Page 131 of Ace of Spades

Every kiss, every stroke of my hands across her flushed skin is a goodbye I’m too much of a coward to say out loud.

"You’re beautiful," I rasp against the hollow of her throat. "So beautiful it wrecks me, Angel."

She cups my face, her eyes shining.

"Make me forget," she whispers. "Just for tonight."

I slide inside her slow, both of us groaning at the contact, the connection that’s so much bigger than just our bodies.

It’severything. I move slow at first. Drawing it out.

Savoring the heat and sweetness of her, the way she clutches me to her like she never wants to let go.

She kisses me back just as desperately. Arching into me, whispering broken little pleads that sound a lot like my name.

We move together, finding a rhythm that feels less like sex and more like worship—until I feel her tighten around me, her nails digging into my back, and she falls apart beneath me, crying out my name.

I follow her a heartbeat later, burying my face in her neck, breathing her in like it’s the last thing I’ll ever do.

Because it is.

Because after tonight, it has to be.

Chapter36

Levi

Six months later

The air smells different now.

Like hope, if hope could smell like salty air, motor oil, and the first breath of summer.

I walk down Main Street beside Brody, Milo trotting faithfully at his side, and Josie skipping ahead of us with a lollipop in hand.

The town’s finally awake after a long winter, and there’s a buzz on the streets that wasn't there before.

"You met someone," I say, not bothering to phrase it like a question.

Brody huffs out a short, almost reluctant laugh. "Didn’t mean to."

"Nobody ever does."

He shoots me a sideways glance, his mouth twitching like he wants to deny it—but he doesn't.

"The heart wants what the heart wants," he says finally. "And souls... they’ve got a language all their own. Doesn't always matter what your brain’s screaming at you."

I nod, understanding him more than he probably realizes.

We walk a few steps in comfortable silence before he speaks again, voice rougher now.

"I owe you," Brody says. "For giving me the time to figure things out with Sienna."

"You don't owe me shit."

"Yeah, I do," he insists. "You were right. I was trying to control it. Trying to make up for lost time by keeping her from making choices I thought would hurt her."

He pauses, running a hand down his face.

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