His Greatest Pain (6 page)

Chapter
Seven

Lauren
unpackaged a box of new books, set them on the counter, and looked down at
them. The small bookstore she helped run with her mother carried more of the classics,
but Lauren had just ordered a batch of more risqué items that would now be sold
at The Reading Nook.

“Seriously, Lauren?”
Her mother held about ten books
in her arms, all of them classic literature. “I don’t think the customer base
that comes in here is really looking for sexy books.”

Lauren
smiled at her mother and looked down at the cover of the book on the top of the
stack. It showed a man on a horse, his chest bare, his abdomen rippled, of
course. He wore a cowboy hat, and from what she could see tight ass jeans.

“I
mean look at him,” her mother said and set the books down, pointing to the man
on the cover. “You tell me where these kinds of men are.”

Lauren
started laughing. She thought about Ace, and although he wasn’t a wrangling
cowboy, he definitely had a body that was superior to even the cover model on
the book. She thought about the night they’d had just a few days ago, about the
way he’d made her feel, and the things he’d said. Lauren loved him so much,
wanted this to work out, because she couldn’t see herself with anyone else.

“How
is Ace?” her mom asked and started putting the books she’d carried in on the
small shelf by the front register.

She
smiled, not able to help herself. “He’s doing well.” The silence had Lauren
glancing up at her mom.

“Lauren
Hannah, I can tell that something is most definitely going very well. Has Ace
met someone?”

Her
mom didn’t know about the extent of Ace’s past. Lauren had never thought it
appropriate to share that. If Ace wanted anyone knowing what had happened to
him then she’d let him do the talking. But her mom did know that Ace had a bad
childhood of some sorts, and because of that he’d spent a lot of time at her
house while in high school.

Lauren
smiled wider, felt her cheeks heat, and knew that she’d wanted to be able to
tell her mother this for a long time. “I think Ace and I are moving forward.”

Her
mom set the books down on the counter, her focus a little serious. That had
Lauren’s smile fading slightly.

“Moving
forward?”

Lauren
nodded, but knitted her brows. “Why have you gone all serious?”

“So
he has found someone, and that someone is you?”

Okay,
this wasn’t how she envisioned this conversation would go when she thought
about it in her head for all these years. “Yes, at least right now that’s what
I am saying. I know we have a lot to talk about so we know where we stand.” She
knitted her brows further. “But you don’t look happy about that. Why?”

Her
mother exhaled loudly. The store was dead at the moment with it being close to
lunchtime. Once the lunch hour hit college students and people on their breaks
would stop by. “Ace has a lot of baggage, a lot that I don’t know about and at
this stage don’t think I want to.”

Lauren
grabbed the bottom of her braid, played with the strands as she thought about
what her mom had just said. “I love him, Mom. I’m
in
love with him,” Lauren said while staring at the counter. “I
know his past, about him, and he had a really, really hard time.” She lifted
her head and stared at her mom. It was like looking in a mirror, a future
mirror, but one nonetheless.

“He
needs to work on himself before he can be with you.”

Lauren
shook her head, getting angry. “You don’t know what’s going on, and that really
upsets me. I wanted you to be supportive for being with Ace, because he makes
me happy.”

Her
mom gave her a sad smile. “I want you to be happy, but I also don’t want your
heart broken because things with Ace didn’t work out. I might not know what’s
going on with his past, but I know he is still in pain. I can see that when I
look at him, honey.” Her mom grabbed her hand and gave it a light squeeze.

She
stared at her mom, didn’t know how to make her see that everyone had problems,
but everyone also needed love. “He’s
my everything
,”
she whispered, and felt her emotions choke her up. “He has been from the moment
I met him, and I’m so in love with him that I don’t know what I’d do if he
wasn’t in my life.”

