Jace

 

I watched as a swirling pattern of emotions took over Katie’s face. First, she was shocked. Her lips hung open and her eyes were white and wide. Then, when she realized I was being serious, she seemed amazed. And surprised, and maybe a little disbelieving.

 

“I don’t know,” Katie kept saying. “I just…I just don’t know. It doesn’t seem like a good idea, Jace.”

 

“It’s the only idea I have,” I said gruffly. “And just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean you have to shit on it.” Part of me was angry. I’d promised Matthias I’d always care for his daughter, no matter what. And if that meant marrying her, so be it.

 

Honestly, deep down, I didn’t mind so much. Katie was smoking hot, and ever since she’d grown up, I’d wanted to take her for my own. Even if only for a night. Even if only for the shortest amount of time possible. I wanted those long legs wrapped around me. I wanted to feel the heat from her petal-soft lips. I wanted her musky, sweet smell to wash over me and take me over until I was drowning in Katie.

 

“It won’t be so bad,” I said with a grin. “I have a big house, you know?”

 

The mention of marriage brought up an unexpected memory. Margot. Margot was the woman I’d actually fallen in love with years ago. Margot was a woman who had broken my world apart, a woman who had come in and destroyed everything.

 

Back in my early twenties, I thought I was set to be an outlaw for the rest of my life. I’d just become a patched member of The Silent Havoc, and I was riding high on pride and hormones. Lust and the urge to get myself into trouble were around every corner. The guys and I would go out every night, carousing and fucking our way around Marquette. It wasn’t long before I had a line of credit at every strip club in town, and even some outside of town.

 

Those days had been some of the best of my life. Now, looking back was painful, almost like looking through a broken mirror. But back then, I’d loved being alive. I was young and powerful, and nothing could touch me. I thought I was immortal. I fucked a different girl every night and vowed to never fall in love. There were some women who I appreciated, but that wasn’t the same kind of thing as love.

 

And then I met Margot. She changed everything. She threw my world upside down and, before I knew it, I was head over heels in love with her. She was crazy, she was loud, she was brash. And then when I least expected it, she was shy. She was ladylike. She knew how to eat pasta with a spoon. She was basically a man’s dream come true. The kind of woman who wanted to be fucked hard every night and then delicately taken out to breakfast in the morning. The kind of woman who would make you laugh by mouthing curse words in public places. Margot had wild black hair and dark eyes. A couple of the other guys in the MC always used to joke that she looked like my sister, but I knew we were soulmates.

 

I’d asked her marry me six months after we met. She was eager to put the ring on her finger, and she couldn’t wait to be my wife. But then she died, and it fucking crushed me. The circumstances of Margot’s death were mysterious, and though I had my suspicions, I never figured out who had been involved.

 

After Margot died, nothing was the same. I couldn’t go back to the way I’d lived before. It felt empty, false. My guys always told me, “Fake it ’til you make it,” so I kept at it. I kept going out, fucking and drinking and drinking and fucking until everything was one big blur of pussy and beer and whiskey in front of my face, twenty-four hours a day.

 

I’d only recently started to enjoy living again. This had been almost ten years ago, but I’d thought about Margot every day after she died. Even though her face started to blur in my mind, I couldn’t get the sharpness of emotion out of my head: how it felt to fall in love. What it felt like to have a soul-crushing argument with the woman I loved, how good it felt to make up afterwards.

 

But there was no danger of that ever happening again. Katie was gorgeous, but she was the same woman I’d known growing up. She was Matthias’s daughter, a fiery redhead with a spitfire personality. Right now, she needed my help. I wanted to help her. There wasn’t a chance I’d fall in love with Katie like I’d fallen in love with Margot. With Margot, we’d been equals. Two wild people running free, trying to break the bonds of society and rule together as outlaws. But Katie needed my help; she was dependent on me for everything.

 

“Just marry me,” I said. “Come on, Kate. It’s not something you need to keep thinking about. If you want to stay safe, this is the only option.”

 

Katie looked up at me with her gorgeous green eyes. There was a blush on her pale cheeks and I could feel my cock stiffening in my pants. For all the talk I made about not being able to fall in love with her, I knew I’d be able to fuck her just fine. She was hot, maybe one of the hottest women I’d ever seen. And she’s gonna be yours, I thought to myself with a grin.

 

So maybe I wasn’t the biggest gentleman in the world. Sure, I was offering Katie lifetime protection. But I was also guaranteeing that I’d get laid with a hot piece whenever I wanted. I grinned; I couldn’t help it. A deal this nice hadn’t ever fallen in my lap before.

 

Since I’d fallen so hard for Margot, I knew there wasn’t a chance I’d get my heart broken with Katie. And judging from her attitude—the kind of coy way she was holding back from me—I didn’t think it would be a problem for her. Deep down, I felt really bad for her. After all, her biggest relationship had been with an abusive asshole. But that meant her head had to be all kinds of fucked up, that there wouldn’t even be room for her to love me.

 

Maybe it was a good thing she was so preoccupied with Troy. I had a feeling Katie was the kind of woman who could let her emotions take the best of her, and maybe she’d always think before acting.

