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The tears don’t stop for long minutes, and I’m acutely aware of how damp his chest is. I want to apologize. I want to tell him I’m sorry for everything and for ever thinking I could leave him. I want to apologize for always running when things get too hard or I’m scared. But most of all, I want to tell him I’m sorry I can’t be the woman he deserves. I’m too fucking broken. And I always will be. It doesn’t matter how much time passes, I’ll always be the girl who was sold into trafficking by her foster father. I’ll be the woman who was passed from man to man, never having anyone respect my body, or any other part of me for that matter. And he deserves so much more.
His hands never stop moving over my back, drawing gentle circles in the soft skin, and eventually, it’s focusing on his touch that drags me back to the present and away from the horrors that run on a loop in my own mind.
I lift my head to look him in the eyes, intent on apologizing for ruining what was a long time coming, but when I stare into his gaze, it takes my breath away. The war happening behind the green, his own fear and insecurities right there for me to see where most men would hide them, especially the ones as dangerous as him.
The words catch in my throat, and his fingers toy with a stray piece of hair that’s fallen into my eyes. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. There are a million things to say, all of which would have been better than the words that just forced their way out, but that’s all I can give right now.
His fingers grip my chin, forcing me to stare him in the eyes. “You have nothing to apologize for, Mia. Never apologize to me for crying. Never apologize to me for healing. If anyone needs to be sorry, it’s me. I shouldn’t have pushed you like that. I shouldn’t have let it go that far.”
I stare at him for long seconds, replaying the words he’s just said before I sit up suddenly, not giving him a chance to hold me in place, but he does follow me until we’re both sitting with me straddling him. “No,” I snap. “Don’t you get it, Ace? You just gave me exactly what I needed. You gave me everything. I asked you to erase them, and that’s what you did.” I brace both hands on his cheeks, this time forcing him to stare me in the eyes. “I don’t think I’ll ever be whole again, but you hold my broken pieces together.”
He searches my face for something, and then he leans forward and captures my lips with his in a gentle kiss so unlike the ferocious ones we shared not too long ago. His hands roam my back, and his cock hardens against my belly, dragging a soft mewl from my throat.
He breaks the kiss and rests his forehead against mine.
I press my eyes closed, trying desperately to push the tears away. I’ve already cried enough tears to last a lifetime. “Thank you for saving me. Thank you for always giving me exactly what I need.”
This time I’m the one that catches his lips as I shift my hips, desperate to have him back inside me. As soon as his cock slips back inside my aching heat, I sigh with contentment. I missed too many years with him, too many years of normality, and I don’t want to waste another moment.
I gently rock back and forth, dragging his hard length against my G-spot.
The tension in Ace’s shoulders is obvious. He’s not used to not being in control, and honestly, I doubt this will happen often, but right now I want to be in control of my own pleasure. Of both of our releases, even if I’m not sure I can get there without his help.
The slow slide of his cock brings me right to the edge, but no matter how hard I try to focus on the pleasure I can all but taste, I can’t quite reach for it.
Without a word, Ace wraps his hand around my throat and squeezes, his huge palm putting enough pressure on my windpipe that my orgasm rushes over me, tearing a strangled scream from my throat.
“That’s it, sugar. Come for me. Take what you need from me,” he praises, and it only seems to prolong the long waves of pleasure that batter me.
I bury my face in his shoulder and allow him to take over, fucking me as he chases his own release.
It’s only another few seconds before he reaches it, his cock swelling inside me, and a roar of pleasure fills the room.
He doesn’t pull out. Instead, he lays back against the pillows with me spread out over him. He feels around beside us and tugs a throw blanket over our bodies, his softening cock still inside me. It’s comforting being connected like this, but it’s when he wraps his arms around me tightly and presses a kiss to my temple that I feel the safest I have since the day my parents died.
“Thank you for trusting me with your heart and with your body.”
CHAPTER FORTY
ACE
It’s like a switch has flicked in her mind.
All of a sudden, she’s smiling more, she flinches less, and the air around her is filled with happiness. Anyone else would probably miss the changes, but they’re like beaming lights in my eyes.
I watch from my desk as she moves around the kitchen, baking cookies if the mess she’s made is anything to go by. There’s flour smeared across her cheek and the way her sinfully pink tongue sticks out as she concentrates on making every cookie the same size, it’s like I’m looking at the teenage girl I knew before she was stolen from me.
I can’t tear my eyes off her, no matter how much work I should be doing right now. Watching her has become my obsession, and the irony isn’t lost on me that a few months ago I was rolling my eyes at Tommy stalking Clara.
I get it now.
I mean, I think deep down, there was a part of me that always understood because my compulsion to watch Mia is hardly a new thing. It started many years ago before I even really knew it was wrong. But now I can barely breathe when my eyes aren’t on her.
It’s been three days since we fought and ended up in bed together.
She fell asleep on my chest, her body free from the tension she carries with her as gentle snores filled the room. But I stayed awake, protecting her from threats, both external and the ones that beat down on her inside.
The feel of her in my arms, asleep and wrapped around me, it was the calmest I think I’ve ever felt, and the most peaceful I’ve seen her since she’s been back.
