Jace Herondale's P.O.V.
I place my hands on my chest and lay back on the bed. I'm looking up at the ceiling, but my eyes keep shifting to the door. She's right there. Right across the hall. Two steps are basically all that separate us.
I should have just gone for it. Why the hell didn't I?
There was a split second where I thought she was going to come to me, but she didn't. She shied away and retreated her bedroom. . . Her bedroom that's right there. Her room that she's laying in, maybe in some cute nightie with naked legs and a bra-less chest.
My dick thickens as I picture her in tiny little shorts that her ass hangs out of, and a tank-top with no bra. Beaded nipples poking against the fabric as she runs a single finger up between her tits to her mouth to nibble on her nail.
I grip my dick and adjust the hard muscle. I fucking want her. I want her so damn bad, but I know shouldn't. Isabelle would be so pissed if she found out we slept together. I know this like I know the sky is blue. She'd hate me.
Even with that knowledge it doesn't really make me want Hera any less. There's an attraction between us, it's not just me. I can see it in her eyes. I can hear it in her voice. I could feel it as her pussy massaged my back, and her lips grazed the outside of my ear as she nuzzled her head against my shoulder.
I know it's wrong. I know if I fuck this up for my sister, she'll never forgive me. This is Isabelle's place, and her roommate. I'm just the placeholder until my sister can be here. The last thing she needs is me scaring away the only roommate she feels confident about.
But fuck, this girl makes me hard.
Her lips are plump, thick, and so fucking juicy. I want to see them wrapped my cock. I want to feel them as they glide down my length. I want to stuff my cock down her throat and hear her struggle for air.
My hand slips inside my shorts and palms my hard dick. I've been bordering on the verge of a full-blown hard-on all day with her. I have to ease this tension in my balls. If she would have kissed me, I know I'd be fucking her right now.
I'd be feeling her wet pussy. The tightness of her entrance and her nipples against my tongue. Closing my eyes, I can feel all of her as I picture her in my head. My hand starts to move slow as I squeeze the tip and stroke down.
Images of her bouncing on my cock the same way as she was bouncing against my back earlier are vivid in my mind. Her tits were pressed against me, now my mouth aches to suck them.
I stroke up and down, faster and faster, living inside the movie in my head. I jerk up to the tip and squeeze harder, then move back to the base. It's a fluid motion, making my toes curl as my balls draw up and my stomach clenches tight.
The orgasm heats me to the core as it explodes from deep inside my cock. Hot cum spews over my knuckles, my muscles filling with tingles as my eyes roll back in my head.
I wipe my hand with a sock from my drawer and toss it in the laundry basket. I feel relaxed, but I'd feel a whole lot better if that were her pussy and not my own hand.
But you can't. Think of how much trouble that will cause!
I know the angel on my shoulder is trying to do the right thing, but sometimes listening to the voice of reason is harder than listening to the devil pulling you the other way. Tugging my clothes off, I crawl under the blankets in my boxers, and fall asleep.
My alarm goes off before the sun comes up. I'm out the door long before Hera gets up, so I don't get a chance to see her. I hop in my car and take it to the other side of the city where the hospital I intern for is. I'm lucky to have this job, even though I kind of hate it.
Early mornings, the constant arguing with the patients, it’s all so repetitive and annoying. But it's a check I can use right now.
Jude walks through the office “Hey man, you look like shit,” he says.
“Yeah, I didn't get much sleep last night.”
“Another late night?” he asks, flashing me a half smirk and bouncing his eyebrows.
“Not like you're thinking. I just couldn't sleep.”
“Sure.” Jed draws out the word and nods as if we're sharing some secret code.
“I'm serious. Do I look like I spent all night fucking?”
He shrugs his shoulder “You could have fooled me. You have that just got laid glow.”
I ball up a piece of paper and throw it at him. “Glow. I don't glow.”
Jude laughs as he slaps the paper away. “You grabbing breakfast from the hospital cafeteria or you eating out?”
“I don't know. Maybe.” I go back to reading the clipboard in my hand. “I might head home instead today.”
“Maybe you should bring whatever girl is on your mind breakfast.”
“What?” I ask, looking up at him from my clipboard.
“You know what. Who is she? What's her name?”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Bullshit you don't. Who is she?”
“There is no she, asshole. Why don't you just go, aren't you supposed to assist Professor with his surgery.
