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“I’m fine!” Ace snapped, jerking his shoulder out of his hold. “I can take care of my own fucking mate.”
Mate? Where have I heard that word before?
My father lowered his voice until I almost couldn’t hear him. “Can your wolf handle this?”
Ace finally looked at him. “He was fine last time. This isn’t her first spike. I know what I’m fucking doing.”
Whatever illness I was coming down with must’ve been messing with my cognitive skills because, I swear, I didn’t understand a single word coming out of their mouths.
I stood before things could escalate any further. I didn’t need my father attempting to strangle Ace again in front of my little brothers.
Besides, going to bed wasn’t the worst idea. I probably had a virus or something and just needed to sleep it off.
“Ace is right,” I said.
All eyes swerved toward me.
“Sleep sounds good. I’m sure I’ll feel better in the morning.”
I directed my attention to my boyfriend, who seemed calmer now that I was agreeing with him. “You don’t have to come. Stay and hang out for a while if you want. I’ll see you at school tomorrow, okay?”
I hoped he’d take that to mean: You’re still not sleeping with me tonight, you secret-keeping jerk.
Before he had the chance to argue, I turned and raced out the door, yelling goodnight to everyone as I went.
I was halfway up the stairs when I heard Ace following me and I sighed in annoyance.
“Ace, I really don’t have the energy to fight right now. I just want to sleep alone tonight.”
It physically pained me to say that. I didn’t want him to leave, especially when I was feeling so terrible. But I had to stand my ground.
Right?
A sudden wave of dizziness hit me. Whoa, is the world spinning?
Ace continued toward me with a look of dark determination painted on his face. As soon as he was close enough, he grabbed me by my waist and tossed me over his shoulder.
So much for standing my ground.
Despite my trying to squirm out of his hold, Ace continued up the stairs, only releasing me once we were in my room and the door was locked.
“What the heck was that?” I demanded.
He was facing the door, head tilted down, his shoulders rising and falling with each of his ragged breaths. He was growling, too, and I was ashamed that the sound went straight to my throbbing sex.
“Ace?”
He held up a hand. “Just…give me a second.”
I warily watched him put his hands above his head on the door and lean forward.
His back muscles bulged under his black shirt. I was a little mesmerized by it.
I squeezed my legs together as more arousal pooled between them, my discomfort only getting stronger.
It couldn’t be normal to be so attracted to someone. I couldn’t even see his face but was still barely able to hold myself back from jumping his bones.
The world was spinning again. It was like my body knew it wasn’t touching Ace and wanted to make me pay for it.
I stumbled back until my legs hit the front of my mattress, my neck pulsing so intensely with pain that made my vision blur. “Ace?” I tried again.
“Hold on, baby,” Ace growled. He still wouldn’t look at me. “I need to get myself under fucking control before I deal with this.”
I was barely comprehending what he was saying as I was too busy trying not to crumble to the ground. “I-I don’t feel so good.”
That got his attention. Ace spun and took in my trembling form as I clutched the bump on my neck. His body tightened, and his expression turned predatory.
He approached me slowly, like a lion hunting its prey. I swallowed, my entire body buzzing like someone had carbonated my blood.
“On the bed,” Ace ordered.
My jaw dropped open. The audacity of this man. ?“Excuse me? You can’t just command me to…to…” My voice trailed off the closer he got to me.
I leaned away from him, even as my body screamed at me to go closer to him. I wanted to touch him so badly. I was desperate for it.
But I also didn’t like the way he was speaking to me. I wasn’t his to order around.
Not now, not ever.
Ace narrowed his eyes at my disobedience. He was in front of me in a flash. He grabbed me by my waist and pushed me onto my back on the bed. And then, he was on top of me.
I gasped. “What the hell, Ace?”
I didn’t care if my body relaxed the moment his pressed down on mine. I didn’t care if my back arched up, wanting him closer, closer, closer. Did he not hear me when I had told him to leave me alone?
“Don’t curse,” he growled, his voice several octaves lower than normal.
I scoffed. “Get fucked!”
A strange sort of pride bloomed inside me. I wasn’t sure what had gotten into me; I’d never challenged him like this before.
But I was sick of him thinking he could fix everything with physical touch and sweet words. He knew that the moment he put his hands on me, I turned into mush, incapable of forming coherent thoughts.
And, yet, he did it anyway. It was incredibly manipulative, and I wasn’t willing to put up with it anymore.
Ace squeezed his eyes shut, stuffed his face into my hair, and took in deep breaths.
“I told you, I don’t want to be near you right now.” I kept my voice as steady as I could, acutely aware of how close his mouth was to that little bump near my throat.
“Get off me.”
“Is that really what you want?” Ace’s nose skimmed up the column of my neck, causing me to suck in a sharp breath. “Because you’re clutching on to me like you’re afraid I’m going to disappear.
“I’m not sure I could pull away even if I wanted to.”
I hadn’t even realized my hands were gripping his huge shoulders. Fuck, what the hell is wrong with me?
I was supposed to be mad at Ace, for god’s sake, but I was fucking aroused! I was holding him to me, arching into his body, and even parting my legs to better accommodate his huge body between them.
A sudden burst of emotion crawled up my throat. “What are we doing, Ace?” I whispered.
“I’m taking care of you,” he responded. “Fuck, you smell good. Fuck. ” One of his arms slithered under my arched back. “Tilt your head to the side for me, sweet girl.”
He wanted to kiss that little bump on my neck. He wanted to distract me. I couldn’t let that happen. Even if we both knew that was what I really wanted.
I shook my head, barely managing to suppress a moan. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
A sharp pain exploded in my lower stomach, and I cried out.