February 17, 2005

The door opened, ripping me from my sleep induced coma. I snuck a look at the alarm clock beside my bed.

6:04 A.M.

I groaned and rolled back over, covering my face.

The covers were snatched from me and cold air licked my bare legs. I didn't have a chance to remember I’d went to bed wearing only underwear and a t-shirt last night.

"Hey!" I protested, knowing it was him. It was always him. Ever since the day we met, he hadn't stopped trying to get into my pants.

"Get up Lessa. It's time to wake and bake."

He didn't have to tell me twice. I shot up out of bed, slinging my lazy legs over the side. This was also a routine. Jace had corrupted me. Just the smell of marijuana had my mouth watering.

I looked down, finally realizing I didn’t have enough clothing on.

My eyes lifted, dragging their way up his body, until I gazed right into his eyes. He didn’t try to hide the fact that he eyed my bare legs, or his slightly parted mouth. His breathing accelerated, and he froze, like maybe his eyes had locked on my bare skin. Like he’d seen me for the first time, although he’d seen me plenty. And it wouldn’t be the last time, but something had changed today. I just didn’t know what.

I jerked the covers back over my goose bump laden legs, and lightly punched him on the arm.

"Hey. You ruined my view!" The smile he shot me made me want to drop my panties right then and there.

I cut my eyes over at him and glared. "Get out so I can get dressed."

Jace didn’t move an inch, instead stood still as a statue, challenging me with his eyes.

I threw the covers away, and climbed to my feet, intending to push him out, but his fingers wrapped around my wrists, biting into them. It almost hurt.

One swift move had them pinned above my head against the beam of my four-post bed.

Oh my.

My shirt had risen with my arms, leaving my midsection bare.

Chills plagued my stomach as my air intake stilled, and a huge block formed in my throat.

He was oh so deliciously close.

He leaned in, inhaling my scent, his cinnamon breath trailing down my neck, an icy hot sensation that sent my insides into overdrive.

We had never crossed this territory before, but here I stood, quite literally, panting for more. The past year, the furthest we’d gone, the most we’d allowed ourselves, was to be wrapped in each other’s arms, but that caused a little problem. Lust had swirled around us; sexual tension had built and built and built until I’d almost given in. Quite a few times. Somehow, though, I’d stood my ground.

This closeness, this intimate act…new, unexplored terrain. Honestly, I’d expected it a long time ago, and a thrill shot down my spine knowing it had taken him an entire year to touch me so intimately. There’d been plenty of chances, but he’d held out, too. Until now.

His erection pressed into my stomach, and every thought flew from my mind, creating an utterly blank feeling. My body temperature rose to a fever, and it took everything in me not to touch him back.

Jace traced his nose from my shoulder blade up my neck, inhaling with each move he made. When he reached my hair, he buried his face in it, putting his lips at the corner of my ear. His breaths came so heavy I could tell how much he wanted this. Probably as much as I did.

"I want you," he whispered.

God, I want you too! The thought screamed through my head.

A familiar stirring attacked my center—a stirring that came with his closeness. Up until this moment, I had never acted on it. My hand lifted to touch his face, but I balled it into a fist and put it back down at my side.

Nessa, you can't do this. Your father would kill you. It doesn't matter that they aren't happy, they are still married. This thought sobered me, but not enough. Never enough.

"I want you, to"—I licked my lips, wondering why they were so dry all of a sudden—"leave so I can get dressed."

He laughed, let go of my wrists, and took a step back. "You just won't give in will you?"

I rubbed at my wrists, sore from his assault. There were faint red marks across them where his fingers had held on.

Why did that feel so good? I wondered.

"What, are you still a virgin or something?" he said after a few moments of me ignoring his first question.

I cut my eyes at him, flinging my arms in the air. "Just leave so I can put some clothes on. And keep it in your pants. I don't want to walk in on you masturbating or something."

Jace smiled. The smile he knew did something to me.

I swear this boy is going to be the death of me, I thought.

He turned and walked right out of my room, shutting the door behind him like a gentleman.

