by Caitlyn Dare
I’m no closer to having any answers by the time the sun comes up.
Slipping out of bed without Remi noticing, I pull on some clothes and silently head up to the main house. There’s a soft light coming from James’ office, hinting at the fact that he’s awake. I wonder if he’s had a sleepless night too?
I knock on the door once, but unlike yesterday, I don’t wait for him to reply before pushing it open. He’s laid out on his couch, a mostly empty bottle of scotch on the table and a smashed glass on the floor.
“A-Ace?” His eyes flicker open before widening when he notices me.
“I need a favor.”
He pushes himself so he’s sitting and stares at me as if he’s never seen me before. I get it, I’m looking at him now in a totally different light.
“Ace, I’m so sorry.”
I hold my hand up. “Not now. We’ll talk, I’ve got questions. A lot of fucking questions. But right now, I need you to promise me that you won’t say anything to the twins.”
“O-Okay, sure. Whatever you want.”
“When we tell them, it’ll be on my terms. I know them better than anyone. I know how to handle them.”
“You got it.”
I hesitate, knowing that I should go to the woman herself for this, but I’m running out of time.
“Spit it out...”
“I’m taking Remi away this weekend. We’re going to have a second attempt at celebrating her birthday. I need you to make sure Sarah is on board.”
“Um… yeah. I’ll do my best. She’s really not happy about the two of you after...”
“I’m sure you have ways to convince her.” My stomach turns at the thought.
“I’ll do what I can.” He waves me off.
I turn to leave and have the door open when my name falls from his lips. Looking back over my shoulder, I find his soft eyes on me. It’s not a look I’m all that used to. “Make sure she has a good weekend,” he says. “She deserves it.”
I nod and walk from the room, taking that as his permission. Not that I need it where Remi is concerned. She’s mine, and no motherfucker is going to stand in my way.
When I get back to the pool house, she’s still sleeping soundly on her back with her lips slightly parted. I strip out of my clothes once more before crawling under the covers and starting our weekend early.
I kiss up her thigh until my nose hits the lace of her panties. She moans, but she doesn’t move, making me think that she’s still asleep. Slipping my finger under the lace, I pull it aside to reveal what I really want.
Reaching forward, I gently sweep my tongue along the length of her. She tenses as her taste makes my mouth water for more. Moving my hands under her legs, I wrap my fingers around her hips so I can pull her closer.
She moans, her hips writhing against me as I suck on her. “Ace,” she squeals as her entire body flinches. “Fucking hell,” she pants, throwing the covers off and staring down at me.
Her eyes are still hooded with sleep, but her lust still shines bright within them.
“Morning, Princess,” I mutter against her, the vibrations of my voice making her squirm.
“It sure is.”
Her fingers twist in my hair and she tugs to keep me moving.
Laughing, I go back to giving her exactly what she needs.
“Well, well, well, looks like the princess escaped her castle once again.”
“Fuck off, Conner,” both Remi and I say at the same time when they meet us out the front of the house to head to school.
“What? Just pointing out that she might as well move in at this point.”
“Hmm… now there’s an idea.” I turn to her, running my eyes up and down her body. “I could have you in my bed every night. Then we could start every morning like we did—”
“Okay, that’s enough detail. Fuck,” Conner barks. “I really need to get laid.”
“Good luck finding a girl who’s up for that,” Cole mutters.
“Oh, I don’t know. Hadley was pretty interested the other night.”
Remi and I share a look as Cole turns his back on us all and drops into the car.
I don’t really give a shit as to what happened between the three of them while I was keeping Remi entertained the other night, but Remi is dying to know what went down… or maybe who.
“I’ve got a surprise for you later,” I whisper to Remi before I pull the helmet over her head.
“Oh yeah?”
“I think you’re going to really like it.”
“If it involves you, then I already know I will.”
I climb onto my bike, and in only seconds she’s wrapping her body around mine.
Fuck, this weekend can’t start soon enough.
The day fucking drags. I don’t have nearly enough classes with Remi, and too fucking many with Michaela and Bexley.
Just the sight of his face pisses me off. My fists curl every time I see him, but I know Remi would never forgive me if I laid him out in the middle of school and got myself suspended. What I said to her the other day still stands. We need to go about this a different way. We need to be smarter and hit them where it’s going to really hurt.
I’m walking around the back of the gym after our last class of the day when her sickly-sweet perfume fills my nose. “What do you want?” I bark before she even appears in my vision.
“Ace, play nice. I was only coming to say hello,” she purrs, coming to a stop in front of me.
“Nice?” I ask. “I thought you were smart, Michaela. I don’t do nice.”
“Even better. I have a thing for bad, bad boys.” She bites down on her overly plump bottom lip and takes a step toward me. “And I know that you like to live on the wild side.”
I raise a brow. Is this bitch for real?
“Is that right?” I ask, playing with her to see how far she really is willing to take this as an idea begins to form in my mind.
Her hands land on my chest, and I have to fight not to react and push her away. They slide up until they’re locked around the back of my neck. She reaches up on her tiptoes so her breasts press against me.
