Chapter 3 3

1. Morning Sparks

ELEVEN YEARS LATER

The early-morning sun was on a mission to blind me the moment I woke up. I groaned and shoved a pillow over my face.

Ace shifted behind me, hugging me closer to his chest and nuzzling his face into the back of my neck. Sparks raced down my spine.

This was how I woke up most days: dressed in one of Ace's shirts and a pair of panties, with Ace wrapped around me like a koala and a warm feeling in my chest.

I wouldn't have it any other way. It felt like he was guarding me from the rest of the world, like I was wrapped in a cocoon of his protection.

"Ace," I said, elbowing him to get his attention, "what time is it?"

He didn't reply, simply tightening his arms and nudging one of his legs between mine. I couldn't tell where my body ended and his began.

I groaned again, lifting my head so I could look at the clock.

"Oh, my gosh!" I yelled. "Ace, you need to get out of here! It's almost seven thirty!"

Ace didn't react, behaving as if I had said nothing at all. I squirmed against him, trying to get out of his hold. He didn't let me go.

"Stop," Ace finally growled into my ear, his hot breath fanning over my cheek. His hand spanned over my stomach and rib cage, keeping me firmly pressed against him.

"Ace, I'm not kidding! My parents could come in here at any second!"

Ace spent every night in my bed. In fact, I was pretty sure we hadn't spent more than a handful of nights apart since meeting.

Of course, my parents did not know that, and today wasn't going to be the day I told them. My dad would have a heart attack if he found out that my best friend was spending every night in my bed.

Usually, Ace would have escaped through my bedroom window by now and gone back to his place to get ready, coming back again to pick me up for school, but he seemed reluctant to leave this morning.

I didn't know why. But I didn't understand a lot of things about Ace.

Feeling a tad bit panicked at the prospect of my parents coming in and finding us like this, I grabbed Ace's arm and tried to yank it off me.

Of course, he didn't budge. I was pretty sure the man was made of steel. He was all muscle, not a single bit of fat on him.

I huffed in annoyance. I wasn't even sure why I tried. I had never won a battle with Ace. Especially physical ones.

Without warning, he flipped me around to face him, forcing me to put my arms on his shoulders to steady myself.

I glared at him. "I hate it when you do that."

Ace gave me a lopsided smirk. It was annoyingly boyish and charming. "Do you, now?"

My stomach swarmed with butterflies. Why did he have to be so beautiful? "Y-yes! I hate it when you take advantage of our size difference and throw me around."

The size difference really was significant. When Ace started puberty, he shot up nearly two feet and grew rock-hard muscles overnight. Everything about him became harder, sharper, more defined.

It suited him well.

More than well.

With his messy dark brown hair and striking blue eyes, there was no denying how attractive he was.

I had been caught staring at him more than once. Ace always just smirked and winked at me when that happened, immediately making me wish the ground would open and swallow me whole.

And while Ace had always been a touchy person, he immediately became even touchier, always putting his hands on my waist or hips, squeezing, kneading, and licking his lips with hunger on his face.

That look always made me feel nervous and fidgety and definitely didn't help extinguish the burning attraction I felt for him.

I, meanwhile, became softer at puberty. My curves developed, giving me hips and breasts. Everyone said I looked extremely different despite having my same long brown hair, matching brown eyes, and pale, milky skin.

The least puberty could have done for me was provide me with some height so Ace didn't have so much of a leg up on me, but I stopped growing at five-foot-nothing, almost a foot and a half under him.

But feeling small was nothing new for me. I was tiny next to everyone in Embermoon. The average resident of our town was abnormally huge.

I was convinced there was something in the water turning them all into giants.

Ace lifted a brow and then leaned forward, rubbing his nose against my cheek, making that purring noise that he knew drove me crazy. "I think you're lying."

I swallowed, trying to ignore the way his mouth brushed against my jaw. "Lying?"

Ace nodded and smiled against my skin. "I think you love it when I throw you around. I think you crave me being in control."

I squirmed. I suddenly felt very hot.