by Melody Anne
“Yep, it looks like it,” she told him before she winked.
Lust flared in his eyes, and Dakota wondered if she was playing with far more fire than she could manage. Even if that was the case, she couldn’t seem to stop herself.
“Then I guess I’m your man. When’s the first lesson?”
The rest of the people around them might as well have faded away as they gazed at each other. The powerful connection between the two of them was so much more than she could handle, but that only made this whole thing that much more exciting for Dakota.
“Next week,” she said.
“I have all the paperwork,” Sherman said, breaking their intense connection. She was a little grateful to the man.
“Good. You can give it to me tomorrow,” Ace told his uncle, though his gaze never left Dakota’s.
“Then it’s all settled,” Dakota said, hating that her voice was a little breathy.
“This is far too much business on my wedding day,” Chloe said before she looked at her husband. “Take me out on the dance floor and hold me close.”
“I thought you’d never ask,” Nick told her, immediately pulling her away from the group. Dakota was mesmerized by their love as she gazed after them.
“That sounds like a great idea. Let’s dance,” Ace said, taking Dakota’s arm and pulling her away, not giving her a chance to refuse.
Dakota liked a man who knew what he wanted and didn’t hesitate to get it. She followed him to the dance floor. When he pulled her into his arms, she let her mind go blank and allowed herself to do nothing more than feel.
It was the best decision she’d made in a long time. Being in Ace’s arms felt like being home. It was right where she belonged, and she’d learned long ago to chase her dreams and not fight them or try to analyze them too much.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Slow music played, and Dakota fit in Ace’s arms as if she’d been made just for him. Normally Ace avoided slow songs like they were the plague, but as Dakota melted against him, he knew it was the ultimate in healing after being analyzed like a bug on a slide since he’d returned. He could get lost in this woman—in the magic she seemed to bring with her very presence.
Yes, he knew he was potentially putting her in danger, and yes, he knew he was leaving again soon and shouldn’t make these connections, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself, and he was getting really tired of the internal battle. It was just a dance, he silently muttered.
He wished he could let go of the edge of danger he constantly felt, but too much had happened to him while he was away with the CIA. He understood his family wanting to know about it, wanting to understand why he’d been gone. They probably thought it had been easy on him. They were wrong. But Ace didn’t articulate that too well, so they looked at him as if he would bolt again at any minute—which he actually might. Being with Dakota, though, he felt a moment of relief from the guilt he was constantly carrying.
And though he did want to mend the fences he’d built between himself and his family, right now all he wanted to do was get lost in Dakota’s embrace. He wanted to selfishly keep her all to himself and not allow anyone else into their little bubble.
“Your family obviously loves you,” Dakota told him. He wondered if she was a mind reader along with all her other talents.
“I’ve been away for a very long time. It takes some getting used to, being around them again. My family certainly isn’t the hold-back kind. They will say what’s on their mind, and they will make sure you listen to their very emphatic opinions,” he told her.
“Is that hard for you?” she asked.
The way her manicured nails trailed along the back of his neck as she spoke was mesmerizing. It made him want to open up to her about anything and everything. She was casting a spell over him, and he didn’t even care . . . much.
“I knew it would be difficult coming home,” he admitted. “I wasn’t sure what my family thought about how I’ve behaved over the last several years.”
“How did you behave?” she asked. She snuggled a little closer to him, and though he was pulsing with need, he also felt sweet comfort in her embrace. He wanted to harden himself against that but seemed unable to do so.
“I pushed them away. It’s what had to be done.”
“Why?”
He sighed as he pulled back so he could look into her lovely green eyes. There was such warmth in them, such understanding. He felt as if she was looking straight into his soul. He didn’t like that feeling.
Leaning down, he brushed his lips against hers, not caring who was watching them. Her eyes closed as she kissed him back, and he slowly moved them to the easy rhythm of the song.
“I had to push them away to keep them safe,” he finally answered.
“Is it easier for you to push people away?”
Ace actually thought about that for a moment. “Yes. It’s what I’m supposed to do,” he told her.
“You haven’t pushed me anywhere,” she pointed out.
He smiled down at her as his hand caressed her lower back.
“That’s because you are a force of nature who has my complete attention,” he said. He couldn’t help himself from bending down again and running his lips across hers as he let his hand drift over the top of her butt.
Her eyes flared, and he knew he was getting himself way too worked up in such a crowded room. He was going to announce to everyone there exactly how he felt about this woman, and he didn’t think his brother would appreciate that too much. Flashbacks of the last Armstrong wedding wove through his head, and he actually felt . . . shame. What the hell!
“I’m also stubborn and like to get my way,” she warned.
“That has been more than obvious from the second I met you,” he said with a laugh. It was strange to be laughing so easily when he hadn’t done so in years. Being here with this woman, with his family surrounding him, had lifted a weight off his shoulders he hadn’t even realized he’d been carrying. He wished all the weight would evaporate.
