CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN | SIENNA
It had been three days since I left the Gaming Commission, leaving the manila envelope on the commissioner’s desk before I walked out of those offices.
I’d spent those three days in my apartment, trying to get my life together and at the same time, nervous about what was going to happen to me.
What if the commissioner was in on it with Kaplan?
What if they planned on doing something to keep me quiet?
I was starting to regret my decision to rat on Kaplan. How was I going to keep my baby safe?
The TV was switched on in my living room while I cleaned.
I was alone in the apartment and with no job to go to and nothing else to do but worry, cleaning and scrubbing and arranging were the best distractions.
But my ears piqued when I heard a breaking news segment being narrated about the casino industry.
I stopped dusting and stared at the TV screen in awe.
The newscaster related a news story about how a major human trafficking ring had been discovered at a string of Vegas casinos and hotels that were owned by the tycoon known as Mr. Money.
The ring was uncovered just today and the Gaming commission officials had already arrested several people, including some double agents who were connected to the conspiracy.
A mugshot of Mark Kaplan flashed on the screen and my stomach dropped.
I was relieved and nervous at the same time.
The newscaster went on to say that when agents stormed the hotel where Mr. Money was supposed to be, they found that he’d already fled the scene based on a tip off. So he was still at large.
I stood there in my living room, clutching my chest in relief and pride.
Mr. Money may have escaped this time but at least Kaplan hadn’t gotten away with it. I wasn’t sure what the next steps were going to be but I could sense there was a storm brewing.
Would I have to leave town?
Would Mr. Money’s men come looking for me for revenge?
A shiver ran down my spine when I realized how alone I was with the responsibility of a child.
A knock on the front door startled me out of my thoughts.
I’d never been this afraid of opening the door before. It could be anybody. Kaplan’s men. Mr Money’s men!
Trying not to shake, I walked to the door and blinked through the peephole and I saw what I was definitely not expecting to see.
Ace was on the other side.
I swung the door open with gusto. Every shred of pride and dignity had left me when I saw him. I was just so relieved that he was actually here.
“Ace!”
I stopped short of throwing my arms around him. We stared at each other in silence for a few moments.
“Can I come in?” he asked and I stepped aside.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you. Did you see the news?”
I felt breathless and heady with excitement. It was like I couldn’t even remember my name in that moment. Was he really here? In front of me. Close enough so I could touch him.
I experienced that intense physical reaction of being near him. There were goosebumps all over my arms.
“Yes, I heard it; congratulations. You did it!”
He wasn’t smiling, but I could sense he was hiding his enthusiasm well because he had something else on his mind he wanted to say.
“Thanks…”
My voice was a whisper. I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know why he was here.
“Ace…” I began but he interrupted me.
“You should have let me handle it, Sienna. What you did has put you at risk now; you could have a target on your back.”
I licked my lips and looked away from him.
“So, this is why you’re here? To tell me it was stupid of me to rat on Kaplan? To try and get Mr. Money arrested?”
Ace remained silent and just stared back at me. His face was tough and darkened, watching me with his piercing, stormy blue eyes.
“You seem to forget what my job is…was. This is what I’ve been trained to do. To bring cheaters and criminals to justice. I was just doing my job!”
Ace took a moment to respond.
“Was your job? What happened?”
I shook my head, my nostrils flaring.
“I quit. I can’t do it anymore.”
My hand rose instinctively to my belly and I sensed Ace look, too.
“It doesn’t matter that we’re not together, that we’re not a real couple. You and that baby are still my responsibility.”
I snapped my head up to look at him when I heard those words.
I thought it was over that night. Every last shred of connection between us.
That he was relieved I’d walked out of his apartment.
Was he really back here to tell me he felt responsible for us?
I shook my head slowly in completely disbelief.
“Sienna, I’m aware that this is not what you want. That you want to be as far away from me as possible, but right now, with what’s going on out there with Mr. Money, I’m the only one who can keep you safe. You don’t even have the Gaming Commission’s protection anymore.”
My breath was caught in my throat.
I had to be dreaming.
I needed to pinch myself.
Ace was not the kind of man to be here, begging me to let him take responsibility for a baby he didn’t plan for.
What happened to him?
What made him change his mind?
“What made you change your mind?” I asked him, speaking my thoughts aloud. Ace’s brows crossed.
“What makes you think I have? You had no idea what I was thinking that night. You stormed out of my apartment without asking. You didn’t want to know what I wanted.”
