Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
He dragged a footstool away from the wall and plopped his ass on it over by his desk. He thrust the plastic bag in my direction. After I had everything laid out, I began mixing up the purple dye mixture.
“Shirt should either be changed or taken off,” I told him as I slid the gloves onto my hands. I hated these big gloves and usually used latex gloves on my own hands, but these big, gaudy plastic gloves were all I had.
Ace whipped his shirt over his head, tossing it to the floor. I had to bite back the urge to tell him to pick it up. This wasn’t my room, and he was damn near an adult. He was in charge of his own space, and if he wanted to live in a room that looked like a tornado had whipped through it, then that was on him.
I just prayed I didn’t trip over something and break my damn neck.
I pushed a boot out of my way, reaching to pull his head back. Then, I remembered his touch phobia and immediately stopped. It hadn’t been outright said, but I knew he didn’t like being touched. I didn’t want to be responsible for triggering him.
I had no idea what Ace had gone through, but my heart hurt for him all the same.
“You can touch me,” he said quietly. “It’s usually okay if I’m expecting it and I give explicit permission.”
“Say red if you need me to stop,” I blurted.
He laughed. “You’ve been around Jax too much.”
My cheeks darkened. I gently pressed my fingers into his forehead, angling his head back. “You don’t want this bleached first?” I asked, eyeing his blue strands.
“Nah. I want to see what it looks like mixed with the faded blue.”
I shrugged. It was his hair.
“Okay, wow, that actually looks good,” I admitted when he strode out of his bathroom, his freshly-dyed hair now dry and pushed back from his forehead. The purple ended up mixing beautifully with the blue.
He grinned. “I know fashion. Just wish my brothers did.” I snorted. “You know I had to force Jax to change for your date? He was going to show up wearing grease-stained jeans and an old t-shirt that was one wash away from falling apart.”
A soft smile tilted my lips. “I hope you know I wouldn’t have cared what he wore to our date. I want Jax. His appearance…” I shrugged. “I just want him to be him.”
Ace nodded. “I know that now. Didn’t know it then. But you were softening him a little, and I wanted that to continue. He’s had it rough.” He looked at me through those crystal-clear blue eyes. “Jax can be a pain in the ass, and he’s overbearing as fuck, but his heart is good.”
“Everything about Jax is good,” I corrected him. “He’s perfect.”
Ace barked out a laugh. “If you say so.” He walked over to his bed and began tossing clothes aside, some of them landing on the floor. “Aha!” He lifted a makeup bag, holding it high in the air. “I bought this a few weeks ago but haven’t been brave enough to attempt this myself. Mind guiding me?”
I guessed most people might have been surprised by Ace’s request, but I wasn’t. I bet he would rock makeup just as easily as he rocked his colorful hair and dark clothes.
“Let’s go to the bathroom,” I told him. “We’ll do our makeup together so you can mimic me.”
“If I was bi, I’d steal you from my brother,” Ace playfully sighed.
I laughed, not surprised in the least that he was gay. “One day, you’ll find a man who encourages this,” I assured him. “Until then, keep being unapologetically you.”
He winked at me through the mirror as I began laying out all the cosmetics on the counter, along with the brushes. “I’ve always been me. And fuck anyone who doesn’t like it.”
I smiled at him. I could stand to learn a thing or two from this boy.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jax
“Jax went to see Rico last night,” Shaw announced once we were all seated at the table.
Ace glared at me. I just evenly met his gaze, waiting for his explosion. “What the fuck, Jax?” he snapped. “You promised you cut ties.”
I arched a brow at him. “When there’s innocent women and girls in danger, being sold as nothing more than fucking objects, promises like that come second,” I bitterly reminded him. He scowled at me. “Welcome to being a fucking outlaw, kid. Life isn’t sunshine and goddamn rainbows.”
“You fucking—”
“Stop,” Arlo snapped at both of us. I glared at him. “Ace, shut your mouth. Jax did what he thought was right. I trust that; I trust him. You need to do the same.”
Ace clenched his jaw. If his looks could kill, they’d be burying me in a shallow grave out back. “If you go to prison again, Jax, I’ll never fucking forgive you,” he swore.