by Leah Brooke
“I know. Now there’s more.” Zach ran a hand over Hope’s hair before moving aside. “The freezer’s already filled, and so is the fridge. You have enough food in the house to feed an army.”
Hope set the container in front of Ace with a rueful grin. “Feeding the three of you is like feeding an army.” She handed her husband a knife and fork, her smile knowing. “Don’t try to hide your pain from me. I see it as well as I saw that pain pill you took and your relief when Law helped you get back into bed.”
Pride in her and irritation that she saw so much warred with each other as Ace cut into his food. “I hope you’re enjoying yourself.”
“Oh, I am.” Hope poured a cup of fragrant coffee from the thermos and handed it to him. “It’s about time you learned that you can lean on me when you need to. I won’t break, Sheriff.”
Ace’s lips twitched, pride taking the lead. “I never doubted that for a minute. You’re a hell of a lot tougher than you think you are. It’s about time you figured that out.”
Her eyes widened, a small smile playing at her lips, but she swallowed whatever she’d been about to say when Charity and Beau appeared.
They burst through the door with bags of more food and coffee and fresh clothes for Hope.
While Hope showered, Ace allowed Dr. Hansen to check him over, willing to do whatever it took to get out of there.
“I really wish you’d stay at least one more day, but I realize that it’s just wishful thinking on my part.” Dr. Hansen finished writing out his prescriptions. “Here’s one for pain and an antibiotic.”
Law accepted the slips of paper. “I’ll go get these filled downstairs. Don’t go anywhere until I get back.”
Beau moved closer, his eyes narrowed in concern. “You’re beat. Did you sleep at all?”
He glanced toward the bathroom door where he heard the water running and the faint voices of Hope and her sister. “Not much. Neither did Hope. We’ll sleep when we get home. How the hell anyone can sleep here is beyond me.”
Dr. Hansen chuckled. “True. I’ll be by the house after dinner to make sure everything’s all right.” He handed a slip of paper to Zach. “Here’s a list of instructions and what to look out for. Any complications, call me immediately.”
“Will do.” Zach shook the doctor’s hand and approached as Dr. Hansen shook Beau’s hand and left with the promise to see them later.
Ace glanced toward the bathroom again. “Help me up.” He didn’t want Hope to see him struggle to get out of bed.
She was already worried enough.
Beau took Ace’s arm while Zach took the other. “Easy. I know you don’t want Hope to worry, but don’t do anything stupid. Let me and your brothers helps you.”
“That’s what I’m doing.”
“You’re in a lot of pain, aren’t you?”
“Only when I breathe, talk, or move my head. Just don’t let on to Hope. The pain medicine the nurse gave me is starting to kick in. Just get me the hell home so Hope and I can go to bed.”
* * * *
Hope pretended not to see the pain her husband tried so desperately to hide, but she knew him well enough to see it in his eyes and in the stiff way he moved.
Walking through the front door of their house in front of Ace, she grimaced at the overwhelming scent of flowers.
Looking around, she saw that every surface was covered with them and in vases of every color and size. “Jeez, Ace.”
“Looks like a damned funeral parlor.” Ace turned to Zach, his movements lacking his usual grace. “Can you get rid of these without hurting Courtney’s feelings?”
Zach nodded once. “Will do. I’ll get a truck here to take them to the hospital. I’m sure a lot of people will appreciate them.”
Ace tightened his hand on Hope’s, moving carefully across the room toward the hallway. “Hope and I are going to bed. We’re locking the door and don’t want to be disturbed unless the house catches fire.”
Law chuckled and nodded, carrying Hope’s bag of dirty clothing to the laundry room. “I don’t blame you. You and your wife go get some sleep. We’ll hold the fort down. Just call out if you need something.”
Hope led Ace to the bedroom, watching as he closed and locked the door behind him.
He’d paled even more since leaving the hospital, and she knew that he needed rest. “Okay, Sheriff. Let’s get you out of these clothes so you can sleep.”
