by Caitlyn Dare
Yeah, I’d been ignoring his calls and demands for me to come to him. But sending his henchman to go a few rounds with me seems a little over the top for just that.
“I don’t know,” I answer honestly.
“So what happens next? You just wait to see if he tries again?”
“No. I need to see him. I was going to go before now, but with everything that’s happened, there just hasn’t been time.”
“You’re going to… go there?” Fear swirls in her eyes.
“I have to. I need to put it all behind me.”
“You’re done?”
Sitting forward, I lace my fingers through hers. “Of course I am. I told you, I want to do things right. I want to be worthy of you.”
“You are, Ace. You don’t need to change for me.”
“I’m not changing. I’m just doing things a little more…”
“Legally?” she teases.
“Yeah. That.”
“That was incredible. Thank you so much. Who knew you could cook,” she says around a megawatt smile.
“I’ve been cooking for years, Princess.” The color drains from her face as she realizes what she just said.
“Shit. I didn’t mean—”
“Shush, it’s okay.”
“So what’s the plan for the rest of the night?”
I run my eyes down her body, making her squirm before glancing over at the hot tub. “Want to take a dip?”
“I didn’t pack my suit.”
Barking out a laugh, I pull her from her seat. “You really think that if you had, I’d allow you to wear it?”
“Um…” She bites down on her bottom lip. “No?”
“Exactly. No.” I slip my hand under my tank and find her bare ass. “There’s no one here but us, Princess. Clothes are most definitely not a necessity.” I lift my tank until it clears the top of her head and leaves her bare before me. “Now that’s more like it.”
I run my hand up her sides before taking her breasts in my hands. She moans as I take their weight and squeeze gently.
Leaning in, I brush my lips around the shell of her ear. “You go and get in. I’ll clean up and be right with you.”
“No, Ace. Let me—ouch,” she squeals as I pinch both of her nipples.
“Do as you’re told, Princess.”
“Okay, fine,” she mutters, rolling her eyes at me. She takes a step toward the tub and I swat her ass.
“You’re a fucking nightmare, Ace Jagger.”
I smirk at her as I watch her ass sway. Reaching down, I rearrange my cock that’s tenting my sweats once again.
I make quick work of getting the plates inside. Knowing she’s currently wet and naked and waiting for me has me more impatient than I think I’ve ever been in my life.
Dropping my sweats, I throw them in the direction of the bedroom and step out onto the decking.
“At last. I thought I was going to have to take matters into my own hands.” Remi’s voice is low and seductive. It fills my mind with naughty images of watching her bringing herself to orgasm.
“One day, I’m going to watch you do just that, Princess. But not right now.” Placing the bottles of beer I brought out with me on the side, I step into the warm, soothing water.
Remi pushes from her seat and comes closer, her naked body hidden beneath the water. I drop my second leg in and I’m just about to lower my body when she stops me with her hands on my hips.
“Princess?” Her eyes are locked on my cock, her bottom lip sucked into her mouth.
“Sit on the edge,” she demands, her voice cracked with lust.
I drop my ass to the side, powerless to do anything but what I’m told. I’d be a fool not to with the dirty thoughts I can see glittering in her eyes.
Chapter Nineteen
Remi
“Princess?” Ace’s voice is thick with lust as I drag my eyes from his cock to his hooded gaze.
“I think I’m still hungry.” I smirk.
“Is that so?” His brow rises suggestively, and I chuckle, sinking myself deeper in the water. Reaching forward, I slide my hand up his shaft.
Ace’s chest rumbles with pleasure as he hisses out, “Fuck.”
I’ve barely touched him yet but this—the way he responds—will never get old.
Dipping my head, I flatten my tongue and run it along the underside of his length before sucking him into my mouth. Ace wraps his hand around my ponytail, guiding me down on him. I gag a little, closing my fingers around the base of his shaft and working him with my hand as I lick and suck.
“Jesus, Remi...” he all but growls the words. “It feels… Fuck…”
I run my tongue along the tip and back down. He tastes so fucking good, I never want to stop. But Ace has other ideas. Releasing me, he slides off the edge into the water, his piercing blue eyes fixed right on my face.
“I hadn’t finished.” I pout.
“There’s only one place I want to finish, Princess, and that’s buried deep inside you. Come here.” He drops down onto the submerged seat and pulls me to him. I fit my legs on either side of his but don’t lower myself yet. Our eyes lock, silently saying all the things we can’t as I sink down on him slowly.
“Fuuuuuuuck,” he breathes, gripping my hips tight. “You feel...”
“I know. God, Ace, I know.” I start rocking above him, slow, measured circles. He’s so deep that pleasure mixes with pain in the most delicious way.
His hand and lips are everywhere. In my hair, wrapped around my throat, sucking my neck. I’m so lost in pleasure, I don’t even feel his fingers trail down my spine until they part my ass cheeks. “Do you trust me?”
I nod, swallowing a whimper as he slowly works a finger into the tight hole.
“Okay?”
