Sitting here, staring at her satiated face is beginning to be a major turn-on. I mean, how could it not? I know how to put that look on her face, and I damn sure want to know what she’s thinking right now. It’s fucking hard though, because I know Max is sitting directly across from me seeing that same face, and probably feeling the same damn rush of hormones that I am.
When he wipes off an area of her skin, I watch his eyes quickly glance up at her.
“Stop looking at her face. I know what you see,” I growl.
He turns his head and laughs into the crook of his arm. “Dude, it’s kind of hard not to. Especially now that you’ve just confirmed that what I’m seeing is her ‘I’ve just been fucked real good’ face.” He smiles to himself and gets back to work. I’d punch him right now, if I didn’t think it would mess up Audrey’s tattoo. I’ll tune him up in the ring next time we’re in the gym though.
“I’ll take care of you later,” I warn.
“It’ll be fucking worth it,” he whispers back with a laugh.
After the longest thirty minutes of my life, he finally finishes without eliciting even a flinch from Audrey. She probably handled that better than I do. This whole time, I’ve been staring at her face and haven’t stopped to read the script across her ribs. Max pats her hand to signal he’s finished. Her eyes blink open and readjust to the light. She begins to sit up, so I rush to hold her shirt against her chest.
She smiles and says, “I’ve got it.”
I follow her to the mirror and check out the work he did. I’ve got to hand it to Max, he knocked it out of the park again. His art looks badass on her skin, yet also very feminine and sexy. I kneel down in front of her so I can look at it up close. My finger trails the outside of the tender letters without actually touching the ink as I take in what I see.
“Expose yourself to your deepest
fear; after that, fear has no power,
and the fear of freedom shrinks
and vanishes. You are free.”
After thinking about what this means for her, I lean in and kiss a slow circle around the perimeter.
I look up into her eyes and ask, “What is your deepest fear?”
“Being alone,” she whispers back. “I didn’t realize how alone I used to be until I met Lane, and then I didn’t fully accept it until I found you again. I’ve finally freed myself from that fear. I don’t ever want to go back, but I know I can survive it.” I lean in and kiss her side one more time before standing up and looking down at her beautiful face. I grasp her face on both sides and speak to her, hoping it reaches the deepest part of her.
“Never again, baby. I never want you to feel alone again,” I express, and she stands on her toes to capture my mouth.
A groaning noise comes from behind us. “Dammit, knock it off. Doesn’t anyone care that I’m heartbroken over here?” Max grumbles. He crooks his finger, signaling for Audrey to come over to him. He slathers on some ointment and covers the tattooed area. “If this asshole fucks up, please come find me. I’m ready to propose to you, run away with you, let you have my babies, kneel down and kiss your feet daily, babe.”
It takes me about two point five seconds to reach him and then only another millisecond before I smack him upside the back of his head.
“Hmm...that’s a tempting offer,” she smarts off.
“Audrey...” I growl.
“Thanks again for the tattoo, Max. It’s amazing. Better than I ever imagined,” Audrey compliments.
After going back and forth with one another at the counter over who is going to pay for the tattoo, she finally wins and swipes her card.
“You two know each other?” Jinx asks, looking bewildered by our exchange.
“Yup,” I reply vaguely, not wanting to get into this with her right now.
Audrey gives me a confused expression and elaborates, “I guess he’s my boyfriend...although he still hasn’t taken me out on a date yet.” Her smile widens and I can tell she’s excited about tonight. Jinx’s surprise is written all over her face as she gapes at me and I inwardly cringe. Without a word, she hands Audrey her receipt and we head out the door.
Audrey appears worried as she tries to interpret Jinx’s behavior. When we reach my car, she says, “Did you ever date her?”
Slowly I inhale and exhale, trying to think of how to best approach this subject with her. I’ve never thought of Audrey as the jealous type, but you can never tell with girls. I’ve seen them flip a switch so fast it made my head spin.
“We did,” I finally admit. “It was only a handful of times, but it didn’t go anywhere. At least not for me. We were in no way compatible, although she thinks that something like that can just be fixed.” The entire time I’m speaking, I watch her face for any reaction. A little crease forms on her forehead and I can see sadness behind her eyes, even though she tries to mask it.
Quickly, I rush to say, “We never slept together.” I pull her in against my chest because I can’t stand the distance between us any longer. “Please, don’t be mad.”
She jerks back and looks directly up into my eyes, “Jace, why would I be mad at you for dating someone? We weren’t together.”
“I don’t know...some girls...they don’t like to hear that kind of stuff. But I want to be completely honest with you.”
“I’m only upset because I slept with you before even going out on a date with you. She got a handful of dates. I mean, how easy am I?” her little voice mumbles in my chest. I chuckle to myself, hoping she doesn’t hear because I’m not making fun of her in any way.
“I’m so sorry, babe. I should have wined and dined you before putting my hands on you. It’s just that I’ve never been so damn attracted to any girl in my whole life, like I am to you. It’s so hard to keep my hands off of you.” Slowly, I back her up against the side of the Camaro and lean in toward her mouth. “Even now, all I can think about is reenacting the first time we met, when I practically took you up against my truck.”
She slowly pushes me back, but I can tell she’s affected by my words as she says, “Date first, everything else later.”
- Thirteen -
AUDREY -
It’s crazy how if you aren’t paying attention, an entire month can fly by in a breeze. An entire month of late-night talks with Jace on the phone or with him by my side. An entire month of becoming more and more consumed with each other. I think there have only been a few nights that Jace and I haven’t slept in the same bed together.
Jaxon and Em have been MIA a lot lately. There has been speculation between Quinn and me that they went and rented another apartment together, one that they could escape to alone. Em hasn’t admitted to it yet, because she knows that we would eventually follow her to find out where it’s located.
For the most part, Quinn has been wrapped up in Cole, Em with Jax, and me with Jace. Lane disappears here and there as well, but for now he’s back to his happy-go-lucky-self. The downside is that a whole month has slipped by us without Jace telling Jaxon about our relationship.
A part of me is starting to think he likes the sneaky, espionage-type of game we have created with one another. It really has been fun and exciting. With Jax and Em gone so much, I often slip into Jace’s room at night and sleep in his giant, king-sized bed. It’s probably the most comfortable thing that has ever touched my body. Seriously, I think Jace is becoming a bit jealous of my love affair with his bed. But there’s really no reason for one person to have that much bed all to himself anyway.