by Bella Jewel
The phone ringing ten minutes later has a scream launching out of my throat. With shaky fingers, I glance at the display. It’s Ace. I answer it without hesitation. “Ace?”
“Where. The. Fuck. Are. You?”
Oh. My. God.
He’s angry. The low whip of his voice has shivers running up my spine.
“I waited for you, you didn’t come, so I, ah, I went to my car and drove home. I’m still in it—my car that is—at the apartment. I don’t want to get out.”
“Don’t fucking move,” he barks, and then the line goes dead.
Oh boy.
I don’t move, not that I was planning on going anywhere. I wait until I see two headlights pull into the parking lot, and then hear the loud slam of a car door as Ace gets out and charges, not strides, right towards me. He’s pissed. It’s written all over his face. I know why. I moved when he told me not to. I shouldn’t have done it, but I didn’t think.
I unlock my car and climb out just as Ace reaches me.
“Apartment. Fucking now.”
Oh man.
I nod and walk in front of him the whole way. When we reach my apartment, he shoves me slightly with his shoulder, using his set of keys to unlock the door and storm inside. He does a scour of the apartment while I just stand there, not really sure what I’m supposed to do or say. He’s angry at me.
Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut.
“It’s clear,” he rumbles in his voice low. “Lock the doors, I have work to do tonight.”
He’s leaving me?
My heart slams to a stop and I whisper, “You’re leaving me?”
His eyes flash to mine. “I have work to do.”
“Ace, I’m sorry I didn’t follow orders. You were late, you didn’t call or answer your phone, I thought I’d drive home. I didn’t think it through. I’m sorry.”
Those eyes are burning holes into mine. He’s so angry, the muscle in his jaw keeps jumping. I’ve never seen him like this. Sure, I’ve not known him all that long, but I’ve still never seen him so aggravated. I know I did the wrong thing, but I’m okay, I’m here. Right? Surely there is no reason to be that angry.
“You didn’t fucking think at all,” he booms and I flinch, taking a step back.
“Why are you so angry?” I ask. “I know I screwed up. I won’t do it again. I wasn’t thinking at the time. I know I broke the rules but—”
“Rules?” he hisses. “You think I’m pissed because you broke the fucking rules and so stupidly walked off on your own?”
I nod. Because why else would he be pissed.
He shakes his head. “Your things were all over the ground.”
My things were all over the ground? What … oh.
Oh. He thought I had been taken.
Ace thought I had been taken.
“Ace…”
“Don’t,” he growls, pinning me with another glare. “Just fucking don’t.”
It scared him. I can see it in his face. For a brief moment, he thought I’d been taken. He was afraid. My heart aches. I’m an idiot. An absolute idiot. Before I can say anything else, he turns and storms out of the apartment, slamming the door so loudly I flinch.
Dammit.
I fucked up. Bad.
* * *
I sit on the sofa for an hour.
I know there is an officer outside my door, I’ve heard him shuffling around and I even heard him speak to Ace at some point. I thought Ace might have come back, but he didn’t. So I let him be. But it’s eating away at me. I made a huge mistake, and worse, I upset Ace and that wasn’t ever my intention. I didn’t think what it would be like for him to see my things lying on the ground.
I can’t sit here any longer. I need to go and see him, to apologize again. The last thing I ever wanted to do was scare him. That wasn’t meant to happen, and I won’t sleep tonight knowing he’s next door angry, upset, and mostly hurt. I can’t imagine how that would have felt, to see all my things strewn about on the floor and panicking that I had been taken.
I stand, straighten my clothes, walk over to my door, and open it. The officer guarding me is standing on the outside, leaning against the wall, staring blankly at nothing. What a boring job. I guess this is the part they all have to do at some point, even if they don’t really want to. His eyes swing to me when I clear my throat, and he straightens. “What is it?”
“I’m going next door to see Ace. I just wanted to let you know.”
He’s already shaking his head. Why is he shaking his head?
