Read Ace of Spades for Free Online

beneath the white Egyptian cotton sheet.
             
Her breath caught in her throat as she stepped closer. He was such a beautiful
disaster. Elaborate tattoos covered most of his exposed skin and probably quite
a bit of what wasn’t exposed as well. Melody wasn’t usually a fan of tattoos,
but Jack’s accentuated the lines of his muscles and told his story with
pictures and words.
             
Failing to resist the urge, she reached out and swept the dark hair from his
brow. His eyes were blood-shot and glassy, his pupils dilated constricted into
tiny black dots. Melody didn’t know much about drugs, but clearly, he was high
as a kite. Her heart clenched with sadness and regret.
             
“You want us to leave you two alone?” One of the guards teased. Melody tossed a
sharp glance over her shoulder, shutting him up without words.
             
Black Jack’s glazed eyes shifted to her, bouncing as they struggled to focus. “Hello,
beautiful,” he mumbled, struggling to prop himself up on his elbow.
             
Melody studied him through narrowed eyes, watching for some sign of
recognition.
             
“You ever fucked a rock star before?” He slurred.
             
Flinching from the crude question, Melody drew back as though slapped. No, he
definitely didn’t remember her. Jackson would never speak to her that way. Then
again, the Jackson she knew, would never speak to any
woman that way.
             
“No,” she said softly. “But I have kissed a teenage boy- bander ,
before he threw his life away with drugs and God knows what else.”
             
Jackson’s brow furrowed, confusion clouding his boyish features. Melody watched
his emotions flicker across his face like a silent film. Realization hit. 
“Mel?”
             
“Yeah, it’s me, J,” Melody said with a sad smile. “What did you do to yourself?
You’re a mess.”
             
“What did you do to yourself?” He slurred back. “You got hot.”
             
Before Melody could formulate a witty retort, Jackson’s eyes lulled into the
back of his head and his breath gurgled in his throat. Mel held her breath
until he at last let loose a ragged one. Thank God he was still breathing. The
last thing she needed on her watch was a body count, especially if that body
belonged to her estranged best friend.
             
“What am I going to do with you?” Melody whispered, gently brushing an errant
lock of hair from Jackson’s forehead. Melody wasn’t sure whether she asked the
question of him or herself. Either way, it went unanswered.
    A
     
             
Jackson floated on a sea of euphoria, lost in a land where everything gave him
pleasure. There was no pain. No nightmares. He was safe and loved.
    Mel was
there, but not the sixteen-year old Mel he’d let go. This Mel had a more
angular face, womanly curves, a curtain of luscious auburn tresses, and a pouty
pink mouth he’d give anything to kiss. And she had the same big, aquamarine
eyes, watching him with love and concern.
             
Melody reached forward to sweep the hair from his eyes, as she’d always done
when they were younger. His heart filled with joy. With
pleasure.
             
He wanted to bury his face in that gorgeous auburn hair. He wanted to bury his
tongue in that sweet mouth. He wanted bury himself so deep inside her tempting
body that he touched her soul.
             
The hair on his arms prickled, standing on end as every nerve in his body
responded to the pleasure her slight touch induced. He wanted to reach out and
return her touch with his own, but his limbs were heavy, his body weighted down
in the bed. He floated in and out of awareness, but the vision of Mel stayed
with him. His Mel.
             
Drifting in and out of consciousness, bobbing along the surface like a balloon
on a string, Jackson soaked in the warmth and comfort of