by BK Rivers
“Hello?” he says, and my stomach tightens at the low tenor of his voice.
“Ace, it’s Stacey,” I say, then realize he knows it’s me from caller ID. “Hey, Halloween is in three days and I was going to have a party and wanted to run it by you. Make sure you’re cool with it.” The span of three breaths passes before he answers.
“What time?”
“Oh. Um, like nine-ish, I guess.”
“Who are you inviting? You need to be careful having people you don’t know at your party.” He’s scolding me like a teenager, making anger flare in my chest.
“I’m almost twenty-eight years old, Ace. I’m pretty sure I can handle myself.”
He sighs, and if I had to guess, he’s either scrubbing a hand over his face or tugging on his ear. “Just be careful, okay? If it gets out of hand, call me and I’ll be there.” With that, the line goes dead. The man makes me either weak in the knees or deliriously angry—there’s no middle ground with him.
As Monday approaches, my nerves begin to take flight. It’s the last day Julia will be here to help me. All last week she worked with me and Ellery—who has been amazing to work with. In no way do I feel ready to take over the bookstore, but Julia assures me everything will be fine. I have the name and number of the accountant, payroll company, suppliers, and the list goes on and on. I’m so tense and nervous, sleep is nowhere in sight.
I don’t remember falling asleep, but when the alarm on my phone goes off at 6 a.m., I wipe the sleep from my eyes, the drool from my chin, and stretch my arms over my head. I have kinks in my neck and back, sore muscles, and a scratchy throat. What the hell did I do last night, bedroom Olympics? Usually, that involves more than one player, and as far as I know, I was alone last night.
After a long, hot shower, some Tylenol, and a bowl of cereal, I leave the house and drive to work. Julia won’t be in until the afternoon when she officially hands over the keys. I’m terrified, yet excited and sad. Julia’s been a great friend and an even better boss. I hope I can make her proud.
Four coffees, a chocolate cake, and several tears later, Ellery and I say goodbye to Julia. She strides out of the building ready to move on to retirement with her husband and all I can think about is not screwing up and driving her bookstore into the ground. The next two days pass by with little incident, which grows my confidence in leaps and bounds. The evening of the Halloween party is upon me and as I finish the last of the food prep, someone knocks on the door.
Having no clue who it is, and not yet dressed in my costume, I wipe my hands on my apron and answer the door. A perky blond with a wide smile stands on the porch holding a tray of food and wearing a Catholic school girl uniform.
“Lucy!” I exclaim, throwing my arms around her. “I’m so glad you’re here. Come in.” She glides through the door, places the dish on the counter, and asks if I need help.
“I need to change into my costume and set out the food,” I say, pacing the kitchen. “People should start arriving in about an hour.”
“Go get dressed. I’ll put the food out,” Lucy says, shooing me up the stairs. “Go get your cute tushy up those stairs and don’t worry about everything down here.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll go. Thank you so much.”
Twenty minutes later, I’m dressed in a sexy librarian costume complete with a deep purple v-neck sweater that plunges to my belly button, a white push-up bra underneath and a tight, black pencil skirt. My hair is twisted up into a bun on the top of my head and I have on a pair of thick-rimmed black glasses. The theme of the party is to come dressed as a sexy version of what you do for work. I figured it was a great icebreaker.
Back downstairs, Lucy has the food laid out on the counters, the red plastic cups near the keg, and the bottles of alcohol lined up as though an actual bar was set up.
“Thanks for doing all this, it looks great,” I say. “I love your costume, by the way. What did your mom think?”
Lucy’s cheeks flare up and she tucks her hair behind her ear. “Will you kill me if I tell you that before I knocked on your door, I took off the clothes I was wearing over this?”
“Are you serious?” I ask, laughing. “Where are they?”
“I put them in your car, which you should lock by the way.” Lucy and I walk outside, grab her clothes from my car, and I put them in the spare room upstairs.
