Page 26 of Pride: Kneel Before None

When I opened my eyes, his evergreen pools greeted me, laced with even darker intent than before. The reprieve at least had allowed me enough time to steady my voice.

“Privilege? Ace, I don’t need your protection.”

His voice dropped to something as rough as gravel and cool as ice. “I’m afraid that’s no longer an option, Little Spade.”

To my surprise, he lowered himself before me. Not quite kneeling, but worshiping my space just the same. Was he on the cusp of pledging his fealty to my superior existence?

Pinching his brows together in a look of disapproval, his gaze darkened as he examined the bloody scrapes and cuts on both my legs, including the gash on my shin. In an unexpected move, he kissed around the damage, careful not to hit any tender spots.

Shifting in my stance with growing unease, I watched as he remained crouched before me. In an effort to escape the tension growing tighter in my core from his affections, I shuffled to the side.

Ace wasn’t having it.

His hands latched onto me with inexplicable speed, one grabbing my knee and draping my leg over his shoulder. The other slid up the front of my other leg until he met the bottom hem of my dress. Without breaking eye contact with me, he peeled the fabric up over my thighs with care until it all bunched up around my waist.

“Genevieve, bearing my mark is more than just my protection.” The use of my full name and the conviction in his tone caused me to still in his hold.

My hips pressed back against the wall behind me, seeking something sturdy to ground me. The stones felt cool against my heated skin.

The exposure of my hips revealed the sad excuse for underwear that did fuck all to hide my arousal. Nestled between my thighs, the pathetic strip of fabric was embarrassingly soaked.

Struggling to balance on one foot, I grabbed onto his head with both my hands, fisting his hair in both a plea and a warning.

A whisper of panic crept over me as I looked at both ends of the alley where we stood. It was dark, with only small halos of light at each opening of the narrow corridor. Demons and other species could have extraordinary eyesight, even in the pitch black of night. If there were any passersby who dared look close enough, we risked being seen, all semblance of modesty gone.

Emotions inside of me engaged in a volatile war with one another. I couldn’t tell where the excitement began and where the nervousness ended. “I… I don’t want your protection or your mark or…”

I lost my half-hearted protest to a gasp as Ace’s mouth pressed to my inner thigh, his stubble scratching at my sensitive skin. His fingers simultaneously lifted to the center of my panties and pushed them to one side. He now had a front-row seat to my pussy, slick with how much my body craved him.

The way my cheeks burned hot at the exposure was a foreign sensation. Not every day did I find myself in a situation I couldn’t control or anticipate. Yet here I was.

“Mmm,” he hummed deeply in approval. The sound had me choking on air itself.

His teeth dragged over the inside of my thigh—teasing—until he nipped me hard enough to leave twin crescent marks.

A lowly growl of appreciation rumbled out of him at seeing the mark he left before his hunger turned to the main course. “Fuck, look how wet you are, Little Spade. You’re ready for me to taste you like a good little slut, aren’t you?”

The degrading term should have repulsed me; instead it lit something primal inside me as my cunt involuntarily clenched around nothing in response.

All my muscles were tense with either anticipation or apprehension, I wasn’t sure which. Having him so near an intimate part of me that only my self-care toys had become acquainted with left me on edge.

Looking down the length of my body, his gaze now settled on me. Only a thin ring of green remained around his pupils, the black pools blown wide with undisguised desire. There was something else there. Something far more complex and sticky. Worship or adoration, maybe?

Regardless of what lay beneath the surface, it wasn’t just shallow obsession. I was staring at a demon drawn to something that could possibly burn us both to ash then reignite into something infinitely more dangerous.

The promise of an echo that would ruin, rebuild, and remake us both.

No matter what shadows lay beyond that look, seeing him peering up through dark lashes with such intensity and purpose caused my brain to short-circuit and all rational thoughts fled.

“Ace.”

His name barely came out as a prayer on my lips, while my breaths grew uneven at my heart’s erratic beating against my ribs.

He responded, reaffirming his intentions, “You’re mine, Eve. I’m never going to let you or anyone else forget that. I’d kneel before a fucking angel before letting anyone take you from me.” The way he spat out the word angel carried a weight of ultimate disdain for the holy entity.

I never had the chance to argue as his mouth came straight to my center, the first contact of his tongue sending a full body shiver through me.

A sound between a squeak and moan slipped out of me into the night air. The heat of his mouth against my cunt brought an unexpected pleasure that left me reeling even though he’d only just begun.