“So what do you say, Ace? You fancy starting the weekend right? I know I can do things to you that others can’t.” She might not say Remi’s name, but we both know that’s exactly who she means.
I refrain from pointing out that it’s not possible.
“How so?” I spin us until she’s pressed up against the building wall. I stare down at her as if I might be interested in what she has to offer, but the reality is that my stomach is turning with my need to get away.
“I don’t have a gag reflex.”
“Is that so?”
“I could suck you so fucking deep, baby.”
“Well damn.” I fight the urge to retch. “I’ve got plans tonight, but maybe I’ll have to take you up on the offer. I’m always up for discovering people’s… hidden talents.” Not that I believe for one minute this is hidden in any way. She’s probably had half of the football team’s cocks in her mouth.
“And what’s your hidden talent, Ace?” she drawls. “Will I get to experience that too?”
“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
I push from the wall and run my eyes down her body. As usual, she’s wearing the fucking cheer uniform. She really needs to have a day off with this bullshit.
“I’ll see you soon, Michaela.” I wink and her pupils dilate. Fucking hussy. Just the hint of something happening and she’s practically on her knees already.
At least she served one purpose: I’m no longer sporting the semi I’ve been walking around with since Remi forgave me.
Without looking back, I head toward the parking lot where I’m hoping there’s a girl waiting for me who does things to me that Michaela never could.
“So, are you going to tell me what this surprise is yet?” Remi asks as I pull up outside her house.
“Nope. But I need you to do something for me.”
“Oh?”
“I need you to go inside and pack a bag.”
“A bag?” She narrows her eyes at me.
“Yep. You need enough stuff for the weekend.”
“The weekend?” A smile begins to play on her lips.
“The whole fucking weekend, Princess.”
She squeals and claps her hands together in delight.
“The quicker you get your shit, the sooner it can start, baby.”
“Yes!” She runs toward the front door as I laugh at her excitement. She has no idea where we’re going or what we’re doing, yet I think she’s more excited than I’ve ever seen her at the prospect of spending the weekend with me. Me. I shake my head. How the fuck did I get so lucky?
In less than five minutes, she’s back with a backpack over her shoulders and climbing back onto the bike.
“Where are we going?” she shouts, but I turn the ignition and cut her off. She’s going to have to wait.
I memorized the directions while I was in math earlier, so I don’t even need to look at a map as we make our way out of the Bay. Her arms remain wrapped tightly around me the entire journey, making me damn near ready to explode with need.
By the time I pull off the main road and onto a little track that’s meant to head to our weekend home, I’m strung so tightly that I’m not sure I’m going to even get her through the front door.
“Holy shit,” I gasp as we round a corner and the sea comes into view before an incredible beach house appears before us.
It’s totally secluded, built into the side of the hill with what looks like a private beach below. I bring the bike to a stop and kill the engine. Remi is off and has the helmet in her hands in seconds. Her eyes are wide with awe as she looks from the exclusive-looking house and back to me.
“Here? We’re spending the weekend here?”
“Just me and you, Princess.”
“Whoa. What the hell did I do to deserve this?”
Climbing from the bike, I pull her into my arms. “You’re just you, baby.”
Slipping my hand around the back of her neck, I pull her lips to mine. I sweep my tongue into her mouth, tangling it with hers, but it’s not enough. It’s never enough. “Shall we go and check the place out?”
“Um… yes!”
We walk hand in hand down the small gravel path toward the house. I’m totally out of my depth here. I’ve never been anywhere so fancy in all my life. I thought moving into James’ was a shock to the system, but this place is out of this world.
I open the gate and let Remi step up onto the decking. There’s a sunken hot tub and a pool with water so blue it blends with the sea in the distance, so it looks like it goes on forever. There are loungers, love seats, a swing, and the biggest grill I think I’ve ever seen.
“Ace, how the hell did you find this place?”
“I have my ways,” I mutter.
We make our way to the door and slide it open. Whoever Ellen’s old boss is, was clearly expecting us. There’s a welcome note with the key, a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket, and a huge assortment of fresh fruit beside it.
“How much did this cost you?”
“It doesn't matter. Nothing matters right now but you and me, Princess.”
Dropping our bags to the floor, I pull her into my arms. “It’s just me, you, and the sea for the entire weekend. What did you want to do first?”
She reaches up until her lips tickle against my ear. “Hmmm, I have a few ideas, and you’re wearing too many clothes for all of them.”
I groan. My need for her is all-consuming, but I’m going to do this right.
“Happy birthday, Princess.”
“Huh?” she pulls back and looks at me as if I’ve lost my mind.
“This is a do-over. You deserve the world, but this is the best I could come up with.”
“The best?” she asks incredulously. “This is fucking incredible.”
I look at our surroundings, feeling totally out of place. “It really is something.”
“You weren’t expecting this, were you?”
“I knew it was a beach house, but I had no idea it was going to be this… flashy.”
