Chapter 16: Taunt Her: Chapter 16

I wake to the sound of drums. No, that isn’t right.

Ugh.

My head.

What the hell happened?

I lie as still as a statue, staring up at the ceiling, trying to piece together the night before.

The pep rally.

My plan to ruin Michaela’s night and make Ace jealous.

Bexley.

Oh god, Bexley.

A wave of nausea hits me, and I scramble out of bed, almost tripping over my own feet. Rushing into the unfamiliar bathroom, I drop down and dry heave into the bowl.

Bexley tried to…

Shame burns through me. If I hadn’t gone there dressed like a cheer slut, rubbing myself all over him—

No.

I steel myself. Nothing I said or did or wore excuses what he did—what he tried to do.

Finally convinced nothing is going to make a reappearance, I sink back against the tiles, giving myself a second to calm down. Pulling myself up, I run the faucet and splash my face with cold water. I’m a mess. My hair is damp and matted, and I have last night’s mascara still caked around my eyes. I frantically search the cabinet for supplies. Relieved when I discover toothpaste, a new toothbrush, and a packet of facial wipes, I set to work on making myself feel human.

But even when I’m done, I still want to die.

Movement from behind me startles me, and then it hits me.

I have no fucking idea where I am.

Crap.

My heart races in my chest as I tiptoe out of the small bathroom and back into the bedroom. The air is sucked clean from my lungs when I find Ace sound asleep in bed—the bed I just ran from.

Oh god… did we?

No way. I would know if Ace had touched me. I’d feel…

.

“Stop overthinking,” he grumbles, cracking an eye open at me.

“What the hell—“

“It’s early, I’m tired.” His hand slides to the empty space beside him and pats the mattress. “Come back to bed.”

“You’re more deluded than I thought if you think I’m going to—“

“Stop making everything so fucking difficult and come back to bed, Princess.” His voice is heavy with sleep. Ace shifts onto his back, throwing an arm behind his head. His eyes are closed, and the rise and fall of his chest is heavy.

I can’t help but smile. He’s out cold again but looks so adorable—if adorable comes gift-wrapped in ink and shredded with muscle.

But as I watch him sleep, reality crashes down around me. Why am I here, in what I finally realize is James’ pool house?

Ace brought me here, that much is obvious.

But why?

Spotting my cell phone on the nightstand, I grab it and check for messages. There’s one from Mom, worried that I’m not in my bed. I quickly text her back and tell her I stayed at the dorms with Hadley. Speaking of my only friend, I open the text message from her.

I glance over at Ace again. The sheet is thrown over his waist, but his upper body is on full display. Even in sleep he frowns, emanating danger. But his body is a work of art, literally. He’s so beautiful it hurts to look at him. And despite how he treated me, I want nothing more than to crawl back into bed with him and soak up his presence.

He’s almost as bad as Bexley.

I place my cell phone back down and, without overthinking it, slip back into bed beside Ace. I lie on my side, watching him. He doesn’t move, his gentle snores filling the room. It’s still early, and I have no desire to go home and face Mom. Not yet.

Smiling to myself, I turn over and close my eyes. I’m teetering on the edge of sleep when a hand curves around my hip and drags me backwards. Ace’s body fits against mine as if we’re two pieces of a complicated puzzle. He rests his chin on my shoulder. “Sleep,” he whispers, his warm breath fanning my ear.

And this time, I listen.

When I wake again, Ace is gone. If it wasn’t for the trickle of the shower coming from the bathroom, I might think it was all a dream.

I find a glass of water and some Advil next to my cell phone. For someone who acts like he doesn’t care, he sure is thoughtful.

There’s a slight drum in my head still, but nothing compared to earlier. A different sensation is vibrating through me, knowing Ace is on the other side of the door, naked, hot water sluicing down his cut abs. Even after the shitty way he treated me, I crave his touch. I’m like an addict chasing their next high. Needy. Desperate.

A slave to the cause.

I know I’ll probably regret it later, but right now, I don’t care.

