Page 40 of Her Filthy Mistake

His jaw tightens as his nostrils flare with desire. I feel like a warrior princess on her own private beach, ready to claim her king and fuck his brains out.

I tilt my head suggestively and run my teeth over my bottom lip. God, this is fun. If I must quit my job and pack up to move to Vegas to be with him, I’ll do it in a heartbeat.

“Zoe. Jace.” My mom waves at us. “Come on over and join us. We’re getting ready to sing by the campfire.”

“Fuck.” Jace’s teeth grind together.

“Don’t be a baby.” I pat his chest. “The anticipation will make it that much better.”

He leans down and growls into my ear. “I’ve been anticipating my mouth eating that pussy of yours for four years. I think I’ve got every lick, swipe, twirl, tug, and lunge I’ll need memorized. Now, you figure out how many licks it’s going to take to get you to come while screaming and begging for more.”

Four years? My heart skips a beat. Why did we waste so much time then?

“It’ll take three licks.” I tug on his nipple ring and waggle my eyebrows.

“Lord, I’m going to love eating that melting center.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Jace

Zoe, Zorya, and Carly dance in front of the fire as a local group of musicians plays an island favorite. Between watching her dance and the atmosphere of a flickering bonfire, the waves of the ocean lapping at the sand, and the twinkling stars above my head, I’ve discovered paradise. And I don’t want to leave. It sounds easy to make something work when you are miles away from reality, but we can’t stay here forever.

“Why don’t you play a song for us?” Landon stretches his legs in front of him and crosses his ankles. “I’ve missed hearing your voice.”

“You heard me a few days ago when I sang to Zorya.” I shift in the Adirondack chair.

“Bullshit. That wasn’t one of your songs. Nor was it your true singing voice. You were phoning it in. Don’t you think it’s time to try again?”

My jaw tightens. “Try doing what again? Is it possible to sing and write without using? Isn’t that a bit of a risky situation to push me into? Or try and make a comeback? You know I wasn’t ever good enough.”

He launches upright from his prone position in the wooden lounge chair and spins to face me as the rest of the beach enjoy themselves, oblivious to our heated conversation. “You’re good enough. You were always good enough. That’s why it drove me crazy that you let the rest of the band drag you into their bullshit and floundered with them. They weren’t any good. They didn’t have the talent you did, and they were too focused on partying to get any better. And I don’t think you need drugs and alcohol to sing and write.”

“How do you know?” Granted I wrote lyrics this afternoon without any issues. But none of us are carrying crystal balls. Why risk it?

“I know because you sang and wrote from when you were eight years old. And outside of drinking too much milk, you were good.”

I roll my eyes at his attempt to lighten the mood. Anxiety and adrenaline swirl inside of me. What happens if I pick up a guitar and sing again, only to get sucked into oblivion again? Or find out that I am washed up? Or that I never was?

I pop the fingers of one hand into the palm of the other as Zoe walks over to us with a quizzical expression on her face. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes.” I nod, warmed by her sensing my distress. “I’m good.”

“Tell him to pick up a guitar and sing. We’re in paradise. There’s nothing bad that’s going to happen.”

She claps her hands together and watches me. “Is that what you want? You know we’d love to hear you sing but don’t if it’s going to make you feel uncomfortable. Landon will get over it.” She turns her attention to Landon. “Won’t you?”

“Yes.” He nods. “I’ll leave it alone if he says no.” He shakes his head. “Somehow, you grew up to be an annoying woman.”

Carly laughs as she joins us. “Thank you. I believe I did a fantastic job of raising Zoe and Zorya.”

You did. I want to grab Zoe in my arms and kiss her until everyone disappears but now is not the time. We’re miles from home, and if everyone freaks out, it’s going to be a miserable last few days of our vacation.

“So, what’s going on?”

“Landon is trying to get Jace to sing for us, and as much as I’d love to hear it, the same as everyone else out here at the beach would.” She waves her hand toward the rest of the beach and smiles with an arched eyebrow. “We already heard earlier today at the spa that you’re an island favorite. However, if you don’t want to, I don’t think we should pressure you.”

“Please.” I roll my eyes at her nonsense and rise to my feet.

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