Her
mom smiled, but it was sad, a little distant. “I know you love him, and I know
you want the best for him.” Her mom squeezed her hand again. “I want you both
to be happy, and if that means that you want to jump in with both feet, your
father and I will support you.” Her mom let go of her hand. “Just don’t expect
miracles, honey, because he’s been hurt badly in the past, and that doesn’t
just go away, no matter how much someone loves them or how much they are in
love.”

Her
mom turned and started putting the books away, and Lauren stood there, thinking
about it all. Lauren knew that being with Ace might not be easy all of the
time. Hell, there had been so many hard times throughout the years that she
couldn’t even count them all. But he was a good person, had a good
heart,
and he loved her just as much as she loved him. She
knew that whatever happened she’d never give up on him. She couldn’t.

****

Lauren
grabbed her purse, shut off the lights, and after she stepped outside and
turned to lock the door she heard the low rumble of an engine approach.
Smiling, she looked over her shoulder to see
Ace’s fire
engine red nineteen sixty-nine Mustang pull to a stop
in front of the
book store.

The
black racing stripe going across the hood, over the top of the car, and down
the back, made the vehicle seem even
more bad
ass. Ace
had bought the car when it was nothing more than a broken down wreck, and used
as spare parts. Over the last few years he’d worked his ass off to get it up
and running, and restored to mint condition.

She
smiled and turned fully around. Walking up to the car she bent at the waist and
peered into the passenger’s side window. Ace sat in the driver’s seat, one hand
on the steering wheel, and this mischievous smile on his face. But there was
something in his eyes, something that told her although he looked happy to see
her,
he had things on his mind.

“What
are you doing?” she
asked,
a smile on her face.

“Come
on in, baby.” He grinned, the dimple on his cheek popping out. He reached
across the seat and opened the door for her. Once she was in, he revved the
engine, grinned again, and leaned forward to kiss her. It started off slow, smooth,
but as the seconds passed the more forceful it became, the more passionate it
was. He put the car in park while still kissing her, grabbed her behind the
head, and tilted it so he could deepen the kiss. Slipping his tongue along
hers, he fucked her mouth, and Lauren could not describe it any better than
that.

In
and out, faster and harder, he kissed her like a man possessed.

“I’ve
missed you all fucking day. Shit, I’ve missed you for the last few days,
Poppy.”

She
smiled against his mouth, pulled back an inch, and stared into his eyes. The
lights from the dashboard slashed across his square jaw, making him partially
hidden in shadows. “I’ve missed you, too. It’s only been a few days, though.”
She chuckled when he scowled. “We’ve gone longer than this without seeing each
other before.”

“It’s
different now.”

She
nodded after he spoke. “It really is.” She leaned and was the one to kiss him
softly. “And that’s a good thing, because I’ve wanted it this way for such a
long time.”

He
groaned, grabbed her head again, and kissed her for several more seconds. Her
nipples hardened, her pussy became wet, and all she could think about was being
with him right here, right now, and not caring who saw them.

“How
about we go for a ride?” she said, pulled back, and grinned, hoping he knew
what she was talking about. “I want to go wild with you, Ace, want to say fuck
it all and just finally be with you the way it should have been years ago.”

He
stared at her for a moment, not moving, not speaking, and finally made a small noise
in his throat. He closed his eyes, breathed out, and when he opened them again
she saw emotion spread over his face. “I’ve wanted to hear you say something
like that for so long, dreamed about it.”

She
cupped his cheek and loved he hadn’t shaved in a day and the scruff moved over
her palm. “I love you so much.”

He
covered her hand with his, turned his head, and kissed the center of her palm.
“I love you, too, so much, Poppy.” He kissed her hand again, grinned again, and
said, “Buckle up, baby. You wanted a wild ride, and I’m not about to deny you.”

She
did as he said, and once her seatbelt was on he focused forward, pulled out
onto the street, and peeled away from the curb.

Well,
she’d asked for it, and Ace never disappointed.

