Ace’s tongue presses against the seam of my lips for entrance, and I open to him. Our tongues collide, and all I can feel is his hard body pressed against mine, his hand in my hair holding me in place so he can ravage me from the inside out. He’s driving me to a new place—a wonderful realm full of heat and passion.
My core tightens, and I press harder against him to let him know that I want more, that I need more. He breaks the kiss, and a chuckle fills the air. I’m breathless, my heart racing, my lungs heaving with every breath I take. I imagine my cheeks are flush as well. Ace looks unaffected, minus the darkness filled in his eyes.
“You’re so needy, my sweet little kitten.” His tongue flicks across my bottom lip, and I shiver. “I like that. Your desire. It’s delicious on my tongue.” I moan a little bit as he drives his hips forward, and I can feel the outline of his cock. “What is it that you want?” he demands.
That’s an easy enough answer. “You.” I whisper my reply, wondering when I became this woman who tells a man what she wants. I’ve never been so bold. But this man makes me feel different. I don’t know if it’s courage or just the lack of inhibitions.
A devilish smirk tugs the sides of Ace’s lips up, and I swear if my panties weren’t already near combustion, they would be now.
“I’ve thought about what it would be like to fuck you since the night my men brought you into my office,” he confesses. The crude words don’t dampen my ardor. In fact, hearing him say that only serves to make me wetter. I repress another moan as he drags the side of his cheek against mine, the rough scratch of his beard stubble making me shiver. “I want to hear you scream my name, see what you look like as you fall apart on my cock. Tonight…” Is he panting? Good. It feels powerful to know I’m not the only one affected by the atmosphere he’s created between us. “You looked absolutely magnificent while I fingered your pretty pussy, kitten. Watching you shatter all around my hand, then looking at your face as I took my own pleasure, was a mere taste of what I want. Imagine what you’ll look like with my cock inside you? My cum dripping out of you…”
I’m caught up in this man, and I’m afraid of what might happen if things go wrong. My heart hammers against my ribs.
“Ace,” a male voice calls across the room. Startled, I jump into Ace’s arms and immediately try to pull away as my face flames ever hotter. Holy crap, we weren’t alone? Ace doesn't let me get far, though, as he drags me back against his front until my breasts are pressed against him.
I blink, and my gaze ping-pongs between him and the sudden intruder who stands in a nearby doorway. Shock covers me as I note the man’s face and stature. They have to be related. They’re too similar in looks not to be. There just can’t be that many handsome men with dangerously dark eyes, twisted masculine lips, and sharp jawlines in the world.
“What is it?” Ace growls toward the nameless man while one of his arms wraps protectively around my middle, keeping me still.
“We found the girl. The right one this time.”
I blink, suddenly realizing what that means. The haze of lust that had descended upon me at Ace’s words dissipates as reality sinks back in. They have Leanna, I realize. They found her.
Panic bubbles to the surface, and I turn to Ace with fear taking over as my hands reach up and my fingers sink into the fabric of his shirt.
“Ace, please … you don’t have to do this. Just let her go. Let her go, and we can go upstairs and spend the night together,” I say quickly.
He looks from the man, then down at me, the same darkness from that night dancing in his blue eyes. “I wish that were true, but it isn’t. I can’t let her go, Cara.”
The finality of his words is like a knife to the heart. My mouth goes dry, and I don’t think I can handle knowing what he’s about to do.
“I have to handle this,” he says, pulling away from me. A mask falls into place over his face, and I’m left chilled at the loss of his body heat. The sound of his shoes as they click over the floor fills the room. “Stay with her, and make sure she doesn’t go anywhere.”
I turn around and glare at him, angry that he thinks he can keep me here while he goes and does whatever the hell he plans to do. Still, I keep my mouth shut, pressing my lips into a firm line. Ace gives me one last look before he disappears down the dark hallway.
It takes me all of half a second to develop a plan once he’s out of sight.
The man Ace ordered to watch me remains standing in the same spot. He pulls out his phone, and I tuck a long strand of hair behind my ear. Nervous anxiety pulses through my veins. What will Ace do to me if he catches me trying to escape?
“I-I have to go to the bathroom,” I tell the man.
He looks up from his phone and pins me to the floor with a single stare. I don’t know if I can do this. I’m not daring or over the top.
“You don’t need my permission to use the bathroom. Just don’t think about leaving, and we won’t have a problem.”
I nod and swallow around the golf ball-sized knot in my throat. “Can you tell me where it is?” I pray that it’s in the direction Ace just went.
The man hooks a thumb toward the hall behind him, and I almost jump with glee. Instead, I barely manage to keep my lips pressed together as I walk toward him and then down the hall.
My heart thumps wildly in my chest. I have no idea where I’m going or what I’m doing. Only that I need to get out of this house and save Leanna. At the end of the long hallway is a door. I peer over my shoulder to see if the man has turned around or is following me, but it’s just me and the darkness.
Then I hear it. On the other side of the door is a faint cry, followed by words I can’t quite make out.
I know I should stay put and that I’m risking my own life by intervening, but I don’t know that I could really be with Ace if he actually went through with hurting her. With shaking fingers, I grab the door handle, and I open it, obviously not ready for what I find on the other side.