“Good. I want you to just be you. I like you.”
She blushes again, and I fucking love it. So does my dick. She looks up at me through her lashes.
“I like you too, Jace.” Her voice is thick with lust.
“C’mon, honey. Let’s get to that bonfire.”
3
MIA
Jace Stevens has to be the dreamiest man on this earth, and I’m one lucky girl because I spent the whole day with him.
“Well, don’t you have hearts in your eyes?” A female’s voice coming from my right side catches my attention. I was supposed to be getting another beer from the cooler, but I guess seeing Jace, in all his gorgeousness by the light of the bonfire, was just so mesmerizing that I got a little sidetracked from my task.
I grab my beer and close the lid. “I’m sorry; what did you say?” A pretty woman with beautiful brown skin (about my age) approaches me, but I don’t recognize her.
“Hi. I’m Crystal, Matt’s wife. This is our farm.” She smiles warmly as she stretches out her arm to greet me with a handshake.
“Oh, hi! I'm Mia. I love your place! It’s so peaceful and ideal for a bonfire.”
“Thank you. I’m glad Jace brought you along. He never brings anyone to these.” I don’t know why that makes my heart swell with pride, as if I’ve accomplished something special, but I can’t deny that it does.
I glance over to where he’s talking with Matt and some of his other friends by the massive fire. He must sense my eyes on him because he turns from his conversation and looks at me. I watch as his gaze travels down the length of my body, then all the way back up until it lands on my face. His tongue peeks out and licks his lower lip as a sexy smile slowly tips up the corners of his mouth. Those ocean-blue eyes of his are filled with so much desire.
“Watching the two of you is gonna make my ovaries faint.” My head snaps to my right, where Crystal is still standing. I must have momentarily forgotten she was even there—Jace seems to have that effect on me. She has a shit-eating grin on her face, and I blush, a little embarrassed she witnessed the exchange between us. “I see now why he brought you. C’mon, before he undresses you with his eyes any more than he already has. At least let me be a good southern hostess and introduce you to the other girls.” She clasps my hand in hers and takes me over to the patio, where several women sit in a circle of chairs around a small firepit.
“Girls, this is Mia. You must all bow down at her feet because she’s done the impossible.” I look at Crystal with an expression of confusion on my face, and she pats my hand that’s still clutched within hers. Then, she returns her attention to the group that’s murmuring amongst themselves. “She’s here withTheJace Stevens. And when I tell you she’s caught the man’s full attention, I mean even their eyefucking was so orgasmic that I came, and I was just a bystander.”
“Oh my God,” I whisper under my breath, dipping my head in complete mortification. A brunette in a pale blue sundress chokes on her wine, and Crystal seems pretty pleased with herself and the grand introduction she just gave me.
After regaining her composure, the brunette says, “Well, you must be some kind of deity then, Mia. It’s a pleasure to meet you.I’m Charlotte. This is my best friend Josie, and this is Tris, she’s new to our little gang. Come, join our band of misfit toys.” She gestures to the other women, and Crystal and I find empty seats around the firepit. “So, you’ve capturedTheJace Stevens, huh?”
I sip my beer and look around the group. All the women seem pretty interested in hearing my answer, which I find intriguing. “I hate to disappoint you, but I haven’t captured him. We’re more along the lines of… acquaintances?”
Crystal looks at me as if I’m full of shit. “I don’t know about you, but I damn sure don’t look at myacquaintanceslike that.”
“I mean… We did both admit to having crushes on each other when we were kids, so…” I lift my shoulders in a slight shrug.
Josie chimes in and says, “Well, he’s all grown up now—that’s for damn sure. That man is gorgeous. And he’s never interested in anyone. Believe me… many women have tried and failed.”
“I’m just here visiting my Nana. Maybe there is something between Jace and me, but I don’t live here. So, I guess it doesn’t matter anyway.” Reality brings me down from my girlish fantasies.
But Crystal’s right there to keep the illusion alive. “Oooh, sounds like the perfect vacation fling to me. Getting tangled up in the sheets with a small-town cop? I’d read that book!” I laugh, because that does sound like one of the smutty books I’d love to read.
“We’re huge romance readers over here, Mia. The steamier, the better. What about you?”
Dear God, I’ve found my people!
For years, I’ve been secretly writing romance stories and keeping them hidden away. I started in college when I took a few elective courses and discovered I was a pretty decent writer. Several professors encouraged me to submit my work for publications and contests. But when I mentioned it to my mother, she not only discouraged the idea, she admonished mefor wasting my time ona foolish fantasy that wouldn’t amount to anything. Rather than seeing me do something that genuinely made me happyand thatI was good at, she pushed me into a more socially acceptable career—the kind that was sure to make me a thriving, young Black professional. Unfortunately, romance writing was out of the question.
But since then, I’ve read thousands of books along with the few I’ve written. I may not be published yet, but at least I can talk about my first love with some incredible people. Too bad I lose count of how many drinks I’ve had while talking book boyfriends with said awesome people. Because now, I think I’m drunk as I sit with Crystal, Charlotte, and the othermisfit toys,as we’re now calling ourselves in our inebriated states.
We’re in hysterics—discussing alien sex and the logistics of two cocks—when warm, heavy hands land on my shoulders. I peek up and see familiar blue eyes staring back at me, a look of amusement on Jace’s sexy face.
“Hey, handsome. Are you ready to take me to bed?” My eyebrows shoot to my hairline when I realize what I’ve just said in my less-than-sober state. “I-I-I mean… Take me home. Are you ready to take me home?” I swallow loudly as I let out a nervous laugh.
“I think she had it right the first time,” Charlotte stage-whispers to Josie, and the girls all break into a fit of drunken giggles.
