Page 48 of Ace

His eyes held questions. And all his guards were down. This was simply Dex asking how things were going to go tonight. Things were in her court, apparently.

They stared each other down, Dex not even blinking. Her heart hammered in her chest. She clutched the popcorn as a shield between them. And she knew that one step toward him would take her feet the rest of the way. One word from him and she would dive into his lap. What did she want? She wanted to be right there, like in their younger years, in his arms. And she needed it. She’d been tough and strong for a long time. She’d created the whole nonprofit from the ground up by herself when she’d thought Dex would be helping. She’d missed him terribly as a partner but also as a friend, and as a boyfriend. If someone had asked her younger self where she saw herself in ten years, the first bullet on the list would have been married to Dex.

It would be irresponsible to her own feelings if she let things progress between them. What future did they have, living all over the globe? But when Dex’s mouth curled up and his soft, slow smile grew, he was too much to resist. She put her popcorn down and crawled over to him on the couch.

His victorious expression made her laugh. Then she turned around, curled up against his chest and pushed play on the remote.

His arms circled her. She leaned her head back. And for a moment, nothing else in the world mattered. Not one thing could have disrupted the incredible peace that flowed between them.

They watched for a moment without saying a word, but then Dex started quoting his favorite lines and she started making fun of the way they navigated some of the fight scenes. They both snorted at the incredible inaccuracy of the pilots and their planes. And it was like old times, but better.

“This is nice.” Dex lifted one of her hands and started massaging it. “I’ve missed you, Gi.”

She nodded up against him. “Mmm.” The silence became full, the kind of silence where she knew there was a lot to say but no one was saying it. She turned to look at him. “Dex.”

He rested his huge hand on her hip. “Gi.” His eyes sparkled at her then his gaze travelled over her face, pausing at her lips.

She bit her lip. Was she going to kiss him? His eyes shot up to hers. Gone was the amused twinkle. It was replaced by a depth, an earnestness that drew her in. He tugged at her, gently. She could have resisted, but she let herself fold into him. “We should talk about this.”

He snorted. “No way.”

Laughing, she wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and pressed her lips to his. “Mmm.”

He tipped up onto his side so that she was cradled in his arms and lying next to him on the couch. He brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead and then he kissed her everywhere he could, her nose, her cheek, her ear, the corner of her mouth…until she impatiently adjusted herself so that she rose up to meet his mouth.

The lips that met hers were no longer playful. Apparently, he was just as impatient as she. He captured her and devoured her as though she were the very thing he’d been desperate for. But his lips were soft and warm and insistent, pressing and pulling again and again. He tugged at her insides, wanting more and more, asking, setting her on fire with expectation. His skin was smooth. She ran her hand along the side of his face as she kissed him back, trying to fill him with all the missing, the longing that had been a part of her daily existence all this time.

He deepened their kiss, and she responded. But a part of her knew they would have to stop. She slowed. He followed suit, and then after a moment, he kissed her only sporadically until he grinned down into her face. “I don’t want to stop.”

“I know.” Her soft sigh made him kiss her again.

“How did I live so long without you in my life?”

“And that’s what we should talk about.”

He closed his eyes. Then sat back, but he kept a hand on her stomach. His finger, tracing circles there sent warm tingles through her, making it very hard to think clearly or deny him anything he wanted. But she didn’t stop him.

“We have to be apart again you know.”

“Why?”

She turned to him. “What?”

“You heard me. Why do we have to be apart?”

“Are you saying you’re ready to give up Top Flight and start running orphanages with me?”

“No.”

She fell back down on her back. “Then we’re in the same place we’ve always been.”

“Except now we can talk, we can get together in between assignments. I can drop from the sky and help out sometimes.” He laughed.

“So, try the long-distance thing.” She closed her eyes. “I hate the sound of that.” She turned back toward him. “And I love it at the same time.” She smiled.

He hadn’t said much. She didn’t really know what he was thinking. But she tried to read his mind. “Do you think we can do this?”

“Us? We can do anything.” He leaned his head back on the couch behind him and shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. But I don’t like the other option.”

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