Page 79 of The Encounter
“So you two only used each other for sex? You never actually dated?”
“We did date, briefly. During one of those breaks, we tried dating, but she never believed anything I said. It was like she became a different person—not the person I grew up with. She would twist everything I said. Eventually I saw things I said turning up in her articles. She became a hot item in her profession. She had several job offers from different news outlets wanting her to work for them since she had the inside scoop. Several articles came about from ‘anonymous’ sources that had personal information in it about my family and me.”
Jace shook his head. “The only way these places would have gotten that information was from Samantha. No one else would have sold out to the press. After a while, I realized she was only using me to get ahead in her career. So I ended it.”
“I see it went well,” Maddie said.
Jace barked out a laugh. “Yeah. She’s been a handful since.”
“Has she trashed other girls you’ve dated in articles?”
His face softened, and he tugged her closer again. “Not like this. She’s made snide remarks in her articles, but this is more personal. I’m sorry to say that this is a new one.”
“Lucky me,” she muttered.
“Doll, you’re the first person I’ve dated since I ended things with her.”
“You haven’t dated anyone in three years?”
He shook his head. “I have found no one worth dating.”
She stared at him, her eyes searching his. He still sat rigid, his face still creased with anger, but his eyes had softened. She leaned up and pressed her lips to his. His hands snaked around her and gripped her hips, lifting her onto his lap so she straddled him without breaking the kiss.
Their lips remained soft, neither one of them increasing the pressure. His kiss seemed tentative, not lust-filled like all of their other make-out sessions. Maddie settled her hand on the side of his face and stroked it, while their tongues explored each other’s mouths.
He groaned against her mouth and pulled back slightly, his eyes closed as he tilted into her touch.
“That feels good,” he whispered.
She watched a serene expression fall across his face as she continued to stroke his cheek. She brought her other hand up and traced his face along the side of his cheek, down to his strong jaw, and then swiped a thumb over his lips.
He opened his eyes and watched her. “What are you doing to me?” His voice came out hoarse.
His hands gripped her hips and pulled her tighter against him before their lips locked again. Her hips ground down onto him, and he groaned as he pressed up into her.
The rough fabric of her jeans ground against her clit while they dry humped on the couch. She pulled back and moved to slide off him, but he caught her wrist—concern instantly etching across his face.
“I’m just taking my jeans off.”
He relaxed and released her hand. The concern that flashed across his face made her want to question it, but she needed something else right now.
While she tugged her jeans over her hips, he pulled his slacks down and draped them over the side of the couch before returning to his seat. She stepped toward him and immediately crawled back onto his lap, straddling him like they were before.
“Now, where were we?” he asked.
She settled a hand on his cheek and stroked it again. He sucked in a breath and closed his eyes. It felt as if he grew beneath her just by the simple act. He enjoyed being touched, that much she knew.
She moved her hips, her body stroking his through their underwear, and she suddenly wished they had both discarded their undergarments when they discarded their pants.
He gripped her hips and moved her in unison with him as she rode against him faster. They weren’t even having sex yet, and it was the hottest thing she had ever done. Her heart rate sped up, and she panted as her climax rose higher and higher.
“Jace, I want to feel you,” she said between pants.
He stopped moving and pulled himself out of his boxers, grabbing a condom off the cushion next to him that she hadn’t even noticed was there. She didn’t know when he grabbed it, but suspected it was while they undressed. He stared up at her as he rolled it down his shaft. The anticipation had her nearly coming apart just from watching it.
When he finished, he pulled her panties to the side and moved her to hover above him.
“Do you want to?” he asked.
