ACE: Las Vegas Bad Boys

by Frankie Love

Tears fall down my cheeks as I squeeze my eyes shut tight. I squeeze the hands of my friends—the people who, in the end, are more of a family than I ever found through bloodlines and matching last names. In this heartbreak, I won’t forget the people I have with me now, the people who chose to stay.

  27

  ACE

  The vibrating phone wakes me. I slept for shit anyways; all I wanted was Emmy’s arms around me, pulling me deeper into her. Soon enough I’ll have that every night of my life.

  It’s Mark calling, so I answer. “Hello?”

  “Ace, man, big morning over here. You see the news?”

  “No.” I get out of bed and reach for a remote. Switching on the flat screen, I change from ESPN to a local channel. “What’s going on?”

  A handcuffed Grotto is on the television, a streaming banner with updates below him. A reporter’s voice-over fills me in: “Local high-rise developer arrested early this morning, when evidence of his leading a local drug ring were brought to light. The testimony of Las Vegas resident Janice Hopper, a woman who recently woke from a coma in which Frank Grotto fled the scene of the crime, gave the local police the tip-off they needed to charge him.”

  “Holy fuck,” I say into the phone. “Who got her to talk?”

  “She called 9-1-1 late last night after everyone left the station. Apparently she and Grotto have been talking since she woke. The nurses have since reported that she was extremely anxious after her phone calls, but I guess the fact that Grotto kidnapped Emmy was the last straw.”

  “So she admitted the truth because she wanted to fix things with Emmy?” I ask. Relief fills my chest—not just because my name is clear, but also because Emmy might be able to fix things with her sister after all.

  “She was working with Grotto to frame you to clear her drug debts, but then I guess when she found out about the kidnapping she had a last-minute change of heart. He wanted to screwed you out of the property deal, and she wanted to pay off what she owed. He set up the car crash, but never expected Janie to go into a coma. When she did, I guess things got out of control. He skipped town for a few weeks, but when he came back things were still heated on his side. He was waiting for the moment when the girl woke, not knowing whose side she’d take.”

  “Well, what matters is, in the end, she took Emmy’s,” I tell him.

  “Yeah, thank God you and Emmy got together,” Mark says. “If you hadn’t, who knows if Janie would have felt loyal to the truth. I’m guessing the answer there is no.”

  “Thanks for calling, man,” I tell him. “And keep me posted about your wife’s health.”

  “You’re a good guy, Ace,” Mark says, then hangs up.

  I sit down on my bed, let out a deep breath, ready for things go back to normal. This has been one fucking ride.

  When I get to Emmy’s a few hours later, Claire and Tess are sitting with her on the couch. I talked to her this morning, filling her in on everything with Janie, and she said they’d been online all morning reading updates on Grotto’s arrest and watching coverage.

  “You holding up okay, baby?” I ask Emmy, pulling her into a hug, wrapping my arms around her tight.

  “She’s a wreck, and just wants things fixed with Janie,” Claire says. “You gonna help her with that?”

  “I’ll help however I can.”

  “Good,” Claire says, getting up from the couch and pulling on her shoes. “Because this girl needs a fucking break. I told you that last week when you called me. I still mean it. She deserves the world.”

  “You called Claire?” Emmy asks, looking up at me in our embrace.

  “Fuck, yeah, I did,” I tell her. “I needed to know what I should do to help you relax.”

  “And that’s when you decided we should stay at your place for three days?”

  “Yeah.” I smirk. “What, you’d prefer me taking you away to the Bahamas?”

  “Hardly,” she says. “I’m not that girl.”

  “Well,” Tess adds. “Maybe you’ll be that sort of girl after you two get married. I mean, a Bahamas honeymoon sounds pretty good to me.”

  Emmy’s eyes get wide, and her cheeks blush. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my baby embarrassed before. My cock twitches in excitement. I want her to like the idea of her and me, forever, and that hint of pink on her face tells me she does.

  “On that note,” Emmy says, flustered. “We should head to the hospital. I need to thank Janie for coming clean before it was too late.”

  “Shouldn’t we get your luggage first?” I ask.

