I was so engrossed in the game that I didn’t notice that the girls were taking longer than they should have. After two more plays we got our second touchdown, and if my phone hadn’t been on vibrate in my pocket I never would have realized someone was calling over the celebration noise. I slid it out of my pocket and it was Jax.
Why the hell was she calling me?
“Hey,” I answered.
“Oh, thank God. I tried calling Ky but he didn’t answer. You need to –” I couldn’t hear the last part because the crowd erupted again when we scored the extra point.
“What did you say?” I pressed a finger in my other ear so I could hear her better. “Where are you guys?”
“Get out here now. Some guy is getting in Sadie’s face and screaming at her.”
That was all it took. I ended the call and smacked Ky on the shoulder. “The girls are in trouble.” We both tore down the row and out toward the bathrooms. Half way there I saw them. Sadie’s face was pale and she looked ill as some guy twice her size got in her face while gripping her arm. She wasn’t trying to pull away or fighting back at all. She just stood there while a scared Jax tried to pull him off of her. It took me three seconds to close the distance and do it for her. I yanked him away from her, slamming him into the wall.
“Who the fuck are you?”
Chapter 18
Sadie
This isn’t happening.
This isn’t happening.
That was the only thought running through my mind. More than half a million people lived in Seattle. About fifty thousand people packed this stadium on game day. I didn’t know what percentage of those people were from Seattle, but I did know that of all the people here, I shouldn’t have run into this one. I mean seriously, what were the chances? Apparently greater than I thought, because here he was, standing in front of me, eyes full of hate and anger. It hadn’t lessened any over the years.
I couldn’t move. I was literally frozen in place. I don’t know if it was shock, fear, my own pain or some combination of the three that had me rooted to this spot, unable to speak or even make out the words he spat at me. I didn’t need to though, I got the gist of them, because it wasn’t the first time I’d been on the receiving end of his anger.
I heard Jaxyn freaking out, trying to pull Dre off of me, but he was a solid wall of muscle and he wasn’t budging, but then he did. He was forcibly pulled away from me and slammed into the hard wall. That snapped me out of my daze and all of the chaos around me hit me at once. Ace yelling at Dre, Jaxyn asking me if I was alright, Kyden ready to step in and back Ace up, the crowd that had gathered around us. No doubt someone had called security and they would be here any minute.
I ignored Jax’s concern and walked over to where Ace still had Dre pinned to the wall. Dre was strong, but so was Ace, and Ace had a good three inches on him. He looked so much like his brother that it physically hurt to look at him. He seemed to feel similarly about looking at me, but he turned his pain into hatred. I couldn’t blame him, not really, yet it wasn’t fair. I didn’t deserve it.
“You selfish bitch,” he seethed, completely ignoring Ace. “How can you even fucking live with yourself? Are you using this one too?” He tipped his head toward Ace as much as he could with Ace’s forearm pressing into his collarbone.
“Don’t fucking speak to her asshole. Now answer my question. Who the hell are you?”
Dre struggled and spit at Ace, who then pulled his arm back and hit him in the face. Dre’s head snapped back and slammed into the wall. I cringed and sucked in a sharp breath through my teeth. Out of the corner of my eye I saw two security guards rushing toward us. I had to do something before Ace got in trouble. I rushed forward and tugged on his arm.
“Ace, stop this. Let him go.” He looked at me incredulously. “I mean it, let him go. His name is Andre West and you don’t need to get in trouble over this.” I indicated the men from security who were almost on us. He hesitated a moment longer before letting Dre go and stepping back just as the two men cautiously approached us.
“What’s going on here?” One of them asked, his eyes darting between all of us, his glare landing on Ace.
“This asshole was accosting my girlfriend and I pulled him off of her.” The guard’s glare shifted to Dre, and then me, but I was hung up on the word ‘girlfriend.’ Was that crazy? That despite the seriousness of the situation and Dre’s seething anger burning holes in me, I was experiencing a giddy little feeling inside my chest at hearing Ace call me his girlfriend. Yeah, I was probably crazy.
“Is that true? Was this guy harassing you?”
I brought my focus back to the security guard questioning me and tried to squash those feelings. Before I could answer him, a Seattle Police officer joined our group and the security guard filled him in on what he knew about the situation so far. The cop then asked me the same question. I looked over at Dre, who still had murder in his eyes. I nodded that he had indeed been harassing me, but told them he hadn’t actually assaulted me or harmed me in any way. When asked if I wanted to file a report or press charges, I said no. I didn’t want Dre to get in trouble. I just wanted him to stop hating and blaming me.
The guard had seen Ace punch him though, so they had to ask Dre if he wanted to press charges, but advised against it since he was the instigator. Thankfully he said no. They warned him that any further incidents and he would be ejected from the stadium. Ace got the same warning even though he had only been defending me. As soon as they told Dre he could go back to his seat, he shot me one last disgusted look and stormed off.
The cop asked me one more time if I was sure about not pressing charges and if I thought Dre would be a problem again. I assured them that I didn’t want to take any action against him and that he wouldn’t be a problem since I was flying back to Boston in the morning. One of the security personnel offered to escort us back to our seats anyway, just to make sure we wouldn’t have any more issues.