He lowered himself to the bed and stretched out, every movement stiff. “Just get my boots off.”
Hope had barely managed to yank the covers aside in time, and after taking his boots off, she pulled the covers over him again. “You okay?”
Settling his head back, Ace closed his eyes. “I will be as soon as you get undressed and get in next to me.”
“Ace, I’m not getting undressed.” She moved around to the other side of the bed and pulled the covers back, kicking off her shoes.
She was dead tired and wanted nothing more than to curl up next to her husband.
She looked over, smiling to see that he watched her with eyes narrowed to slits. “I think I should put a pillow between us so I don’t bump into you.”
“No. Get undressed. I want you naked.”
Hope stilled at the authority in his tone, glancing toward the door. “Ace, your brothers are in the house.”
“Gee, Hope. Thanks. I didn’t know that.” He patted the spot next to him with a sigh. “I hate to sleep without you next to me. Last night we both slept like shit. Get those clothes off and get into bed. You’ll sleep better after you come.”
Hope gaped at him, wondering if the medication had made him a little loopy. “Ace, honey, we can’t have sex.”
Ace smiled at that, reaching out to trace her nipple through her shirt. “Not today, but I don’t need to fuck you to make you come. Get those clothes off and get into bed, or I’ll get up and do it for you.”
Her husband never made idle threats, so she knew damned well that he would do it. “Ace, I—” When he tossed the covers aside, she knew she had to move. “No. I’ll get undressed, damn it! Just stay where you are.” She threw the covers back over him, glaring at him when he calmly folded his arms over his chest and waited expectantly.
“You’re a real pain in the ass. Do you know that?”
Ace’s slow smile sent a shiver of delight through her. “Baby, I’m not up to that yet, but I promise to get back to you in a day or two. You and I have some unfinished business.”
Her bottom clenched in response, her intimate knowledge of his dark side making her puckered opening tingle in anticipation.
Shaking her head when he impatiently raised a brow, Hope began to get undressed. Tossing her shirt aside before slipping out of the cotton pants her sister had brought her, she studied his harsh features. “I don’t know why I have to sleep naked.”
“Because you always sleep naked.”
“So do you.” She slipped off her bra and panties and crawled into the bed beside him, careful not to jar him.
“And I will later. I just don’t feel like getting undressed and dressed again.”
Seeing her husband in pain knotted her stomach, bringing back the terror she’d felt when she’d first seen him motionless and bloody, trapped under a car.
With a sigh, Ace lifted his arm, making a place for her against him. “Come here. No more crying. I’m fine.”
A sob escaped as Hope curled into him, carefully avoiding his injuries. “You could have been killed.”
“I wasn’t. I’m here, and I’ll be back to normal in a couple of days. Go to sleep.”
“Ace, I was so scared.”
His lips touched her hair. “I know. Don’t dwell on it. It’s over, and I’m okay. Life doesn’t come with guarantees, baby. I love you, and I’ll love you until I die. We just have to make the most of every day.”
Smiling up at him, she cupped his jaw. “Funny. I was thinking the same thing myself last night. You’re everything to me. I know you’re still
mad at me for saying I was leaving.”
“I am, but it doesn’t make me love you any less.”
“I probably wouldn’t have, you know.”
His chuckle stopped as soon as it started, more evidence of the pain he had to be feeling. “Yes, you would have. You would have packed a bag and gone back to your old apartment above the diner and pouted.”
“I don’t pout.” Hope frowned when she realized that she was doing just that.
He ran his hand over her breast, tugging lightly at her nipple. “Of course you do. It’s adorable. Go to sleep. You didn’t sleep worth a damn last night, and if you don’t get enough sleep, you’re grouchy as hell.”
She lifted herself to an elbow to look down at him. “I must seem like a child to you.”
Ace smiled and ran the back of his finger over her nipple. “No, Hope. You’re not a child to me. There’s an innocence and sweetness about you that I need in my life.”
“Sometimes I think you’d be happier with someone more sophisticated.”
