Letting out a cry, I got up from the floor and ran to him. His strong arms wrapped around me like protective wings as soon as I reached him. I shook in his chest as hot tears ran down my cheeks. With my heart still pounding from panic, knees weak, I clung to him as if my life depended on him.
“Rosebud?” he called out. “Hey, hey! Baby, look at me, are you all right? What happened? What did he do? Tell me.” Cupping my face, he attempted to make me look at him, but I hid my face in his warm chest again, still trembling.
“He… he…” I hiccupped between sobs, unable to form any words. His arms tightened around me.
I felt him turn rigid, his muscles tensed. His breathing came out heavy.
“WHAT DID YOU DO?” Deep Greek accent echoed in his voice, tone darker and rougher than I had ever heard. “What have you done to my Rosebud?”
The malice in his voice would’ve sent a shiver down my spine if I wasn’t too absorbed in my own shock. My hold only tightened around him.
“She’s not yours! She’s my girlfriend! You stole her from me!” Warner’s slurred reply reached my ears. “I was just trying to get what’s rightfully—”
He didn’t get to finish the line as Ace untangled me from him and stormed towards him, connecting his fist with Warner’s jaw. A faint crack reached my ears. With a hiss, when he fell to the ground, Ace grabbed his collar and pulled him up.
“You fucking piece of shit! You dared to touch my Rosebud!” His thunderous roar echoed throughout the hotel room, making me flinch. His almost dark orbs flared with untamed rage, redness spread across his face and neck when the veins of his temple stood up with him shaking with anger.
“Let go of me, you bastard! I’ll kill—” Warner let out a cry when Ace’s polished shoe met his stomach. And as if a demon was unleashed inside him, he didn’t stop.
“You’ll regret the moment you were born in this world! How dare you touch her! Even after I warned you twice, you still dared to come near her!” Blinded with fury, he continuously punched Warner’s already bloodied face. Warner’s whimpers and yelling out in agony went unheard by him as he twisted his arm and kicked him in the stomach again, making Warner cough out blood.
“I’ll fucking destroy you!” he roared again.
Clutching the door frame to stand straight with my wobbling knees, I called out for him. “Ace… stop!”
But my voice didn’t reach him. Employees of the hotel rushed inside the room, hearing the chaos. But no one seemed to have enough courage to get close to him.
Warner whimpered as Ace delivered another punch against his jaw.
“Ace! Please, stop!” My voice cracked. “Stop it! You’ll kill him!”
I didn’t want to stay here anymore. I just needed his arms around me right now. I wanted him to get me away from this place.
“He dared to touch you! I’ll fucking kill him!”
Some of the hotel employees finally went forward and tried to get him off Warner, but he shrugged them away and went for him again.
“Ace, please! I-I need you.” More tears sprung out of my eyes as I slid down on the floor. “Please, stop!”
And that got his attention as his murderous gaze fell on me. Realization of my need for him flashed over his features. Soon, concern took the place of his anger. Throwing Warner on the floor, he rushed to me and scooped me in his arms.
“Rosebud, I’m so sorry, baby! I’m here! Everything will be all right!” he said, pulling me into his chest.
Though his voice was soft, the anger was still there. He placed his lips on my forehead as I let out a whimper.
“No one will come near to you. I won’t let anyone touch even a strand of your hair, my Rosebud. I promise you that! Don’t cry, baby.”
The chaos around the room and people’s whispers went vague in my ears. I only concentrated on his soothing voice.
“Get me out of here,” I whispered. My hands clutched his shirt.
Nodding, he stood with me in his arms. My head didn’t move away from his chest, nor did my grip on him loosened.
“Let’s go home.” Placing another kiss on my forehead, he walked out of the room. And I didn’t dare look back.
Reaching the penthouse, he carried me straight to the bathroom. Throughout the whole car ride, I didn’t move away from his arms. Nor did he say anything. The journey was quiet, but his soothing, slow rubbing on my back, lingering soft kisses on my head and forehead, and the tight grip of his arms around me gave me comfort.
When he tried to put me down, my arms tightened around his neck as a protest. A whimper left my lips.
“I’m not going anywhere, baby. I’ll be right here with you. Let me run you a shower,” he murmured.
Hesitantly, I nodded as he put me down on my legs.
“Lift your arms?” he asked, clutching the ends of my dress.
