Page 47 of When Ben Loved Jace (He Loved Him #2)

After we returned from Paris, Allison joked that Jace had made a tactical error, since no honeymoon destination could possibly compete.

Well, there just so happens to be another place way up on my list. Hawaii!

I’m a sunflower, a solar-powered baby. I can’t wait to bake on a beach next to him while sipping fruity cocktails.

I’ve never been to a tropical island. To say that I’m excited is an understatement.

We’re soaring toward the Pacific Ocean at this very moment.

I didn’t marry a rich man—and he certainly didn’t!

—but Jace being a flight attendant sure has its perks.

He was able to get free airline tickets through his work.

Our parents paid for the rest. We’ll be there for an entire week!

The row we’re in is toward the back of the plane and only has two seats on each side.

I’ve raised the armrest between us so I can snuggle up to Jace.

Flying economy has never been so comfortable.

Who needs a first-class seat when you’ve got a first-class man?

I’m so relieved to be alone with him at last. I adored our wedding, but this is what I’ve been craving.

I just want to focus all of my attention on him and nothing else.

With the exception of the book I’m reading, because it is a good one.

I glance at him while turning the page. Jace is watching the flight crew, like he often does when we travel anywhere together.

This is his workplace after all, even if he’s not on duty.

There isn’t a ding that doesn’t attract his attention or an announcement that he doesn’t listen to carefully.

Me? I try to tune it all out. I’m reaching the end of a chapter when I feel my husband tense next to me.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

“There’s no reason for the fasten-seatbelt sign to be on,” he says as one of the flight attendants hustles down the aisle past us, followed shortly by another.

“Is something wrong?”

“I’m not sure,” Jace says. He leans into the aisle when one of the flight attendants returns. I know they’ve worked together because he spoke to her earlier. “Linda?” he says with an inquiring expression.

She slows and glances around before bringing her head close to his. “Fuel gauge,” she whispers .

“Do we need to divert?”

“Looks that way,” she replies. “Sorry.”

Linda hurries away. Jace leans back and sighs.

“Are we going to die?” I ask him.

He shakes his head. “No.”

“Would you tell me if we were?”

“Yes. Well, actually, probably not.”

“Jace!”

He laughs. “Which would you prefer? We’re fine,” he adds when noticing my expression. “I promise.”

“For the record, I’d rather know. So what’s going on?”

He lowers his voice. “We’ll probably have to stop somewhere for repairs.”

That doesn’t seem like such a big deal. As long as we get to Hawaii, I’m happy, even if it’s a little later than expected. Eventually the captain makes an announcement about a technical issue that requires us to land. When he explains where, Jace tenses again.

“Now what?”

“Nothing,” he says. “It’s just a very small airport.”

“Is that bad?”

“Fewer resources, like hardware and crew. That includes additional aircraft. I’m also worried about duty hours timing out."

I pull a face. "Me no speak flight attendant.”

He grimaces. “I’m worried it might be a long wait. Or um… An overnight stay.”

“ What!? ”

Thankfully, the other passengers are all having their own reactions to the announcement, so my outcry is mostly lost in the burble of conversation.

“Don’t worry,” Jace says. “I’ll take care of everything.”

That puts me at ease. I know I’m in good hands with him, so I don’t stress as everything plays out.

I simply focus on reading my book. (Which is about falling in love with a straight boy, highly recommended, but then I’m biased since I would get to know the author years later.) The plane changes course.

We land and are asked to disembark. Inside the airport, Jace parks me in a chair with my book while he fusses over his phone or consults with his colleagues.

I’m mostly oblivious to the goings-on and it’s great, like being a kid again.

I simply let the nearest adult take care of business.

Although I can’t help but be disappointed when he tells me the bad news.

“Where are we going?” I ask as he leads me away from where everyone is waiting.

“They’re about to announce that the flight won’t be leaving again,” he says, “but don’t worry. I’ll make the night special.”

As long as I’m with him, I don’t see how it couldn’t be.

Jace has been a busy boy. He already secured a rental car, which whisks us away. I’m surprised by how far we drive, and how many hotels we pass. “Were they all booked up?” I ask.

He shakes his head and shoots me a glance that seems anything but certain. “You’ll see.”

Eventually we end up at a motel that looks more than a little rundown. “It has personality,” he comments. “Don’t you think?”

I mull that over in the car while he goes to the front office to check in.

Adrien has personality. So does my sister.

(They got along like a house on fire, by the way.) And yet, they’re both an acquired taste.

Like this place. Not that it matters. All I want is to be with my husband.

Although we should be watching the sun sink into the ocean about now.

The weather here is overcast, drizzle covering the windshield.

I watch Jace’s distorted image return to the car.

“We’re all set!” he says with a grin. “I just hope the room is as good as the lobby.”

I see what he means a minute later, when he unlocks the door to our room and steps aside, so I can enter.

I start laughing immediately. The outdated décor has a tiki theme.

The wallpaper is patterned with large flowers, the bedspread with totems and palm trees.

Green shag carpet covers the floor. The paintings on the walls are of island scenes.

Burnt orange and brown are the dominant colors here, either because of the decade the motel was built, or due to discoloration from age.

“I love it!” I declare. “Hawaii is even more beautiful than I imagined.”

“It’ll have to do for now,” Jace says. “I have an errand to run. Are you okay here?”

I turn to him in confusion. “Why can’t I go with you?”

“It’s a romantic gesture. I won’t be long. Just keep reading. I’ll be back before you know it. ”

He kisses me and departs. I don’t continue my book though.

Instead I go to the attached bathroom, where I get ready for a romantic gesture of my own.

We didn’t sleep together on our wedding night.

