Beware 2: The Comeback (6 page)

“What?” I’m breathless.

“Your eyes.
You.
Still so damn beautiful.”

My throat thickens in a good way, but I press my back further into the counter edge. Ace doesn’t dare back off. He cradles my face in both hands, and hot tears form at the rims of my eyes.

When he realizes the emotion has set in, his face goes blank, and he says, “Don’t cry… Please. Don’t.”

I try to pull away, but he refuses to release me. I can’t help my tears. For months—years—I thought he was dead. I thought another person I loved was gone for good.

“Why are you crying?” he asks.

I glance up, spotting that unspeakable pain again. I’m hurting him… my tears are hurting him.
Damn it, London. Stop it! He’s here. He’s back. Forget everything else for a second and relish in that!

“I just… I can’t believe it. I thought—we all thought…” I release a ragged breath. Ace swipes my tears away with the pads of his thumbs, his jaw clenching.

“I’ll tell you what happened after you left.”

I look up, meeting his hard, honey irises. “When?”

“I will. Just not now.” He lowers one hand, and without warning, he grabs my thigh and lifts my leg, wrapping it around his waist. He does the other the same, picking me up and planting my ass on the countertop. A sharp breath passes through my heavy lips; my heartbeat thunders in my chest. I’m stunned, but I don’t stop him. “Years, London.” His voice is a near growl. Erotic. Tantalizing. He spreads my legs apart, pushing his way to the center. “Way too long.” Heat bombards me when I realize his cock is pressing on my core.

I clench, knowing this is wrong—damaging—but I still can’t seem to stop him. He leans in, spreading his lips to suck on my neck. I moan as my head falls back, and he grasps my hair, tugging gently while his other hand clutches my hip. He brings himself closer, thrusting his strained cock against me.

I become lost—lost in the way he tastes me. Lost in the way he groans, the way he aches for me. The way I ache for him. My walls repeatedly constrict with need. I pull him closer, scratching at the back of his suit jacket.

“Missed you, Red. More than any-fucking-thing.” His thrusting is rougher now. Pleasure courses through me, from my belly to my sex. I throb. But right before I completely give myself to him, my gaze points toward the portrait on the wall across from me.

A picture of me holding Aden. Smiling. Resilient of all the worldly shit for once in my life.

Aden…

“Shit, Ace… wait,” I pant, forcing him back. He draws back, a slight frown on his face as he looks at me. “I… I can’t do this,” I whisper.

He narrows his gaze. “What are you talking about?”

“I mean I can’t do this here… not when I know what awaits me once you leave.”

“I told you. I’m not leaving. I’m not going anywhere until I get you back.”

I shake my head. “But that’s the thing…” He steps back, scowling. My heart cracks, but I proceed. “Greg is still here. Greg… he took me in. He took me and Aden in. I can’t betray him, not like this.”

“London,” Ace’s voice is gravelly. Irritated. “I’m here for you and the child I just found out is mine. Does it look like I give a one
fuck
about Greg?”

I hop off the counter, anger surfacing within me as well. “You may not give a shit about him, but I do! I care about him. As crazy as it may seem to you, I love him. And you left!” Shots fired. He tries keeping his face even, but I know I’ve just hurt him.

I don’t care.

I can’t care.

I have to think about my child’s future. His happiness. It’s not just about me anymore. It’s about what’s good for him, like Bianca said. “You can’t just come into our house and make demands, Ace! You can’t come back and expect everything to fall back into place. This isn’t your world anymore. This isn’t New York. This is three years down the road and me finally pulling my life together. I have a child—your child—that I have to put first. He is what’s in my best interest now. It’s not just you anymore, Ace.”

“You’re blaming me for a disappearance I had no control of?” he growls.

“No control?”

He stares at me with heated eyes but doesn’t respond.

“Where were you?”  I ask.

“Away,” is all he says.

“What happened?”

“If I tell you now, it’ll ruin everything. I came here to forget about it for a while…”

I sigh, raking my fingers through my hair. “Ace, I’m not blaming you for anything, but showing up like
this
—without warning—like everything would just fall into place again. You could’ve at least called.”