Throwing back the sheet, I pad out of bed and move toward the bathroom door. It’s slightly ajar, tendrils of steam melting into nothing as they meet the cooler air. Without thinking, I slip inside.

Ace has his back to me as he cleans himself. The taut muscles in his back and shoulders ripple with every movement. Before I chicken out, I pull the t-shirt off my body. It’s one of those big walk-in showers we used to have in the old house, so he doesn’t feel me approach.

At least, I think he doesn’t until he grits out, “If you’re coming in here, you’d better mean it.”

Feeling a lick of confidence shoot up my spine, I curve a hand around his hip, letting it trace down his V-line and fall to his cock. It’s at half mast, thick and heavy in my hand. “Jesus,” he groans as I close my fingers around him and start pumping.

Ace’s head drops as he slams a hand against the tile. His cock swells between my fingers as I go faster, slowing at the top and running my thumb over the bead of pre-cum. He hisses, cussing into the waterfall. I don’t really know what I’m doing, but he seems to like it, and I like watching this big, powerful guy at my mercy.

“Shit, Remi, yeah, just like that,” he groans as I jack him harder. He begins thrusting into my hand as I press my body up against his, desperate for some friction. Anything to relieve the ache deep in my belly.

“It feels so fucking good.” One of his hands covers mine, forcing me to squeeze him harder, sliding our joined fingers all the way down his shaft and back up again in a punishing rhythm.

“I knew the first time I laid eyes on you, I was going to enjoy corrupting you,” he chokes out. “Fuck, Remi, I’m going to come.” Ace rips away from me and grasps his cock. His large hand lands on my shoulder and forces me to lower myself before he shoots himself all over my breasts.

“Ace!” I shriek.

“Needed to dirty you up a little, Princess.” He reaches out, letting his thumb trail his sticky release all over me. I let out a breathy moan when he brushes my nipple.

“Fuck, you look good like that.” He advances toward me, hunger simmering in his eyes. But I stand quickly, inching back.

“Why’d you do it?”

A frown crinkles his face. “Do what?”

“Really? That’s how you want to play this?”

Ace rushes toward me, pushing me up against the tiles with his body. “No,” he dips his head, licking my throat. “What I really want is to brand you again. It seems that fucker Bexley didn’t get the message the first time around.”

He sucks my skin hard, grazing his teeth there. “You were playing a dangerous game last night, Princess.” Ace sucks harder, and I know he’s going to leave a mark. “You. Are. Mine.”

“God, Ace,” I mewl because it feels so damn good, even when I know it shouldn’t. My fingers slide into his hair, pulling hard. “Tell me you don’t feel this… tell me.”

There’s something between us.

It’s dark and delicious, and I can’t get enough.

Even if he is a total asshole most of the time.

“I feel this.” He smirks against my neck as his hands run over my body, sliding between us and finding my sweet spot.

“God,” I gasp as his finger dips inside me.

“You like that?” He gives me his eyes and I nod, barely able to hold on as his finger works in tandem with his thumb.

“I’m not a good guy, Princess. I don’t do hearts and flowers and all that fucking bullshit”. He adds another finger, curling them inside me in a way that makes my knees go weak. I grab his arm, steadying myself, and he chuckles darkly.

“Yeah, ride my hand, Remi. Show me how much you want it.” His eyes are blown with lust.

“More,” I pant, “I need…more.”

Ace drops to his knees, licking my navel. I gasp at the new sensations. Water trickles down on us, making everything so much more intense.

I stare down at him. He looks so playful, grinning up at me. “I’m going to make you shatter,” he promises, and then his tongue is on my clit, licking and sucking and pushing me off a cliff so high I fall and fall and fall.

“Ace, fuck,” I breathe. But he doesn’t let up, working me with his tongue and fingers until I’m a boneless mess. Another orgasm crests, crashing over me with such force I scream his name.

Kissing up my stomach, Ace eventually meets my gaze once more. “Better?” His pierced brow lifts.

“I think you ruined me.”

