Shattered by Love (4 page)

“It’s perfect, like you.” Her smile lights up the restaurant. I lock the thin silver chain around her wrist, the small Firefly pendant shimmers in the candlelight.

“I am not perfect, baby. You are.”

“I love you, Jayce.”

“And I love you, baby. Always. You’re my forever, Firefly.”

“
C
ole
, I can’t believe you bought me a whole cherry pie.” My exclamation has him chuckling. It had been a long day at school, we’re studying for finals, and as much as I hate studying, I am excited to get to college.

I have been bundled up in my comforter all evening feeling the effects of a cold coming on.

“Something sweet should make you feel better, baby.” He brings the fork to my lips and I stifle the groan when the tantalizing flavor of cherries explodes on my tongue.

When my eyes open, I am face to face with his laughing brown ones. “Your moaning will make me want to do something else to you.” His cheeky wink earns him a giggle.

“Cole Ashford!” We’ve only done it a couple times before, but the thought of him bestowing naughty pleasures on me has my core pulsing. We sit back on the bed as he feeds me tiny pieces at a time, reveling in the moans I make. I fall asleep sated in his arms, knowing my parents didn’t mind if he was here.

When I wake up, he is gone. Rolling over I grab my phone to send him a message, but find one from him instead.

*I love you, Cherry Pie*

I
never lived
down the fact that I had consumed the whole pie and even now, he still remembers. Shaking my head at the memory, I step into the foyer of the restaurant. “I am meeting Mr. Alexander?” The hostess nods and turns towards the main area which is bustling. I follow her through the throng of tables to a secluded booth.

As we near the table, I see him leaning against the bench seat dressed in a dark shirt that makes his blue eyes pop. His smooth tanned skin and the scruff on his angular jaw has me wanting to run my hands over it. There is no doubt he is incredibly gorgeous. Sometimes, he knows it too. He’s every woman’s wet dream, mine too, but he isn’t Cole. He’ll never be the man I once loved and still do.

“Ken, princess, how are you?” He rises to greet me with a soft peck on the cheek. The gesture is friendly, but there’s something wrong. Tension is radiating off him in waves. I slip into the booth opposite him and before he can get a word in edge wise, I jump in with both feet.

“So you’ve wrangled your way into the wedding I am designing for?” Cutting a glance at him, I notice his smirk and I can’t help questioning him. “Why, Jayce?”

“They wanted me, I didn’t contact them. There was no reason for me to intrude on your event.” He downs the beer and signals for another. “What are you drinking?” Blue eyes settle on me as he takes in my appearance with a slow sensual stare.

“Double vodka, lime, and soda.” An Arctic questioning gaze pins me to my seat and I shrug nonchalantly. “It’s been a long day.”

“Really? Why don’t I believe you?” He turns to our waiter and places the order. As soon as we’re alone, the heat of his scrutinizing glare burns into me.

“Jayce, I don’t really care what you believe. I need a drink.” He relaxes, but fixes me with narrowed eyes. He won’t let it go. I guess honesty is the best option. “Fine. My ex walked into my office today. He asked me to design his fiancée’s wedding dress.”

“Are you fucking joking?” I shake my head as the waiter returns and sets our drinks on the table.

“Are you ready to order, or would you like a few more minutes?”

“Give us a few.” The deep rumble of Jayce’s voice tells me he’s not in a good mood after what I just confessed. Once we’re alone again, steel blue locks on me. “Ken, you can’t be seriously considering it.” Without answering him, I sip my drink not meeting his glare. “Fuck me. You’re more of an adult than I am. I would have told him to fuck right off.”

“I left him, Jay.” Those words bring back a series of memories of the day I walked out on Cole Ashford. When my choice to leave a man, I thought I would be with forever broke me.

“It doesn’t matter, Kenna.”

His voice rises in frustration, and I recognize the emotion that’s thick in the air between us. This will never be what we both seem to lack, but it’s nice to have someone who cares.

“Well, we’re going to his wedding, so I can show you off in front of him.” Swirling my glass, I gulp the strong liquid and as it burns its way down my throat, I revel in the ache.

“The one you’re giving me shit about? That’s him? Cole Ashford?” I nod. The vodka is stronger than I expected and I feel the buzz tingling through me. “He called me a few minutes ago, he wants me to fly in early.”

“Me too. I will be doing a final fitting there. His fiancée seems to be a tyrant from what I understand.” Jayce’s chuckle is loud and I can’t help staring at him.

“That’s what rich girls are like.” The wince on his face is obvious and I wonder what that was about, but I don’t get a chance to ask because the waiter appears to take our order. The salad I ask for will probably go uneaten. My stomach has been in knots since Cole left my office.
Who am I kidding?
It’s been a flurry of butterflies since he walked into my office.

“Are they? I wouldn’t know.” My words test him, his jaw ticks and I realize there is something he is dying to say. Shaking his head, he brings the glass to his full lips and I watch him down his beer.

“Maybe I should leave. I’m not good company tonight.” His response is rough, his hungry stare is on me and I feel it all the way to my core. He’s angry, not with me, but there’s something bothering him.

“Why? Because you’re still hung up on her? It’s okay, Jayce, I am not stupid. You’re just a distraction to me as well. Why don’t we go to your place and you can fuck out your frustration?”

“Kenna—”

“No, I am serious. We both need it. Let’s do it.” He doesn’t reply. Signaling for the bill, he pulls out a hundred and drops it on the table.

