Broken Bonds (Unbreakable Bonds #1)

Chapter Eight

chapter eight

CELINE

There was a moment when I thought Ace was going to kiss me, but I reminded myself of what he said about me last night—I wasn’t his type; I shouldn’t get attached. But it was so hard not to, especially in these moments when he was revealing the soft, more tender part of himself.

“Wanna finish that game?” he asked, slowly sliding his arms from around me. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought he was reluctant to let me go. But I knew that was just wishful thinking. Ace wasn’t interested in me like that.

“Yes, I was going to beat you, remember?” I was thankful for the subject change. I didn’t want to talk about Aidan anymore. As it was, I felt too raw. Too splayed open. Could Ace see me bleeding everywhere from my freshly opened wounds? “Let’s get back to that.”

We played with what was left of the afternoon light. It was hard to tell what the time was since the house was now only lit by candlelight. We finished the game, and Ace won, the triumphant look he gave me making us both laugh. As he stood and stretched, I made us more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner. Our options were limited, and this was better than starving. Besides, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches weren’t the end of the world, especially if you got the ratio of peanut butter to jelly just right.

Ace made us another drink while I cleaned up the kitchen. “I’m afraid this is going to be our last drink unless you like them hot,” he chuckled, setting the drinks on the kitchen table next to our plates.

“I’m not sure I want another.” A sheepish smile tilted my lips. “I drank the others way too fast.”

“Have you ever been drunk before, princess?” For a moment, I wondered if I should lie to him, if he would judge me for never having too many drinks. But he didn’t judge me before, so why would he judge me now?

“No.” He smiled, no judgment in his gaze. He took a bite of his sandwich, not saying anything more on the subject. “These are delicious, princess. Way better than mine from earlier.”

I blushed. “How many times have you been drunk?” I asked. Ace laughed, taking a sip of his drink.

“A lot. I’ve had a lot to forget.” His voice was teasing, but there was an undercurrent of truth to his words that made me ache for him. Not wanting to pry, I just took a bite of my sandwich.

He was right—these were delicious. It must have been the extra jelly I added.

“How old are you, Ace?” I asked, changing the subject.

“I just turned twenty-two a month ago. How old are you?”

“I’m twenty. Shouldn’t you be graduating next May?” He looked uncomfortable with the question, and I wasn’t sure why.

“I started late, too—two years ago,” he explained. I wanted to pry, to ask why, but I knew better. He would be open about it if he wanted to talk about it. He hadn’t pushed me to talk about Aidan; he’d only offered to listen, and I’d taken advantage. I just hoped he knew I’d be open to listening to him, too, if he needed it.

We both finished our sandwiches, and he got up quickly, taking both our plates with him, signaling the end of that conversation.

“Hey, where are you from? You can’t be local with that southern accent you have.” I must’ve asked the wrong questions because he dropped the plate he was holding into the sink with a loud clatter that made me wince. I really hoped he hadn’t cracked the plates. My mom really liked those dishes.

“I grew up in Texas,” Ace quietly explained, his voice a little strained, “but we moved to Atlanta when I was eighteen to be closer to the rest of my mother’s family.” He shrugged. “Moved here because I needed a break from everything.”

Talking about his family seemed to make him uncomfortable, so once again, I dropped yet another subject. Clearly, something had happened, and he didn’t want to talk about it. After everything I had been through, I could understand wanting to keep secrets. Besides my family and best friend, Ace was the first person I had talked to about the accident.

“Do you have any more games in that chest? Uno, maybe?” He came to sit beside me, putting the candle from the kitchen on the coffee table in front of us.

“We should have Uno, Checkers, Mancala—oh, can we please play Mancala after Uno?” I got up to go through the game chest, quickly finding the three games I mentioned.

He chuckled at my enthusiasm. “Okay, a couple rounds of Uno, and then we finish with Mancala.”

“Deal. Prepare to lose, Asshole, because I’m the queen of these games!” He laughed loudly as I took another sip of my drink.

An hour later, everything was becoming a little fuzzy, and I was struggling to focus on the cards in my hands, the numbers blurring together. Everything Ace said sounded funny, and I couldn’t stop laughing, which made him laugh.

“I can’t see my cards.” A giggle escaped my lips.

“I think we should call it quits for tonight, princess. You’ve had a long day, and I think you’re a little drunk.”

“No! I’m having fun, and we haven’t played Mancala yet.” I stood up, swaying on my feet when the world spun. Taking a step forward, I tripped over my own feet, almost falling on my face. A giggle burst from my lips when Ace lurched up and caught me before my head could hit the corner of the coffee table.

“We can play all day tomorrow, but for now, you need to go to bed,” Ace said, his voice a little firmer this time. Why did he have to sound so hot when he was being all alpha male?

