Intent (12 page)

L
ayne

T
he ride
back to Ace’s house from the fairgrounds is nothing but a blur now. I’m anxious and excited and very turned on and really, really nervous. Bobby was my first and only, so I really don’t know what to expect with Ace. What does he like? Or not like? Why am I so tense about this? Our kisses have been scorching hot, and he’s been every bit as aroused as I’ve been.

“Would you like a drink? I just might have a bottle of strawberry wine in the refrigerator.”

Heat fills my cheeks because the mention of strawberry wine conjures memories of our kiss under the stars. “I’d love a glass of wine. Thanks.”

Ace returns with a glass of wine for me and a longneck bottle of beer for him. “Have a seat.” He gestures toward the couch and we sit close together.

I raise the glass to my lips and sip the sweet, red wine. He brushes my hair off my neck and his fingers graze my skin as he pushes it behind my ear. That innocent touch, though not overtly sexual, steals my breath. The instantaneous way my body reacts is foreign to me. My heart pounds, my blood rushes, and my internal temperature spikes, making rational thinking nearly impossible.

“You missed a drop.”

I’m so focused on the sexy rumble of his voice that his words don’t register at first. His warm tongue flicks across my lip, gathering the drop of wine that escaped. We’re eye to eye, nose to nose, and both of our chests are heaving. The air is thick with sexual tension, anticipation, and undeniable attraction. Neither of us moves for several long seconds, waiting for the other to give a sign, any sign, to show that it’s time.

I don’t know where my wineglass is. I don’t know where his beer bottle went. What I do know is exactly how he feels underneath me as I straddle him. Our mouths are fused together as our tongues slide back and forth, faster and deeper with each pass. My fingers are in his hair, gripping and holding on tightly. His hands roam all over me, burning and scorching me with his heated touch in the most delicious way.

One hand slides up my back and his fingers thread through my hair. He cups my head in his palm, closes his fist around my hair, and pulls back to fully expose my neck. The pleasurable pain is both erotic and thrilling. He breaks our kiss and moves his mouth to my neck, feasting on me as if I’m his last meal. My fingers dig into his skin, my body’s reply to the deep, carnal need.

“You taste so fucking good,” he whispers. His lips are against my skin; the hum of his words makes my skin pebble with desire. “I want to taste you all over. Every last inch of you.”

When I feel his hands move to my leg and inch up underneath my dress, my back involuntarily arches, I raise up off his lap slightly, and a raspy moan escapes. Ace correctly reads the signs and seizes the opportunity to push my dress up over my hips. I reach down, grasp the hem of my summer dress, and quickly pull it over my head, revealing my matching lace bra and panties. Ace stares intently at me as his eyes roam over my body.

“You are so fucking perfect,” he murmurs.

His lips find my skin again and his hands move to the clasp of my bra. Deftly unhooking it, he slides the straps down my arms and flings it onto the floor. His mouth covers one breast and his hand covers the other. His teeth scrape across my nipple and an arc of electricity shoots through to my very core. My sex clenches and I’ve reached my breaking point—I need to feel him inside me.

I need to feel him, period.

I remove his shirt and quickly toss it behind me. My fingers move down his chest, relishing in every contour and ridge. When I continue across his abdomen, his muscles flex in response. He has the type of muscular build that I find extremely sexy. He’s not overly ripped in the way a bodybuilder is, but he’s toned and perfect like a naturally athletically inclined man is. My fingertips float over his skin and he inhales sharply. I can feel his patience wane with my every touch.

“You’re killing me.” With a deep, sexy growl of surrender, he quickly stands and carries me toward his bedroom. I can feel the bulge in his pants, and it’s all I can do to keep from grinding against him, just to feel him.

“Then we’ll die together, because you’re killing me, too.”

He places me on the bed and I raise my hips while he quickly slides my panties off. In a split second, his pants and boxer briefs are dropped to the floor and his completely naked body covers mine. Flesh against flesh, my heart beats faster and I’m all but panting from breathing so hard. He settles in between my legs, his hips flush against mine, and his mouth claims mine as his own. His hips surge upward and his cock slides against my clit. I moan loudly into his mouth from the contact, the rush of intense pleasure, and the knowledge of what will soon follow.

