The Next Play: Part Four: the play series | book 1 | part 4 Read online

  “Hey, no more of that until you feed me,” she moaned, playfully tugging at his hair. “We need real food before we expire from exhaustion.”

  He gave her a heavy-lidded look and a sharp smile. “You’d better eat fast then.”

  “Oh, I plan on it,” she said all breathy and soft, flirting right back at him, and Jonah couldn’t keep the ridiculously wide grin off his face as he rolled out of bed and headed for the door, not even bothering with his boxers. He made his way down the stairs, his mind buzzing and his body deliciously sated, feeling better than he had in… Hell, he couldn’t remember ever feeling this good before. And he knew damn well that no one—not a single one of his friends or family—would have recognized the smiling, naked idiot moving around his kitchen, his dick swinging in the wind as he put a dinner tray together. Any second now, he was probably going to start singing like some lovestruck jackass in a romantic chick flick. But he didn’t give a damn. He felt so good, so right, that it was impossible to pretend or hold it back.

  Less than ten minutes later, Jonah started heading back up the stairs, tray in hand and Jocelyn’s bag slung over his shoulder. He found her propped up against the headboard with the sheet tucked under her arms, her bra tossed onto the bedside table, and all those golden curls gleaming in the soft lamplight.

  “That smells incredible,” she said, eyeing the tray as he set it down in the middle of the bed.

  “I wasn’t sure what you would want to drink, so I brought up a bottle of wine and a cold bottle of water.”

  “I’d love a glass of wine,” she told him, already rummaging through the bag for her phone. When she found it, she immediately tapped in her password.

  “Everything okay?” he asked, while he poured her a glass of the Sauvignon Blanc.

  “Yeah.” She slid him a relieved smile before turning and setting the phone down on top of her bra. “Not a single message.”

  “I’m sure Davey’s having a great time hanging out with his bestie,” he said, handing her the glass.

  “Knowing those two,” she laughed, “they’re probably on a sugar high and running Rey and Mitch ragged.”

  “We’ll have to return the favor soon, like you said, and let them have a night out.”

  A stunning smile curved her lips. “They’d love that.”

  To save space on the tray, he’d already plated up their meals, and she gave another one of those little moans that always went straight to his dick as he handed over her plate. “This looks and smells amazing,” she said, taking one of the two forks and napkins he’d placed on the edge of the tray.

  “Kinda like you,” he murmured, knowing it would make her blush. When her cheeks turned pink, a low laugh rumbled up from his chest, and he was smiling as he took his first bite. Hell, he was still smiling when he took his fifth, but then, what man wouldn’t be grinning like a cocky bastard when he had the exquisite Jocelyn Brenna naked and in his bed.

  “Jesus, I have aches in places I don’t normally ache,” she groaned, after crisscrossing her legs under the sheet. Sliding him a wry smirk, she added, “I think you might have broken me.”

  “I hope to hell not,” he drawled, smirking right back at her. “Because we’re only just getting started.”

  “Oh, God,” she said faintly, the soft pink in her cheeks deepening.

  He laughed, thinking those blushes of hers were beyond adorable. And, fuck, but they turned him on. Made him want to do all manner of kinky, filthy, insanely pleasurable things to her gorgeous little body.

  But first, he needed to let her eat, so that she’d have the energy to deal with him.

  They devoured the delicious meal as they talked and sipped on the crisp wine, but their hunger for each other quickly took over. Jonah damn near kicked the tray off the end of the bed when he parted her legs and crawled back between them, his dick as diamond-hard and greedy as the first two times he’d taken her. But just as he started to work his swollen cockhead inside her tender opening, he caught the wince that she tried to hide and tensed with worry. “Shit. You really are sore, aren’t you?”

  “Sorry,” she whispered, the look in her eyes so sweet it nearly killed him.

  Easing back his hips, he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss between her brows. “Don’t be.”

  “But I don’t want to ruin our night.”

