The Crush Ward Penelope (best novels to read for beginners .txt) 📖

at the same time. My nails dug into his back as I clung for dear life. The level of penetration this time was even more intense.

Unexpectedly, I climaxed, my muscles contracting around him. Looking deeply into his eyes, ripples of pleasure coursed through me. Midway through my orgasm, his body shook as he lost control. I decided there was nothing sexier than looking into a guy’s eyes while he came inside of you. Nothing compared.

“You’re gonna be the death of me.” He buried his face in my neck and laughed. “But I can’t think of a better way to die.”

Jace gave me a long kiss before he put me down.

I escaped to the bathroom, and when I returned to the kitchen, he was back at the stove, remaking the eggs.

The sight of a shirtless Jace cooking me breakfast gave me goose bumps. The coffee brewing smelled almost as good as him—almost.

“Hope you’re hungry…for food.” He winked.

“After the workout you gave me this morning, I’m starving.”

He served us eggs and toast. We ate in comfortable silence at the table, demolishing the food in no time.

“Do you have to go to work?” I asked.

“Unfortunately, I do…at least for a little while. But why don’t I meet you back here around four. That will give us some more time together before Nathan gets home.”

Nathan had been working at the dealership most days until six.

“I would love that.”

“If I can get here earlier, I will.”

He took my plate and his over to the sink. I grabbed the mugs and placed them in the dishwasher.

When I turned to him, I caught him looking at me. “What?”

He moved a piece of my hair behind my ear. “You’re so beautiful, you know that? I don’t even know how I’m supposed to keep my hands off you when he comes home later.”

“Well, then we have to find someplace else to go. I don’t care where it is, as long as I can be with you.”

Jace looked a little lost for a moment, and then he kissed me on the forehead. “I want you to know that I don’t take lightly what you gave me today. I know it’s been a long time since you’ve been with anyone. I also know you trust me, and I won’t take that for granted. This isn’t just about sex for me, as much as I might have implied it when I suggested we…get this out of our system. My feelings for you go way beyond just the physical. I trust you, too. And I fully respect you. I haven’t had that feeling with a woman in a long-ass time. Today meant a lot to me.”

My heart pitter-pattered. As much as I’d enjoyed the sex, I needed to hear that. “I appreciate that, though I’m still not quite sure what the hell I’m supposed to do when our month is up.”

“Let’s try not to think about that right now.” Jace lifted me in the air for a last kiss. Putting me down, he said, “Be here waiting for me at four, okay?”

“Of course.”

He disappeared into his room to get dressed, and when he returned, he gave me a peck on the lips. “See you soon.”

Watching from the window as he got in his truck, I let out an audible sigh.

I spent the rest of the day cleaning the house like a madwoman. I hadn’t had a day off in the middle of the week in a long time, so I took advantage and gave our place the deep cleaning I’d been meaning to for some time. There was no better way to make use of the nervous energy running through my body.

When 3PM rolled around, I could hardly wait for Jace to get back. I decided to kill the last hour by heading over to Nora’s to check on her. Better yet, I decided to finally give her the Shawn Mendes tickets I’d been holding. After the euphoric morning I’d had, I felt like celebrating, eager to bring someone else the kind of joy I was experiencing.

I used my key to enter her house, then knocked as I always did on the inside of the door.

“Yoo-hoo! It’s Farrah!”

It was quiet, and I wondered if perhaps she wasn’t home, although that wouldn’t have been good, since her mother always instructed her to come straight here after school.

Nora finally emerged from her bedroom. She looked a bit sullen.

“What’s up?” I asked. “Is something wrong?” When she didn’t immediately say anything, I pried. “Did something happen?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“You look sad.”

Nora hesitated. “I saw something today, and I’m afraid to tell you what it is. I don’t want to get in trouble.”

My pulse raced. “Okay…um…well, don’t be. I can handle whatever it is you saw.”

“I saw you and Jace.”

Oh.

It hit me.

Oh no.

What?

I gulped. “Uh…me and Jace. You mean…what…what do you think you saw?”

“I had a fever this morning, so my mom let me stay home sick. We ran out of stuff to put on the pita bread. I saw your car, but I wasn’t sure if you were home or if the car was just broken down. So, I went to my yard and peeked through the screen thingy by the pool. I could see you and Jace in the kitchen through the glass door.”

Shit.

I no longer had to wonder what it was she’d witnessed. I was absolutely mortified. “I’m sorry you saw us. I wish you hadn’t peeked into the house, but it’s not your fault.” I finally looked up. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” She shrugged. “I know what it was. I ran into my mom and her ex-boyfriend once.”

“Obviously I didn’t know you were home at that time of day. I didn’t even think you could see that clearly into my house. I’m sorry.”

“I thought maybe you would be mad at me.”

“No, of course not. You were looking for me. You didn’t expect to see anything.”

“Is he your boyfriend now?”

“We’re…spending time together. My brother doesn’t know, and it’s important