“Hey, my landlord mentioned in passing that he’d be okay if you wanted to move in with me. I’d still love to have you as a roommate,” I say, closing the door. “That could be your room.”
“I’d really love to,” she says hesitantly. “But I really don’t think it’s a good idea right now. Mom’s health hasn’t been that good and I wouldn’t want to be the cause of something happening to her.”
Sheesh, this girl seriously needs to cut the ties.
“Okay, but the offer is there.” We end up downstairs just as someone knocks. I open the door to a sexy secretary, a sexy waiter, and a sexy…lawyer? Is there such a thing? Introductions are made and more people start to arrive. My little house quickly grows crowded and the party moves outside under the white lights I strung across the yard. I love the glow they give and how it makes me feel like I’m in a fairy tale.
The party is in full swing when another knock on the door brings me out of the kitchen. I open the door and am greeted by Ace, dressed in a cop costume that isn’t sexy. Like at all. It’s more humorous than sexy because I know what he actually looks like in his uniform. And dayum, the man looks incredible in it.
“Ace, hi,” I say, still surprised he’s standing outside.
“Hey,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck as his eyes travel down my body, stopping at my chest.
“Eyes up here, buddy,” I say, lifting his chin with my finger. “Apparently, you didn’t get the whole sexy costume memo.”
He clears his throat, his lips turn up into a smirk that makes my insides turn to mush, and then he unbuttons his shirt down to where it’s tucked into his pants. Then he rolls the sleeves up past his elbows, giving me a peek at the tattoo on his left arm.
“That better?” he asks, the smirk still planted on his lips.
“Come on in,” I say, opening the door wider. He moves to enter, but then stops.
“I’ll just go around to the back if that’s okay,” he says, walking off the porch. Oh. Kay. I close the door, follow him around back, and step through the gate he holds open for me.
“Is Ethan coming?” I ask, hoping to introduce him to Lucy. Even with her insecurities and crazy overprotective mother, I think they would hit it off.
“Yeah, he’ll be here shortly. Should I let him know to rip his scrubs or something to make him look sexy?” he asks, taking in the crowd. I step back and scan the people, looking at them from his perspective. To be fair, when I said it was a come-as-your-sexy-working-self costume party, I didn’t exactly know you could make any job look sexy. The women all wear next to nothing, which makes me feel overdressed.
“Nah, any single lady here will think he’s sexy just because he’s a nurse.” And as if summoned from thin air, Ethan appears behind us dressed in a pair of blue scrubs and blue cloth hat.
“Looking good, Stacey,” he says, his eyes roaming over my body. Also stopping at my chest.
“Eyes up here, asswipe,” Ace says, practically growling.
Ethan shrugs, pulls me in for a hug, and whispers in my ear, “He’s all yours. Just don’t give up on him.” He pats my shoulder then makes his way through the crowd.
“Do you know everyone here?” Ace asks, leaning against the fence with his arms crossed over his chest.
I shake my head and smile. “I pretty much know no one. Just Ellery from work and Lucy who lives down the street.” I enjoy watching him squirm, and when he pushes off the fence to stand in front of me, my body reacts. Heat rises up my neck, flooding to my cheeks, and my pulse skyrockets. Damn this man for having this kind of power over me.
“You invited all these people here and you’r
e dressed like this?” he asks, his icy blue eyes once again traveling over my body. His tongue darts out of his mouth, wetting his lips and sending wickedly lusty thoughts to my brain.
“Are you trying to kill me?” He moves closer, backing me up against the fence. The back of his hand brushes over my cheek and the heat from his touch warms me through. The pad of his thumb moves over my bottom lip, making my heart knock against my ribs. “I’ve missed you,” he admits, moving even closer. Each breath is like pulling teeth. It’s painful and full of resistance because my body doesn’t know how to let go. How to let him do this one thing I want him to do to me. His head drops, his eyes search mine, seeking permission. I want to deny him, tell him to take a hike. But most of all I want his lips on mine, hands on my body, and the heat from him holding me captive.
