Me:Yeah. Finally.
I put down the phone, the wine sloshing in my stomach as I thought about what I was going to say to Jace. If I asked him to attend the shower with me, he’d say yes, so that wasn’t really a concern. It was the part where I’d implied to Mom that we were maybe, finally, more than friends that was going to be impossible to explain without telling him that was what I wanted.
I leaned forward, grabbed the wine bottle, and poured myself another glass before setting it down and restarting the movie. Maybe it would be fine, maybe Jace had gone home alone tonight and when I called him to tell him that I would accept his job offer—because I was probably, definitely, going to do that—and needed him to be my date for a day, he’d laugh, and say, “Finally, Liv.”
It was a hell of a lot of wishful thinking.Good thing I didn’t watch the friends-to-lovers rom-com or I’d be digging myself an even bigger hole tonight.
Chapter Four
Kayden
“Holy shit,” I said,looking around Jace’s place. We stood next to each other in the living room of a condo that had to be a solid three-thousand square feet. The entire living space had crown molding along the top of the walls. The kitchen and breakfast bar were black with top-of-the-line stainless steel appliances. There was a hallway lined with an art deco inspired wall of glass rather than drywall, and suddenly, my interest in seeing his place was stronger than my interest in sex.
The far wall of the living room was lined with floor-to-ceiling windows revealing a breathtaking view of the city and the river outside. The ceilings were high for a city condo building, and I’d designed enough buildings like this to know how much a space like this would cost. The inspiration that surrounded me was overwhelming. I wanted to write down a dozen ideas.
The décor looked professional, like he’d asked someone to design a sleek, contemporary space in whites and blacks, with only the brightcolored artwork on the walls providing contrast. I spun in a circle taking it all in slowly. The consistency of the style in the art made me think he’d purchased it all from the same artist. The kitchen column next to the breakfast bar boasted small frames containing drawings in a similar style.Whoever his interior designer is, they’re fantastic.I wanted their name to give to my clients. As awestruck as I was, I had enough sense to know that would be a weird thing to say.
“You want to look around?” Jace asked. I turned to face him and saw him watching me with amusement.
“What the hell do you do for a living?” I asked, still transfixed with his condo.
He shrugged. “Does it matter? It’s obviously something for which I’m highly overpaid.” Jace looked around at the room and I watched him for a moment. In his beautiful, green eyes, I didn’t see pride or awe, or any of the things I felt when I looked at this place. I saw shame.
Is he embarrassed about his wealth?
“This place is amazing, Jace. How long have you lived here?” I asked. The entire structure was in pristine condition.Does he even live here?
“I’m officially moving in this weekend. We were closer to this than my apartment and it’s already furnished and decorated.” Jace tucked his hands in his pockets, looking less like the confident guy who’d picked me up in the bar and more like he wasn’t sure how I’d respond to all this wealth. “You can look around if you want, really.”
I took a step toward him, grateful that I’d finally settled my nerves on our walk here. It helped that we weren’t in a crowded bar where my anxiety was always on high alert and that Jace hadn’t pressed for too much conversation.
I took his hand and wove my fingers through his, stepping toward him until we were chest to chest. “I didn’t come here to ogle your place. Iamin awe of the structure and curious about what the rest of the condo looks like, but it’s all a professional interest. I don’t care that you’re clearly rich.”
The corners of Jace’s lips curved upward, a hint of that confident smirk I’d seen at the bar coming back. “You don’t?”
“Not at all,” I said, adjusting my glasses as he cupped my face in one hand.
He released a breath and pulled me closer at the waist. The hard ridges of his body against mine made me forget my surroundings entirely. “If you like the condo so much, you should at least check out the bedroom, don’t you think?”
I angled my mouth up to his. He was a few inches taller than me, just enough for me to have to tip my chin. I breathed through my fear and voiced my thoughts out loud, like he’d asked me to do before. “I’d rather kiss you first.”
He smiled and took the invitation, bringing his lips to mine. A tiny sound of pleasure escaped my mouth at the feel of his warm, soft lips moving over mine. He gently nudged my mouth open with his tongue and I opened for him, stepping somehow closer and feeling his erection pressed against my waist. Blood rushed to my dick at the evidence of how ready for me he was, fueling my confidence and washing away my earlier insecurities.
I’m so much better at fucking than talking, I wanted to say. But I could just show him. I wrapped one hand behind his head and pulled him closer to me, our tongues tangling together in a frenzied passion as our dicks pressed together, straining against our pants.
I finally pulled back for air. “I don’t want to go to the bedroom. Can I suck you off right here in front of these windows for all the city to see?”
Jace smirked at me and gave me one soft kiss before lightly pressing on my shoulder, pushing me to my knees. I unfastened his jeans as I dropped to the gray, vinyl floors. “It’s like you know exactly why I picked this place,” he said. He put a hand on my wrist, stopping me as I started to reach into his briefs. “You’ve been with guys before?”
I nodded and pushed my glasses up my nose. “Don’t worry, I know how to suck a dick, Jace.”
“Not worried,” he said with a smirk. “You seem like a guy who doesn’t like surprises, so I was just going to warn you about what you’ll find in there. If you’d rather dive in and see for yourself, go ahead. Give it a good look before you put it in your mouth.”
He let go of my hand and I hesitated for a moment.How the hell does he get me so well? And what is he talking about? Is he uncut? Weird way to act about it, but whatever.
Jace’s eyes heated my skin as he watched me, clearly interested in seeing my reaction. I rubbed his cock through his briefs for a moment before reaching into my pants for a quick adjustment of my own.He’s so much hotter than any guy I’ve been with before. No, Kayden, don’t focus on that. You’re good at this. You don’t think when you fuck—that’s why you’re good at it—so just fuck him.
I slid my hand into his briefs and pulled out his dick. He was well above average in size and circumcised. I ran my thumb over the head of his cock, brushing against a piercing on the tip of his dick. My cock leaked at the sight of him, thick and hard in my hand.Well fuck me ragged.
