The tears she’d been fighting all night filled her eyes, dripped onto the carpet. Jace. She thought she’d whispered it, but realized no sound had come out.
He hit her again, but this blow didn’t have any ferocity behind it. His hand stilled against her tingling skin. “I love you, goddammit. And I refuse to let you run away from me, convincing yourself that this was all some meaningless fuckfest. Don’t do that to me, Ev. I can’t bear it.”
No longer able to hold back her rioting emotions, her chest bounced with sobs. “I know . . . it’s not . . . I’m sorry.”
His tense leg muscles loosened against her belly.
“Don’t be sorry, baby.” He flipped her over gently and cradled her against him, his own breath coming fast. “Just be honest. We at least owe that to each other.”
“I know.” She buried her face in the curve of his neck. “I love you, too, Jace. I’m not sure I ever stopped.”
His entire body seemed to sigh against her as he ran a hand over her hair. “Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank God.”
He stood, lifting her with ease, and walked her around the edge of the bed, then set her in the middle of it. Her bottom throbbed against the cool sheets, but that only served to make her body ache for him more. Regardless of everything going on outside of this room, she needed him. On her, around her, inside her. It was no longer an option.
He undressed her with practiced patience, taking care to caress and touch only enough to stoke her embers. A kiss here. A pinch there. Every contact new and different because there wasn’t just lust behind it but love. When she finally lay bare before him, her whole being was vibrating like a tuning fork.
She wanted to plead for him to give her more than just a touch, to fall into bed with her, but she was afraid to speak. Afraid to break the spell weaving around them. Tomorrow her world would fall apart, but right now . . . right now was sacred.
He peeled off his T-shirt and shucked his shoes and jeans, allowing her to drink in the sight of him. His blond hair falling over his eyes, the long, lean body of a swimmer, the intricate tribal tattoo wrapped around his biceps—a bad boy archangel who had already claimed her soul.
He climbed onto the bed and nudged her thighs apart with his knees, parking himself between them. “Have you been with anyone besides me and Andre since you’ve been tested?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Neither have I.” He stroked the back of his knuckles over her clit, a whisper of a touch, but it sent shivers through her. “Are you protected otherwise?”r: Roni Loren
Jace walked past her, hands in his pockets and expression unreadable. She clicked the door shut behind him, but didn’t turn around, her hand frozen on the knob. She could feel his stare burning into her back. How was she supposed to do this? She couldn’t even look at him without wanting to break down and cry.
“A two a.m. invitation to a hotel room is usually a booty call, but somehow I’m guessing that’s not why I’m here,” he said, his voice flat.
Her shoulders sagged. “No, it isn’t.”
“Andre told me about Daniel.”
Ha. The earlier revelation seemed trite compared to what she had to lay on him now. “I figured.”
“Why, Ev? Why are you marrying him?”
His tone was as even as the horizon, but she didn’t miss the little catch in his throat on the last word. The hurt. She turned to face him, her hands gripping her elbows as if she could physically hold herself together. “He’s . . . my best friend. I love him.”
He leaned against the desk. “Like you used to love me?”
She jerked her gaze away from his, tears already threatening to fall. “You know that’s not the same thing. Daniel and I— It works. Okay?”
“No. It’s not okay,” he said, his dominant side seeping into his tone. “You won’t convince me that you’re better off in some sexless marriage. Not when I’ve seen how you come apart with me and Andre. You deserve everything a relationship has to offer.”
She swallowed hard, gathering her strength again and trying to ignore the pang of want his words had caused. “Someone took pictures of us on the balcony, Jace. They’re being released tomorrow.”
He hissed out a breath. “What? Who?”
She dared a glance at him. “I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter. I’m the only one identified in the picture. If we end this now, you’ll probably go undetected.”
“End this?”
“Yes.” She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans and moved away from the door. He had propped himself against the small desk in the room, so she perched on the foot of the bed—as far away from him as possible. “I’m going to admit to cheating on Daniel. Tell everyone we’re working it out.”
His eyes widened. “You’re going to fucking do what?” He pushed off the desk and rose to his full height. “Ev, no way. I don’t care how good of a friend Daniel is, you’re not going to ruin your own reputation just to save his chickenshit ass from stepping out of the closet and owning who he is.”