Page 90 of Taken By the Convicts
His eyes hardened. “You want me to manipulate Ivan,” he said, reading her almost perfectly.
“I need you to broker a peace, Jayce. To buy me time so I can convince Ivan that Zev isn’t a threat.”
“I can’t, and even if I could, I wouldn’t. I don’t tell Ivan how to lead, just like he doesn’t tell me how to deal. It’s an understanding we have.”
“You respect one another.”
“That too, I guess.”
Didn’t he see that Ivan respected him? Hell, there were more issues here than she had realized. Jayce’s insecurities went beyond what that man Danning had done to him.
“Have you considered that Ivan might be right not to trust Zev?” he asked.
She stopped stroking his cock. She trusted Ivan’s integrity and judgment, but she trusted Zev too. “I can’t choose between them. I won’t.”
Jayce blew out a long-held breath as he thrust his cock into her hand. “I’ll speak to Ivan to see what can be done. But you have to blow me first.”
Her heart sank. Everything with Jayce was always a trade-off. Her hands fell from his cock.
“Ah, fuck, Melina. I was only joking about that last part,” he said as he slid into the water with her. She watched him closely, trying to figure out if he was lying or not. Jayce washardto read. The man hid himself too well. Was he ever going to let her past that wall he’d built?
Jayce traced her cheekbone with the back of two fingers. “I’ll talk to Ivan for you, no strings.” Without warning, he kissed her forehead and then hoisted himself out of the water. He strode over to his coat and backpack and began drying off with the towel he’d brought. “Stay as long as you like. I’ll send Reece in to keep you company.”
“You’d really do that? Speak to him for me? For nothing in exchange?”
He stopped drying off and held the towel in front of him, facing away from her, giving her a delectable view of his finely sculpted ass and the muscles that had tensed with her question.
She climbed out of the water, the slightly cooler air making her nipples harden. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair of me,” she said as she slid her hands over Jayce’s back, tracing the ragged scars. More muscles tensed, but she persisted until he relaxed. As she finally slid her arms around him, she leaned her cheek against his back.
“It feels like I’m always apologizing to you, to Reece, everyone. I don’t know what I’m doing, Jayce. I was given to Namir in the first lottery after I turned twenty, but he couldn’t have me until I finished my education. It’s the one loophole in Bacculan law that allows a woman to put off being registered to a unit.
“My education took longer than most because of my specialty. I put Namir off for seven years because I knew what type of man he was from the day he won me. After I completed my education, Namir spent the next three years punishing me for making him wait.
“The point is, I never dated or had the chance to develop a relationship with him or my other husbands. He punished me every chance he had. Now I’m free of him, but I don’t know how to help everyone get along like my mother did with her husbands. She formed a unit before the lottery was enacted, with men who already got along and planned to share a woman one day.”
“Hell, Melina. I don’t know what I’m doing either. Ivan and I grew up on the streets of Turul on Argus. All we had was each other. Trusting others wasn’t something we could risk.”
“But you trusted each other.”
“We had no choice. Two have a better chance of surviving than one. Every part of my life involved trades. Food, shelter, time with a woman. Whatever I wanted, I needed to deal. Ivan earned money in the fighting rings. We watched out for each other until he left. Trading, dealing, negotiating is all I know.”
“I don’t want to be a commodity anymore.”
“I haven’t exactly given you a reason to expect differently of me,” he said, his hand covering hers. “I’m trying to be better. I want to be better. For you.”
That was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her. From the way he turned and looked at her as if he needed her more than he needed to deal, she knew he meant it.
“I’m no longer a job to you, am I?” she asked.
“No,” he said, threading his fingers through her hair. His cock pressed against her belly as he kissed her.
The kiss was slow, tender, and honest. At last, he was letting her see him, the true Jayce. She took the towel from his hands and laid it down in a spot clear of stones. As she lowered herself onto the towel, she pulled Jayce down on top of her.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“I want to know you, Jayce. Without any deals or conditions between us.”
“I can do that. But I can’t guarantee I’ll be slow and gentle.”
