Banging the Superhero (16 page)

Oh god, she needed to go to him, to see that he was okay . . . .

No, she shook her head. She would remain calm. Even amongst the secrecy associated with the Superheroes, she would have heard if he were dead. Lael would have called. She was sure of that. He would have thought to tell her. Also, an event that huge would have been on the news.

She hoped.

Sighing, she moved down the street, heading toward her car.

* * * * *

Alice stood backstage out of sight of her live studio audience, an idea formatting in her head. She'd walk out in a moment and they'd start the show, live, as soon as she did. Checking the clock, she made note of what time it was. Exactly two minutes until show time, and she was
never
late.

This was her first live episode since the machines had turned on her a month ago. The network had been doing a major amount of promotion in anticipation of her return. After she did this shooting, she was scheduled to do an interview about her experience.

She didn't want to talk to anyone but Ace.

"Are you ready, Ms. Styles?" The production assistant spoke from behind her.

She was as ready as she would ever be. Today, she would be making her favorite foods. The new show was called
Cooking for Comfort
and she'd show the audience what she cooked when she was worried and upset.

After much consideration, she'd decided on chicken noodle soup and her mother's pot roast. The irony of this, of course, was that she hadn't eaten very much at all, not since Ace had pushed her out of his life.

No food, nor any amount of counseling, could make the ache of knowing she let the one man go who had made her feel whole because she'd been too frightened to hold onto him with both hands.

Nodding, she stepped out onto her set. Waving, like she always did, she wondered if the commentators would note she was ten pounds skinnier on the entertainment news shows that night. For the first time in her life, she really didn't care.

Ace had liked her the way she was.

If she did this—what she considered doing—and he didn't come back to her, then it was over, truly over, and she would have humiliated herself on national television, maybe internationally, if she were truly unlucky.

Ace never did anything in half-measures and to get him back she would have to be extreme. There was no other choice.

"Hello, everyone. How are you feeling today?"

She smiled at the audience as she stepped behind the counter in her studio-kitchen, which had been modeled after her own home kitchen. She smiled as she remembered how much nicer the kitchen in Ace's house was. The one that his sister-in-law used to prepare food for her family, the family she—Alice—had scoffed at. Wow, there was no way in hell Ace would take her back.

Seeing the red light that indicated she was live, she smiled her million-dollar grin. It felt good to be doing this, even if she might be sabotaging her career. She'd never felt more comfortable on screen.

"Hello, everyone. I'm so glad to be here with all of you today."

The audience clapped and hooted. She smiled at them.

"Today, before I get down to showing all of you how I make my comfort foods, the very things I eat when my life gets terribly hard, I have some things I need to say."

She swallowed. This was it. She would publicly lay all her cards on the table. At least, she'd know he knew the truth.

"Recently, I made a terrible mistake. I'm sure you've all made your share of them too. We are human, after all, right?"

The audience went silent and her producer motioned with her hands to tell Alice to get to the cooking.

She would. Eventually.

"I need to say something to Ace Hudson. You all know who he is, right? He's a Superhero who works at Powers, Inc., and he saved my life."

The audience clapped and cheered loudly. Well, she smiled, so far so good. At least they weren't rooting for her to have died.

"I'm enormously grateful to him for what he did, but even more than that—I'm in love with him."

Now the audience hooted. She raised her hand to silence them. She wasn't done, even as her hands shook and her throat went dry with nerves.

"I have a funny way of showing the people I love that I love them. I push them away. I treat them terribly. I'm working on changing that." She looked down at her counter and then back up at the camera. "Ace, I'm seeing a therapist. I want to be better so maybe I can deserve to see you again. And, if you're watching this or if one of the people who watched this is telling you about it, I hope you'll give me another chance.

You have to know by now that I've been trying to see you. I come to the office every day. Anyway."

She tried very hard to not let the tear escaping her right eye fall but she was unsuccessful. Great, she was crying on television now. "I don't deserve it, but give me another chance. Please."

Swallowing her tears, she smiled her famous grin again. "And now that I'm done exposing myself to all of you emotionally, which is a tribute to how serious I am, because god knows I never let anyone past my self-made walls, I'm going to show you how I make chicken soup and pot roast."

"And we're out." Her producer called as they went to commercial. "Are you crazy?"

She nodded. "Maybe."

The audience exploded with noise. Usually, this much talking would be deafening to her in the studio. Today, it felt silent. Terribly, terribly silent. Maybe he would call. Maybe he would stop by. Maybe.

* * * * *

The rest of the show had gone by in a blur. She'd done a good job with the pot roast. Her mother never watched the show, but she would be proud if she had. Cell phone in her hand, still clinging to hope, she climbed out of the car and walked to her house. The interviews the network had set up had drained her. She wanted nothing more than to fall into bed and pretend that it hadn't been five hours since the show and Ace had yet to contact her.

Well his silence spoke volumes. He couldn't be clearer
. Not interested
.

She supposed she would survive. Unlocking the door, she stepped into the house, forcing her calm demeanor to remain until she shut the door behind her. She would lose it in the bathtub.

She'd taken two steps into the hallway when she stopped. A man stood there, before her. Oh god. There was a stranger in her house and she was unarmed. This was a nightmare. She backed up, holding her hands in front of herself as if she could protect herself that way. She knew she should have hired security, but after everything that had happened, she couldn't fathom further invasion of her privacy.

"Take anything you want, but please don't hurt me."

He was tall, and without her contacts, she couldn't see his face clearly. She could see he had broad shoulders and was bald.

"Alice."

The man spoke her name and she blinked.

"It's me."

She gasped, covering her mouth. She would know that voice anywhere. It haunted her for a month in her dreams, calling her name but never coming. "Ace?"

