Chapter 69
The cab ride was a blur of headlights and shadows, neon bleeding through raindrop-streaked windows. Jace sat slumped in the back his throat raw and his chest hollow, his body buzzing for alcohol and rage.
Paid.
Aiden’s voice haunted him. "Yes."
So everything... the kisses...., the late-night whispers....., the I love yous were all fake and tainted now.
By the time he stumbled into the bar, he was already falling apart. He dropped onto a stool, barked an order, and threw back the first glass like it was medicine... Then another... Then another..... Then another.
It dulled the pain, but never enough.
He was on his fourth when a voice broke through the fog.
“Rough night?”
Jace blinked, glass half raised. A man had taken the stool beside him. He was tall with dark eyes that did not flinch. Something steady in his presence that pulled at Jace despite the haze.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Jace muttered, the words slurred. “I am fine.”
“You do not look fine.”
Jace laughed, his laughter sharp and bitter. “That is because I am not. I fucked up.... Do you know what it feels like to destroy the one person who actually loved you?..... To use him for revenge, pretend it was not real, only to realize too late... too fucking late that you loved him?”
The stranger stayed silent, listening.
“I was stupid.... I thought I could control it. Elias…” Jace’s chest ached saying his name. “I wanted to use him... Hurt him.... Take down his family. But then I— ” His voice cracked. “Then I fell in love. And I pushed him away anyway. Until he caught me cheating and he left..... And now I know..... I love him. I loved him so much..... but now it is too late.”
He tipped the glass again, but the stranger’s hand stopped him, firm on his wrist.
“You have had enough.”
Jace’s breath hitched. He met the man’s eyes, drunk and reckless. “Why?.... Why do you care?..... Do you like me or something?”
The stranger did not answer.
The silence broke Jace open. Something inside him snapped, desperate for touch, for proof he was not completely unlovable. He leaned in suddenly, lips crushing against the stranger’s.
The kiss was hard, messy, tasting of whiskey and need. The stranger kissed him back without hesitation, his grip tightening at Jace’s waist.
When they broke apart, Jace’s lips were swollen, his breath ragged.
“Do you want to come home with me?” the stranger asked.
Jace froze. Then he nodded. “Yes.”
\~~~
The car ride was quiet, the city streaking past. Every brush of the stranger’s hand against his set Jace’s skin on fire. By the time they reached the house, Jace’s body was humming with alcohol and lust.
Inside, the door barely shut before Jace shoved him against it, kissing him again desperately. The stranger’s mouth opened to him, tongues clashing, teeth scraping. Jace tugged at his shirt, yanking it open, fingers running across hard muscle.
The man spun him, pressing him back against the wall this time, kissing down his jaw, his neck, biting hard enough to make Jace groan.
“God... ” Jace gasped, his hands sliding lower, tugging at the man’s belt. He was clumsy but the stranger helped, undoing buttons and buckles until clothes fell away in a heap.
Soon Jace was naked, pressed against the wall, the cool air making his skin prickle. The stranger’s eyes swept over him, dark and hungry, and Jace’s chest tightened at being looked at like he was wanted.
The stranger’s hand gripped Jace's cock, stroking him slow and firm. Jace moaned, hips bucking, his head falling back against the wall.
“Please,” he breathed, his voice hoarse. “I need it.... fuck, I need you inside.....”
The man kissed him hard, swallowing the words, then turned him, guiding him toward the bed. Jace stumbled, collapsed onto the sheets, the stranger following him down. Their mouths crashed together again, hot and wet, as hands roamed desperately over skin.
The man’s fingers teased the cock between Jace’s thighs, slicking him up with maddening patience. Jace writhed beneath him, drunk and desperate, nails raking down the man’s back.
“Now,” Jace begged. “Don’t make me wait... please.... ”
The stranger pressed his cock into him slowly, stretching him wide. Jace cried out, the sting sharp, then fading into heat. He clutched at the sheets, his body trembling, then moaned as the fullness consumed him.
When the man bottomed out, Jace gasped, legs wrapping tight around his waist.
“Move,” he choked.
The stranger did pulling back, then driving in hard. Jace screamed into the pillow, the sound muffled, his whole body jolting. The rhythm built fast, hips slamming together, the bed creaking beneath them.
Every thrust hit deep, pounding the breath from his lungs. Jace clung to him, nails digging, head thrown back as pleasure built sharp.
“Harder,” Jace begged, his voice breaking. “Fuck me harder daddy.”
The man growled low, gripping his hips and slamming into him with brutal force. Jace’s cries filled the room, raw and shameless, tears stinging his eyes from the intensity.
His cock rubbed against the sheets with every thrust, the pleasure almost unbearable. He was close, so close, his body tensing, unraveling.
“I am gonna... fuck... ” he gasped, and then he was gone, spilling across the sheets with a strangled moan, body convulsing around the stranger’s cock.
The man drove into him harder, chasing his own release, until with a guttural sound he buried himself deep and came, his body shuddering against Jace’s.
They collapsed together, sweaty, breathless, tangled in sheets and heat. Jace lay there, chest heaving, his body still thrumming from the aftershocks.