Chapter 39: Nighttime Reassurance
The scream ripped from CC’s throat before she was fully awake, raw and ragged, tearing through the muffled quiet of her own dorm room. Not Ace’s. Hers. The familiar posters – vibrant concert prints plastered over peeling paint – swam in the gloom, distorted shapes in the weak halo of her bedside lamp. The scent wasn’t coffee and Ace’s faded detergent, but old paperbacks and the faint vanilla of a long-dead wax melt. Cold sweat plastered her thin camisole to her skin, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
Alone. The word echoed in the hollow space left by the nightmare’s vivid cruelty. Ace’s face, usually softened by affection or sharpened by intensity, had been cold marble. Eyes flat, rejecting. Turning away as CC reached out, fingers grasping empty air where Ace’s warmth should have been. The echo of her own desperate pleas still vibrated in her ears. Don't go. Please.
A choked sob escaped her. She curled into herself, knees drawn up, trembling violently. The promise ring on her finger felt cold, heavy. A lie whispered in silver.
Then, warmth. Movement beside her. Not the empty space she expected.
Before CC could fully register the shift in the mattress, strong arms were already wrapping around her, pulling her back against a solid wall of muscle and heat. Ace. She hadn’t been asleep. Hadn’t left.
"I've got you, baby," Ace murmured, her voice thick with sleep but instantly alert, grounding. Her breath was warm against CC’s sweat-damp temple. "Right here. Always right here." Her arms tightened, crushing CC against her chest, anchoring her to the present, to the reality of Ace’s heartbeat thudding steadily against her back.
CC shuddered, burying her face in the crook of Ace’s neck, inhaling the familiar scent of clean sweat and faint bike grease that clung to her skin even after a shower. The terror began to recede, replaced by a desperate, clinging need. "It was… you… you left," she stammered, the words muffled against Ace’s skin. "You looked at me like… like I was nothing."
Ace’s hand slid up CC’s spine, fingers tangling gently in her long, sleep-tousled blonde hair. "Never," she breathed, the word a vow pressed into CC’s hairline. "Fucking nightmare bullshit. Look at me." She gently tilted CC’s chin up.
In the dim lamplight, Ace’s dark eyes were wide, intense, searching CC’s tear-streaked face. There was no trace of the nightmare’s cold dismissal. Only fierce, unwavering focus. "See me?" Ace whispered, her thumb brushing away a tear tracking down CC’s cheek. "This is real. I’m real. And I’m not going anywhere."
The raw sincerity shattered something inside CC. A dam broke. She clung harder, fingers digging into the fabric of Ace’s worn tank top, seeking purchase on solid ground. "Promise," she choked out, the vulnerability stark and terrifying.
Ace didn’t answer with words. Instead, her hands began to move. Slowly. Reverently. One palm smoothed down CC’s trembling arm, leaving a trail of warmth. The other slid around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer. Her touch was deliberate, worshipful, tracing the curve of CC’s shoulder, the dip of her waist, the swell of her hip beneath the thin camisole. Each stroke was a silent counterpoint to the nightmare’s rejection, a tactile reassurance written on CC’s skin.
"Shhh," Ace breathed against her temple, her lips brushing the sensitive skin there. "Just breathe. Feel me." Her hand slid lower, cupping the soft curve of CC’s ass, pulling her flush against Ace’s hips. The contact was electric, a jolt of pure sensation cutting through the lingering dread.
CC gasped, her body responding instantly, arching instinctively into Ace’s touch. The fear was morphing, twisting into a different kind of desperation – a primal need for affirmation, for proof of belonging written in heat and pressure. Her hands slid under Ace’s tank top, palms flattening against the hard planes of her stomach, the defined ridges of her abs. She needed to feel Ace’s strength, her solidity, her life.