Ace slides down me until his face is at the apex of my thighs. With the first contact his tongue makes, my upper body automatically lifts off the bed and my fingers tightly grip his hair. “Ace,” I moan loudly and his enthusiasm increases in response. When his fingers fill me, the overload of sensations becomes incredibly strong. The stirring low in my belly is building exponentially with each flick of his tongue and curl of his finger. When his teeth lightly graze the cluster of the most sensitive nerves in my body, I can’t contain the scream of sheer pleasure.

“Damn, I love hearing you scream my name.” His voice is low and sexy, thick with need and desire. “I plan on hearing it many more times before the night is over.”

He slides back up me until we’re face-to-face again. His hips undulate, rubbing his cock against the wetness between my legs, and causing sweet torture for both of us. I hear a drawer slide open and the crinkling of a plastic wrapper before Ace sits back and gives me a complete view of his perfect body. Unabashedly, I watch as he rolls the condom down his length. I’m apparently so mesmerized by him that I don’t realize he’s watching me watch him.

When our eyes meet, his are burning like white-hot flames. “Layne, there’s one thing you need to remember,” he commands. “This is not a one-night stand. Or a summer fling. Tomorrow morning, you’re not running out of here saying we made a mistake. We’re both all in now.”

“I’m yours, Ace.”

I would agree to anything he said right now.

With expert precision, he’s suddenly settled between my legs again. His erection perfectly poised and waiting. “Look at me,” he whispers. Doing as he asks, I open my eyes and feel the intensity radiating from his. He slides into me and never looks away. His weight rests on his forearms and his hands frame my face. “You are mine, now,” he emphasizes when he’s fully inside me.

Our bodies move in tandem with flawless timing. When Ace pushes forward, my hips lift to meet his thrusts. With every wave, he owns my heart a little more. With every word tenderly whispered in my ear, my body responds in ways I’ve only read about. With every passionate kiss, the past fades away and the future becomes brighter.

“You are the only addiction I’ve ever had.” His murmurs against the sensitive skin of my neck send cold chills rippling across my skin. “You’re the only addiction I ever want.”

“Ace, I think I’m falling in love with you.” The words are out of my mouth before I realize I’ve just said them aloud.

I didn’t mean to blurt that out.

Even if it was only in a whisper.

Even if it is in the middle of the most passionate lovemaking I’ve ever experienced.

Even if it is thoroughly and completely true.

His movements cease and his eyes dart back and forth between mine, searching for an answer to an unasked question. While holding my breath, I decide I want him to see me as I honestly am. I don’t want to hide my feelings. I don’t want to regret not telling him how I feel. I don’t even care that I’m the first one to say it. It feels like I’ve been sheltered all of my life, intent on never confronting whatever makes me uncomfortable.

Until Ace.

“Will you catch me?” I need to know.
Please say yes
.

“I’ll never let you fall alone, Layne.”

His eyes can’t lie, can’t betray what he’s thinking or feeling. His eyes really are the windows to his heart and soul. And I love what I see.

He surges his hips forward as he dominates my lips and tongue with his. The urgency we started with has morphed into a connection, a need to physically confirm what we just verbally confessed. Sweat beads over our bodies and soaks the sheet beneath me. The humid summer night air drifts in through the open window, cascades over our flesh, and makes both of our bodies even steamier.

“Ace, don’t stop,” I beg shamelessly.

“I’m falling with you, Layne. Let go, baby.”

His words obviously affect me as much as his body does, because my body obeys his command. My inner muscles tighten around him as the tension builds. Gripping, clawing, calling out his name as my orgasm peaks. As I’m coming down from my climactic high, I feel him pulsing inside me before I hear his muffled voice whisper my name. I’m still in a state of euphoria when I feel his absence, but he’s crawling back into the bed with me within seconds.

He rolls me over to my side and embraces me from behind. My back to his chest. His arm draped over me protectively, possessively, lovingly. As I’m drifting off to sleep, safe and secure in his arms, I think I hear him whisper, but it’s hard to tell in my dreaming, exhausted haze.