Chapter
Eight

He
shifted gears, looked over at Lauren and saw that although she held onto the
door handle, he was smiling. He was currently on a back road in town, the trees
surrounding them, and the city several miles away. A look in the rearview
mirror showed the lights of the city behind them, getting further and further
away.

He
shifted again, and with the windows down, the wind blowing through the gap and
moving her hair, Ace inhaled deeply. The scent of Lauren filled his head, made
him want this woman like a fucking addict. He reached out and switched the
radio on. “Free Bird” started playing, and he cranked the volume.

“This
wild enough for you, baby?” he said and smiled.

She
rolled her window down as far as it would go, and he took a sharp turn. She
made a noise, one that was surprise and fear mixed in one, but she chuckled
right after that. He was creeping up to one hundred miles per hour, and the
freedom of opening up the engine and letting loose on this narrow strip of
deserted road was an adrenaline rush.

“Faster,
Ace,” she said and reached out and placed her hand on his that was on the
shifter. She looked over at him, and he saw her in his peripheral vision.
Looking at her, he grinned. This woman, his woman, had a wild streak that he
fucking loved.

He
downshifted again, and the car shot forward with more power, more force. She
squealed. Ace looked at her, saw her close her eyes, the wind really whipping
her hair around, and covering her face for a moment before blowing in the other
direction.

For
the next twenty minutes he drove further away from the city, and more toward an
isolated spot. He knew college students from the university often went to this
area to party, since cops rarely busted them. Ace had gone here plenty of times
when he was a junior and senior in high school, gotten into random, senseless
fights that had hoards of people cheering and placing bets, and then getting
shit-faced drunk.

He
pulled off the main road, took his Mustang higher into the woods that now
surrounded them, and then he parked and cut the engine. When the silence
surrounded them he could hear the sound of music faintly in the background. He
shifted on the seat so he could see
her a
little
better, and the light from the moon that shone through the trees made her look
almost ethereal.

Well, shit, you sound like some
kind of romantic asshole.

Hell,
who was he kidding? He’d be anything he had to be to make Lauren happy, because
when she was happy
he
was happy. When
he was with Lauren he was a better man. He felt like a better person, and the
darkness he had every day inside of him lessened when she was near. Did he want
to only be better when he was with someone? Yes and no. Maybe he should have
wanted to be a better person, able to control himself by himself. But what was
life worth if someone couldn’t be a better
person,
want
to be better and good if not for
the person they loved?

“You
must be thinking about something important,” she said softly, a smile on her
face.

“I’m
thinking about you,” he reached out and smoothed his finger over her cheek.
“And you’re the most important thing to me, Poppy.”

Her
mouth parted a little, and he smoothed his thumb over her bottom lip. Leaning
in closer, he stared at her mouth, at the redness in her lips, the way they
were full, kissable.

“How
can a man so big, so scary,” she flicked her eyes to his face and grinned after
she said the last part, “how can someone like you be so sweet to me, so good?”

He
knew what she meant, knew that although others feared him because of his size,
because he could be volatile, he’d never do anything to hurt her.
Ever.
“I just want to make you happy, but I know that over
the years I’ve disappointed you, and that gives me more pain then you’ll ever
know.”

She
covered his hand with hers. “You do make me happy.” She smiled.

“I
went and saw a therapist the other day.”

She
let go of his hand and turned in her seat to face him fully. “You did? Why?”

He
shrugged, faced forward, and stared at the trees around them.
“For you.
For me.
Hell, I don’t
know. I thought it might help, might be able to get rid of the shit inside of
me so that I can be a better person for you.” The silence stretched out between
them for several seconds.

“Did
it help? Talking to someone, I mean,” she asked, and reached out and took his
hand.

Ace
looked down at where she had her palm over the back of his hand, her thumb
moving back and forth over his skin.

“I
want you to know that I went into this, stayed all these years because I
believe in you, accept everything that you are, Ace.”

He
looked at her then.

