Banging the Superhero (12 page)

The internal pain that used to show up and make a home in his stomach whenever he was called upon to pretend he wasn't Draco's brother didn't happen anymore.

Turning on his heel, he took off into the sky with Zee right behind him. After a while, he slowed his flight to a more casual pace.

"Good work back there."

He smiled at Zee. He'd always suspected her background had to be something Middle Eastern. He'd once told her that her skin was the color of the desert at night. She hadn't appreciated the compliment and told him in no uncertain terms to leave his charm at home when it came to her. But he didn't know, actually, where she was from, and she was more close-mouthed about her background than anyone he knew. They had a quiet, easy friendship. He wasn't going to screw it up.

"Thanks. Hot date with a pretty lady tonight?"

She smiled. "No. I'm officially
not
dating."

"Why?"

"I need a break," she said.

He thought of Alice back at home. God, he didn't want a break. Not at all. He wanted more. So much more.

Zee spoke again. "Which club are we hitting tonight?"

"I was thinking about skipping it?"

Her eyes got huge. "Skipping it? Are you crazy? How will you let lose the adrenaline?"

He had a very good idea how he could handle his problem. But it wasn't like he wanted Alice to feel like he used her sexually to take care of his issues. Maybe he should go to the club with Zee and see if he could come home calm, cool, and relaxed.

Then he'd still take her about hundred times before they went to bed . . . .

"All right, we'll go to the NightOwl." It was a little bit more laid back than some of the other places they went.

"I take it you're not dating either then?"

NightOwl
was mostly for people who wanted to listen to music. It was less of a pickup place.

"I've met someone."

It felt so funny to say that. In fact, he wasn't sure he'd ever uttered those words before. He wanted to sing to the stars. He, Ace Hudson, who had lived his life in spurts and stops, looking for pleasure wherever he could find it and not holding onto it very long, was in love.

How and when that had happened was not clear to him. All he knew was that somewhere between sparring with her verbally, flying her to Florida, and having the best sex of his life, he'd fallen head over heels for the curvy brunette.

"You're grinning like a buffoon." Zee rolled her eyes. "It must be serious. It's not that cook you're protecting, is it?"

They landed side by side outside the
NightOwl
. Nodding to the bouncer, they walked in. The music hit him immediately. The loud bass made his blood cool. He wasn't sure why that happened. All he knew was that it worked and he wasn't going to complain.

He shouted to be heard. "Why did you say it like that—'It's not that cook?' What if it were?"

"I'd say you're in deep shit, buddy." She smiled at the bartender who immediately made their standard drinks. Zee liked a good, cool beer and Ace preferred vodka straight up over ice.

"Why?" He sat at a table in the corner where he hoped they wouldn't be recognized by anyone wanting an autograph. Zee settled across from him.

"It's not like you can be part of her life."

What? He had no idea why Zee would say that. Shifting in his seat, he felt like he was back in high school when he'd been called into the principal's office for skipping class.

"You say that like I'm supposed to know why that is."

Zee shook her head. "Shit, Ace. It's Alice Styles, isn't it?"

"Just explain yourself."

"See." Zee pointed at him. "There's the problem. You won't even tell me it's Alice.

Everyone at Powers, Inc. has to guard their personal secrets so closely that even if we're friends we know nothing important about each other"

"That's true. It's for our protection. Not everyone can be trusted. We don't want people who would harm us to have our personal information."

"Would I harm you?"

He shook his head. "No."

"But I might. If I left Powers and went to one of the competitors starting up. I could tell them your strengths, your weaknesses, someone could use that against you.

Or if I knew where you lived, I could post it on a blog somewhere. You'd have groupies showing up."

The waiter brought the drinks and Ace immediately took a sip of his. "None of this is new. It's always been this way."

"Did Draco marry his Handler?"

He shrugged. Here came the lying again. "How would I know?"

"Because you always know things about Draco."

If that was true then he was even worse at pretending than he'd thought he'd been. "What's your point?"