  “You couldn’t ruin anything.” He reached down and cupped her slick, puffy folds, careful not to scrape the sensitive flesh with the calluses he’d earned from the gym and sailing. “This is mine now—and only mine—which means it’s my job to take care of it.”

  She sank her teeth into her lower lip as she reached down and boldly grabbed his dick. “Ditto, big guy. You know, about the being mine part.”

  He smiled like the lucky bastard he was, loving that she was starting to feel possessive of him. Loving every single thing about her.

  So just tell her, you jackass. Just open your mouth and finally tell her what you’ve known is true for days now. Hell, for probably even longer than that.

  “Jocelyn,” he rasped. His heart was pounding like a motherfucker, but he knew this was it—that he was finally ready to tell her everything.

  “Yeah?”

  “I—”

  Her phone started buzzing, signaling an incoming text message, followed immediately by another, and he jerked his chin at her as he moved to her side, knowing she needed to do the “mom” thing right then.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said with another wince, already reaching over to grab her phone from the bedside table. “I just need to check this in case it’s something about Davey.”

  “Hey, there’s nothing to be sorry for,” he told her, hoping everything was okay and the little dude was just texting his mom goodnight. But he knew something wasn’t right when Jocelyn brought the phone closer to her face and whispered, “What the hell?”

  “What is it?” he asked, thinking she looked a bit pale as she read whatever message had come up on the screen. And then her hand started to shake, and his eyes narrowed with anger as he suddenly clued in. “Fuck! Did you just get another message from that son of a bitch?”

  “Jonah.” Her voice was thin, and he hated the shattered look in her eyes as she turned her head and just stared at him. He sucked in a deep breath and tried to prepare, knowing this was going to be bad. He’d been so happy all evening, the shit happening with the texts hadn’t even crossed his mind.

  “Just tell me,” he clipped, when ten seconds went by and she still hadn’t said anything.

  She slid her legs over the side of the bed and took the top sheet with her as she moved to her feet, heading toward the wall of glass, her attention once more on her phone.

  “He…or she—whoever the hell it is who’s doing this—they sent me a message. And… And a photo this time,” she replied in a low voice, without even turning around.

  Jonah was on his feet in an instant. “A photo?”

  “It’s of you…fucking a woman on a bed covered in black sheets. She’s a redhead who looks like… She looks like Monica Kreskey.” Looking back at him over her shoulder, she added, “I think you’re at Vane.”

  His long legs ate up the space between them, while his head tried to make sense of the nightmare that was unfolding right in front of him. The security measures that James took at the club were extreme, which was why so many celebrities and sports figures were members. It didn’t make any sense that this bastard had been able to get their hands on a photograph. And just how in the fuck did Jocelyn know Monica?

  Looking back down at the screen, she read, “I tried to warn you, but you didn’t listen. Where do you think he went last Sunday night when he left your apartment?”

  “That lying sack of shit!” he growled, reaching over and taking the phone out of her hand, the image on the screen of him and Monica making him seethe. “It’s a lie. I went home last Sunday night.” He looked up and locked his narrowed gaze hard on her shell-shocked one. “I swear to God, Jace. I went straight
home from your apartment. I did not go to that fucking club!”

  She gave him a shaky nod, and he ground his teeth together with brutal force as he looked back down at the photo again, searching for anything that would prove his words. But all he saw was him nailing another woman, Monica’s slim body laid out over the silk-covered bed in the Diamond, while he knelt between her sprawled thighs and shoved his dick into her. His face was in profile, the way his mouth was set making it look like he was smiling down at her, and he knew that only made it that much worse.

  “Christ, this is so fucked,” he muttered, tossing the phone onto the nearby chair. Then he went to pull Jocelyn into his arms, but she took a sudden step back, her eyes wide and her lower lip caught in her teeth again. “Jace?”

  “I’m sorry.” Her voice was soft. “I… I just need a minute. I feel a little ill.”

  Jonah flinched so hard it was like he’d been punched. “That photo is from months ago, I swear. Fucking months. I barely even knew you the night it was taken.”