Ace looked to me. “What do you want to do?”
“Honestly,” I chewed my lip and looked down at my feet for a moment before letting out a deep breath and releasing my lip. I met his eyes again. “I just want to go home.”
He nodded understandingly, and then looked up at Ky. “I’m gonna get her out of here, do you two want to stay and finish the game?”
Jax answered for Ky. “I want to go with Sadie.”
“Then let’s go,” Ky said. I wanted to argue that they should stay and finish the game, but I knew it would be pointless. Still I felt bad for ruining this for them. This whole day had turned out to be nothing but a big disaster.
The security guard escorted us to the exit and Ky made a call to our driver. He wasn’t far, so we only had to wait a few minutes before the car pulled up to the curb in front of us. It was a quiet drive back to the hotel, but I knew it wouldn’t last. As soon as we were back in our suite, Ace led me over to the sofa and sat me down. He sat beside me. Jax took the chair across from me and Ky stood.
“Who’s Andre, Sadie?” Ace asked.
I was quiet for a moment while I tried to figure out how to tell him, because I had to, tell him everything. Well not everything, there were some parts of the story that no one needed to know, but I would tell him about Clayton.
“He’s one of Clayton’s older brothers.” I watched Jaxyn’s mouth form an ‘o’ while her eyes turned sad with understanding and sympathy.
“Clayton was … your ex?” Ace’s brow was still scrunched as he was trying to put the pieces together.
I nodded even though ‘ex’ wasn’t the right word for it.
“Things didn’t end well?”
“Clayton died. He was a Marine in Afghanistan. He and three others from his unit were killed. We were engaged.”
Ace’s mouth hung open for a moment before he snapped it closed and then opened it again. “Shit,” he muttered. “I’m so sorry Sadie. I … fuck, I don’t even know what to say, except why didn’t you tell me before? We talked about my time
over there and you never said a word. Wait, shit, I’m sorry again, you didn’t owe me anything.” He raked a hand through his hair. “I just don’t understand. Why does Andre hate you?”
“His entire family does. They blame me,” I explained.
“But why? How could it possibly be your fault?”
“None of them approved of our relationship. I already told you that his family didn’t come from money. They weren’t dirt poor or anything, but they did struggle to make ends meet. When they looked at me, they saw my family. They saw a stuck up, rich, white girl who was only playing with their son, their brother. They thought I was using him to rebel against my parents. They wanted us apart almost as much as my parents did. His dad had a job lined up for Clayton on a charter boat. It was actually a decent job, but it wasn’t what Clayton wanted. I gave up being able to go to college for Clayton and he wanted to be able to give me a better life. If he took the job on the boat, the money would have been decent, but it would have been grueling, lifelong work. He thought by enlisting he could give the military four years and then be able to send me to a music school and put himself through college so he could make something more of himself, for me, for us. His parents hated that he chose to enlist. They hated that I was the reason for his decision, and when he died they had a reason to hate me more. They needed a place to put their blame and so they put it on me. I wasn’t even allowed to go to his funeral because we hadn’t actually married yet.”
I could still see his mother’s tears, hear her cries of grief. I’d tried to go to them after I’d been given the news. I’d wanted to be with them. I’d thought that we could at least grieve together, that we could put our differences aside because we had all loved him, but when I showed up at their door, his mom screamed at me. Dre, Jeremi and their father had demanded I leave, and I was left to grieve alone. Clayton’s family was unwelcoming and I couldn’t even go to my own. I’d returned to Portland by myself, lost and hurting and fell into a deep depression. It only worsened a few days later when my world fell apart a little more. I didn’t think I would survive the pain. It had been unbearable. It still hurt to think of all I had lost and how alone I’d felt then.
“It wasn’t your fault, you know that right?”
I looked over at him. “I know. I loved him. I know it wasn’t my fault, but I understand why his family blames me.” Grief can do awful things to people.
“That’s on them, not you Sadie.”
I nodded. “I know. I just hate that Andre is obviously still in so much pain. They were only a year apart. They were so close. When Clayton and I started seeing each other it strained their relationship, because Dre didn’t like or trust me any more than his parents did. It was hard on Clay and I would imagine it was really hard on Dre too. They still talked, but they never really got to repair their relationship before Clay died. I can’t imagine how Dre feels.”
“I understand that, but it’s not an excuse for the way he treated you, the shit he said to you. His relationship with his brother was on him too, not you. He’s got to figure out how to live with that, but if he ever tries to take it out on you again, I won’t care about how much he’s hurting or still grieving. He will find out firsthand what it means to be a Marine. We take care of our own, we protect the people we love.”
Did he just say love?
Yeah, he definitely said love. He must’ve meant it in a broad, friend/family like sense. There was no way that he meant he loved me, like really loved me, did he?
“I just want to get back to Boston and put this all behind me. I don’t want to think about it anymore,” I told them.
“Okay.” He seemed to get that I’d dealt with all I could. I’d been pushed to my emotional limits today and then pushed right past them. I wanted a hot shower, a good night’s sleep and then to get on a plane and back to my life.
