Chapter 17 #2
“I won’t hurt you, Princess.” Tugging me closer, he leaned forward at the same time. His face was inches away from my hair when he inhaled deeply. Then his mouth traveled to my ear, where he whispered, “I’d sooner cut off my own arm than do anything to make you cry.”
My breath caught in my throat. Ace Townsend was saying all the right words and making me feel things I’d never felt before. I hadn’t realized he knew what he was doing to me when I squirmed in his lap.
“Tell me what it was,” he urged.
I twisted my neck to look at him. “Tell you what?”
He smiled, and I swear the look could’ve been used to sign a modeling contract for him. The man was gorgeous. “Tell me what it was you thought about whenever you were thinking about me.”
Ace’s eyes dropped to my lips as I licked them. “In the beginning, it was mostly just how appreciative I was for all that you’d done for me. But lately, especially over the last week, it was something else.”
“What was it?”
“All week long, I haven’t been able to think about much of anything besides the way it felt to have you kiss me.”
One half of his mouth quirked as pride washed over his expression. “And what exactly did that make you feel?”
For a moment, I wondered how he thought I could answer that question when his fingers began moving lightly along my thigh. It was an effort to focus long enough to share anything at all. “Fear. I felt fear.”
That was enough to get Ace to freeze. His fingers stopped moving, the muscles in his body going taut. “Fear? The thought of me kissing you made you fearful.”
I shook my head. “No. It was the thought of never being able to experience it again that terrified me.”
His eyes darkened. “You say the word, Princess, and I’ll kiss you all you want.”
I stared at him, my words failing me. Ace was willing and ready to give me what I wanted, what it appeared he wanted as well. God, the thought of feeling his lips against mine again had my insides trembling with excitement.
“Say it, Tessa. Tell me you want to explore this between us. Tell me you want me to kiss you.”
With his instruction, the words spilled out of me. “I want to explore this, Ace. And I want you to kiss me again.”
He barely gave me the opportunity to take in the smile on his face before he leaned in and touched his lips to mine.
A thrill of delight moved through me, and I squeezed my legs together as desire pooled between them. That was it. That was all it took for me to feel such want and need for him.
One kiss.
One simple kiss.
He’d only just got started, and it was already the best experience of my whole life. There was the softness of his lips and the way he held me close. There was the gentle touch of his fingers moving along my thigh. It was everything I could’ve ever wanted and more.
Then he ran his tongue along the seam of my lips, a silent demand for access. When I parted my lips and allowed his tongue into my mouth, I realized I didn’t know what I wanted.
Because this was better than what I believed existed. I never wanted it to stop.
Out of some primal instinct that took over and consumed me as my tongue tangled with Ace’s, I lifted my hands and finally drove them into his hair.
Ace rewarded me with a deep groan and a squeeze on my leg before that hand drifted up toward my hip.
That movement had me tingling between my legs.
And so, it was no surprise that a moan escaped me.
At that sound, Ace framed my face in his hands and held me steady while he tore his mouth from mine. For a moment, neither one of us said a word. I was too busy attempting to catch my breath; Ace appeared to be deep in thought. Finally, he said, “That would’ve been a shame.”
“What?”
“You were fearful that we’d never experience that again, and I think you had a right to feel that way. If we never got to do what we just did, it would’ve been a crying shame.”
I dropped my forehead to his. “That kiss felt very different than the first one.”
Ace’s thumbs stroked over my cheeks, and he gave me a peck on the lips. “Of course, it did. God, Tessa, I didn’t think you could get any better.”
A wave of confidence washed over me at his words. While I never thought Ace would ever say anything to purposely make me feel bad, he wasn’t a liar. So, I could trust that he wouldn’t make something up just for the sake of saying it. He meant what he said.
I smiled at him, scratching the back of his scalp. “As scared as I am about where things might go between us, I don’t think I’ve ever felt safer with a man than I do with you.”
“You’ll always be safe with me, Princess. Whether we’re together or not, that’s one thing you’ll never have to fear.”
Even without those words, I knew that was the truth and leaned my body into his.
Ace took my weight and kissed my cheek. “What time do you have to be at work tomorrow?”
“That’s a strange question to ask in this moment, don’t you think?”
He shook his head, his lips twitching. “No. Because you don’t have a car right now, so I need to know what time I’ve got to be back here in the morning to pick you up.
And the answer you give me now will tell me just how much time I’ve got left to carry you over to the couch, where I can kiss you again. ”
My body shivered. Ace didn’t miss it. “I’m actually off tomorrow. I was supposed to have another wedding to do, but the groom called it off when he learned the bride had been sleeping with his best friend.”
“Wow. That sucks for him.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, squirming in his lap.
“But it means excellent things for me.”
“Oh? Tell me about those things.”
Ace slipped an arm beneath my knees and wrapped the other around my back.
Then he stood and carried me into the living room.
Lowering me gently to the couch, he brought his big body down beside mine and hauled me against him, so there wasn’t an inch of space between our bodies.
Only then did he speak. “I’m going to spend a little while holding and kissing you on this couch tonight.
Then I’m going to go home, so you can get some sleep.
But I’ll be back first thing in the morning, so we can spend the entire day together. ”
I smiled against his lips. “That sounds wonderful.”
“Good. Now, I’m done talking for a while.”
“Me, too. Kiss me, handsome.”
Ace didn’t delay. He touched his lips to mine and kissed me.