Chapter 14

Aggie checked the peephole and grinned, her heart thudding with excitement. She threw the door open and tossed herself into Jace's arms with a happy squeal. She hadn't seen him in almost a month and had been starting to think she never would again.

"Sorry to just show up like this," he said. "I should have called first."

She kissed him hungrily, clutching the sides of his open leather jacket and pulling him into the house. She slammed the door closed and pressed him against its surface, still kissing him as she fumbled with the dead bolt. She eased away and gazed at him, her cheeks aching from smiling so broadly.

"I take it you aren't mad at me," he murmured.

"I missed you," she said, kissing him again. "I thought you were on tour again."

"We were, but it looks like we're going to have to cancel more tour dates."

"I thought Trey was okay now."

"Yeah, he's fine. Sed injured his throat a couple days ago. Blew a vessel in the middle of a concert. Passed out. Fuckin' blood everywhere."

"Jeez, are you all on a bad luck train, or what?"

"Eric thinks the album is cursed." He laughed and lowered his eyelids to conceal his chocolate brown eyes. "I brought you…" He flushed as he reached into a pocket inside his jacket.

Oh God, adorable.

He pulled out a single rose and presented it to her. He didn't look at her as she accepted it. What had once been a perfect blossom was now squashed from her enthusiastic hug. It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. Her heart gave a little pang.

"Thank you," she whispered.

His eyes shifted to hers for a moment and then back to the floor. "Do you like it?"

She could just picture him buying it for her, embarrassed and uncertain. A flower had never meant so much to her. She touched his stubble-rough cheek, and his gaze finally met hers. "I love it, Jace."

He grinned, his eyes softening as he looked at her. She melted and leaned closer to kiss him. His firm lips commanded every sense to full attention. She moaned softly, her eyes drifting closed, her free hand curling into his chest. He was just as good as she remembered.

"Uh… Mistress V?" a hesitant voice said behind her.

Shit! She'd totally forgotten she had a client waiting in the sanctum. Reluctantly, she pulled away from Jace.

"You're busy. I'll go," Jace said. His gaze focused over her shoulder at the huge, tattooed man at her back.

Good ol' Larry. One of her few regular customers.

"I don't want you to go. Will you wait? He's my only appointment tonight. It'll only take me three minutes." She kissed him again. "Three minutes."

"I paid for twenty," Larry said gruffly.

Aggie grinned. "Three minutes," she whispered.

Jace nodded. "I'll wait."

She leaned away from him and went to punch in the code to disarm the alarm. She opened the door to her personal home and ushered Jace inside. "Make yourself at home," she said. "There's some leftover soup on the stove if you're hungry. Wine in the fridge." He stepped across the threshold, glancing around anxiously. Probably on the lookout for her mother, who was not home. Supposedly, she was at a job interview—her first in a month. Aggie drank in the sight of Jace in her home. God, he was fine. She'd forgotten how attractive he was. "Or you can get naked and wait for me in my bedroom," she whispered into his ear.

He grinned. "Go take care of your friend . I'll be fine."

She turned to find her customer watching her with a dark scowl. "Did I tell you that you could come out of that room, you fucking wuss?" she yelled.

"No, Mistress V." Trembling, he stumbled back into the sanctum.

"I'm going to beat your ass for disobeying me!" she added for good measure. She turned back to Jace and brought the rose to her nose, inhaling its delicate fragrance. "Will you take this to the kitchen so I can put it in water?"

He nodded, accepting the rose. She planted a tender kiss next to Jace's amused lips. "See you in a few, baby."

She closed Jace into her home and locked herself in the soundproof room with her customer. She found these big, tough guys were always the easiest to break. Easy because they wanted to submit, but never had the opportunity to do so in their daily lives.

"Why are you still dressed?" she asked. "I told you to strip. I am not pleased."

"Forgive me, Mistress V."

"I will not! Your discipline will be strict and painful."

It took him longer to get his clothes off and the restraints on than it took her to make him cry and beg her to stop. She gave him a little time to pull himself together before she took his money and escorted him out the front door.

"Same time next week?" he asked.

"Are you going to make it the full twenty minutes next time?"

He chuckled. "Probably not, but I'll still pay for it, just in case."

She smiled and patted his cheek. Her favorite kind of customer—ones who wasted a lot of their money and little of her time. "I'll jot you down, Larry. Now go home, and fuck your wife. Consider bringing her with you next time." Aggie loved to work with couples.

He chuckled again. "Maybe I will. Our sex life has never been better. She loves it when I come see you."

"I'll bet she does."

"Maybe I'll surprise her with one of those corsets you make. Do you think she'd like that?"

