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“Do you have any idea how insane I went last night?” he asked. “I was on the brink of murdering everyone within a fucking ten-mile radius!
“I thought you’d been taken, Doe. I thought someone had stolen you from me and was torturing you in a basement somewhere while you cried out for me. That was the only explanation that made sense.
“Because my Doe wouldn’t just go on a random joy ride in the middle of the day without telling me where she was going. My Doe would know to come to me if she was having a problem.
“My Doe would know not to run away when things got confusing or difficult because my ~Doe~ would know I would tear the entire fucking world apart if it meant making her happy.
“So, I’m sure you can understand my bewilderment when you disappeared of your own free will, without so much as a text to explain why.”
He sucked in a deep breath and leaned forward so he could take one of my hands in his. “I was so worried, Doe. I need you to understand that. Last night was the scariest night of my life.”
I waited a few seconds and when he didn’t say anything else, I said, “Well? Am I allowed to speak now?”
He clenched his jaw. “Don’t be smart, Doe. I’m already on edge.”
He said that as if he wasn’t always on edge.
“I know I worried you,” I replied. “And I regret that. But that’s the only thing I regret.”
He let out a low growl, but I continued before he could go off on another rant.
“Look, I just needed a break. And I knew that if I asked for that, you would have a hard time letting me go.”
“You’re right,” he affirmed. “I would have…at first. My priority would have been to make sure you were okay.
“Then I’m not sure what I would do. I suppose we’ll never know, will we? Because you made assumptions about what my reaction would be. You didn’t even give me a chance.”
I shook my head. “What you’re saying is extremely manipulative. You don’t get to shame me for making assumptions about your reactions because those assumptions are based on past experiences.
“Have you taken even a moment to question why I thought you would react how you did?”
His head dropped, and he hauled air into his lungs. “Doe, I love you,” he whispered, still looking down. “And I’m sorry for making you feel like you can’t come to me.
Fuck, you should never feel that.”
He ran a fist through his hair. “But I can’t have you running away like that. It almost killed me. I almost lost my damn mind.
“You have to tell me you won’t ever do that again. Promise me you won’t run away from me ever again.”
I searched his eyes. They were filled with genuine panic and concern. I had really scared him.
“I won’t run away again,” I finally replied. “I promise. I’m sorry.”
“Thank you,” he breathed out. His huge shoulders finally looked to lose some tension.
He stared at me for several seconds, trying to decide what to say next. Then, slowly, he moved to sit next to me on the bed, angling his body toward mine. “I think I owe you an apology too.”
I blinked. Those were not the words I had been expecting to come out of his mouth.
“What do you mean?”
“Do you remember what I said to you right before you fell asleep last night? When I apologized?”
I thought about it. I remembered him soothing me while I cried against his chest. I remembered the horrible migraine and him telling me to go to sleep so we could talk in the morning.
A groove formed between my brows. Wasn’t there something else though? He was right—I had the faintest memory of him apologizing to me…but for what, exactly?
Ace’s defeated exhale pulled my attention back to him. “No, I didn’t think you would,” he murmured.
His eyes strayed to the spot on my neck where he bit me. “I’m not proud of the way I acted when I found you. I was too rough with you. I…I hurt you.”
I touched the bruise on my neck and winced. The spot burned when I touched it.
Ace frowned.
“Why did you bite me?” My voice turned timid and unsure.
The way my body had reacted to the bite was so strange, not to mention jarring.
I had been so upset with him. But when he clamped his teeth onto my throat, it was suddenly like I was the one in the wrong, and I would have done anything to make it up to him.
I hated that he had that sort of power over me.
Ace squeezed his eyes shut. “I shouldn’t have done that,” he explained softly. “I’m so sorry. I just…I couldn’t find you and was so angry and worried.
“I should have taken a moment to get myself under control before I talked to you, but…my instincts took over.”
“Your instincts told you to bite me?”
He shrugged. “I guess. I’m sorry, Doe. So sorry. It was unacceptable. You have no idea how much I regret what I did. I should have never used my strength to overpower you. I feel sick, honestly.”
I was surprised by the genuine remorse and agony in his tone. Clearly, this was weighing heavily on his mind.
I shifted under the covers of his bed. “Don’t do it again, okay?”
“Never,” Ace stated, his voice sounding deadly serious. “I promise. The next time I bite you, you’ll be asking for it.”
I nearly cracked a smile. As if I would ever willingly ask him to bite me again. What a silly thing to say.
Ace pulled me into his lap, placing his forehead against mine.
I probably shouldn’t have let him put me in this intimate of a position now that I knew he liked another girl, but I couldn’t help myself. I craved this sort of touch from him. I always had. I always would.
“I need one more thing from you,” he said as he tucked a piece of loose hair behind my ear.
“Okay,” I replied apprehensively.
“I need you to tell me what I did wrong so that I can ask for your forgiveness for that too.”
I leaned back. “What you did wrong?”
Ace nodded. “Remember what I said? My Doe would know she could come to me with a problem. It’s how we work. I take care of you. It’s in your nature to come to me for comfort and protection.”
I recoiled. “What do you mean my nature—?”
“The fact that you didn’t come to me, means you must have felt like you couldn’t. It means I must have done something to ~make~ you feel like you couldn’t.
“So please, tell me what I did to make you feel that way so I can apologize and make sure I don’t do anything like it ever again.”
I shrugged, feigning ignorance. After the disaster that was yesterday, the last thing I wanted was to relive it. The wound caused by Ace’s rejection was deep and needed time to heal before I started prodding at it.
“You didn’t do anything wrong—”
“And lying is not an option,” he snapped. Of course he knew I was lying.
I chewed on my lip, pleading with him with my eyes. “Please don’t make me talk about it.”
“You have to. I need to know so I don’t ever accidentally push you away again.”