Shattered (The Protectors 11)

He’d made me hope.

If I had to risk my heart to hang onto that for just a little while longer, was it even a choice?

Who was I kidding? I’d already lost my heart to him, so no, it wasn’t a choice. It was already far too late for that.

“Yes,” I whispered. “Yes,” I repeated over and over, relishing his sigh of relief and the way he held me just a little tighter every time I said it.

“No, don’t add that yet,” I cried out as I snatched the plate of fish from Jace before he could put the filets into the skillet. “You need to add more butter.”

“Fuck,” Jace muttered as he searched out the butter.

I smiled and took another bite of my Sno Ball. The sugary goodness melted on my tongue and I barely suppressed a moan.

“Jesus, if you keep doing that I’m definitely going to end up burning this boat to the ground,” Jace sniped.

“Water,” I said as I swallowed what was in my mouth. Jace was watching me hungrily.

“What?” he asked. The butter was still in his hand.

“I think you mean you’ll burn the boat to the water,” I said. He didn’t appear to be listening at all because his eyes were on my mouth. I took another bite of the Sno Ball, making sure to get some of the frosting on my lips.

When I went to lick it off, Jace snapped, “Fuck it,” and dropped the entire stick of butter into the pan. His mouth crashed down on mine. I groaned as his tongue swept between my lips and when he pulled me against him, I eagerly went, not caring that the Sno Ball ended up mashed between our bodies.

Sno Balls be damned, Jace’s mouth was my new addiction.

I’d expected him to come to his senses at some point today, especially since he’d been careful not to touch me again after we’d gotten ourselves and the kitchen cleaned up this morning. There’d been some awkward silence between us as we’d worked, but when Jace had suggested we try our luck at catching our lunch, some of the tension between us had broken. We hadn’t talked anymore about the letter I’d sent to my father or my mini-breakdown, but I knew it was just a matter of time before we had to deal with the fallout. I had no doubt the district attorney in Seattle was probably freaking out over the letter, because I’d never mentioned it to him or anyone else. I wasn’t sure what it meant for my case, or if there even was a case anymore. I was trying very hard not to think about it, because I didn’t want reality to intrude on my life just yet.

I had sex with Jace.

Okay, maybe not actual sex, but I couldn’t imagine the actual act being better than what Jace had done to me.

And I seemed to be on track to experience all that pleasure all over again, because Jace’s mouth was doing sinful things to me.

Not to mention his hands.

Which were currently sliding over my ass. I should have been scared, but I was too preoccupied with what his tongue was doing. I gasped when Jace suddenly lifted me and settled me on the counter. It was barely big enough for my ass, but Jace didn’t seem to notice because he tipped me back as he pulled my legs up around his waist. I’d changed into sweats after getting cleaned up this morning, so my dick wasn’t as constricted as it could have been. But it still ached like a son of a bitch.

Jace’s hands roamed up my body, sliding my shirt up in the process. His mouth slid down my neck, over my chest and settled on my abdomen. The mashed-up Sno Ball had left pink frosting all over me and him, so when he nuzzled my abdomen, it was covered in frosting. I knew he’d done the move on purpose, because he looked up at me and held my gaze as he slowly licked up every little bit of it. His mouth returned to mine. I moaned at how good the combination of Jace’s sweet flavor and the frosting mixed together tasted.

I reached for the hem of Jace’s shirt so I could feel his skin, but before I could lift it, a loud, blaring sound shattered the stillness of the cabin. Jace and I jerked apart. It wasn’t until that moment that I noticed both the smoke and the burning smell.

“Shit!” Jace snapped as he reached for the pan and burner dial at the same time. The butter in the pan had gone completely black and had started to crust along the sides of the pan. Jace deposited the pan into the sink and got the water running over it as I hurried to silence the smoke detector.