  Confusion swirled with the pain in her eyes as she gazed back at him. “How do you even know what night it’s from?”

  “Because I’ve only performed with Monica once. Last summer.”

  She did a half-turn, looking away from him again, out the glass wall, to where the moonlight was glinting against the still waters of the pool down below. He could see the trembling of her jaw, the tip of her little nose turning pink, and felt so much frustration well up inside him, he didn’t know how it wasn’t ripping him to pieces.

  He took a step closer to her, his hands itching with the need to reach out and pull her close. “Talk to me, Jace. Damn it, scream at me if you want to. Just…don’t shut me out.”

  She reached up and placed one hand against the glass. “Why didn’t you tell me about Monica?”

  He ground his jaw. “Because I didn’t realize you know her.”

  A choked, humorless laugh jerked up from her chest. “I’ve sat in on a couple of meetings that Gabe’s had with her company. The last one was just over three weeks ago.”

  “Shit.” He started to pace, unable to stand still, hands braced on his hips, and it took everything he had not to punch a hole through his bedroom wall. The only thing that stopped him was Jocelyn. He didn’t want to lose it like that in front of her. Didn’t want to scare her or be the kind of man who couldn’t control his temper—even when he felt like the entire universe was trying to fuck him up and over and every way in between.

  He’d honestly had no idea that Jocelyn knew Monica Kreskey, never realizing that Monica was part of the team at her company that had worked on one of Gabe’s recent deals.

  And even if he had known, what the hell would he have said? It wasn’t like he could just come out and say, “By the way, angel, just in case she ever mentions it, I fucked Mon’s brains out in front of a packed house at Vane last summer with Lucas, Jenny Velasquez, and a special celebrity guest. Hope that won’t be too weird for you when you see her.”

  “Goddamn it!” he snarled, still pacing like a caged animal. “I’m sick of this asshole screwing with our lives.”

  “Me too,” she agreed, turning and resting her back against the glass as she finally brought her glistening gaze back to his.

  The sight of her tears stopped him in his tracks, and his head went back as he let out an unholy roar that could probably be heard through the entire building.

  “Hey, no, don’t,” she said in a soft rush as she came toward him, the feel of her hand pressing against his bare chest, directly over the thrashing beat of his heart, so sweet it nearly brought him to his knees.

  He lowered his head so quickly he nearly gave himself whiplash, his right hand coming up to press against hers, terrified that she’d move away again before he could make her understand. “I swear to God, Jace, I haven’t been to that place in weeks,” he said in a haggard voice.

  “I know. I believe you. It hurt like hell to see that photo of you with her, but I don’t believe the text. It’s obviously a lie.”

  “What do you mean obviously?”

  “Monica’s hair is long in the photo,” she explained with a shrug.

  He lifted his brows. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  She gave him a wry look. “You really haven’t seen her lately, have you?”

  “No.” He thought back, trying to remember. “To be honest, I don’t think I’ve seen her since that night.”

  “Well, she cut all her hair off into a chic little bob about two months ago.”

  He frowned. “Is that why you bel—?”

  “No,” she cut in, her voice firm. “I’d believe you even if I didn’t know about Monica’s hair. I might have concerns about your past, but I know there’s no way you would have gone and done something like that after the beautiful weekend we spent together. And I… I don’t think you would ever cheat, Jonah. That’s not your style.” Her head tilted a bit to the side, and she blinked away her tears as she gave him a soft, sad smile that felt like a blade between his ribs. “I think that when you’re done, you’ll simply tell me.”

  His hands wrapped around her upper arms in a gentle grip. “Those aren’t words you’re ever going to hear from me, Jocelyn. Not ever. You are all I want and all I need. Other women don’t even exist for me anymore.”

  She studied him for a moment, and her smile got a little brighter as she said, “It may mean I’m crazy, but I believe you.” And then, in a drier tone, “But I think it might be a good idea if you give me a list of all the women you’ve banged that Atlas does business with. Just so I know who to look out for, in case I need to beat them off my boyfriend with a stick.”

