The Avoidance of Love (The Daniels' Sisters Book 2) (27 page)

“You got any enemies at the moment?” Enemies? I didn’t socialize enough to make enemies. Lana had told me several times that my sparkling personality would keep anyone within a thirty-mile radius with any sense away. The only person I could think of who might have a specific agenda against me would be . . . Brielle.

“That bitch!” Of course, she did this. It makes sense since I can’t find my fucking office keys and I caught her rooting around the room where they had been.

“Mara. Language.” Both my grandparents jointly scolded me for my outburst.

“Sorry.” I explained to them all about Brielle, the bedroom, and the keys. They all agreed that she seemed like the prime suspect, but I had no evidence to prove it.

I didn’t have security cameras installed; what would I tell the police. “Hi, officer. My boyfriend’s ex-fuck buddy, who is staying with him right now, may have stolen my keys from my bag and broken into my office. I’m not sure, but that’s what I have to go on now.” It would be her word against mine and I knew she wasn’t about to own up to it.

My family finally left me to lock up once the locksmith had changed all the locks on the doors. I also ordered a new security system that would mean an extra step for Coops and I when we entered and left the building, but once bitten, twice shy and all that jazz.

Coops had come over while I was waiting, but judging by the green tone in his skin, he still hadn’t recovered from the night before and the best place for him was his bed or a seat near a toilet.

The sharp rap on the door stopped me in the middle of making my list of things I would need to do to get the business back up and running with minimal disruption. It was going to take me the rest of the week, if not two weeks, to get back to normal, but I would get there.

I got up to open it, hoping it was the security company. I desperately wanted to go home and relax. Hauling myself up from the floor felt like a mammoth task, but hope got me moving with speed. I was at a loss for words to find Jace stood on the other side of the door.

“Hey.” He looked disheveled. He looked like he was recovering from a hard night. The second it had taken me to remember how much I missed him was replaced by anger and frustration that he had been at his house with Brielle doing who knows what all because he couldn’t see her for who she really was. Or he could, and it just didn’t matter to him.

“Jace.” My tone was clipped, but even I heard the hurt in my voice.

“I just heard about your office. I came straight over.” Either my big mouth sister or my major interfering assistant was probably responsible for that slip in information. Lana had told me to talk to him and I would have done it when I felt ready.

“It’s okay now. I’ve pretty much sorted it all out.” I still hadn’t moved out of the way so he could come inside.

“I crashed at Zack’s last night.” He was reading my face, and I made sure not to give anything away. “Just in case you were wondering.” I didn’t want to confirm that he’d been on my mind every minute. “ I missed you, BonBon.” He raised his hand and pressed his palm against my chest, where my heart was. “ I knew you needed space to calm down, but I didn’t want to sleep in my bed without you.” Oh. “BonBon, I never want to sleep in my bed without you again.” Oh. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

I could only nod. But it didn’t change the fact that Brielle was living in his house. I took a deep breath.

“Jace, I’m not good with relationships. Mainly because I’ve never had one. Being with you, I’ve realized a few things, I won’t share and I won’t be second. I’ve done that all my life with my sisters. That’s mostly my fault and I accept that I’m the cause of that set up, but I won’t put myself in that position in a relationship.”

He’d stepped closer. I could smell his scent, the one that I loved wrapping around me, the one that brought me the comfort that I needed.

“I miss you, BonBon.” His arm came around my waist to pull me against his hard chest and harder erection.

“I miss you, too. She needs to go, Jace. I shouldn’t even have to tell you that.”

“I know.” His face was nuzzling mine and the last part of my speech trailed away whatever it was.

“Can I kiss you now?” As if he needed to ask.

His lips came down slowly, and at first, he caressed my mouth gently. His tongue flicked out, tasting me. It was a slow torture and right now, I needed him so badly. I grabbed the back of his head, my fingers tangling in his hair, and brought his mouth to mine with force to let him know what I wanted.

Our kiss became frantic, heating at a rapid pace until it felt like we were both clawing at each other. His hand came down to my thigh pulling at it and I jumped up to wrap my legs around his waist, our mouths never breaking contact. I could feel that he really did miss me as much as I had.

“BonBon, I came here hoping that I could take things slow and show you all the things I think about you that I can’t put into words, but that’s not going to happen. You know that, right?” I could feel us moving backward and my core clenched in anticipation for what was about to happen. “ I’m gonna fuck you, BonBon. I want you to remember that you’re mine and I’m yours. There is nothing and no one in between us.” He spoke with so much conviction that I couldn’t hold back my moan.

“Jace, I need you.” My voice was a breathy whisper.

“I right here, baby.”

He took me over to my desk and laid me down gently with arm behind my head as a makeshift pillow. His body half covered mine as he used his other free hand to remove my trousers leaving me in my lace panties. He didn’t bother to remove them before his fingers delved underneath. My back arched off my desk with the intensity of sensation. His fingers plundered inside of me with ferocity while his thumb pressed against my clit in a motion that was driving me crazy.

“I can feel you, baby. You’re grabbing my fingers. You gonna grab my cock that hard, baby?” Another moan escaped me and it was feeble. Rational thought was gone. I felt Jace position himself above me before he shifted the lace to the side and entered in me in one smooth thrust.

I gasped at the intrusion. I hadn’t been ready enough, but the friction had burned so good.

Barely giving me a second to adjust to the connection, he began to move in smooth deep strokes that I swore I could feel brush my womb. I wanted him even deeper. Unable to communicate my need, I was clawing at his back. My legs wrapped around his waist and I used my heels to spur him on.

“You like that, baby? You want me to go deeper or harder, baby. Which one?” His voice was strained. I loved that he was barely keeping control.

