It’s a one.
I’ve won.
Victory and happiness settle in my chest as I slide my fourth pawn into the home spot. Wearing a smile I couldn’t wipe off if I tried, I climb into Ace’s lap, straddling him. I’m so happy I could kiss him.
So I do.
Completely disregarding my beard addendum earlier.
“If losing to you means you’ll finally kiss me again, then I’ll take it,” he says, his voice low and hungry as he slips his hands around my waist.
“I wasn’t thinking,” I say. “I still haven’t changed my mind. This is nothing more than a victory kiss.”
My mouth smiles against his.
“How does it feel to kiss a winner?” I tease.
“Feels like something I could get used to.”
A whistling and popping noise trails in from an open window nearby, directing our attention to the fireworks exploding over the lake.
I’d completely forgotten about fireworks this entire weekend. And who could blame me when there were fireworks going off in front of me the whole time?
“Want to watch?” I ask.
Ace bites his lip and hesitates, his hands gripping my hips and refusing to let go. “I’ve watched these fireworks a half dozen times.”
“Yeah,” I say, “but you’ve never watched them with me before.”
I climb off him, grabbing a blanket from nearby and bunching it in my arms. We head out the back door and down to the pier. He takes my hand as we cross the jagged rocks, and he holds onto it until we reach the end of the dock.
Spreading the blanket for us, we sit on the edge, our feet dangling in the warm water. Nearby, I spot my little bottle of organic bug spray. Reaching for it, I spray it all over and then offer it to him. He hesitates at first, and then takes it.
It’s not like it’ll do him a damn bit of difference anyway.
Pretty sure he’s going to get eaten up tonight regardless. Not by the mosquitos, but by me.
Lying back, I curl up in his arm and stare up at the spectacle in the sky.
“My favorite fireworks are the ones that start out one color and then change to another,” I say, my ear resting over the steady beat of his heart. “What about you?”
“I like them all,” he says, his voice low and steady. “I don’t think I could pick.”
“Come on, you have to have a favorite.”
“The red ones, I guess.”
“That’s boring. The red ones are just . . . red. They don’t do anything crazy like some of the other ones.”
“Judge much?”
“It’s just, you’re not even trying to have a favorite. You only said red just to say red.”
The sky lights up, the last firework turning it a dozen different colors all at once.
“Fine,” he says. “That one. I like that one. The one that’s every color.”
“And why do you like it?”
“Because it’s interesting. And unpredictable. And different from all the other fireworks.”
I smile, nuzzling my cheek into his chest. The show continues on, the fireworks whistling and popping and cracking and exploding above us, showering the night sky with color and light.
Ace rolls to his side, his blue-green stare holding mine, his hand on my hip. “I want to kiss you so fucking bad, Aidy.”
“I want to kiss you too.” I lift my brows, lips pursed. “But . . .”
He tries.
Oh, Lord, does he try.
But I stay firm in my conviction, pressing my palm against his chest and keeping a safe several inches between our mouths. My skin is finally starting to sting less, and I spent nearly a half hour color-correcting and concealing earlier. I’d like to return to the city tomorrow not looking like I just finished eating a cherry pie straight from the pie pan.
“Fuck it.” Ace stands, pulling me up.
Laughing, I ask, “What are you doing?”
He threads his hand in mine, leading me off the dock and over the rocks, back toward the house as the firework show begins to die down. Once we’re inside, he leads me to his room. I didn’t sleep in here last night because I wasn’t sure that’s what he wanted. He was so quiet after we had sex, and I didn’t want to be presumptive.
“Stay here.” Ace leads me to the foot of his bed and leaves the room.
Patiently, I wait.
I scan the room, looking at all his things and taking in my surroundings. His bed is definitely vintage, and so is the quilt that covers it. There’s a single signed baseball on the dresser, packaged in a small glass box, and a stack of books, mostly classics, rests on his nightstand.
The hiss and pop of the fireworks outside has dissipated to nothing, and I’m not sure how much time has passed, but none of that matters the second I hear his footsteps from the hallway.
Bracing myself, I watch the doorway, spotting his prelude in the form of a shadow.
When Ace finally appears, my jaw falls.
“Will you kiss me now?” He stands, hands hooked on his narrow hips, eyes flashing with palpable lust.
“Oh, sweet Jesus.” I’m breathless just looking at him.
His face is completely clean shaven, and I feel like I’m seeing him for the first time all over again, only he looks nothing like that incensed man who chased me down the sidewalk. Ace’s heavy stare is directed at me, his chest rising and falling as we stand here in limbo.
I couldn’t take my eyes off him if I tried.
And I don’t want to.
“Well?” he asks.
“What the hell are you waiting for?” I spring up, running to him. Slipping my arms around his neck, I practically crawl up his muscled body.
Ace’s hands cup my ass, and I graze my lips across his, reveling in the soft smoothness. He smells clean, like cologne and shaving cream and aftershave. I drag his scent into my lungs, kissing him harder, slipping my fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck.
And as he carries me to his bed, our hands greedily tearing at our clothes, it occurs to me that I didn’t notice his scar.
In fact, I didn’t even see it.
I was too distracted by his beauty, by the handsome stranger standing before me, to even care.
Within seconds, I’m naked, lying dead center in the middle of his bed. There’s a warm slickness between my legs and I’m pulsing, physically aching for his touch. By the time he climbs over me, he’s rock hard and sheathed. My thighs tremble as they part for him, and he leans down, slipping a peaked nipple between his lips, sucking and flicking with his tongue.
His tongue may be my favorite feature of his.
That and his cock.
And his arms.
And his ass.
I drag my hand along his cheek, loving the soft feel beneath my palms. His face. His face is my favorite.
Ace looks up at me, his aqua gaze glowing in the dark.
I love his eyes too. Can’t forget about them.
He pulls his body over mine, holding himself up with one arm and gripping the base of his cock with his free hand. Teasing my clit with his hardness, I harbor a deep breath and then release it the second he pushes himself inside me.
It’s a sweet relief, but not nearly as sweet as the one to come.
Holding his body on top of mine, he glides in and out, slicked and aided by my arousal, and then he kisses me.
He kisses me a hundred times, our lips craving heat and tongues craving taste.