Instead of a long hot shower, I soaked in the large jacuzzi tub in my in suite. I stayed in there until the bubbles had dissipated and the water was barely warm. The bath relieved much of the stress and tension in my body. I was completely exhausted and the large comfy bed in the other room called to me. I toweled off and slipped into a pair of boy shorts and a loose t-shirt and wasted no time in climbing beneath the covers. My head hit the pillow and I sighed in relief that the day was finally over. I’d made it through. A knock sounded on the door. I figured it was Jaxyn checking up on me.
I didn’t think to cover up before I let her in, only it wasn’t Jax. The edge of my t-shirt barely grazed the tops of my thighs, exposing almost all of my legs. Ace noticed. He definitely noticed. His eyes skimmed slowly down my legs and then back up, causing my entire body to heat. My skin flushed pink, but I couldn’t move. My feet remained firmly planted in the doorway while his eyes roamed over me. My heart slammed against my ribcage. I knew I should shut the door or reach for something to cover up, but I was held captive by the stormy look in his eyes. He closed them, groaning, “You’re going to kill me, Sadie. Shit, you can’t open the door looking like that and expect me to behave myself.”
My eyes went wide and I swallowed. Did I want him to behave himself? No, but I needed him to behave himself. I quickly reached for the robe that was draped over the dresser and slid it on. “You can open your eyes now.”
“Fuck Sadie. Even seeing you in that huge robe doesn’t help because all I can picture is what you look like underneath it. Those legs Sadie. I want them wrapped around me while I do all sorts of wicked things to you.”
My chest heaved as I sucked in a deep breath and held it a moment before letting it back out in a whoosh. My heart was still pounding away inside my chest. I took a step back, away from him. He was dangerous. He was doing dangerous things to me.
“What do you need Ace?” I managed to squeak out.
“Fuck, if I know anymore. Right now it feels like all I need is you, in my arms, in my bed, and damn if it doesn’t kill me knowing I have to turn around and walk out this room without touching you.”
My heart sank. I knew I should be relieved that he was going to walk away. It was the right thing to do, but damn if it didn’t kill me a little bit too. My expression gave me away and he took a couple steps toward me.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, and I want to touch you so bad it hurts, and one day soon I will. You will be so damn mine that you won’t be able to breathe without feeling me inside you. I will have all of you. Every. Last. Part. I just can’t make any mistakes with you Sadie. If I put my hands on you right now, I won’t be able to stop myself. I don’t know how I’ll sleep tonight though, knowing that you’re so close, lying in bed, thinking about me, wanting me the same way that I want you, because I can see it, Sadie. I can see it in those expressive eyes of yours that you want me. You’re just not ready for what would happen if you really let go. When you finally do, I promise it will be worth it.”
Holy crap.
What the hell was I supposed to say to that? I was so far gone it wasn’t even funny. Desire like I’d never felt was coursing through me, but something more, something stronger and sweeter was also burning inside of me. I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. I was afraid if I opened my mouth I would either tell him I loved him or ask him to take me fast and hard right there. That would be bad. Very bad. Right?
“Good night, Sadie. Sleep well.” He started to turn and then stopped. He stood still for a moment, like he was debating something and then, having made whatever decision, he turned back to look at me. “Fuck, I lied.” He closed the space between us so that we were only inches apart. “I need just one taste. Just one, I promise.” His lips closed over mine in the sweetest, gentlest of kisses. His tongue ran the seam of my lips before he pulled my bottom lip between his teeth and lightly tugged on it. My lip slipped from his soft bite and our mouths separated. He placed a chaste kiss on my forehead before leaving me standing alone in the room feeling light headed. I did sleep well that night. Very well.
Chapter 19
Ace
“Come on Sadie, get your cute ass out here! Time to hit the road,” I hollered.
She came out of her room, lugging an overstuffed duffel bag. “Are you really sure about this?” She asked for what had to be the hundredth time.
“Yes. My mom is expecting us by lunch.” I made sure to emphasize the ‘us’ so that she knew I’d already told my mother she was coming and there was no getting out of it. “We’ll probably hit some traffic so we need to get going.” On a good day you could make it from Boston to my parents’ place in Hamden in about two and a half hours, but there was always something, road construction, an accident or just shitty traffic, to slow you down. It was worse in the winter. It was freezing ass cold outside, which increased the likelihood that there would be an accident somewhere along the way, and I sure as hell wouldn’t be doing seventy down the freeway with ice and snow on the roads. My mom said everything in Hamden was white with about eight inches of snow on the ground.
We’d yet to get any heavy snowfall in Boston, and what had fallen, hadn’t stuck. That would probably change in the next week though. A small snowstorm was expected to hit on Tuesday and blanket Boston. Sadie and I would be back before then though. After taking the trip to Seattle, she was only able to trade her Saturday shift so that we could go for the weekend and come back on Monday. I wished she’d quit already, but I had a feeling she wouldn’t appreciate me offering to support her in exchange for being my personal sex slave. Oh well, a guy could dream, and I did.
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