He grins as if he's caught me in a lie, and left.
How the hell can he know that I'm thinking about Hera?
I shake my head and try to focus on work. It's hard as hell to do anything without Hera popping into my head. I still have over an hour before break time. I'm not sure what time she's working today, but I really want to see her.
I remember that Isabelle gave me her number just in case I needed it for anything. I take my phone out of my back pocket and send her a text.
Morning. How did you sleep?
Who is this? Hera shoots back instantly.
It's Jace . My sister gave me your number.
Ohhh, okay. Sorry, I didn't recognize the number. I slept okay.
Good. I didn't. I kept thinking about how we almost kissed. My thumb hovers over the send button for a second. I'm not sure if I should send it, it might be too forward for her.
Fuck it, I think and send it anyway.
There's a long pause. She isn't texting back. I let out a heavy breath and hang my head. I should have listened to myself. What the fuck was I thinking?
My phone vibrates, making me grin immediately.
You and me both. It came close.
Not close enough.
I'm not sure we could have been much closer than that.
I think we could have. My bed has plenty of room for two.
You're a pretty bold guy.
Is that a bad thing?
Not necessarily. I gotta get back to work though.
****
Hera Lightwood's P.O.V.
Uh . . . ma’am? Is something wrong?” Ben asked, breaking off his response to the question I’d posed thirty seconds ago and now couldn’t remember.
Shit. I nodded rapidly. “I’m fine, thank you. Just a little tired. Please continue.”I say concentrating on work..
It's been 2 weeks since the tour, 2 weeks of my stay in Boston. I got a job thanks to the degree I managed to get through online classes and we'll here I am. Living out the dream life but I just can't seem to get someone out of my mind. Living in the same space with Jace is a bitter sweet torment. Isabelle is no where to be seen, infact she doesn't seem to be coming back anytime soon and it's just been Jace and me in the large penthouse and no Matter how big the house might be the sexual tension seems to tighten the air.
The other I bumped into him yet again with just a towel on, so how can I be fine. Am not fine, I'm the exact opposite of fine. Every detail of Jace's naked body refused to leave my head—and that stuff just wasn’t something I should know about my new best friend and roommate's little brother. But it was too late. My brain was permanently altered. From here on out, I wouldn’t be able to think of him as anything other than a sexual being.
And the thing that had really gotten to me?
His voice had remained calm and certain, like he wasn’t the least bit embarrassed about standing on display before me. He’d remained rooted there, shamelessly confident, letting me peruse him in all his glory. And he watched me watch him, his eyebrow raised flirtatiously, almost as though he was challenging me to react. Daring me to look my fill, come closer, touch him, satisfy my . . . curiosity.
Clearing my throat, I picked up Ben Stevens’s résumé. “Can you go into more detail about your previous role, and how that fit into your planned career path?” Hopefully I could get my shit together enough to pay attention and evaluate his experience this time.
Ben dutifully launched into a dull and lengthy description of every task required of him at his old company. I jotted notes as he spoke, trying to focus on him and not my body’s breathless, heart-pounding reaction to the memory of Jace.
Twenty minutes later, I still didn’t have any idea if Ben was the right person for the job. My brain was so scrambled, I was having a hard time concentrating.
“Can you tell me why you’re interested in the office-manager role?” I asked.
Ben’s brows drew together and he frowned. “You already asked me that.”
“Right.” I nodded, smiling while screaming internally.
My phone vibrated on the conference table beside me. I grabbed it, grateful for the brief reprieve until I saw it was a text from Jace, Flipping the phone over on the table without reading it, I took a deep breath. I didn’t want to be rude to my candidate. But knowing there was a text waiting for me from him meant I was even less focused on what Ben was saying than before.
A few minutes later I ended the interview, thanking him for his time, and told him I’d be in touch. Once he was headed toward the lobby where the receptionist would show him out, I lunged for my phone, typing my passcode wrong twice before finally getting it right.
Jace might just be one of the biggest distraction have ever encountered, am practically on thin ice working for a not too big organization, am still practically on trial period and I should probably concentrate more than on a man but my brain doesn't seem to be getting the message.
Jace: Sorry about last night. I hope you weren’t too traumatized.
My jaw dropped open. God, the man was ballsy. I’d give him that. Most people would want to forget the whole thing ever happened. Yet here he was, calling attention to it, trying to push me for a response. Or maybe he was just trying to embarrass me.
