Muse - Fighting Fate #1 (9 page)

Chapter 14

Jace

Okay

I blinked at Mia’s reply. Shit. She was serio
usly coming over? I honestly didn’t think she’d go for it.

I jumped up off the couch and scooped Ruby up off the floor. “Come on munchkin. Bedtime.”

She clutched me around the neck and giggled. “Will you read me a story?”

“Don’t I always?”

She nodded emphatically. “I want the one about the teddy bear’s picnic.”

I strode down the hall and into the bathroom, sitting her down on the bench. “Sure. Teeth first though, okay?”

She watched me put the toothpaste on with scrutiny. When I brought it to her mouth, she shook her head. “You forgot the water silly.”

“So I did.” I quickly dipped it under the flow of water and she opened her mouth dutifully.

When we finished, I scooped her back up and ran her to her room. I knew she’d get a kick out of it, but I was really just in a hurry to get her into bed. Thankfully, the teddy bear’s picnic book was a short one, so I sang her a little lullaby and tucked her in before shutting off the light and closing her door.

Back in my room, I did a quick clean up, picking up my dirty clothes and making sure the bed was neat-ish. Once I was sat
isfied it was acceptable, I went to my bedside draw to get a condom ready. The box seemed to be getting a bit low, so I made a mental note to get some more the next time I was out.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. For some reason I was nervous. Mia was so different to any other girl I’d been with, I never knew what to expect. What we’d shared the night before just blew my mind. Everything she did fascinated me and turned me on to the point of being fucking painful.

But not only was she different to any other girl I’d known, she was different to the girl she showed everyone else. It was like she had this need when we were in bed together. Something that just took her over and made her drop all her walls, exposing the real girl that hid inside. That was what my song was about. That was the story the lyrics told. They weren’t complete yet, because I was still uncovering her layers, but for whatever fucked up reason, I wanted to be the one to do it.

Checking the time and seeing it was already ten to eight, I went and checked on Ruby, breathing a sigh of relief when I found her fast asleep.
God she was an easy kid.

To kill time, I brushed my teeth and put some soft music on the stereo
. It wasn’t really for mood setting like on some corny movie. More so for a bit of background noise so she wouldn’t feel the need to repress those adorable little moaning sounds she made when she was climaxing. I loved those fucking sounds, and I’d do anything to ensure I would hear them every time I was with her.

By ten past eight I was pacing and panicking that she’d changed her mind and had decided not to come. I thought about texting her
before I realized I was acting like a fucking pussy and forced myself to put my phone away. After about the tenth time of looking at the clock in the space of two minutes, I was about to admit defeat and text her anyway, but was put out of my misery by a soft knock on the front door.

I exhaled heavily before opening it, and when I saw her standing there, her hair all loose and falling down over her shoulders, looking like fucking walking sex, I snapped. Grabbing her hand, I pulled her inside, closing and locking the door before practically dragging her to my room. I closed and locked that door too, then pulled her hard against me and kissed her.

When we finally pulled apart, I smiled. “Hi.”

She smiled back shyly. “Hi,” she whispered.

“I’m glad you came.”

One side of her mouth twitched up into a lopsided grin. “Yeah, I got that.”

She kicked off her shoes, then took off her jacket and threw it over my desk chair, revealing a light blue sundress kind of thing. It was all loose and flowy, but hinted subtly at those fucking amazing curves I knew she had.

When she looked back up at me, my heart almost stopped. I’d never seen her eyes look so vibrant. They were flickering so wildly, like the intense blue flames of a fire, and when they glanced down at my mouth and she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, I was a goner.

I reached out and cupped her face with my hands and kissed her deep, plunging my tongue into her mouth and exploring the taste of her. She moaned softly and started tugging my shirt upwards. When it was off, I reached for the hem of her dress and did the same. The second I got it over her head, I froze.

“Holy fucking mother of god.” I stared at her standing naked before me.
“You’re not wearing any underwear,” I choked. Good fucking work, Captain Obvious.

I swallowed hard.
I fucking loved her body. From the slim, sexy line of her neck, and the toned, shapely definition of her collarbones, to the soft, smooth curve of her hips. And her tits, fuck, she had the most amazing tits I’d ever seen. They were all full and round – slightly more than a handful, with the sweetest, pink, little rosebud nipples I’d ever had the pleasure of tasting.

Not able to for
m any sensible words, I growled and kissed her again, this time more frantic, and started moving backwards. When the backs of my knees hit the bed, I sank down, pulling her along with me so she was straddling my hips.