He steps back, but his gaze lingers. His face becomes rock solid, and fear strikes me—not fear that he may hurt me, but fear that I’ve just hurt him. He may not be showing it, but I know, somewhere inside, I’ve just whipped at his emotions, squeezed his heart. I expect him to try and hurt me back with words, but he doesn’t.

Instead he says, “If you don’t want me here, tell me to leave.”

“W-what?”

“Tell me to leave, London, and I’ll never come back. Tell me you want me gone, and I’ll be out of your way.”

I narrow my eyes. “Doing what?”

“Doesn’t matter. When I’m gone, it won’t be any of your concern. I will no longer be your concern.” He steps forward, nostrils flaring. I step back, meeting his heated watch.

“No,” I muster.

“No?”

“No. I’m not telling you to leave.”

“Why? That’s what you want, right? You want me to disappear again so you can pretend to be happy with that son-of-a-bitch Greg?” He presses his firm chest on mine, and his scent overwhelms me. My knees nearly buckle, but I remain steady. His mouth hovers above mine, the warmth consuming me. He watches me, his jaw locked, face as hard as stone. I pull my bottom lip between my teeth, dying for his touch, for one taste, but he doesn’t provide.

“I know that’s not what you want,” he murmurs, dropping his chin. His lips are a breadth away. So close. Too agonizingly tempting. “You wanted to forget about me… I know. You thought I was dead, so you wanted to forget, just like you did with your parents and Jonah.” I tip my chin, breathing shallow. “But you can’t forget me. You can
pretend
you’ve forgotten about me, but I don’t care because, deep down, I know I am what you’ve been craving for, Red. I am what you’ve been seeking. I’m the only person that can truly fulfill your needs. I’m the only one you want… the only one that can make you cum with just one simple stroke.” He runs the pad of his thumb across my bottom lip, tracing it so lightly and so slowly I quiver. I’m wetter now. So damp between my legs. “So, fuck Greg,” he bites in a low growl, gripping my face in his hands. I gasp as he applies pressure to his grip, just enough to express his dominance. “He isn’t who you want. I’m who you want. I’m who you
need
. I’m impossible for you to forget.”

Heavy breathing fills the kitchen. I keep my head up, positioned in his grasp, my mind refusing to give in but my body betraying me. I waver, and my eyes start to seal. I know this is wrong. I know I should’ve kicked him out of my house when I first heard his voice, but I couldn’t.

This is Ace.

This is the man I love.

This is a dangerous man, yes, but a man I will never drift away from. Someone I will never forget.

He is all I ever wanted, and now that I have him back, I refuse to let him go again. This is a second chance, the second chance I didn’t get with my family. The second chance I deserve. I squeeze my eyes tighter, but Ace holds my chin, ordering me to look at him.

I open them slowly, and when I look into his, I see sincerity. I see heart. I see longing. Pain masked with nostalgia. I see everything, and I fall face forward into a sea of yearning. I fall without wanting to be saved. I fall hard for him, all over again. Empathetically.

His lips are still close, so close I can feel the heat of them. I want the light trace of his lips on mine—the hunger I know I’ll feel once he finally presses them against mine. After he releases my face, his eyes blazing, I’m finally granted what I solely desire.

Picking me up in his arms, Ace crushes my lips with a hard groan and plants my ass on the countertop. Demanding hands rip at my shorts, the fabric tearing as he yanks them down. Deep groans fill the kitchen, along with unwavering moans. After snatching at his belt, I lock my arms around his neck, and his belt jingles as his pants drop. His cock presses on my thigh, and a slight thrill swirls through me. He’s much bigger than Greg. Much thicker.

Pulling me towards the counter’s edge, his tongue toying with mine, he presses his perfect cock at my entrance, and I still. My pussy holds no resistance to him. I’m wet for him. Eager for him. I’ve been ready for him, begging for this moment to happen month after month. He slides in with ease, and, inch by inch, my lips part, recalling just how good it feels for him to be inside me. He nips at my bottom lip, and my frantic hands cup his face, hanging on for dear life as he fucks me on the counter.

