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I sat down on the bed and rested my elbows on my knees as I leaned forward and stared at the floor. “I never thought it was possible either,” I admitted. “I didn’t want this. I still don’t. But there’s something about that girl. She drives me fucking crazy.”
Kylie sat down beside me and sighed. “She’s beautiful and tragic, and I think that’s kinda your thing. Just… be careful with her, okay? She seems fragile.”
My voice was gravelly with unnatural emotion. “She is.”
Quiet descended on us, and I felt like an asshole, but this was the right thing to do. I’d let this situation go on for far too long, and Kylie deserved better.
“Find a man who takes you out to dinner. Buys you flowers. Someone nice.”
Her shoulders shook with laughter. “That would be a change of pace, I suppose.”
“You deserve nothing less,” I told her. “And if any fucker ever hurts you, you know where to find me.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that.” She gathered her purse and then looked up at me as I stood. “Can I at least have a hug before I go?”
I dragged her into my arms, embracing her in a hug that was more of a thank you. She’d put up with my shit and never asked for more, and even now, when she rightfully could have eviscerated me, she was nothing but a class act.
I’d never kissed Kylie. I’d never just held her. I’d never given her all the things she probably wanted, and I hoped she would find someone who could give those things to her. When I released her, and she headed for the door, I knew letting her go was the right thing. I felt a weight lifting from my chest as this chapter of my life came to an end. She represented a part of my past I’d been holding onto for far too long. Without her, I knew there would be no more pain, but for the first time in my life, I was okay with that.
She glanced at me one last time with a smile that assured me she would be all right. “Take care of yourself, Ace.”
MY EYES LINGERED ON THE door that separated me from him. He was in there with his beautiful, bright-eyed nurse. She was probably touching him. Kissing him. Breathing him in. Learning his body in a way I never would.
It felt like an arrow straight through the heart I didn’t know I had. Why did it matter? He wasn’t anything to me. Except Ace and I had history. From the moment he first captured me in his net, he’d been playing games with my heart. He couldn’t possibly know it, but I thought about him often. I wondered what forces of nature conspired to create the man he was. The quiet, prickly bear of a man who had somehow managed to become a dependable nuisance in my life. Maybe that was why I found myself so drawn to him. Nuisance or not, I’d never been able to depend on many people. In fact, I could count them on one finger. But Ace made two.
Only, that rationalization didn’t justify the way my eyes were burning or my body was trembling. It physically hurt to think of him in there with her. I wanted to hate her, but I couldn’t. She’d been nice to me, and I think that was the worst part of it all.
I gently closed the door and padded back to the bed, weighing my options. More than anything, I wanted to escape. I wanted to run away and leave him and his mind-fucking ways behind. But I couldn’t, not in my current condition. I’d tried twice already, and I’d paid for it dearly. My body was exhausted. Limp. Throbbing. The weed was wearing off, and my emotions were catching up with me.
I wanted to text Gypsy, but I didn’t have a phone anymore. Trouble had betrayed me, and now Ace too. I had never felt as alone as I was at that moment. And just when the tears began to splash against my cheeks faster than I could wipe them away, the door creaked open, and there he was. My tormentor in a leather vest.
His whiskey-colored eyes locked onto mine, and I felt my breath pause. I was humiliated as I tried in vain to wipe away the evidence of my emotions, but it was too late. He’d seen the tears. I didn’t know what to expect from Ace—I never did—but when he strode toward me, his face hard, I leaned away on instinct. He caught me around the waist and hauled me up against his chest, his fingers locking around my jaw as his breath blew across my lips.
“Birdie.” His voice was hoarse, troubled, and I couldn’t figure out why. But in the next moment, I had my answer. Without warning, he leaned in and grazed his lips over mine, jump-starting my heart when he released a deep, lamented sigh. I collapsed into him, dragging in breaths of him like a drug I couldn’t shake. My desperation fed his, and we both crossed enemy lines as the kiss escalated from a subtle touch to a full-on war. His fingers dug into my scalp, holding me in place as his chest rumbled in approval when I melted against him.
