Page 62 of Until Ace

He keeps me still as he starts bucking into me savagely. “Let go.”

My fingers finally do as he demanded and start rubbing my clit, my vision blurring, and with the next breath, I explode.

“What’s on your agenda for today?” Ace asks, handing me my cup of coffee.

It’s as it’s been every morning since I came to stay with him. Drinking coffee together, having breakfast, and talking about the day that’s before us and our plans.

Only, this morning is different. This morning, we’re an us.

Sure, we didn’t come out and say the actual words, but last night and this morning basically prove it.

Not to mention, the I love yous we exchanged.

“The usual,” I say before I take a sip. Once that’s done and the first shot of caffeine is safely coursing to my system, I continue, “Work, then I’ll go to the apartment and try to figure out how much I need to replace and how I’m going to afford it. I might see if Beverly is up for a game or a drink, and then I’ll come home.”

As I say home, Ace’s movements falter, and I realize what I said.

I called his house my home.

Somewhere along the way, I started thinking of his place as home and my apartment as, well… just an apartment. Nothing more. Just a space I pay rent for.

The next realization is quick to follow—it’s way too soon for that. No matter the intense feelings, the off-the-charts sex, and the way it gets better and better every day, an absolute dream come true. It’s still too soon.

So, I’m quick to backtrack. “I didn’t mean to imply—”

But Ace is just as quick to stop my words. “I love the fact that you consider this place your home. Because it is.”

“It is?” I ask.

“Fuck yes, it is.” His statement is firm, his face serious.

“But...,” I start, then stop.

I watch him take a sip of his own coffee. Once he's done, he prompts, “But what?”

“It’s too soon,” I say softly.

He puts his mug on the counter next to an empty plate and walks the four steps that separate us.

His hands glide around my waist, and he pulls my hips into his. Then he turns so he’s the one leaning against the counter, and my hips and body rest on his. Once he has me as he wants me, he tilts his head down, his nose a breath from mine, his brown eyes all I can see. He knows I love this position. “Do you love me?”

His question is soft by design, his eyes boring into mine almost as if he’s trying to find all my secrets and pull them into the light.

It’s an unnerving feeling, especially since I’m hiding so much from him. Still, my answer is an instant “Yes.”

“Then it’s not too soon.”

“We’ve only known each other a month, Ace,” I remind him.

“So what?” He shrugs and gathers me closer. “There are people who get married after knowing each other a weekend, and there are people who fall in love in a day. And there are people who don’t commit even after ten years. Who’s to say how fast is too fast? Who has a right to say the fact that I met a woman and fell in love with her in three seconds flat after meeting her is wrong? Who has the right to come to me and say it’s too soon to move in together after a month of getting to know her, waking up every morning next to her? Holding her while she’s crying or laughing. While she’s worrying or sleeping. Eating with that woman, talking to her, taking a walk with her. After holding her hand and getting her kiss. And after last night, finally making love to her, who can say it’s too soon to know I’ll spend the rest of my life with her? Tell me, baby, who has that right?”

Hearing his words, my world gets smaller and smaller, until finally, it shrinks to just the two of us.

After he delivers his speech, I know, down to my bones, there’s nothing more important than the man holding me.

I also know I’ll do everything in my power not to let anyone take him from me.

As I think all this, I stay silent—something that clearly aggravates Ace.