“Look up,” I hear Brice call out, and a second later, I hear a thud and see his tall shadow appear in front of Haylee, who had wandered toward the flashlight.
“Were you hiding up there the whole time?” she asks him, laughing.
“Yep.” He chuckles, then looks in our direction. “Are we out of the game?”
“Oh my God, you have no faith in us.” Haylee hits his chest while Jace reaches for my hand.
“I have faith in you, baby. It’s Penny that I don’t have faith in.”
“That’s a little rude.” I glare hard in his direction, hoping that even if he can’t see it, he can feel it.
“Cupcake, you do have some pretty bad luck.”
“You’re right, and it started when I met you, so I should probably do something about that.” I look up at him. “Like get rid of the source of it.”
“You’re never getting rid of me.”
“Mmhmm,” I hum, and his hand tightens around mine.
“Shit,” Brice bites out when we hear people shouting, and I know in an instant that it’s another team running toward victory.
Without a word, all of us take off jogging, and when we break through the trees, I see Mel, Ian, Laney—who is Eva’s daughter who showed up yesterday, because she’s a nurse and couldn’t get time off—and Troy come out of the woods a few feet away from us.
“Oh no.” I start to run faster, and the people who were gotten out along with everyone who’s been waiting while we played start to cheer us all on as we run toward the dock.
“Come on!” Janelle yells, waving her arms in the air as she jumps up and down, and I go as fast as I can, which isn’t very fast at all. Actually, it feels like one of those dreams where you’re trying to run as fast as you can, but no matter how much effort you put in, your legs are too heavy to really get any momentum.
“Pick them up!” Brice shouts, and I don’t know what he’s talking about until Jace is spinning around to face me. In the next instant, his shoulder is in my belly and I’m hanging upside down over his back.
“Put me down!” I scream at the top of my lungs as he runs full speed, and I hear Haylee yelling the same thing along with me. Since I can’t see anything, I don’t know when we reach the finish line, but soon, everyone begins to cheer, and I’m jostled around before being placed upright on my feet.
“We won.” He laughs, hugging me so tight my breath leaves on a whoosh, and even though I want to be pissed at him for tossing me over his shoulder like a useless sack of potatoes, I can’t. His happiness is infectious, and like an idiot, I realize I’ve completely fallen for him.
Darn.
Chapter 27
Talented
“Oh God,” I whimper, and Jace’s hand covers my mouth.
“You have to be quiet, princess,” he whispers, his warm breath against my ear. Locking my eyes on his in the mirror, I nod, feeling frantic as his fingers curl against my clit and his hard cock slowly fills me from behind.
When I came inside to change into my swimsuit so I could hang out by the lake with Janelle and Haylee, I wasn’t expecting him to come downstairs and ambush me in the bathroom while I was naked. I had a plan in place to put some distance between us today, and my plan was working. I woke up before him and untangled myself from his hold, and then I kept myself busy by helping his mom get ready for the talent show tonight, which is the final event of the reunion.
And with him working, I thought I’d be safe, that I wouldn’t have to see him again until this evening.
But the second I was naked, he opened the door, crowded me against the sink, and started whispering dirty things against my ear. Just like that, my plan to do the right thing, the smart thing, went right out the window, and like an addict, I started practically begging him to have his way with me.
“Good girl.” His hand leaves my mouth and his teeth nip my ear. “Now tip that ass back, princess. I want to get deep in there.”
Oh God, I lift up on my toes and do as he asked.
His growl of approval sends a tingle down my spine, and my eyes slide closed, cutting off the sight of him behind me. His heated gaze watches us in the mirror, while mine is on his tattooed arms crisscrossing over my body, a total contrast to my creamy unmarked skin. Panting, shaking, and on edge, I wrap my fingers around the edge of the counter. I don’t know how much longer I can hold out. Part of me doesn’t want to let go, to tip over the edge, because when that happens, this moment will be over, and I’ll have to go back to lying to myself for my own damn good.
“Look at me, princess,” he orders quietly against my ear, and when I shake my head, he slides out of me almost completely, leaving just the tip of his cock at my entrance. My eyes fly open, and when they lock on his in the mirror, I hold my breath. “Watch.” He cups both my breasts in his big hands. “Feel.” He slowly slides back inside me, and my breath stills as he bottoms out, hitting a part of me that causes pleasure and pain.
“I could live inside your snug little pussy.” His teeth rake down the side of my throat, and my muscles tighten around his cock. “You like that idea?” I feel his smile against my skin as my head drops back to his shoulder. “I can’t wait to fuck you properly,” he grits out, pushing his hips into mine over and over, each thrust sending me closer toward the edge of release.
“Jace,” I whimper, getting close to falling apart, and his hand wraps around my throat.
“Do you want to come?”
I nod, and one of his hands slides up to my jaw so he can turn my head toward him, and his other hand moves down over my belly and between my thighs. As his tongue slides between my parted lips and I kiss him back, his fingers swirl over my clit. My hips jerk, my legs get weak, and stars start to dance behind my closed eyelids.
Until him, an orgasm was just a release, but each time he sends me over the edge, I feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience. His lips leave mine, and he covers my mouth with his palm as he picks up the pace and fucks me hard, lifting me off my feet on each upward thrust.
I come, crying his name, and feel his thrusts become erratic as he uses me to get himself off. Completely drained, I fall forward against the counter in front of me when he stills, sure that I would have ended up on the floor if he didn’t keep a hold of me.
“Christ, Penny,” he hisses as my core continues to contract around his cock like it’s not willing to let him go just yet. “Your pussy is going to be the death of me, princess.”
His lips trail down my back as he slowly slides out of me. Turning me in his arms, he wraps them around me, holding me tight against his chest, and I close my eyes as I listen to his heartbeat thunder against my ear, the tempo matching the beat of my own.
“Are you okay?” His fingers smooth my hair away from my damp forehead, and I look up at him.
“Yeah,” I say quietly, and the soft look in his eyes unravels a little bit more of the shield I built around my heart like it’s nothing more than a loose string on an old sweater.
“Are you hungry? I was thinking we could take the jet ski out and go get lunch?” He forces me back a step, then reaches around me, turning on the water for the sink.