Another nod as sensation overwhelms me. Ace runs his nose up the slope of my neck, letting his lips linger at the corner of my mouth. “Now ride me, Remi, hard and fast.”
I curl my hands over his shoulders, giving myself leverage to rise up and drop back down, over and over, until we’re both shaking and breathless.
“I’m almost there,” Ace groans, gripping my jaw and sweeping his tongue into my mouth.
“I need...” The words die on my lips as Ace thrusts so hard inside of me, I shatter. “Ace, oh God, God...”
“I’ve got you, Remi. Always.” His teeth sink into my collarbone as he rides the wave of his own orgasm.
My body sags against him, spent and sated. “You good?” he asks, tipping my face to his.
“Better than good.” I smile.
“I might hate my unc—father right now, but I’ll always be grateful to him for one thing.”
“Yeah, and what’s that?” I ask.
“You. Without him, I’d never have met you.”
His words make my heart sing. “I love you.” I bury myself against him, never wanting this moment to end.
Here, nothing can touch us.
But all good things must come to an end, and soon we’ll have to leave this place and go back to reality.
We’ll have to defend our relationship and face the people in our lives who want to break what we have.
But at least, this time, we’ll do it together.
After another day of bliss, we finally leave the beach house.
“Do you have everything?” he calls, and I grab my cell phone just as it vibrates.
Unknown: I missed you this weekend.
Huh. I frown at the message.
Remi: Who is this?
Unknown: Come on, you know who it is...
Remi: Bexley? Is that you? NOT FUNNY... and don’t text me again.
Weirdo. His behavior is becoming more and more unstable. I see the way he watches me around school, the contempt burning in his eyes. He’s pissed that I’m with Ace. Bitter that I didn’t choose him.
Not that there was ever a choice to make.
“Princess?” Ace appears in the door and I shove my cell in my pocket, pasting on a smile.
/>
“I think that’s all of it. I wish we didn’t have to leave so soon.”
“Hey.” He stalks toward me, cupping the back of my neck. “Maybe we can make it a regular thing. You know, if the job with Gunner sticks.”
“I’d like that.” I press a lingering kiss to his lips and Ace chuckles.
“Keep that up and we might never make it out of here.”
“We should probably get back.” Mom had texted me, asking us to meet them at the house.
“What do you think they want?” Ace says coolly, and I know he’s worried about what we’ll find when we get back.
I shrug. “Oh, you know. The usual. Mom will tell me I need to focus on school, and James will probably want a father-son talk about the birds and the bees.”
“He’s about five years too late for that.”
“Five?” I gasp. “You mean, you were having sex when you were—no, don’t tell me.” My nose scrunches. “I don’t want to know.”
“Hey,” his voice drops. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“Yeah, and why’s that?”
“Because all those other girls... they meant nothing. I might have been your first time. But you were mine too, Remi.”
“Ace...” My voice is thick with emotion.
“Come here.” He ropes his arm around my shoulder, drawing me into his side. “It’s you and me, Princess.” Ace guides us out of the beach house and toward his bike.
“I like the sound of that.”
Our bubble of bliss is short-lived. The second we step foot in James’ house, I know something is wrong.
“What the fuck?” Ace mutters from behind me. The place is trashed.
Shattered glass litters the hall, and I’m pretty sure there’s a hole in the wall. “Is that...”
“Blood.” Ace leans in to inspect the splatter of dark red around the edge.
A chill works its way through me. “Mom?” I yell, the same time Ace shouts for his brothers.
“In here,” someone replies, and Ace grabs my hand, pulling me toward the kitchen. The trail of devastation doesn’t end. Lamps are smashed and photographs hang on the wall at weird angles. It’s like a storm swept through the house, leaving nothing unturned.
“Oh, thank God.” Mom leaps up as we enter the room, and rushes over to me. “You’re okay.”
Ace stiffens beside me.
“Of course I’m okay, why wouldn’t I be?” She and James share a silent look. “What’s going on?” I ask. “What happened here?”
“Cole, he—“
“Found out, didn’t he?” Ace’s tone turns my blood to ice.
“I didn’t tell him,” James rushes out, guilt etched into his features. “He overheard me talking to Sarah... I tried to calm him down. I tried to explain, but he lost... he completely lost it.”
“Fuck.” That one word from Ace’s lips makes my heart ache. “Where is he now?”
“He left. Conner went after him, but the two of them got into it and Cole took the car.”
“Where’s Conner now?”
“Upstairs. I tried to talk to him but he wanted space.”
“I need to find him,” Ace says. I spin around and reach for his hand.
“I’ll come with you.”
“No.” The word echoes through my skull.
“But—”
“I can’t have you in the middle of this. Go home with your mom and let me handle this.”
“You’re going to sideline me? Just like that?” Hurt swims in my veins. “I thought—“
“Remi, Ace is right,” James adds, drawing an invisible line in the sand between us. “I’d feel much better knowing you and Sarah are away from all this until we find Cole and work through things.”