What is it about the bad boy vibe he emanates? So rough around the edges. I shook my head.

I rooted through my drawers and grabbed the first pair of shorts I could find, secretly happy they were booty shorts.

I had one thing going for me with my body, and it was my ass. I had a great ass. A perfectly rounded asset. Not too big, not too small. Just the right amount to grab onto. Every guy I’d ever dated loved it. Jace loved it too, and told me so every chance he got. It only made me want to give in to him more.

But me, I had these stupid morals. He was my dad’s wife’s son, after all. I couldn’t sleep with him, no matter how bad I wanted to. It would be so wrong it could never be right. It didn’t mean we couldn’t play, though. My morals had no problem with that.

Plus, how fun would it be to tease him. And there were so many ways…I could wear skimpy clothing and show him a little too much skin. I could lean over just enough where my breasts almost toppled right out of my top…but not quite. And, I couldn’t forget accidentally brushing up against him when going in or out of a room. I already tended to linger in hugs too long, and I cuddled with him a lot more than I should while we watched movies. Until he had to leave for work, of course.

He worked from two am to six am, and the lucky son of a bitch…his job was right next door. He could walk there in less than five minutes. And every morning when he came home, he woke me up with a new bag of weed. It never failed. I pretended to hate it, even though I actually loved it.

Who wouldn't love getting their favorite two things every day? I wondered. Jace and weed. God I'm lucky!

It was easy to slip in and out of each other's rooms—our rooms were right next door to each other—without alerting the parents. Sometimes, we just spent the night with each other.

"Are your mom or my dad home? It's early as shit. Surely she hasn't left for work yet."

The parents didn't know we smoked weed. It was much more than a recreational thing for us, it was our bonding mechanism. The very thing that brought us together. And I couldn’t remember a time when we weren’t high. Maybe that was bad, but there it was…

"Oh no, her car is gone. So is your dad's. It's just us, Peaches."

I took a moment to really look at him. He’d stretched out on his futon, his arms folded at the elbow resting behind his head. His eyes fell to my shorts, and his left foot crossed over his right, his gaze shifting, filling with lust right in front of me. "God, how is that better?" His words sounded like a growl, like he’d turned into a wicked animal about to attack. And I kind of liked it.

I cocked an eyebrow at him before joining him on the bed. Climbing under the covers, I placed myself right in his lap, forcing his legs apart so they fell around me. My head rolled back against his chest, and I stared forward at the TV.

This feels so damn good, I thought.

This seemed to be the natural position for us, me practically in his lap and his hands around my waist. It hadn't always been like this, but as we grew closer over the past year, the need to touch him had grown, too. Now, I wanted, needed to touch him all the time.

The lighter struck behind me. I moved with him as his chest sucked in air—and smoke—from the joint. His arm appeared in front of me, holding the doobie out for me.

I took it and placed it to my lips, pulling it in as hard as I could. The smoke burned my throat, then my lungs, but I held it in, knowing the way it would make me feel after would be worth it. I didn’t hold it nearly as long as I’d hoped, since Jace coughed, startling me. I watched the smoke drift from my mouth and float through the air, and a coughing fit had me bent over, my arms wrapped around my waist.

"You dick! You made me waste my hit."

He snatched the joint from me and took a big draw. "I didn't tell you to sit on me, Princess."

Smoke poured from his mouth with every word, which almost made me laugh, but the nickname…all these random nicknames…they just pissed me off. Especially this one.

Princess? Seriously? Like hell! Screw that little sissy bitch! I’m Superman! My mind screamed.

He passed it to me and I tilted my head up, glaring at him, my eyes narrowed and accusing. "Don't ever call me Princess again."

Jace grabbed my waist, the tips of his fingers digging into my skin. With no approval from my head, my eyes closed, and I started panting. Actually panting.

Stupid body. You can’t fuck him. Get your shit under control before he realizes just how much you want him, too.  I didn’t think my inner pep talk would work, but I had to try.

