Protection: A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance (35 page)

“
W
e should go
. I’m sure you hate the sight of this place by now,” Jace said, keeping his tone gentle.

“I can think of places I’d want to be less right now,” Tessa said with a smile.

“Like Bourbon Street?” Jace joked.

“I was thinking of Brookline, but Bourbon Street is definitely on my list too.”

“Where is Brookline?”

“It’s the part of Boston where I grew up. It’s very private.”

“I’ll take that to mean very rich,” Jace said.

“Pretty much.”

Tessa tensed and waited for the inevitable questions: what’s your family like? Do you have any siblings? Pets? It was the conversation she’d struck up with James back in Boston, the night he’d kidnapped her. That’s how The Legion had known to kidnap the one person Tessa would die to protect.

As usual, Jace surprised her.

“Yeesh. This must all seem pretty broke down to you,” Jace said, waving a hand to indicate their surroundings.

“I didn’t mean it that way. I left because I didn’t want to live there,” was her reply.

“I can see how you would find that lifestyle tiresome.”

Tessa turned and looked at Jace, scanning for signs of sarcasm. She found none. His face was unshuttered, as if his statement was nothing but an appraisal of Tessa’s character. A positive appraisal, at that.

“What?” he asked. “I’m just saying you seem more of a Prius girl than a Mercedes C Class kind of girl.”

“How do you know I drive a Prius?!” Tessa demanded, shocked.

Jace rocked back in the chair with a chuckle, the movement rippling down his long frame. Damn if he wasn’t just hot as hell. That laugh sent a little shiver up the back of Tessa’s neck, and she had to work to pull her gaze away from his mouth.

“It was just a guess,” he said with another shrug.

Tessa flopped down on the bed, rolling her eyes. Jace pulled up a chair, seeming to take up the entire room. He somehow folded his limbs to fit in the over-sized chair, and watched Tessa with a thoughtful expression.

“So you don’t like people who are better informed than you are. I found a sore spot, I guess,” Jace teased.

“Know -it-alls run in my family. I can’t even say who was the worst, my mother or my sister.”

“And here I thought all women were supposed to have daddy issues.”

Tessa snorted.

“Not the ones who were daddy’s little girl. My dad worshiped my mom.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s how most families are run. My mother may have been smaller than my father, but she had the final say. Her veto power was unassailable.”

“Was… like past tense?” Tessa asked, recalling the lone family photo she’d seen at his house.

“Our parents died when I was fifteen and Maddie was eight. We were fostered into this pack after they died. Maddie and I were the lucky ones, if you can believe it,” Jace said, tensing as he talked about the past.

Tessa knew that she should let it go, but she couldn’t.

“You didn’t have any aunts or uncles to take you in? No one in the pack?” Tessa pressed, unable to believe that anyone would turn away two orphans.

“My entire family was killed. The Den was firebombed during the night, and most of those who made it past the bombs were gunned down. Only a few survived out of the whole pack, and they were all cubs. The adults died protecting us,” Jace said, his eyes going dark as they drifted upward, remembering.

Tessa sighed, wanting to kick herself for having asked such a painful question.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t— I shouldn’t have asked,” she said.

“It’s in the past. But you can imagine that Maddie and I are very close. She’s a brat, but she’s my best friend, you know?” he said, a sad smile flickering across his face.

“I do know. My sister Camilla is also a brat, but I love her to pieces. She can give really great advice if you can get her to listen.”

Tessa flushed as Jace’s gaze swept over her, studying her. He was quiet for several long beats before he spoke.

“Just ask. I don’t mind.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You want to know who killed my pack. Am I wrong?”

“No. I just don’t want to dredge up things better left in the past,” Tessa said, biting her lip.

“I think I need to tell you. It explains a lot about why I prefer to avoid humans,” Jace said softly.

“Humans?” Tessa asked, her voice trembling a bit.

“Yes. A group of extremists found out about our pack, and they tried to exterminate us. My pack wasn’t the only one attacked. There were a lot of violent attacks in the South back then. Bombings, abductions, attacks on lone Shifters who lived away from their pack. The extremist group was die-hard and had some really nasty methods. They called themselves the Legion.”

