Ace slides out of me and sinks slowly back in. I clutch onto his shoulders, letting my body adjust to the feel of him.
He’s everywhere.
His weight pressing me down into the mattress, one of his hands pinning my wrists above my head, his lips feasting on my skin… It’s everything I thought it would be and more.
“Jesus, Remi, you feel amazing,” he murmurs against my throat, licking and sucking the skin there. I’m stretched out beneath him, completely at his mercy.
And I wouldn’t want it any other way.
“I’m not sure I can go slow,” he breathes, rolling his hips in slow, measured strokes.
“So don’t.” I lock my legs around his hips, arching my back to meet him. It’s as if my body knows what to do.
“God, yeah,” he croons. “Just like that. You’re so fucking tight, baby. So fucking good.” The words catch in Ace’s throat as he picks up the pace. He leans back a little to stare down at me, watching as he plays my body to sweet perfection. My breasts jiggle between us and he dips his head, drawing one of the peaks into his mouth and sucking, letting it go with a pop.
“God, Ace,” I pant. “It feels…”
“I know, baby.” He grips my jaw, tilting my head to one side and dragging his tongue up my throat. “I know. I’ll never forget this,” he whispers, so quietly I barely hear him.
“Good thing you won’t have to.”
Because I already can’t wait to do this again.
“Yeah, that’s right, Remi. Princess, you’re mine now.” Ace stares down at me with those cool blue eyes of his and I begin to tremble. It feels different like this, a lingering sensation off in the distance that I can’t quite grasp.
“Ace, I need… more.” He slips a hand between our bodies, finding my clit, strumming in a rhythm that has me crying his name.
“You should see yourself like this. My dirty little prep school princess giving it up to the big bad wolf.” He drives harder, pushing my body up the bed. Our moans fill the space, breathy desperate moans. Our bodies slide together, slick with sweat and drenched in lust.
“I’m close,” he groans, kissing me hard. Our tongues tangle as we race towards the edge. His hands are everywhere, in my hair, around my throat, squeezing and kneading my breasts. I can’t breathe. Can’t think.
Ace consumes me.
He’s not just branding me, he’s claiming me. He’s ruining me for all other men. Not that I want anyone else.
I only want him.
“Fuck, this will never be enough.” He slides a hand underneath my butt and lifts me, slamming into me with brute force. My eyes sting with tears, but I’m too lost in sensation to care.
“Come for me, Princess. Come all over my cock.” Ace clamps his teeth around my nipple and I fall, my walls squeezing him tight.
“Fuuuuuck,” he hisses, stilling inside me.
My heart beats wildly in my chest, my body sore in the most delicious way. I know he’s probably left marks. Bite marks, and bruises where his fingers dug into my hip a little too hard. But I loved every second of it.
Silence envelops us as we both ride the lingering high. Ace buries his face in my neck, tenderly kissing my damp skin. Eventually, he gets up and disposes of the condom. When he comes back to bed, I snuggle into his side.
“Hey,” I ask, brushing my fingers through his hair.
He’s too quiet.
Too still.
“Are you okay?”
Slowly, Ace lifts his head, giving me his eyes. “Better than fine.” He gives me a wolfish grin, but something about it feels off. “Everything is exactly as it’s supposed to be.”
My brows knit, a strange tingle rolling up my spine. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Relax, Princess. Everything was great.”
My stomach knots at the coolness in his voice.
“Did I… do something wrong?” I whisper. He’s no longer looking at me adoringly—he’s looking at me with utter disappointment.
I push away from him and sit up, pulling the sheet up my body. “Ace?” I say when he doesn’t reply.
He sits up too, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed giving me his back. His head hangs low as if something is wrong.
“I thought this is what you wanted? I thought—“
He looks over at me and my heart sinks. An evil smirk graces his face. “You made it so fucking easy.”
“W-what? I don’t understand. I thought we—“
“You thought what, huh? That we’d ride off into the sunset? That I’d follow you to some fancy ass college on good old Uncle James’ money?”
“Ace, please.” Pain splinters down my chest. This isn’t my Ace. It isn’t the boy who just made me feel things I’ve never felt before.
It isn’t.
Yet, I see nothing but honesty in his eyes.
“You played me?” I say slowly, the pieces of this surreal nightmare slowly falling into place. “I’m just part of your game to get back at James? You… used me.” I pull the sheet closer, hating that I can still feel his touch branded on my skin.
“Answer me!” I yell, anger vibrating beneath my skin.
“What can I say, Princess? It was so fucking easy.”
“You bastard.” I lunge at him, my palm cracking across his cheek. Ace’s eyes flare, and before I can stop him he pushes me down on the bed, covering my body with his.
“You were begging for it. Begging for a taste of the bad boy. Don’t pretend you weren’t using me for your own ends, too.”
“You think I used you? I fucking fell for you, you bastard.” I try to slap him again, but Ace snags my wrist, slamming my hand down beside my head. Pain jerks along my arm, but I don’t scream.
I won’t.
“You’re lying,” I say, ready to call him out on his bullshit. Whatever game he’s playing is some kind of cruel defense mechanism. He’s hurting over his uncle, and I’m his punching bag.
“There’s no way this has all been fake,” I grit out. “I’ve been right there beside you. Every kiss, every touch… you feel it, Ace, I know you do.”
A dark chuckle rumbles in his chest, setting my teeth on edge. “I know I get you wet. And I knew it was only a matter of time before you gave it up. You’re like a lost sheep, Princess. Starved of attention and ripe for the taking.”
