by Lucia Grace
She shakes her head in frustration, crossing her arms over her chest. Giving up her attempt at grabbing her bag from the floor.
“Answer me, Ace. When have I ever made you feel like—”
“I heard you tonight, Damon!” Tears now fall unchecked down her flushed round cheeks. “When I stepped away to use the bathroom and you thought I wasn’t around.” She sighs. Defeated. “I heard you tell your parents that I was only here because of what happened.”
Her soft tone full of so much sadness explodes around me like an atom bomb. She heard me downplaying what was going on with my parents. Fuck.
“And I know it’s stupid, but after these last few weeks here…I thought something was going on with us. That maybe something could happen between us. But yet again, I’m the fucking fool because I’m just here for you to help. Like some damsel in distress. Because I needed the help while I recovered. Well, I’m healed now, Damon. So I’m leaving.”
A frustrated growl rips from my chest. “If you would have kept listening you would have heard—”
“I heard enough. I didn’t need to hear anything else.” She sniffles before turning away from me.
“Goddamn it, Ace. Would you just listen to me for a damn minute and let me finish?” I rake my hand over my head. Frustrated beyond fucking belief because if she had kept listening to my talk with my parents, she would have heard me tell them how even though nothing was going on with us, I wanted something going on with us. And that her staying with me, even though her parents were back and she was on her way to a full recovery, was my play at keeping her with me so I could make my move.
“There isn’t anything to listen to, Damon. I’m leaving.” She brings me from my thoughts. My anger surging at her stubbornness.
I step toward her and spin her around. “You aren’t fucking leaving, Ace. It’s fucking late, and not to fucking mention that psychotic bastard who attacked you is out there somewhere. So no, no fucking way. You’re staying here.”
“I’ll just go back to my apartment, I don’t need anyone babysitting me anymore. And as for Teddy, I have the restraining order. I’ll be fine.”
“I can’t fucking protect you if you’re at your apartment.” Doesn’t she fucking get that?
“I don’t need protecting, Damon. I was here because I had nowhere else to go before, remember? This was the best option. Well, my time is up.”
“As long as Wilkes is free, you need protecting. And if you think that you’ve only been here because of what happened to you, then you’re fucking stupid.”
Hurt fills her eyes at my careless remark. Fuck. “This isn’t coming out right. I don’t think you’re stupid. I’m just fucking pissed and confused because one minute everything was fine and then the next you are upset and packing to leave. If you would just let me explain, you’d understand that this is all one big misunderstanding.”
“Just get out, Damon.” Defeat weighs her words down, along with her shoulders as they drop. I watch the fight drain from her.
I am such a fucking asshole.
“I’m too dang tired to argue with you anymore so I’ll stay tonight. But tomorrow, that’s a different story.” She makes it over to her bag that is on the floor, picks it up, then tosses it on the chair in the corner.
“Ace—”
“No,” she shouts. “Just get out!”
Not wanting to upset her any further, but happy she’s staying put for at least one more night, I make my way out of the room and shut her door behind me.
I walk through the house, making sure everything’s locked up and that the lights are off, before walking back down the hallway to my room. I pause at Ace’s door and hear her sniffling. My chest tight from knowing I made her cry.
Losing my need to go on a run, I walk into my bedroom, then shut my door and strip down to get into bed. All the while planning how the fuck I’m going to get her to stay and not hate me.
Lying in bed, I stare up at the ceiling. Not even close to being tired because my argument with Ace, along with her sad eyes and defeated tone, infiltrates my mind on a loop.
I can’t fucking believe she thinks I feel obligated to take care of her. That she’s here with me now only because of what happened to her. And I can’t fucking believe I called her fucking stupid, when she is anything but. My mouth just started running when she insinuated that she was here for nothing more than to heal. Yeah, that’s what started all of this. But after that motherfucker attacked her, leaving her needing somewhere to recover, that gave me the wake-up call that I fucking needed. It’s a shit fucking thing that something life-threatening had to happen to make me open my eyes and see what was right in front of me. That Ace is mine, has always been mine, and I had to let go of my issues with the past to fucking claim her.