Mia’s hands were in my hair, tugging gently as we devoured each other hungrily. I cupped her ass in my hands, sliding them over and over the curve of it while she grinded her pussy against my still hidden dick. Fuck. I wasn’t going to be able to make this last.
I wanted her too fucking bad. I could tell she was getting worked up by the little noises she was making too.

I slid my hands up her back and over her ribs until I was holding a breast in each hand. She mo
aned then panted in my mouth as I softly squeezed them and ran my thumbs over her nipples. Moving down over the flat of her toned stomach, I cupped her pussy then slid a finger inside her.

I groaned
when I felt how wet she was for me, and I knew I’d reached my limit. Pulling at the waistband of my sweats, I released my hard as fuck dick and grabbed the condom off the bedside table, rolling it on at the speed of light.

Mia didn’t wait. She sank down on me in one swift move. Holy motherfucking shit!
I wanted her to wait, give me a minute to calm the fuck down, but she was suddenly riding me like there was no fucking tomorrow.

“Fuck!”

Jesus fucking Christ, she felt good. She threw her head back, gasping for breath as she moved up and down on my dick, her tits rubbing hard against my chest. I kissed and licked down her throat, drowning in the smell and taste of her. Her hands pulled at my hair, forcing my head back so she could claim my mouth in the most erotic kiss I’d ever had.

The closer she came to climaxing, the tighter she clung to me, holding my mouth against hers as she panted and moaned.

“Oh fuck, Mia. I’m going to come!”

She
made this little whimpering noise, and then she was squeezing the fuck out of my dick. I came hard, my body practically convulsing from the tremors that were invading it.

When I could finally relax a little,
I let my forehead fall against her shoulder as I tried to catch my breath.

I was frightened to move
. Frightened to let her go. Each new time we were together, the more my need for her grew. I knew right then that I would do whatever she wanted me to do, be whoever she wanted me to be, if it meant I could keep her with me.

For the first time in my life, I wanted to try
. I wanted her to be mine, and everyone to know she was mine. But that wasn’t what Mia wanted. She’d made it very clear that she wasn’t looking for a relationship. It was nothing more than sex to her.

I
breathed in the sweet scent of her, and I was suddenly scared. This amazingly beautiful girl in my arms had no idea that she held my heart in her hands. She had no idea that she had the ability to crush and destroy it with only one little word. She had no idea that she could shatter me into a million fucking pieces.

Sh
e pushed away from me gently, and I reluctantly released her from my hold. Moving carefully off me, she stood up so I could take care of the condom, picking her dress up off the floor as she went. I glanced at the clock, wondering how much more time she could give me before she had to go meet Kaeli, but when I looked back at her and saw her expression, I already had my answer.

She was leaving.
Damn it all to hell.

Chapter 15

Mia

When I saw Jace glance at the clock, I wanted to cry. It was obvious he just wanted me out of there. For the first time since I’d started this thing with him, I felt like what I was doing was wrong. I felt cheap.

I dressed as quickly as I could, needing to be out of there before the tears came.
And they would. I knew right then that this wasn’t just sex for me anymore. I wanted more, but I didn’t even know if I could do more.

My heart suddenly felt very heavy. I was lost.

I picked up my jacket and chanced a look at him. He hadn’t said a word since we’d finished. “I’d better go. Kaeli’s probably waiting for me.” The lie fell off my tongue easily.

He nodded, his expression guarded. “Okay. Thanks for coming over.”

We walked to the door in silence. He opened the door and pulled me into an awkward hug before standing back to let me pass. I gave him the best smile I could manage, trying my hardest to pretend I was okay. “Bye.”

Without looking back, I turned and walked away.

Surprisingly, the tears I was expecting didn’t come. Instead, I just felt empty. I drove without really knowing where I was going, aimlessly turning whenever the urge hit me. Half an hour later, my phone rang. I didn’t need to look at the caller ID to know it was Aiden.

I pulled over to the side of the road and answered.

“Are you okay?” were the first words out his mouth.

I sighed. “Yeah. Just PMS-ing.”
As soon as I said the words I realized I really was. Well shit. It was no wonder I was feeling all over the place.

“Oh.”
There was silence for a few heartbeats. “Are you sure?”

I couldn’t help laughing at that. “Yes
, Aiden. I’m sure.”

“Okay. Where are you?”

I knew he could hear the cars rushing past outside. “Just heading home.”

“Alright. Drive careful then baby girl. See you tomorrow.”

As soon as I hung up, I felt better. I knew I still needed to do something about my situation with Jace, but I also knew that I should never make an emotional decision when I had PMS. I needed to just ride out the next couple of weeks and see how I felt after that.

