Hateful Love (King of Aces #1)

by T. Ashleigh

This jail stuff sucks. I wonder how my old man and Ryker are holding up. I can’t imagine doing this shit every day, but I guess if Blaine isn’t able to come up with something, I’m fucked either way. Regardless, I wouldn’t take any of it back, not since it got him out of here and free. Blaine… ugh, my sweet baby.

My eyes jerk toward the right and I almost lose my ability to breathe when I see the love of my life charging toward me. Blaine looks pissed, his eyes glued to the sheriff as he advances on him. Then his hand shoots out, grabbing the ring of keys on his belt before he can react, and my stomach flips as a thousand thoughts run through my head.

“I love you,” he whispers, pulling back to look at me as he cradles my face in his hands. “I missed you so much.” “Love you too,” I breathe out, fisting his shirt to hang onto him. “Missed you more.”

“Hey, asshole!” Blaine calls, catching the ex-sheriff’s attention before they cart him off. “Where’s my boyfriend’s necklace!” Listen, some people swoon over chocolates and flowers, but I swoon over curse words and possessive jocks. I didn’t know it was a thing, but I’m learning nothing about Blaine is what I expected, and I love every second of it.

Although I’m still confused as fuck, something about that fills me with warmth. It’s like all my favorite people are coming together. Whatever is currently happening takes a back seat to that.

I don’t want to seem ungrateful, but I also don’t want to owe that man anything. If he thinks pulling strings will make me step aside so he can steal Blaine, he’s fucking wrong. This guy is mine and I’ll be damned if I let anything get in the way of that.

He looks at Blaine once more, almost with an inquisitive look before turning back to me. “So you care about him?” “I more than care,” I state, taking hold of Blaine’s hand, my eyes never leaving Mayor Yates. “I love him.”

I look between Blaine and my mama. I have no idea what’s going on, but the calmness in Blaine’s big gray-blue eyes sets me a little at ease. I might not know what’s happening right now, but I trust that they’ll tell me the whole story. If they say everything is okay, I have no reason not to believe them.

I give the mayor one last skeptical look but feel something settling inside me when all I see back is patience and acceptance. “Just take care of him,” he says, smiling with a bit of sadness on his lips. We might not have much in common, but I can see that, despite what he did, he still loves his son. It’s written across his face. I don’t like him, but I nod in agreement. “With my life.”

Guilt churns in my gut. Shit, I hadn’t thought of that. Ever since the whole Kent thing, Silas has been extra protective of me. We’ve spent almost every minute since he’s gotten out together, even sneaking him into my room at night so we don’t have to sleep apart. While he’s at work, he’s constantly texting me. I don’t blame him though. I’m still a little shaken from that whole experience too and have willingly glued myself to his side as much as possible.

Still, I could have said something. “I’m sorry, Si. I didn’t mean to make you worry. I just needed to be on my own for a little bit.” “And that’s more than okay,” he says, softening as he walks the rest of the way to my truck. “I’m not an asshole, Blaine. You just could have said somethin’. I got worried.”

He scoffs. “Hell yeah, I’m still mad. Fuckin’ almost gave me a heart attack.” He points to where I’m lying and then back to the path he came from. “My car’s over there. You still need time to yourself?” I shake my head as I reach for him with grabby hands. Now that he’s here, I don’t want him going anywhere.

“Of course it matters!” I argue, dropping my face into my hands. “What are we supposed to do, Si?” “Do you want to break up?” My head snaps up so fast that I’m surprised I don’t break my neck. I look at him in horror, trying to read his stoic expression. “What? No. Fuck no. We’re not breaking up. Don’t say dumb shit like that.”

“We’re gonna be fine,” he whispers in such a soothing tone that makes me want to believe him. I press my forehead against his, inhaling and exhaling deeply, trying to get in as much of him as I can. “How?” “Because we’re us,” he replies, tipping my chin up with his forefinger so our eyes meet. “Because I love you, Blaine Yates. I ain’t plannin’ on only being your first love. I’m plannin’ on being your last one too.”