“This is moving mighty fast, Ace,” she said. There was still a sparkle in her eyes, but he could see an edge of fear in there too. He knew how she felt. It was frightening when a person had such an impact on you. Besides that, Ace had learned long ago not to try to hold on to things too tightly, because it made it more painful when they were ripped away from you.
“I’ve been warned that you’re off-limits,” he told her. Secretly he added, by his family and himself. He knew the smart thing would be to make her stay as far from him as humanly possible. Maybe while he was home he could send her on an all-expenses-paid vacation. Nope. He couldn’t even imagine doing that.
She smiled at him. “And that probably made you want to claim me that much more.”
He loved that she wasn’t afraid to say exactly what was on her mind. Why had he ever bothered chasing women who pretended they didn’t want to be caught?
“Yes, I might have to admit that intensified the appeal,” he said. “But even without the warning, you’re a beautiful, confident woman. I’m sure you’re very used to being chased.”
“But if you aren’t pursued for the right reasons, then it’s no fun,” she said.
“Are you giving me permission to chase you, Ms. Forbes?” he asked, letting his hands slide along her hips now. He wanted to reach between them and feel the sweet weight of her breasts, but their lack of privacy stopped him. Maybe he could dance the two of them out to a patio and have his wicked way with her. That was an appealing thought. Maybe he could give himself this one night . . .
“You can try to catch me, but it might not be as easy as you think,” she warned him.
Ace smiled as a chuckle escaped, and he pulled her lower half tightly against him, making sure she felt the power of his attraction to her.
“Not only can I catch you, but I can assure you, you would never want me to ever let you go,” he replied.
She smiled, her eyes sparkling, her hips pushing into his in a sweet swirl that h
ad his head spinning.
“Are you telling me you want me forever, Ace Armstrong?” she asked with a teasing smile. “Has your brother’s wedding given you ideas?”
He knew his eyes must have shown the terror those words held for him, because Dakota laughed. He lifted his hand, giving her a smack on her delectable butt cheek. That only made her grin more.
“If you think you can scare me away, you will learn I’m not like most guys,” he told her after several moments.
She gave him an intense stare before leaning her head against his chest and swaying with him as the song merged into a new one. Luckily it was still a sweet, mellow beat, so he didn’t have to release her just yet.
Ace slowly moved the two of them through the crowd, spinning them as easily as a dancer from the twenties, his footwork perfect, her steps matching his with ease. His body was hard and his heart was racing, and he still didn’t want to let her go.
The air thickened between the two of them, and Ace couldn’t stop touching her, couldn’t find the will to end their dance and let her go. In a few hours’ time, he’d fallen under this woman’s spell, and the thought of their perfect night ending was enough to make a cold sweat break out on his neck.
Ace might not be looking for love, didn’t even know if he would recognize it if he were to find it, but he wanted something more from this woman than just a single night. He might not want forever, but he wanted more than just a single moment. And that was dangerous territory for him and for her.
Ace felt worried about the intensity of his feelings for this woman. To ease some of his anxiety and let air into the cocoon the two of them had formed in the crowd of people, he grabbed her hand and spun her in a circle before pulling her back to him. Her laughter was his reward, and then the song changed, a fun beat filling the room.
More people around them began dancing, laughter and talking surrounding them. He thought about pulling her from the room and taking her somewhere they could be alone, thought about all the things he’d like to do with her, but he was afraid of how he was going to feel if he made this moment any more intimate than it already was.
“You are full of surprises, Ace, and you have made this wedding a lot more fun than any other I’ve been to,” Dakota told him as they continued dancing.
“You are bringing out something in me I didn’t even know was there,” he told her. “Or it could be the whisky I’ve drunk all night.”
She smacked his arm. “It’s all me. Besides, I’ve been told that alcohol simply allows us to do what we aren’t brave enough to do without it.”
“I’m a superhero, baby. I’m not afraid of anything,” he said.
“If you just add a little chest pounding to that statement, I might believe you,” she said.
He pounded his chest, knowing he was willing to do just about anything to make this woman laugh. It was sweeter than the music playing and the wedding cake combined.
“You know what, Ace?” she asked with a mischievous smile. He was afraid to respond. He was quickly learning he didn’t know what would come out of her mouth next.
“What?” he finally asked.
“You smell delicious. I could lean into you all night and simply smell you.”
Ace’s arousal pulsed at her words.
“You are trouble, Dakota,” he told her. “Why couldn’t you have said this stuff while we had a nice empty hotel room all to ourselves?”
“Because then I might have done something I would regret in the morning,” she said with a wink.
His mind was once again filled with images of the two of them entwined together, sweaty and naked. This night was going to be the death of him if she had her way about it.
“Damn, woman, you are killing me,” he told her. “And trust me, there is nothing we would do together that you’d have any regrets about.”
“Good. I’m finding it’s quite fun torturing you,” she admitted.
“My family might kill me if I haul you away over my shoulder, but then again, it could certainly be worth it,” he said. But his words also brought to mind all the villains he chased. They might literally kill her if they thought they could get to him because of it. That didn’t sit well with him—not one tiny bit.