I know I’m not good enough for her. My past ensures I never will be. And I may not be able to give her all of me, but I’ll be damned if some other fucker takes what’s mine.
Apparently, I wasn’t doing a good enough job at making my intentions clear. So first thing tomorrow morning, after apologizing profusely for making her feel like shit, I’m making sure she knows where I stand. Loud and fucking clear.
Running my hands down my face, it’s taking every ounce of willpower I possess not to barge into her bedroom for the second time tonight and claim her right fucking now.
Music. I need music.
Not being able to take it another second, I toss the covers from my legs, throw on a pair of basketball shorts, and grab my guitar before making my way into the living room. Hoping I won’t wake Ace if I play out here instead of in my bedroom.
Sitting down, I bring my guitar across my lap and start strumming. Before long I realize I’m playing a country song I heard the other day that had me thinking of Ace immediately.
Sliding my fingers along the strings, I start to play the opening notes to “Forgetting is the Hardest Part” by Kane Brown.
The melody flows from my fingers, filling the room around me. The words of the song filtering through my mind as I play.
My head snaps up and my fingers stop strumming when I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. Ace stands in the hallway, next to the couch, wide eyes on me. My eyes rake down her body.
She’s wearing one of my Pleasant Beach PD Tshirts, the one I realized was missing last week, and it stops mid-thigh. Making me wonder what she’s got on underneath.
“Keep playing,” she whispers into the room. Awe evident in her voice.
My fingers hover over the strings when I look back up at her face. I swallow hard, unexpected nerves consuming me. Besides my parents, no one has ever heard me play before.
Lost in her deep brown gaze, I don’t even look down when my fingers pick back up where they left off. Strumming along, the soft melody filling the room all over again.
I don’t know what comes over me, but before I know it I’m singing along with the song I’m playing.
At my low, raspy tone singing about how there is no getting over her and how I’m missing so much, Ace gasps. She starts walking my way, and I can see tears filling her eyes.
I drop my head, my eyes to the floor, when I can’t take her sad eyes for another second.
I keep playing when she stops in front of me, but I keep my head down. As the final notes of the song play out on my strings, I breathe deep, trying to control my heaving chest. So many emotions thicken the air around us.
Sadness.
Want.
Longing.
Regret.
Tentative hands reach out and touch my bare shoulders, causing me to look up. Silent tears stream down Ace’s beautiful face, making my chest constrict from her pain. Pain I caused.
Setting my guitar down next to me, I reach out and clasp my hands around her hips. Leaning my forehead against her soft stomach, breathing in deep, her sweet scent calming me.
She runs her hands over my head. Her nails scratching my scalp through my coarse hair. Neither of us saying a word.
&nb
sp; When I feel her stomach start to shake, I start to raise my head until her arms wrap around my head, hugging me to her. Then her sobs let loose.
Not being able to take it for one more second, I dislodge my head from her grip and pull her into my lap so she’s straddling me. Pulling her in, her hot tears scald my bare skin as she lays her head on my shoulder. Her face buried in my neck.
I bring my arms around her, holding her close, letting her release everything that separates us. And reveling in having her back in my arms, right where she fucking belongs.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ve got you. I’ve always got you.” I try to soothe her as her sobs die down and her tears dry up.
She pulls her head from my neck and I still, just realizing that I was rocking her. “I didn’t know you could play and sing,” she says through a sniffle.
Of all the things I imagined she’d say, that wasn’t one of them. I smirk as I place my lips to her forehead. Kissing her before replying. “Yeah, sweetheart.”
At the endearment, she melts further into my chest. Laying her cheek to my shoulder once again.
When silence falls around us again, I decide to break it. Getting right to the point. “If you had stayed you would have heard me tell them that even though nothing is going on, that I want there to be. That I want you.” I whisper my last statement, letting it linger.