Something flashes in his eyes, but it quickly melts away, replaced with a smirk. “Ever tasted yourself, Princess?”

“Wha—“

Ace captures my lips, shoving his tongue deep in my mouth and wrapping it with my own. I can taste myself on him, and it’s so fucking sexy.

“Suck,” he demands, easing away and slipping his finger into my mouth. I make a show of it, licking him clean.

“Good girl. Next time, if you’re lucky, it’ll be my cock.”

Heat pulses through me. I already want him again. But this is crazy.

crazy.

“We need to get cleaned up,” I say, pushing him away so I can slip further under the water.

I need a second.

Ace is a lot.

My feelings for him are a lot.

“Hey,” he says, his hands curving my waist and holding me close against his body. “Are you—“

“I’m fine. I just don’t know where I stand with you. You drive me insane.”

“What do you feel when I touch you?” His finger skates down my neck between the valley of my breasts and dips inside my navel. It’s so erotic, a needy moan slips from my lips.

“I feel… alive.”

. I swallow the words.

“Then does it need to be anything else?”

I tilt my head back to look at him, but Ace is lying in wait. He fixes his mouth over mine and kisses me.

Slow.

Tender.

And everything I don’t expect it to be.

I want to believe he feels it too. That he needs this as much as I do. But I know there’s still so much I don’t know about the blue-eyed boy from the Heights.

I want to, though.

If he’ll only drop his walls long enough for me to burrow inside.

We hang out at the pool house for the rest of the day. I’m not sure how it happened, but Conner came out to check on us and ended up staying. Then Cole appeared a bit later, so here we are, the four of us camped out in front of the TV watching reruns of .

James is away for business again, but I only know because Mom mentioned it yesterday.

“Refill, anyone?” Conner asks, clambering to his feet. He’s on a beanbag on the floor, with Cole in the chair and me and Ace on the couch. I’m curled up on end, my feet in his lap.

“Me, please.” I hold up my glass and he lets out a little huff.

“Is this how it’s gonna be now? The three of us waiting on the princess?” I can’t see his face, but I do catch Ace glaring at him.

“And I thought you enjoyed being the little bitch boy,” Cole grumbles.

“Fuck you, man. Just because you’re a Seahawk now. Hey, does that mean you’ll get a letterman jacket? I can just picture it now. Our little brother, rubbing shoulders with Sterling Prep elite in his new shiny—“

“Knock it off, Con,” Ace grunts. “I’m watching this.”

“I did not have you down for a fan,” I snicker.

“What the fuck did you just say?”

“

,” I enunciate each word. “I figured you’d be more of a kind of guy, or . Yeah, that’s more like it.” I flash him a knowing smile, but he doesn’t return it.

“Isn’t that the one with the gang banger who fucks the rich bitch—“

“Con!” Ace and Cole both yell.

“Yeah, yeah, no swearing in front of the princess.” He returns with my soda and flops back down on the beanbag.

“Hey, Conner,” I say and he looks over at me. “Go fuck yourself.”

Ace howls with laughter, and even Cole cracks a smile.

“She’s trouble, Ace.” Conner flips me off and I poke my tongue out at him. “This is the life, huh?” He relaxes back against the bag. “No adults to tell us what to do, no leaky rotten trailer, and we have a fully stocked refrigerator. I know James is a pretentious asshole, but you can’t deny we dropped lucky with this gig.”

Ace’s hand stiffens around my ankle, his eyes turning dark.

“It’s all right,” Cole says. “But I miss the Heights.”

Suddenly, I feel like an outsider to their conversation. Ace is pissed. Cole looks sad. And Conner is just Conner. He’s so laid back I’m surprised he can stand half the time.

“Yeah, I know,” he goes on. “But prep school pussy isn’t so bad.”

“I am right here,” I hiss.

“Good job it’s not your pussy I’m talking about then. Besides, I think Ace already staked his cla—“ I grab a cushion and throw it at his face. My cheeks burn with indignation.

“Conner,” Ace says.

“Yeah, bro?”

“Shut the fuck up.”