“I can’t stop thinking about this,” he says, his thumb still sliding over my lip. “It keeps me up at night. Makes it hard to concentrate. Makes me want to kiss you again.”
I can’t help it. I really can’t. My tongue breaks through my lips to wet them and naturally quickly slides over the tip of his thumb. Ace tilts his head back and groans.
“Do you really want to kiss me, Ace?” I ask, placing my hands on his chest over his shirt. His heart is beating heavily, pounding against his ribs as hard as mine is. He closes his eyes, nods, and drops his thumb from my lips. “Then kiss me.” His eyes snap open as if he can’t believe I’m giving him the permission he’s so afraid of asking for.
I slide my palms over the planes of his chest and up over his shoulders, bringing him closer. When his lips meet mine, he moans as if he can’t get enough. His tongue quickly enters my mouth, seeking mine, and when they meet…oh God…it’s like a fire is lit under Ace’s hands and he can’t keep them to himself. One finds its way to my waist and then snakes around to cup my ass and pull me into him. His hard meets the softness of my stomach, which is to say my bare stomach. The costume he’s wearing is little more than glorified paper and I. Feel. Every. Ridge.
His other hand moves up my side, stopping at my partially exposed bra. His finger glides under the bottom wire, sneaking under my shirt before his palm rests over my left breast. I should care that anyone looking over at us might be getting quite the show, but I don’t. Ace consumes me, my every waking thought, and right now, with his lips on mine, his hands cupping and kneading, nothing around me matters.
“I can’t seem to stay away from you,” Ace says breathlessly when he breaks the kiss.
“Then don’t,” I whisper, loving the look of his swollen lips and flushed cheeks. I move to kiss him again but he puts a small amount of space between us, signaling the end of our makeout session.
“I want to eat dinner with you,” he says, bringing his hands up to cup my cheeks. I nod as he glances down at my chest and painfully, slowly, returns my left breast into my bra. “I want to eat dinner with you…here.”
“Okay,” I say, not underestimating the significance of him eating with me here at his own house. But I’ll take it. I’ll take what Ace wants to give me because I want it all. I want dinners with him, cuddling on the couch, his kisses, warm touches, and hooded eyes. I want him even if it costs me everything.
Chapter 28
Ace
Stacey’s party cleared out around 1 a.m., and after she walked a very tipsy Lucy home, I helped her clean up the backyard. People never have a problem leaving a mess when someone else has to clean it up. Now, as we sit on the back steps staring up at the night sky, a sense of calm washes over me. My arm is wrapped around Stacey’s shoulders, holding her tight to my side, keeping her warm. The sky is dark with thick gray clouds and the chill in the air, and the smell of moisture tells me it’s likely to snow pretty soon. Thank goodness she rented some outdoor heaters or her party would have been a bust.
“You going to be okay tonight, sweetheart?” I ask as she shivers against me. Instinctively, I pull her onto my lap and wrap my arms around her waist, drawing her arms around my neck. Sadly, her skirt is so damn tight she has to sit sideways rather than straddle me. The space between us is charged with a hungry current, and when her eyes find mine, her tongue slowly guides across her soft lips, dragging a groaning sigh from me.
“I’m glad you came tonight,” she whispers, still gazing at me. “Did you have a good time?” Her fingers trace patterns on the back of my neck, drawing out goose bumps across my skin and sending Junior into a heightened state of awareness. Little separates us, in fact, it would be so easy to slide these ridiculous pants down my legs and push aside whatever she’s wearing under that tight skirt and find release.
Truth be told, I have no idea if I could go through with it. I don’t even own any condoms, and it’s not like I’m going to make her buy some. We’re not going there—I won’t. Not tonight. Not…
“Ace? I asked if you had a good time, didn’t you hear me?” Just like that, I’m back with her and enjoying the feel of her teasing the hair at the back of my neck.
“Yeah, I did.” She lays her head on my shoulder and I place whisper light kisses on the top of her head. However, it’s time to take out the bun—I’m done with the bun. I remove seven of those wavy pin things and then untwist the hair tie holding up the fiery red hair I’ve come to love. Her hair tumbles over her shoulders and back, making my fingers twitch with the desire to glide through the wavy strands.