She gasps and leans back far enough to look into my eyes. A mixture of disbelief and hope crossing her face.
“You also would have heard me tell them that these last few weeks have been so much more than just you needing somewhere to stay while you recovered. That they were also me trying to make my move and make you mine.”
I see her swallow before she goes to speak. Her mouth opens a few times before she actually speaks. “You want to be with me?” A new wave of tears filling her eyes.
“I’ve never wanted anything more in my fucking life,” I tell her truthfully.
Before I can say anything else, she rushes forward, her plump lips landing on mine. Kissing me.
Relief floods me as I start kissing her back. My hands wind in her long, thick hair, angling her head so I can take over the kiss. I part her lips with my tongue, taking it deeper. Tasting her.
She pulls back on a gasp, trying to catch her breath. My chest heaves as I take her in, my hands move down to her hips. My eyes scanning her face as she brings her fingers to her lips, feeling my kiss. Her eyes flutter open, looking directly at me. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for you to say those words. To tell me that you want me, that you want an us.”
I can feel my face soften at her whispered words.
“I’m so sorry for earlier. For what I said and what you overheard—”
“It doesn’t matter now. It was a misunderstanding.”
“I’m still sorry, I had no right speaking to you like that. I just couldn’t fucking think when I thought you were leaving.”
Her wet eyes soften at my admission. “I didn’t make it easy.”
We just look at each other. Silence surrounding us. I bring my hands up to her face, using my thumbs to wipe the remaining tears from her cheeks before dropping them back to her hips.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” she says as a smile stretches across her face. Stealing my breath and making me realize that I need to make sure she understands exactly where we stand.
“I’m sorry,” I choke out through the emotion suddenly clogging my throat. My hands gripping her thick hips tighter as I speak. Afraid that what I’m about to say may have her trying to run off. “But I’m giving you me. That’s it. I can’t give you more than that. I can’t give you everything you deserve. I can’t give you my he—”
Small soft fingers lay over my lips, quieting me before I can finish.
“You’re all I need, Damon.”
Her softly spoken whisper causing my skin to prickle with want and need. To claim. To possess. To own.
“You’re all I’ve ever needed. I’ll take you as I can get you because I have enough heart for the both of us.”
Not waiting another second, I claim her lips in a heated kiss. A kiss to rival all of our other kisses, because this one is marking her as mine. Our first kiss as an us.
Her ragged breathing fills the dark room around us. My lips don’t leave her skin. I trail them from her lips to her chin, across her jaw, then down her neck to her collarbone. Where I kiss and nip and lick every inch exposed from her loose T-shirt. My T-shirt.
“Damon,” she breathes out on a moan. My hands roaming from her hips to glide under the hem of the too big, black PBPD tee. Settling on her round, tight ass.
I give a squeeze, reveling in the glory that is Ace’s ass, before sliding my hands up her bare back. Raising the material as I go. Passing her bra line, I realize it’s missing. That she’s naked under here. Jacking my need for her to a level I never knew was possible.
“Off,” I grunt. She raises her arms and I discard the shirt to the living room floor.
I take a minute to gaze at her beautiful bare body before me. Her handfuls of beautiful tits. Dusky rose nipples puckered and straining for my touch. Her lush thighs straddling my legs as I still sit where she found me only minutes ago that feel like a lifetime between then and now. Small, black lace panties cover the prettiest pussy I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting.
When she starts to squirm, my gaze snaps back up to her face. Her eyes unsure. Her cheeks flushed with want.
“You’re fucking stunning,” I rasp out. My heart pounding.
As she starts to lift her arms to cover her exposed chest, I lean forward and take one of her nipples into my mouth. Causing her to gasp and me to groan.
Fuck, her skin tastes amazing.
Working the tight bud between my teeth, then soothing the tortured flesh with my tongue, Ace writhes on my lap the entire time. Panting and moaning and gasping.
