time he climbs over me, he’s rock hard and sheathed. My thighs tremble as they part for him, and he leans down, slipping a peaked nipple between his lips, sucking and flicking with his tongue.
His tongue may be my favorite feature of his.
That and his cock.
And his arms.
And his ass.
I drag my hand along his cheek, loving the soft feel beneath my palms. His face. His face is my favorite.
Ace looks up at me, his aqua gaze glowing in the dark.
I love his eyes too. Can’t forget about them.
He pulls his body over mine, holding himself up with one arm and gripping the base of his cock with his free hand. Teasing my clit with his hardness, I harbor a deep breath and then release it the second he pushes himself inside me.
It’s a sweet relief, but not nearly as sweet as the one to come.
Holding his body on top of mine, he glides in and out, slicked and aided by my arousal, and then he kisses me.
He kisses me a hundred times, our lips craving heat and tongues craving taste.
“Can we do this all night?” I sigh, my mouth still pressed against his.
His thrusts grow harder. “You read my mind.”
Ace opens a window when we’re done. The room is stuffy, and the cabin has no AC units in the bedrooms. When he returns, he yanks the covers off the bed and takes the spot beside me. We lie on top of crisp cotton sheets, the stickiness of our bodies evaporating into the summery night air.
He leans across me, his body sticking to mine, and flicks on the vintage fan on the nightstand next to my side of the bed. The cool breeze feels good for a while, but my body quickly adapts and fills with shivers.
“You cold?” he asks, extending his arm.
“Now I am,” I say, wasting no time curling up in that.
I press my cheek against his chest, listening to the calming sound his heart makes when it thrums, and exhale softly.
I’m not sure why, but I start to think about that journal again. And how hard that man loved the girl with the purple eyes. How she ruined him for anyone else. How he swore he’d never love anyone else half as much as he loved her.
Even lying here, in Ace’s arms, there’s a kind of inexplicable distance between us. Sure, the attraction is there. No denying that. And we have chemistry because apparently opposites really do attract.
But I want something deeper.
I crave more of him – a level of him I’m not sure he’s capable of giving because every part of me suspects that journal belongs to him.
And every part of me hopes, selfishly, that it doesn’t.
But it’s the only thing that makes sense.
“What are you thinking about?” I ask after a bout of silence.
“Nothing,” he exhales, not hesitating.
“Everyone’s always thinking about something,” I ask, and then I realize that maybe he’s not thinking about something. He’s thinking about someone.
We lie there, still in silence, but his fingers graze the back of my arm. It tickles and peppers my flesh with goose bumps, but I like it.
“Have you ever been in love, Ace?” I ask.
My cheeks burn.
Shit.
I shouldn’t be asking this question.
We just screwed for the second time in twenty-four hours and already I’m asking a question about love?
Good god, I’m not thinking this weekend.
If Wren were here, she’d be laughing hysterically at me. I’m always putting my foot in my mouth.
“I don’t mean . . .” I say, hoping to clarify but knowing the damage has already been done, “I’m not asking because . . .”
Ace chuckles. Once.
“I’m just wondering,” I say. “Because there’s this distance about you. I see it in your eyes. I’m just curious if you’ve ever let anyone in.”
I trace my finger along his chest, right above his beating heart.
“Once,” he says. “You?”
He turns the tables, pointing my own question straight back at me.
“Never,” I say.
I feel him stare at me in the dark. “Seriously?”
“I’ve been told I’m too free-spirited,” I say. “I guess I’ve never wanted to be tied down for too long. I never keep anyone around long enough to fall in love, I guess.”
He’s quiet.
I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
“You feel tied down when someone loves you?” he asks.
“I did when I was younger. I don’t know how I’d be now. It’s been a couple years since I seriously dated anyone,” I say. “I haven’t had a proper date in over a