Page 73 of Pride: Kneel Before None

The sound of my panted breaths filled the room, my pulse jumped in my throat, and the world around me felt thick and heavy. I stayed like that for as long as it took to feel the ecstasy turn from blinding into blissful.

Whether it was minutes or hours, when I raised my head to look at Eve’s face, I saw the immediate change in her. The sickly pale complexion from earlier had shifted into a healthy glow, with pink tinting her cheeks.

One couldn’t miss the sleepy smile tugging at her mouth, subtle but undeniable. She nuzzled against me, a soft moan of satisfaction as she did.

Over the course of the next hour, I lay there with her, fragments of my façade reinstating themselves like puzzle pieces locking in place. The energy radiated from my Little Spade and grew stronger every minute.

Satisfied that she was on the mend, I eventually forced myself out of bed.

I nearly bit the fucking dust when my feet hit the floor, catching my footing after several stumbles forward.

Blamed dehydration.

Knew damn well it wasn’t.

While Eve curled up in the blankets I placed over her, I cleaned myself up.

Afterward, I pulled a small box from the pocket of my jacket that hung from the hook on the back of her bedroom door and placed it on the nightstand. It was simple in its design; bronze metal shaped into a perfect cube. Looped through the metal bow on top was a small black tag. Written in silver ink was the number seventeen.

Leaning over, I pressed my lips to her forehead. Not quite a kiss, more of a caress as I spoke against the softness of her skin.

“For next time, Little Spade,” I promised.

Backing up from the edge of the bed, I turned toward the door to take my leave.

An unfamiliar voice inside my head demanded I reverse course and crawl back into bed.

I looked at my Little Spade as she slept in a sea of bedding.

I looked at the door that promised distance.

Made my choice.

CHAPTER 23

When I woke up, consciousness came to me in gentle waves before I ever opened my eyes. I should have felt like I had been run over by a truck. Instead, I felt refreshed. Finally, the right type of beauty sleep.

Rolling over onto my side, I expected to meet a plush pillow. Instead, it was like rolling into a brick wall. One that had been baking in the sun all afternoon.

One eye cracked open, then the other.

Next to me, Ace lay on his back, one arm tucked behind his pillow, the other stretched out above mine.

Lifting my head, I propped myself up on an elbow.

Ace wasn’t sleeping. Eyes open, his gaze focused on me.

He looked smug as hell.

The pleasant soreness between my legs told the story of why. Bits and pieces of what had transpired played in loops inside my head. The memories felt more like a fever dream than reality. Had I imagined it?

My attention shifted to the top of Ace’s head, trying to imagine him in the way he came into creation. I wasn’t disillusioned by the charming veneer. The intensity that resided in him suggested something equally as commanding beyond his crafted exterior.

As for me, I had been born perfect. I’d sooner become a brunette attempting blonde box dye than mask the version of myself that had been brought into existence.

Not even for him.

Then again, all that distinguished me as a supernatural being in this realm existed on the inside. It just so happened that I graced everybody with perfect wrapping as well.