Page 102 of Ace of Spades

When I agreed to move in with him we talked about movie nights and exploring the island together, trying out new spots.

And he’s doing all of those things… just without me.

I sigh and reach for one of the paperbacks he left overturned on the coffee table.

The Siren and the Scoundrel.It’s one of those over-the-top spicy romances he swears "aren’t that bad" but secretly devours like candy.

Why not?Maybe a little fictional chaos will distract me from the fact that I don’t really know where we stand these days.

I crack it open, expecting to laugh at it, but… surprisingly, it sucks me right in.

A pirate king. A fearless mermaid. A love that tears them both apart and stitches them back together.

By the third chapter, my body is humming.

By the eighth, I’m shifting against the couch, swallowing hard, heat pooling low and insistent.

God, get a grip, Sienna.

I toss the book onto the coffee table and tug the blanket tighter around me, staring blankly at the TV.

Trying not to think about Levi. About the way he looked at me yesterday. The way he touched me.

You're just one more thing he has to juggle. One more weight on his shoulders.

Shut up, conscience. Nobody asked you.

I blink hard, refusing to let the sting behind my eyes turn into something messier, when a sharp knock on the door startles me.

It can’t be Julian. He has a key. Unless, he got drunk at his stupid party and lost it.

I launch off the couch and march over to the door, ready to tell him a thing or two. And then I see who it is through the peephole and nearly forget how to breathe.

Levi stands there with his hands braced against the door frame. His chest heaving like he just sprinted a mile. His dark hair is dripping wet onto the T-shirt that’s plastered to his body.

I open the door, and he looks at me. Wrecked.

"Can I come in?" he rasps.

I nod, stepping back before my brain catches up to my body.

He’s here. Where I live. Why is he here?

He brushes past me, his shoes leaving wet prints with each step. He shuts the door with a quiet thud and stares at me with those dark eyes.

The tiny apartment feels even smaller now. Tighter. Like he sucked all the air out of the space with just his presence.

"You didn’t call," he says roughly.

"Levi,” I can finally speak. “You left work to pick up Josie from your brother. I didn’t want to bother you."

"You could never bother me," he growls.

When he looks at me like I’m crazy, I whisper, "You’ve got enough to deal with."

His hands curl into fists at his sides. "You’re not something todeal with,Sienna."

He looks like how I’d imagine a wolf or a predator, if it were soaking wet and furious. “You’re who I want.”

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