We’d gotten an early start that day, and by the time all of our guests had finally gone, we had to finish packing for this trip.

Once we got into bed, we both promptly fell asleep.

At least here, in the middle of nowhere, we can make up for it.

I’ve already taken a shower and gotten dressed again when Jace returns, his hands full of shopping bags.

“Okay,” he says, lowering the bamboo blinds to hide the dreary weather outside. “We’ve just landed on the island.” He goes to the thermostat to turn it up. Then he messes with his phone until Hawaiian music begins to play. “Could I get yours too please?”

“Sure!”

I hand him my phone, already amused. He uses it to summon up the sound of ocean waves.

“Be right back,” Jace says, before rushing into the bathroom.

He’s in there for a while. I hear rustling. When the door opens again, I can’t stop laughing, because Jace is wearing nothing but a grass skirt.

“Welcome to Hawaii,” he says, placing a lei made of pink flowers over my head. “We hope you’ll enjoy your stay. Can I offer you one of our local specialties?” He darts back into the bathroom and returns with a tray filled with pineapple chunks—probably from a can—a toothpick sticking out of each.

“Wow! How exotic!” I say while grinning. I take one and feed it to him before helping myself.

“If you get thirsty, I bought some coconut water as well. There’s a restaurant nearby that will deliver seafood when we’re ready.”

“You’re the best,” I say while shaking my head in disbelief. “Where did you get the grass skirt?”

“From one of those Halloween pop-up stores.” He rotates his hips for me, offering a tantalizing glimpse of what’s beneath.

“Wait, is that the only thing you’re wearing?”

“Why don’t you find out?” he suggests. “Be warned. Tourists have reported seeing a snake in the grass. Is there anyone brave enough to check?”

“Step aside, people,” I say, sauntering over to him.

“I’m a professional snake charmer.” I begin humming the traditional song while tracing a finger across his chest, around each pink nipple, and then down the flat of his delectable stomach.

I must have the magic touch, because the grass parts, the serpent revealed as Jace flexes his cock.

“Let’s see what else is in the nest,” I say, slipping my hand inside to fondle his balls. His cock rests on the underside of my arm as I do so, as steaming hot as any tropical environment.

Jace moans in appreciation before leaning forward to kiss me.

Then he stops being passive, because when I try to drop to my knees, he catches me under the arms and shakes his head.

That’s all it takes for me to submit to him completely.

There’s nothing I want more than to give him what he wants.

Jace undresses me, his lips rarely leaving mine.

When he kneels to help me out of my jeans, he takes me into his mouth, his hands still working as his head bobs.

Then he spins me around and buries his face between my butt cheeks.

I intentionally fall forward onto the bed, placing my palms on the mattress, to make myself available to him. I’m ready to go!

Luckily, he always has better self-control in these situations. Jace backs off. When I turn around, the grass skirt is at his ankles. He gestures for me to come over to him. I eagerly comply. After another kiss, he turns sideways.

“Suck it for me.”

I bend over and do so, moaning with pleasure when he slides a finger wet with saliva into my hole. I encourage him by going all the way down. I’ve had a lot of practice over the years. I can deep throat him now, which is exactly what it takes.

Another finger joins the other and then a third as I slobber over his cock like a dog starving for a bone. I’m relieved when he doesn’t keep me waiting long.

“Get into bed,” he suggests.

We’re married now. It’s my duty to serve him faithfully!

I crawl onto the mattress on my hands and knees.

Jace gets behind me and rubs the head of his cock against my hole.

I push against it and whimper when he slides inside.

Then I cede control to him again, because he’s more reliable in these situations.

Jace is careful, his thrusts shallow, as he slowly works his way deeper.

Once he’s finally all of the way in, he falls forward, his fists hitting the mattress as his hips pump.

I feel him kissing my back and my neck, his body pressing against mine.

“Lie down,” he says .

I settle onto the bed, turning my head to the side to watch.

He lowers himself completely. I love how it feels to be pinned beneath his weight.

Jace is still inside me, his hips moving in the slow rhythm that always drives me wild.

Relief is especially far away, since I can’t really play with myself, although grinding against the comforter does feel good.

Jace wraps an arm around my neck, the other beneath my chest, squeezing me tight as he whispers into my ear.

“I love you, Ben. And those hot little honey buns. You like how that feels? I’m gonna make you come so many times tonight.”

I know from experience that he’ll make good on that promise.

Our sex life has only gotten better since we met.

Trust has a lot to do with that. And familiarity.

He knows what I like, and I’m always eager to please.

I’m willing to give myself over to him completely.

Whatever he wants, because when we’re like this, there is no separation between us. We become one.

“I can’t take it anymore,” I huff.

He doesn’t need me to explain. Jace pulls out.

I roll over. He ducks as I do, so I can rest a leg on each shoulder.

Then he moves forward for a kiss, raising my rump in the air in the process.

He slides inside of me again. I don’t reach down.

Neither does Jace, but he keeps looking at my dick in expectation, because it always makes him proud when he can make me come hands-free. I don’t intend to disappoint him.

I grab his head, moaning against his lips in between kissing him. We’re still the same people we were before getting married. But as impossible as it might seem, I think I love him even more now.

My body begins to writhe. Jace’s thrusts become more forceful, easily pushing me over the edge. I make a mess of myself. Then he slows again, his eyes half-lidded.

“Wanna take a break?” he asks.

I shake my head and reach for him, pulling him close and drawing him deeper inside of me.

We’ve got nowhere to go. I’m up for a long night.

Forget about exotic vacations and luxurious resorts.

This is the best honeymoon I could have wished for, my chest heaving with emotion when I state a simple yet undeniable truth.

“You’re all I need.”