Page 39 of Amor Prohibido

It was only early evening, but I was beyond tired and emotionally fragile. The ever-present need to cry threatened to become uncontrollable.

Jace rose and opened his arms. “Of course. I’ll get going, but c’mere first.”

I stepped into them and clung to his hard midsection like his embrace was my only saviour. In a way, it was. His warm cedarwood scent swirled around me and when I closed my eyes to breathe it in, it took me back to the night we spent together.

A single sob escaped before I could stop it, and once the tears started flowing, they wouldn’t stop.

Jace tightened his grip around me and ran a soothing hand up and down my back. “Hey, it’s okay, sweetheart. Everything is going to be okay.”

He peppered kisses on the top of my head, making me dissolve further into his arms.

With poor timing, the front door clicked and swung back with a loud bang against the wall. We sprang apart, and I hastily palmed away my tears. Luckily, Lozza was out of view, so our reaction had gone unnoticed as she power-walked down the hallway.

“Hey guys! How’s it hanging, J-doggs?” she beamed, looking all fresh and rosy-cheeked.

Both Jace and I answered since she used the same nickname for both of us.

“Whoa, shit!” she exclaimed in a shout, eyes flaring wide on Jace. “What the actual fuck happened to your beautiful face?”

She stared with her hand pressed to her chest. Then she narrowed her eyes on me and pointed an accusatory finger. “And you look like death warmed up. Plus, you both look guilty as sin. What the fuck have I missed?” Her piercing light-brown eyes flicked between us in suspicion.

In keeping with tradition, and because she was going to find out sooner rather than later, I did what I did best and blurted out my secret.

“Jace knocked me up.”

Lozza did a double take that was almost comical, and her perfect brows hit her hairline. Her loud laughter swirled around us before dwindling to an awkward death when Jace and I didn’t join in.

“What?You’re serious, aren’t you? Shit! That’s…”

“Yip,” I muttered.

“Wow… Butthatdoesn’t explainthat!”she added, pointing at Jace’s face.

“Darren,” he stated flatly.

“Daaaaamn.He must have been hella pissed.”

Jace scoffed. “You could say that. He got as good as he gave though.”

“I’ll bet! Can’t leave you alone for two weeks without getting into trouble, huh?” Loz snickered and wrapped her arms round me. She spoke over my shoulder as she squeezed. “So, you two got together?”

“We aren’t actually together,” I admitted, letting her go. “This happened that night…”

Lozza smirked knowingly while Jace floundered for something to say. In the end, he chose to remain silent on the subject.

“Hey...” He lightly touched my elbow. “Still ready for me to leave?”

I nodded and ignored Lozza’s mirth while I walked him to the door. I tried and failed to not sneak a look at his ass while he pulled on his boots. I blamed my heightened attraction to him on the pregnancy hormones.

My heart lumbered heavily when he stood and paused, as if unsure of what to do. I licked my lower lip nervously, then gave a little smile. Jace’s attention flicked from my mouth to my eyes, then back down.

When he leaned in, I angled my cheek and expected him to kiss it like usual. Instead, his fingers gently snagged my jaw and his lips met mine in a soft yet fleeting kiss.

I froze in shock, my mouth parted and wanton for more. All too soon, Jace pulled away and opened the door.

“Bye, sweetheart,” he murmured, then stepped out and closed it behind him.

With a racing pulse and lungs that refused to fully inflate, I officially noted that I’d fallen under Jace’s spell.

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