“Ace has requested no visitors.”
I don’t think so.
“Look, I’m going over there, one way or another.”
The officer raises his brows. “That’s not going to happen.”
“It is going to happen whether you like it or not. You can either walk me over there, or I’m going to scream this entire hall down. And trust me, I’m loud.”
“I have a Taser,” he warns.
I snort. “You Taser me, you’re fired, and you know it.”
He grumbles something under his breath, and then resigns himself to the fact that he is going to have to take me next door one way or another, and extends a hand. “Well, hurry up. If I get into trouble over this, you’ll owe me.”
I flash him my best smile. “I hear you. I’ll tell him I forced you.”
“Please, for the love of God, don’t say that. I’d rather endure his wrath.”
I giggle as I walk towards Ace’s door. When I reach it, I knock three times and then step back and wait. It takes a few minutes, but finally the door swings open and Ace appears. His eyes flick to me, then to the officer behind me, and he growls, “I said no visitors.”
“He had no choice,” I say, crossing my arms. “Can I come in?”
“No.”
He slams the door in my face. My mouth drops open and I start banging my fists on the door over and over. “I can do this all night, Ace!” I call. “Or I can try screaming, yelling, singing if I must…”
The door swings open again, this time Ace looks more than a little pissed off. “I’m busy. Can we do this tomorrow?”
“No,” I say, stepping past him and walking into his apartment. “We do it now.”
With an angry sigh, he closes the door after muttering something to the officer outside. He locks the door and turns to me. “I’m not in the mood, Hartley.”
I cross my arms and stare at him. “I’m fully aware of that, Ace. But the fact of the matter is, I upset you earlier and I owe you an apology for it.”
He doesn’t say anything, he just stares at me, face blank.
“It’s going to take a little more than that, huh?”
I exhale, rub my hands over my arms, and say, “Listen, I’m really sorry, okay? I mean that. I should have stayed at the restaurant. I shouldn’t have gone off on my own. I can only imagine what it would have been like, you seeing all my stuff on the ground…”
“Are you done?”
Oh boy, he is really angry.
Now he’s making me angry.
“If you’re going to stand there and be a jerk, I won’t bother saying sorry!” I snap, crossing my arms. “Honestly, Ace, I’m trying to do the right thing here, and you’re just making it difficult—”
He takes a step towards me. I keep talking.
“I know I screwed up. I know and I’m trying to fix it.”
Another step.
“But there is absolutely no need to be a jerk about it. Seriously. If you want to yell at me, go right ahead.”
Another step. Oh God.
“Scream at me if you need to,” I say, tilting my head back and looking up at him when he stops in front of me. “But don’t treat me the way you are treating me right now.”
“I want to scream at you,” he growls, low.
“Okay.”
“I want to fucking wring your neck for what you did.”
Oh boy.
“I am so pissed.”
God.
“So. Fucking. Pissed.”
I swallow. “I know and—”
“You ever do something so incredibly stupid again … and I’ll…”
He grinds his teeth together.
“Wring my neck?” I offer.
“Hartley?”
“Yes, Ace?”
“Shut the hell up.”
With that, he takes another step forward, curls a hand around the back of my neck, and brings me in for a kiss. I’m in shock. For a moment I stand there, not completely sure I’m actually awake. Those lips, rough but soft, are moving over mine in a vigorous manner. My knees tremble, and I know I’m not dreaming. No. Definitely not.
Ace is kissing me.
Ace. Is. Kissing. Me.
Screw it. I might die tomorrow. Or the next day. Or sometime. I’m not going to waste a second longer. I reach up, twisting my fingers in his hair, and pull his head down closer so I can kiss him deeper. And kiss him deeper I do. I tangle my tongue with his, dragging a moan from his lips. One hand goes down around my waist and he hauls me up. My legs curl around his waist, and in two quick strides he has me on the sofa.
Down we go.
