry. He was up to his elbows in soap suds, and had plowed through the two days worth of dishes that had piled up on the counter.

  I leaned against the wall and watched him. “I feel like I should take a picture of you like this. I could probably get a pretty penny from some tabloid, right?” I teased. “Trust me, a picture of you in an apron, doing dishes—it would be like catnip to women around the world. I can practically see the headline now, He’s Hot, Single…and Ladies, He Cleans!” I dissolved into quiet giggles.

  Jace dried his hands off and took three steps toward me, closing the space between us. “Catnip huh?”

  I nodded, still smirking at him.

  He braced an arm above my head and leaned in close. “Is this making you wet, Kat?” He growled into my ear.

  I sucked in a breath at the question, all humor drained away.

  “Although, I think you got part of that headline wrong,” he continued. “The single part.”

  My heart raced even faster, as the oxygen in the room got sucked out. I was in over my head and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep treading water. “You’re not?”

  He shook his head slowly, his blue eyes never leaving mine. “I’m very taken, Kat.” He pressed in closer, leaving less than an inch between our bodies, and dropped his mouth to my ear, his breath hot on the side of my neck. “With you.”

  Before I could say another word—not that any came to mind—his lips pressed into the skin at the base of my earlobe, and he licked down my neck. I gasped as he pulled the neck of my sweater aside to give his mouth access to my shoulder and collarbone. I squeezed my legs together against the rapidly building heat and pressure between them, and arched against the wall to stay on my feet, as his every touch melted me from the inside out, like molten lava. “Jace,” I whispered into his ear as he rimmed his tongue under the hollow part of my collarbone. I shivered and said his name again, “Jace.”

  He met my mouth, in a slow kiss that took the rest of my breath away, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing our bodies flush against each other. We fit together so perfectly that it was easy and natural to begin the slow dance together, each shift and movement sending a new rain of shivers over me as the kiss deepened and became more urgent. Jace’s hands rested on my hips, swiveling them against his pelvis, letting me feel the hard bulge underneath his tight jeans. “Oh God,” I moaned.

  “It’s even better without the apron,” Jace teased.

  I laughed and pulled back so he could pull off the apron. He tossed it onto the table and took a beat to stare at me, his eyes wandering over every inch of me, his eyes wide as though I were standing there naked. I looked down at myself and then back to Jace. “What are you thinking?” I asked.

  He cocked his head thoughtfully. “How fucking beautiful you are.”

  I rolled my eyes and scoffed softly at the line.

  Jace’s eyes flashed to mine, slicing into me as he corrected, “Kat, don’t do that. You’re beautiful. I don’t say things I don’t mean. Ever.”

  His stern tone sobered me up and for a moment, I wondered if he was really upset with me. Jace didn’t leave me alone for long, instead, he gathered me into his arms and looked down into my eyes. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, and I don’t give a fuck if that’s cheesy.”

  I laughed softly and nodded my head, letting his words absorb into me and fill me with a new perspective on myself. If this impossibly hot man thought I was beautiful, then there had to be some truth to it. When I looked in the mirror, all I saw were my flaws—largely in part to the fact that my once upon a time husband, had abandoned my body in preference of another—I was slender, always had been, but my breasts had changed, my stomach had a s
mall roll below the navel, and my hips and thighs had stretch marks on them.

  “I want you, Kat, like I’ve never wanted anyone before.”

  Jace’s blue eyes were dark and I got lost in them as we came together again. He kissed the side of my face, trailing back to my lips, which he took with a new hunger, plunging past my lips and stroking the inside of my mouth with his velvet tongue, building an intense heat between us that became unbearable. As soon as his fingers slipped under my sweater and grazed my bare skin, I flung the sweater off over my head and let it drop to the floor, displaying the black lacy bralette I’d changed into, knowing he’d see it. There was no lining on the garment, and my hard nipples peeked through, a detail that Jace didn’t miss, his eyes zeroing in on them with a hypnotized look.

  “Good God,” Jace breathed, his fingers taking over the path he’d traced with his eyes, running up my rib cage, over the swell of the soft underside of each breast, and then, tortuously slowly, to the tender buds, caressing each nipple, grinning at me when I shuddered.

  I was gripped with desire and needed Jace’s skin on mine. I reached for the hem of his shirt and yanked it up, and over his head, tossing it to the floor with my discarded sweater. “Should we take this to the bedroom?” I asked, my voice low and husky.

  “I think we need to, cause let me tell you, I have some things I need to do to you right now that I’m not sure I can do with Winnie the Pooh staring at me,” Jace answered, tipping his chin towards a series of magnets on the fridge beside me, his words a seductive drawl as he grinned down at me, still lazily toying with my stiff nipples.

  “Right,” I said with a soft laugh. I took his hand, and leaving the shirts on the floor, led him down the short hallway to my bedroom. Luckily, the bathroom separated Jax and my room, easing my mind a little that he’d be insulated against the noises I was bound to make.