Chapter 1 1

Prologue

I was six years old the day I met Ace.

I was on a cruise with my family in the Bahamas. Back then, it was just me, my mom, and my dad. Joe, my stepdad, and all the kids that came with him didn't come until much later.

I remember being happy. So, so happy. It was the first vacation we had ever been on as a family, and my parents had saved up for a long time.

My parents and I were splashing around in the pool, laughing as we enjoyed ourselves. It was the summer they taught me how to swim.

Back home, they were always so busy, especially my dad. After school every day, I went straight to daycare and wouldn't see them until late.

We spent weekends together, but I never had their full attention on me. Something always came up. Dad was definitely a workaholic, returning home late every night.

So, this vacation, with their undivided attention on me, was a dream come true.

My dad had just pulled me into his arms and was getting ready to toss me back into the water when Ace appeared next to us.

Dad paused, looking at the little boy who just stood there, staring at me, breathing deeply like he was having some sort of asthma attack or something.

Ace was always breathtaking, even as a child. There was something about him that drew you in, forcing you to stop and look.

He had short brown hair, tan skin, and piercing, dark-blue eyes-so dark that they almost seemed purple.

I remember being totally captivated by him. I felt as if he had hypnotized me and was unable to look away.

Without saying a word, Ace grabbed my arm and tugged me away from my father.

I was too transfixed to resist. It didn't seem odd that this stranger was dragging me away from my parents without explanation. It almost felt natural-like he was meant to do it.

After his startling blue eyes, the next unusual thing I noticed about Ace was the sparks. Everywhere he touched me, I felt little pleasurable pops of electricity.

I looked down at our interlocked hands in confusion. How is he doing that? Does he have magical powers or something?

"Um, excuse me, young man." My father waded forward. He put a hand on my shoulder, pulling me a step back.

Still, Ace didn't let go of me. In fact, his grip only tightened.

"Just what do you think you're doing with my daughter?"

Ace's eyes narrowed at my father, seeming to darken in color. "No," he stated, his tone final.

Ace tugged me forward, forcing my father to release me. I went crashing into Ace's chest, and he wrapped his arms around me and turned me away from my parents as if to shield me from them.

"Mine."

That was the first of many, many times I would hear Ace call me his.

My father's brow furrowed, and I could tell he had no idea what was going on.

I should have felt worried, too, but I didn't. I was too taken by the boy in front of me.

Putting my cheek against his shoulder, I wanted to feel the sparks on my face. I giggled when they danced along my skin. They felt funny.

Ace looked down at me. Some emotion I couldn't quite make out shone in his eyes.

Two people I didn't recognize put themselves in front of Ace and me, stepping up to my parents. I would learn later that they were Ace's mom and dad.

They started speaking with my parents, holding their hands out in front of themselves when my mom tried to step around them to get to me.

As hard as I tried to make out what they were saying, there was too much noise around us for me to hear anything. It seemed serious, whatever it was.

Ace ignored them, took my hand in his again, and started to drag me away.

"Hey," I said to him. I looked down at our hands. The sparks were getting stronger, spreading a strange but pleasant warmth through my body. "How do you do that?"

I tried raising our hands to my face to inspect them, but Ace wasn't having it.

He tightened his grip. "Don't pull away from me."

I swallowed. "I wasn't. I just wanted to know why your skin is electrocuting me."

We were on the other side of the pool now, far away from most people. He stopped and turned to look at me, never releasing my hand.

"It's because you're mine," he said as if it were the most obvious explanation in the world.

My brows knit together. "Uh, what do you mean?"

He stared at me in response.

"Um, okay, I think I'll go back to my parents now," I murmured.

The words tasted bad coming out of my mouth. I didn't actually want to go back to my parents but I didn't know what else to do in the situation.

I glanced back at my mom and dad. They were still talking to the two strangers.

"No," Ace said again. "You're going to stay right here. With me."

I blinked. "Did you want to play or something?"

Once again, Ace didn't respond. He was too busy studying me.

Okay...

"What's your name?" I asked instead.

"Ace Stoll."

I smiled. I was finally getting somewhere with the dude. "I'm Dorothy! But everybody calls me Doe."

For the first time, Ace's scowl disappeared, and a small smile formed on his lips.

"My Doe."

I gave him a funny look. "Why do you keep calling me yours?"

"Because you are mine."