Enjoy!
I extended my hand to a scared fifteen-year-old girl who was looking at me like she had seen a ghost. "Ace Clarke Harding," I told her with a soft smile.
She shook my hand for a second before she pulled back, "I know who you are..." she managed to say before she looked around me. "Where's Hannah and Sebastian?"
I could see the unease on her face, "They are at home, waiting for you"
"Sebastian said he will be here..."
"He had some last-minute business to attend to, I can assure you that you're safe with me" I smiled.
She clutched her bag closer to her chest before nodding, she followed me to my car and I opened the passenger side door for her. She mumbled a quick thank you before she slid into the seat and fastened her seatbelt. I walked around the hood and settled into the driver's seat. I started to drive, glancing at her every two seconds.
"He really looked up to you" her voice was so low that I barely heard it.
"Who?" I asked.
"Aaron." she sighed with a sad smile. "You are still the football legend in Richmonte High, no one had beaten your records and then you went to Harvard and became the captain of Harvard Crimson football. Aaron wanted that..."
My heart drowned in my chest, "I'm so sorry, Tessa—"
She cut me off, shaking her head. "No, Aaron deserves it. He is the reason he lost everything"
I nodded, not knowing what to say.
"Thank you for everything your family is doing for me," she said, smiling at me. "I really wanted to meet you after all the amazing things I have heard about you at school. You are still famous among girls" she laughed. "Because of Aaron, I actually look up to you as well"
I laughed too. "I wasn't a really good guy in school. I was a complete douchebag. You shouldn't believe everything they say about me."
She shrugged. "Most of the high school girls like douchebags"
I raised an eyebrow, casting her a sideways glance. "Are you into douchebags?"
She paled; her smile fell. "What? No, I'm not into anyone"
I bit back a grin at her cute expression. "Good, since you are a part of my family now that makes you my little sister. I guess that also makes it my duty to keep those douchebags away from you and trust me, I'm very protective of my girls"
"Will you teach me?" she asked.
"Being a douchebag?" I laughed, not having the slightest idea what she was asking for.
"Football"
My eyebrows pinched together. "You want to play football?"
"Yeah!" she nodded enthusiastically.
I looked her up and down in a swift motion before darting my gaze back to the road. She was a fragile little girl, if she played football with me I might end up accidentally killing her. "Football is a violent sport. It's a contact sport, a player is subjected to being tackled, hit, bumped, and brought to the ground to be stopped"
She gave me a toothy, confident grin. "I'm strong, I can handle it"
For a kid who had seen too much, too little, she sure seemed to have an infectious innocence to her. I nodded. "We'll see,"
I parked the car in the driveway and stepped out. Tessa stepped out too, her eyes went to the mansion behind me and she paled once more.
I checked my cell phone to see if there was any reply from a certain blonde who had made it her mission to ignore the fuck out of me. There was none, I slid the phone back into my pocket.
And I haven't been thinking about the kiss at all. Not even a single time. Certainly not a million times a day when I should be working or doing something important. And I swear on my friend's Christian's life that I hadn't jerked off.
Servants immediately grabbed Tessa's stuff from her and I gestured for her to follow me. As we stepped inside, mom and dad welcomed her with warm smiles. She instantly eased up watching them, all the tension leaving her body. She hugged mom and then dad before we went into the living room.
Damon was lazily sprawled across one of the couches, flipping through the TV channels when his eyes fell on us. He stiffened and sat up immediately, his eyes narrowed on Tessa before darting to us.
He was wearing a black hoodie with black sweatpants, he had dark circles under his eyes probably from crying too much. It was a fucking unbearable sight to see Damon like that. He is always the wild, funny child, not the dark, brooding one. Black is not a good color on him.
"Fuck it" he hissed under his breath and got off the couch, probably to go sulk in his bedroom.
"Damon," the underlying warning in dad's voice stopped him in his tracks. "Behave."
Damon's shoulders sagged before he faced with annoyance. "I'm behaving. You wanted to bring a liar into this house and you did, I didn't say anything, did I?"
The harsh edge to his voice made Tessa flinch and that fucking pissed me off but I remained quiet.