Tears burn the backs of my eyes as I try desperately not to cry. “I trusted you,” I scream. “I defended you to my mom, to James. I fucking chose you, and this is how you repay me?”
Ace rears back, standing up. His eyes are narrowed, but his expression is clouded with something… indecision… regret, I don’t know, because all I can focus on is the pain coiled around my heart.
I sit up, pulling the sheet back around my naked body. “I guess Conner didn’t tell you yet, but I told James to keep his check. I never wanted his money.” Sadness coats my words. “If I go to college it’ll be on my terms and because I worked my ass off to get there.”
“Bullshit. You‘d be a fool not to take it.”
“Not if it costs me you,” I admit quietly. He doesn’t deserve the words, but I say them anyway. Because I’m tired of pretending. I’m tired of always holding in how I feel, and what I’ve been through.
“You were right about my mom’s ex-boyfriend,” I say around a sad smile. “He tried to touch me. It started off as harmless hugs, stroking my hair, telling me what a good girl I was. But then he’d corner me whenever Mom was out of the room. His hands would dig into my hip a little too hard and he’d press up against me, whispering in my ear how much he liked my outfit. How much he’d like to see what was underneath.”
Ace’s jaw clenches, anger radiating off him. But I don’t stop. I need to tell him this.
I need to finally tell someone this.
“One night, they came home drunk. Mom passed out on the couch, and I hid out in the bedroom to avoid him. It was too late by the time I realized he was in my room. I’ve never been so scared in my entire life. I can still remember his fingers slipping under my pajamas and stroking my skin.” Bile rushes up my throat, and I take a deep breath. “He was going to rape me, I saw it right there in his eyes. Thankfully, Mom woke up and started causing a fuss. It scared him enough to leave me alone. I started sleeping over at Bexley’s a lot after that.”
“That fucker tried to rape you?” Ace’s eyes are as dark as night, his fist curled at his sides.
I nod. “I closed off after that. The few friends I did have at school started backing off, and I shrank into the shadows. Bexley hit puberty and got hormones and started wanting things I couldn’t give him. And then you came along.” Bitterness clings to my words.
Clutching the sheet to my body, I stand so that I’m face to face with him. “You’re not wrong. Part of me did use you at the start, but not in the way you think.” My voice trembles. I want to know what he’s thinking. How he sees me now he knows the truth. “You didn’t give me time to get in my head about stuff, you just took it. It’s messed up, but I think, in a way, I needed that. I needed someone else to be in control.”
“Shit, Remi, that is fucking messed up. You make me sound like a woman beater.”
I flinch at the severity in his tone. I hate that he calls me Remi, as if the future is already decided between us. But it could be worse, he could already be long gone.
“That’s not what I mean.” I release a weary sigh. “I always knew I could say no to you and you wouldn’t push me. But I didn’t want to say no, and that’s because, whether you want to admit it or not, Ace, there is something real between us. I know you feel it.”
He has to. Because I’m not sure what I’ll do if he doesn’t.
A beat passes, the weight of my secret heavy above us. Ace is as white as a sheet, his body vibrating with rage. “You should have told me,” he grinds out.
“Would it have changed anything?”
“Shit, Remi, the things I did to you—“
“I didn’t tell you so you’d feel guilty, I told you because I want you to understand that this isn’t a game to me. It’s the most real thing I’ve felt in a long time.”
He searches my eyes for something, and for a split second, I think I’ve reached him. But when he takes a step back, his stone mask sliding into place, I know I’ve lost him.
“You were just a toy to me,” he says coldly. “A means to an end with a little fun in between.”
“I don’t believe you. You took me to your home, introduced me to your friends.”
“Who, Cruz and D? Nah.” He brushes a finger over his jaw, letting it linger on his bottom lip. “They’re not my real crew. My real crew would eat a pretty thing like you alive.”
“So that’s it then?” Disappointment rolls through me. “You’re going to throw away a shot at something real because you’re too chickenshit to prove people wrong?”
He takes a big step forward until he’s looming over me. “Begging looks good on you, Remi. Maybe I should rethink my—”
Crack.
The sting of palm against his face has adrenaline pumping through me. “Get out.”
“Is that it? You’re done? I’ve got to say I’m disappointed. I thought you had a little more fight left in you.”
“What’s the point in fighting for something you already lost?” I press my lips together, tipping my chin in defiance. I’m one step away from falling apart, but I refuse to give him the satisfaction. “You should go.”
“Isn’t that my line?” he taunts. My Ace is gone. I realize that now. This imposter is cruel and cold and callous. His words cut, but his cowardice cuts deeper.
“Unless you want me to call your uncle and tell him exactly what kind of piece of shit he’s let into his home, I suggest you leave.” My eyes flick to my cell phone on the nightstand.
“Have it your way, Princess. I’ve got places to be, anyway.” He starts pulling on clothes.
A rogue tear slips down my cheeks as I hug the sheet to my body. I can’t believe this is the same night as when I first arrived.
I trusted Ace with a piece of my heart, and he ripped it out of my chest and crushed it with his bare hands.
And he still. Doesn’t. Care.
When he’s dressed, he grabs his cell and starts for the door. “So that’s really how you want to leave it?” I call.
He pauses at the last second and glances back at me. “I don’t think there’s anything left to say, do you?”
“I guess not.”
“Happy Birthday, Princess.” He smirks. “Thanks for the ride.”
Ace stalks out of the room without looking back, taking my bloodied, broken heart with him.
