Page 18 of Muse (Fighting Fate)

He stared at me like I had two heads. “Wait, wait, wait…” He rubbed his hands over his face. “Let me get this straight. Are you asking me if I want to have a no strings attached relationship with you?”

That sounded awful, didn’t it? He probably thought I’d turned into some sort of slut now. I gave him a tiny shrug.

“Like a fuck buddy?” he asked, slightly incredulous.

I groaned and pulled the sheet up to cover my face.

He tugged it down again. “I’m not judging you, Mia. I’m just trying to understand, and somehow fit you and the concept of fuck buddy into the same category. I’m just having a hard time with it. Give me a second to process.”

I looked at him meekly. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to. I won’t be offended. I know I’m not very experienced, and I’m probably not very good. I just-”

“Shoosh,” he barked out harshly. “I’m thinking.”

I snapped my mouth shut, watching him wearily.

“I’m sorry. I need to get this straight. Why don’t you want a relationship?”

There was no way I was going to lay it out for him. Shrugging, I said, “I can’t do crowds.” He nodded, knowing this already from our trip to Aspen. But I also knew everyone just assumed it was shyness. I shrugged again. “Relationships and crowds kind of go together.” Lame, lame, lame.

He frowned. “Not necessarily.”

“And the thought of people staring at me makes me nervous.”

He still look confused, but he seemed to accept my lame ass answer. At least a little. “So you thought a no strings attached set up would work for you?”

God, this was so not going as I thought it would. “Not really. It wasn’t until last night that I thought maybe it was something that might work. I mean, I like you, and I trust you, and I know you’re not about to go telling everyone we’ve been together, so…”

“What makes you think I won’t tell anyone?”

I gave him a pointed look. “Yeah, I can see you telling Aiden we’ve been sleeping together.”

He smirked. “I’m not afraid of Aiden.”

I shifted onto my knees on the bed like I was about to get up. “I’ll just go tell him now then, shall I?”

He held his hand up to stop me and glared. “Yeah, you’re not getting up right now. And no, it’s not because I’m worried about you telling Aiden. It’s because I know you’re naked under that sheet and if you take it off right now, I can’t promise you I’ll sit here like a good little boy and behave myself.”

Clutching the sheet to my chest, I froze. The idea of him not behaving himself with me sounded really good. I knew the confidence I’d had the night before had everything to do with th

e fact that he’d been drunk. Could I do it now, with him fully aware of everything I was doing?

Slowly, I dropped my arms to my sides, releasing the sheet and letting it fall around my knees. Jace’s eyes widened and I heard his breath catch. I didn’t move any further than that. I just knelt there, my legs parted and my hair falling wildly over my boobs.

I watched his eyes hungrily devour every inch of me, making that intense warmth spread like fire between my legs. Next thing I knew, Jace lunged at me, taking hold of my face, threading his fingers in my hair, and plunging his tongue deep inside my mouth.

“You have no idea how fucking hot you are, Mia. Every fucking part of you.” His hand moved down to cup my ass, pulling me hard against him so I could feel his erection against my stomach. “I love knowing I’m the only one that’s touched you – the only one that’s been inside you.”

I groaned, clutching at his shirt and pulling it up over his head. He pushed me so I fell back on the bed and began running kisses down my neck, over my collarbone, until he reached my boob and sucked my nipple into his mouth. I grabbed at his hair and pulled it hard, a choking kind of sound escaping my lips.

His hand slid over my stomach and cupped between my legs, a finger moving over my clit to sink inside me. “So wet for me,” he whispered. His hand disappeared and I felt him fumbling with his boxers, releasing himself. “Fuck.”

His body went still and he lowered his head to my chest, breathing hard. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t have a condom.”

Oh.

“Wait!” I wriggled out from underneath him and rummaged through my bedside draw, finding what I was looking for, stashed at the back, under a book. I handed him the condom with excitement. The look he gave me was almost humorous. “Sex ed,” I said, answering his silent question.

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