"You won't be able to surprise her. She'll have to be fitted."

His face fell. "Oh."

"But we'll let her pick out the design."

He grinned. "Yeah, okay. Thanks, doll."

Aggie winked and locked the door behind him. And now, a little pleasure for herself.

She found Jace sipping reheated vegetable soup at the breakfast bar. Her magnificent, squashed rose was in a blue plastic tumbler of water on the counter beside him. She smiled at the sight. She'd love him to be in her kitchen every evening, but knew he was skittish about relationships. She didn't mind taking it slow. But, God, she'd missed him. His monosyllable phone conversations and occasional text messages weren't nearly enough.

He started in surprise when he caught sight of her. "I thought you were joking when you said three minutes."

"I think he made it all the way to four this time. He's a regular of mine."

Jace lowered his gaze, slurped another spoonful of soup into his mouth. Every line in his body strained with tension.

She'd thought he was cool with her profession—she'd shared it with him and showed him what it entailed—but apparently, she'd been wrong. Was that why he hadn't come to see her? She'd gotten tired of inviting him and getting turned down over and over. Maybe he wasn't skittish. Maybe he was embarrassed by her. She refused to put up with that bullshit. She needed to know what his intentions were. If he was only here to feel the bite of her whip, he was going to pay for it just like everyone else. She wasn't a fool. Aggie leaned on the counter across from him and ducked low until she entered his line of vision. "Does it bother you?"

"What?"

"What I do for a living?"

He shook his head.

"It doesn't bother you that I hit men the way you like to be hit?"

"No."

"That I watch the welts rise on their naked skin and listen to their cries of agony, night after night?"

"Nope."

"That I beat them until they beg for mercy because it gives me some sick sense of empowerment to make them cry?"

"Not at all."

"Really?"

He lifted his gaze and pinned her with a hard stare. "No, not really. I fuckin' hate that they give you joy, but that's my problem, not yours."

He was jealous. Oh my God, she loved him.

Unable to keep her hands off him any longer, she climbed over the counter and tackled him to the floor. He tumbled off the stool onto the hard tile. "Ow." Aggie landed on top, tugging his shirt up his body.

"Wimp."

He laughed. Her heart melted. She couldn't get him naked fast enough. She wanted to fill herself with him. Not just her dripping wet pussy—her hands, her mouth, her gaze.

Everything. Filled. With him. All him. Jace.

He laughed again as she worked at removing his jeans. Was this all it took to make him happy? Pouncing on him in the kitchen?

"Do you have a condom?" she asked.

He pulled an entire strip out of his pocket.

"Did you think you were going to get laid tonight?" she asked with a teasing grin.

He chuckled. "I was hoping more than once."

"You got another date later?" she asked, looking at him with a fabricated scowl.

"Just with you."

"Good," she whispered.

She bent her head to kiss his belly. A spasm wracked his entire body. She trailed open-mouthed kisses over his stomach, just above the low waistband of his jeans.

His fingers sank into her hair. "Aggie."

Well, hello there, erogenous zone.

Nibbling, licking, sucking on his lower belly, she located his most sensitive spots inside the ridges of his hip bones, indicated by his outrush of breath and the sucking of air between his teeth. When her fingers brushed the growing bulge in his pants, he shuddered and cried out. She grinned with sudden realization.

She kissed her way up his body until they were face to face. She waited for him to open his eyes and then asked, "Have you had sex since we made love on your bike?"

He stared at her forehead and shook his head.

"Me neither."

His gaze shifted to hers. His smile could have lit the heavens.

"Why haven't you come to see me sooner?" she asked.

"I didn't think… I thought it was best…" He took a deep breath. "I have no fucking clue. I wanted to."

"Do you mind if I think of you as my boyfriend?" She wasn't going to let him brush her off. If she had to do the pursuing, so be it. She'd always gone after what she wanted in life. And she wanted Jace Seymour.

He paled and moved his gaze from her eyes to her forehead again. She waited for him to find his voice. She wasn't going to give him an easy out. If he wasn't ready to commit, that was fine, but he would have to say it. She wouldn't.

"Okay," he said finally.

" Okay? " She grinned at him.

"I don't mind."

She cupped his cheek. "Do you think of me as your girlfriend?"

He hesitated. "I think of you. Constantly. Is that enough?"

She chuckled. "It's a start." She kissed him gently.

He looked guilty. "I'm sorry. This is new for me."

"You don't have to apologize."

He touched her face. "It was so hard to stay away. I want you to know you mean more to me than just awesome, awesome sex."

"Only two awesomes?"

His eyes rolled into the back of his head and drifted closed. "A thousand awesomes."

