Page 48 of Ruthless Beasts

I huffed. “Princess. I’ve never been a princess.”

His eyes darkened as they roamed over my body, and my skin burned with the attention. “You’re right. You’re not a princess.” I swallowed, feeling a sense of rejection. But before I could let the rejection settle, he continued, “You’re the queen in a den of kings.”

My throat worked hard to swallow, not knowing what to say to that. “A- A den?”

“Make no mistake, our little queen. We may be the kings in this territory, the highest you could fucking get, but our claws are sharp, our roar mighty, and we’d not hesitate to tear any threat to threads. We’re animals. There is no denying that.”

“Are you warning me, Ace? Because I’m not afraid of a minor scratch.” Was I flirting?

His chest rose, and he blew out a breath. “Do you need warnings?”

“I can handle you.”

“Doubt it, honey. But you sure as hell could try.” God, why were men so cocky?

I opened my mouth, debating on what to say, when a clump of dirt landed between us. We turned our heads in unison, only to see Max grinning. “This garden will not plant itself.”

“Fuck off,” Ace growled, but dropped to his knees and unwrapped a rose bush.

“Ace. Those are dress pants,” I pointed out as I knelt next to him. “You’re getting them dirty.”

“I’ll buy new ones.” He shrugged.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

He just brushed it off. “It’s canceled.”

“You didn’t even make a call to cancel it,” I protested.

“They’ll figure it out.”

“You’re going to really stay and… help me?” I don’t know why the thought of him doing so was so incomprehensible. They always did what they told me they would, usually before I even asked. Still, the thought of him digging in the dirt, his normally well-composed self getting dirty, made my heart jump and my body start bubbling to liquid lava. It took little lately. Ever since the nausea faded, a want replaced it that I couldn’t seem to quench.

“Why are you acting so shocked?”

“I just-“ I didn’t want to say it was something Mercer would do, never him. But Mercer was the one who interacted and got involved. Ace and I had just now barely entered a zone where I could, maybe, sort of call him a friend. It was a vast improvement from feeling like a pest a few weeks before. Even so, this Ace was just… different.

He sighed. “Listen, I know we’re not all as friendly as Mercer. He’s like a puppy. He craves attention something awful, especially from pretty ladies. Don’t tell him I said that, by the way. He’s always been the friendliest. It’s an illusion, you know. He’s the deadliest of us all.”

I laughed at that. If I hadn’t seen him kill at the church, I’d believe he was lying. Still, I doubted he was the deadliest. “No need to deter me. I’m not playing favorites.”

His palms went up in surrender. “I’m just telling you the truth.”

“If you say so.” I shoulder bumped him as I unwrapped the plastic around the plants’ roots.

He bumped me back, but said nothing more. Together, we worked side by side, planting roses in the holes that Drew and Max dug. Clearly, we had the easier job, but still, the sun was out and though the weather wasn’t scorching, sweat had rolled down my spine and pooled at my lower back. I watched Ace work, his arm repeatedly going up to wipe the sweat on his forehead. Still, he didn’t complain, even though he had every reason to, since he was out here in fancy work clothes, which couldn’t be comfortable. Instead, his brow was pinched together tightly, his mind clearly in deep thought as he helped me revive this once beautiful garden.

Twenty plants later and almost a whole side of the wall finished, he finally spoke, the faintest of smiles toying with his lips, as if a memory was playing out. “My sister loved it here. It was hers once, you know. I think she’d like that you’re bringing it back to life. She never would have wanted Adam to let it go.”

My heart clenched. “I didn’t know.”

His eyes held mine as he reassured me. “She’s not here, Bellamy. Someone has to love it like she did.”

“I just… will he be mad?”

“If he wasn’t paying attention to what garden you were talking about, that’s on him, honey. This is your home, and you can do whatever you want with it, even if it’s bringing back something he intentionally let die.” He stood and brushed off his knees before holding his hand out to me. “Come on, doll face.It’s getting hot and if you get any more sun, I’m afraid you’ll pass out.”

I took his hand; maybe for the first time since that day at the doctor’s. And I know it was wrong. I knew I shouldn’t feel a damn thing, but I did. I didn’t want to let go. Maybe I was starved for attention. Starved for any acceptance I could get. Starved for the touch I’d so rarely gotten in my lifetime. And it could be wrong of me, but when he didn’t let go, neither did I. I allowed him to pull me through the garden I was slowly turning into a sanctuary, and through the yard, until we were inside the house, Lady on our heels.

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