And he hoped she had one because as his mood rapidly deteriorated he wanted to be here less and less.

"How could you date Alice Styles? No one can know anything about you. The second you are photographed together she'd be at risk. She lives her life in the public eye. You never can. Not as long as you're Ace Hudson, totally recognizable to everyone who sees you. Not as long as the rule is that no one can know you, not really."

Ace leaned back in his chair.
Shit
. She had a point. How could he do that to Alice? She would be in potential danger. It was the same terror Draco had about Wendy. He drummed his fingers on the table, wishing he could scream. Nothing he could do about it. He loved Alice. Even though he didn't know when that had started, he was sure he didn't want it to go away.

"Keep it light."

Zee's advice was good but it was too late for that
. At least for him
. He swallowed another sip of his drink as he pretended to turn his attention to the DJ. He had no idea how Alice felt. She'd initiated their lovemaking so they could make each other feel better.

That wasn't exactly a declaration of love. Not that he'd expect it to be so easy.

Not with Alice. Just when he thought he'd scaled a particular wall, she'd re-erect it.

"Besides." Evidently, Zee wasn't done speaking. "If you keep it light and don't get too emotionally involved, you'll be able to do what you have to do."

He had no idea what she meant. Taking a large gulp of his drink, which burned all the way down, he swallowed and then spoke. "What's that?"

She laughed as she got to her feet. "Come on now, Ace. You know what has to be done. What would Draco do?"

"Why does it matter what Draco would do?" He was really getting fucking tired of hearing about him today. "I'm not Draco. He's 'Superman', remember? According to everyone over the course of the last few days I'm only 'Batman'. Superman and Batman don't approach problems the same way."

"True." She nodded. "Though, I wouldn't call you Batman. Batman was super sexy. Even I would probably do Batman, and I don't swing that way."

"I think you just openly insulted me."

She sat back down, evidently deciding she wasn't going to leave. "You and I both know that I don't even date women with hair as long as yours. You're not my type."

He wasn't Alice's either. Only that hadn't seemed to stop them. Women were always making derogatory remarks about his hair—much more frequently than men did—and yet—and he wasn't bragging, it was just fact—he had a very active sex life.

Even if he now wanted only one woman for the rest of his life.

"Okay." He shrugged. "I'd rather not focus on that right now, thanks. I'd prefer it if you could tell me why I need to emulate Draco to get this job done."

Leaning forward on her arms, she stared him straight in the eyes. It was a little disconcerting. Zee was never this serious. "You and I both know that if a client like Alice Styles had shown up in the normal run of things, when Draco was in town, she'd have been Draco's client. You'd have been subcontracted to stop the machines, while he focused on bringing down The Mask."

"Ha!" He couldn't help it if his laugh sounded bitter. "So now in the scenario I am Robin? I've got news for you, Zee; I do a lot of work no one knows about. Draco has me handling a multitude of things that happen late at night while you're all safe and snug in your beds."

She sat back, holding her hands in the air in a gesture of surrender. "Hey, don't get so defensive."

"I can get upset about this if I want to. You just insulted me, again, and you still haven't told me what Draco would do about Alice, since apparently you are now the expert on the subject."

She slammed her hands on the table. "You used to be a lot easier to talk to.

Something about this woman has gotten your panties in a wad."

"I'm not wearing any underwear, Zee."

She laughed, covering her face with her hands for a moment before standing up.

"Draco would have long ago used the woman as bait to draw out the lunatic. If you can't do that because you're too smitten with the brown haired diva who makes rice-crispy treats so people treat her like she's some kind of goddess, then go find someone else who can. That's the only way you're getting him out of his lair. You know it; I know it; and Draco would be done with it by now."

With that, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the club.

Fuck
.

He stood. His blood might have cooled down but now, he was pissed as hell.

Fisting his hands at his side, he wanted to throw something. Draco would never have put Wendy out there as bait. Draco's utter terror at the thought had made him temporarily end his relationship with Wendy.