 

“Katie, come on,” I said. “You know this is the right idea.” I reached out, intending to grab her arm, but she twisted away and my hand fell on her knee. Her skin was bare; she was wearing a skirt and a blouse, and she jumped but didn’t push me away. I could feel her pulse racing under her skin.

 

My cock chafed against my pants. Suddenly, I wanted her more than I’d ever wanted anyone. She was right there, so close, right in front of me. Mine for the taking.

 

“We can divorce later, if you want,” I said, massaging her thigh with my thumb. Katie bit her lip and blushed bright red. “I mean, if you think that would be better for both of us. If you want me to agree to it now, I’ll even put it in writing,” I added, knowing I’d rip up the piece of paper immediately after signing. Now that Katie was going to be mine, I wasn’t going to let her go. At least not without a few rounds of hot sex, I thought wickedly. She’s going to be mine, even if only temporarily.

 

“I can’t marry a man who might have killed my father,” Katie blurted out. She shoved my hand off her leg at the same time and stood up on wobbly ankles. A red flush was covering her face and I found myself feeling both aroused and incredibly angry.

 

Anger flared up in me so sharply that I saw red. What the fuck was this broad talking about? I was loyal to her father! I loved her father! He was like a father to me, and ever since he made me promise to protect his daughter, I knew I had to obey him. Even if it was his dying wish, I wouldn’t be able to back down. I was so mad at her!

 

“You’re being an ignorant bitch,” I said, my voice low and warning. Katie stared at me. The air changed between us, became tenser. I could feel lust crackling between our bodies.

 

Katie sighed, and her sweet, musky scent washed over me like an ocean. Without even thinking about what I was doing, I reached forward and tangled my hand in her long red hair, pulling her close to me. Katie was breathing hard, and her lips were slightly parted. Her green eyes were wide open and I could see the pulse of her heartbeat in her delicate, long throat. Katie’s legs went on for days, and I felt a lick of desire shoot through me as I imagined what she would look like without any panties on. I imagined soft curls between her legs, leaking moisture.

 

God damn, I thought. I couldn’t ever remember being this turned on in my entire life. It was like an arrow straight to the crotch, filled with a hormone that made me want to bend her over and fuck her raw.

 

Katie stretched. I misinterpreted her movement as trying to get away from me, and for a brief moment, we tussled. Then, before I knew it, my lips were pressing down on hers. Katie let out a small gasp as I kissed her, but she didn’t pull away. She tasted like beer and strawberries, and I closed my eyes, sucking on her full lower lip and sliding my tongue into her mouth.

 

Katie’s body was stiff against mine. For a moment, I thought she was going to slap me. Then she pushed herself closer and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me hungrily towards her. I realized she’d debated pushing me away and decided it against it. Her little nipples were stiff and hard—I could tell she wasn’t wearing a bra—and they brushed against my chest, making me feel like I was going to come in my pants. She was an amazing kisser; Katie knew how to deliver light pecks and bites, mixed with generous tongue. My cock was aching by the time we parted.

 

Katie gazed up at me. She was panting, and she wiped her mouth with the back of her hands. “I don’t know what that was,” she said softly. “I’m sorry if I did something wrong.”

 

I grinned and winked at her. “Baby, you didn’t do nothin’ wrong,” I replied. “Come here,” I added.

 

Katie looked up at me. Her eyes had that big, scared look again, and I could tell she was hesitating. She was so sweet, just that little inkling that she was thinking about something naughty.

 

“And what you said about me,” I added shortly. “You have to know that shit isn’t true. I never would have laid a finger on Matthias. He was like a father to me. I loved him, and I want to find out who murdered him.”

 

Katie shifted her eyes down. I could tell she didn’t believe me, but she didn’t say anything.

 

“I wouldn’t lie to you,” I said under my breath.

 

Katie still didn’t reply.

 

“Katie, don’t be a bitch about this,” I said. “You come to me, asking me for help, and this is what you get. If you do this with me, you have to trust me. You got that?”

 

Katie shook her head. “I know…” Her voice trailed off. “I’m just…I’m scared,” she added. The arousal still hung thick in the air between us but I could tell that her body was filled with tension and she was still frightened.

 

I grinned to myself. This had been one hell of an interesting day. I woke up with one woman and then decided to start a life together with another, I thought with a grin. Jace, you’re a player!

 

But something in Katie’s eyes made me stop right in my tracks. I had the uneasy feeling that she was going to be a lot to handle, even though she was clearly attracted to me. Furthermore, I had a feeling that a lot of other shit had gone down between her and Troy that she hadn’t told me about. After all, they’d been together for years. He’d had ample opportunities to hurt her or damage her in ways that I couldn’t even begin to think of.

 

“I won’t hurt you like Troy did,” I promised. “But you have to trust me, okay?”

 

Katie looked up at me with wet eyes. I thought she was going to protest. Instead, she stepped forward and kissed me again. I was hard almost instantly as her soft lips pressed against mine. Katie sighed and moaned softly, leaning against my body. When I slid my hands down her soft curves, she arched her back. I could tell how much she wanted it, how badly she was dying to give it to me.

 

And I’m just the man for that, baby. I am just the man you need