Pulling back out onto the road, I headed for home.

***

The next few days after that
were weird. The only times I saw Jace was during English class, and occasionally from a distance during lunch or in the parking lot. I was still as confused as hell and had no idea where I stood with him. He hadn’t text me or tried to communicate with me at all since I’d left his house, and it made me nervous.

Thursday, I got my period and felt like I’d hit an
all-time low. Aiden had been watching me like a hawk all week which had just pissed me off, but when he opened his mouth to speak to me the second I walked into the kitchen that morning, I snapped at him not to talk to me, and he finally got it.

By Friday afternoon, I couldn’t wait to just go home and hibernate
until my period was gone. I was walking through the parking lot, intent on hiding in the car until Aiden came, when my phone dinged at me, alerting me to an incoming text. It was from Jace.

Are you going to the party tonight?

What the hell? Did he freaking know me at all?

Um…you know I don’t do parties…

Irritated, I waited for his reply.

Yeah, I do. I thought maybe I could come see you instead.

Okay, so he was horny. It shouldn’t have annoyed me, but it did. I frowned, wondering how I was going to word it.

:(  Not a lot of point I don’t think. Wrong time of the month…

I cringed at the wording, but hit send anyway. There wasn’t really any nice way of putting it.

A few minutes went by without a reply. I looked out across the parking lot and saw him on the green, staring down at his phone. Just then, he looked up and our eyes met.
I gave him a sad smile just as Aiden walked up behind him and slapped him on the back, diverting his attention away from me.

I watched them talk for a bit, probably making plans for the night, and felt a tinge of jealously start seeping through my blood. They bumped fists and Aiden started heading towards the car. Jace turn back to his phone and few seconds later my phone dinged again.

That’s ok. There’s always next week :)

Aiden was still playing smart when he got in the car, making sure he kept his mouth shut and left me alone.
I disappeared into my room the minute we arrived home and didn’t come out until he’d already gone. I didn’t want to hear if Jace was going to the party, and I didn’t want to hear about the girls that would be there.

I spent the best part of the night in the kitchen with Mom, making pastries and experimenting with toppings. After that, we watched a chick flick and ate lots of chocolate and ice cream. As much as my twin knew when I was feeling off, my mom knew when girls just needed to be girls.

Sunday morning I learned Aiden had planned for the guys to come over to ours for band practice, so I called Kaeli and organized to meet her at the park.

The second she arrived, she sighed with exaggeration
. “Oh my god. Thank you for getting me out of the house. I really needed to be away from there today. Aaron is such a freaking douche bag.”

I smiled at her with understanding. Aaron was her stepbrother. He was a year older than us and was a complete loser. He didn’t want to go to college and didn’t want a job either. He just leeched off his dad and sat around doing nothing all day.

“How’re things at yours?” she asked.

I rolled my eyes. “Aiden decided to host practice at our house. You know what I’m like when I’ve got my period. I just don’t want to see anyone.”

She nodded sympathetically, but then her expression turned angry. “Oh, did you see Violet’s post?”

Internally, I groaned. I wished I could ban her from Facebook
. “No, I’m not friends with her.”

She scowled. “Neither am I, but she’s got her page wide open for anyone to see
. She’s been bragging all weekend about how Carly slept with Aiden and she slept with Jace on Friday night.”

Nausea flooded my stomach.
I don’t know why I didn’t think he’d hook up with someone else. Stupidity, I guessed. What we had was just sex after all. I was the one who’d put the rules in place.

“Oh, shit. Did I say the wrong thing?” Kaeli asked, suddenly panicked.

I tried to calm my face. “No. I guess it just hurts. I didn’t realize it would, but…” I shrugged.

“I’m sorry
, honey. He’s a dick.”

I smiled and nodded, but my heart was shattered. I should’ve known it would end this way. It was stupid of me to think I could keep him interested
like that.

Kaeli pushed herself to her feet. “Come on. I think we both need
a distraction. Let’s go shopping.”

We spent the next few hours mindlessly scouring the shops. We found some great bargains
, including some new summer arrivals, and I picked up a pair of baby blue bikinis Kaeli said made my eyes stand out. I didn’t usually go to the beach or swimming in the summer – too many people around, but my stubborn streak had come out while we were shopping, and I wanted to have them.

By the time we’d finished for the day, I was in a m
uch better place in my head. I still felt like my heart was shattered, but I felt like I’d compartmentalized everything enough to get by.

One day at a time. One breath at a time.