Her small hands land on my shoulders to hold on, as she starts to rock on my dick when I move to show the same attention to her other nipple.
Lifting my hands to her back, I release it with a light pop, then lean forward. A small squeak leaves Ace’s lips when I drop to my knees, gently laying her on the rug I’m kneeling on.
“You’re mine, sweetheart. You hear me? Mine,” I growl. Almost snarling when I think of her being anyone else’s but mine. Thinking about earlier and how I almost lost her.
“I’ve always been yours,” she whispers, looking up at me from the floor.
If I wasn’t already on my knees, she’d have dropped me to them with those four words, her soft tone, and the look on her face. Jesus Christ. How is it possible that I’ve stayed away for all of these years? Then these last couple of months after getting a taste?
Lightly shaking my head, I leave the past behind and focus on right now, the present, and how I’m about to devour every luscious inch of Ace’s curves.
“Lift,” I command as I tap her left thigh. She lifts her hips off the floor so I can slide her tiny panties down her shapely legs.
Tossing them to the side, my gaze hits her perfectly pretty pussy glistening in the moonlight that shines from the window behind me. I lean down and inhale deeply, the scent of her arousal hitting my nose before I drag it through her folds.
Her breath hitches then she moans. Long and loud. “Damon, please…”
I look up and smile wide. My dimples on full display. I can’t fucking help it. Her plea displaying just how badly she wants me.
Without another word, I bend back down and dive in. No warning. No pretense. Just my tongue in her pussy and my lips around her clit.
“Oh my… Damon!” she yells out. Panting breaths causing her chest to heave. Her stomach quivers.
“That’s right, sweetheart. Say my fucking name,” I growl against her slick flesh.
I go back to eating the sweetest pussy of my life. Bringing her close to the edge, working her clit with tight strokes from my tongue before backing off. Then repeating the process all
over again.
A frustrated groan rips from Ace’s throat when I do it for the third time. “Damon.” She heaves a breath. “Please. I can’t take this…much more…at all.” She’s panting and incoherent. Drunk on what I’m giving her. Her body trembles beneath my hands that are wrapped tightly around her thighs to keep her in place. She’s bound to have rug burn on her back from all her writhing, but she hasn’t made a complaint yet.
“Eyes on me, Ace. I want your eyes on me, watching me and my tongue bring you over the edge, pleasuring you beyond anything you could have ever imagined.” I pull away long enough to say.
She gives a jerky nod through a stuttered breath. Her deep brown eyes focused on me as I lower my head, getting back to the task at hand. Pleasuring my girl. My girl. Fuck, if that doesn’t make me want to work her over even more and make my dick harder than it’s ever been.
Sliding a hand from her lower stomach, without warning I thrust two fingers into her entrance and flick her clit. She shouts out her release, but I don’t let up. Lapping at her pussy, eating up everything she gives me.
“You’re the sweetest fucking thing I’ve ever tasted, Ace.” My voice like gravel, scraping across her flesh. My lips chasing the goose bumps that erupt across her stomach as I make my way back up her luscious body.
Her legs are still quivering from the aftershocks caused by my tongue.
She is so fucking responsive. So fucking perfect. So why the fuck have I waited so long to claim her as mine?
Small fissures of panic start to split through me when I start thinking ahead. But as quickly as those thoughts invade my mind, I chase them away when I focus down at the vision beneath me. I’ve got her now and I’m keeping her for as long as she’ll have me.
Delicate hands work their way into the waistband of my basketball shorts. Tentative fingers wrapping around my shaft.
“You want my dick, sweetheart?” I smirk as she blushes. “Ah, Ace. Don’t go getting shy on me now. Not after I just licked and sucked that pretty pussy of yours.”
A small gasp passes her kiss-swollen lips at my dirty words. I brace my hands on either side of her head then lean down and kiss her lips. Letting her taste herself on my tongue.