Jerking against his hold, he holds me in place as he continues to thrust his fingers. The pleasure feels like a bubble that's growing bigger and bigger. It's a pressure I haven't felt so intense before, and when that bubbles right about to pop, it's like he can sense it.
Ace can make himself seem like a good guy by telling me that I've got control over this whole thing, but when he releases my waist, there's nothing good about the way he turns my face. Nothing good about the way he swoops in to kiss me to taste the moment my orgasm hits me hard enough that I could scream.
This man seals our lips together so not even a peep can slip out, choosing to swallow the sound down himself, sneakily showing just how greedy he really is.
The problem is that I don't pull back. Instead, I kiss him back. Maybe it's because my body is still singing from his touch, or I'm delirious, but I don't just want to feel good for a few minutes. I want to dive headfirst into the sensations he's bringing out of me.
I don't know how long I'll give in to him, but I know it's long enough to know that stepping away from this is going to be hard, if not downright impossible.
Not wanting to give myself a hard time for giving myself something nice for the first time in a long time, I use his mouth as a perfect distraction to forget about everything.
six
Penny
When I wake up, I feel like I'm lying on a cloud instead of Ace's bed. My body still feels strange, as if it's not even mine. Pressing my face into the pillow I'm cuddling, I breathe in deeply.
Smells like a mix of leather and faded cologne. Even when he’s not here, I find myself needing to breathe him in.
Can a man's scent really make someone calm? I don't know what else to call this feeling that's settling in my chest.
Safe.The word whispers through my mind before I can stop it.I feel safe.
After last night, I feel wanted, too.
He asked me to stay. Not just until things cool down, but from the tone of his voice, he was talking about forever. This is crazy. He's crazy.
Yet, here I am, considering it. I guess I’m crazy, too, for letting another man get his hands around my heart so easily.
Shaking my head, I try to remind myself why I can't. The biggest answer is easy. Leliah. I can't put her in danger, not when Ace is a club member of another dangerous biker gang. She's my world, my everything.
But that's the thing, isn't it? The last time I thought I was keeping her safe, I was running on empty and praying no one found us. Is this really worse?
When I roll over to bundle her in my arms, I find that the patch she'd been curled on is empty. In a matter of seconds, it feels like my heart has stopped in my chest as my blood runs cold.
No. No, no, no—
"Leliah?" Breathlessly calling her name, I sweep around the room to make sure she hadn't just slid off to find something to entertain herself with. Realizing I'm all alone, a choked cry leaves me as I stumble off the bed and out of the room.
I can't lose her. She's all I have. She's the only reason I have the strength to keep going—
I'm nearly in tears when I find her splayed out on the kitchen floor. She's got her coloring book in front of her, a blue crayon clutched in her small grip.
The air rushes back into my lungs so fast it hurts. So dizzy from the sudden rush of adrenaline, I’m left using the wall to keep me standing upright.
At the scent of coffee filling the room, I realize she's not alone. At the table, the same guy who'd clung to Ace's side rests at the table. The one who had her laughing with such ease.Smoke.
"Where's Ace?" The question leaves me in a rush, and I find myself searching for him.
I need him. The thought is instant and unwanted. I've spent weeks needing no one, trusting no one, and now here I am, barely awake, already looking for a man I met yesterday.
Smoke takes one look at me before his frown softens slightly. He sees my panicked expression like he’d been expecting it. "Heneeded to stop somewhere and asked me to keep an eye on you two." He sips at his coffee before turning his gaze to my daughter. "She woke up a couple of hours ago. Gave her some toast and found her bag."
My panic starts easing only slightly, but I creep toward Leliah just in case I need to grab her. If it were Ace sitting at the table, I think I wouldn't be panicking like this, and that realization is worse than the panic.
I don't know Smoke. Sure, Leliah doesn't seem to mind him, but that's not enough to lower my guard around him.
But Ace... Ace already feels different. I don't know what to do with that. Now isn't the time to push myself toward an inner crisis.