  God, I don’t deserve this woman, he thought, while his chest shook with a gritty, regret-filled laugh. “Believe it or not, that’s not the kind of thing I used to do, mixing business with the club. It was just one time, and I knew it was a mistake, but I was feeling…restless.” He didn’t tell her he’d been feeling that way because of her, but it was true. He just hadn’t known what was happening to him. That his entire life was getting ready to change.

  “Okay,” she whispered, lifting up onto her tiptoes so she could press a sweet, fleeting kiss to his lips.

  “We’re going to get through this,” he husked, quickly wrapping one arm around her lower back, the other fisting in the silky curls at the back of her head, keeping her right where she was. “And I promise you that I will find whoever’s responsible and make them pay for screwing with us.”

  “I know you will,” she said, just before he covered her beautiful mouth with his and sank his tongue past those velvety-soft lips, kissing the hell out of her. He started pulling her with him as he backtracked toward the bed, a second away from ripping the sheet off her and letting it drop to the floor, when her phone started ringing from where he’d tossed it on the chair.

  Knowing he couldn’t protest, he choked back a groan as she pulled away from him.

  “Rey, is everything okay?” she asked, after picking up the phone and answering the call. She shot him a worried look as she listened to her best friend, then said, “I’m leaving now. Just keep the cold compress on his forehead and tell him I’ll be right there.”

  His insides twisted with worry as she ended the call and walked back over to the bed. “What’s going on?”

  “Davey’s temperature has spiked.” She tossed the sheet back onto the bed and picked up her bag, setting it on the mattress. “Rey thinks he’s got an ear infection coming on, which can cause all kinds of problems for him. I need to get him to the ER as quickly as possible so that they can start him on antibiotics.”

  “Shit,” he cursed, pulling a pair of jeans out of his chest of drawers. “How high is his temp?”

  Stepping into a pair of pink panties, she said, “Already 103.”

  “Fuck.”

  Her delicate features were tight with fear as she slid on a matching bra and looked at him. “Jonah, if you could just give us a ride, I’ll—”

/>   “Stop,” he forced out through his gritted teeth.

  She blinked at the roughness of his tone. “What?”

  “Just stop before you say something that’s going to piss me off.” He grabbed a lightweight gray sweater and pulled it over his head. “I’m driving you and we’ll take him to the hospital together. No way in hell am I going to drop you off and leave you there.”

  Quietly, she asked, “Are you sure?”

  He gave a jerky nod, still ticked that she’d thought he would just bail on her and the kid. He pulled on his socks and boots, then looked back over at her as he said, “Just give me a second to run down and turn the oven off.”

  “You have something in the oven?” she asked with surprise, pulling on a pair of jeans.

  “Before I came up with our dinner, I put in a chocolate lava cake from the Sugar Spoon.” At her frown, he said, “It’s no big deal, Jace. I just thought you might enjoy trying one.”

  “But I’ve heard those things cost a fortune.”

  “Hardly,” he countered in a gentle tone, wanting to put her at ease. “And I’ll buy us another one as soon as Davey’s feeling better.”

  Leaving her to finish getting dressed, Jonah headed downstairs and into the kitchen. He dealt with the cake, grabbed his keys, and made his way back into the high-ceilinged living room just as she was coming down the stairs in the tight jeans he’d watched her pull on, a fuzzy pink sweater, and a pair of pink Converse, her golden curls tucked behind her ears. She looked adorable, but the worry on her face made his gut ache, and he let his lingering irritation over her suggestion that he just “drop them off” go. She and Davey had been on their own for so long, and he knew it was going to take time for her to get used to the fact that they had him now. That he was in this for the long haul, and in it completely.

  Grabbing her hand, Jonah leaned down and pressed another soft kiss between her brows. “It’s gonna be okay,” he said as gently as he could. “We’re gonna get him better, and then we’ll spoil the hell out of him.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered. “For tonight. For now. For everything. For just…being you.”