I whimper when his big body comes down over mine, grinding against me, those hot, hard muscles pressing against every part of me. It’s been so long since I’ve felt a man so close, felt his mouth on mine, his body flush, his hands dragging over my skin. I close my eyes and let Ace deepen the kiss. We shouldn’t be doing it, but neither of us are about to stop.
Ace’s hand travels down my side, and curls around my thigh, pulling it up to hook around his waist. The short cotton pants I’m wearing are no barrier for the hard length rubbing against me. I whimper and arch into him, using the heel of my foot to push down on his ass, pressing him harder against my body. This earns me a low, deep growl, and he finally pulls his mouth away from mine.
“You drive me fuckin’ crazy.”
I stare at his lips, and already I want more. “I’m not sorry.”
“I shouldn’t be doing this.”
I lean up, nipping his full lower lip. “Then stop.”
He doesn’t even think about that as he leans back, removing his shirt. He tosses it to the ground and rasps out, “Not going to happen.”
All right then.
I’m not going to argue.
I stare as he hooks his thumbs into my shorts and slowly drags them down my legs. My cheeks flush when he drops them to the ground and his gaze rakes my naked lower half. I’m thankful I recently waxed, because I certainly wasn’t planning on any man seeing me naked, so it’s a damned miracle I thought to do it. Ace’s jaw clenches as his eyes take in my exposed sex.
“You’re wet,” he murmurs, reaching down and dragging a finger through my sex, bringing it up and sliding it into his mouth.
Oh God.
That was hot.
“Fuck,” he hisses, making light work of the rest of his clothes and mine.
My eyes travel down to the hard, jutting erection between his legs. Holy crap. It’s as big and angry-looking as him. It’s beautiful, swollen, ready. I lick my lips as he lowers himself over me, shifting just slightly to the side so his fingers can slip between my legs again. I gasp when he slides one inside, while using his thumb to stroke over my clit.
It feels amazing.
Nobody has touched me since Raymond, and I didn’t realize just how much I’ve wanted it until this moment. My body is already wound up and ready to explode. I bite my bottom lip, trying to hold back, but my legs start shaking as my orgasm builds so fast I know it’s going to be incredible.
“Stop holding onto it,” Ace growls. “Let it go.”
I exhale and a long, deep moan leaves my throat as I explode, having an orgasm for the first time in what feels like forever. Ace makes a pleased sound in his throat, stroking me a few more times, before slipping his fingers from my depths and moving his body over mine, nudging my legs wider apart with his big body.
His lips find mine, and I let him kiss me, long and deep. My fingers run up and down his back, my nails putting just enough pressure on his skin to earn me a pleased, slightly pained, groan. I run my foot up and down his calf, and then I drag my lips away from his and find his jaw, kissing the stubble there before lowering my mouth to his neck, where I nip him before sucking slightly.
“Fuck. Stop it,” he pants. “I can only take so much.”
Smiling against his skin, I reach my fingers back up and curl them into his hair, moving my mouth back against his and kissing him once more. He tastes incredible. His kisses go from deep, to frequent pecks, back to deep again. I’ll take whatever I can get when it comes to him. As long as his lips are touching mine, I want it.
“Going to fuck you now,” he murmurs.
“Okay,” I whisper, my chest rising and falling with my pants.
He leans back, twists, and opens a drawer on the lamp table beside the couch. He jerks out a packet of condoms and pulls one out, tearing it open with his teeth and rolling it down that beautiful length. I don’t think too much about the fact that he’s got condoms beside his sofa, I just focus on him, and the anticipation building inside me.
When he falls back over me, his mouth drops and closes around one of my nipples. He sucks it into his mouth and gently nips at it. God. That feels incredible. I tighten my legs around his waist, needing him inside me. I don’t care if that makes me seem desperate, because the fact of the matter is, I am. I need him, and I need him now.
“Ace, please,” I mewl, pulling on his hair hard enough that I know it’ll hurt a bit.
