“Going to work you up,” he said echoing Ash’s statement. “But going to do it my way. Want you hot and wet. And the way I’m going to make sure that happens is to lick you until you’re about ready to come.”She shivered delicately, her entire body quivering with his words. She was so damn responsive and he liked to think she was that way just with him. He hadn’t imagined her being focused more on him. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but he was not wrong about this. Ash was there, yeah, but the connection between Jace and Bethany had been intense. No mistake there.“Lie down and spread your legs for me,” Jace said, inserting an edge of command in his voice. She’d responded well to his authoritative voice earlier, and she did the same this time, her eyes darkening, her face going soft with submissiveness.Forgetting about Ash—Jace didn’t even know where he was at the moment—he traveled down Bethany’s body, kissing and sucking at her neck, then her breasts, tracing a lazy trail down her fla
“Christ, she’s tight,” Ash breathed out. “I knew this ass would be sweet, but this is unbelievable.” Ash came to a stop, fully embedded. He leaned over her back, nuzzling against her neck, giving her time to adjust to the sensation of having two cocks buried in her at once.“What do I do?” Bethany whispered. “I mean, what am I supposed to do? I feel like I can’t even move, that if I do, I’ll come apart.”Jace cupped her cheek and rubbed his thumb in a soothing manner over her cheekbone. “You don’t have to do a single thing, baby. We’ll do all the work. I just want you to relax and enjoy the ride.”“Okay,” she breathed. “I can do that.”Ash eased back, causing her pussy to ripple over Jace’s cock. He clenched his jaw, inhaling through his nose as he fought off his release. Then Ash pushed forward, gentle and slow. Bethany moaned and leaned farther into Jace, her breasts nearly touching his chest.Jace dropped his hands to her waist, curled his fingers underneath her ass and lifted slig
“Son of a bitch,” Jace muttered.He turned away from Ash and then savagely threw the note across the room. It hit the wall and fluttered downward. She’d left! Without saying a word. Without waking him up. She’d slipped from his bed and walked away. He didn’t even know her fucking last name. Or where she lived. Or how to find her.He’d thought he had time to find out all of those things. He’d planned to learn as much as possible about her over breakfast. He’d had it all worked out. Breakfast in bed. Spoil her ridiculously. Make love again, preferably after Ash left. And then let her know in no uncertain terms that they would be seeing each other again.“What’s the problem, man?” Ash asked quietly.Jace spun back around. “She’s gone. That’s the problem.”Ash’s lips tightened and he sent an inquisitive look in Jace’s direction. “What, exactly, were you wanting from this? Another night? Two? Then what? It’s not like we ever do long-term. I realize this may not have gone the way you wanted
“Thank you,” Jace said.Then he gazed around the room at the women huddled on the cots and in the chairs and on the couch. And he tried to control the anger that rushed through his veins.“You’ll get your heat, Ms. Stover.”Her eyes widened.Even as he turned to walk back out to his car, he pulled his cell from his pocket and began to make calls.************Bethany shook violently as she stumbled across an intersection. It took all her concentration to remain upright. One foot in front of the other. If she fell now, she’d be run over. New York drivers weren’t exactly pedestrian friendly.She picked up her head, her breath blowing out in a fog and she saw the church just one block down. She was nearly there. A whispered prayer fell from her lips. Please, God. Let them have room today.Some of the numbness had worn off. Some of the shock had crumbled and reality pushed in. She turned her palms up, seeing the scrapes and the blood. Her pants were torn at her knees and at her hip and th
“Oh yes,” he said quietly. “She’s coming with me. I’ll take care of her. I promise.”Kate’s expression eased. “Good. I worry about her. About all of them.”He started to step forward, eager to get to her and to see how badly she was hurt, but Kate stopped him once more.“I want to thank you,” she said in a soft voice. “For everything. The heat. The food. The generous donation. Look around you, Mr. Crestwell. All these women have a warm place to sleep and food to eat because of you.”Jace grimaced, uncomfortable with her gratitude. He nodded briefly and then headed for Bethany. Her eyes were closed. She looked asleep sitting up. He took the opportunity to study her more closely and he swore at what he saw.She looked even thinner if possible. There were shadows under her eyes. She was pale.And she was hurting.He knelt quietly in front of her. As soon as she sensed his presence, her eyes flew open and she flinched away, panic firing in her eyes.“It’s all right, Bethany,” he murmured.
She blinked in surprise when she realized that there was a change of clothes lying on the counter that hadn’t been there before. And a thick robe hanging on the back of the door. There was also a pair of slippers. The man had thought of everything.Her gaze tracked to the clothes again and she frowned. Like he kept women’s clothing just lying around his apartment?She picked up the pair of jeans and the T-shirt and quickly saw that both were too big. Not by much, and truthfully, a year or so ago they would have fit. She hadn’t been as thin then. Not as lean. More fleshed out. She’d had more of an actual shape.Now she was reduced to boobs and not much else. No hips. Not much of an ass. Angular features due to weight loss. Life on the streets was hard. It aged a person before their time.After taking the time to dry herself completely, she pulled on the pair of panties stuck between the jeans and the T-shirt, embarrassed that she was borrowing some other woman’s underwear. There wasn’t
“I don’t know,” she whispered, unable to look at him any longer.She dropped her gaze, closing her eyes. She felt so . . . unworthy, and she hated that feeling. Hated it with a passion. She’d spent a lifetime feeling unworthy, unlovable. Not good enough.“Look at me,” he said firmly.When she hesitated, he lifted her chin with his hand until her face was directed toward him. But her eyes were still shut.“Open your eyes, baby.”When she did, her vision was obscured by the sheen of tears that threatened.“Don’t cry,” he said huskily. “What it says is that it doesn’t matter to me. I knew that about you, and I still went to the shelter. I’ve been looking for you for two goddamn weeks. I’ve scoured every fucking shelter I could find, hoping like hell to find you in one of them. And when I didn’t come up with you anywhere, it made me livid because I knew you were out there on the goddamn streets, cold, hungry and alone. Where I couldn’t protect you. Where I couldn’t make sure you had enoug
“So?”She blinked at the blunt assessment. She glanced up to see challenge in his eyes.“Does it bother you?” he asked, though his tone suggested he didn’t really care if it bothered her. He looked determined and resolute.“Doesn’t it bother you?” she asked hesitantly. “Surely there are more sophisticated women you could have. Educated. Older. Better.”His jaw bulged as he clenched it. “Now you’re just pissing me off.”She sighed unhappily.“You didn’t answer my question. Does it bother you?” he persisted.What could she say? If she were truthful it would only seal her fate even tighter. If she said it did bother her, he might not even care. Or it would make her look like a superficial bitch.“Bethany?”“No,” she blurted. “It doesn’t bother me. The age difference, I mean. But it doesn’t mean that we can do this or that you should have anything to do with me. I’m so wrong for you, Jace. You have to see that. We live in completely different worlds. So different that I can’t even fathom