I obeyed. As he pulled the dress off me, I shivered at the frigid air that generated goosebumps across my skin. I tried to hug myself again, but he didn’t let me. Instead, he unhooked my bra and let it fall on the ground, my panties followed next.
Instead of hiding myself from his eyes, I wrapped my arms around him again. Staying away from his warmth for this long was bringing back fear in me. Fear of the man I never thought I’d loath even the slightest in my wildest dreams.
Picking up my bare and trembling body in his arms again, he walked us inside the shower and gently placed me down on my feet. Undressing himself, he joined me and let the soothing warm water pour on us.
I stayed quiet as he squeezed some shampoo in his palm and started to wash my hair, gently massaging my scalp. A hiss left my lips when his hands went to the back of my head, where Warner had pulled at my hair harshly.
His shoulders tensed at my reaction. A muscle of his jaw ticked. Gray eyes flashed. But he put on his calm mask again and went extra careful with the back of my head.
No matter how much he stayed normal, I knew the storm that was building inside him. I knew even if he said everything was all right, it wasn’t for him.
My hands were firmly clutched on his waist as he shampooed my hair. I continuously needed his touch at that moment. No matter how much I tried to close off the memories from back at the hotel in my mind, they kept rushing back.
I could still feel his hands on me, his lips on my jaw, cheek and neck, his strong smell of alcohol. His harsh touch and violent behavior.
My stomach clenched at the memories that flashed over my mind, bile raised in my throat. I felt disgusted. I felt dirty with the way he tried to touch me.
Tears started to blur my vision again as I rubbed my arms and face harshly, trying to rinse off his touch from my skin.
“Rosebud? What are you doing?” he asked, gripping my wrists. “Stop it.”
I tried to break free. I needed to wash myself. I needed to clean myself off from his touch.
My tears washed away with the restless water as I fought against him, but he only pulled me into his chest and wrapped his arms around me.
“Calm down, baby. Everything will be fine. I’m here with you. Nothing will happen to you, I promise. Just calm down,” he said, rubbing my back.
I couldn’t stop the sob that broke out of me. Clutching him harder, I cried my heart out in his chest. And he let me.
“I-I trusted him. I thought he was my friend. I-I never thought he could do something like that to me…” I spoke out through my hiccups.
His hold tightened. “Shh, don’t cry, baby. Don’t waste your tears on someone like him. It’s not your fault that you trusted him. He was always there for you until…” with a deep breath, he gritted out, “he showed his true color. But don’t worry, Rosebud. He can’t hurt you anymore. You won’t see his face ever again. I promise you that.”
Snuggling against his chest, I hid my face in the crook of his neck.
Then he lathered soap on my body, washing every part of me with utmost care. Once finished with the shower, he towel dried my hair and body, and carried me into the bedroom.
When he finished dressing both of us, he made me sit on the bed.
“Stay here, let me get something for you to eat.”
I shook my head. “I’m not hungry. I want to sleep.”
I was exhausted. Mentally and physically. Mostly emotionally. I wanted to sleep and forget about everything.
“But—”
“Please.” My voice came out croaky.
Sighing, he nodded. Walking closer, he arranged the pillows and laid me down before moving the blanket over me. I grabbed his hand, making his eyes snap to mine. Though he was calm, the fire in his gray orbs was clear. This was the calm before another storm rose.
“Sleep with me?”
He leaned in and kissed my temple. “You don’t have to ask.”
Turning the lights off, he slipped under the blanket with me and pulled me into him, not wasting a second. But something didn’t feel right.
“No clothes,” I complained.
Letting out a low chuckle, he moved away slightly and discarded his T-shirt. Next went mine, the only thing I had on.
When my palm felt his sculpted chest, firm abs, and strong broad shoulders, and when our skin touched as he hugged me to himself, I let out a sigh of content.
The feel of him against me, his skin against mine, made me relax. I loved to sleep with him topless and he knew it. It always soothed me. It gave me more closeness with him. Not only physically, but also emotionally. And tonight, I needed him more than anything.
His big, calloused hand roamed over my hips and back. A silence fell over us. Even while lying down with me, his form didn’t relax.
“D-do you hate me?” I whispered.
Under the dimmed light, I found his brows furrowed. “What? Why are you asking such a thing, Rosebud?”
I gulped. “F-for what happened back in the hotel… he-he tried to force himself on me. You must feel disgusted…”
“Rosebud…” he warned.
