Page 19 of The Sentinels

"Emerson," he growled in warning, glaring down at me with steel in his eyes, his jaw taut.

I met his eyes squarely, not the least bit intimidated. "Suck it up, biker man," I ordered, not backing down. "I know you're a big, old, hard-ass, Ace, but even big boys occasionally need a tender touch." I opened up the first aid kit and pulled out the clean gauze and antiseptic. When I turned back to Ace I halted, suddenly realizing how close we were.

I hardened my reserve, which meant ignoring the unexpected tingling in my nipples, to do what I needed to do. Besides, I'd decided to move on, right? As far as I knew, the feelings that I experienced when I was around Ace were totally one-sided. I poured antiseptic onto the gauze and reached up to clean the particularly nasty-looking cut on his cheek.

"So, what happened?" I dabbed as gently as I could, wincing when I saw how deep the cut was. "You should probably get stitches." He just growled in response, standing there like an obstinate five-year-old who was being subjected to a fate worse than death. I felt a smile spread across my lips. "Poor baby."

He growled some more. Once I was satisfied that the cut was as clean as I could get it, I poured the antiseptic directly into the wound. He sucked in his breath. My eyes shot up to his. "Sorry," I mumbled, reaching for the butterfly bandage, relieved that we had some. "If this doesn't work—"

"I know, stitches."

"Or we could try super glue," I smiled up at him. I glanced at his mouth, but the damage to it wasn’t what captivated me. Ace had a nice mouth; his lips were smooth and looked appetizing. Before I knew it, I was licking mine as if I were about to dive in to a tasty treat. Ace had never kissed me, and suddenly I wanted that more than anything. "Let's see what I can do to fix your kisser." I took his jaw in my hand and tilted his face slightly, examining it to find it swollen and with a split at the corner. "I think you'll still be able to use it."

"I don't kiss."

I started to clean the cut. "Yes, I know." It was mostly dried blood. "Don't bite me." After I said it, I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be bitten by Ace. Not in a painful way, but in a sexual way that brought pleasure. As I cleaned the dried blood away I visualized his mouth and tongue on me, exploring my naked body and giving me all kinds of pleasure. Maybe the same kind of pleasure I brought him when I was on my knees.

Our close proximity was beginning to get to me, that and my wild imagination; because now I was thinking about what Ace would do to me once his hands came into play. My nipples hardened with the thought of his hands on them as he caressed and squeezed them into swollen, achy mounds of need. Damn! Now they were tingling with the thought of him taking them into his mouth. Warmth between my legs revealed that I was getting wet down there. I felt my cheeks flush with heat.

"I think you'll live," I murmured, finishing up with his mouth before I went up in a burst of flames. I wanted to step back, but I couldn’t. My backside was crushed against the counter where the sinks were, and Ace had never stepped back to give me more room.Had he done that on purpose?I wondered.

As my gaze roamed over his rugged face in search of more cuts that needed cleaning, finding only bruises, I became aware that his breathing had changed. It was choppier than before, harsher. Did he sense my arousal? No, that was impossible, was it? My eyes finally settled on his, noting how dark his had turned. His expression was hard as usual, his jaw tight.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" I leaned back as much as I could to look him over, my gaze coming to rest on the damage to his knuckles. I reached for his hand, but Ace pulled away.

"I can manage the rest," he said.

I grinned. He was angry, and I couldn't fathom why. Maybe Ace didn't like being touched, but I'd never noticed that before, especially when I'd seen him more than once drag a woman down onto his lap before disappearing with her out back. "A tender touch, remember?" I teased.

He growled, his eyes glittering between frowning brows. "The only touch I want from you is when you're on your knees sucking my dick."

I sucked in my breath and froze at his crude hurtful words. I recognized them for what they were--they were meant to push me away. Our eyes met and clung for a solid minute. I'm sure that he saw in mine the disappointment that I couldn't hide. His were hard and indifferent, as if we were discussing something as insignificant as making a sandwich. The pain his words caused dashed any lingering arousal from me, and reminded me of exactly how Ace saw me. A sick feeling in my stomach made me wonder if he thought that I was a whore. I hated him at that moment, and I hated myself for allowing him to hurt me.

I blinked away the tears that wanted to come, swallowing hard. Pretending that I didn't care came at a price that would stay with me for a long time. "I'm glad you brought that up," I began with as much cool as I could muster. "You'll need to find another, ah, resource to see to your needs."

Resource,really, Emerson? What are you, HR?

He knew what I meant.

I held Ace's unresponsive gaze. A flicker of something so miniscule that I knew I must have imagined it flashed in the depths of his eyes before dying out. I smiled, hoping that he saw how little my decision bothered me. He didn't know what I felt for him. Maybe if he had he would have received pleasure in knowing how his words had cut me, but the little secret of my loving the asshole would remain my secret.

"You found someone else?" his deep baritone inquired. He actually took a step back and crossed his massive arms over his wide chest, as if preparing for a fight.

Was it my imagination, or had he winced with the movement?

Even to my ears my laugh sounded forced and faked. "Not someone else, Ace. You'd have to be with someone to find someone else, and you and I were never together. We're nothing to each other."

"You know what I mean," he practically snarled. "Are you replacing me with the pretty boy from last night?"

"No, not yet, and maybe never if things don't work out. I decided to break off our arrangement a couple of days ago. I'll never find someone to be with if I keep doing what you and I are doing. I'm just a mouth, Ace, and any woman has that." He did wince at that. I tilted my chin. "Well, I guess we're done." I don't know where I found the courage to wink. "In more ways than one." I picked up the first aid kit to leave the room. "Make sure you keep those cuts clean, big boy."

Big boy! I'd never called him big boy before. It revealed my nervousness. I stepped outside the restroom and stood still for a moment to steady my nerves. My heart was pounding and my eyes burned. I could have used a drink, but my shift was just about to begin. Knowing Tanner, he probably would have understood, but at the way I felt, I knew that stopping at one would be a problem. No, better to just work through it and show at least one man that I was a strong woman.

Chapter 12

Ace

We were in the middle of church when the door opened and Deputy Callahan stepped into the bar. I could tell from his expression that it wasn't a social call. His gaze encompassed all of us at once, lingering on me a little longer than the others. My face was still messed up from the fight a few days ago, and I could read the question in his eyes, but he didn't voice it. He had his own agenda and it was obvious that it took precedence over anything else. Besides, Callahan had long ago adopted the policy that asking no questions meant not having to deal with answers he may not want to hear.