Beautiful Thorns (Boys of Bellerose #4)(8)
Author: Jaymin Eve

“Our heart,” Jace said softly, cutting him off with an intense stare in my direction. “You’re the one who reminded us all what it feels like to love… and be loved. You’re the sunshine creating a rainbow out of our miserable, wet day.”

 

Well fuck. When did Jace decide to jump all in like that?

 

“Three days,” I whispered, addressing Grayson. “Let us stay for three days while you look for Angelo. We won’t leave this suite; we won’t risk any danger. If you haven’t found him in three days, I’ll get on a plane without any resistance… but I need to have hope that you’ll find him. And when you do, I want to be here.” Even if I understood that he’d spoken the truth about me being no help whatsoever.

 

Grayson nodded slowly. “Three days, and you don’t leave this suite. I can accept this on one condition.”

 

“Anything,” I agreed quickly.

 

The corner of his mouth twitched in a sly smile. “You sleep in my bed all three nights. It’ll help me focus if I can smell you on my sheets whenever I return to sleep.”

 

The heated look in his eyes told me he had other things in mind that would help him focus, and I was all too willing to oblige. “Deal,” I agreed.

 

Three days… I pinned all my hope on Grayson and Vee’s ability to track Angelo down before that time was up because the idea of leaving the country without him made me feel physically sick. I’d just gotten him back; I couldn’t fathom losing him for real this time.

 

 

 

 

 

five

 

 

 

 

 

BILLIE

 

 

After we finished breakfast, Grayson left. Jace disappeared to his bedroom, and a few moments later the sound of guitar music trickled out to us to say he was working on new music again. Jace’s favorite distraction had always been composing… after sex, of course. But with that off the cards between us, he was going straight to the art of songwriting to deal with his feelings.

 

Rhett turned on a movie for us to watch, but within about twenty minutes he was fast asleep again. He seemed so peaceful, so I flicked off the TV and pulled a blanket over him so he could rest.

 

We’d brought all our luggage with us, so I hunted through my suitcase for a swimsuit. The indoor pool was calling to me, and my restless energy was demanding exercise. I changed, then checked on Rhett again before opening the glass door off the living room to the narrow lap pool. Tossing my towel on one of the sun loungers, I dipped a toe in the water and smiled to find it heated.

 

I drew a deep breath, then dove right in. The water hugged my body as I started to swim, holding me afloat as I soared the length of the pool, then executed a sloppy tuck turn at the end to return. I used to love swimming in high school, excelling at swim meets. But then I’d become a reckless teenager in love with her two best friends and quickly lost myself in other physical activities in my spare time.

 

Up and down the pool I swam until my head stopped spinning with worst-case scenarios and my limbs ached with exhaustion. Only then did I notice the pair of men’s legs dangling in the water near the stairs.

 

“Hey,” I puffed, swiping water from my eyes as I surfaced near Jace. “How long have you been here?”

 

He gave me a lopsided smile. “A while. Do you feel better?”

 

I nodded, wordless.

 

“Can I join you?” he asked, gesturing to the water.

 

Again, I nodded, and he slid into the water with barely a splash. Graceful bastard. He swam closer to where I floated, deep enough that I couldn’t touch the bottom and keep my head above water.

 

“I guess there’re worse places to hide out for a few days,” he murmured, his lashes low over his eyes as he glided through the water. He was tall enough that he could keep his feet on the ground, but I quickly ran out of energy and grasped for the edge.

 

He settled beside me, our elbows brushing as we looked out at the view from the pool edge. It really was a pretty place, just soured by our circumstances.

 

“Angel will come back to us, Rose,” Jace said after a long moment of silence. His voice was soft and sincere, his gaze moving to my face as he rested his cheek on his arms. “I wouldn’t even be surprised if he freed himself before Gray got there.”

 

I gave a weak smile back. “Sounds like something he’d do,” I agreed.

 

We lapsed back into silence for a while, then Jace nudged me with his shoulder. “What’s on your mind, Billie Bellerose? Talk to me.”

 

I knew what he was asking… not that he had no clue what I was thinking about, but which issue specifically was on the front of my mind right now. I wet my lips, resting my wet hair on my forearms so I could look at him properly.

 

“Can I, though? Talk to you, I mean. Without sparking another fight or sending you running away to fuck me out of your head with groupies?” It was a low blow, but there were a lot of scabs on our relationship that hadn’t yet healed.

 

Jace, to his credit, didn’t flinch away from my accusation. “I don’t always deal with my feelings as maturely as my bandmates,” he admitted, “and when it comes to you… I fuck up more than ever. But you must know I didn’t fuck anyone else that night, don’t you?”

 

I drew a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Yeah. I do… that time. But what about—”

 

“No one, not even once, not since that night at the farmhouse… Once we crossed that line, Rose, I was entirely yours. Whether you wanted me or not. Whether I wanted to be or not, for that matter.” He gave one of those sexy half smiles that made my stomach flip. “I was an idiot for ever believing you’d stopped loving me. Back then I was so hurt, so heartbroken, and my ego was totally crushed. If I’d been older, if I’d had the years of missing you to reflect on, it’d have been so fucking obvious you were lying.”

 

“You’re right,” I murmured, unable to look away from his deep blue gaze. “But I guess everything happens for a reason… somehow. We were just kids then, Jace. There’s no way we could have known what we had without first losing it.”

 

He took a few deep breaths, then hummed a sound of agreement. “You’re probably right, though I wish more than anything I could turn back time and do it all differently. Even just a few months. There are so many things I wish I could take back, so many cruel comments that you didn’t deserve, Rose.”

 

I smiled, trying to lighten the emotional weight sitting between us. “And some I definitely did deserve.”