Chapter 9
Rip could take his threats and shove them up his fucking peehole. Then he could forever be known as Rip Van Tinkle.
Even after the bastard was gone, I shook my head in disgust at how he thought there was any chance of using me as his golden ticket. Like I’d ever let him monetize my ability—that was my damn job.
When my eyes finally met Ace’s, the glow in them was fading and replaced by something else unreadable. Always something fucking unreadable with him.
“What are you looking at?” I snapped defensively. Because if I had to guess, the thoughts in his head were likely ones that would only piss me off.
His hand dropped to my hip, forcing me back against the cool stone wall in the narrow confines of the alley.
I cast a glance over my shoulder just before impact, taking in the graffiti that scarred the surface.
What may have been vivid colors at some point had been dulled by time and the elements.
Bold, blocky lines created an overlapping web of symbols and letters, spelling out a single word.
Peccare.
How fitting.
The heat of his body snapped my attention right back to him as it warmed my exposed skin.
My breath hitched sharply, clocking something feral in his eyes as he encroached on my personal space.
We were close enough that I could still smell his power clinging to him.
It was like breathing in smoke until it burned the back of your throat, persistent and suffocating.
When he didn’t respond to my initial question, I huffed out in exasperation. “I had everything under control. My precognition doesn’t work on just cards you know.”
Ace maintained his whole silent guardian act that he currently had going on.
He traced featherlight touches over the curve of my bare shoulder and down the length of my arm until his hand encircled my wrist. Lifting my hand, he inspected the bloody scrapes on the heel of my palm from my fall earlier.
It was then that the burning sting came to the forefront of my awareness, a reminder of injuries that had gone forgotten until now.
There was a tutting of disapproval at the minor scrapes before he finally spoke. “Rip and his two friends would have torn you to shreds if I hadn’t followed you.” He released my wrist, my hand falling back down to my side.
“Don’t be overdramatic,” I said, already moving to sidestep him. Didn’t even make it a full step before his hand slammed against the wall behind me, blocking my escape and caging me in.
Leaning forward, his lips brushed my ear as he spoke in a tone that sent shivers down my spine.
“If I had been in Rip’s position, I know exactly what I would have done to you and your hot fucking body.
But Rip wouldn’t have held back, and he sure as fuck wouldn’t have pieced you back together after.
By comparison, anything I’d do would make me look like a saint. ”
A loaded pause hovered as his gaze lingered on my curves before he added, “Trust me, Little Spade…I am anything but gentle.”
Watching his tongue dart out to lick his bottom lip with sinful intent made something flutter deep inside me. The subtle gesture reminded me of a predator eyeing up its next meal, not for survival but for the pleasure of the feast.
It seemed everyone wanted what they couldn’t have, didn’t they? I was the shiny trinket that people desired but nobody ever deserved to have.
“Well, he didn’t get the chance. Did he, Mr. Territorial? I damn near expected you to piss on me the way you were trying to stake a claim.” It was nice being wanted, but hot damn, this man was taking it to a whole other level.
The warmth of his breath lingered along the side of my neck while his hand on my hip slid back to rest just above the curve of my ass. Each dominant touch had my heart in a flurry of mismatched beats and a need building between my legs begging to be explored.
“It’s a privilege to be claimed by a Knight of Hell.
It means you will forever be under my protection, every sweet fucking part of you.
” His lips dragged along my collarbone, his words murmured against my body.
The contact felt different from our entanglement in his penthouse.
This was more charged, proprietary, and heavy with purpose.
It made my insides melt and left my knees threatening to buckle under the weight of his intentions.
I swallowed against the thundering pulse in my throat, trying to push down the dangerous whimper threatening to escape.
Finally, I got an opportunity to breathe when his hand fell away from the wall and he pulled his head back. But those dark fern eyes never left me, glinting with something that resembled either hunger or determination. Possibly both.
Taking advantage of the moment, I closed my eyes to focus on grounding myself. I remained grateful for some clarity to chase away the fog his touch had settled over me.
When I opened my eyes, his evergreen pools greeted me, laced with even darker intent than before. The reprieve at least had allowed me enough time to steady my voice.