Ace’s lips twitched. “I used to think so, too. Instead, I find myself tied to a hellcat, who feels strongly about everything and is very opinionated.”
Hope smiled and traced a finger over his jaw, her clit swelling and tingling as he continued to lightly stroke her nipple. “I’m a pain to you sometimes.”
“You’re a challenge, and your enthusiasm keeps me on my toes. You’re never boring, baby. That’s for sure. You’re not gonna go to sleep, are you?”
She wrapped a hand around his thick wrist. “How do you expect me to fall asleep when you’re doing that?”
“Come up here. I want to feel that soft pussy.”
“Ace, I—”
“Now, Hope. You’re a big girl. You can take it.”
“Damn it, Ace.” She sat up and slid closer. “You’re not supposed to be—”
“And you know better than to defy me. On your knees. Spread them. Wider. Hold on to the headboard.”
She obeyed him, her clit tingling hotly. “I want to take care of you.”
“And you will. Later. For now, I want you to come, and I want you to do it without making a sound.”
Hope could hear the tension and fatigue in Ace’s voice but also the underlying determination.
He wouldn’t sleep until she had an orgasm.
Sucking in a breath at the feel of his callused finger sliding over her newly waxed mound, Hope gripped the headboard tighter.
Ace chuckled softly and slipped a finger into her pussy. “Sensitive, isn’t it? It’s been a long time since I used the whip on you, hasn’t it?”
Her pussy throbbed at his words, the memory of the last time he’d used the small whip on her clit almost making her come on the spot. “Yes.”
“It’s something for you to think about.” He slid his finger free and smoothed her juices over her puckered opening. “This ass is gonna get a workout, too. I think you need to be reminded that you threatened to leave me. Spread your thighs, sub.”
Hope shivered at his words and tone, knowing that her husband wasn’t in the mood for disobedience and that, despite his injuries, he would force her to comply.
Her unwillingness to allow him to hurt himself made her even more determined to obey his every command.
Spreading her trembling thighs wider, she closed her eyes, waiting expectantly for the touch of his finger on her clit.
She didn’t have to wait long.
Ace began to stroke her clit with the expertise and precision of a husband and Dominant who knew her intimately. “If you make a sound, Law and Zach are gonna run in here, and I’m gonna be mad as hell.”
Her clit burned under his fingers, throbbing even harder at his precise strokes.
The tingling intensified with a speed that stunned her, making it harder and harder to remain still. Gripping the headboard harder, she threw her head back and pressed her lips together to keep from crying out.
Her nipples still ached from his previous attention, her pussy and bottom clenching at emptiness. “Ace.”
“Quiet, baby. I’m right here. You’re drenched, sub. You need this. Come for me.”
No matter how hard Hope tried to fight it, she could never deny him when he ordered her to come in that velvet-coated steely tone.
Her body tightened, bowing as she came, the intense wave of pleasure holding her in its grip for several heart-stopping seconds before releasing her in a rush of bliss.
Clamping a hand over her mouth to muffle her sounds of pleasure, Hope bucked against his hand, sucking in a breath when he thrust a finger into her pussy and used his thumb to slowly stroke her clit and draw out her orgasm until she couldn’t stand it any longer.
Ace knew, as he always did, when the sensation became too sharp to endure.
She never knew when he would release her or when he would make her endure it for as long as he wanted, which added to her torment.
She breathed a sigh of relief when he withdrew his finger and stroked her clit one last time, slumping against the headboard.
“Lie down next to me.”
Hope didn’t need a second invitation.
After a nerve-wracking day, and a nearly sleepless night, Hope wanted nothing more than to curl up next to her husband and just sleep.
Lethargic after her orgasm and feeling weepy, she watched him close his eyes and curled next to him, covering them both with the soft blanket. “I love you, Ace. So much.”
“I love you, too, baby. Go to sleep.”
Chapter Ten
Hope watched over Ace as he ate, amazed that, after several hours of sleep, he already looked much better.
