Page 46 of Steal My Breath Away

“I feel things, Ace. Just like everyone else. I felt sick for Paige when her mother was diagnosed with cancer. I get all warm and squishy inside when we go to Puppy Day at the student center. I was happy when Skye and Dante got together. I felt unbearably sad when Dad and Matt died. I just don’t dwell on things. I don’t let them drag me down. It’s better to move on and be happy.That’s who I am. I’m the person who cheers everyone up or lightens the mood or comes up with fun things to do.”

Ace rubbed his hand up and down my back in a soothing motion. “You don’t have to justify yourself to me, and you don’t need to be anyone other than yourself when we’re together. I know you, bug.”

“Not everyone cries,” I insisted.

“I’m not judging you.”

I still felt the need to explain, maybe not to him, but to myself. “Some things just hurt too much to feel.”

“I get that, but sometimes it’s better to rip off the bandage and let it out. After your dad died, that worked for me.”

I didn’t take the opening to pursue the topic any further. I didn’t want to think about fifteen-year-old Ace crying in the forest and how I’d felt horrified and sad and sick and jealous all at the same time. It wasmydad who had died. Why was Ace the one crying and not me?

Because he cared. Ace may have been quiet and reserved, but he’d cared deeply about our family. He’d cared about me, and judging by his actions, maybe he still did.

“Do you know what I like best about the forest?” I drew his hand down over my hip to the edge of my sparkly dress and curled his fingers under the edge, feeling raw and vulnerable and desperate for a distraction from the unsettling conversation and the pain that went along with it.

Ace let out a low growl of appreciation. “What do you like best?”

“No sand.”

His fingers tightened, knuckles digging into my thigh. “I thought you said you didn’t want more than one time.”

“I want to thank you for what you did tonight.”

Ace froze, his hand dropping from my hip. “I didn’t do it for sex. I did it for you, because I believe in you. I’ve always thought you were an incredible singer, and I was in a position to be ableto help you. I don’t need anything in return. I made mistakes, and I hurt you, but I’m going to do everything I can to make it up to you. I don’t want you to ever feel like you owe me anything.”

Damn Ace. Always so honorable. “I don’t feel like I owe you anything, but I do feel…” Feelings were hard to handle, harder to express. “I missed you,” I blurted out. “I missed our friendship.” I listened to the slow, steady beat of his heart, warm in the circle of his arms. “I’d decided long ago you were a certain kind of person, but now you don’t seem like that person at all.”

Ace chuckled. “I hope not. I like to think after all the shit I’ve gone through over the years, I’ve changed. I’ve done a lot of running away, but I don’t feel like running now.”

“I don’t feel like running either.” I took one of his hands and dropped it back down to my thigh.

His hand tightened, fingers digging into my skin through the thin fabric of my dress. “What do you want? Tell me.”

“I’ve never had sex in the forest,” I said softly. “And the idea that someone could come around the corner at any moment and see us is very—”

“Very what?” His voice dropped low as he pushed up the hem of my dress, backing me against the railing of the small wooden bridge.

“It turns me on,” I whispered, even though there was no one to hear us.

Ace crushed me against him and kissed me hard and deep. I breathed in his scent, woodsy and more intoxicating than the crisp, earthy scent of fallen leaves mingled with the sharp tang of evergreen needles. In that moment, I let go of my doubts and surrendered to the pull between us.

“You are impossible to resist, especially in this dress.” Ace’s hands moved with purpose, roaming down my back as he pressed my hips against his, letting me feel just how much he wanted me.

I arched into him as he slid the dress up and over my hips.“You were so fucking sexy on that stage. Every man in that bar wanted you. I thought I’d have to fight them all off.”

“You say the nicest things.”

“I wasn’t thinking the nicest thoughts.” He pushed down the straps of my dress and undid the catch of my bra, pulling it away to bare my breasts to the cool night air. His lips trailed a path from my neck to my collarbone, his tongue darting out to taste my skin as he kissed his way down. “These are for me to see.” He bent down and took my nipple between his lips. “These are for me to taste.”

The sensation of his touch sent shivers through my body. I ran my hands through his thick, soft hair as his tongue rolled over the sensitive peak of my nipple, then he sucked hard.

My fingers contracted against his scalp, my nails scraping against his skin as pleasure fuzzed my brain. He turned his attention to my other nipple, rolling it between his teeth. I arched into him, feeling his erection press against my hips as he inhaled a stiff breath.

He palmed my breasts with cool hands, but his kisses were hot. “Is this what you want? Or do you need more danger?”

Before I could respond, he yanked on my panties, shoving them down to my knees and exposing me completely to the night. My heart pounded, and we worked together to get them off until I was completely exposed, raw and open to whatever he wanted to do to me.

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