Hateful Love (King of Aces #1)

by T. Ashleigh

This is the day Whaley gave me the first of many, many lessons that I’ll never forget. No one bad is ever truly bad, and no one good is ever truly good.

I still remember the way he looked up at me and how his big brown eyes held mine. It was like all the air was sucked out of the room. It just took me by surprise, the sheer intensity of my reaction to him, and I knew it wasn’t going to be something I would shake anytime soon. I’d never experienced anything like that before. I was so lost, so entranced, that it took me a moment to come back to reality.

Silas brings out the worst in me. It’s like I have this raw fury that’s buried so deep inside and ready to be unleashed the second he’s near.

It’s ironic, really. Dad cares too much about the wrong thing while Mom cares too little about everything.

I’ll be away from Brookshire, from the leeches that want to suck me dry, from the small town that holds me on a pedestal,

don’t know if I want to bleed for him as much as I want him to bleed for me, but I do know whatever happens between us is going to be explosive.

She taught me at a young age to be thankful for what you have and to not get upset with the things you don’t. One of the many lessons I live by.

I feel like an intruder in my own family. And the worst thing? I can’t even find it in me to care. How fucked-up does that make me? Most people strive for acceptance from their families and yet, here I am, ready to get the hell out of dodge and never look back.

He’s teasing me and he knows it. I growl, pressing my hips into him harder, hoping he’ll get with it and fucking touch me. He releases a little chuckle, and I pull back slightly, glaring down at him. “What?” “You want me,”

“Don’t ruin it. For once, just shut your fucking mouth.”

I couldn’t help it. I was trapped. Everything about him that I hated just turned me on at that moment. That hot, sticky tension between us just bubbled and boiled over until it exploded. It was magnetic.

He’s like an addiction, a drug of the worst kind that’s consuming me, and all I want is my next hit. I’m like an alcoholic dying for a sip, telling myself it’ll be the last one, but always wanting more. Silas Richards is my favorite vice.

My chest is heaving, breaths puffing past my lips harshly as he works me up. “He punched you and it pissed me off. No one fucks with you but me.”

I don’t like people messing with what’s mine. What the fuck? Blaine isn’t mine. He’s not my anything.

They want to take and take and take until there’s nothing left. They don’t care about me.

“Good, baby?” Baby.

And I fucking love it. I want him to call me that all the time. I want to be his baby every damn day and from now on, if he’ll let me.

“Give it to me, baby,”

Blaine, baby, I need you to get out of my head, you’re fucking with my ability to do life properly.

“Oh, come on. It was a love tap. Be serious, Si.” “Baby.” He sighs, grabbing my hand and bringing it to his lips, kissing my fingers. “Nothin’ you can say will change anythin’.” I swallow dryly, hoping that’s true. “Yeah?” “Yeah,”

“Blaine, baby, breathe.”

“You’re important to me. Fuck that, I’m obsessed with you, Blaine Yates. Like a toxin there ain’t no cure for. You’ve poisoned me, baby, but I’ll happily suffer for you.”

Silas is none of those things. He’s fucking perfect. Well, no, he’s not. He’s got a lot of baggage and he can be a dick, but he’s mine. My perfectly imperfect boyfriend and I won’t let my dad shit on him.

Why can’t you be proud of that?” Why am I never enough?

“Baby, you’re safe. I promise, you’re safe.”

Why can’t I be good enough for him?”

“How can I make this better for you? What do you need?” “I need you,” he says, his breath stuttering as he turns his head to catch my lips. “Make me forget.”

“You really are a possessive fucker,” he mutters, pushing me up so I slide off his cock. Then his fingers glide through the mess spilling from my ass. “But so am I.”

“You have this weightless feeling as your stomach drops while you’re coasting through the air,” Bunky whispers, not even acknowledging us. “There’s a moment where you’re so full of adrenaline, so ready for the free fall, but you’re also so clouded with fear because, you know, deep down, there’s a fifty-fifty chance you’ll crash to the ground and end up a broken, destroyed mess.” What the fuck? “Bunky, what⁠—” “It’s the most exhilaratin’, terrifyin’ thing you’ve ever done, and even though you know it could end in disaster, it doesn’t stop you from takin’ the plunge, divin’ off the edge because even if it ends in complete devastation, at least you got to experience it.”

“I told you I’m possessive, but you might not know exactly what that means, so let me explain.” His hand comes up to cage my throat, raw fury in his eyes when he speaks. “You’re mine, Blaine. My guy. I fuckin’ worship you. Every time you talk, you have me on a hook. Every time you do that weird snort-laugh, I want to own you. And every time you feel bad, I want to tear the world down to fix it. Why you think I’m ashamed, I dunno, but you gotta get that thought right out of your head before I fuck it out of you.”

“Show me I’m more important than anyone else.”

“You good, baby?”

And I love Blaine Yates. I can’t believe I tried to fight it. All of them were right, Mama and my friends just knew it before I did. There’s no doubt in my mind that Blaine is the love of my life. The way he kisses me makes my heart sing, like a fucking fairy tale or some shit. Every time he smiles, I die a little, but his laugh brings me back to life. When he touches me with sweet, tender hands that I don’t deserve, everything in the world stills. Blaine might not think he is, and other people might tell me I’m wrong, but he’s perfect in every sense of the word. He came into my life when I needed him the most and made me feel like a real person. He gave me the worth I didn’t believe I had. So, as I’m pushed into a holding cell, surrounded by criminals who look like they want to tear me limb from limb, I smile with all the calmness in the world. I’ve finally found my purpose in life and that’s to protect Blaine Yates.

“You need to be okay. Baby, you got plans. Big plans that would be ruined if it was you instead of me in here.” That’s not a good enough reason for me. I kiss the tips of his fingers as the first tear slips out. “Why?” “Because I fuckin’ love you, you dumbass.”

“I love you too,”

“I love you,” I repeat against his lips. “I love you so fucking much, Si.”

love you too, baby. You gotta go.”

I’m not perfect Blaine Yates anymore. He’s dead and gone, buried six feet under. I belong to Silas now. I know I’m young, but I know for certain that he’s the love of my life. He completes me, fulfills me, and frees me. I promised I’d get him out of there.

“There’s no future without him,” I state, knowing in my heart that my words are true. “He and I belong together.”

“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.”

“Baby, you’re beautiful.”

“I love you, Si.”

“I love you too, baby. Now, let’s go find some shit to fuck up.”

“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”