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“Good morning,” she said, leaning against him and kissing his neck.
He stilled, his beautiful voice halting, which made her slightly sad. Maybe she should have stood back longer and enjoyed her one-man show. But to have his body pressed against hers was more tempting than any regret she might have.
“Morning,” he murmured back, his deep voice sending sparks straight to her stomach and lower. They’d made love before the attack, before falling asleep, and then once more in the middle of the night. She would think her body was more than sated, but now that Ace had awoken a part of her that had been sleeping for a very long time, she didn’t think she’d ever get enough.
“How’s your arm?” she asked, nuzzling her cheek against his back.
“Hurts like hell today, but I’m dealing with it,” he admitted.
He pulled the pancake from the pan, turned off the heat of the stove, and then turned around, quickly wrapping her in his arms. Her cheek was now pressed against his chest, and the steady thumping of his heart was the perfect comfort.
“I’m sorry,” she told him, her hands sliding beneath his shirt and rubbing the hot skin of his back.
“I know what we can do to take my mind off it,” he said as his hands slipped lower and he squeezed her sore butt cheeks.
“I think I need fuel,” she said with a laugh. “And you have a beautiful singing voice.”
“I didn’t realize you were awake.”
He sounded embarrassed, which shocked Dakota enough that she pulled back so she could see his face. Was that a blush on his cheeks? She would have never thought that possible.
“I didn’t take you for a humble man,” she said with a chuckle.
“Believe me, I’m not,” he told her.
He bent down and took her lips with his. Hunger rushed through her, but also a strange sense of peace. He took his time, tracing her lips in a gentle caress that grew a bit more urgent the longer the kiss went on. When he pulled back, they were both breathing heavily, Dakota’s heart beating wildly.
“Maybe food is overrated,” she told him as she pressed more tightly against him.
His eyes dilated before he gave her one more hard kiss and then pushed her back from him. Disappointment filled her.
“My brothers are waiting for us, and you look as if you could be pushed over by a light wind, so I guess I’ll put my unending desire on hold and give you that fuel you need,” he said with a smile.
“You did cook for me, so it would be rude not to have some.” Ace pulled down a couple of plates. Dakota looked at the food lined up on the stove. “There’s enough here to feed your entire family,” she said with another laugh.
“You haven’t seen me eat home-cooked food yet,” he told her.
They dished up, and Dakota eyed his plate with disbelief. “There’s no way you can finish all that off.”
“I take that as a challenge,” he said as they sat down.
At the first bite of food, Dakota’s hunger took over. Every other thought in her head and body faded as she gobbled a couple of pancakes far too quickly. Ace was eating as if he hadn’t had a meal in a week, which made her feel a lot less gluttonous.
“I have to go back to my place today, Ace. I need clothes,” she said when they were finished, her belly full and her other hungers awakening.
He’d managed to clear his own plate and had gone back for seconds. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on the man. She wasn’t sure where all the food was going. But then again, she’d seen some of the football players eat enough for ten people after a hard practice, so she knew how much fuel these men could burn.
“Clothes are already taken care of. Stormy dropped off a bag this morning when I began cooking.”
“Your family has been very good to me,” she said.
“I’ve been away for so long, I almost forgot what family was all about. I don’t deserve their generosity after what I’ve put them through over the last eight years.”
Dakota sipped her coffee as she gazed at him. He really believed what he was saying. She was learning there were so many more layers to Ace than she had originally thought possible. She reached across the table and took his hand.
“I put my family through hell for a lot of years. I grew up with four brothers, who all decided that because I was the baby, they needed to treat me like a toddler even when I was a teenager. I went through my rebellious stage, and many other stages along the way. No matter how much of a pain in the ass I was through the years, they always forgave me,” she assured him.
“I was a monster,” he admitted. “I was selfish and mad when my father died. I pretty much looked out only for myself.” There was so much shame in his words. She felt her heart breaking a little bit for him.