  “You were serious about us moving in together?” Emmy asks.

  Claire and Tess eye one another, grinning. “Um, we’re gonna head out, okay Emmy?” Tess says.

  “Yeah, call us later,” Claire says, laughing. “With, like, your new home addresses.”

  “Ha-ha,” Emmy says, shaking her head at her friends as they leave.

  Once the door is closed, I turn back to Emmy. “I was dead serious about you moving in.”

  “Good,” she says, grinning. “Because I already packed.”

  EMMY

  Ace pulls me into a kiss, and once again I am just so fucking ready to be taken by him. Our mouths crash together, and finally the stress of the last two months is gone. Sure, there will be a lot of healing that Janie and I need to go through ... which still shocks me. I mean, I left her hospital room with her yelling at me to fuck off, to leave.

  But maybe everyone can have a change of heart if they’re given enough time.

  I don’t need to think about Janie and me though. Right now I only want to think about Ace and me. About the way his teeth pull on my lips, the way his growing cock feels pressed against my thigh.

  “Oh, Ace,” I breath into him. “I’m so wet for you.” I take his hand and press it down the front of my jeans. “You feel that, how wet my pussy is for you?”

  “Oh, I feel it, baby.”

  “I don’t want to fuck here, though,” I tell him. “It’s not my home anymore.”

  “You wanna fuck in my penthouse?”

  “No,” I say, smiling.

  “Where, then?” he asks, his fingers plunging into my opening.

  “When we met, you asked if I wanted to fuck you in the hallway.”

  “And you turned me down.” Ace gives me a sexy pout. “That was rough, Emmy Rose. Really rough.”

  “I thought you liked it rough?” I tease, cocking my head to the door. “Let’s go. I want you to fuck me where you wanted to the first time. I want you to take me down a hallway and push me against the wall.”

  Without a word, Ace grabs my suitcases with his strong arms and we get in his car.

  Good. Because I really can’t wait until tonight to have his cock inside me. Ace may be a bad boy, but he also had possession of the nicest cock I’ve ever seen. I can’t imagine going a day without it ever again.

  And according to him, I won’t have to.

  The casino is bumping when we arrive. All bright lights and hazy tables, with stacks of chips piled high. High rollers smoking cigars and drinking whiskey, calling the shots, because these men know what they want and they are going to get it. Cocktail waitresses walk around in their fishnets and pleather leotards, red lips and big tits. Everyone here drips decadence, and I know, as I walk through the casino floor, Ace and I are no different.

  But I’m not just dripping decadence. My pussy is dripping with the anticipation of the fucking I’m about to receive.

  “Where to, Boss-man?” I whisper in his ear, as he leads me past the slot machines and crowds.

  We go past my break room, the kitchen where I restock my orders. We stop at the locker room.

  “Go change into your uniform,” he tells me.

  “Really? “I ask, smiling. “You want me in those stilettos and fishnets?”

  “Fuck, yeah, I do. And then I’m going to wrap those long legs of yours around me and fuck you until you scream.”

  “You make me so wet. I swear I’ll be dripping out of that l
eotard, Ace.”

  “Good. I like your juice.”

  I slip into the locker room, trying to catch my breath. Keeping my head down, I tug off my jeans, and pull my top over my head. I slip off my bra and notice how tight and hard my nipples are already, how wet my opening is. I remember meeting Ace and having to run to the break room to rub myself until I got off, because Ace made me so horny, with his chiseled face and muscled arms.

  And now the very same man is mine. Now the very same man is going to put his cock in my willing pussy and fill me until I scream his name.

  Once I’m dressed, I let down my hair, the soft brown strands falling around my shoulders, and I tousle it with my hands, hoping I look sexy. I push up my breasts, hoping to excite Ace with the soft mounds of skin lifted high.

  “You are a fucking bombshell, Emmy,” he says, grabbing my ass and pulling me in for a deep kiss.

  We go around a corner, and he pushes me into the wall. I’m surprised, because this back hallway isn’t that discreet. The lights are lower than out in the casino, but anyone could walk around here and see us.

