Page 68 of Until Ace

His stance is wide, his arms crossed over his wide chest. His face is serious.

And his eyes didn’t miss the fact that I shut the phone down quickly.

Dammit!

“I’m okay, Ace,” I assure softly.

Hearing my soft voice, his face loses some of its darkness, but not completely.

“What are you thinking?” he asks, not making a move to come to me as he usually does when I’m close by.

Even after the short time we’ve been together, I know it’s instinct that has him claiming me whenever I’m in the same room.

I know that, because it’s the same with me. I can’t stand being close to him and not touching him. I need that physical connection to calm down the restlessness that surfaces when we’re apart.

I didn’t ask, but with the intensity of feelings between us, I assume it’s the same for him.

Tilting my head and looking pointedly at his feet, I say, “I’m wondering why you’re so far away.”

As if I pulled by an invisible thread, once the words are out of my mouth, he drops his hands and comes to me. His arms go around me, he looks down, his mouth tight, and his eyes search mine. “Now stop bullshitting me and tell me what you’re really feeling.”

I guess I was wrong in my conviction that I’m successfully pulling one over on him.

He can see everything.

It’s to be expected with what he does for a living. I guess I need to remember that.

“I’m scared.”

Ace blinks, the mellow that started to come over him the moment he took me in his arms wiping away completely, and the darkness starts seeping back in.

“Scared of what?” he demands almost harshly.

“Of what everyone will think of me after last night,” I murmur, looking at his mouth, too worried to look into his eyes.

“Mandy,” he says, shaking me gently. Once I look up, he continues, “No one will think anything different than what they already knew. You’re sweet, smart, funny, cute, and perfect for me.”

His words make me melt into him.

“As for your mother, if she can even be called that, they only think what she is. A monster.”

“Ace,” I gasp.

“It’s true, baby” he says matter-of-factly. “That woman doesn’t deserve the honor of calling herself your mother, no matter if she pushed you out into this world. She is vile. She’s mean, to put it lightly. She’s weak. And she’s stupid if she still believes she can jerk you around. Those days are over, baby.” He takes a breath and looks over my head, almost talking to himself. “Your sister, there’s hope for that one, maybe. Yesterday was only the second time I laid eyes on her, and both times, she showed a small amount of human decency. A very small amount. Who knows? Maybe she’ll turn around and finds a lot more of it.” Looking back down at me, he concludes, “I am not, however, letting her learn to be a normal human being with you as her guinea pig. Because until she breaks all ties with that cunt who birthed you, I don’t trust her. And even after that, I’ll be cautious of her. As should you.”

I can’t believe the words that are coming out of his mouth. The more he says, the harder it is to keep the tears at bay.

No one has ever looked out for me, going so far as to shield me from the people who hurt me the most.

No one.

Not ever.

And in my wildest dreams, I couldn’t ever dream, no matter how hard I tried, of a man standing in his kitchen, holding me in his arms, and verbally defending me against the vile things that were hurled at me.

“Mandy,” Ace whispers once the first tear drops from my eye. His eyes trace its path, his face becoming haggard.

He thinks he hurt me with his words.