Chapter 23 #2
Moving my hands to the fly of his jeans, I worked to unbutton and unzip him before pushing them down his legs. When my fingers curled around the elastic band of his boxer briefs, I glanced at him again and received a nod. So, I pulled them down his thighs, his cock springing free.
I loved seeing him. He was breathtaking. But I was terrified.
Swallowing roughly, I scrambled back and refused to take my eyes off his manhood.
How he knew what was going through my mind, I didn’t know, but Ace put a knee on the bed, brought his mouth to mine, and said, “I won’t hurt you, Tessa.”
“You’re… Ace, you’re very large.”
“And I’d never hurt you, Princess. Do you trust me?”
I nodded.
“Do you still want me?”
“More than anything,” I replied. “I’m just… nervous.”
He splayed his hand against the side of my throat, his thumb stroking along my jaw. “Do you want to stop?”
Shaking my head, I whispered, “No.”
“Then trust me to do right by you, Tessa. You’ll always be safe with me, especially in this bed.”
I nodded again.
Ace kissed me, his tongue sweeping in and tasting me. Tension eased out of my body, and I wondered if he knew that kissing me would work to lessen my fear.
He pulled back, brushed his thumb along my jaw again, and offered a sweet smile. Then he reached over to the nightstand, pulled out a condom, and rolled it on as I watched. A moment later, Ace urged me gently onto my back and settled himself between my parted thighs.
My heart was racing as the anticipation built, and my mind was suddenly flooded with dozens of thoughts about what to do.
He’d just made me feel so good, better than ever.
How was I going to make sure he experienced the same when I didn’t have a clue what I was doing?
Having sex once in my life did not make me an expert.
Somewhere in the mix of all my spiraling, I noticed that Ace didn’t do anything to progress what was supposed to be happening between us. “Is everything okay?”
He shook his head.
“What did I do wrong?”
“Not a thing. But you’re so nervous. I don’t want you to feel anything but sure about me, us, and this.”
“I’m sorry. I’m ruining this.”
“You’re not. You’re scared. And that’s the last thing I ever want you to feel when you’re with me.”
Shaking my head, I explained, “I’m not scared. I’m just… I’m worried I’m going to do it wrong.”
“What?”
“What if I don’t make you feel as good as you made me feel?”
He stared at me, dumbfounded. “You’re serious?”
“Yes.”
“Tessa, you already make me feel good. Trust me, there’s nothing you could do here with me tonight that wouldn’t make me feel even better than I already do.”
A sense of wonder washed over me. “Really?”
“I promise.”
Ace would never lie to me, so I trusted him and relaxed.
He noticed and smiled. “That’s my girl.”
A moment later, he kissed me. And while he did that, one hand slipped down between our bodies. Ace touched the most intimate part of my body, his fingers rubbing, circling, and moving through my wetness.
Then I felt it.
He positioned himself, framed my face with his hands, and watched as he slowly pushed inside.
My eyes remained on his, and Ace pulled back before sliding in just a little bit farther.
Over and over, he repeated the same movements, going deeper each time until he was fully seated inside me.
That’s when he stayed there, brushed my hair back, and asked, “Do you feel any pain?”
I already knew the answer to that question, but I wanted to give him an answer that would make this moment mean even more than it already did. “All I feel is love.”
“Pardon?”
“I love you, Ace.”
Something flashed in his eyes as he breathed, “Jesus. Tessa, I’ve got to move. Are you okay with that?”
I nodded.
He touched his lips lightly to mine in a soft kiss. Then he looked into my eyes as he began to move. It was tender and sweet, and it felt so good. After a while, he kissed me more, his mouth on mine before moving to my jaw, my ear, and my throat.
The warmth and weight of him consumed me, and I was spellbound by the perfection of his strokes. He was magnificent.
Extraordinary, really.
I knew that was the truth when I felt that familiar pull building in my lower abdomen again.
My hands roamed over his shoulders and arms, and my hips moved to meet and match his thrusts. It was the most wonderful experience of my whole life.
“Ace,” I whimpered, feeling myself barreling toward that precipice again.
“Tessa,” he growled in my ear, picking up his pace.
A shiver ran along my spine as I felt the vibration of that growl rippling from his chest.
His hips moved even faster, my body rocking with them as I struggled to get in a full breath.
Panting, feeling myself right on that edge, my hands gripped his hair.
“Oh, Ace,” I cried out as my orgasm tore through my body.
Sparks of pleasure shot through me all the way to the tips of my fingers and toes.
Ace slowed his pace only long enough to see me through. Then he moved faster, grunting and groaning as it built for him.
I watched, fascinated by the sight of him. Palms pressed into the mattress on either side of me, his hips moved with wild abandon. I angled my hips, pulling my knees back to give him deeper access.
“Fuck,” he growled. “Fuck, Tessa.”
Then it hit him. The muscles in his arms, chest, and shoulders rippled as he found his release. When it left him, he collapsed on top of me, burying his face in my neck. We stayed like that briefly before his weight became too much, and I wheezed.
Ace immediately rolled onto his back, taking me with him. My cheek was pressed against his chest, and he was still inside me as he stroked his fingers lightly along my spine.
I waited a while, giving him time to come down from the high, before I asked, “Was that okay?”
“Princess, there’re a lot of words I’d use to describe how that was, and okay isn’t in the top one hundred.”
Lifting my cheek from his chest, I brought my eyes to his and fell in love with the lazy, satisfied look on his face. “You’re so handsome, I could cry.”
He chuckled. “That’s not a good reason to cry.”
No, it wasn’t. But there was something else that did have me on the verge of tears. “Did you like your gift?”
He smiled, his fingers still tickling my back. “Best present of my whole life.”
I grinned. “And to think I believed you were turned off by me.”
Ace froze, the movement of his hand halting at my lower back. “What did you just say?”
“Remember the day I went out to lunch with Harper and Savanna?”
“Yeah.”
“I begged my sister to meet me. I was in crisis mode,” I admitted.
His brow furrowed. “Crisis mode? Over what?”
I licked my lips, noting the way his eyes dipped to them. “I was losing my mind over the fact that you had me in your bed, night after night, and only wanted to kiss me. I told them I thought you were turned off by my lack of experience.”
“I sure fucking hope they talked some sense into you.”
Soft laughter escaped. “They did. They got me to see that perhaps you were just trying to be a good guy who cared and didn’t want to push me for something before I was ready.”
“It’s not about me caring, Tessa.”
His response surprised me. “It isn’t?”
“No. It’s about me loving you.”
It was then my body’s turn to freeze. “You… You do?”
Smiling, he revealed, “I’m pretty sure I knew I loved you when you came back from getting your hair and makeup done to see what you’d look like on your wedding day.
But it wasn’t until you opened your door to me in that nightie that morning when I came to take you to breakfast that I realized I didn’t just love you. I was in love with you.”
Tears welled in my eyes. “Okay. Now I am going to cry.”
“Kiss me instead,” he urged me.
I honored his request.
The need to cry faded.
And after a while Ace got up, disposed of the condom, and returned with a warm cloth to clean me up. Then, both of us still naked, he pulled me close, kissed my forehead, and tickled my back as he whispered, “I love you, Tessa Stone.”
I smiled and whispered back, “I love you, Ace Townsend.”
Minutes later, we were both asleep.