“Oh, Ace,” I breathe. “God, I missed this. I missed this”—I place a fervent kiss on his anxious lips—“so much,” I whisper. “So much.”

He thrusts hard and quick, for every minute, for every month spent without me. Relentless pounding for every year he lost, every second, and damn if it doesn’t feel amazing. For each second I spent without him, I now refuse to hold back.

“Tell me you want me to stay,” he grumbles in my ear, grabbing a handful of my hair and tilting my head back. “Tell me you want me to fight for you, because I will, Red,” he pants. “I will fucking fight for you.”

I claw at his back, and before I realize it, my eyes have rolled to the back of my skull. He picks me up off the counter, gently slamming my back on the wall. Grasping my ass, he drills like there’s no tomorrow, fucking me as if his life depends on it.

My body grows hot, wild. Oh, how I’ve missed him. He’s the only man that can truly satisfy me, and now that he’s back—now that I’ve gotten another taste—I know I’ve just fallen head first into his clutches. I know, just as well as he does, that I’m not going anywhere—that I won’t let him go anywhere.

“Tell me,” he urges. “Now. Tell me.”

“I don’t want you to go,” I breathe. “I want you to stay. I want you, Ace. I need you.”

Ace groans and stiffens. “Ahh… fuck, Red.” I know that sound. I’ve missed that sound. An unexplainable, yet thrilling noise. His thighs lock, and he stills inside me, clutching my ass tightly in his hands as he releases years of pent up frustrations and need. “Fuck, you feel so fucking amazing.”

My head rolls before I press the back of it against the wall. Before pulling out and softly kissing my lips, Ace places me on my feet. I wobble a bit, forgetting just how it feels to be banged and screwed by Crow.

After pulling my shorts back on and allowing Ace to adjust himself, I turn in his direction, sighing. “You can’t show up here again… not like that. Greg is—”

“Captain of a police department,” he fills in for me, cocking a brow and fixing his tie. “Already know. Stupid choice, Red.”

“He’s a good guy,” I say defensively.

“Were you
that
desperate to forget about me?”

I start to speak, but the words get lodged in my throat. Although I was, I don’t want to argue. Not right now. I turn around, making my way to the sink. Ace exhales and follows closely behind me, wrapping his arms across my middle. “Ace.” My voice is firm but I don’t say anything more. The feel of him behind me, the needed warmth, allows gentle flutters to take over the pit of my belly. Comforting heat consumes me, even more when he places a kiss on my shoulder and then the bend of my neck. I’m abrupt to turn in his arms, my head moving from side to side. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“What? Making you remember me?”

“No…” I meet his eyes. “Making me
choose
.”

His jaw locks, caught completely off guard by my statement. I expect him to say something—anything—but he doesn’t. Instead, he pulls away, allowing a gap to form between us. “Should go.” He turns, but I catch his elbow, spinning him back around with a scowl.

“No, Ace. Why?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try and explain,” I beg.

He looks me over, and after moments of watching my face, his is sullen. The kitchen fills with a silence that nearly suffocates me. It doesn’t happen often, but his face saddens, and for once, he’s not quite sure what to say. “The pain,” he whispers, fighting with words. “The pain I see in
your
eyes, London. That’s because of me.” He turns in my direction, holding my face in his hands. “I want you back. I want my son in my life, but I know how hard that will be for you—coming back to me, a man who’s clearly no good for you.”

I stare at him, confused, and as he starts to pull away, I realize what he’s trying to say. “Ace,” I call in a whisper.

“I see what you have here, Red.” He lets out a dry laugh, taking a quick sweep of the kitchen with his eyes. “I see how hard you worked to really move on.”

I rush for him, cupping his face and locking my gaze with his. “No… you
don’t
understand,” I say, tears burning my eyes. “You don’t understand that I’m still not over you. I’ve never gotten over you. Greg is just a—” My mouth clamps shut. Reality sets in, and I stop myself before I say what I really mean. I can’t admit that… not to Ace.