Mom walked up to him. "Damon, this needs to stop. Tessa is a part of this family now and you better treat her with respect. If you call her a liar or any other colorful words, there are going to be consequences"
Damon glared at her. "But she is a liar! She is the reason Aaron went to jail!"
She flinched once more before dad wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
And I've had enough of it. "Aaron is the reason Aaron went to jail!" I intervened, even though I didn't want to snap at him while he was this depressed.
Damon scoffed, and a heartbroken expression fell on his face. "You too, Ace?"
I sighed, shaking my head. "You are acting like a jackass."
His lips pressed into a thin line before tears welled up in his eyes again. "Congratulations, dad, you got another child now. Why don't you take her to Washington with you once you win the election because I sure as hell aren't going anywhere with you."
He stomped to his room like the child he is and slammed the door shut for everyone to hear.
Mom followed Damon to his room and dad just stood there in his spot. He swallowed before passing Tessa a sweet smile. "Tessa, sweetheart, Fiona will show you to your room. This is your home now. If you need anything else just let me or Hannah know, alright?"
She nodded, hiding her tears before she followed Fiona to her room.
"Dad, he will come around..."
I know how strained dad and Damon's relationship was because of the presidency. He had asked dad to choose between his childhood dream and him, which was so fucking unfair because I know how hard dad worked to get to this point in his life only to give it up just like that.
Dad watched me, his eyes flickering with something I didn't quite understand. "Emily is my only child that has never given me a reason to be disappointed or made me feel like shit in everything that I do"
It fucking hurt because I know I was the biggest disappointment in my parent's eyes, I am their biggest failure. My dad had never failed in anything in his life except for me. Sebastian Harding was a proud man and I was a living, breathing, constant reminder that Sebastian Harding had failed at something. I have learned to mask the hurt, I have learned to accept it.
I deserve it, all of it.
I walked out of the mansion and breathed out loudly. My heart was fucking squeezing in my chest. It was painful, extremely fucking painful.
The only thing that made sense in my life right now was her. A smile pulled on my lips, I have replayed that kiss in my mind for the past week over and over again.
The softness of her lips, her nails brutally digging into the back of my neck. The way she fucking pulled me into her like she couldn't decide whether she wanted to kill me or rip my clothes and let me take her against the fucking wall.
I know I shouldn't have fucking kissed her but... fuck it, that black lingerie fucked with my sanity and my celibate dick.
I got into my car, the game “let's avoid Ace after giving him a taste” had been going on for a week now and I can't fucking take it anymore. I need to see her so fucking bad right now that I'm ready to embarrass myself if that's what it took.
I park outside her apartment complex, paid the guards generously, and took the elevator up to her floor. I kept knocking on the door until I heard the clicking of the locks.
Her eyebrows went up in surprise, and then she gave me the sexiest glare I had ever seen. The glare clearly said “I'm going to rip you to shreds” but all I could see was “Come on in! What took you so long?”. So like the asshole I am; I pushed past her and went inside her apartment. I should be scared of her right but instead, I'm more determined to never let her slip through my fingers once more.
"Let's go out for drinks"
She raised an eyebrow and then pointed to the door. "Get out!"
I gave her a lazy grin. "Nope, it's my turn"
"No, it isn't and whatever it was, it's over. You're fucking with my mind. I won't put up with that!"
I played the nice guy, the guy who'd do anything she asks for but I don't think it's gonna work with her, there's no fun in that. I can only be nice for so long before I snap and act like a dick I know that I am.
I leaned against the wall and tilt my head at her, looking her up and down in those fucking satin shorts and crop tank top, showing off her pierced belly button. I really want to bite her stomach, and leave my prints on that flawless skin. My eyes went to her narrowed ones again.
"It's over when I say it's over, El"
I swear I saw fire in her eyes but there was something else too... excitement? Thrill? "Go to hell!"
I smiled. "I'll follow you anywhere you go"
She crossed her arms over her chest, the scowl got replaced with amusement mixed with anger. "Technically, it's still my turn because you were not man enough to fulfill your end of the bargain"
I sighed. "Fine, let's get this over with..." I uttered in a bored manner. I know what I was doing, Ella wouldn't sleep with me because she was pissed and the way I said is probably gonna make her madder.
