Chapter 16. Ace
Ace
“Knock knock.” Mav thudded on Haley’s bedroom door before pushing it open. “Ready to head out, Ace? I called Paige and let her know Haley’s okay. She says she might not kill you after all.”
Mav wasn’t a bad guy, and I appreciated the subtle warning that I’d be in big trouble if Tony found out I was still around when I was on mandatory leave.
I also couldn’t fault his timing. I’d crossed another damn line telling Haley what I’d been denying for so long, and I needed to get out of there and figure out what the hell I was doing.
“I’ve got to go.” I moved to stand, and Haley grabbed my arm, waiting for Mav to leave before she said, “You can’t say that to me and just walk away.”
“I don’t have a choice. Tony won’t just pull me off your detail for good if I don’t take time off; he’ll fire me.”
“I want to come with you.” She grabbed a bundle of papers and held them up to me.
“This is pain and loss and all the other emotions that I can’t let out.
If I stay here, I’ll get sucked back in.
I need to get out of my head.” She scooped up more papers, pressing them against her chest. “My head is still here.”
“Mav has to go where you go. He’ll tell Tony if you come with me.”
“Not if he doesn’t know I’m gone.” She ran over to her window and looked out over the roof. “I’ll tell him I’m going to bed and climb out.” Her eyes sparkled when she turned back to me. I knew that look. She might have been older but the daredevil side of her was still there.
“Absolutely not.”
She pushed open the window and leaned out into the night. “It’s not too steep and there’s a thick tree branch hanging right beside it. I would just have to jump from the branch to the ground.”
My pulse kicked up a notch, and I crossed the room and slid an arm around her waist to pull her back. Big mistake. She fit perfectly against me, her body soft, her ass pressed so tight against my cock, I was hard in an instant.
Haley sucked in a sharp breath and looked at me over her shoulder, her lips parted, eyes dark with sensual promise. “By ‘everything,’ did you mean ‘ everything ’?”
I didn’t know this new Haley well enough to share all the dark thoughts that were going through my mind.
I didn’t know what she would do if I spelled out exactly how I wanted to touch her, to taste her, to make her writhe in pleasure and scream my name.
I didn’t know how to be that open because the two times I’d let my guard down with her, it hadn’t gone well.
“I don’t…” But I did.
“Does ‘everything’ include this?” She covered my hand with hers and slid our joined hands underneath her shirt. Her skin was warm and soft and I couldn’t help but caress her, spreading my fingers until the tips brushed along the edge of her bra.
“Is this what you want?” I cupped her breast, squeezing gently, my thumb brushing over her nipple peaked beneath the silken fabric.
Haley shuddered and sank farther into my body. “Yes.”
Fuck it. I twisted my free hand through her hair and tugged her head back, baring her neck for the heated slide of my lips.
“And this?” I murmured, breathing in the floral fragrance of her skin.
“Yes.” She arched against me, her ass rubbing against my fly, an exquisitely painful pleasure that had me gritting my teeth as I fought for control.
“I want everything, too,” she whispered. “Everything you want to give me.”
It was an effort to release her, and almost impossible to walk away when she turned to face me, her cheeks flushed with heat.
“Stay here. I’ll go and talk to Mav to see if we can work something out.
I’m not in his good books right now. He wasn’t happy when he found out I was in the basement gaming with Chad and Theo. ”
A maelstrom of emotions crossed Haley’s face. “You were downstairs?”
“I was off duty, but I wasn’t going to leave officially until I talked to you and explained the situation. I spent the afternoon at the gym with Chad and Theo and then we were gaming until Paige sent me her threatening messages.”
Haley leaned up and gave me a peck on the cheek. “You weren’t going to leave me.”
“No, bug. I wasn’t going to leave without talking to you in person. I would have slept on their fucking couch if I had to.”
I wasn’t aware I’d used her old family nickname until a pained expression crossed her face. “No one has called me ‘bug’ for a very long time.”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
“It’s okay.” She smiled. “It’s not a bad memory.”
I left Haley to change her clothes, and went downstairs to talk to Mav.
I never asked for favors. I handled my own business and never put myself in a position where I had to rely on someone else.
I’d also never let myself get close enough to people to ask.
But Mav seemed like a good guy, and this was for Haley.
“We could both get in trouble for this,” Mav pointed out when I told him Haley was still shaken from the online threat and didn’t want to stay at the house.
“She’d still have protection,” I said. “She’d be with me.”
Mav laughed. “I have a feeling your attention wouldn’t be fully on the job.”
“How about tickets to the next Bears game? Chad gets comps through the radio station. He offered to take me to the next game and said I could bring a friend. I doubt I’ll still be here when they play, but I’m sure he’d be happy to have company.
” I didn’t know Mav well, but one of the few times I’d met him he’d been wearing a Bears cap.
“Can’t say no to the Bears.” Mav grinned. “Two games. One night. And I’ll come and walk the floor at the hotel. But the Bears better fucking win.”
We bumped fists to seal the deal, and something shifted in my chest. Asking favors. Making friends. If I closed my eyes and opened them again, would it still be real?
As I passed the living room window on my way to get Haley, I caught movement in the bushes.
My adrenaline spiked and I drew my weapon, crossing back to the kitchen so I could slip out the back door.
I made my way around the house and came up behind the intruder.
It was only when I saw the brown ponytail that I lowered my gun.
“Christ, Haley. I didn’t think you were serious when you said you’d climb out the window.”
A grin spread across her face. “I was worried Maverick would say no. It wasn’t hard…” She trailed off when I scowled.
“I told you I was going to talk to Mav and work something out. What if you got hurt?”
“I didn’t get hurt,” she said. “You know I’m good at climbing trees, and I used to climb down the roof all the time when I’d sneak out of the house to Ryan Trevino’s parties with Paige.”
“You did what?” No way would Matt or I have let Haley go to Trevino’s parties. He was a local drug dealer who also sold alcohol to minors and was known for wild parties that usually ended with some sort of emergency vehicle attending his property.
“It’s like riding a bicycle.” She slid her arms around my waist and looked up at me with an expression of pure manipulative innocence. “Don’t be grumpy. Did you work things out with Mav, because if you didn’t…”
“‘Grumpy’ isn’t the word I’d use to describe how I’m feeling right now.” I cupped her jaw, running my thumb over her cheek, seeking the simple assurance she was indeed here after jumping off the roof and not a ghost. “And yes, we worked something out. He’s coming with us.”
Haley’s eyes widened. “With us as in with us ?”
“He’ll be in the hallway.” I didn’t want my mind going down that path, because just the idea of anyone else touching Haley set my teeth on edge. “And I thought I told you to stay in your room. There are consequences for not following the rules.”
Her eyes lit up and she licked her lips. “What kind of consequences?”
I’d always known going down this road with Haley would be a wild ride.
She had few inhibitions, and an openness to new experiences unmatched by anyone I’d ever met.
Jump a creek? Climb a tree? Steal an apple from an orchard guarded by a ferocious dog?
Go outside to “see the stars” with a senior who didn’t just have notches in his belt, he had a whole damn collection?
If I didn’t keep control, the two of us together might combust.
“You’ll have to wait and see.”