“You aren’t any fun.” I pouted, wishing he would humor me. He was holding me up now, staring into my blurry eyes. The candlelight made him look even more mysterious and handsome. His eyes were so beautiful. Why did he have to have such pretty eyes?

My phone started to ring on the coffee table, ending our moment, our eye contact breaking so fast, it left me a little dizzy. He picked it up, answering it before he handed it to me.

“Hi, Mom!” I shouted and then giggled. Ace rolled his eyes and facepalmed with a heavy sigh.

“Hi, my love. Sounds like you broke into the Captain Morgan.” She sounded highly amused. “How’s everything going?”

“We only had a few drinks, Mom. We were getting bored with water.” I heard her laugh, and it warmed my heart. I missed her so much. Why did I have to get left behind?

“Hey, Mrs. Wilson, everything is great,” Ace spoke up from beside me. I frowned at him. “There’s been no change in the weather as far as I can see, and we still have no power.”

“Ace, honey, that’s good to hear. We’ve been watching and listening to the news all day. You’re going to start to really feel the storm tonight. The winds are expected to pick up. You’re experiencing the outer bands now. Are you taking care of my daughter?” I couldn’t focus on their conversation at all because Ace’s lips had caught my attention. How did a man have such kissable lips? I loved watching him speak and hearing his sexy voice.

His tongue ran over his full lips, sending heat through my body. I wanted him to say my name over and over and kiss me with those lips, trail them over my body. He answered my mom and then bit his lip.

I wished he was biting mine instead.

Oh, my God! I shook my head at the thought. He doesn’t like me , I reminded myself. There will be no kissing.

He looked at me expectantly, and I furrowed my brow. What? I had completely zoned out. Jeez.

“Celine, honey? Did you hear me?”

Ace nudged me now, prompting an answer. “Sorry, Mom, what?”

She sighed. “No more drinks tonight. You need to go to sleep, and don’t do anything stupid. You stay inside that house. Do you hear me? The storm will be hitting you during the night and will stick around for a day or two. Then, we’re going to come home and be together, okay?”

I sighed, too, though mine was more sad than frustrated, like hers had been. “Okay. I miss you.”

“I miss you, too, baby. Can Ace still hear me?”

“Yes, Mrs. Wilson, I’m here,” Ace answered.

“Help her get to bed, Honey, and I’ll call again in the morning. I’m praying for your safety. Please, if anything happens, don’t leave her side. She can’t be left alone again.”

Ace looked at me, something unreadable in his gaze, and I was too tipsy to try to figure out what it was. “I promise I won’t leave her. I’ll protect her if it comes to that. Goodnight, Mrs. Wilson.”

“Goodnight, Honey. Celine, I love you. Dad loves you, and Ryan, too. Sleep well, my child.”

“I love you, too.” The phone went silent, and Ace looked at me expectantly again.

“Can you walk up the stairs?” I nodded, taking a step away from him, only to fall onto the couch. I burst into laughter, and he sighed. “I guess not.”

He left me there to turn off all the candles we had lit, then came back and looked at me. I smiled at him, but he didn’t smile back. “I’m going to pick you up, okay?” I nodded, waiting.

He was so gentle. One arm slid beneath my legs, and his other arm wrapped around my back. When he lifted me, bringing our faces only inches apart, my breath hitched in my throat. His lips were taunting me—so close. Licking my lips, the urge to kiss him made my lips tingle.

Carefully, Ace navigated the stairs in the dark. He almost lost his balance, and our laughter filled the humid air. I hadn’t been this happy since Aidan, honestly. I never thought I could be this happy again.

Ace gently deposited me on the bed, like I was the most fragile piece of glass, and stretched. I must have been heavy for him; I frowned, gazing down at myself. Was I heavy? I wanted to apologize, but then he looked at me, and I couldn’t remember what I wanted to say.

“Good night, princess.” He turned to head for the joint bathroom.

“Ace, wait,” I called before I could stop myself. He paused and turned around, looking at me again. I could hardly make out his face, which was going to make this easier. “I really want to kiss you,” I blurted, swallowing thickly after. His sharp inhale was loud in the quiet room. Cautiously, he took a step closer to me. I stopped breathing.

“I really want to kiss you, too, princess,” he rasped, sounding like he’d been chewing on gravel. My belly clenched, warmth pooling between my thighs at the sound of his voice. It was like pure sex. “But I promised Ryan that I wouldn’t hurt you.” With that, he left the room, not even sparing me another glance.

I never knew rejection could hurt like this.

It hurt because he wanted it, too, but his judgment wasn’t clouded like mine. Maybe in the morning, everything between us would be normal again. Maybe we’d go back to hating each other. Hopefully, we could pretend this evening and tonight had never happened.

Closing my eyes, I succumbed to sleep… where a shirtless Ace kissed me in my dreams.