She slid down his body, kissing his throat. She pulled his shirt up and caught sight of the new addition to his sculpted chest. She flicked the small silver ring in his nipple with her fingertips.

"What's this?"

He laughed again. "Bonding moment with Eric."

She sucked the ring into her mouth, and his body stiffened. Ooo, fun. She flicked it with her tongue. "Who's Eric?"

"Our drummer."

"Anything else I should know about?"

"Hmmmm. The wicked awesome tattoo on my ass?"

She stripped his jeans and boots off and inspected his cute, little butt to find nary a mark on his perfect ass. "I don't see anything."

"Look closely."

She ran her hands over the smooth cheeks, up and down. "Nothing here."

"That's right. It wasn't on my ass, was it? I swear I got a new one somewhere. I doubt you'll find it."

She remembered he had a few on each of his upper arms, one on the left side of his chest. Problem was she wasn't sure if she could pick a new one out of his collection. She coaxed him onto his back and pulled his shirt off, leaving him naked except for his socks, and started with the tattoo on his upper arm. A skull engulfed in flames. "I remember this one."

"You sure?"

She wasn't. "Yeah." The dagger and roses beneath it looked familiar. "This one's old too."

The demon horse and the Grim Reaper on his left pec? Old. She did like playing with his new nipple ring though. She flicked it with her tongue until he squirmed. On his other arm he had a tribal pattern in red and black from shoulder to elbow. She definitely remembered that one.

"Where is it?" she asked.

"Lower."

She kissed his nipple… his ribs… his belly. "Am I getting warm yet?"

"You are getting warmer," he murmured. "It doesn't have anything to do with how close you are to finding that tattoo though."

She sucked on the skin around his belly button. He laughed, squirming sideways across the floor.

"I had no idea you were so ticklish," she murmured.

"There's a lot you don't know about me."

That was true. Was he ready to share? She looked at him. "So tell me something."

"After you find that tattoo, I'll answer any question you ask."

She searched every inch of visible skin and found nothing. Her interest was rapidly shifting to his thick shaft, which was far more fascinating than any tattoo had ever been, but she did want to ask him a question. She searched his scalp.

"Okay, I give up. Where is it?"

"Maybe you should look under my sock."

Well, of course, that's where it would be. She peeled off his socks and found it. Her eyes opened wide, and she fell on the floor laughing. An animated daisy with a smiley face in its bright yellow center decorated his skin at the base of his left big toe.

"The moral to this story is never pass out drunk when Eric Sticks is picking out your wicked awesome tattoo."

"And it's permanent?"

"Yeah, until I get it removed." He grinned. "Or maybe I'll keep it. No one will see it there. Unless I go to the beach."

She was surprised he seemed so cool with it. Shouldn't he be upset that a friend had tricked him into getting an embarrassing tattoo while he was too drunk to stop it?

"Didn't you get mad?"

"Nah. I should have known better. The last time I got that drunk with Eric, he drew flowers all over my back with black magic marker."

"Yeah, but that washed off."

"After a week."

"Great friend you have there."

Jace lowered his eyes. "Yeah."

She saw something in him at that moment that she'd never seen before. Vulnerability. Could she get him to open up? She knew if she pushed him too hard, he'd completely shut himself off.

"So what's the story with the Eric guy?" she asked.

He didn't speak for a long moment. "He's the reason I became a bassist."

"What, is he like an old guy or something?"

Jace shook his head. "Not even five years older than me."

"And he had that much influence over you?"

"I saw a Sinners show when they were just starting out. I was fourteen and in a bar with a fake ID."

"How did you pass for twenty-one when you were fourteen? You're so cute, you scarcely look twenty-one now."

His scowl told her she'd said the wrong thing. She could practically see his wall of defense rise.

"Are we gonna fuck or what?" he said.

She wasn't going to let him change the subject that easily. "So you saw Sinners when you were fourteen. Then what? How did that make you a bassist?"

More silence. She waited.

He took a deep breath. "They were amazing even then. Brian and Trey have always been completely in tune with each other—two halves of a whole. Sed's voice is unbelievable, and Eric is the best drummer on the planet. I just stood there. Stunned. I couldn't move. All I could do was listen. I could scarcely breathe. The four of them were so incredibly talented. And then there was their weak link. Jon Mallory."

"Let me guess. Their bassist?"

"The band deserved better. He's totally average. Not horrible. Just not as good as the rest of them, and I think he was high or something. He wasn't into the music. He was into himself."

"So you decided to become their bassist."

