"I do. I cry. A lot." The tears and sobs coming out of her mouth broke up her words. She pulled back to stare at him.
"Oh my god, what did you to do yourself?" She raised her shaking hand to touch his bald head covered only with the faintest touch of blond stubble.
"I shaved it."
"I see that." She sniffed. "You're gorgeous, as always. But why would you cut off your beautiful hair?"
He hesitated. "Because you always hated it."
"No, I didn't. At first I wasn't into the whole look, but then it became you and I loved it."
"You did?"
She nodded. "I did."
"Well, it was also time for a change. Do you hate it?"
"No." She laughed. "Damn, I'm dizzy." The room twirled. His showing up, startling her, and—and bald—was too much, all of it.
Ace scooped her up into his arms and carried her to her couch. "Are you okay?"
Concern marred his expression, but his eyes glowed with happiness as they looked at her.
"It's been a long day. I'm so happy to see you. I thought when you didn't respond to my on-air plea that you were basically telling me to "fuck off."
He shook his head as he sat on the couch, lifting her head onto his lap. He stroked her hair. "I don't know what you're talking about. I got here early and I've been here all day. I made some lunch, fell asleep right here."
She sat up, almost colliding heads with him. "You didn't see what I did on television today?"
"No." He touched her cheek. "I've been in Europe meditating with this Texan named Kevin."
"Meditating?"
"Yes." He laughed. "I know. It's crazy but I've gotten the adrenaline down so low I hardly notice it."
"I suggested that."
He kissed her nose. "You did. Draco did too. Anyway, I had a lot of time to think, and all I could think about was you. I came back last night to lots of messages that you kept stopping by the office." He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers.
"They made me hopeful you'd missed me as much as I'd missed you and that maybe we could both try again."
"Ace, are you telling me you didn't see what I did today?"
"No." He opened his eyes as he pulled back to look at her. "Lael has been calling for the last five hours but I haven't answered."
Oh hell. The tears started again. He'd come back for her without seeing her desperate plea. That was too wonderful for words.
He brushed away her tears with his fingers. "What are these tears?"
"I'll have to show you."
She got up from the couch. "I don't know where I put the remote. Shit." She was always misplacing the damn thing.
Ace pointed at the television and the set came to life. She smiled. That particular superpower was very useful.
Sure enough, as she suspected, considering what she'd pulled her first day back, her face appeared on the screen. She stood by the television, not looking at Ace as he watched her public declaration.
When it ended, before the news people could start speaking, he stood and pointed at the television to turn it off.
"You did that to try to get me back?"
She nodded. What if she'd made a terrible mistake? "Too much?"
She blinked and found herself in his arms again. "No. It was perfect." He kissed her again. His lips were strong and she was engulfed in Ace's arms, as she'd been so desperate to be.
"We have to be careful with you. People are going to try to hurt you now."
He kissed her hard and she hung on for dear life. Sudden realization hit her; Ace shook in her arms. She pulled back. "Are you okay? Are you having an adrenaline problem?"
"No." He laughed as he kissed her forehead. "Alice, I'm overwhelmed. You just exposed yourself on television for me. You told everyone you're seeing a therapist. How am I going to keep you safe?"
Safe? "Why would I be in danger?"
"From people who want to get to me."
"That's always going to be a problem if we're together. How did you think you'd handle it before?"
His strong arms moved her snug against his chest, so close she could hear his heartbeat. She could tell he was overwhelmed. If he needed this level of closeness, so tight she was practically inside of him, then fine, that's what he'd get.
"I was hoping we could find a way to hide our relationship so no one would know you were with me."
"No." She tried to shake her head, which was impossible pressed up against him.
"We're not living our life in the dark. I won't ever tell anyone about Draco or Lael and their relationship to us, but we have to be out in the open."
He loosened his hold on her and she pulled back to regard him. "Listen, presidents and prime ministers have relationships. We must be able to have them. We'll be careful. I'll—"
She cut off what she was going to say. It was too much. She wasn't going to be that woman scaring him off.
"You'll what?"
"Oh god, you caught that. I was going to say something that was bound to scare you off."
"I don't scare easy."
"I was going to say that I'll move in with you but that's too much for now. We'll just work it out."
Ace dropped down onto one knee. "Alice Styles, when I came back for you, I promised myself that I would not leave this house until you agreed to marry me."
She swallowed. She hadn't imagined this. In her wildest dreams, she never would have guessed he'd say, "Marry me."
Something was seriously wrong. She didn't feel the panic. He was talking family.
Shouldn't she be freaked out?
Grinning, she knelt to face him. "Yes, Ace, I will marry you."
"You will?"
She narrowed her gaze. "You didn't ask expecting me to say no, did you? Oh God! Are you upset I said yes?"
He kissed her nose. "I'm shocked you made it so easy. I had a list—a very long list—of how I was going to convince you."
"Well, go ahead. Sell yourself."
"No." He stood, scooping her up in his arms. "You said yes, that gets me off the hook."
"It does not." She wanted to hear his frickin; list.
"Sorry." He dropped her on the couch. "We do well on couches."
"We've only ever done it on the couch. I bet we do it well on beds, in the shower—"
"Honey, I'll bang you anywhere."
"Funny, Ace."
She sighed as his mouth met hers again, and his quick fingers undid her buttons.
He might have cut off his hair but he was still her Ace.
Thank God.
"So, can I move in with you? How will I get around? I can't fly myself back and forth. People might find out where you live if they follow me."
"We'll live here."
"What about Lael? He needs you."
He opened her shirt and squeezed her breast, sending heat between her thighs.
"He can come too."
"Won't Draco object?"
"He might; he's my problem."
Ace kissed her again. "Listen, no more talking about my family. I have other things in mind, right now. We're making up and I need to make up with you. A lot. "
She closed her mouth. They would talk. Later. And for the rest of their lives. The thought was delicious. He was her Ace, forever.
~The End~
About the Author
As a teenager, Rebecca would hide in her room to read her favorite romance novels when she was supposed to be doing her homework. She hopes, these days, that her parents think it was worth it.
She is the mother of three adorable boys and she is fortunate to be married to her best friend. They live in northern New Jersey and try not to freeze too badly during the winter months.
She is in love with science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal, and tries to use all of these elements in her writing. She's been told she's a little bloodthirsty, so she hopes that when you read her work you'll enjoy the action-packed ride that always ends in romance. She loves to write series because she lo
ves to see characters develop over time and it always makes her happy to see her favorite characters make guest appearances in other books.
In her world, anything is possible, anything can happen, and you should expect that it will.
Learn more about Rebecca at www.rebeccaroyce.com
* * * * *
If you enjoyed Banging the Superhero, you might also like the following book from Rebecca Royce and Noble Romance Publishing:
Screwing the Superhero
Document Outline
Chapter One
Something seemed a little off . . . .
Grayson stuttered. "Alice . . . ."
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Sometimes we think about them that way . . . .
"But�"
"She's not nice to you?" That might be grounds to fire her . . . .
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Ace scratched his head. "Do I say dude a lot?" He didn't think he did . . . .
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
"Usually I can control my own strength but with you . . . ." He looked down at his hands. They still shook.
Chapter Eight
"I'm worrying�"
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
God, she really wanted to see Ace . . . .
There had to be a way to fix this. There just had to be.
Draco sighed. "Ace . . . ."
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
"Ms. Styles . . . ."
Oh god, she needed to go to him, to see that he was okay . . . .
Banging the Superhero Page 13
