Free The Summer I Fell (The Six Series) by Sonya Loveday

to give that to Ace, it would be between us and no one else. I never got in the middle of their love lives. Never once said a word when I knew they were sleeping with different girls and choosing not to make some sort of commitment. Paige was the only one out of my group of friends who was anything like me. Hell, even Ace was guilty of it. The guys never stuck with someone to see whether the relationship would last. It never made sense, but it wasn’t my business to ask them.
    Paige bumped her arm into mine. “Why do you torture yourself like this, Riley?”
    I snorted at her question. “You tell me what I’m supposed to do, Paige, ’cause right now, I’m scared, I’m frustrated, and I love him so damn much my insides hurt. He’s leaving. And I don’t know when he’s coming back. And I’ll be stuck here trying to figure out just what the hell I’m supposed to do with my life.” My words died off with my purge of hurt-filled words. Paige leaned into me and rested her head against mine.
    “I knew you loved him. Why’d you wait so long to say something?”
    “To who? You?” I asked.
    “No, to him. To Ace.”
    “I didn’t tell him, Paige. He doesn’t need to know.”
    “The hell I don’t.” Ace’s voice rolled across the room, and my head snapped up to where he stood with his fingers curled around the doorframe. Paige shot up off my bed and backed up a step when Ace pushed himself off the door and stalked towards me.
    I heard Paige, but I didn’t take my eyes off Ace. “I’ll call you later, Riley. Turn on your phone!” Her footsteps pounded down the stairs, and the front door slammed shut.
    I swallowed hard and tried to catch my breath, as my chest tightened with each step that brought him closer to me. A fire burned in his eyes. It threatened to engulf me when he stopped in front of me and brought his hands up to cup my face. His eyes snapped like live wires. “You fucking own me, Riley, and there isn’t a thing I can do to walk away from you.” His lips hovered against mine, and he pulled in a deep breath. When he released it, it bathed my face and sent a shock wave through me from head to toe.
    “Tell me this is okay, Riley. Tell me you want me as much as I want you.”
    I trembled in his hold and licked my lips, as I struggled against how to respond to him. I’d wanted him for what felt like forever, but what happened after he left? Was I supposed to just pick up the pieces and be thankful he gave me a part of himself?
    “Riley, you have to tell me, baby. I don’t know what you want, and I’m dying here. I need you, Riley. I need you so bad.”
    I slammed the door shut on my thoughts and sought out Ace’s lips. He groaned into my mouth and lowered us to the bed. His body hovered over mine, as he kept one hand along my face and nipped at my lips. His kisses were a slow torture, which he dragged out as he drove me crazy with just his lips and his hands. He rested his weight on me, keeping his chest from pushing against mine. Even lost in the passion he’d created, he’d kept himself in check enough to be cautious of my back. I didn’t want him to be careful. I wanted him wild and crazy, and so far past thinking that he was as lost as I was.
    He pulled back and I sighed, missing his lips against mine. “Look at me, Riley.”
    I cracked my eyes open, as heat spread out along my cheeks. I’d never been so open with anyone. Ever.
    “You have to tell me to stop, right now, or I might hurt you.”
    I grabbed his neck and pulled him down against me. He tried to push himself back up, but I moved my legs apart so that he fell into the vee of my hips. I wrapped my legs around him, locking him against me, pressing him against the parts of me that ached for his touch. He groaned, as our lips met in a hungry kiss that had me gasping when he moved against me. Breaking the kiss, he rested his forehead against mine. His heartbeat thundered against my chest, as his hips arched against me. I spoke in a