All Good Things Exposed (27 page)

I closed the door slightly harder then need be and turned to face Trey with a fake smile plastered over my face. "Sorry about that."

"No problem." He shrugged, but I could see he didn't like it.

"Trey, I know Jace is…well, he's ridiculous and possessive and protective, but I love him more than I've ever loved anyone." I sighed. "I can handle him."

"I know you can." He rolled his eyes and I could see this was difficult. "I still can't say I like the guy. And I think you can do a hell of a lot better, but there's one thing I can admit. Jace loves you. Even I can see that." He smiled awkwardly, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "So, I know it doesn't count for much but you have my blessing as well."

I felt my smile stretch over my face and I dove into his arms. "Thank you, Trey! You know it means a lot to me."

"You're welcome." He patted my back. "You know I'll always be here for you. Whenever you need a friend."

"I always need a good friend."

"Well," he shifted, pulling away. "You've got one in me."

"And you have one in me." I promised as the door flew open and Jace emerged, looking downright furious. Relief flashed over his face when he noticed Trey and I were still in the hallway. What? Had he thought Trey was planning on abducting me?

It was then that cold realization seeped into my bones. Jace thought there was a possibility that Trey was the writer of the letters. But that was just downright silly. Trey had just given me his blessing to marry Jace. Of course he wasn't the writer. That just wouldn't make sense.

"Olivia," Jace snapped my name. "We're going to bed."

I nodded. "Good night." I waved to Trisha and Trey who caught the elevator with Gabe. Jace closed the door before locking it. He set glowering eyes on me and I shrunk back.

"What?" I snapped. "He's my friend."

"Do you know how fucking uncomfortable that made me?"

"Why?"

"Because my fiancée was out in the hall with another man!" Jace yelled, dragging a hand violently through his hair.

"Because Trey is a man, or because you think he's the writer?" I asked pointedly. I folded my arms over my chest and waited for his reply as he stiffened.

"What?"

"You heard me."

His blue eyes narrowed to slits. "Do you think he's the writer?"

"No, Jace." I shook my head. "I don't think Trey is the writer."

"Why would you say that?" He snapped.

"Because I know you think he is."

"I don't know anything about him."

"That's bullshit."

"Watch your mouth." He roared. "You don't need to swear to get your point across."

"Same goes for you." I replied icily. "You did a background check on Trey. You told me when you first met him."

"A background check doesn't tell me what he thinks about you." His words were spoken with venom and I cringed.

"He gave me his blessing to marry you, Jace." I said tiredly.

"Did you need it?" He asked pointedly.

"No. But I wanted it." I started walking to the stairs. I knew he was following me, I could feel him behind me. "He's my friend."

Jace sighed. "I don't trust him."

"You don't have to. But I trust him and he is my friend. So until he does something unsettling, then he will continue to have my trust."

Jace grabbed my waist, pulling me into his back. "You are infuriating."

"Get used to it."

Chapter 22

"Good morning, Angel." Jace kissed me, warming my lips and body. "Wake up."

"No." I moaned. "I don't want to."

"I have something planned for us. I promise you'll like it."

I opened one eye. "I will?"

"I promise." He whispered with another kiss and I opened my other eye.

"Okay, I'm awake."

"Good." He pulled away and I pouted.

"That's how you're waking me up the morning after you proposed to me?"

Jace frowned. "If you get your sexy ass up I might take you in the shower."

My stomach clenched. Yes please! I bounded out of bed and bolted for the bathroom. I could hear Jace laughing behind me and as his hand wound around my waist, pulling me into his back, I squealed.

"You're so beautiful." He kissed the bare skin of my shoulder. "I'll never tire of looking at you."

"Never ever?"

"Not even when you're barefoot and pregnant." I stiffened immediately in his arms.

"What?"

"I didn't mean it like that." He shook his head. "I love envisioning you barefoot and pregnant. You're always going to be beautiful to me."

He thought I was shocked at the mention of gaining weight? Hell. No! I didn't want kids. I was twenty-two. I shook my head, pulling away from his arms and reaching for a towel. I quickly wrapped it around my naked body and he frowned. "What are you doing, Olivia?"