I wriggled from his grasp, electing to sit beside him instead. I took a long inhale of the joint, and sighed the moment my head spun in sweet bliss. I’d hit that peak, the one where I could soar through the sky, above the clouds, and I loved every second of it.

I peered over at him. He let out a laugh, his eyes traveling down to his lap. I couldn’t help it; I looked, finding a rather big bulge in his pants. I swallowed. Hard.

"Oh Lessa. You’re something else. I’d wager you might kill me before this is over."

I ignored him, taking another puff.

Lessa. Another nickname in the sea of millions…but for some reason, this one stuck. And, if he didn’t call me some random name, he used this one.

I blew the smoke out, and my head spun. Or maybe it was the room. No, it was definitely my head. Nothing could touch me now. Smoking pot always came with this impenetrable place, a paradise of sorts, and I’d just made it there. So, I handed the joint back to Jace before I fell back into the wall behind me, my eyes resting on the TV, but not actually focusing on anything.

I started to drift off, exhausted from not getting much sleep, but he woke me again. This had become the norm. Most mornings after we smoked, I’d let him hold me while I slept.

I felt something crawling on my left leg, and my eyes snapped open. Jace’s fingers were climbing up my thigh, his other hand palming himself. His fingers were so close to my core. My face heated—in fact my whole body did. What he was doing…I had no words. We’d definitely ventured into new territory. Erotic territory. Territory that might just make me a sinner.

Insatiable. That's what Jace is, I thought, somehow keeping the words inside my head.

I slapped his hand away, even with those delicious thoughts, trying to force a protest out. "I'm tired, let's sleep."

He rolled over, thrusting against me, his arm snaking around my waist. His erection sprung against my back, and for the first time, I realized it might be a lot bigger than I’d thought. It wasn’t the first time I’d felt it, but it’d never been this hard. This ready. This swollen with desire. Being this close to him made me want to do scandalous things—things I’d always blocked myself from doing before. But this time, I found I really didn’t want him to stop. No matter what that said about me.

Jace sighed, a heavy, full of content kind of sigh. His warm breath danced across my neck, and I shivered as goosebumps raked down my arms. My legs. Even my stomach. And not because I was cold.

"If you don't stop moving Lessa, I'm going to hump you. Full-fledged, no holding back, hump you. I've pushed the boundaries this far, I can push them further whenever I want."

I froze, relaxed against him, and let my eyes close again. No matter what my mind said, my heart wasn’t quite ready for that. Yet.

***

Jace took his place next to me at the dinner table. He loved messing with me while we were eating dinner, like it had become some sort of game. I called it, “See how long before our parents find out just how close we actually are.” Our parents hadn’t won once.

I reached out and sliced a sliver of butter, smearing it onto my bread. I loved bread. It showed in my thunder thighs, too. As my teeth sank in, I almost moaned.

Moaning over bread? Really? Or maybe that's Jace.

Like he’d read my mind, his hand appeared on my thigh, his fingertips kissing the seams of my shorts. I sucked in a breath as he reached further, closer to that spot. Before I knew it, my eyes widened, and I choked on the bite of bread in my mouth—the one I’d forgotten all about chewing before I attempted to swallow it. I dropped the remainder onto my plate.

"John, how's the new routine working out for you guys?" Jace paid no mind to my little outburst.

I don't know how he does this with a straight face. Fucker can look my father in the eye; even speak to him while his hands are all over me under the table. Up until now, it was never this risqué. My mind reeled.

"Oh, I hate the new routine. It makes every single job much more complicated. Honestly, I don't know who could’ve come up with such a bad idea," Dad replied.

Jace's hand moved higher, grazing a place I'd always imagined him touching, but one he never had. Until now.

Oh wow. Oh, that feels so good. Wait! No! Stop, I screamed in my head.

I pushed his hand off me, continuing to eat my dinner as if nothing had happened.

If you can pretend, so can I.

"Vanessa dear, be a sweetie and pass me the peas." Charlotte pointed toward the bowl, like I was five and didn’t know what peas were. But I wasn’t, and I did…

I looked up, bowl in hand, to see Charlotte glaring at me like a snake to its prey.

