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Somehow, I believed him. It was irrational of me to think Ace was cheating on me despite knowing how strong our love for each other was. He would never do something like that to me.
I sighed in relief. “Okay. Okay, good.”
“Can I take you home now?” Ace asked. “You can barely keep yourself upright, you’re so exhausted.”
I nuzzled closer to him, letting him take more of my weight. I let out a big yawn.
“Yeah, we can go home now.”
I let go of Ace’s hand and gasped as we walked through his front door. The house was destroyed.
Furniture was torn up, wallpaper and picture frames had been ripped from the walls, the bookcase in the living room was tipped over, and glass from the shattered windows littered the floor.
I could barely believe my eyes. I’d left in such a hurry to get away from Ace after our fight, I hadn’t stopped to take in the destruction Mr. Stoll had caused.
But now… It was terrifying to think that one man did all this much damage. And in so little time. What would he have done to me had I not been able to get away from him?
“I’m so sorry,” Ace said, reading my expression. “I was so happy you’d forgiven me, I didn’t consider the place still looks this way.”
A lump formed in my throat. “He isn’t here, right? Your father, I mean.”
“No. He’s gone…fortunately for him. And if he ever comes back, nothing will stop me from finally giving the bastard what he deserves.” The threatening edge in his voice told me that he wasn’t kidding.
“Ace, don’t be ridiculous. You wouldn’t hurt him. He’s your dad.”
“Dad or not, if he comes near you again, I’ll do a whole lot more than just hurt him.”
I squeaked when he suddenly scooped me into his arms and then promptly carried me up the stairs.
He didn’t put me back down until we were in his room and the door was securely locked behind us.
“How is your shoulder?” Ace asked. “Will you show it to me?”
“Like…” I paused. “Like, you want me to take off my dress?”
Ace nodded. “Please. I’ve been worried sick. I need to know if I should take you to the doctor.”
Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to stand in front of him so soon after making up after a fight, but I decided I didn’t care. I grabbed the bottom of my dress and pulled it over my head.
To my surprise, Ace didn’t seem distracted by all my newly exposed skin. His focus went straight to my shoulder, and a deep frown formed on his face.
He picked up my arm and moved it slowly, up and down, side to side, in large circles, asking me again and again if it hurt, watching my facial expressions for any signs of pain or discomfort.
I assured him I was fine. It was still a little stiff but it was definitely better than it had been.
He finally concluded I didn’t need to see the doctor but insisted I still take it easy and let him know if it started to hurt again. Then he gently guided me to his bed, laying me down on my stomach.
Ace crawled on top of me and, without putting too much of his weight on me, sat on my lower back so he was kneeling over my hips.
His fingers trailed lightly over the bruise on my back. A shiver ran down my spine.
“Doe”—it must have looked worse than I’d thought because his voice broke with emotion—“I’m so sorry. So, so sorry. I should’ve been there. I should’ve protected you. I should’ve…”
He lowered his torso onto my back and pressed his face between my shoulder blades, right next to the bruise, all while he gripped my sides.
My heart broke a bit. I hadn’t realized how much guilt he was carrying for what his father had done to me.
“It wasn’t your fault, Ace,” I said. “You didn’t know your father would be here. And you definitely didn’t know that I was going to be here. There was nothing you could’ve done.”
He shook his head against my skin. “I’ll never forgive myself for what happened to you. It’s my job to protect you and take care of you. I failed you.”
Before I could tell him he was wrong, I felt something wet run over my shoulder, right over the bruise.
“A-are you licking me?” I demanded.
He gripped my waist tighter. “Please, Doe. Please let me do this. I need to do this. I need to take care of you.”
“And that means you have to lick me?”
“Yes, I need to lick you. To take care of you. If you’ll let me. Please let me take care of you.”
I didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t making sense. His voice sounded weird too—
desperate and deeper than normal. Rough. And he was talking in circles. He sounded like he was losing his marbles.
It worried me.
“Um,” I started, “okay?”
Ace growled his appreciation. He pressed his lips to my skin once in a gentle kiss before running his tongue over me, lapping at my bruise.
I hadn’t expected it to feel good but it did. Everywhere his tongue touched left pleasurable tingles behind. Together with the purring noise coming from his chest, it left me feeling calm. Sleepy.
And maybe just a little turned on.
I sighed and sank deeper into the mattress.
After covering every inch of my shoulder in saliva, he climbed off me and walked into his ensuite bathroom. He returned a moment later, a bottle of lotion in his hand.
He climbed back on top of me again and started to massage the lotion into my back, kneading his hands into my flesh. He avoided the bruise, of course, focusing on my stiff muscles.
His hands felt like magic.
“Ace,” I groaned into his pillow, “you…you don’t have to do that…”
“Shh, just relax.”
I wasn’t sure how long he worked his exceptionally skillful fingers into my back, but I was on the verge of falling asleep when he finally stopped.
Ace set the bottle of lotion on his bedside table and didn’t say a word as he lay down next to me on the bed and hauled my boneless body onto his so we were chest to chest, my face tucked into his neck.
At some point during the massage, he had taken his shirt and pants off, leaving us both in just our underwear. I was glad for all the skin-to-skin contact. I wanted to be as close to him as possible.
It took me mere seconds to fall asleep.
When I woke up several hours later, Ace was already looking down at me, lovingly running a hand through my hair. I smiled up at him and yawned, stretching my arms out to the sides.
“You slept for nine hours,” Ace murmured, his voice deep with sleep.
The sound of it made my blood heat.
“It’s nearly five o’clock. I had to text your parents from your phone so they wouldn’t think you’d gone missing.”
I sighed and nuzzled into him. I felt so refreshed. It was such a relief. “When did you wake up? Please tell me you slept too.”
“I slept. I woke up about an hour ago.”
He lay here with me on top of him for an entire hour? That must have been so boring.