“I
believe in you, know that in your heart you are a good man. You fight to stay
sane, to stay level. How can anyone, least of all me, want or expect you to
change just because that’s what society thinks is right?”

God,
he loved this woman, loved her and knew that without her he would have probably
gone off the deep end a long time ago.

“You
know how my life was, my past,” he said. “You know more about me than anyone
else, even one of my friends from back in the day.” He thought about Toby, and
the times Toby had seen him getting beaten from his bedroom window, and even
called the cops. Toby had been with him through thick and thin, had been his
only friend when he was growing up.

But
then he’d moved, his father uprooting him and transplanting him in another
school, another town. But when he was fighting, hitting someone or a punching
bag, he thought about his father, about the shit he did to him. It helped with
his aggression, and there were times when it was all said and done that he felt
this freedom he’d never felt, this rush of adrenaline that made him lightheaded
and almost feel … healed. But of course that nasty fucking feeling of
loneliness and despair filled him until he choked on it.

“But
I want to be a good person all the time, not just sometimes, Poppy. I want that
for us, because for me you’re it. You are my one and only.”

This
little gasp left her, and he leaned in and captured her mouth, swallowing the
sound. He wanted her now, but he also knew they’d come out here because she
said she wanted to be wild. He didn’t stop himself from pulling her across the
front of the car, placing her on his lap, and reaching down and adjusting the
seat so it went further back., giving them more room.

“I
can feel how hard you are, Ace,” she said against his lips.

He
grinned, lifted his pelvis up slightly, and ground his cock between her thighs.
She wore a long skirt, and the material was bunched at her thighs, slightly
covering her pussy. He wanted her naked, wanted to see every part of her.

“I’m
hard for you. I’m always fucking hard for you,” he said in response, clenched
his hands on her hips, and kissed her. They moaned, panted, and the sound of
their kissing filled the interior. “But I’m not going to take you right here,
baby.”

She
pulled back, her pupils dilated, her mouth parted and glossy. He stared down at
her chest, and the way he could see how hard her nipples were beneath the
material of her shirt had his cock jerking. “I want you now, and I want you to
fuck me.”

He
groaned at her filthy language. “You can’t say things like that or I’ll come
right in my jeans, baby.” He opened the door, helped her out, and once they
were standing beside the driver’s side door he started leading her through the
woods. It was dark, but the moonlight gave them enough visibility.

“Where
are we going?” she asked on a whisper, and he tightened his hold on her hand,
not responding right away. Five minutes later he stopped and positioned them
behind a large tree. There was a clearing about twenty feet in front of them,
and at that clearing was a massive bonfire, about fifty college-aged kids
drinking beer, groping each other, and listening to loud music.

“Ace,
what
are we
doing?” she said in another whisper.

He
turned around, facing her, but didn’t respond. Smoothing his hand on her cheek,
he moved it down, over her throat, down her collarbones, and covered her
breasts. The sound of the people laughing, and some even moaning as they did
sexual things just feet from them, had a gasp leaving her and his cock
hardening like a damn steel pipe between his thighs.

“You
said you wanted to get wild, and I’m about to make that happen.” He pressed her
up against the tree, ground his dick into her belly until she gasped slightly,
and saw the way her eyes widened as she turned her head. She was looking at the
people that were so close to them, ones that could walk the short distance and
see what they were doing.

“They
could see us, hear us,” she said on a breath, and the way he saw her pulse
beating at the base of her throat, knew she was aroused by the heat she was
throwing off, told Ace this was getting her off.

“Look
at me,” he said low, commanding.

She
turned her head and looked at him. He smoothed his hand over the side of her
head, grabbed a chunk of her hair, and tilted her head to the side. He then
dipped his head and ran his tongue up the length of her throat.

“God,”
she said and grabbed his shoulders, digging her nails into his flesh.

“Not
God, baby, but I’ll be having you say that and more when I finally fuck you,
right here with people just right on the other side of us.”