Ace took another step towards me and I breathed in the masculine scent of his cologne. I shivered at the thought of being in his arms again. To feel the strength of his body next to mine.
I gulped and my mouth fell open.
Our gazes were locked. I couldn’t look away.
“If this case goes to court, which it looks like it will, you’ll probably be called to testify,” he continued. I couldn’t speak. All I could do was stare at him.
“And you might have to testify against the High Rollers, too. I’m not going to hold it against you, Sienna. Like you said, you’re just doing your job. But you have to let me protect you and the baby.”
I looked down at my feet embarrassedly, my cheeks burning up. I didn’t know how to get the words out.
I didn’t know what he would think of me.
“I can’t testify against you.”
Ace narrowed his eyes.
“I never filed the annulment papers. I am still your wife. They can’t make me testify against my husband. The privilege still holds.”
Ace looked like he’d been caught with his pants down.
In that moment I knew he’d given up all hope of us being together, and now that hope had struck him in the face as heavy as a brick.
“You didn’t file the papers?”
I shook my head.
I wasn’t sure whether to smile or laugh or cry. It looked like Ace had the same dilemma.
“Does that mean something?”
He took one last step towards me, bridging the gap between us. I gasped when he came close to me. I was ready to fall into those arms any time now.
I nodded gently.
“It means that I want to try and make this work.”
The words had barely left my mouth before Ace had his hands on my hips and he was lifting me up in the air and swinging me around.
“I can’t believe we still have a chance!”
I threw my head back and laughed, my strawberry blond curls tumbling down behind me. I couldn’t stop laughing. It was like I was high.
It had to be the adrenaline.
Ace slid me down his body, till finally, our faces were at level again. He still held me up, my feet dangling several inches off the floor.
Once again I was overwhelmed by the power of Ace’s immense body.
“You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that.”
“I didn’t think you would want to try.”
He leaned in towards me and I opened my mouth at just the time that his tongue slid in.
I tasted him again.
That familiar taste of Ace. Of my husband. The father of my child.
His fingers weaved into my hair and he kept me tightly pressed to himself while we kissed.
I was in the tiniest cotton shorts and I couldn’t wait for him to get me out of them.
***
Ace carried me in his arms to my bedroom and dropped me. My body bounced on the mattress as I went tumbling down. My heart raced;, I couldn’t believe this was happening again.
Just an hour ago, none of this seemed possible. I didn’t think I would see Ace again.
And now his hand was slipping down into my shorts. Seeking out that warm, sticky core of me.
I was wet and gasping for air. Ace’s eyes were heavy with desire and I writhed underneath him.
I arched my hip up towards him. I wanted him to know just how ready I was for his body.
He didn’t need any more clues. He knew already.
He could feel it in my wetness. The way I stretched my legs out for him. How I dug my nails into the bed.
His fingers found my wet, throbbing core and he ran his hand down my slit, collecting my juices along the way.
I sighed with satisfaction and desire. I wanted more.
Ace looked up at me and our eyes met. Then one by one, he started to undress himself. He didn’t even bother with my clothes right now. His shirt came off, then his belt and his jeans.
Ace fell on me again, reaching inside my panties this time so he could tease my folds again.
“Your body was made for me, Sienna,” he growled and I quaked.
I wanted to squeal. I wanted to nod and agree with him. He was right. Every cell in my body screamed it out.
No other man could make me feel that way.
Especially now the way I felt when he thrust his finger into me.
My body jerked and I moaned. I felt the length of his middle finger slide into me.
Ace was inside me again. Right where he belonged. And even then, I couldn’t get enough and I wanted more.
I started to roll up my t-shirt. I threw it away.I unhooked my own bra and threw that away, too…all while he tortured my pussy with his deliciously long and thick fingers.
I grabbed my erect nipples and squeezed. I wanted to feel the pressure. I threw my head back and squeezed harder.
Ace’s thumb sought out my swollen, aroused clit. While his middle finger thrust in and slid out of my pussy, his thumb worked miracles on my clit.
It was too much.
The pleasure was overwhelming.
I’d been fantasizing for this, longing for it for too long and I knew I would burst.
I came with fury, moving my body, rolling my hips and squeezing my nipples harder while my orgasm took over my whole body.
Ace didn’t stop what he was doing. He continued to thrust his finger in and out of me and continued to stroke and rub my clit with his thumb.
