Chapter 27
Ace
All I want to do is snuggle up with Kian and hide for a little while. But first, I’ve got to face Jordyn. I instantly had a connection with this woman, from our very first meeting, and I’m about to tell her I’m a fraud.
Kian says he doesn’t hate me, and that’s a huge relief. But I’m pretty sure I’ve ruined something potentially good with him before it even started, and that’s all on me.
After slowly releasing my arms from around his waist, I tilt my head back to gaze up at him, his dark eyes studying me. I’m glad he doesn’t look any worse than Luciano, though they both look terrible. Cuts and bruises cover his face.
“I texted you a little while ago to make sure you were okay. I was worried.” That he was never going to speak with me again, but I’m going to leave that part out. The last thing a man like Kian wants is a stage-five clinger.
He chuckles and reaches out to brush some hair away from my face. “You were worried about me, angel?”
More than I’m willing to admit. My only hope is that Luciano loves me enough not to kill anyone I care about. I should probably ask Kian not to kill Luciano, but right now might not be the time.
“Maybe a little,” I say with a playful smirk that makes him smile, and I turn into jelly for the man standing before me.
We stare at each other in silence, our gazes locked on each other for a long moment. Even though I can smell Jordyn’s cherry perfume from here, it feels like Kian and I are in our own little bubble. And I don’t want it to pop.
“Are you doing okay, Lacey?” Jordyn finally speaks up, breaking our spell.
I turn to face her, suddenly feeling heavy again as I take a few steps over to the sitting area where she’s snuggled up on Cash’s lap. Cash nods toward me, and I give him a weak smile, then look at Jordyn.
Swallowing, sweat forms at the base of my neck as I try to find the courage to confess. “I need to tell you something.”
Jordyn grins. “That you’re Lacey Ricci? I know that.”
I glance back at Kian, his dark gaze watching me in his silent, observant way.
Right.
Kian probably already told her.
Fuck.
“Kian didn’t tell me. I already knew when you came and interviewed with me.”
What?
Jordyn shrugs. “I saw your accident in an online news report. It caught my eye because of your family ties. I figured you had a good reason to use a different last name, and that wasn’t my business.
” She grins and waggles her eyebrows. “But if you ever wanna have a trauma-dumping girls’ night, I’m totally up for listening. ”
Butterflies flutter wildly in my stomach, and my eyes burn with tears.
“You’re not upset with me?” I ask. “I totally understand if you fire me. I lied on my resumé.”
After hopping off Cash’s lap, she comes over and throws her arms around me.
“Yes, but you dance like an angel. And the team adores you, and so do I. Besides, I get not wanting to be known everywhere you go. The last thing I ever wanted to be known by was my father’s last name.
So if anything, we understand more than most why you lied. ”
I hug her back, letting out a deep breath. “Thank you.”
She squeezes tight before she lets go and starts hopping up and down, clapping her hands. “Oh, we should go dancing this weekend!”
Kian steps forward and embraces me. “Great. You two can plan it over the next couple of days. I’m taking Ace home.”
“Call me in the morning,” Cash calls out as Kian leads me out of Jordyn’s huge office overlooking The Strip.
Keeping a tight hold of my hand, he weaves us through the crowds of people, walking slowly enough for me to be able to keep up in my flip-flops.
When we get out to the valet, Kian requests a car. A moment later, we’re in the backseat, leaving the center of the city.
Without waiting for me to do it, he reaches over me and pulls the seatbelt, clicking it into place, keeping his face close to mine. Slowly, and as gently as I can, I slide my fingers into his beard, my heart cracking as I study his face.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper again. “I was asleep when he left. I didn’t know he was going to confront you.”
Leaning forward, he presses a gentle kiss to my lips, his hand sliding up my neck to cup my chin. “Don’t apologize for that asshole, angel. This is just how men handle business. You don’t need to worry about what happens between him and me.”
That makes me pause and blink several times. “Luciano wouldn’t have gone after you if it weren’t for me.”
Kian squeezes the sides of my neck, applying enough pressure to spike my heart rate without cutting off any air. “Luciano is coming after me to protect you, angel. Let Daddy deal with him, and you focus on being my good girl. Understand?”
He stares at me, waiting for an answer, so finally I nod. “Yes, Daddy,” I whisper so the driver can’t hear, even though Kian wasn’t being quiet when he called himself that.
“Good. Do you need anything from your place tonight?” he asks when we pull through the wrought-iron gates.
“Can I sleep in one of your shirts?”
“You can always sleep in my shirts, angel. Honestly, I’d prefer you did all the time.”