“Talk to me. Tell me what you want.” I groaned in pleasure as he pulled himself out so that just the tip of his cock was inside me and then slammed back inside.

“Tell me. I won’t move again until you tell me.” He stilled himself inside. I could feel him throbbing.

“Fuck me, Jace. Show me what I’ve missed. Make me yours.” I didn’t recognize my voice at all. The breathlessness. The want. The need.

Jace started to move again. This time the movement was less controlled, more frantic, more desperate.

“Don’t leave me again, baby. I can’t be without you. I don’t want to be without you.” He stilled, shuddering above me as his orgasm washed over him. I screamed his name when the force of my own hit me.

We both stayed sprawled across my desk for a while before either one of us moved. Jace moved first, and I was glad. My legs still hadn’t recovered. He gently pulled me up so I was sitting upright, but still on my desk and he carefully redressed me. It took a lot longer because he insisted in kissing every inch of my skin before he covered it up.

“Jace, we need to talk.” Despite the amazing love session we had just had, it didn’t change the situation we were currently in. Jace took a seat in my office chair and pulled me onto his lap.

“Talk to me, BonBon.”

“This doesn’t change anything, Jace. Until Brielle is gone, I’m not coming back.”

He sighed, but I felt him hold me a little tighter.

“I know, BonBon. I know. I’ll fix this. I’m sorry I hurt you. You know, I’ve never had a real relationship either. Before you, I’d never even wanted one. I want you at home with me. Only you. Only ever you.”

He kissed my temple and pulled me closer so that I had no choice but to relax cradled in his arms. His breathing evened and I realized that he had fallen asleep in my chair. I turned to wake him. It couldn’t be comfortable but when I really looked at his face, he looked so worn out that I didn’t want to wake him. Eventually, I fell asleep, realizing that there was nowhere else I wanted to be.

WHEN JACE LEFT me the morning after our reconciliation, a part of me didn’t want to leave his side. The other part of me wanted to see if he would follow through with his promise. Ultimately, the latter part of me won out. Jace promised me again that Brielle would be gone and gave me a kiss I wouldn’t forget in a hurry as a goodbye.

One week later and there had been no progress. I hadn’t even seen Jace. After day two, I had stopped taking his calls. After day four, I stopped responding to text messages. He resorted to leaving messages with Coops but by the end of a week, even my assistant was telling him to fuck off and go sort his shit.

“I don’t know why you don’t just dump him and find yourself someone new.” Coops was beyond irritated and tapping his foot dramatically with his arms folded.

“Really?” He carried on talking. My response to his rant was unnecessary. He wasn’t really talking to me. Jace had asked Coops to try to persuade me to answer his calls. When Coops had asked in return if the bitch was gone and dead, Jace hadn’t given him the answer he wanted. “It’s complicated,” wasn’t a good enough answer. It wasn’t for me either, but Coops was doing well at being mad enough for the both of us, so I could bury myself in work.

“How long does it take to get an evil, skank-ass, relationship meddling, skinny bean, hard faced, Botox addict, dirty whoring, no-ass, fake boobed bitch, out of your house?”

I looked up at him. He was really flustered now.

“I know. I know. He’s hot, so he gets an extra time allowance. But really Mara, he’s running out of time now.”

I couldn’t take any more.

“Coops, why don’t you go and get yourself some lunch? You could head down to that little spa place you like and get a pick me up massage on your break.” He’d been working just as hard as I had to get our client files up together. With the extra attention to the shambles of my relationship and he was seconds away from a meltdown. Coops had a quota for stress and he was reaching it.

I was glad to see him visibly relax.

“Do you mind? This shit week has been like living in an asylum. The phone doesn’t stop ringing. People don’t stop coming through the door. My bullshit limit is officially reached.”

“Go on. I’ve got things sorted here for now. I’ve got a few phone calls to make, anyway.”

He didn’t ask again. Within minutes, he packed his bag and was gone.

I put my head down, working through my to-do list, glad to be making progress. The buzzer for the main door brought me out of my groove. I wasn’t expecting anyone, and I didn’t have the capacity right now to take on anymore work, but I could always book them in for the near future if it was a potential client.

It seemed as though this week was going to be one full of unwanted surprises. There was no way I could have predicted who would be at my door. Eric, Brielle’s violent ex, was standing there smiling at me. Whatever I wanted to say about the bitch, she didn’t deserve his treatment. How he had the brass to come to my office, probably knowing full well that I knew what he had done, was beyond me.

“Hey Mara.” He held his hand out for me to shake, and I looked at in disgust.

“What are you doing here Eric? What do you want? You’ve got ten seconds to speak and then I’m calling the police.”

He had the nerve to look shocked.

“Whoa. Have I done something to you Mara?”

“You know exactly what you did Eric. You’ve got five seconds.”

Now he looked pissed. “Mara, you’re going to have to enlighten me because I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”

I was tired of pussy footing around this asshole. “Brielle. Ring any bells Eric. Her face. The damage you did to her.”

Now he just looked confused.

“Mara, what the fuck are you talking about? I haven’t seen Brielle in months. She broke up with me a couple of months ago when I told her I needed to visit my sister in France for a while. She’d just had twins, and I wanted to be there for her. Brielle wasn’t happy and told me not to come back. It’s not as if I was sad about it. She was way too high maintenance. But she was definitely fine when she walked out of my house.”

Now I was the one confused. Fuck me. He looked sincere.

“She lied, didn’t she?” What kind of psycho bitch was I dealing with that she would purposely hurt herself to live with the man who didn’t want her? Although the fact that Jace hadn’t yet kicked her out, probably gave her more hope than she could believe.

“I don’t know exactly what she’s said to you and Jace, Mara. However, I would never lay a finger on her or any woman. That much you do have to believe.”