His movements were still stiff, but his color had improved, along with his alertness.
He smiled across the table at Courtney. “Thanks for the soup. It’s delicious.”
“I’m glad you like it. You look better than you did when you got here.”
“It must be the soup.”
Courtney beamed, her cheeks turning pink. “Thank you. I can make some more if you like.”
Knowing how much her husband hating eating something as unsubstantial as soup, Hope hid a smile and watched him make his third sandwich. “That’s very nice of you, but I wouldn’t want to put you out any more. Besides, there’s a ton of food in the fridge and in the freezer, and people are gonna start asking me if I ate what they brought, and I don’t want to hurt their feelings.”
Courtney nodded. “You’re right, of course. I can’t believe how much food everyone brought. I’d hate for anyone to have their feelings hurt.”
Inwardly shaking her head at how smoothly her husband handled Courtney, Hope eyed him, realizing how often he used his charm and devastating smile to handle her.
Law pulled Courtney closer, his love for her glittering in his eyes. “But it was your soup that he ate first, and that revved him back up again. Just don’t tell anyone.”
Courtney blushed under his praise, leaning into him. “I won’t.” She turned to Ace. “I’m really sorry about all the flowers. I knew the smell would get to you, but I couldn’t turn people away. Everyone’s been so nice to me.”
Ace gave Courtney another one of his rare smiles. “You’re easy to be nice to, and everyone I talk to has nothing but good things to say about you. I just hope you’re not upset about having the flowers taken away.”
“Not at all. I’m happy they went to the hospital, to people who needed them.”
Ace finished assembling his sandwich and eyed his brothers. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
Law glanced at Hope. “We just want to be close in case you need us.”
“Your house is right next door. Look, I appreciate that you came all this way—”
Zach jumped to his feet. “Fuck that. You’re our brother. Of course we came. We’re working from here. It’s not the first time, and Courtney was anxious to get back anyway.”
Courtney rose and started gathering dishes, waving off Hope’s effort to help. “I like visiting Dal
las, but I can’t wait to get back to Desire. Law and Zach are in meetings all day, and it’s nice to see shows and go out to dinner, but I love being here. I can walk around, stop into stores, and spend all day catching up.”
Hope knew that Law and Zach spent most of their time in their offices at the oil company in Dallas and could imagine that it could get lonely for Courtney. “I get that. I stop in to see Mom and the dads and end up eating and running into everyone. I stop by to get some new cream at Indulgences and get into a conversation with Jesse, Nat, and Brenna and end up being there for hours. Hell, sometimes, I go upstairs and help Nat put together a new batch of something, and before you know it, Ace is stopping in to see if I’m ready for dinner.”
Curious, Hope sent a look in her husband’s direction. “How the hell do you always know where to find me?”
Ace bit into his sandwich and winked. “Now that would be telling.”
* * * *
Ace closed the door behind his brothers and Courtney, relieved to finally be alone with his wife. After locking it, he turned to her, frowning when he saw her texting. “Who’s that?”
Lifting her head, she smiled, flashing her dimples again. “Are you telling me there’s something you don’t know, Sheriff?”
Narrowing his eyes, he settled his hands on his hips, relieved that his wife seemed more relaxed. “It’s either Charity or your mother asking what we want for dinner or asking you what time you want them to bring it. Tonight’s spaghetti night, so we’ll be eating spaghetti with meatballs. Tell them to bring it at six. Law, Zach, and Courtney will probably also show up, and you should ask Beau and Charity to eat with us.”
Shaking her head, Hope eyed him with a combination of amusement and concern. “It was Charity, and I already told her. How the hell do you know everything?”
Ace smiled and crossed to lower himself into his favorite chair. “I’m observant. You look better.”
“So do you.”
“Come here.”
Frowning, she stepped closer. “Ace, you need to be resting.”
“I’ll rest a lot better as soon as you give me that mouth.” The need to feel his wife’s lips on his cock had him unfastening his jeans, his cock already hard.