Not that Ace would ever be able to discuss that with anyone since no one outside of Ace and Lael even knew Draco had married Wendy. The hiding of his family had been bugging Ace for years.

He walked out of the club. What was the point of living a life if you could never discuss it with anyone?

It wasn't like he wanted to shout from the rooftops that Draco had tied the knot.

No, but it might be nice to have a picture of the occasion or to be able to even tell someone, "Hey, my brother got married,"' without having to be afraid they might say,

"Hey Ace, I didn't know you had any siblings."

Not to mention, Zee had just made him crazy thinking he might not be able to publically date Alice. There was no way that woman who was followed around by cameras—because of her gourmet home cooked meals, not her rice-crispy treats—was going to want to be with anyone she had to hide. He was certain Zee was correct in her judgment.

He ran two steps and took off into the air. When he got high enough for no one to hear his roar, he let out his frustration with a giant yell. Fuck Zee for acting like he wasn't doing his job. He had uncovered in almost no time at all who had hired The Mask. He had kept Alice safe. He would find the man and he would do it without hurting the woman he was paid to protect.

Although Zee did have a point.

If they could find a way to absolutely protect her but still use her as a means of bringing out The Mask . . . .

No, he wouldn't consider it. Alice was everything. His everything. He'd find another way.

He spotted his house below and landed, keeping his footsteps steady. Lael would hear him and know just by the way he set down that he was angry. There was no point in getting the kid any more upset than he must already be to have spotted Ace and Alice together on the couch. He supposed he was going to have to discuss that with him.

He opened the front door, took off his shoes and set them beside the hallway.

"How was the club?"

Looking up, he spotted Alice sitting in a lounge chair, her feet crossed over each other, her head tilted to the side. He felt one brow arch. Was it his imagination or did her tone sound downright hostile?

He crossed the room until he stood over her. For a second, he let her vanilla scent seep into his pores. It was heaven to be this close to her.

"How did you know that's where I went?"

She stretched her arms upwards, giving him a good look at her breasts. He could remember how soft they felt when he squeezed their supple weight in his hands.

Instantly, his dick was as hard as a rock.

"Lael told me that's what you always do after a mission."

He sat down on the arm of the chair so he could stroke her cheek. She flinched away from his touch. His heart beat fast and he was less concerned with his erection than her reaction to him. What the hell was going on?

"What's the matter?" He tried to think quickly for possible explanations for the utter change in Alice's demeanor in the hours he'd been gone. "I didn't go there to meet women. I went there to calm down from the adrenaline issue."

She pushed back on the chair and stood. "I don't care what you did, Ace. You're welcome to fuck as many women in one day as you want."

"Hey." Now his patience was running out. "That belittles what happened between us and you know it."

"I don't know anything." She shrugged, her eyes cold. "I know that I spent part of the afternoon having sex with an adrenaline junkie. It was clearly a big mistake."

"Adrenaline junkie? I'm not that at all. I thought I had explained to you—"

She held up her hand to stop him from speaking. "It was good sex, fine. Really."

"Fine?" He picked her up in his arms, carrying her until her back was against the wall. "You and I both know it was better
fine.
I can smell a lie."

He wanted to kiss away her attitude, take it from her and throw it away where it would never be spotted again.

Her eyes flared. "Good for you. Must be a real convenient freakish ability to be born with."

Her words hurt. Badly. They stung like she'd just put a knife in his chest. How had she known? Deep inside, where he hid everything, he'd always thought of himself that way. He swallowed. "What has gotten into you? Why is the bitch back?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." She kicked, catching him in the shin. It didn't hurt. Still, she'd gotten her message across. She wanted to be put down, and he wasn't in the habit of abusing women. He placed her gently on the floor.

"The last time you behaved like this it was because you were scared. What's frightening you now?"

She slapped him hard across the face. He imagined a normal guy would hurt for hours after a smack like that. To him, it stung, but the pain didn't linger. He backed up.