“There might be a closet nearby we could sneak into,” she told him as she bit her bottom lip, driving him crazy.
“Ace is very familiar with closets,” Nick said with a laugh, interrupting the two of them.
Unbelievably, Ace felt his cheeks heat as he refused to meet Dakota’s eyes and vowed to punch his brother again. That might just have to become an Armstrong wedding tradition. Too bad it looked as if Nick would always be the one getting hit.
“I feel there’s a story here,” Dakota said with laughter that surprised him, though he didn’t understand how he could still be surprised by anything that came from this woman’s mouth.
“Well, you see—” Nick began, but Ace cut him off.
“Dakota doesn’t need to hear stories of the past,” Ace warned.
“Oh, she certainly does,” Dakota professed.
“Don’t you have a bride to entertain?” Ace asked.
“I’m pretty entertained right now,” Chloe said as she danced with her husband.
“And I need another drink,” Ace told all of them.
Though his arms felt empty as he pulled away from Dakota, the sound of her laughter made clear that Nick must be telling her of Ace’s youthful indiscretions. He continued straight to the bar, where he downed another double.
The smartest thing Ace could probably do at this point was to run as fast and as far from Dakota as he possibly could. But as he turned around, his eyes seeking her out, he knew he wasn’t going anywhere.
He wanted to get to know this woman, wanted to understand how she was able to make him feel so many emotions he’d kept buried for years. He knew pursuing her might not be the smartest decision he’d made in a long time, but then again, he always survived no matter what choices he made. But what he couldn’t avoid was that even if he survived, what if she didn’t? He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if harm came to this vibrant woman because of him.
Even knowing all of this, it didn’t take long before staying away from Dakota was impossible, so he found her at the table with the rest of his family and sat next to her. Heat poured from her body, and though he tried to focus on the conversation, he gave up after a while and simply focused on the sound of her beautiful voice.
If he was really careful and didn’t go out in public with her, he could make this work—for a short time. He tried telling himself that was the smart and safe thing to do. But it was only an excuse, because he wanted her, had to have her. The two of them together would be absolutely epic.
CHAPTER NINE
Two days after the wedding, Ace still hadn’t thought of anything other than the beautiful brunette who’d so easily slipped beneath his defenses and caught his attention. After leaving Nick and Chloe’s wedding and saying a very disappointed good-bye to Dakota, he’d told himself his feelings had been caused by the atmosphere of the event and the amount of liquor he’d consumed.
If that were truly the case, then why was he still thinking about her? Why did he want to find out exactly where she lived so he could go stand before her house with a boom box in hand, vowing his loyalty to her?
Because he was an idiot, he decided.
Even while sitting in Cooper’s house with his family, getting ready to go to a game, he still couldn’t focus on what was going on around him. Dakota filled his thoughts during the day, and she certainly filled his dreams with erotic visions that woke him up hard and unsatisfied.
“Are you ready for some football!” Mav yelled, breaking Ace from his brooding. Mav was still holding back from him in a subtle way, but Ace couldn’t seem to find it within himself to talk to his brother about it. Probably because he felt he deserved it.
Ace also couldn’t help but laugh at Mav’s excited voice as the man entered the living r
oom. They were all wearing their Seahawks jerseys with plenty of warm clothes beneath. Seahawks games were as cold as hell, but there was nothing like a live game.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve sat in the stands,” Ace admitted. Now, the thought gave him some anxiety. He was all too aware of the danger of being in a crowd like that, and how difficult it was to get away if things went to hell.
“Just another reason it’s good to be home,” Nick said as he joined them.
“Right now, we should be pregaming, though,” Ace told them as he grabbed a bottle of Corona and took a large guzzle.
“Couldn’t have said it better,” Maverick said, grabbing his own bottle. “Good thing Coop’s the designated tonight.”
“We could have had Sherman drive us,” Cooper said as he looked at his brothers with a scowl.
“This is brother-bonding time,” Nick said. “You’ve all been complaining the last few days because I haven’t been around.”
“Yeah, I’m surprised you’re coming out now. Since you tied the knot, that noose around your neck is getting pretty tight,” Ace said.
“Don’t knock it till you try it,” Maverick warned.
“I never thought I’d see the day you’d be spouting the virtues of matrimony,” Ace told him.
“Me either,” Mav said. “But damn, I can’t live without my woman.”
“I hear you there,” Coop said.
“And you don’t have to,” Lindsey said as she stepped into the room wearing her own jersey. “Now, you boys can go and have a great time alone,” she added with a smile as Chloe and Stormy entered the room, looking just as adorable as Lindsey, “or you can have our company along with you.”
“Oh, please don’t leave us on our own,” Maverick said as he moved over to his wife and easily lifted her from the ground before giving her a big kiss.
“Agreed,” Coop said, his mood improving exponentially.
“It’s up to Ace,” Chloe said as she smiled sweetly at him. “We can go in our own vehicle if you want to have brother bonding.”