Tessa’s heart dropped like a stone. The Legion had murdered families, including children. Their claim to be the good guys had been ridiculous to begin with, and Tessa had never suffered any illusions about their true nature, but this was something else. They’d hurt more people than just Tessa and her sister. Rage built in her throat, tears pricking her eyes.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay,” Jace soothed, sitting down on the bed next to Tessa and wrapping an arm around her.

“It is not okay!” Tessa whispered, and the dam broke. Tears streaked down her face, making Tessa even more miserable.

“I mean, it’s not your fault,” Jace said, pulling her close. “No one knows what the Legion even wants. They’re just a bunch of fanatics living in the woods, hunting something they don’t understand. I can’t blame every human in the world for that, much less you.”

He gave her a half-hearted smile. Trying not to scare her, Tessa thought.

Tessa took a deep breath, and Jace filled her senses. That faint smell of mint and almond wrapped itself around her as tightly as his arms did. Her skin heated sweetly, and suddenly Tessa couldn’t stop thinking about kissing Jace.

Say something. Say anything. You have to tell him, she thought.

“You don’t understand,” Tessa mumbled into Jace’s chest.

I’m pretty sure the people who killed your family are the ones who are going to kill my sister unless I betray you.

“You’re a Shifter now,” Jace replied.

“But I’m human, too. You can’t pretend that I’m not, Jace. I’m no different than the Legion.”

Tessa tried to pull back to wipe her eyes, but Jace held her fast. She tilted her head back to look up into his face. Their eyes caught, and all the heat she’d pushed down rose back to the surface. If she didn’t do something, she would explode into flames.

Jace stared right back into her eyes with a soft smile, and then said the words she so desperately needed to hear.

“I could never hate you, Tessa. You’re a lot of things. Even if human is one of them, it’s okay. I like humans a little better for having made you.”

Tessa gave a weak laugh, some of the tension leaving her body.

“I bet you tell all the human girls that,” she said.

Her eyes dropped to Jace’s mouth, lingering. Jace threaded his long fingers into Tessa’s hair, angling her head so that their gazes met again.

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me right now?” he asked.

Tessa bit her lip to stifle a little noise of excitement that bubbled up in her throat. Jace gripped her hair harder and pulled her head back farther, exposing Tessa’s throat.

Her heart beat a frantic tattoo as Jace leaned down and ran his nose against the slim column of her throat. He paused at the hairline just below her ear and took a deep breath, then moved up to blow a gentle breath into Tessa’s ear.

Tessa let out a little gasp. Her spine straightened, pushing her ear closer to Jace’s mouth.

“You honestly don’t know, do you?” Jace said, his mouth rasping against her ear lobe. A day’s worth of stubble brushed her neck with every word, and Tessa felt heat pool between her thighs.

Her wolf made herself known. She’d made a decision, and she liked Jace. Approved of him, and admired him. All these thoughts rushed by in a single heartbeat.

Tessa looked up at Jace and knew he sensed the presence, too. His pupils dilated, and his breathing grew heavier.

“Your wolf is in full Ascent,” he managed to grind out.

Tessa wasn’t listening anymore. The wolf knew what she wanted, and Tessa was going to make her happy.

Tessa closed her eyes, her lips parting as she offered herself to Jace. His mouth came down on hers, hard and demanding. He nipped her bottom lip, and then licked at the slight sting his bite left. Tessa gasped at the sensation. A moment later, his tongue teased hers, inviting her to play.

Tessa slid her hands around his neck, pulling him closer. Jace responded by dragging her into his lap, straddling him. One hand returned to Tessa’s hair, while the other pressed her tight against his body.

Tessa tasted Jace’s kisses, rocking against him where their hips met. Jace released her mouth and growled. The sound reverberated through Tessa’s mind, spreading flame from her core upward to her breasts and neck.

Jace pulled her head back, baring her pale throat again. Tessa moaned as Jace nuzzled the spot where her neck joined her shoulder, rubbing his beard against her delicate skin. Then Jace bit her in the same spot and Tessa thought she might go over the edge just from his mouth against her neck.