“Dad thinks I’m naive,” I admit, recalling the conversation I had with him the other day about Silas and I. He’s not totally against us, but he did try to give me some tough love. “He says this is just a teenage phase that everyone goes through. He said the people we fall in love with at eighteen aren’t always going to be the ones we end up with.”

“He don’t know shit about us. Will people think we’re crazy? Sure, but fuck what everyone thinks.” “I know you’re it for me, Si,” I whisper against his lips, rubbing my nose with his. “But I can’t stand the thought of being so far away from you. I don’t want us to fight and break up.” He chuckles darkly. “You think I’m gonna let you break up with me? Nah, baby, you’re stuck.

He shakes his head again as he brushes my hair off my forehead and kisses it. “Fuck that shit. You gotta do what’s best for you.” “You’re what’s best for me.” “I know, so you better listen to what I’m sayin’.” He cradles my face in his hands, smiling so sweetly, reminding me how much I mean to him. “You’re going to Yale, we’ll stay together, and everythin’ will be okay. I promise.”

“So, I love you. I love you even though I don’t deserve you.” I open my mouth to speak but he shuts me up with a look. “Don’t even try to argue. Compared to me, Blaine, you’re everythin’.”

“So, it got me thinkin’, how the fuck am I supposed to show my guy how much he means to me?” He kisses both of my ankles, laving his tongue up until he reaches the inside of my thigh before reaching for my shirt. “I feel so fuckin’ much for you, so much more than ‘I love you’ could ever say.”

“Even though my future here is set in stone, you’ve made me believe that I’m worth more. You’ve looked past all my bullshit and pried the real me out. I can’t imagine how I could repay that.” “Just by being you,”

“No,” he whispers, bending down to kiss my tears away. “It’s always been no bullshit between us. It’s gonna stay that way. I want to know everythin’ you’re feelin’. If you’re gonna cry for me, I wanna see it.” “Okay,” I choke out, catching his lips when he goes to move to my other cheek.

I never imagined that love could feel like this. “I love you,” I whisper, closing my eyes for a moment as I let what he’s doing to my body overtake me. “Si, I’m never going to love anybody as much as I love you.” “Damn straight,”

I can’t help it. I start to cry again. What just happened was so intense, and my heart is breaking knowing I only have a limited amount of these moments left. Silas knows what I’m thinking and lays his head on my chest, tangling our legs together.

“It won’t be forever,” he promises, playing with the thatch of dark hair at the base of my cock. “It’ll all be okay.” But I’m not too sure how I’m supposed to go on and live my life without the other half of me.

I can’t even picture a time when I wasn’t madly in love with Silas Richards anymore. And I alw...

I can’t explain it, but I feel irrationally angry. Maybe it’s because I know my time with Blaine is dwindling down and I’m powerless to stop it.

“Damn it!” I growl, reaching up and fisting my hair as I do a slow spin. I feel like I’ve been backed into a corner. Not because of Blaine, but because of my fucked-up circumstances.

“Don’t smoke anymore?” he questions, taking a deep drag, the smoke smelling so incredibly good. I shake my head. “Blaine doesn’t like it.”

How do I tell the man who’s been like a second dad to me my whole life that I want to leave? That I don’t want to be a part of his family anymore? That I want to abandon this place and settle somewhere new with Blaine?

It seems selfish, like I’m choosing love over family or spitting on everything Whaley’s done for me, but that’s not it either. Even before Blaine, I wanted a different life, and having him just makes me want it more.

“Just speak. Let it out. Start with whatever you want. It don’t have to make sense. You can even go from the middle and work your way back. Or, hell, the end. We’ll sift through it together.” I shake my head. “You make it sound so easy.” “Not everythin’ in life has to be complicated.”

“At one point in my life, I probably would have said yes to your questions, but now? I have nothing worth leaving for. My life is here, my home, the path I’ve paved for myself. This is where I belong. I’m with the people I’m meant to be with.” My stomach sinks because I knew he wouldn’t get it. “Yeah⁠—” “But that’s not how it is for you, Silas.”