Ace groaned low in her throat, the sound vibrating against CC’s skin. CC’s frantic clinging, her seeking hands, ignited something deeper. The soothing strokes grew more insistent, more possessive. Ace’s hand slid up CC’s side, fingers brushing the underside of her breast through the thin cotton. CC whimpered, pushing into the touch.
"Need you," CC gasped, her voice thick with tears and burgeoning desire. "Ace, please… need to feel you. All of you." Her fingers fumbled with the hem of Ace’s tank top, tugging it upwards.
Ace didn’t hesitate. She helped CC pull the shirt off, tossing it aside. The lamplight caught the sharp lines of her shoulders, the definition of her biceps, the intricate phoenix tattoo rippling across her ribs as she breathed. CC’s gaze devoured her, a desperate hunger replacing the hollow fear.
Then Ace’s hands were on CC’s camisole, pushing it up, revealing the flushed skin beneath, the heavy swell of her breasts. CC lifted her arms, letting Ace peel the damp fabric away. The cool air hit her skin, followed instantly by the scorching heat of Ace’s palms covering her breasts, thumbs circling her nipples with firm, knowing pressure.
CC cried out, her head falling back against Ace’s shoulder. The nightmare was a distant, fading echo, drowned out by the roaring pulse in her ears and the insistent throb between her legs. Ace’s mouth found the sensitive juncture of her neck and shoulder, teeth scraping lightly before her tongue soothed the spot. Her hands were everywhere now – one kneading CC’s breast, the other sliding down her stomach, slipping beneath the waistband of her sleep shorts.
"Tell me," Ace growled against her skin, her fingers finding slick, swollen heat. "Tell me you know I’m here."
"I know!" CC gasped, hips bucking against Ace’s invading fingers as they slid deep inside. "God, Ace, I know!" The sensation was overwhelming – the stretch, the friction, the sheer presence of Ace claiming her, banishing the phantom rejection with every thrust.
Ace held her tightly, pinned against her own body, her fingers working relentlessly, curling, stroking that spot that made CC see sparks. Her other hand rolled CC’s nipple between thumb and forefinger. "Mine," Ace breathed, the word a hot brand on CC’s neck. "Every fucking inch. Remember?"
"Yes!" CC sobbed, the orgasm building terrifyingly fast, a tidal wave fueled by adrenaline and desperate need. "Yours! Always yours!" She clung to Ace’s forearm, her knuckles white, her body bowing as Ace drove her ruthlessly towards the edge.
Ace’s fingers plunged deeper, faster. Her thumb pressed hard against CC’s clit. "Show me," she commanded, her voice rough with her own arousal. "Let go. For me."
CC shattered. A silent scream tore through her as the climax detonated, wave after wave of pure, obliterating sensation crashing over her. Ace held her through it, fingers relentless, arms locked around her, absorbing the tremors, whispering harsh, possessive endearments against her sweat-slicked skin.
When the tremors finally subsided into weak shivers, CC slumped bonelessly against Ace, utterly spent. Ace slowly withdrew her hand, bringing her fingers to her own lips, tasting CC with a low, satisfied hum that vibrated through CC’s entire body. Then she wrapped both arms tightly around CC’s waist, pulling her back fully against her chest, tucking CC’s head under her chin.
They lay tangled in the rumpled sheets, bathed in the weak yellow light. CC’s breathing gradually slowed, syncing with Ace’s deeper rhythm. The nightmare’s icy grip was gone, replaced by the heavy, warm exhaustion and the undeniable reality of Ace’s body surrounding hers. Ace pressed a long, lingering kiss to the top of CC’s head. Her hand found CC’s, fingers interlacing, the cool metal of the promise ring pressing firmly between their palms. Outside, the first tentative chirps of dawn birds filtered through the window, a fragile counterpoint to the lingering echo of their frantic heartbeat in the quiet room. The shadows on the band posters seemed softer now, less threatening. Just shapes on a wall. The only truth was the solid warmth at her back, the steady breath against her hair, and the silent vow held tight in their clasped hands.