"Jace," I looked up at him with shimmering eyes. "I had no idea you wanted kids."

"Well, I've never wanted them before you. But I have you, why not have a baby?" He cocked his head. "Don't you think we can give a child everything we never had?"

Shit. "I think we
could
. But, I don't want kids, Jace."

Shock bled into his eyes. "You don't want them?"

I shook my head. "No."

"Never?" He breathed. Was this a deal-breaker? Did I have to have a baby to be with him? Oh, God! I hoped not. I'm not ready to be a mother.

"Well…I don't want them right now for sure."

"So you think you'll want them later?" He asked.

I shrugged. I had to be honest. "I don't know, Jace."

"Wow," his shoulders fell and his eyes lost a little light. I wanted to cry, but I settled for pulling the towel tighter around me. Jace scowled and ripped it away from me. "You don't put barriers between us, Olivia. Never any barriers. Every."

"Okay." I nodded, standing with my head hanging. I felt exposed and uncomfortable and wounded. I didn't bother telling him the pajama pants he wore was a barrier. I didn't need to say anything to make the situation more awkward.

"Can I ask why you don't want kids?" Jace pulled me into his arms and sat on the bench against the wall. I curled into him, needing to feel him next to me.

"I don't really know." It was the truth. "I've never wanted them."

"I think you would make an excellent mother." He confirmed.

"Thanks." I murmured. "Why do you suddenly want them? You said you've never wanted them before. Why now?"

"I want everything with you, Olivia." Jace said sternly. "I want the kids, the garden, the house."

"You want to move?" I squeaked. Wow, what other life changes had he concocted in his mind without first consulting me?

"I would like to purchase a house in the Hamptons for the summer. Where we spend our time with…" he trailed off. I knew he was going to say children. "I'd keep the penthouse for the winters."

"Oh,"

"Talk to me, Olivia." He tightened his hold on my waist. "Don't shut me out."

"Jace," I breathed. "You have it all figured out and I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the date of our wedding." I laughed shrilly. "We don't actually have a date. Not a real date. We have a time frame. Not a date." I was rambling now. But he'd hit me with a truckload of plans I had no idea how to install or even if I wanted to install them.

"I was thinking November 23."

"What?"

"It's a Saturday. And we would have a week before we have to go to British Columbia with Trisha."

"Oh. My. God." I breathed. "Okay."

"Are you all right?"

"I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed." I admitted.

"Only slightly?" He asked.

I nodded. "Jace," I whispered. "I have nothing ready for a wedding."

"We'll do it all together." He promised. "We will do everything together. Forever."

"Okay,"

"We'll take our time. We can move slow. We don't need to discuss kids right now. We can wait."

"Okay,"

"Stop saying okay. You're making me nervous."

"I highly doubt that." He was the freaking epitome of control.

"You are." He stood with me in his arms, leading me to the shower. "Shower with me. We have a long day ahead of us."

"We do?" I shook my head, feeling over stimulated. "I have to go to the café."

"You don't." He shook his head. "Jaylah and Franco are running the café until they can find someone more suitable - or until Franco decides he wants the position. He is entirely capable."

"What?" I was offended. He didn't think I could run my own business? Well, in all honesty…I couldn't. Not with him constantly begging for or - demanding my attention.

"You're going to be unable to run the café for the next three months, Olivia."

"Three months?" My tone was rising and his frown was deepening. All right, Jace. Welcome to the very first panic attack of Olivia LeRoux. Are you sure you're ready to marry me? I almost laughed aloud at my thought.

"Yes. Three months." He said carefully. Slowly. "We're planning our wedding for two of those months. Then we're taking a week to ourselves. I'm taking you to Italy and we will fly from there to British Columbia for this annual ski vacation you and Trisha partake in."

"I understand." I breathed. He was right. I couldn't run a business with the hectic schedule of my life. How the hell was he doing it? "So you're taking three months off work as well?"

He laughed. "No."

"What?" I barked. "Why not? If I have to then you should too."

"No offense, Angel." He turned on the water. "But you're business is not worth billions. I can't just take three months."

