Page 28 of The Fire We Make

He shook hands with the bosses he’d spent years deferring to, and agreed to private meetings that would fill his calendar in the weeks ahead.

The heavy ring clinked against the crystal champagne glass as he answered questions about shipping routes and picked up the hints put down on investment opportunities and disputes.

Each conversation was brief, each person needed or wanted something from him. Each interaction reinforced the fact that nothing about him had changed besides his title but everyone suddenly adjusted his image in their eyes.

Ace took advantage of a brief lull in conversation to seek out a moment of solitude with a glass of scotch. Away from the crowd and watchful eyes, he exhaled for the first time that evening.

His senses were piqued though, when he got a whiff of a fragrance wafting by him. Her fragrance.

It held the same notes of cherry and vanilla but something about it smelled different. It was off, like a key component was missing. Still, he swiveled his head side to side in hopes of getting a glimpse of the woman from the roof. As expected, he came up empty.

With a sigh, he took another swig of the amber liquid in his glass. In the week since they met, his mind often drifted to her. He went home alone that night, disoriented and with a hard dick but somehow more satisfied than he’d been in a while.

Ace was confused by his reaction to the mystery woman. He didn’t typically harp on encounters with women and usually didn’t find interest in them outside of a hotel bedroom. Their conversation had been brief but the energy was something he couldn’t explain and the pull towards her had been effortless.

That scared him.

He didn’t typically get close to people — a point of contention with the many women his mama failed to set him up with. Though he’d never gotten a formal diagnosis, he’d always known he was different and that along with the focus on training made it hard to connect with people. It wasn’t hard to connect with the woman from the roof at all though. In fact, he felt like he knew her already and that alone made him want to know more.

He wondered if Remy could find her. He hadn’t gotten a name but maybe he could put her image from the security cameras into his database to see what he could find.

Ace’s musings were paused by a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Pops lowering into the seat beside him. Ace smiled. Looking at Pops was like looking into a crystal ball. Aside from the hazel eyes and deep ebony skin he inherited from his mother, Ace was the spitting image of Zachariah King.

“You good?” Pops asked.

Ace nodded. “I’m good. You?”

“Never better. This thing that your granny and I built… We never could have guessed it would go this far. I’m proud to pass my legacy to you grandson. I know that it’s in good hands.”

Ace smiled. “I appreciate that, Pops. You know I won’t let you down. This organization is my life and this Family is my heart.”

“Good. Good.” Pops patted him on the back then stood.

Ace sighed once he was alone again. He needed to regain his focus. His mind had been going in different directions since the club but that night served as a reminder. He’d finally stepped into his destiny and his family’s legacy now fell on his shoulders. Everything else was secondary.

He needed to clear his mind of this woman and he needed to do it quickly. It was nice to have a few moments where he didn’t feel so… alone, but he had to remember that his isolation served a purpose.

Maybe I’m just horny, he thought.

As if he’d telepathically summoned her, he met Dana’s eyes across the room to find her already staring at him. She wasn’t apart of a Council family, but her father was a businessman who did work with the Kings both above and below board. Ace knew she and her family wanted nothing more than to make their families’ connection official and permanent.

Ace considered Dana for a moment.

She held no fire in her eyes, only lust and Ace felt no pull to her the way he had the woman at the roof. But she’d do.

He crooked a finger to beckon her over and her feet began moving instantly.

Sweat slicked Ace’s body as the headboard thudded against the wall. Dana’s face was buried in the pillow, her muffled cries filling the room as he drove into her in relentless, punishing strokes.

She tightened around him and her moans grew louder. He felt her tremble beneath him, another orgasm ripping through her as her fingers clawed at the sheets.

Ace kept moving, eyes unfocused.

He’d been at it for forty minutes, getting lost in Dana’s body to outrun his mind.

When the tell-tale tingle finally surged up his spine, Ace didn’t bother holding it back. With a rough exhale, he pulled out and released himself into the condom. His knees buckling from the prolonged orgasm, he fell back onto the mattress, chest heaving.

The only sound in the room was their breathing and the traffic from below.