"No. I didn't know how to play bass. I've always loved music and had some talent, but it never occurred to me to make a life of it. At the end of the show, Eric tossed his drumsticks into the crowd, and I caught one. I didn't even reach for it. It sort of connected with my hand. It was a wake-up call for me. I'd spent the previous four years getting into trouble, but right then, I knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life—what I had to do. It was fate. I had to become part of Sinners."

This was the most Jace had ever spoken to her at once. Aggie was careful not to say something that might encourage his silence again. "So how long did it take you to become their bassist?"

"Six years. And if it wasn't for Trey's brother, I'd probably be playing with another band now."

"Trey was the guitarist who was hurt, right?"

"Yeah, his brother, Dare, is the lead guitarist for Exodus End."

Exodus End? They were huge worldwide. And Sinners were pretty big too and growing. "Wow. It just occurred to me that you're famous."

He chuckled. "Not really. Brian? Maybe. Sed? Definitely. But I'm just the bassist."

"I want to see you in concert."

"You do?"

She nodded. "Yeah, just thinking about it is making me hot."

"We're supposed to have a show in San Francisco this Saturday. I could get you tickets if you want to go, assuming Sed can sing by then. Knowing Sed, he'll find a way."

"Really? I'd love to go. Count me in."

"I'll make the arrangements then."

His eyes lowered to her mouth, and he ran his tongue over his top lip before gnawing on it. She could only imagine what he was thinking. Hopefully, something sexy. She decided they could talk later.

"Let's go to my bedroom. No telling when my mom will show up, and you're sort of naked."

He glanced down at his body. "Ah, I hadn't noticed."

"Well, I have, and you look fucking hot. I can't be expected to keep my hands off you."

"Even with the smiling flower tattoo?"

She laughed. "Especially with the tattoo. You explained why it's special."

"Special?" He laughed. "Yeah, it makes me feel real special ."

The front door opened. Jace's eyes opened wide.

"Shit, that's my mom. Put your pants on."

Aggie grabbed his pants, tossed them at him, and then scrambled to her feet. She smoothed her hair and plastered an innocent smile on her face. Her mom tossed her purse on the counter.

"Any luck?" Aggie asked.

Mom sighed. "No. It's impossible for a woman over thirty to find a job in this town."

She lit a cigarette and pointed its glowing red tip at the single rose in the tumbler of water on the counter. "What's with the crumpled up, half-dead rose?"

Aggie scowled. "My boyfriend gave it to me."

Said boyfriend climbed to his feet to stand beside her. He had managed to get his pants on, but was still shirtless.

He took a deep breath and extended a hand toward Aggie's mother. "I'm Jace."

Mom shook his hand briefly. "Tabitha," she supplied her name and then glanced at Aggie. "Since when do you have a boyfriend?"

"Since about ten minutes ago."

Mom lifted an eyebrow at Jace. "You move fast, Maynard." She nodded toward the floor at his feet. "And you seem to have dropped your condoms. All twelve."

Jace's eyes widened, and he bent to scoop up the strip of condoms. He shoved them into his pocket. He retrieved his T-shirt and tugged it on over his head. "I've got to go."

"Don't go," Aggie said, her heart sinking with disappointment. "You just got here."

"I-I've got stuff to do. I should probably check on Sed. Make sure he's okay. He just got out of the hospital."

Funny how he always showed up when one of his friends was injured. Aggie made a note to ask about it when her mother wasn't staring at him with brutal scrutiny.

"Don't mind me, Maynard," Mom said, taking a deep drag off her cigarette. "By all means, continue to boink my daughter on the kitchen floor."

" Mother! "

"What?" Mom shrugged and took another drag, smoke curling toward the ceiling slowly.

"Why do you always do this to me? I really like him."

"So boink him then. This is your house. I don't care what you do. Could I get something to eat before you continue? Your boinking is blocking the fridge."

Jace picked up his socks and boots and headed for the front door. Aggie scowled at her mother and then went after him.

"You're not even going to say good-bye?" It had been a long time since a guy had hurt her feelings, but unshed tears burned her eyes and made her forehead ache. She rubbed her brow in annoyance.

He turned toward her, his eyes downcast. She'd finally gotten him to open up with her a little, and her stupid mother had to show up and ruin everything.

He nodded toward the dining room. "I forgot my jacket."

"If you don't want to stay here, we can go somewhere. And we don't have to do anything sexual if you don't want to. I'm sure my mother creeped you out and put your sex drive in park."

"More like reverse."

"That's okay. I just want to spend some time with you."

His eyes rose to meet hers. "You do?"

"Yeah. We can talk."

"I don't talk much."

He just had, but she wouldn't push him away by pointing that out. "Then I'll talk. You listen."

"I'm good at listening."

She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him. "That's not the only thing you're good at."