  Maybe that is part of the excitement. The intrigue.

  “I’m gonna fuck you here, Emmy Rose, and you’re gonna like it.”

  “Someone might see us.”

  “I know,” Ace says, a sly grin forming across his sexy lips. I can’t help but lean in for another kiss, wrap my arms around his neck, and press my tongue into his mouth.

  He pulls down the straps of my leotard, and my breasts tumble out. He pulls one into his mouth, sucking the firm nipple, making the space between my thighs tingle in anticipation. I find his belt buckle and tug it open. Pulling the zipper down, I reach inside and feel his massive cock in my hand.

  Oh, it’s so nice and hard, and with Ace’s tongue licking my tits, all I want is to lick his thick rod.

  “Baby,” I say. “I need you in ways I don’t think I can have you here. Someone might see.”

  “I don’t want you to be nervous, Emmy.” He presses a button on the wall, and a screen lowers from the ceiling, cutting the other hallway off from this one.

  “A private hallway for screwing employees, nice,” I say, a laugh escaping my lips. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Ace Royalle, and I own this fucking place.”

  I love that Ace isn’t annoyed about me not wanting to fuck in public. Wanting him to know I appreciate it, I unbutton his shirt, kissing his chest as I make way down the hard ladder that is his stomach, kissing the fine hair above his boxer briefs.

  I tug them down and put his cock in my mouth, remembering in pleasure the other times I’ve sucked him off until he came all over me, inside of me. Until he became one with me.

  “Oh, that feels good, baby,” he says, running his fingers through my hair. I pull him out of my mouth, and press my tits against his thick rod, looking up at him to see if he likes it. He bites his lip, looking down at me with those fierce green eyes of his.

  “Come here,” he says, easing me back to standing. “I don’t fuck that way in the hallway. I fuck hard and fast. Dirty. You can’t be on your knees. You need to be wrapped around my waist.”

  I like it when he takes control. I don’t need that power to feel good—all I need is his hands sliding across my skin and his hot breath in my ear. All I need is him. He pins me to the wall with his strong hands.

  Ace rips at the fishnets until they’re shreds, pulls away the slim material of the leotard, exposing my pussy in all its dripping glory. He sets me on his bulging cock and, against the wall, I moan as he rocks into me with an intensity I haven’t felt before.

  “Fuck me, Ace. Oh, fuck,” I say, gripping his shoulders as he thrusts into me, his cock going in me so deep, so fast. It sends a rippling through my walls that soon mounts into a rushing wave. A current I can’t suppress. Each time he enters me, deeper and harder, the crash sends me moaning into his chest.

  “It’s so good, Emmy,” he says, as we both come. My body shakes; his hard cock pulses. Both of us are completely washed in pleasure.

  “You fuck all the girls like that?” I ask, a smile crossing every inch of my mouth. I feel so fucking good, so alive. Taken care of in a way I never thought possible.

  “I only fuck the women I intend on marrying that way.”

  “So lots, then?” I pull up my leotard, covering my breasts.

  “If lots is one, yes.” He pulls up his pants, buckles his belt. It was a quickie, but it’s one I’ll never forget.

  “Is that a proposal, Ace Royalle?”

  “What if it was?” he asks.

  “I’d say you have some work to do on it.”

  “Noted.” Ace smiles. “I’ll work on it then, and you work on your answer.”

  “Got it, Boss.” I smack his butt before pressing the button that raises the screen.

  I sashay away from my lover, grinning like a fucking fool.

  28

  ACE

  On the car ride to the hospital all I can think is that I need to propose to this woman in a way that makes her know I mean everything I’ve said. That I am hers.

  She holds my hand, beaming. She has that effortless Emmy Rose smile on her face, the smile that is full of promise and understanding. The smile that says there is a lot of fucking shit to deal with, but she’s not letting it drag her down.

  She’s still standing.

  Emmy Rose is a fucking rock. Solid and sure in a way I don’t think she even knows. In a way I will spend my life showing her.

  Before we get to the elevators, I see Mark.

  “Hey, man, everything okay?” I ask.