"Yes." He was beside her in two seconds, pulling her into his arms. "I've been waiting for you all day. I got here at eight this morning thinking I could catch you before you left for work."

The tears started in earnest as she sobbed against his chest. She couldn't even make out the words he spoke. She didn't care. He was here. That one thing was all that mattered.

"Hey now, no tears." He kissed the top of her head. "You don't cry."

"I do. I cry. A lot." The tears and sobs coming out of her mouth broke up her words. She pulled back to stare at him.

"Oh my god, what did you to do yourself?" She raised her shaking hand to touch his bald head covered only with the faintest touch of blond stubble.

"I shaved it."

"I see that." She sniffed. "You're gorgeous, as always. But why would you cut off your beautiful hair?"

He hesitated. "Because you always hated it."

"No, I didn't. At first I wasn't into the whole look, but then it became
you
and I loved it."

"You did?"

She nodded. "I did."

"Well, it was also time for a change. Do you hate it?"

"No." She laughed. "Damn, I'm dizzy." The room twirled. His showing up, startling her, and—and bald—was too much, all of it.

Ace scooped her up into his arms and carried her to her couch. "Are you okay?"

Concern marred his expression, but his eyes glowed with happiness as they looked at her.

"It's been a long day. I'm so happy to see you. I thought when you didn't respond to my on-air plea that you were basically telling me to "fuck off."

He shook his head as he sat on the couch, lifting her head onto his lap. He stroked her hair. "I don't know what you're talking about. I got here early and I've been here all day. I made some lunch, fell asleep right here."

She sat up, almost colliding heads with him. "You didn't see what I did on television today?"

"No." He touched her cheek. "I've been in Europe meditating with this Texan named Kevin."

"Meditating?"

"Yes." He laughed. "I know. It's crazy but I've gotten the adrenaline down so low I hardly notice it."

"I suggested that."

He kissed her nose. "You did. Draco did too. Anyway, I had a lot of time to think, and all I could think about was you. I came back last night to lots of messages that you kept stopping by the office." He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers.

"They made me hopeful you'd missed me as much as I'd missed you and that maybe we could both try again."

"Ace, are you telling me you didn't see what I did today?"

"No." He opened his eyes as he pulled back to look at her. "Lael has been calling for the last five hours but I haven't answered."

Oh hell. The tears started again. He'd come back for her without seeing her desperate plea. That was too wonderful for words.

He brushed away her tears with his fingers. "What are these tears?"

"I'll have to show you."

She got up from the couch. "I don't know where I put the remote. Shit." She was always misplacing the damn thing.

Ace pointed at the television and the set came to life. She smiled. That particular superpower was very useful.

Sure enough, as she suspected, considering what she'd pulled her first day back, her face appeared on the screen. She stood by the television, not looking at Ace as he watched her public declaration.

When it ended, before the news people could start speaking, he stood and pointed at the television to turn it off.

"You did that to try to get me back?"

She nodded. What if she'd made a terrible mistake? "Too much?"

She blinked and found herself in his arms again. "No. It was perfect." He kissed her again. His lips were strong and she was engulfed in Ace's arms, as she'd been so desperate to be.

"We have to be careful with you. People are going to try to hurt you now."

He kissed her hard and she hung on for dear life. Sudden realization hit her; Ace shook in her arms. She pulled back. "Are you okay? Are you having an adrenaline problem?"

"No." He laughed as he kissed her forehead. "Alice, I'm overwhelmed. You just exposed yourself on television
for me
. You told everyone you're seeing a therapist. How am I going to keep you safe?"

Safe? "Why would I be in danger?"

"From people who want to get to me."

"That's always going to be a problem if we're together. How did you think you'd handle it before?"

His strong arms moved her snug against his chest, so close she could hear his heartbeat. She could tell he was overwhelmed. If he needed this level of closeness, so tight she was practically inside of him, then fine, that's what he'd get.

"I was hoping we could find a way to hide our relationship so no one would know you were with me."

"No." She tried to shake her head, which was impossible pressed up against him.

"We're not living our life in the dark. I won't ever tell anyone about Draco or Lael and their relationship to us, but we have to be out in the open."

He loosened his hold on her and she pulled back to regard him. "Listen, presidents and prime ministers have relationships. We must be able to have them. We'll be careful. I'll—"

She cut off what she was going to say. It was too much. She wasn't going to be
that
woman scaring him off.

"You'll what?"

"Oh god, you caught that. I was going to say something that was bound to scare you off."

"I don't scare easy."

"I was going to say that I'll move in with you but that's too much for now. We'll just work it out."

Ace dropped down onto one knee. "Alice Styles, when I came back for you, I promised myself that I would not leave this house until you agreed to marry me."

She swallowed. She hadn't imagined this. In her wildest dreams, she never would have guessed he'd say,
"Marry me."

Something was seriously wrong. She didn't feel the panic. He was talking
family.

Shouldn't she be freaked out?

Grinning, she knelt to face him. "Yes, Ace, I will marry you."

"You will?"

She narrowed her gaze. "You didn't ask expecting me to say no, did you? Oh God! Are you upset I said yes?"

He kissed her nose. "I'm shocked you made it so easy. I had a list—a very long list—of how I was going to convince you."

"Well, go ahead. Sell yourself."

"No." He stood, scooping her up in his arms. "You said yes, that gets me off the hook."

"It does not." She wanted to hear his frickin; list.

"Sorry." He dropped her on the couch. "We do well on couches."

"We've only ever done it on the couch. I bet we do it well on beds, in the shower—"

"Honey, I'll bang you anywhere."

"Funny, Ace."

She sighed as his mouth met hers again, and his quick fingers undid her buttons.

He might have cut off his hair but he was still her Ace.

Thank God.

"So, can I move in with you? How will I get around? I can't fly myself back and forth. People might find out where you live if they follow me."