“Where have you been all my life?”

W
aking
to soft kisses along the back of my neck has to be the most erotic feeling. “I could definitely get used to this,” I mumble in my sleepy voice. “I haven’t slept that well in years, but I love the way you wake me.”

“I’m glad, because I couldn’t stand it another minute. That spot on your neck was taunting me, tempting me.” Soft kisses mixed with a warm tongue on my skin further hypnotize me, force me under his control, and make me want it even more. “I had to remind it that you’re mine. All of you.”

“I guess I should tell you something,” I reply, my tone serious. He stills and waits for me to continue. “There are other parts of my body defying you. I guess you’ll have to exert your dominance over them, too.”

The rumble of his chuckle rolls through his chest and I relish in the vibrations that flow through me. “Don’t worry, my shy, timid rose petal. I’ll find every rebellious spot on your body and bring it under submission.”

His arm tightens around me, pulling me flush against his body. His hand slides down my body, over my breasts to my stomach, before reaching my lower abdomen. He draws figure eights low on my stomach, dipping down to my pelvic area but never exactly where I want to feel him. “You’re getting warmer.”

He leans into my ear and replies, his voice deep and seductive. “You’re already hot, babe, but you’re about to get a lot hotter.”

I start to roll over to face him, fully ready to do some exploring of my own, when his phone rings. He sighs heavily and releases me to roll over and grab his cell off the nightstand.

“Hello?”

“Good morning, precious. Are you having fun with Aunt Lily?”

From the one-sided conversation I’ve heard so far, I know without a doubt he’s talking to River.

“Yeah? What have you two been doing?”

Ace’s prolonged silence tells me River is giving him an earful of all her recent escapades with his sister. Knowing her, this conversation will probably last for quite a while. Every few seconds, he responds with an “uh-huh” or “yeah,” but otherwise, he’s silent. The moment seems to have passed, and now that I’m fully awake, I need to get to the bathroom immediately.

This is when it really hits me that I’m still naked in Ace’s bed. My clothes are strewn all over his house, and even though we shared an incredible night, I’m not comfortable walking around naked just yet. I grasp the sheet and hold it to my chest as I sit up and look around then remember that I took his shirt off him while we were in the living room.

I have no choice. I have to do the naked walk of shame across the room now.

When I slide to the side of the bed, I feel Ace’s eyes on my back. I turn my head to look over my shoulder at him and meet his gaze. He questions my motives with just a look, a shift of his eyes, a tightening of the muscles around them. Am I leaving? Am I running now that I realize what we’ve done? He’s listening to his daughter, but he’s trying to read me.

Leaning back on my arm, I place a soft kiss on his cheek for reassurance. His free hand wraps around mine, securing me in place. Gently shaking my head from side to side, I silently answer his doubts before I point toward the bathroom door. He gives me a single nod and loosens his grip on me. After a deep breath, I sit back up and slide out of the bed…butt-ass naked…and walk as quickly as I can without being too obvious.

As I round the corner of the bed, Ace finally gets a word in with River.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I have had the pleasure of seeing Layne since you’ve been gone.”

The secret meaning behind his choice of words is betrayed by the playful tone of his voice. My chin drops to my chest as I hurry to get on the other side of the closed door. Finally, in private, I release the breath I’ve been holding in one forceful exhale before making the mistake of glancing in the mirror.

Oh.

My.

God.

Not washing my makeup off last night was a huge mistake because I look like a rabid raccoon this morning. My hair is standing up in every direction imaginable and my eye makeup is smeared haphazardly across my cheeks. There’s no way I’m going back out there with Ace when I look like a terrible rendition of Medusa. I take care of my personal business, find an extra toothbrush, and brush away my morning breath. When I confirm he’s still talking on the phone, I decide to use this time to take a fast shower.

The hot water soothes the tender ache in my muscles from our sexcapades last night, and the memory brings a smile to my face. The only soap in here is Ace’s masculine-scented body wash, Boss No. 6.
No wonder he always smells so good
, I think as I lather up. With his body wash, shampoo, and conditioner infused into every pore of my body, I dry off and wrap the towel around me with every intention of finding my clothes from last night.