  “Great, actually,” Mark says. “Janet’s been moved to the recovery floor now. It looks like she’ll be home with me in a few days. Her surgery went much better than expected.”

  “Oh, shit, that’s fucking great,” I say, pulling Mark into a hug. Because, yeah, I may be a bad boy, but I have a fucking heart.

  And Mark has done nothing but look out for me. He was right about the property, but I didn’t fucking listen. In the future, I’ll hear him out.

  We say good-bye before taking the elevators to Janie’s wing. The silence that envelops us grows heavier with each floor we pass.

  “You okay?” I ask, squeezing her hand.

  “Janie and I just left on really bad terms ... and even if she is the one that put Grotto behind bars, she’s also the one who told me to fuck off. She’s still the one who never wanted me here.”

  There isn’t much I can fucking say to that, so I don’t. Sometimes women need the strong, silent guy. So right now, I’ll be that for her.

  We walk out of the elevators and immediately we know something is wrong. Emmy’s hand tightens in mine. Nurses come toward us; I see a doctor being paged. I see the room Emmy entered before, to check in on Janie, is closed.

  “We’ve tried to call,” the nurse says, as the whole hospital becomes a blur.

  “My phone’s been gone since I was taken in the van,” Emmy mutters, trying to understand.

  Doctor Matthews meets us, pats Emmy’s arm. His words are a stream of syllables that begins and ends with death.

  “Sepsis ... infection ... organ failure ... downhill fast ... tried to call ... it was a matter of minutes ... addiction ... loss of strength....”

  Emmy hears the words, and I hold her up as she nearly loses control. Words that make her dizzy, make me spin as I try to keep up with what is happening. With what has been said.

  Janie is dead.

  Tears stream down Emmy’s face; hollow cries escape her mouth. My woman, who was beaming like a lovesick fool a moment ago, is now holding her heart in her hands as it threatens to crash to the floor.

  I grab it, hold it tight. I won’t ever let it motherfucking go. I won’t ever let Emmy fall alone.

  I scoop her up in my arms as she clings to me like her life depends on it. And maybe right now it does.

  The shit with my family—the memories of my past—courses through my veins. It’s been a few days si
nce Janie’s funeral, and still, every time I think of it, think of Emmy no longer having a family, it makes me fucking excuse myself so I don’t bawl like a fucking fool in front of everyone.

  And everyone has been so good to Emmy, to us. My boys keep bringing food and sitting around my living room talking bullshit, as Emmy sits with her legs tucked underneath her, a blanket over her lap, not really present, but not gone either. She’s a thinker, my Emmy Rose, and I know she isn’t gonna process by talking shit out for days. She needs to come to her own conclusions about what Janie’s death means.

  Claire and Tess are here too, bringing her Starbucks and just sitting with us guys, trying to be normal. Or, at least, our new normal.

  After a week, real life sets in. Jack has a show back east, McQueen has a trip to see his parents in the mid-west, and Landon has met with Stacy a bunch of times to figure out if the property Grotto lit up is salvageable and if we can still purchase it.

  Looks like it’s a go. Apparently Landon’s parents are requesting he come home in a few weeks for a family pow-wow, and so he’s trying to wrap up the deal before he goes.

  Claire and Tess are back at work, and that leaves Emmy and me.

  I still have some business to take care of though.

  I leave the penthouse, promising Emmy I’ll bring back dinner, but knowing I’ll be bringing back more than that.

  I meet Landon at one of his father’s stores, THE KING’S DIAMOND, which has surpassed Tiffany’s blue box with its status. Any woman in the world would want to get married with a King’s Diamond on her finger. And sure, Emmy may be down to earth, but she’s still a motherfucking girl. She’ll get her panties wet when she sees what I’ve picked out for her.

  “You sure that’s the one?” Landon asks, as I hold the black box in my hand.

  “No question.” I just paid an ungodly sum for that rock. But I know it will be worth it. Emmy is worth anything. Everything.

  Landon looks at me as I pocket the box. When I nod, he adds, “I can’t believe it. A bad boy like you getting down on one knee should be a sight to behold.”