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“I don’t understand a single thing you just said to me.”
Ace’s lips turned up the tiniest bit. He sighed and opened his eyes. “That’s because you’re sleep-deprived, Doe. You haven’t been sleeping at all these last few days. You must be exhausted.”
He was right, of course. But that didn’t clear up any of my confusion.
“Come here, Doe.” He lifted one of his arms, inviting me into his embrace.
I didn’t need to be told twice.
I fell into him, and he lifted me so I was on top of him, my legs on either side of his large form, and my head tucked under his chin.
He caressed my back, running his hand up and down my spine with soothing strokes that had me sighing in bliss.
“Now get some sleep,” he whispered.
I was out in seconds.
***
I slept soundly for the next hour or so, dreaming nonstop of Ace’s teeth sinking into me, until a sound pulled me from my deep slumber.
My bedroom door creaked open and in came my three-year-old brother, Wes, who walked toward me in his Bluey onesie.
“Dotty,” he said, coming up to stand by the edge of the bed.
I glanced up at Ace who was still sleeping peacefully beside me.
“Hey, cutie pie,” I whispered back to him. “What are you doing out of bed? Did you crawl out of your crib?”
He didn’t reply. He reached out and touched Ace’s arm dangling off the bed. “Wow,”
he murmured with wide eyes.
“Uh-oh, don’t wake him up.” I gently tugged his arm away from Ace. I grinned at how taken Wes seemed to be with him. “Do you need help going back to bed?”
Before Wes could say anything else, a low, husky voice spoke from behind me. “He can sleep in here.”
I squeaked. “You’re awake?”
Ace nodded, his eyes half-hooded, watching me with a look of contentment. “I’m attuned to every part of you. I felt it when you woke up.”
“Oh. Sorry—”
“Dotty,” Wes interrupted, maneuvering his little body as he tried to climb onto the bed with Ace and me. He was too small and stumbled back, and my heart swelled.
“I’ll take him back to his room.”
I started to sit up but Ace stopped me.
“He can sleep in here with us,” he said again.
I cocked my head to the side. I thought I had misheard him the first time.
“Really? You wouldn’t mind?”
“No. It’ll be good practice for the future.”
I laughed, already crawling off him and reaching for Wes. “What, for when you have kids of your own who want to sleep with you every night? Are you really going to let them do that?”
“Of course. I’ve always dreamed of having a huge family. I can imagine me and my wife sitting on a couch in our house, all our kids snuggling up to us while we watch a movie together.”
Why did I instantly picture myself as the wife? I had to get that thought out of my head. I shouldn’t be daydreaming about that sort of thing. It was best not to get my hopes up.
I situated Wes between us on the mattress, giggling as he snuggled into the blankets, acting as if he slept in my bed every night.
Wes turned his head to look at Ace, his eyes scanning him with innocent curiosity.
Without a word, he dragged a gentle finger down Ace’s perfectly straight nose, almost as if he were caressing it.
It was the sweetest thing I had ever seen. Even Ace grinned lovingly.
“Alpha,” Wes murmured, peering up at Ace as if he were some sort of superhero.
“Alpha?” I asked. “That’s Ace, silly.” I wasn’t even sure where he had heard that word. It was kind of a strange thing to call a person.
Although, if anyone was an alpha male, it would be Ace. He was strong and dominant and an amazing leader. He oozed masculinity with every breath.
Ace smiled. “He can call me Alpha if he wants.” He began tickling my brother’s sides, watching as Wes lit up with laughter, rolling around the bed between us.
“Stop!” Wes said between giggles as Ace continued. “Alpha, stop!”
I laughed along with them. I loved watching how Ace interacted with my siblings.
He was so good with them. What was it about men with kids that was such a turn-on?
Ace stopped abruptly, his gaze snapping up to look at me, his nostrils flaring.
My smile fell at the sudden and intense look he was giving me. “What?”
Ace licked his lips. “Soon.”
Before I got the chance to respond to Ace’s strange “Soon” statement, Wes spoke again.
“Wow,” he said in his little voice. That seemed to be his new favorite word. He was tracing the hard lines of Ace’s lower stomach as if they were the most interesting thing in the world.
I almost laughed. What I wouldn’t have given to study Ace’s abs so freely.
Ace chuckled, the sound doing something to my insides. “Someday, you’ll have your own little buddy.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” I argued. “Have you seen my mom? She’s on the smaller side like me. Maybe Wes will be the same way. Plus, your body is just unnaturally perfect.”
Ace raised his eyebrows in amusement. “Perfect, huh?” he repeated in a low tone.
I gulped. “Don’t go getting a big head on me,” I said, quickly backtracking. “I only meant that Wes shouldn’t expect to look like you when he grows up.
“No one can look like you because you’re one of those rare human beings who are perfect without trying. I mean, look at you. Even a three-year-old recognizes that you’re a tank.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. Wes seems pretty strong to me already. I think he might have the gene to become as big as me someday. In fact, I’m almost sure of it.”
I frowned while wrapping my arms around Wes so his back was against my front, snuggled close to me.
Ace gently grabbed my chin, tilting it up so that I looked into his deep blue eyes.
“Does that upset you?”
I sighed. “No. Not really. I just don’t want him to get big and scary like everyone else around here.
“I feel like people in Embermoon act like I’m fragile or made of glass because I’m so much smaller. It’s intimidating to be surrounded by people who are so much bigger than you all the time.