Page 24 of Babe

“Ace…” Blakely breathed, brushing past Jax and into the house, her worried eyes locked on my boy. There was no pity there—just concern and anger. She crouched in front of us, not even sparing me a glance. “Can I touch you?”

He grabbed my hand in both of his, squeezing tightly before he nodded. She gently cradled his face, turning his head to look at the bruising and swelling better. Blowing out a soft breath, she released him, then marched into my kitchen like she owned the place. I watched over my shoulder as she grabbed a Ziploc bag, dropped some ice cubes in it, closed it, and wrapped it in a dish towel before coming back over to us. She held it out to Ace, and he slowly took it from her, frowning.

“Put that on your face, honey.” When he followed her instructions, she looked at me then, a warm smile tilting her lips. She held her hand out. “I’m Blakely, Jax’s old lady.”

Reaching up, I shook her hand, smiling. Yeah… she might have definitely been way too damn gorgeous for a scraggly grump like Jax, but there was something about the way she carried herself that let me know they were a perfect match. He was grumpy and cold, and she was warm and full of smiles, but I had no doubt she wasn’t the woman to be fucked with.

Any woman with a man like Jax had to be a force to be reckoned with.

“Gunner,” I told her. “Make yourself at home.”

Shaw stepped deeper into the living room, his eyes locked on Ace. Ace leaned his head on my chest again, his eyes shutting as he held the ice to his swollen face. “Ace…”

“I’m not coming home,” he mumbled, not bothering to open his eyes.

Shaw took a seat on my coffee table, his brows furrowed as he gazed at his youngest brother. It was clear he was concerned. I knew he wanted to take charge and force Ace home, but I wasn’t going to allow him to bully Ace into this. Besides, I didn’t want Ace home until this shit was dealt with. I wanted the entire ring dismantled before I brought my boy back into civilization.

We were playing by my rules now.

“Ace,” Shaw sighed, “you’ll be safer surrounded by all of us. Please come home.”

“No,” Jax and I said at the same time. I looked at Jax as he crossed his arms over his chest, his feet planted shoulder-width apart. “This happened to Abbie, too, remember?” Jax continued. “It shouldn’t have happened again, Shaw, but it did. Ace stays here. Cameron may be cool with keeping Abbie around the clubhouse while this shit is happening, but I’m not.”

“I’m not either,” I said, trying to hide my surprise at the news of this having happened to Abbie, too. Lightning rarely struck in the same place twice, but it had this time. And my boy had been the victim. Anger rolled through my veins at the thought. “He stays here. You had the opportunity to keep him safe, and quite frankly, Shaw, you failed.” He flinched, unable to hide the pain in his eyes. I felt bad for him; I did. Because I knew he loved Ace. But Ace was mine. He was mine to protect. And had I known he was leaving the clubhouse, he wouldn’t have been by himself. This wouldn’t have happened to him. “He stays here, Shaw. And he’s not coming home until this ring is dismantled.”

Shaw sighed, dropping his head, his elbows braced on his knees as he leaned forward. Reaching up, he dragged his hands down his face, looking much older than I believed him to be. He looked at Ace. Ace, who now had his eyes open, just stared back at him unflinchingly.

“I’m sorry, Ace,” Shaw rasped. “I’m sorry I failed you when I promised no one would ever touch you again.”

Ace swallowed thickly, the sound audible, but he didn’t say a word. Silently, Shaw stood to his feet, looking at me. “Please keep me up to date on his progress. Jax has my number.”

I nodded once. “I will,” I assured him.

He clapped Jax on the shoulder, then quietly left, the front door shutting behind him with a barely audible shnick. Ace sighed, snuggling in closer to me. I tightened my arm around him, turning my head to press a kiss to the top of his. “Thank you,” Ace quietly said, his voice a bit muffled by my chest. “I just… don’t have the energy to fight with him.”

My chest tightened. My sweet boy was a brat through and through, and I couldn’t deny how concerned it made me that he didn’t have it in him to fight with one of his brothers. In the very short amount of time I’d been around Ace and them together, I knew my boy loved to push every single button they had.

Ace pulled the ice pack down from his face and leaned back, looking up at me. “Can we go upstairs?” He glanced at Blakely and Jax, who were sitting together in my recliner, Blakely on Jax’s lap. He was tracing one of the bruises on her arms, and she was talking quietly to him—so quietly I couldn’t hear, not that I wanted to. “I don’t really want to be around anyone right now but you, Papa.”

I nodded and gently pulled him onto my lap. He wound his arms and legs around me, tucking his battered face into the curve of my neck. Standing, I headed for the stairs, knowing Jax would figure out sleeping arrangements for him and Blakely.

When we got upstairs, I gently laid Ace on the bed, but he still clung to me, so I eased my weight down on top of him. He sighed, his muscles relaxing, his fingers absentmindedly stroking over the back of my neck and through the hair at the base of my skull. When I looked down at him, he was already staring up at me through those pretty, blue eyes I loved so damn much.

“Will you…” He swallowed thickly, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “I need…” He huffed in frustration, squeezing his eyes shut. Bracing myself on one arm, I cupped his cheek, brushing my thumb over his soft skin. He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze watery. His lips trembled. Leaning down, I smoothed mine over his, and he nodded, tugging me closer to him.

Our tongues danced together slowly, and I groaned when he arched his hips, pressing his cock into mine. I didn’t ask him if he was sure if this was what he wanted. Obviously, he couldn’t have sex yet because he needed to heal from what Johnny Dorman had done to him, but I could still touch him. Could still get him off. And if this was what he wanted, I trusted him to be able to make this judgment on his own.

I was his Papa, but he was still an adult who knew his limits. And if there was one thing I knew about Ace, I knew, no matter what, he wasn’t afraid of enforcing his boundaries. Even with me.

“Papa…” he groaned against my mouth. “I need—I want—” He huffed in frustration, so I eased back. He pouted up at me, but he took in a deep breath, finally gathering his thoughts. “I need to be with you. Please, Papa.”

I smiled softly at him. “Jax and Blakely are just downstairs,” I gently reminded him. And the loft didn’t have walls or a door. There would be no hiding anything we did together. I didn’t give a fuck, but I wanted to remind Ace in case it was a boundary for him.

He shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips that made my heart warm. “You wouldn’t believe the shit I’ve been forced to hear since they got together,” he snickered. That small laugh settled something inside of me. “I don’t care.”

I kissed him softly again before stroking his hair back from his face. “I can’t fuck you, baby. You need time to heal.” He sighed, his brows creasing, his face falling. I swallowed thickly. I’d never bottomed before but… “But I can bottom for you, baby, if you want. So we can be together like you need.”

He snapped his eyes up to mine, some of the brightness returning to the blue pools. His fingers tightened where they’d come to rest on my biceps, his nails biting into my skin. “You’d…” He shivered. “You’d do that for me, Papa?”

---