“Privilege? Ace, I don’t need your protection.”
His voice dropped to something as rough as gravel and cool as ice. “I’m afraid that’s no longer an option, Little Spade.”
To my surprise, he lowered himself before me. Not quite kneeling, but worshiping my space just the same. Was he on the cusp of pledging his fealty to my superior existence?
Pinching his brows together in a look of disapproval, his gaze darkened as he examined the bloody scrapes and cuts on both my legs, including the gash on my shin. In an unexpected move, he kissed around the damage, careful not to hit any tender spots.
Shifting in my stance with growing unease, I watched as he remained crouched before me. In an effort to escape the tension growing tighter in my core from his affections, I shuffled to the side.
Ace wasn’t having it.
His hands latched onto me with inexplicable speed, one grabbing my knee and draping my leg over his shoulder.
The other slid up the front of my other leg until he met the bottom hem of my dress.
Without breaking eye contact with me, he peeled the fabric up over my thighs with care until it all bunched up around my waist.
“Genevieve, bearing my mark is more than just my protection.” The use of my full name and the conviction in his tone caused me to still in his hold.
My hips pressed back against the wall behind me, seeking something sturdy to ground me. The stones felt cool against my heated skin.
The exposure of my hips revealed the sad excuse for underwear that did fuck all to hide my arousal. Nestled between my thighs, the pathetic strip of fabric was embarrassingly soaked.
Struggling to balance on one foot, I grabbed onto his head with both my hands, fisting his hair in both a plea and a warning.
A whisper of panic crept over me as I looked at both ends of the alley where we stood.
It was dark, with only small halos of light at each opening of the narrow corridor.
Demons and other species could have extraordinary eyesight, even in the pitch black of night.
If there were any passersby who dared look close enough, we risked being seen, all semblance of modesty gone.
Emotions inside of me engaged in a volatile war with one another. I couldn’t tell where the excitement began and where the nervousness ended. “I… I don’t want your protection or your mark or…”
I lost my half-hearted protest to a gasp as Ace’s mouth pressed to my inner thigh, his stubble scratching at my sensitive skin. His fingers simultaneously lifted to the center of my panties and pushed them to one side. He now had a front-row seat to my pussy, slick with how much my body craved him.
The way my cheeks burned hot at the exposure was a foreign sensation. Not every day did I find myself in a situation I couldn’t control or anticipate. Yet here I was.
“Mmm,” he hummed deeply in approval. The sound had me choking on air itself.
His teeth dragged over the inside of my thigh—teasing—until he nipped me hard enough to leave twin crescent marks.
A lowly growl of appreciation rumbled out of him at seeing the mark he left before his hunger turned to the main course. “Fuck, look how wet you are, Little Spade. You’re ready for me to taste you like a good little slut, aren’t you?”
The degrading term should have repulsed me; instead it lit something primal inside me as my cunt involuntarily clenched around nothing in response.
All my muscles were tense with either anticipation or apprehension, I wasn’t sure which. Having him so near an intimate part of me that only my self-care toys had become acquainted with left me on edge.
Looking down the length of my body, his gaze now settled on me. Only a thin ring of green remained around his pupils, the black pools blown wide with undisguised desire. There was something else there. Something far more complex and sticky. Worship or adoration, maybe?
Regardless of what lay beneath the surface, it wasn’t just shallow obsession. I was staring at a demon drawn to something that could possibly burn us both to ash then reignite into something infinitely more dangerous.
The promise of an echo that would ruin, rebuild, and remake us both.
No matter what shadows lay beyond that look, seeing him peering up through dark lashes with such intensity and purpose caused my brain to short-circuit and all rational thoughts fled.
“Ace.”
His name barely came out as a prayer on my lips, while my breaths grew uneven at my heart’s erratic beating against my ribs.
He responded, reaffirming his intentions, “You’re mine, Eve. I’m never going to let you or anyone else forget that. I’d kneel before a fucking angel before letting anyone take you from me.” The way he spat out the word angel carried a weight of ultimate disdain for the holy entity.
I never had the chance to argue as his mouth came straight to my center, the first contact of his tongue sending a full body shiver through me.