My eyes were starting to glaze over when Jace peeked his head in, asking if I had more to do or if I wanted a break.
“A break.” I pushed my laptop closed. “Preferably with food.”
“Yay! We made dinner!” Ryla burst in, clearly having been waiting right outside the door. Grabbing my hand, she pulled me to my feet and past a smiling Jace, then into the kitchen, chattering happily the entire way.
Dinner was filled with Ryla’s animated stories, Max’s shy smiles, and sexual tension. Were Jace’s T-shirts always so tight? Did he dry them on high heat or something? I was sitting across from him, and honestly, the white baseball tee with navy sleeves on its own, shouldn’t bethatappealing.
Someone needed to inform my libido of that, however, because she was looking at Jace’s shirt like white was the new red and she was a bull preparing for a charge. I couldn’t stop my eyes from slowly easing down his body, or the movement of his jaw as he chewed. Of course, I’d always noticed he was handsome. But considering I’d traced the line of his jaw with my tongue this very day . . .
Jace, apparently, was completely unaffected by my presence. He split his focus between Ryla and Max, taking the time to listen and smile encouragingly. I mean, I know I wasn’t wearing anything as sexy as a baseball tee (I was wearing my signature leggings and a black sleeveless shirt, thank you very much), but it’d still be nice to be appreciated.
As Ryla continued to talk aboutsomething, I caught Jace’s attention and smiled. Then, and I’m not proud of this, I brought a bite of chicken to my mouth and chewed . . . very, very slowly.
Nothing.
Cordial smile in place, Jace picked up his water glass as if nothing was amiss and took a sip. He then returned his attention to Ryla, asking her questions without missing a beat.
I had no right to feel disappointed. He was only doing what we agreed upon earlier this afternoon.
Later that night, after putting the kids to bed, I couldn’t sleep. To my extreme disappointment, I’d been hyperaware of Jace all evening. And much to Jace’s credit, he’d acted like normal. Right before I took the kids up to bed, Jace had the audacity to tell me he was watching an episode ofTreasure Dogstonight,ifI wanted to join him in the living room.
Hewhistledon his way back to his room.
We were only a few episodes from the first season finale so yes, I did want to watchTreasure Dogs. But what if I went down there and he was still wearing that infernal baseball tee? I might spontaneously combust. And what if he kept acting like he hadn’t made me come on his tongue,twice,this very day? Again, spontaneous combustion seemed like the most likely outcome.
Basically, all evidence pointed to my inevitable incineration, so it felt safer to stay in my room.
I still couldn’t sleep. After an hour of tossing and turning in bed, I finally went downstairs for water. At the bottom of the stairs, I looked down the hallway to Jace’s bedroom.
All was dark.
I knew I was being ridiculous. As I stood at the kitchen sink, feeling unsexy and matronly, a sudden noise made me turn.
Jace was standing in the doorway. He was still wearing that damn baseball tee, but his jeans were gone. He was wearing tight, black boxer briefs.
As expected, my body went hot.
“What are you doing up?” I whispered.
Jace’s eyes were molten. He strode to me without hesitation and buried his face in my neck, breathing me in, our arms encircling each other reflexively.
“Is this what you always wear to bed?” His words were muffled as he kissed then sucked at the point just beneath my ear.
I was still wearing a plain black top, but I’d changed into linen sleep shorts with grey stripes.
“You’ve been driving me crazy.” Jace continued to kiss along my neck. He pulled back, regret in his eyes, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Polly. I know we agreed to the rules for Max and Ryla, but you’re just too damn sexy for me to resist.”
Huffing out a small laugh, my she-bull was raring to go as our lips and tongues tangled, my hand immediately fisting in his shirt as his hands slipped beneath the waistband of my shorts to cup my ass.
Eventually we broke apart, gasping for air. “I know what I said,” I whispered. “But I’d like to add a rider. Nothing in front of the kids. But when they’re sleeping . . .” I trailed off, letting the implication float in the air.
“Are you sure?” Jace looked over his shoulder. “I don’t want to do anything to hurt them.” He turned back to me, tender affection in his eyes. “Or you.”
I let go of his shirt, folding my hands over his exceptional heart. “I know. I’m sure. Once they’re asleep, they rarely wake up.” I stood on my tiptoes, putting my lips directly beside his ear. “And there’s a lock on my bedroom door.”
Grabbing my hand, Jace wasted no time leading me up the stairs. He didn’t return to his own room until the sun peaked over the horizon.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-EIGHT
