“Do I have to pay for that?”
“Of course not. He will. Then if you want to go home after everything has calmed down, I won’t have to worry as much about you being there alone because your house will be armed like Fort Knox.”
“If I want to go home? Is this all just a ploy to get me to move in with you?”
Ace shifted beneath me again, wincing this time with the slight movement. “I wish it was.”
“Yeah, me too.” I groaned when I tried to stretch my leg. “I’m cramping up.” This time when I attempted to remove myself from his lap, he let me.
He rose from the couch right after I did, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the room toward the steps.
“How about we take this upstairs? I need to lie down.” I knew exactly why he needed to lie down, and I was completely on board.
24
With my hand firmly grasped in his, I walked a step behind Ace while he guided me down the hallway. My brain was a jumbled mess, and I barely had the mental stamina to remember how I ended up here, following the man who infuriated me just a few hours earlier, only to come to find out he’d been through his own ordeal. Ordeal. What a strange choice of word for attempted murder.
A slight tug on my hand pulled my focus back to him. “You okay?” We stopped in the middle of his bedroom, him hovering close, so close my skin erupted in goose bumps with the proximity of the promises his eyes made.
“Yeah.”
His fingers released me, and I moved toward his bed without thought, running my hand over the softness of his white comforter. Not too long ago, I was on my back, naked in my own bed, being teased by his skillfulness, only for him to pull away just when I needed him the most.
“You sure?” He was suddenly behind me, the heat from his body chasing away the sudden chill that cascaded over me. I released a shaky breath and nodded. “Do you just wanna go to sleep? I know it’s been a long day, for both of us.” His lips breezed over the side of my neck. “I’d understand.”
And he would. Ace had always given me the space I needed, even when I didn’t realize it was necessary. Some of those times had been after we argued and didn’t have any communication for a couple days, but still, he’d never been pushy. Even when he threw out his ultimatum, he gave me the twenty-four hours he promised he would.
I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck, stretching up on my tiptoes so my face was as close to his as I could manage. “Yes, I wanna go to sleep.” His face fell a fraction. “After I ravage you, of course.” Bright eyes shone back at me.
“I think I can accommodate but you might have to do some of the work.”
“I guess,” I moaned. “If I have to.”
A quick smack on my ass called forth the smirk I’d been hiding. “You know you like it on top,” he mumbled against my mouth. “I know I do.”
“Then why don’t you let me do it more often?”
“Because I like to be in control, and that position makes me feel vulnerable.” His words were sincere, and for some reason, I never imagined Ace would feel exposed in any way, vulnerable like he just confessed. He always seemed so sure of himself, of us, that it didn’t dawn on me he may feel much like I did.
“You do know I’d never intentionally hurt you, right?” I asked.
“Not intentionally… yeah.”
“But I guess that doesn’t matter now because I don’t think you’re gonna let me go even if I did.” I grimaced when my tone didn’t match the one in my head, which was not as stern.
“Right” was his only response.
Twirling a strand of his hair between my fingers, I licked my lips, then toyed with the center of my bottom lip, my teeth creating a dent in the sensitive flesh before I released it.
“Are you nervous about something?” he asked, a small crease forming between his brows.
“Nervous? I don’t think so.” My answer made as much sense to me as it probably did to him. We’d had sex countless times, in every position possible, and while I wasn’t self-conscious about my body or my skills in the bedroom, this time was different.
I’d be having sex with someone I was in an exclusive relationship with, the same someone who professed his love to me earlier today.
My heart thrashed around inside my chest. It seemed I had a touch of the nerves, after all.
“I just don’t want to disappoint you,” I finally uttered, again, not completely understanding my own words.
“You won’t.” His lips claimed mine as he walked me back toward the bed, his tongue dipping inside and exploring the depths of my mouth. I’d kissed my share of guys before, but Ace was the best I’d ever experienced. He was gentle but firm, possessive but yielding.
A small quiver of excitement churned through my body when he fumbled with the side zipper of my skirt. The sound of the teeth parting echoed in the room, the anticipation of being with him again exciting beyond measure. Last time we never made it to the good part because he got all ultimatumey on me.
“I don’t like this skirt,” he grumbled, tugging on it a few times before it fell to the floor.
“Because it’s not easy to get off?”
“Because it’s too damn short.” I couldn’t tell if he was serious or just messin’ with me, his expression not indicative either way.
“I like it,” I rebutted, but he had already moved on to my shirt.
“I don’t like this either.” The material cleared my head and was tossed somewhere behind me.
“Why?”
“Leaves nothing to the imagination.”
“It’s a black T-shirt.”
“It’s too snug. Guys’ eyes go right to your tits.” This time the muscle in his jaw pulsated.
“Makes for good tips.”
“Not funny.” I backed up a step. Then another. “Why are you movin’ away from me.” Then his eyes widened. “You gonna do a little striptease for me.”
I didn’t bother answering because after I said what I needed to, the last thing he’d be thinking about was a striptease. We might even get into an argument, depending on his reaction.
One more step back gave me the space I needed. “Just because I’m with you now, and staying here until things are safe again, doesn’t mean you get to make comments on my clothes. I’m not gonna change what I wear just because you’re my boyfriend now, and I won’t tolerate you harassing me every time I choose a snug shirt or dress or whatever else I want to wear. I’m still gonna flaunt my body when I want because I’m proud of it.”
He stepped toward me quickly, crowding me, and even in his injured state he exuded strength and power.
“Say it again.” His palm cradled the back of my neck and he tugged me into him, bending down so we were nose to nose.
“Say what? The whole thing?”
“The boyfriend part.” His smile kicked into high gear and I rolled my eyes. “Come on, baby. Say I’m your boyfriend.”
“You know you are, although I didn’t have much of a say,” I reminded him, but I wouldn’t change things.
“Say it.”