“Let’s go.” He rises, holding out a hand to me. We head out to the curb and a cab stops a few minutes later. The silence that surrounds us is brimming with emotion.

As soon as we step into Jayce’s apartment, he slams me against the closed door, pinning me with his hips. His erection presses into my belly. “I want to photograph you. Will you allow me to?” He growls in my ear. The gruffness of his voice and the way his hands travel over my sides has my body responding.

“Is that your foreplay?” I tease, but the look in his molten stare tells me I guessed right.

“You’re going to take off your clothes. I need you only wearing those tiny panties you love.” He spins around and stalks down the hall. My mind is whirling with confusion, my blood heats with lust and desire while I wander into the living room waiting for him to return. I haven’t really been a visitor here before, but the frigidness of his apartment matches the man inside.

Cold. Hard. Harsh.

When he returns, his eyes drift over me. “You can change in the bedroom.” I nod and walk past him. The hallway that leads into the rest of his home is filled with black and white stills.

He has an eye for photography which is an incredible gift. As I enter his bedroom, my eyes fall to the nightstand. Having never been in here before and seeing where he sleeps feels somehow too personal. Like I am peering into his heart. There is a photo frame laying face down on the dark wood. Curiosity gets the better of me and I head to the bed. Trembling fingers lift the tiny steel square and I shiver when I see the strangers staring back at me.

She was a blue-eyed blonde, with a smile that lit up the picture, but what shocks me the most is the look on his face. Jayce Alexander was in love with her. Still is. The shimmer in his eyes is palpable, even in the fading photo. Finding the source of his pain hits me right in the chest. Both of us are trying to get over someone, although, deep down, I know we’re both lost souls. There is no getting over it. Ever.

I strip off, thankful that I decided on matching underwear. The black lace and silk is elegant and sexy. Suddenly I feel unsure of myself. Leaving my heels on, I fluff out my hair and check my make-up. Inhaling a deep breath, I join him in the open plan living room. It is sleek, modern, and chic, but masculine all at the same time.

Jayce’s eyes pin me to the spot. “You’re gorgeous.” A blush heats my cheeks and I glance down at my shoes. After all the times I have been naked with him, he’s never looked at me like he is now.

“Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself.” A smirk tugs on his full lips. Confidence forces my legs forward, and I make my way to the man who seems almost broken standing in his beautiful home. “Are you okay?” As I reach for him, his gaze flits up and there’s something hard—closed off—about him.

“I want you on the chair, over there. Kneel on it.” Without a word, I follow his direction. The large charcoal wingback chair is positioned at the bay window. A view of the city twinkling outside greets me. The full moon is hanging low in the black sky. Moments later the low lights above me blink off and we’re in darkness. The only illumination coming from the silver plate in the sky. The camera clicks behind me sending goose bumps skittering over my body. A sound system comes alive, and I hear the familiar voice of Jacquie Lee singing Broken Ones.

The song is so sad, which seems like a strange choice because I am naked, well, almost and he’s behind me with a camera.

“Jayce—”

“Shhh, princess.” He moves around me, clicking. “Open your legs.” I obey. I’m bent at the waist and when I turn my head, I find him on the floor on his knees. He’s taking a photo of my face from an angle at my feet. The lighting on it must be exquisite because from where I am, he is magnificent. “Face forward.”

There’s no point in arguing, so I look ahead of me, out the window. Shutting my eyes, his warm breath whispers on the back of my thighs. Jayce is so broken, so fragile, but so commanding, and you’d never see it unless you knew him well.

Silence surrounds us and I strain to hear him, but there’s nothing. Not the click of a camera. Not a shuffle. Then I hear a low growl emanating from him.

“Fuck, princess, you are incredible.” His strong calloused hands stroke the sensitive skin of my inner thighs sending waves of pleasure through me. He grasps my ass, squeezing and I instinctively push against him.

“Jayce, please?”

“What, princess? Do you really want me? A cold heartless bastard?” Twisting to face him, I see the shattered heart in the dark gaze he pins me with, his pain is evident.

“Yes. Take it out on me, all your agony, all your anger.” I don’t know where the words come from, but I didn’t need to say any more. That was all it took for the animal inside this incredible man to stir. He stalks to me, gripping my long hair, tugging my back to his bare chest.

“You want to feel me?” A slow thrust of his hips slides his thick hard cock between the cheeks of my ass. “Deep in that tight little hole, Kenna. You want me to unleash my fucking animal on your perfect little body?” The base growl that vibrates through him sends delicious shivers skittering over my skin.

“Use me, Jayce.” That was all he needed to hear because the scrap of material I call a thong is ripped from my hips. His eyes that were once ice-blue are now dark stormy pools that should have made me fear him, instead they make my pussy pulse with need. He releases his hold on my hair, and the shuffle of his boxers and jeans is the only sound in the room. Foil ripping echoes around us and suddenly, with no other words, he sinks into me.

Deep.

Fierce.

Rough.

“Jesus, princess, your little cunt is so fucking good.” He pounds into me. His filthy words have me clenching around his cock. This isn’t making love, the pain in his heart, the ache in mine, all come together in a harsh and brutal fuck.

My body hums with pleasure as he takes me from behind. The depth of his rigid erection hits the most sensitive spot inside me, sending me spiraling as I find release. I tighten around him as my orgasm splinters through me like waves crashing on the shore. “That’s it, take my fucking dick.”

His gruff words, and hoarse tone prickle my skin. I feel his cock thicken inside me, and his body stiffens as his release shatters through him.