Damn Good Reasons **DISCONTINUED - SEE NEW VER!**

35 Beyond Words

I threw the shirt into the pile of other washing on the floor and noticed Ace's cunning eyes wandering as he took another swig. "That looks wet too," he said, gesturing at my bra.

"It's fine," I grumbled under my breath. "Miraculously, it's still dry."

Ace lifted the bottle and poured whiskey all over my chest, and it streamed down my front, saturating my bra and soaking into the front of my jeans. I gasped in shock when the warm liquid hit me, wide-mouthed in disbelief. I looked down at myself to see whiskey dripping off me and into the puddle of it on the floor.

"Wet."

"I can't believe you just did that!"

Ace shrugged and lifted the brown, glass bottle for yet another swig, amazing me that there was still some left.

With the intention of paying him back the favor, I swiped at the bottle, trying to snatch it off him, but he moved to make me miss and held it up, over my head, too high for me to reach. I leaned in close to him, still reaching for it, but caring little about it now as I indulged in the feeling of my whiskey-wet chest squishing against his.

"OK," he grinned. He lowered the bottle and held it for me to take. "Here. A token of my generous, caring nature."

I took the now much more light-weight bottle from him and swirled the base which confirmed my assumption that it was empty. I tossed the bottle into the trashcan with a dull thud. "I don't know who you're trying to kid... Ace," I grinned coolly, "but, you're not fooling me."

Ace touched my arm with the back of his fingers, tickling my skin as he slowly trailed it down my forearm. Those stony blues started at me intently, giving me the warm and fuzzies. Maybe Ace didn't say things explicitly, but he had ways of speaking his thoughts far clearer and louder than words ever could.

He cupped his hand around my skinny side, and it smoothed up my spine, enticing me into a state of euphoria that was better than any whiskey could do. I felt my bra come loose around me, and I let it fall away as a smug smile came to his lips.

Rough fingertips pressed into the skin of my back while his other palm lightly grazed up my tummy, making my abdomen throb as he skimmed over a bare breast before riding up my sternum. His fingers and thumb went either side of my windpipe, and he gripped my chin, letting my head rest in his large hand. His thumb gently traced the bruise along my jaw, and then he pulled my lips to his. We should have been gentle considering the physical state of us both, but we were so worked up by now that we lost all sense of self-composure. Slow and sentimental turned hasty. But, in the midst of the usual rawness of our intimacy, I felt a sense of some new, deep, refined feelings of closeness between us. Perhaps it was the scare that Kyle could have ripped me away from Ace permanently that made us so needy for each other. It made us appreciate the moment more. It made us appreciate each other.

----

I lay there semi-conscious, feeling relaxed and in a state of bliss. Ace had fallen asleep an hour before, and he lay next to me on his stomach with his head stuffed under the pillow. The same way he always slept. It was dark out now, and I was feeling hungry. I tried to remember the last time I ate. It must have been those peanut butter cookies I made for Natalie, but that seemed like days ago.

I sat up and, on deciding not to walk around the house naked, I threw on some denim shorts and a singlet before wandering out to the kitchen to raid the fridge. I'd barely taken a bite out of the huge, five-layer club sandwich I made for myself when a rowdy rumble rolled like a storm down our driveway.

A single headlight shone through the windows so bright, I had to wait until the vehicle was turned off before I could peek out to see who was visiting. He got off his motorbike and, although I couldn't get a good view of his face in the darkness, I knew who it was. His bulky physique easily gave him away, and sometimes you can just tell a person by the way they walk. Saying I was nervous about seeing him would be an understatement, but if I didn't open the door, he'd wake Ace, and he needed to rest.