ACE

Chapter 33: Love?

Playlist for this Chapter: Watch by Billie Eilish, Exile by Taylor Swift ft. Bon Iver.

* * *

Nicholas walked into the room and froze at the sight of me holding a gun and examining it carefully. He frowned as he glanced at the gun and then looked at me.

"Where'd you get that?" He asked and I shrugged.

"Took it from Jake." I said and he raised his eyebrows.

"And he just gave it to you?" I hummed in response.

"It's not my fault no one can resist me." I said and his gaze darkened when his eyes trailed my body before coming back to my face.

I got up and walked over to the window, looking outside and felt his presence behind me as I breathed in the cool air. I was caged between his arms as his hands rested on the railing on either side of me. 

I heard him take a deep breath, pressing his body to mine, his lips went to my neck as he trailed wet kisses on my neck.

Oh hell nah.

One of his hands went to my waist, holding me firmly as I struggled to stand straight.

"I missed you so fucking much, sweetheart." He whispered in my ear and I sighed.

Don't give in, don't give in, don't give in.

His free hand slid closer to mine, the one holding the gun and when his fingers touched me I turned around abruptly and pressed the gun to his chest. He staggered back a step, raising his hands in the air.

His tongue ran across his upper teeth as he cocked his head and looked at me with narrowed eyes.

"Smart, but not too much." I said.

"And yes, I do how to use it." I said, clicking the gun. Now all it would take was a small pull of the trigger. He watched me with guarded eyes, not once looking away and suddenly twisted the gun in my hand, grabbing it from my grip easily.

"You forget who I am." He said and I pursed my lips. 

"What happened to you?" He whispered and I scoffed.

A lot did, sweetheart. 

"Where do you want me to start?" I asked him sarcastically and he threw the gun aside and it skid across the floor. 

He took my hand gently and led me back inside, closing the balcony doors and we both sat on the couch.

I tried my best to keep my distance from him, but he kept on scooting closer to me no matter how far I slid from him. When I reached the edge, my head snapped to his.

"Say what you want so I can leave." I hissed at him and he looked taken aback for a moment before recollecting himself.

"I— I don't know what to say." He finally spoke and I stood up abruptly, him following suit.

"Then I can leave." I said but he caught my hand before I could turn around. I snatched my hand from his and glared at him.

"Don't touch me." I said and he retracted his hand, and I remembered how I said the exact same thing to him when I walked away from him.

"Do you have any idea about the hell I've been through because of you?" I chuckled humourlessly and looked at him but he didn't say anything.

"After I left you, I was taken hostage by some freak named Giovanni who tortured me like anything. And you know why? Because I was with you. I didn't even know the fucking guy! Two weeks Nicholas. Two. Fucking. Weeks. I was with him." I felt the tears forming and saw his face harden.

"Giovanni?" He asked in disbelief and gave him a firm nod. 

"That's—That's not possible." He ran a hand over his face and looked at me with worry, pulling me against him and embracing me tightly.

"I'm so sorry, my love. I should've known." He sat rubbing my back as he whispered sweet nothings in my ear. All I wanted at the moment was to melt into his embrace, no longer able to hold the tears back while I squirmed in his grip, trying to move away from him.

I let the tears finally fall slowly as he watched me with a pained expression and regret swimming in his eyes he pulled before me in to his lap, cradling me and calming me down as I held onto his shirt tightly and buried my face into his chest.

His rich, musky scent calmed me down, and he held me close while I trembled violently, trying to keep the emotions inside.

"I'm here now, and I won't let anything happen to you. I'm right here." He whispered, rubbing by arms as I quieted down.

"What did he do to you?" He asked after a while and I took a deep breath.

"He—he told me everything, about you and the mafia. I didn't know you were the leader." I said and he tensed. 

"He said you killed people, too many to count. And that you used to be friends." I said and he grunted in response.

"Used to be. Not anymore. Ucciderò quello stronzo per averti toccato." (I'm going to kill that fucker for touching you.) He whispered. 

"What else? Did he touch you?"

"He— I was covered in bruises when my friends found me unconscious." I could feel the anger radiating off of him as he growled.

"Does your family know?" He asked and I sighed.

"Only Dan and Ava know, and Cole and Abby, about everything. Not my parents." I said and he hummed in response, rubbing up and down my back.

"Did you have fun today?" He suddenly asked me out of the blue and I shrugged, probably to change the subject.

"It was nice while it lasted." I said and he placed a hand on my thigh, making small patterns on my bare skin. He reached into the inside pocket of his blazer taking out a rectangular box and opened it. 

I saw a beautiful silver necklace inside, and on it hung the same signet that was on the ring he wore, and a diamond shone in between it. I admired the necklace, because it truly was beautiful, before looking at him with a raised brow.

"What's this?" I asked and he ran his thumb over my jaw slowly, as if committing my face to memory.

"It's for you." He said and my eyes snapped to his as I looked at him in disbelief.

"For me?" I asked him and he nodded.

"Who else?" He said smiling at me but I frowned.

"I can't accept this, it's too much." I said and he frowned.

"Why not?" He said and I shook my head, getting out of his embrace.

Please don't give in.

"I just can't." I said, eyeing the signet warily and he realized why I refused.

"I'm giving you this as a permanent token of affection, from me to you. A token of my lo—" He stopped suddenly and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Why are you here suddenly? You remember what rumors followed me when I wore your family crest on my finger. What on earth are you trying to prove?" I asked him and he ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm really sorry for all of that, but I had the best intentions, I promise you." He said with desperation and I shook my head.

"But why, Nicholas?" I asked him again, equally desperate.

"Because I love you god dammit!" He suddenly spoke with frustration as my eyes widened at his sudden outburst.

And I felt the weight of his words settle into the air like a heavy weight as we both stared at each other, desire in our eyes evident as we looked at each other with so much pain and so much longing.

What the actual fuck?