Page 30 of A Vampire's Pain
“You should leave her alone,” he told me.
I shook my head slowly.
“I can’t.”
“Then you will ruin her,” he said.
“She is my mate.”
“I FUCKING KNOW!” he shouted, before looking at me with such anger that I had rarely seen in Ace.
He was always so damn silent and never showed many emotions. This was a whole new side of him, and it was happening because of me. How long did I think I could ignore his feelings for me? How long did I think I could just take and never expect it to blow up in my face? I had been so fucking stupid, and when he turned around, I grabbed his arm, pulling him back, but it didn’t just end there. Out of instinct, we reached for each other, and soon his lips found mine in a hot and heated kiss. I wasn’t even sure how it happened, but I didn’t really stop it either. Instead, I was pushed up against the door, as Ace pressed himself into me, and moved his warm lips over mine, before his tongue sought into my mouth, tangling with mine, but sadly, the kiss didn’t last for long, and it felt more like a goodbye. Like one last taste.
Ace slowly pulled away, still holding onto my arms and only a few inches between our faces. We were both breathing heavier, but something seemed to close on his side.
“Everything you touch, you ruin,” he whispered.
I looked at him shocked.
“She will be next.”
He pushed away from me and turned around, showing me his back. Dominic thought when Ace and I played it was about me seeing his back and that special mark he carried right on his left side on his lower back, but I had already seen it. Lots of times. Our games were never about that. It was just a cover for other things we played for. Sometimes it was even about whose bed we would end up in. We just didn’t want others to know about us. About what we had done together just to escape the pain inside of us, but Ace didn’t just carry a special mark on his lower back. No, his entire back was covered with scars that would never heal. He carried a story that I believed he would never tell anyone. He was drowning more than I was, and if I wasn’t there to keep him afloat, then who would be?
“Just close the door when you leave,” he said and sat down on that mattress again, facing me.
“Ace—”
“We’re done here. You don’t want to do more that could be seen as a betrayal to your new mate,” he said, narrowing his eyes a little.
It was a warning not to push more buttons because it was clear he wanted me to stay. He wanted me to make a mistake, and sleep with him. He wanted me to ruin everything with Valeri right now, but I couldn’t.
She is ours. Only her.
Just as my wolf said. She was ours, and my loyalty was now to her. I had to prove to her that I wouldn’t ruin her. That I would keep her safe, and she could always rely on me.
“You know where to find me,” I said, and opened the door.
I looked at him one last time before I walked out, seeing him turn his head away, and then I walked out, closing the door behind me, and feeling so damn empty. Ace got me like no one else. He was right about others not understanding us, but I wanted Valeri to. I wanted her to know everything about me. I wanted her more than I could say.
Chapter 13
-Valeri-
I was looking at my brother sitting in his office. He hadn’t noticed me yet. He was just sitting by his desk, taking care of some business. Our father had not liked Damon going to out to avenge me with the king hundreds of years ago, but as long as he made sure to be the lord he was born to be, he could be trained to be a fighter too, and Damon was now both. He was much bigger and broader than most aristocratic vampires, and you certainly didn’t want to get on his bad side. He could both destroy you with a fist and a pen.
“Damon?”
I knocked softly on his door. It wasn’t completely open, but I pushed it the rest of the way, and my brother looked up from his desk, smiling.
“Val, everything okay?” he asked.
I smiled and nodded, before walking inside. I had no idea what I was really doing. I had made Gabriel a promise. Three days I had to find an excuse to go meet Gabriel, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to get through my brother.
“Yes,” I said and walked over to him, looking at the many papers in front of him. “What are you working on?”
“Boring stuff,” he just said and turned to me. “Are you sure everything is okay?”
“Yes, why?”