It was beautiful. I could see stars in my eyes.
My orgasm came in waves, taking over my body and mind and I didn’t want it to ever end. I wanted to feel like this forever…and maybe I would. Maybe our relationship would really work out.
Maybe this was how I was destined to feel every night.
Just as my orgasm began to fade, Ace grabbed me by my hips and pulled me up. He wasn’t about to let a moment pass.
“My turn,” he growled and there was a glimmer of excitement in his eyes as he adjusted himself under me. I landed on his lap while he kept a tight hold on me.
Before I knew what he was going to do next, he lowered me further down till his cock plowed right into me and I gasped and squealed with surprise.
He filled me up. In one swift thrust, the full length of his enormous cock was inside me and I knew I was completely in his control.
I rocked on his lap, rolling my hips, feeling the intensity of having his cock inside me.
I reached for him, throwing my arms around his neck. He leaned forward while I rolled my hips. Our lips met again.
This time, the kiss was gentle and slow. Like we had all the time in the world.
This time, sex wasn’t going to end with one of us leaving quickly or deciding it was a bad idea.
This time it was for real.
The kiss felt real, too. It was like every part of our bodies were now joined together. I couldn’t get to know him more intimately.
His body jerked and I felt his cock slide deeper into me.
I didn’t even think that was possible.
I dug my nails into his back while I rode him. When our mouths parted, he reached with one hand for my tits.
My nipples tingled while he played with them. My burning, aching, nipples that yearned for his touch all these days.
His cock was deep inside me and our bodies slammed together. I could feel him nearing the end. He was just on the edge and all he needed was one last push.
I lifted my ass up just a little and then slammed it back down again, forcing his cock up my pussy even further.
I heard Ace growl and I knew I’d done the job.
He was coming and he couldn’t hold it back any longer.
There was a sound of relief in his growl as he held on to me tightly. I could feel his grip, his hands digging into me with fury while he came.
I could feel him emptying his seed into me. Filling me with his cum. There was already a part of him inside me, and now there was more.
And there could never be enough. I wanted more and more.
I cried out with joy and landed on him, smothering him with my tits as I covered his face with kisses.
I didn’t care if I was embarrassing myself. Right now, all I wanted was for him to know how happy he’d made me by being a part of my life.
***
We were lying on my bed together. Our arms and legs were intertwined and my hair was strewn all over his face.
But Ace didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he pulled my hand over to his side so he could weave our fingers together.
I looked over at him, meeting his eyes and slowly, he smiled at me.
“That was easy,” he joked and I rolled my eyes.
“I spent a week in agony!”
He caught my chin and squeezed, while keeping a hold on me with his imprisoning gaze.
“You think I wasn’t in agony, too?”
“Were you?”
I couldn’t picture Ace broken-hearted.
“I wasn’t sure what you wanted from me. I thought you didn’t want me to be a part of my kid’s life.”
That had to be heartbreaking, of course, I just didn’t know he would be going through that.
“But you signed the annulment papers and let me walk out of the door.”
“Because that’s what I thought you wanted!”
I sighed and shook my head, letting it rest on his heaving chest now. I traced the design of his intricate tattoos with my hands. Everything about Ace was sexy.
He was the sexiest, strongest man I’d slept with and now…was he all mine?
I was definitely bound to him by matrimony!
“We should avoid this from happening again in the future by speaking freely to each other,” I said.
Ace looked deep into my eyes and nodded.
“I promise to tell you everything that’s on my mind,” he said and then his hand ran down my naked body, over my curves and hips till he grabbed my ass in one large hand and squeezed.
I chewed down on my lip and giggled.
“Good. I just want us to be honest with each other.”
His blue eyes were beginning to grow dark with desire again and I could sense what exactly this conversation was leading us to. I couldn’t wait for Round two! I couldn’t get enough of him…my husband!
Ace rolled over me and his hot breath fell on my face.
But he was going to take it slow. He decided to touch me everywhere first. Gently, he began to explore my quivering body.
“Is this what you really wanted, Ace? To end up married with a baby on the way?”
He stopped his hands from working all over my body and he looked into my eyes again.
“I didn’t want anything, Sienna, and I still don’t want anything more than I want you and the baby. Nothing else even compares.”
I raised myself up to reach him so our mouths could meet.
How could one man be this perfect?
That drunken night; I had no idea I was marrying the man of my dreams and now he was in my bedroom, taking me again.