Heat spreads between my legs, my pussy tingling with a need to be touched by him. To be devoured.
“I don’t need anything, then,” I answer before we pass my house, where Luciano’s SUV is no longer parked.
A teeny tiny part of me feels bad for throwing things at my cousin, but he’s so damn maddening. It’s no wonder he’s single. Every woman he meets probably finds out how controlling he is and runs for the hills.
Ugh.
But I know he means well. And he made a promise to my father when we watched him being buried that he’d always look out for me.
My mother never made it easy for Luciano to stay in touch with me when I was growing up.
It wasn’t until I was in high school that he started showing up after school to check on me.
Fudge. Maybe I need to apologize to him.
Tomorrow.
Tonight, he gets to think I’m really mad at him. Because I kind of am. The big jerk.
Kian grabs my hand, and I startle, looking around to find we’re parked, and he’s already out of the car. “You okay, angel?”
Smiling, I nod and let him help me out, then he leads me inside just like last night.
“Are you hungry?” he asks.
“Not really.”
Not for food, anyway.
He nods and takes us directly to the bedroom, where he stops in the middle of the room and turns to look at me.
His eyes glow, and the outline of his cock grows against the zipper of his slacks. “What’s your safeword, angel?”
Goosebumps rise all over my body as I run my fingers over the smooth fabric of my yoga pants.
“Red,” I exhale.
“Good girl.”
Kian slowly comes to me, pressing a kiss on my lips. “Stay right there. Do not move, or you will be punished.”
Nipples aching, I hold my breath and bob my head. When he walks out of view, the urge to spin around is nearly impossible to resist. A moment later, after a few small sounds of something bumping the wall, Kian returns and takes my hand again, turning me around to face an enormous mirror.
Glancing at him sideways, I raise my eyebrows. “Where did that come from?”
Moving so he’s behind me, Kian places his hands on my hips, squeezing firmly. “The walk-in closet. It’s staying out here, now, though.”
“Why?” I ask, my heart beating out of control. The mirror is at least six feet tall and four feet wide, with a simple, solid black border.
“Because I don’t like that you think you’re anything less than perfect, angel. So, I’m going to start fucking you in front of this mirror so you can see for yourself.” He stares at our reflection, his voice low and throaty. “Kick off your shoes.”
I obey, sending my pink flip-flops flying in different directions. Kian’s anxiety practically flares visibly over them not being placed neatly together, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he reaches for the hem of my shirt and tugs it over my head.
Piece by piece, he undresses me until I’m naked and unable to look at my reflection.
Kian reaches around me, cupping one of my heavy breasts in his palm, squeezing it before he slides his palm over my aching nipple and up my chest until his fingers are wrapped around my throat, my name inked across his knuckles.
“The first time I looked at you, my cock got hard, angel. Just one fucking glance and you had me. So beautiful.”
My chest rises as he squeezes the sides of my neck, tighter than he has before.
“Look at me, angel,” he growls into my ear, the thick length of his cock pressed into my back.
Swallowing, I close my eyes and take a breath before I find enough nerve to stand completely naked in front of his gorgeous man and look him in the eye.
He stares at me as he dips his head and kisses my shoulder, his beard scratching my sensitive skin. “I like seeing you like this. Exposed. Blushing. Aroused.”
Pressure builds between my legs, and when I clench my legs together, Kian smirks. “Feet apart, angel. I want to see you. Every part of you.”
His free hand slides over my ribs to my stomach, and I stop breathing as I suck it in slightly.
Kian narrows his gaze at me in the reflection. “Breathe, angel. Don’t do that. You’re perfect just like this. Soft. Feminine. Sexy. Strong. Beautiful.”
I watch as he soothes his hand over me, down past my belly button until his fingers slide over my clit and I jolt. His hold on my throat grounds me, and I whimper as he circles my clit, varying the pressure while watching my reaction in the mirror.
“I don’t know what you’re doing to me, angel,” he says quietly, his dick twitching against me through his slacks. “But I can’t get you out of my head.”
Everything in me tingles when he dips farther back, gathering some of my arousal on his fingertips before he brings his hand to his mouth and licks it all off.
A moan slips from my lips. “Daddy, please.”
“Please, what, angel? What do you need?” His left hand is still resting at the base of my neck, my name on his knuckles like a personalized necklace, just for me.
Using his free hand, Kian trails his fingers over my breast, taking a second to give them each a sharp pinch before soothing the pain with the pad of his thumb.
My head falls against his chest. He’s not even touching my pussy, and I’m already teetering on the edge of ecstasy.
“I need you,” I whimper. “Please, Daddy. I just need you.”