Jace’s unique scent flared as he ran a hand up her ribcage, then a brushed two fingertips against the bottom of her right breast. Tessa bit her lip and watched as Jace framed her breasts with his big hands, his touch achingly light.

Tessa pressed the growing heat between her thighs against the bulge of Jace’s erection, impatient. He grabbed her hips again, stopping her movement.

“Stay still,” he warned.

Tessa growled right back at him, challenging. Still, Jace gripped her to keep her in place.

“I mean it. Stay still, or I will be inside you in a second. Your wolf might be ready, but our first time ought to be better than that,” he warned.

Tessa stilled, giving him a frustrated sigh as a white flag. Jace waited a long moment, then returned to his leisurely exploration of her breasts. He cupped them over the thin bra and t-shirt she wore, then ran his fingers from the top of her cleavage up her neck and down again.

Leaning in, Jace nuzzled and nipped at her collarbone before dropping lower to place a quick, sharp bite on the top of her right breast. Tessa sucked in a breath, and before she’d let it out Jace had pulled her shirt up over her head and cast it aside. He unhooked her bra in one smooth motion, then peeled off the silky satin with painstaking slowness.

Cool air caressed Tessa’s already pebbled nipples, followed by the warmth of Jace’s breath as he teased her mercilessly. He licked and teased the sensitive underside of each breast, working closer and closer to the nipple until Tessa was completely tensed with the effort of staying still. Finally he laved his tongue over her right nipple before taking it into his mouth, sucking with increasing pressure until Tessa begged him to touch the other breast.

He then gave her left breast the same treatment as he cupped it’s fullness to his face.

“You have amazing breasts,” Jace said, his voice roughened by need.

Tessa laughed, leaning in to kiss him with a smile.

“And you are wearing far too much clothing,” she pointed out as she tugged his soft t-shirt up and over his head.

Tessa ran her hands over the lean muscle of his shoulders and down his arms, marveling at the perfection of his body. His chest, abs, and sides seemed as if sculpted by a devilish hand. Aside from a light smattering of chest hair, he was smooth and warm everywhere she touched.

Jace allowed Tessa to explore his torso for a few minutes, and even stayed still as she kissed and nipped at his shoulders and neck, moaning in appreciation.

Tessa brushed her hand down over his toned abs and gripped his hip bone, brushing her thumb softly against its curve and squeezed gently, eliciting a growl from Jace. Her other hand traced the dark line of hair trailing from his navel down below the waist of his low-slung jeans. Tessa ran a finger along the barrier of his jeans, wondering at the soft skin covering taut muscle. She tried to dip her fingers lower but Jace lost patience with her examination, and began to move.

Tessa found herself on her back with Jace draped over her left side, trapping both her wrists above her head with one hand. She pushed back against him, testing to see if she could free herself. Jace didn’t budge, but he did lean down and take her earlobe in his mouth. He bit hard for a heartbeat, then sucked on her earlobe before softly exploring the lines of her ear with the tip of his tongue.

Tessa’s eyes rolled into the back of her head and she released a series of little gasps that seemed to excite Jace further. He let her wrists go and then his hands were everywhere that his mouth was not and Tessa was half-crazy with his touch. Her pants disappeared but she wasn’t sure how or when, and certainly didn’t care.

Jace fit himself against Tessa’s hip, taking hold of her wrists once more. His other hand roamed across her flat stomach and down the side of her hip before coming to rest on her knee. He slid his hand down gently to where her legs were pressed together, nudging them apart.

Tessa squirmed and kept her legs together, suddenly nervous despite her out of control state. Jace looked up at her, checking to make sure she was okay with his touch. Tessa bit her lip and gave him a brief smile as approval. Jace ran his hand down to her ankle and then slowly brushed up the back of her leg until he was touching the backs of her thighs.

With surprising tenderness, Jace brushed his fingertips against Tessa’s core, finding her damp at the first contact. A hungry smile lit his face as he rolled Tessa over on her side and ran a searching finger back and forth over her dampness, slowly sliding it into her outer sheath.

Tessa rolled her hips without thought, seeking his touch in the right spot. Jace continued his leisurely exploration, running his finger between her most sensitive spot and her innermost core but not touching either. When Tessa could stand no more, she begged.

“Jace, please.”