Chapter 17. Tangled Emotions

Ace released me with a snarl.

I used his state of shock to my advantage and scrambled away, leaping from the bed, but he managed to wrap his arms around my waist before I could take a single step toward the door.

He lifted me into the air and threw me back down on the bed like a sack of potatoes. Then he crawled on top of me so I couldn’t get away.

“No!” I yelled, desperately trying to get out of his hold. “Let me go!”

“Doe.” Ace pinned his hands over my head, but I continued to whip my head around and kick my legs. “Doe, stop, you’re going to hurt yourself.”

“I don’t care! I don’t want to be around you! I don’t want to be around you ever again!”

Ace froze. The atmosphere in the room turned ice cold.

My struggle slowed to a stop, and my eyes met his deep blue ones above me. Dread churned in my stomach as I took in the expression of misery and hurt on his face.

“You don’t want to be around me?” he repeated, his voice hoarse.

I swa