But with me, something soft slips through the cracks, and I don’t think he even notices it’s happening.
His knee presses against mine under the table as he’s listening to Reece talk about some fight that happened at a party last weekend. His fingers are absentmindedly playing with the ends of my hair while he laughs at something crude Reece just said. Small touches. Quiet ones. The kind that wouldn’t mean anything coming from anyone else. But from him they mean everything because Jace Cooper doesn’t do soft things. Not with anyone.
Jace is still that guy—still crude, crass, and completely inappropriate. Still making jokes that would probably make most girls slap him. And every now and then, he leans in close enough that his mouth brushes my ear, his voice dropping low.
“Love you, Bells.”
So simple. Casual. Easy as if it costs him nothing. But I know better. I know exactly what it costs him to say those words. To admit that someone matters. That I matter.
The first time he said it out loud in front of the others, Sam nearly choked on her drink. Aubrey’s fork clattered against her tray. Noah froze in place, staring at Jace as if he’d grown a second head.
But now he says it to me all the time. Casually. In public. While he’s eating my fries, scrolling through his phone, or in themiddle of telling Aubrey about something that happened at the diner last night.
I catch Aubrey and Sam watching us sometimes. They’ve accepted it—accepted us—but I can still notice the doubt lingering behind their eyes. The unspoken question hanging in the air: Is this actually real, or is Jace Cooper just doing what he always does? Have his fun, before he moves on.
I can almost hear their internal monologue every time they watch us together. How long until he gets bored? How long until Lola becomes another name on his list?
But they don’t see what he’s like when we’re alone. Those quiet moments when his walls come down. How he pulls me into his arms at night as he needs me there as much as I need him. They don’t see him at three in the morning when he can’t sleep. How he looks at me when he thinks I’m not paying attention, as if I am something so precious. But I am sure they can tell he’s no longer the same guy he used to be.
“You’re thinking too loud,” Jace says, his thumb brushing my bottom lip before sliding into my mouth. I suck on it instinctively, and his eyes darken. “Fuck, Bells. You’re killing me.”
“Good,” I say when he pulls his thumb away. “You deserve it after keeping me up all night.”
“You weren’t complaining when you were coming on my cock,” he says, his hands sliding down to grip my ass again, pulling me flush against him. “In fact, I remember you begging for more. ‘Please, Jace. Harder. Don’t stop.’ Sound familiar?”
My face heats, and he grins, clearly pleased with himself.
“You’re an asshole,” I say.
“Yeah, but I’m your asshole,” he says, leaning down to kiss me. It’s not soft or sweet. It’s all heat and possession, his tongue sliding against mine, claiming me. When he pulls back, we’re both breathing hard. “And tonight, after your dad goes to sleep,I’m gonna make you come so many times you forget why you were ever nervous about today.”
“That’s your solution to everything,” I say, but I’m smiling.
“It’s a good solution,” he says, his hands still on my ass, squeezing. “Works every time.”
“We have to leave in forty-five minutes,” I remind him.
“I know,” he says, finally releasing me with obvious reluctance. “Which means I should probably go take a cold shower. Because if I don’t, I’m gonna end up fucking you right here, and we definitely don’t have time for that.”
“Definitely not,” I agree, even though part of me wishes we did.
He begins to walk away, then pauses at the door, glancing back at me with that intense stare that makes my stomach flip. “You know what I’m thinking about right now?”
“What?” I ask, even though I probably shouldn’t.
“How good you’re gonna taste tonight when I get my mouth on you,” he says, his voice dropping an octave. “How you’re gonna pull my hair and grind against my face while I eat that pretty pussy until you’re shaking. How you’re gonna be so sensitive from coming that when I finally fuck you, you’re gonna come again within seconds.”
“Jesus Christ, Jace,” I breathe, my entire body flushing hot.
He grins, that cocky grin that makes me want to both kiss him and kill him at the same time. “Just giving you something to think about, Bells.”
And he’s gone, leaving me standing here, wet, longing, and completely unable to focus on anything except tonight.
Damn him.
I turn back to the newly made up bed, grabbing one of the pillows to fluff it, trying to focus on the task at hand. Dad’s coming home. I need to make sure everything is perfect. That’s what matters right now.
But all I can think about is Jace upstairs in the shower. Water running over that body I know so well now. His hand wrapped around his cock, stroking himself because he’s too hard to ignore. The way his head would tilt back, water streaming down his face, his abs. The sounds he makes when he comes—that low, guttural groan that makes my toes curl.
