Page 106 of The Fire We Make

She couldn't help but to lean into the warmth of his touch. She couldn’t begin to formulate an answer to give him.

Ace was a contradiction to almost everything she’d been taught to believe about herself and the life she could live. Nothing about herself or the world around her made sense when she was with him and that was what terrified her.

The unknown. The idea that they were wrong. Or learning later, after she already dared to hope, that they were absolutely right.

“That you’ll make me fall in love with you, then leave me. And I’ll be alone again,” Joy answered truthfully, speaking to the fears that plagued her.

“I don’t wanna be alone either, Rose,” he said softly.

When she didn’t speak, he continued. “I’m right here. Just stay with me for a second, aight?”

Joy laid awake, staring at Ace’s bedroom ceiling.

He slept soundly beside her, his arm slung over her middle with a weight that gave the illusion of a security Joy didn’t trust.

She didn’t fall asleep, afraid tonight was a vivid dream she’d wake up from in her room alone.

Joy tip-toed down the stairs with her clothes thrown on haphazardly and her shoes in her hand to avoid the loud clacking of the heels against Ace’s hardwood floors. Her hair was disheveled but she decided fixing it wasn’t worth the risk of spending more time under Ace’s roof and accidentally waking him.

When she got to the bottom of the staircase, she froze, seeing Von sitting at the kitchen island eating a bowl of cereal with a music video from a rap artist Joy didn’t know playing on his phone. He flicked his eyes up to Joy then flicked them back down to the video.

“My brother know you sneaking out on him in the middle of the night?” he asked, voice low.

“Does your brother know you sneak into his house in the middle of the night to eat his food?” Joy shot back.

Von said nothing, only stared up at Joy with a blankness that mirrored the one she’d seen on Ace when defending her against Marco and Curtis.

Slowly, Von set the spoon into the bowl and pushed back from the counter. He stood and rounded the island, coming to stand in Joy’s face. Her breathing increased and her fists clenched. She willed herself to remain calm, knowing that the connection she was building with Ace and the life she’d started in New York would both come to an abrupt end should she hurt Jovon King.

“I’m only gonna tell you this once. Don’t. Hurt. My. Brother.”

“I’m trying not to.”

Von shook his head. “Don’t try, do it. If you can’t, walk away before I make it so you aren’t able to. We clear?”

Joy chuckled. “I thought I told you how I feel about threats.”

Joy bumped him as he walked past.

With her hand on the doorknob, she turned and spoke again. “Make that your last time coming at me sideways, or it’s gone be some slow singing and flower bringing ‘round this bitch and it won’t be for me.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Joy’s eyes found Ace as soon as she entered the courtroom. Her gaze was involuntary, immediately drifting to him like he was the center of her universe. The thought disgusted her but the sight of him was pleasing.

He stood behind the counsel table in a crisp black suit, his hair freshly tapered looking better than anyone should have the right to.

She steeled herself against the wave of desire that rushed her and, with her shoulders back and chin up, made her way to join him.

She cleared her throat as she approached. “Good morning, Mr. King.”

He faced her, tilting his head. After a pause he replied. “Ms. Thibodeaux. Sleep well?”

Joy stiffened. Their eyes held for a beat too long. Long enough for memories to flash in her mind.

Soft sheets and his waves beneath her fingers.

The warmth of his breath against her skin.