Aggie slid her fingers into the hair at his nape and drew him closer for a plundering kiss. Slowly, he relaxed into her. She could feel his heart thudding in his chest against her breasts as their mouths melded.

"Agatha, where's the Tabasco sauce?" Mom called from the kitchen.

Jace stiffened and pulled away.

"I'm going to change clothes. You can wait for me outside if it makes you feel more comfortable."

He nodded appreciatively. "Bring my jacket out with you, please." Still barefoot, he let himself out of the house.

Aggie stormed into the kitchen. "I could just slap you right now," she sputtered at her mother.

"You shouldn't get messed up with your clients anyway, Agatha. They've got more baggage than a 747's cargo hold."

"I didn't ask for advice. Do you want me to end up like you? Alone and miserable and bitter. No money. No job. With a hit out on you because you're stupid enough to borrow money from the Mafia."

Mom's eyes narrowed. "I think you're the one who needs to be slapped, young lady."

Aggie shook her head in annoyance. "I'm going out, not that I need your permission. And shouldn't you be leaving?"

"Yeah, I'm leaving soon. I'd already be gone if I had a choice in the matter."

"You chose to get yourself in trouble, so I don't want to hear it."

"Isn't your boyfriend waiting for you?"

"Yeah. And don't wait up. I plan to boink him all night." Aggie fled the kitchen, feeling like an intruder in her own house. She needed to get away from her mother in a bad way.

After changing into jeans and a T-shirt, Aggie grabbed her leather jacket along with Jace's and then met him at the curb. He sat on his bike, gazing up at the sky. She touched his arm gently, and he started.

"Do you always think that hard?" she asked, handing him his jacket. He slipped into the worn leather garment.

"Mostly."

"Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere."

So he was back to answering her questions with as few words as possible.

"Do you want to go someplace quiet where we can be alone? Or crowded where we can have a lot of fun?"

"I don't like crowds."

"Then let's just ride."

"You'd like that?"

"Yeah."

He smiled, and her heart melted. "Me too."

He took her hand and helped her climb onto the bike behind him.

"Aggie?"

"Yeah?"

"I really like you too."

She slid her arms around his waist and put her chin on his shoulder to try to see his expression under the light of the corner street lamp. "I'm glad to hear you say that, Jace, but what brought it on all of a sudden?"

"You told your mom you really liked me, and I didn't say it back."

She kissed the edge of his ear. "You were probably too uncomfortable to form words."

"Kinda."

"I know my mom is overbearing, and I'd like to say she means well, but I don't think she does. Sometimes I think she's trying to make me into her. And I don't want to be like her. I'm not her."

"I had a father like that."

"Had?"

He started the bike, and they headed out of town. He never answered her query.

They picked up some takeout Chinese food and headed to the desert. Sitting on a huge rock in the middle of nowhere, they ate quietly, enjoying the sunset on the horizon.

"How long have you done what you do?" Jace asked.

She glanced at him, surprised he was the one to break the comfortable silence between them. "Which part?"

"All of it."

"A long time. I started hitting men in my teens and decided to apprentice under another dominatrix about eight years ago to become pro. I worked in a sex club with a few other dommes for several years and then went out on my own. But first I needed to buy a house, so I started dancing to earn extra money. I never meant for it to become a permanent career, but I do enjoy it." She chuckled. "Well, most of the time. And it does make it easier to find clients."

Jace scowled.

"I never would have met you if I wasn't dancing."

"I guess."

She pressed on. "My grandmother taught me to sew and do embroidery when I was seven. I'm sure she never thought I'd use that skill to make leather corsets. She had a stroke when I was nine and died. Then my mother took over raising me." If what her mother did counted as raising a child.

"You make corsets?" he asked.

She nodded, noting how he always avoided conversations about family. "It's mostly a hobby. I started out making them for myself, but people see me wearing them and ask where I buy them. When they find out I make them, they want me to make one for them. I like doing it. It's fun."

"You mean you make those corsets you wear by hand? The ones with the designs on them."

She nodded.

"Wow, babe, you're really talented. Artistic."

She felt herself flush. Or maybe it was the desert heat. "It's just a hobby."

"Don't hobbies make the best careers?"

"Yeah. My first hobby was making men cry." She leaned over and kissed his temple. "So what's your family like?"

He erected a reinforced emotional barrier between them so fast, she feared she'd suffer whiplash. "Wanna go to a hotel?" he asked.

She wanted to know more about him. She already knew he was good in bed. "I thought we were going to talk."

"How about some pillow talk?"

He stole a kiss, and she decided they could talk some other time. A month without Jace's intoxicating touch was a month too long.