He shifts, and then the tip of him is pressing right there. God. Right there. I tilt my hips, edging him inside me. With a groan, he thrusts. One, hard thrust. He fills me, and a cry escapes my lips. Oh. My. God. A mix of pleasure and the most incredible kind of pain explodes in my body as it struggles to stretch around him, to accommodate his size after so long.
“Goddammit,” he hisses. “Fuck.”
He pulls his hips back slowly, and then drives back in. My cry turns into a whimper, as I ease around him. Only then do I feel it, really feel it. With every thrust, the pleasure builds inside of me, starting like a small fire inside my body, burning out until I’m crying out his name, until my nails are gliding down his back, until I don’t think I can take it for a single second more.
“Ace,” I gasp.
Nothing more needs to be said. His name is more than enough. His thrusting becomes more measured, perfectly timed strokes, rubbing over that bundle of nerves inside me, and before I know it, I’m arching for a final time, gasping out his name as I explode around him. Pulse after pulse of pleasure shakes my body, and my entire world feels like it stops spinning for one blissful moment.
It’s just Ace and me.
“Fuck,” Ace groans, and then his body shudders, too.
For a few moments, we lay there, both of us panting, both of us covered in a fine sheen of sweat. I run the tips of my fingers down Ace’s arms, over the curve of his bicep, over his shoulders, and then slowly down his back. He’s got his head nestled in the nook of my shoulder, and his breath tickles my neck. Slowly but surely it slows down, and he lifts off me, eyes holding mine. “You okay?”
Am I okay?
Dammit. That’s sweet.
“Yeah,” I say in a soft voice. “Are you?”
He nods, leaning down and pressing a kiss to my forehead before removing himself from me and discarding the condom. I sit up, pulling my clothes back on, and then I wait for him on the sofa while he cleans up in the bathroom. He comes out a few minutes later and sits down beside me. For a second, neither of us says anything, because honestly, I don’t think we really know what to say.
It wasn’t something I think either of us saw coming.
“Do you regret that?” I dare to say, looking over and meeting his eyes.
He shakes his head. “No.”
“You’re so quiet…”
He rubs a hand down his face, then drags it through his hair
. “That’s just … it’s the first time since … Miranda.”
Oh.
I get where he’s coming from.
“For me, too.”
His eyes widen slightly. “Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
He doesn’t say anything, he just stares at me with those penetrating eyes.
“Ace?”
“Mmmm?”
“Tell me about her.”
TWENTY-ONE
“What was your life like with her?”
“Full,” he tells me, his eyes swinging to mine. “She was an incredible woman.”
I smile, loving the way his face lights up when he talks about her, the way the lines near his eyes soften, and his face seems to just relax. It’s like she is a peaceful place for him, a place where he doesn’t have to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. I love that. I know what that feels like.
“What did you love the most about her?”
“Her laugh, she had a crazy laugh. It was kind of what drew me to her, you know? She was standing there, in a bar, head thrown back, laughing. I knew that I had to meet her, just to hear that laugh some more.”
That’s beautiful.
“Were you different before you lost her? Do you think losing her changed you?”
He thinks about that for a moment. “Yeah, absolutely. She used to tell me I was broody, so I guess some things never change, but I was happier then. I didn’t feel anger, or regret, or this incredible sadness. I loved life.”
“You don’t love life now?” I ask him, understanding how that feels, to be stuck in sadness and unable to find a way out. It took me a long time. His loss is fresher than mine.
“I love my job, but there are times when I’m alone, and I have nothing else. It’s just me and my job. It can be a lonely world.”
Poor guy. I know how it feels to be surrounded by people and yet feel completely alone. I can relate to that. I can understand it. I like understanding Ace, I like being able to respect his pain and know exactly where it stems from. I think it connects us on a level other people simply couldn’t understand.
“What did you do for fun, before you lost Miranda? Surely there was something you enjoyed?”
He thinks about that, and then his eyes swing to me. “I loved fishing. We used to go out most weekends, up to the mountains, to the lake, and we’d fish and camp.”