Well, fuck that. If he wanted me to freak out—or collapse onto his dick in surrender—he was messing with the wrong girl.
Hera: Next time you want me to see you naked, ask first.
Jace: Noted.
I chuckled to myself before realizing that I’d implied there was going to be a next time. My laughter died on my lips. I’d unintentionally given him the upper hand.
Jace: I have a rare weekend off, so I just wanted to check in and see if you had any weekend plans. Don’t want to cramp your style.
Hera: No plans as of yet.
I hoped I didn’t sound too lame typing that.
Jace: Then I guess I’ll see you at home.
I tucked my phone into the pocket of my jeans, trying to ignore the warning bells ringing in my head. I headed back to my office at the far end of the building, my heart thrumming with the news that I’d be subjected to forty-eight hours of Jace's sexiness.
On one hand, I couldn’t deny I was looking forward to the eye candy. And it would be refreshing to have a conversation partner who responded with words instead of barks and tail wags. But I liked my routine; I was used to a certain amount of alone time. If Jace was this distracting when he wasn’t even physically present, how could I hope to be around him all weekend without losing my mind?
“Well, how was he?” Tabitha asked from her perch at the desk outside my office.
“Who?” I asked, irrationally fearful that I’d somehow let it slip about my new roommate.
“The candidate, Ben,” she said.
“Oh, right.” I nodded. “He was . . . okay.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Are you feeling all right? You look a little flushed.”
I cleared my throat. “Fine. I have an early lunch today with a friend. I’ll see you later.” I discarded Ben’s résumé and interview folder on my desk, grabbed my purse, and hightailed it from the office.
Once Isabelle and I were seated at our favorite casual soup-and-salad restaurant, she grinned at me like she was in on a secret I wasn’t.
“Well . . .” she prompted, raising her brows. “How is your sexy roommate! I can see the glow girl” Isabelle giggled, smiling as she watched me.
I faked a breezy smile as my brain screamed at me. Isabelle was a friendly face I got acquainted with in Boston and now she's proved to be a great confidant.
"it's should work out fine between you two.”
“Mm-hmm.”
"Now how would you know that, he's practically Isabelle's brother and I can't be fucking her brother but I also can't help myself around him"I Groan, moaning loudly
"You both are adults, I say fuck him if you want to"Isabelle say smirking..
"He hadn’t exactly been subtle about wanting to fuck me . . ."I say witfully.
The waiter came by and we ordered, and then it took me a moment to realize Isabelle was speaking to me.
“if Jace is choking you this much there are many fishes in the sea, So tell me have you signed up yet?” she asked.
“For?” I chewed on my lip.
“The new dating app I told you about.”
I groaned. That app wasn’t for dating so much as no-strings-attached hookups. But I didn’t think Isabelle had gotten that memo along with the rest of America.
“I know you ultimately want to find true love one day . . . we all do. But this is just practice. While you’re waiting for Mr. Right, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some hot sex. Since you do not want to bed the guy that's pratically doors away from you”
“I don’t know, Isabelle. I’m not really comfortable with the idea of banging a perfect stranger.”
“He wouldn’t be a stranger. You’d e-mail, text, and chat first. Nothing would happen until you were comfortable.”
I fiddled with my napkin while I felt Isabelle’s gaze on me.
Did she think all my problems would go away if I jumped on some magical healing cock? A one-night stand wouldn’t be helpful or even fun for me; I just wasn’t wired like that. I’d be a nervous wreck, convinced I was going to end up on the evening news because my date was a serial killer, or worse, that he’d see the dimples in my butt and freak out.
She leaned in closer and placed her hand over mine. “It’s just to get you back on the horse. I worry about you sometimes, All you do is work these days.”
"Dude I just got the job, stop acting dramatic"I say laughing at how Isabelle overreacts sometimes.
“I’ll think about it,” I said as two massive salads were delivered to our table. Seriously, who could eat this much salad?
I felt my to-do list growing. Not only did I need to resist Jace's charms, but I needed to find a way to keep Isabelle off my back about dating, resist my secret crush or plan B fuck the hell out of him and tell his sister how I feel, and choose a new office manager at work. My stomach tightened, and I pushed the uneaten salad around on my plate.
My lunch with Isabelle was supposed to calm me, but I felt more anxious than ever.