“Well, get used to it, because it’s all ours.” I grin, trying to hide how out of my depth I feel. “Shall we see what’s for dinner?”
“Dinner? You want to start with dinner?”
“Yep. I have a plan.” I smirk.
“A plan? You want to fill me in so I know what to expect?”
“I’m going to wine you, dine you, and then make you fucking mine all over again.”
“Oh God,” she whimpers, telling me that she’s about as desperate as I am.
Chapter Seventeen
Remi
The beach house is incredible. I don’t know how Ace managed to pull this off, but I can’t deny the butterflies that flap wildly in my stomach as I watch him dig around in the refrigerator.
“Are you okay in there?” I ask.
He looks so out of place here in his ripped jeans, military boots, and a black tank that shows off his tattoo sleeves. But I wouldn’t have him any other way. What a person wears or how they brand their skin doesn’t define them. I know that better than anyone.
A person’s worth is more than just designer clothes, a prep school education, and a sizable trust fund. It’s the choices they make and the scars they bear. It’s their integrity and unwillingness to conform just because society tells them to.
It’s love.
Unconditional, irrevocable love.
“Ace,” I say quietly, my pulse racing and blood ringing in my ears.
He glances at me and smiles.
Oh God, that smile.
It makes me melt.
It makes me want things.
A future and promises and a life I never saw before he barged his way into my world.
“Yeah, Princess?”
“I’ve got something to tell you.” Nervous energy vibrates inside me, and I curl my hand around the edge of the counter to steady myself.
“Fuck,” he breathes, running a hand over his head and down his neck. “It’s too much, isn’t it? I didn’t know it was going to be this flashy. I just thought it was—”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “It’s not about this... this is perfect. It’s everything, Ace, and I’m so excited to be here with you.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” I say, unable to hide my smile. “But there is something you should know. Two things actually.”
His brows knit, his stone mask sliding into place. My heart aches for him, knowing that he probably expects the worst.
I hope he’ll feel differently when I’ve told him. At least, about one of the things.
“After you left last night, James and I talked. I think he needed to get everything off his chest and I wanted to understand his side of the story. But I couldn’t say nothing... so I told him about Charlie being alive.”
I brace myself for the flash of anger I’ve seen so many times in his eyes, but it doesn’t come.
“You told him?”
“He needed to know.”
“You’re right.” Ace releases a heavy sigh that I feel all the way down to the pit of my stomach. Closing the refrigerator door, he stalks toward me, his eyes dark and hooded.
“That’s one thing. What was the other?” His arm hooks around my waist, drawing me close. My hands go to his chest as I stare up at him.
“That’s it? You’re not upset?”
“I told you last night, I have all I need. James. Charlie. This shit with my mom, none of it can touch me with you by my side. So what’s the other thing, Princess?” He drops his head to mine. “Because unless you’re about to tell me that we’re done, nothing you say is going to matter.”
“I love you,” I blurt out, instantly regretting my timing when Ace goes as still as a statue.
“You... love me?” The words get stuck as his breath catches.
It’s a wonderful sight to behold, this big scary
guy rendered speechless, but I can’t deny there’s a part of me terrified that I should have waited to confess what I’ve known for a while.
“I do.” I smile. “I don’t really know when it happened, but it did. I know you think you’re this unloveable guy with a dark past, but I see you, Ace. I see you.”
A beat passes, the weight of my words thick between us.
“Say something...” My voice trembles as we stand there, my heart in the palm of Ace’s hands.
And only he can decide its fate.
“Fuck, Remi, I... fuck.”
Dejection snakes through me. He doesn’t feel the same. Ace doesn’t—
The air whooshes from my lungs as Ace scoops me up and carries me through the beach house. “Ace, what the hell?” I shriek, hitting his chest.
“You think you can just say that to me and everything goes back to normal?” His eyes narrow. I can’t look away. I’m lost... drowning in two pools of crystal blue water.
I don’t even notice we’ve arrived in the bedroom until Ace lowers me to the floor and pulls me around so that I’m pressed up against him, my back to his solid chest.
“Oh, wow...” I flush. The bed is huge. Bigger than any bed I’ve ever seen, draped in crushed silk sheets and facing the patio doors that open onto a terrace overlooking the sea.
“I can’t undo what happened that night.” His voice is a soft murmur in my ear, sending shivers zipping through my body. “I wish I could. I wish I could turn back time and give that night a different ending. But then we wouldn’t be here. You wouldn’t be in my arms, telling me you love me.
“I’m a fuck-up, Remi. I’ll probably always be a fuck-up. But I’ll never fuck up with you again, and I’ll spend forever trying to erase that night from your mind, starting with right now.” Ace’s hand glides up my neck, gently coaxing my face to his. His mouth fixes over mine, his tongue sliding between my lips. He doesn’t say the words, but I feel his love wrap around me and take hold.
This is how Ace speaks, with actions and touches and possessive glances.
“Does this mean you’re done punishing yourself?” I murmur against his lips, not wanting for a second to break the kiss.
