I tried to bite back my grin, but it was useless. “Now I’m your girl? I don’t remember agreeing to that.”
“Damn straight,” Jace chuckled. “From the moment you walked back into my life, I’m not taking anything less.”
I stared into his eyes, finding nothing but the truth in those oceanic irises. Fuck it. I leaned down and captured his lips with mine, ignoring the surrounding crowd. The moment his lips met mine, a fire ignited in my core. Consuming. Powerful. There was nothing like being kissed by Jace Lyons. He took and took, parting my lips with his tongue to get even more of a taste.
Someone cleared their throat at our side, and it took far too long for me to remember we were in public. Separating from Jace was almost impossible, but I forced my head back, unable to hide the color on my cheeks. Jace dropped his forehead to mine. “Some days, I really hate my job.”
“You’re not going to have one if you keep talking to the press like that.”
My eyes widened as Jace put me back on my feet, tucking me behind his larger frame. I peeked over his shoulder, and Melanie stood in front of him, her arms crossed and a pissed-off look on her stunning face. Her almond-shaped eyes narrowed on him,and not a hint of humor traced her pale features. Jace shook his head. “Listen, Mel?—”
“No, you listen. Learn to play nice, Jace. At least before, you’d act like a dick, but you were alikeabledick. I’ve spent too much time and effort to repair your image to let you burn it to the ground now. We have enough of the grumpy factor coming from Weber. We don’t need anyone else emulating his insufferable brand of asshole. So next time I tell you to play nice—you do it, no matter how inane the questions are.”
“No.”
Melanie sucked in a breath through her nose, and it took everything in me not to cower in her presence. But Jace continued to stare her down, not caring that he was in her line of fire.
Jace reached out and took my hand, dragging me to his side. “I mean it, Mel. They want me to talk about the game, fine, but they don’t get to ask about this. Us. My family is off-limits, and the next time they come up, I’m walking out.”
“You can’t blame them for being curious?—”
“Yeah, I can.” Jace shook his head. “I’ve had enough headlines about my personal life, and, back then, I didn’t care. Because it didn’t matter what they said, what they thought. But this…” He held up our joined hands. “Matters to me. And I’m not letting the public pick it apart for entertainment.”
Melanie’s brow softened as she stared at our joined hands, pausing long enough to make me start to sweat. “Fine,” she relented. “I’ll smooth things over, but you owe me a better interview when we’re back in New York. And throw in a couple charity appearances for good measure.”
“Deal.”
Jace didn’t say another word as he tugged me toward the exit and into the fresh night air. I peeked over my shoulder to wavegoodbye to Cam and Hadley, but Jace’s feet didn’t slow down. “What’s your hurry, hotshot?”
He paused, twisting so he could claim my lips once again. When he pulled back, so much adoration filled his eyes, it felt like I’d walked into my own personal fairytale—an adoration I’d always dreamed about but never dreamed I’d get to experience. He pulled back and pressed one more kiss to my brow. “Need you out of these clothes, Kins. Going out of my mind right now.”
THIRTY-ONE
The ride back to the hotel room was almost unbearable. At every turn, Jace found some excuse to touch me, swiping my hair over my shoulder and resting his rough hand over my knee. By the time we parked the car, the tension made me tighter than a string—one more touch, and I’d unravel right there.
“Shit,” I hissed as we climbed out of the car. “My stuff is in Hadley’s room. I should text her and meet up with her.”
“Later.” Jace’s grip tightened on my hand as we left the parking lot and entered the hotel lobby. Anticipation filled the air as we stepped past the glass double doors; fans in emerald-green jerseys filled the lobby, and the chatter echoed off the marble floors. Several stopped us as we tried to get to the elevators, asking for Jace’s signature on different items. He gave me a questioning stare, but I just nodded, not wanting to ruin the moment for him. He’d given it all on the field tonight; if people wanted to celebrate him, I wouldn’t stand in his way, at least until someone got bold and asked about his hotel room.
The curvy blonde smiled seductively up at him, and my vision went red—even more so when she placed her hand on his arm, her fingers stroking his skin. I was right fucking there. Her ignorance dragged my insecurities up from deep down—ones Itried so hard to ignore. For years, I’d battled intrusive thoughts about my body, letting others dictate what size or shape I should be. As I’d gotten older, I’d gotten better at tuning them out, focusing on the parts of myself I liked compared to what the world wanted me to be. Most of the time, it worked. I loved my body, loved that it had grown Anna into a healthy, strong baby, loved how it moved and embraced my curves.
Of course, I had days when I wished my thighs were smaller, or that my jean size was a single digit instead of two, but they were less and less lately. But seeing this woman throw herself at Jace? Knowing he had his pick of amateur models and influencers? It made me bristle. I stepped forward to say something, but Jace slid her hand off him before I could.
“Not interested. I’m taken.”
She pouted, mumbling more under her breath, too low for me to hear, but Jace’s glare intensified. “No. Now, back off before I get hotel security over here.”
And then, he was right back with me, throwing his arm over my shoulder. Her shell-shocked expression followed us across the room, but I didn’t care, too busy loving his claim over me. When we entered the elevator, I tried to step away, but he kept me to his side, toying with the ends of my hair.
But jealousy knitted its way through me, and my mouth flew open without warning. “How often do people throw themselves at you?”
He grimaced. “Not as often as they used to. But there’s always one or two looking to score with a player after the games.”
“And do you?” God, I hated asking, especially when Jace turned to stare at me. “I mean, after all, that’s how we started.”
Jace shifted his arm away from me, turning to crowd me against the wall. The metal railing cut into my lower back, and my neck strained so I could meet his scowl. His hands cameonto the bar next to mine, and he pressed his body into mine. “You were never like them, Kinsley. Yeah, in the past, I made a lot of mistakes, let a lot of women into my bed for all the wrong reasons. But not you. Never you.”
I shook my head. “I’m not upset about it, Jace. It was only supposed to be one night.”