Stacey moans softly as I run my fingers through her hair. As the minutes pass, she relaxes into me until I realize she’s fallen asleep. A wave of panic stirs in my chest, causing my heart to rapid fire. I’m not sure carrying her inside to her room—our room—is within my power.
“Stacey, sweetheart. You need to wake up,” I say, pressing a light kiss to her forehead. She mumbles something unintelligible as her head slips down my chest. Jesus, she’s really out. I glance around, hoping someone has either come back because they forgot something, or at the very least someone is out for a 2 a.m. walk in the neighborhood.
Shit!
I rode my motorcycle here, so it’s not like I can take her back to Ethan’s house with me. And I have no idea where her car keys are. Dammit!
One deep breath in…one deep breath out.
I can’t freaking do this. I can’t go inside that house, up those stairs into the bedroom I shared with Marley. I. Can’t. Do. It.
“Stacey, hon…please wake up.” My arms hold her tighter and begin to shake with fear. This all feels too familiar, too raw, and it’s gutting me, holding her in my arms like dead weight. My throat is closing up, tears are burning the corners of my eyes as beads of sweat drip down my back.
“Dammit, Stacey. Wake up!” I’m shaking her now, her head is bobbing back and forth and it’s my worst nightmare on repeat. I can’t lose her too, I just can’t. She has to wake up because I can’t go inside that house.
“Ace?” she says, her voice thick with sleep. “What are you doing?” She lifts her head, gazes up at me, and the shell around my heart cracks open and I kiss her. I freaking kiss the snot out of her because she’s awake and alive and in my arms.
Stacey moans into my mouth and I wrap my hand behind her neck, tilting her head to give me better access. My tongue glides across hers in a frantic rhythm and desperate pace. She gives as I take and my other hand glides up her legs under the hem of her skirt to cup her little round ass. It’s cold from the night air and…bare, making me break the kiss.
“Tell me you have something on under this tight black skirt,” I say, staring into her eyes, secretly hoping she’s going commando.
She shakes her head, pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, and gazes through her inky lashes. “Sorry to disappoint, but I’m mostly clothed underneath.”
“Thong?” I ask, and she’s nodding and I’m groaning in appreciation. “March yourself up to your bed, woman, before I lose myself in you.”
“You could come with me,” she says, pulling her hair over her shoulder. She makes me want to take her to bed. To peel her clothing off layer by la
yer, exposing the creamy, smooth white skin underneath. To run my lips over every inch of flesh before I delve in deep and let her consume all of me.
“I can’t, sweetheart. But I’ll come over for dinner tomorrow night, okay?” My fingers trail across her cheek before I place my lips on hers in a soft, slow kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good night, Ace,” she says before slipping inside the house that looks like it just ate the girl I’m having difficulties walking away from.
***
“Situation on Highway 75, all available cars please respond.”
“Kilty and Steele, reporting,” Kilty says over the radio. “What’s the situation? Over.”
“Possible high-speed chase with potential collisions.”
“On our way, send coordinates. Over.” As soon as dispatch sends coordinates, I turn on my lights and siren and navigate through the busy streets of Warner. Finally on the highway, three miles ahead of the oncoming car, we sit and wait for the blue late model Chrysler LeBaron. I have to laugh because that car hasn’t been in production in years, how fast can they really be going? Sure enough, within two minutes, Kilty and I spot the car weaving through traffic at least twenty miles over the speed limit.
High speed is laughable when the driver is going seventy-five. Here I thought we were dealing with speeds up over a hundred miles an hour. Is it wrong I’m a little disappointed?
“Let’s go get him,” Kilty says, tightening his buckle and gripping the CB radio in his hand.
“Kilty and Steele in pursuit. Over.”
“Proceed, Steel and Kilty. Two cars are one mile ahead and four are closing in from behind.”