I don't know why am I acting like this but I probably have a death wish.
I tugged at my belt unbuckling it.
She frowned. "What are you doing?"
"Fulfilling my end of the bargain"
"I'm not gonna have sex with you, Ace," she declared.
"Then what do you want?"
She rolled her eyes. "Leave me alone."
With one long stride, I was right in front of her. I gripped her face and made her look up into my eyes. She was close, dangerously close, her body heat warmed into me. She at least didn't push me away, so there's that. Contrary to what she was saying, she wanted me here. She wanted me to chase her and I was fucking ready to oblige.
"I kissed you and I was pretty generous about it. If you want to just use my body, El, at least give me something in return"
"What?" her voice was breathless, a slight whisper.
Fuck, it felt good to know that my touch affects her in some way.
I'll take it, I'll fucking take anything she gives.
"Drinks, you and me, now"
She slapped my hand away from her face, twisting her lips in an enticing manner. "I'm only agreeing to do this because I'm bored and I need to find someone to hook up with," she looked me up and down. "Probably someone less clingy"
I let out a dry laugh as she walked to her bedroom. She stopped in her track and turned to face me once more. "Also to show you a man who actually knows what to do with a woman's body instead of just feeling her up like a horny teenage boy and then running out of her room with his tail wedged between his legs, or in your case... dick"
I just smiled not saying a word because we both know what I'll do to any fucker who even looked at her the wrong way. As for her last remark, one of these days, I'm gonna make her eat her words.
She left me alone in the living room and I walked around her apartment, messing with her stuff. Her phone vibrated over the coffee table and I walked to it. I swear to God, if it's Blake Vanderbilt, I'll block him.
╭───────────────╮
Hunter:
I miss you... I was thinking
of a quiet dinner at your place.
I'll cook. Just the two of us.
I think I'm going crazy beca...
╰───────────────╯
That’s all the message preview showed and fuck, I don't think I want to read the rest of the fucking message. My chest fucking tightened with incredible pain, and my muscles tensed up. I put her phone back wishing that I didn't pick it up in the first place.
Hunter Grey...
How can I fucking compete with that guy?
She looks at him as if he puts stars in the fucking sky. It was so fucking easy for her to fall for him, I saw her fall for him in a matter of months after we ended.
Months... she completely moved on in months.
And it's been fucking years and I couldn't even think about moving on.
Even when I was with that gold-digging Voldemort, all I could think about was Ella.
but if Hunter Grey is what I am up against then I'm fucked...
The door to her bedroom swung open and she stepped out in jeans and a crop top, it was casual, nothing fancy like she always dresses up but I'd be lying if I didn't find myself fucking mesmerized.
There were just some moments in between when she look so much like the sixteen-year-old Ella—the Ella that was just mine... not Hunter's or Blake's or any other fucker on this planet.
She grabbed her phone and stared at the screen. I watched her, trying hard to read her expression, she typed something probably replying to him before she put it in her bag and faced me.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
The previous playfulness I felt got replaced by dread but I didn't let her see that. I offered her my elbow and she slammed her handbag onto my arm walking out of the apartment.
She was still pissed...
I took her to Nino's pub, we had been here before when we went on our first date. I leaned closer to her ear and whispered. "Go get us a table and I'll get the drinks, wife"
She turned her face, her lips inches away from mine. "Don't play the player"
She then elbowed me away from her before trotting over to a booth in the corner. I smiled and went to get us drinks. I ordered beer and waited because the bartender was busy, it was pretty crowded tonight, and as I turned to get back to her, I stilled.
Ella was leaning against a wall, laughing while some fucker was hovering over her and she already had a drink in her hands, courtesy of the same fucker, I guess.
Laughing, her eyes fell on me and she gave me a mischievous wink before turning her attention back to the man.
Motherfucker!
A/N
Hello, everyone!
I hope you guys enjoy today's update.
Also, please don't spoil the book in the comments. Please no spoiler in the earlier chapters or book 1. I never thought I had to tell this to people.
Fuck, I really wish I could fast-forward to Damon's book. I have been writing like crazy nowadays.
Anyways, don't forget to comment and vote!
X O X O
JANE DOE