The fuck?

Shock swirled through me, although it might be an understatement compared to what I really felt at the moment…like someone had shot me with a stun gun, and I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even find my voice to speak. And what had that look been about? She’d stared at me like I’d turned into the damn bowl of peas and she wanted to eat me…

It took me a moment to regain my composure before I handed her the stupid peas. Something just wasn't right here.

Oh God, does she know?

"Why does this new routine make jobs harder?" I asked Dad, needing a distraction.

Dad ignored me, so I went on eating my dinner. It wasn’t normal for Dad to ignore me, but I couldn’t even focus on that when all I could think about was Jace and the anxiety Charlotte brought out in me. There was just something… off about her. As I chewed my last bite, I stood to take my plate to the sink. Charlotte’s eyes never left me. I hurried out of there, heading back to the safety of my room.

I bounced on my bed, loving the way it sprung back at me, sort of like a trampoline. It was a nice bed, four poster frame and spacious queen mattress. Cerulean blue drapes hung over the top and sides, with silky cerulean sheets. A faux fur black comforter completed the look.

I loved the color blue, but cerulean and I, we had a love affair.

My bed was an alter where men bestowed gifts of pleasure on me. Pleasure that’d never tore through me the way it did today. My eyes fell to my lap, my thighs jumping as my mind brought me back to the way Jace had touched me. The thoughts shot through my head with such vivid details I couldn’t stop my hands from sliding between them. As I touched myself, it was so easy to imagine him touching me.

My fingers danced, faster, faster, faster, until the intensity had my hips bucking forward into my hand.

I couldn’t open my eyes, even as I heard a creak outside my door. It didn’t matter. I’m pretty sure I’d locked my door, anyway. Hadn’t I?

A moan escaped, the thought falling away as pure, unadulterated bliss took over every inch of my body.

“Touch me Jace."

"I want to. God, I want to, but they are downstairs…they’d definitely catch us if I come anywhere near you right now because I’d fuck the world right out from underneath you."

I stiffened, frozen as his voice brought me back to the real world, although the ache between my thighs remained, pulsing with a need I couldn’t do anything about with Jace in the room.

Did he just say he wanted to fuck the world out from underneath me?

My cheeks heated, even more than they already were, as I yanked my hands out of my shorts. He caught one midair.

He’d been in the corner? When had he closed the distance between us?

He placed my fingers between his lips, sucking them. Moaning into them.

Oh. Oh, that is…sexy as hell. Mmm. Oh. My mind matched his moans, but I didn’t let them out. I kept them inside.

His eyes closed, and he moaned again as he tasted me. "So good."

Fuck that's hot.

"I propose a game, Less," he said out of nowhere.

"A game? What kind of game?" He’d just been tasting me. Moaning…and now he’d proposed a game? How could he even think right now?

"A game that ends in sex." He licked his lips, biting down on his bottom lip so hard I looked for blood when he pulled away, not finding a single drop.

"Wait, what?" I couldn’t think. The clouds rolling through my lust-filled brain blocked his words.

"A game that ends in sex," he repeated.

What the fuck?

"What are the terms of said game?" I raised my brows, realizing he still held my hand.

"If I win and you give into me, I get to have you anytime I want." His eyes sparkled with amusement.

My mouth dropped open, even as I thought I might just lose on purpose. "And if I win?"

"If you win, I will leave you alone and stop messing with you for good, just like you want."

Is that what I truly want? I wondered.

"How long does this game last?" I asked. It couldn't go on forever.

"Six months, but I'm betting I can close in half that."

"Shake on it?" I held my hand out.

He took my hand and shook it, hard.

This is a really bad idea Nessa. A really, really bad idea, I told myself.

"Deal Jace Keller, but I'm going to tell you right now, I will win."

"Dream on Less."

Jace dropped my hand and spun around, taking long strides to the door, where he halted and peered back at me. “See you in two hours, Kitten.”

Like a bat out of hell, he disappeared, leaving me alone, hot, and more than a little bothered.