“He’s so smart. He got accepted into Yale. He’s gonna be a doctor, you know?” I smile because I’m so proud of him. I love the fact that I get to brag about my guy. However, listing all of his accomplishments just reminds me how different we are in the end. “He’s got all these dreams and aspirations. He’s amazin’, and here I am with no goals, no future, nothin’ in sight to look forward to.”

I nod, trying to push away my sadness. “So far away from me.” “Is this what has you so upset? The thought of a future without Blaine?” We’re talking about the love of my life being thousands of miles away from me, of course it is. “Yeah.”

He bursts out laughing, looking years younger than his mere thirty-five.

PAUSEEEE HES 35?? Wait..

I stand frozen, Whaley’s words not seeming real. Can I really have the life I want? Is it that easy?

It’s so domestic, so cheesy, so not like anything I thought I’d ever have. Yeah, maybe things can be that easy after all.

“No, I want to know,” he insists with another shake of his head. “You looked so excited earlier and you wouldn’t tell me. The suspense is killing me, Si.” “Blaine, later.” “No. Tell me now.” I growl in warning. “Baby…” “Oh, come on!” he shouts, throwing his hands up in the air. “Just get on with it.” “Fine! I’m movin’ to fuckin’ Connecticut with you! Can you shut the fuck up now?”

He shakes his head slowly. “But what about the Aces?” “What about them?” I say, and even now, the words still feel foreign on my tongue. “They’re not my future. You are. Wherever you go, I go too. Let’s get out of this town and make a life for ourselves.”

“I can’t believe you would do that for me,” he tells me, almost horrified and ignoring my latter question. “I don’t want you to regret it.” Regret it? Regret him? Never. But it’s more than just that. I’m not only doing this for Blaine but also for myself.

“I won’t. It’s what’s best for me too,” I say quickly. “What do you say? Want a roommate in the fall?” He breaks out in the biggest smile I’ve ever seen and throws himself into my unprepared arms. We stumble a bit as he wraps his legs around my waist, but I would never let him fall. I hold onto him, crushing him against my chest, knowing that the life we’re going to build together is going to be worth all the bullshit we went through.

Without any warning, I use the hold I have on his throat to drag him after me. He follows, but he fights my hold the entire time. I look around our setting. While I don’t mind people knowing that Blaine is mine, I’m a possessive fucker, and I don’t want anyone seeing my guy’s goods.

And in a way, I was. I helped him get rid of the chains that were keeping him up on that perfect fucking pedestal. It might have started out of spite and hatred, but it turned into love. He’s not perfect Blaine Yates anymore and I love him even more for

I don’t correct him on the fact that I’m supposed to hate him right now. He sounds so lost, like I’m his only saving grace.

Honestly, I don’t care at this point. I clasp his throat gently in my hands and rub my nose against his. “I get you forever now, don’t I?” “Yeah,” he whispers, tears in his eyes as he nods. “Forever.”

Yeah, she’s right about that. I won’t even dress up like this for my own wedding. Blaine will just have to suck it up. He’s going to marry me in my leather jacket and Doc Martens.

“Okay, okay. Jesus, would it kill you to wait?” he fires back. His words are lost in the wind because as cheesy as it is to say, he takes my breath away. Yeah, it’s gross as fuck, but that’s exactly what happens. Blaine looks incredible, hot as hell in his fitted black tux and slicked-back blond hair as he storms angrily down the stairs. The rage in his eyes just makes him look even better, all worked up and flustered, just the way I like him.

I don’t realize I’m staring until he snaps his fingers in front of my face. “What?” he snarls. “You had so much to say a second ago.” “I…” Jesus Christ, why can’t I speak? “Baby, you’re beautiful.”

God, not the roleplay again. My boyfriend’s a closet sex maniac. We just did pizza delivery guy a few nights ago.

see like this side plot js mmm

“It’s perfect, isn’t it?” he breathes out against my neck. For some fucked-up reason, I smile as I kiss the top of his head. “Maybe just a little.”