“No, I’m staying.” I raise my chin in defiance. “I can wait with Conner and—”
“Sweetheart,” Mom says with quiet resignation. “I think it’s probably best we go. This is a family matter, and we need to respect that.”
I glance at Ace, but he’s lost in his concern for his brother.
“You really want me to go?” His eyes finally lock on mine, saying all the things I know he’ll never tell me.
He’s sorry.
He wishes he could ask me to stay.
This is just something he needs to do alone.
“Fine,” I relent. “But you’d better call me the second you find him. I mean it, Ace.” He finds my hands and tugs me into his arms.
“Thank you.” His lips connect with my head, and I swear I hear Mom smother a gasp. “As soon as I know anything, I’ll call. I promise.”
His words ease some of the dejection pulsing through me but do little to soothe the hurt coiled around my heart.
I want to be there for him. I want to shoulder the burden he carries. But I know this is all new to Ace. He’s so used to being the protector, the provider. His walls are still fortified with the pain of his past. I’ve made some progress pulling them down, but it’ll take time for him to fully let me inside.
I have to find a way to be okay with that.
“Come on, Remi,” Mom ushers me out of the kitchen, but I can’t resist glancing back at the last second. Ace is watching me, his cool gaze clouded with emotion.
“If you need me...”
“I know.” He swallows but doesn’t say anything else, and I walk out of there, hoping this isn’t going to rock the steady foundation we’ve spent the last few days building.
When we get back to the house, I head straight for my room. The light and airy space usually comforts me, but today I find little solace.
Throwing my bag down, I drop my cell on the dresser and let out a heavy sigh. My eyes run absentmindedly over the collection of photographs and souvenirs I’ve collected over the years. Movie ticket stubs, plastic jewelry from my childhood that I can’t bear to part with, a couple of photos of my grams, God rest her soul. It has no value, but to me it’s priceless.
But something’s missing. I lean closer, inspecting the little wire jewelry holder. “Mom,” I shout.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“Have you been in my room?”
“I was dusting earlier, why?”
“The necklace you gave me, the one with the locket. It’s gone.” She’d given it to me on my thirteenth birthday, right after Dad left. One half held a photo of me, and the other a photo of her. I’d never taken it off until the clasp broke, and I never got around to getting it fixed.
“I don’t remember seeing it. Perhaps it fell down the back of the dresser?”
“Maybe, yeah.” I shuffle a few more things around, but there’s no sign of it.
My cell pings and the missing necklace is all but forgotten as Ace’s name flashes across the screen.
“Did you find him?” I rush out.
“No, but I might know where he is.”
“The Heights...” Dread pools in my stomach. “You can’t go back there.”
“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”
“Ace...” My lip wobbles.
“Me and Conner are going to drive out there and check out some of Cole’s old haunts. I wanted to tell you...” he hesitates.
“I’m glad you did. Just be careful.” All kinds of bad things start running through my head, but I block them out. It’s Cole. Of course Ace is going to do whatever it takes to find him.
“Just promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I promise. Like I told you before, Princess, I have too much to lose now.”
“Okay, text me later.”
“I will. I love you, Remi.”
“I love you too.” I hang up, flopping down on the edge of my bed.
I can’t imagine finding out my dad isn’t my dad. Sure, he’s a crap dad, but he’s still my dad. Ace and his brothers have been through so much, have had so much taken away from them. They deserve to find a slice of happiness here in Sterling Bay. But life will never be straightforward for them.
This town reeks of judgement and enti
tlement. If you don’t fit the mold, you’re cast aside like faulty goods. I know that better than anyone.
As I close my eyes and drift into a mindless sleep, one thought lingers.
What if Cole does something none of them can come back from?
Chapter Twenty
Ace
The second we walked into the house, I knew. I knew that while Remi and I were in paradise, secluded away at the beach house, everything had gone to shit here. I didn’t need James to tell me that. I sensed it. Dread had filled my veins faster than I could control.
My heart aches as I watch Remi walk away with Sarah, but it’s the right thing to do. I know she’d willingly follow me to the ends of the Earth to help, but she doesn’t need to go to some of the places I know we might have to, to find him.
Fuck.
Cole is terrifying when he’s angry, and I don’t mean because I’m often on the receiving end, more so that even I don’t know what he’s capable of. His eyes go black and this blank expression covers his face. He’s totally unreadable, even to Conner and me. He could literally be doing anything right now, which is why we need to find him. And as soon as possible.
With one last glance in James’ direction, I race from the room.
“I’m sorry, Ace,” he calls behind me. I know that he is. He’s just as worried as I am, I can see it in his face, but that doesn't mean I’m going to hang around and have a chat about it.
I race up the stairs three at a time and crash through into Conner’s bedroom. He’s lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He doesn’t even look over at me.
“Con? We need to go and find Cole.”
He remains as still as a statue.
“Conner?”
“You knew, didn’t you?”
“Con, don’t,” I warn.
“You knew, and you didn’t tell us. Didn’t you think we deserved to know?” he hisses. “This is our life too. Not just yours.” He climbs from the bed and stalks over. His jaw pops as his teeth grind in anger.