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When I open my eyes, I grip her chin tighter and force her to look at me. I search the deep blue for uncertainty, for fear, for anything other than the hopelessness that’s taking over. “Lie back,” I demand and tear my damp shirt over my head.
She’s not fucking broken.
And I’ll prove that to her, even if it means crossing all the lines I promised myself I wouldn’t cross.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
MIA
“Lie back.”
Two words that don’t seem like much. But staring into the fire that’s caught alight in Ace’s eyes, they’re everything.
I open my mouth to argue, but quickly snap it shut again. I don’t want to argue. I should. Every single bone in my body reminds me of the trauma I’ve suffered, of the men who have touched me in the past, but my heart reminds me that this is Ace. It’s the boy who gave me his dinner when our foster parents were punishing me. It’s the boy I crushed on before I knew what a crush was. It’s the man who saved me and hasn’t stopped saving me since.
I shimmy my way up the bed, careful not to let go of the towel. I’m not ready for him to see the scars that litter my skin. Some are inevitable, but the worst of them should remain out of sight if the towel stays in place.
A deep rumble fills the room, and when I meet his eyes again, there’s a dominance in them I haven’t seen since I’ve been back. My first instinct is to panic, but that feeling fades almost as quickly as it appears.
“Good girl.”
The ache in my core deepens at his praise. Men have called me a lot of things, but never that, and it sends butterflies moving through my entire body.
Ace watches me with heavy-lidded eyes, lust pooling in the deep green.
I drag my gaze down his bare chest, taking in every line, every muscle, and every tattoo that covers his skin, and Jesus is the man ripped.
I must stare for too long because a low chuckle fills the room, and I’m forced to turn my attention back to his smug smile.
He crawls up the bed, his sweatpants still covering his legs, and every inch closer he comes, the more apprehensive I feel. My brain screams at me that I shouldn’t want this, but my body craves it. It craves him.
His hard body hovers above mine, his eyes searching my face for fear, for a reason he should stop, and I realize he’s nervous. That makes two of us. No one has ever touched me because I wanted them to, and I don’t know what to expect.
“You say stop, and I’ll stop.” He searches my eyes one last time before dipping his head and pressing a kiss to my neck. And then my shoulder. And then the sensitive piece of skin beneath my ear. Each kiss he trails over my flesh stokes the fire in my core until I’m sure I’ll combust if I don’t get relief soon.
A frustrated moan escapes my throat, and Ace lets out an amused chuckle. “Patience, sugar.”
He presses his lips to mine in a slow kiss, but that doesn’t make it any less hot. Lord, this man knows how to kiss. His tongue sweeps over my lips, and I don’t hesitate to open for him. Every move he makes is measured and careful, leaving me plenty of room to push him away if I wanted to.
But I don’t.
I never want this to end.
For the first time, I’m in control of my own body. There’s no one telling me what to do and hurting me if I don’t do it right or if I don’t do it quickly enough. Ace is focused solely on me, even though the evidence of his own arousal is pressing into my belly despite his best efforts to keep his hips away from me.
He draws back, his eyes lidded and filled with barely contained lust. “Okay?” He runs his tongue over his bottom lip, and I swear I’m going to spontaneously combust.
I nod. “Okay.”
“Good.” His lips descend on mine again, his kiss growing with need, and I meet him with every swipe of his tongue.
He props himself up on one arm while the other carefully trails down my body, never breaking our kiss. When he comes to the towel wrapped around me, his fingers tease the edge, but he doesn’t push it, and for that I’m grateful. I’m not ready for him to see my body. I don’t know if I ever will be.
He must see in my eyes that that’s not a step I’m comfortable with, and he moves further down. His touch is gentle but deliberate, and I can’t help but shift beneath him.
“Stay still, sugar.”
I halt immediately, his command causing me to drop my hips back to the mattress. When his fingers reach the bottom of the towel, barely covering the tops of my thighs, he pauses and searches my face again.