"So because my business isn't worth billions means it's not important?" Ouch.

"No." He shook his head, stepping into the water. His hand clasped around my wrist and he pulled me in. "If it's important to you its important to me. But you need to plan the wedding. You can't do everything."

"Jace," I groaned in frustration. "You're being unfair. I'm not planning our wedding alone."

"You'll never do anything alone, Angel." He promised. "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. We'll plan it together but we'll have to do it in my office."

"Are you serious?" I was tense and angry. Jace could obviously sense it because he turned my back to him and started massaging soap into my knotted muscles.

"I'm very serious, Olivia. You will be my wife first and business owner second. Until you decide you want kids."

Was he joking? "Jace," I warned.

He chuckled. Okay, maybe he was joking. "Allow Jaylah to take some stress off you. The café will be fine and you can still go in whenever you want. You just won't be obligated to be there. It will be when you have the time and desire."

"If you weren't so needy I would have the time." I mumbled.

His hand fell from my back and landed on my ass. I jumped and screamed. "That's for your attitude."

I spun around to face him and he pinned me against the shower wall. He looked devilishly delicious with the water streaming down his face. The thick, wet black lashes framing piercing blue eyes looked darker and longer than usual. His hand gripped my hip almost roughly.

"Do you want more time away from me?" He asked seriously.

My heart flopped. Hell no. "No."

"Good." He grazed my lips with his. "Never say those words again. I fucking need you. I'll always need you. Like this. Under my hands. You're mine for now and always. Don't ever tell yourself any different."

"I'm yours, Jace." I whispered and his lips crushed mine. He swallowed the words, grinding his hips into mine. He was so hard. Already. For me. The thought made me feel empowered. I pressed my hips into his and moaned at his friction.

"Feel me, Angel." He commanded.

I ran my core along his length, feeling every delicious stroke of him against me. "I feel you, Jace."

"Tell me you need me, Angel." He moaned against my ear, nibbling the lobe.

"I need you,"

He fisted his cock, pumping it as he pulled away from me. The sight was so erotic, I felt unmistakable need pool in my lower belly as he worked himself. But, there was also jealousy and frustration. I wanted to pull his orgasm from him. I wanted to feel him inside me when he came.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm showing you what you do to me."

I shook my head. "You're not. You're punishing me."

I knew I was bang on the money when his eyes glimmered. He was punishing me. Well, two could play this game. I watched him pumping his shaft, stroking it from tip to base over and over again. I let my hands move slowly to the places reserved only for Jace and his eyes burned my skin as he watched. I massaged my breast, pinching the nipple until I gasped out as I pushed my finger inside my hot, wet core. I moaned, making a show of what I was doing and Jace growled. He pulled my hand away from my body before shoving himself deep inside me, giving me exactly what I wanted in the first place. Oh, this was a sweet manipulation.

"Only me, Angel. This is mine." He pounded into me, quickly finding our orgasm. I knew it wouldn't take long and I didn't mind. I wanted quick and hard. Ruthless. The sweet and sensitive could come later. But right now I wanted Jace hard and rough. Raw.

"Please, harder!" I ground my hips into him as he pumped inside me, hitting my womb with every stroke. I felt my eyes grow moist with tears as I climbed higher and higher with him up the rungs of pleasure until we couldn't possibly climb higher and I pummeled down with him on a loud cry, shattering around him. My body convulsed as he thrust deep one last time, holding himself at the base of my womb as he spilled himself inside me. Filling me in only the way he can. I rested my forehead against his shoulder and he pulled me in tight to him.

"I love you," he kissed my temple.

"I love you, too." I smiled. I was sated. There was no argument left in me and he knew it. The day he had planned for us was set to begin.

Chapter 23

Jace pulled up to the track in the Bugatti and I clapped my hands in delight. No way! It had been almost an entire week since I'd come here. I was dying for a ride. I was dying to feel the rumble of the car engine and the gravity pulling me back into the seat as the car took off from the start line. I needed this. Especially after the stress of the morning! I needed this to wipe it all away if only for a moment.