“I swear he couldn’t do much. H-he…”
“Enough.” He cut me off, hovering over me. “How could you assume I’d ever think something like that? It was not your fault. Even if he really did something, which he couldn’t because you fought him bravely, I’d never feel disgusted by you. Never. I’ll always love you and support you no matter what, Emerald. Always keep that in your mind.”
My lower lip trembled. “Then why haven’t you kissed me yet?”
It was always me who had to push him away to take some breath because he wouldn’t leave my lips and chest alone when he would finally get me all to himself at night. But tonight, he didn’t try to kiss me even once, not even a peck on my lips.
A sigh left him. Pressing his forehead against mine, he bumped his nose with mine. “Because I didn’t want to do anything reckless out of my desperation that’d trigger something for you.”
His words surged warmth through my heart.
I shook my head, circling my arms around his neck. “You’re not him. Your touch would never trigger something for me. The only thing it can do is soothe me. Make my heart feel content.”
Letting out a breath, he cupped my cheeks. “You want me to kiss you?”
I nodded.
“My queen’s wish is my command.”
And then his lips were on mine. Capturing my mouth into a passionate knee weakening kiss, he pulled me closer. It wasn’t his regular kiss, hard and demanding. It was slow, soothing, yet possessive. The kind of kiss that would make anyone forget anything.
Wrapping my legs around his waist, I clung to him and enjoyed his kiss as much as I could, forgetting everything for a moment. His touch made me forget. Only he could do that to me.
Pressing a firm kiss on my lips one last time, he pulled me back into his chest. I placed my head over his heart. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat calmed my own.
“Thank you.”
“What for?” he asked.
“F-for always being there for me. For coming at the right moment to save me.” A single tear left my eye. I shuddered at the thought of what could have happened if he hadn’t arrived in time.
I could feel him shaking his head. “I’ll always be there, no matter what. But you don’t need me to save you. You can do that yourself. You were doing it pretty good. He was hissing in pain when I broke in.”
Though he tried to lighten my mood, I could feel the edge in his voice. I could hear his need to destroy something. Destroy Warner.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Now what’s that for?” He played with my hair.
“For everything. For forcing you to tell me everything about your past, for not understanding your pain and… for leaving like that. If I hadn’t left, this wouldn’t have happened. I wouldn’t have gone to meet him if not for his message. He was leaving LA tonight and wanted to meet me. So, I went there.”
I knew he wanted to know why I went to meet him again. What happened out there. But he decided against it. The thing that he respected and cared about my situation made me fall more in love with him.
“It’s not your fault, Rosebud. You didn’t know his true intentions.” One of his hands ran over my back. “And… you don’t need to say sorry to me for earlier tonight. I shouldn’t have lied to you. And those words that I spit out…” He let out a sigh, his voice held pain. “I’m so sorry, baby. I was so lost in jealousy and anger that I didn’t know what I was saying. You don’t know what the mere thought of you leaving me does to me. I-I was scared of losing you. To him.” At the mention of Warner, his arms tightened around me. “And there was also the fear that after you find out the whole truth about my past, which is your right to know, you’ll leave me. The fear, the jealousy, both surrounded my mind so much I couldn’t see how I was hurting my Rosebud. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean a word. I do trust you, baby. I trust you more than I trust myself.”
His words lifted a burden off my chest. Just the word ‘trust’ changed everything.
I was right. His jealousy and insecurities were the reason behind his behavior. But no matter how much I wanted to ask why he felt that way, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t make the same mistake again. I’d give him the space he needed. No matter how eager I was.
“It’s all right. I understand,” I said, kissing his chest. “I was just hurt when I asked you if you trusted me and you didn’t say anything. That hurt the most.”
“There’s no one in this world I trust more than you. You’re the only one who matters to me.” He brushed his lips against my brows.
I sighed, snuggling against him. “I just needed to hear that.” A smile tugged at my lips. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” He pulled me closer.
When some moments passed without another word, I thought our conversation for the night was over. And this conversation helped take my mind off the incident tonight. I thought I could at least sleep in peace in his arms now, until he opened his mouth again, snatching every bit of sleepiness from my eyes.
“You want to know everything, right? Everything about my past, about my father’s murder?”
My heart ran faster as I nodded, not saying anything.
“I’ll tell you everything. Everything you want to know.”
