Ace Killian

chapter 23: The space between us

Ace P.O.V

Last night should have been easy. she crawled under my sheets like she belonged there, curling against me without hesitation. her head rested on my chest, her fingers brushing lazy patterns over my ribs.

And for a while, I let myself believe it — let myself breathe her in, feel the warmth of her body pressed into mine.

But the more her breathing evened out, the heavier the weight inside me grew.

Every touch of hers dragged mia's ghost closer. every soft sigh Naomi made echoed with the memory of someone else's voice. it twisted me up inside until my chest felt too tight to hold her there any longer.

So, I slipped out of bed. stood there in the dark like a coward, watching her sleep in a space that should have felt like salvation but instead felt like sin.

Every time i looked at her, guilt clawed at my throat, heavy and bitter. the memory of mia's voice, her nails digging into my back, the sound of her moans in the dark — they weren't fading. they were etched into me like scars.

It should've felt right. it should've felt like winning a prize — her here, with me, no more space between us.

But instead, it feels like temptation wrapped in punishment.

I shouldn't have let her move in, because now she's here.

her bag sat in the corner of my room.

Her scent is on my sheets, my clothes, my skin. Everywhere I turned, she was there.

Closer than ever.

Trusting me.

So i left, indulging myself into work till dawn, like a man on the edge of breaking.

.......

When I got back to the room, it was morning. I sat across the room, phone in hand, pretending to scroll.

"Did you sleep?" She asked quietly, stepping out of the sheets.

I didn't look up. "A little."

As she walked past me, my shirt swallowed her frame. She gave me a small, shy smile like she belonged here, like she was mine. And for a second, I wanted to believe it.

I wanted to believe i could be the man she thought I was — the man who could keep her safe, the man who wouldn't destroy her like he'd destroyed everything else he touched.

But my hands were already stained.

I clenched my jaw as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. her beauty lighting up the room. And all I could think was:

If she knew.

If she knew where I'd been.

What I'd done.

Who I'd done it with.

She wouldn't be here now.

And yet, as I watched her, a darker thought crept in — one I hated myself for.

If Kane even breathed near her, if he so much as looked at her, id burn his whole empire to the ground.

Because even if I didn't deserve her ... I wasn't about to lose her.

Not now.

Not ever.

_____

Naomi's P.O.V

Last night felt like it should've meant something.

The way he held me — or maybe the way I thought he was holding me — it felt like we were finally breathing the same air again. His heartbeat steady beneath my cheek, strong but strained, like he was holding everything inside. I traced slow circles over his ribs, hoping it would ease him. Hoping he'd let me in.

But somewhere between one breath and the next, something shifted. That invisible wall between us slid quietly back into place.

.......

When I woke, he was gone. The sheets beside me were wrinkled, cold, still holding the shape of him — but he wasn't there.

I pulled the blanket closer, breathing in his scent — dark, clean, familiar — trying to convince myself he'd be back soon.

To think that Last night, he held me like he needed me. Like I was the only thing keeping him from falling apart.

And now?

It was like he'd vanished into the same air I was trying to breathe.

Hearing the door open I sat up slowly, my chest tight with a feeling I couldn't name. I always told myself I could handle Ace — his moods, his shadows — but the truth was, I didn't understand them. Not really.

His expression was calm. Too calm. Like he hadn't just left me alone in his bed. He sat across the room, phone in hand, pretending to scroll.

"Did you sleep?" I asked quietly, stepping out of the sheets.

He didn't look up. "A little."

Liar.

The space between us felt heavier than it should — thick with everything left unsaid.

What changed?

did it mean nothing?

The way he held me. The way his breathing evened out when I curled into him.

It wasn't lust. It was something quieter.

Fragile.

Real.

But now it felt like I'd dreamed it.

Tucking my hair behind my ear, I bit back the urge to ask if I'd done something wrong — if I'd pushed too far, crossed some invisible line. Maybe moving in had been a mistake.

Instead, I pretended not to feel the walls closing in again. Pretended his distance didn't ache the way it did.

Because being in Ace's world meant bleeding quietly. And some part of me already knew — I was bleeding for him.

That was the real danger.

Not the guns.

Not the secrets.

Not the enemies.

But loving him.