Wake Up Call (30 page)

      "I want you," I moaned, rubbing my hand over his chest. "Every part of you."

      Jace froze momentarily before his hands snaked under my ass as he picked me up and forced me to wrap my legs around his waist.

      His body felt nice and firm underneath mine and I liked it. I never wanted to let go. I squeezed my thighs tighter around him for support as he carried me through the warm house and into my old bedroom. He gently placed me down on the bed and yanked his jacket and T-shirt off. He stood there shirtless with every defined muscle flexing as he fought to breathe. "Anything that you want is yours," he said huskily. "All you have to do is take it."

      My heart pounded heavily as I reached out and gripped the waist of Jace's faded jeans. I unbuttoned his jeans with one hand while running the other one up his tight stomach. Suddenly touching him wasn't even enough. I had to get a taste to satisfy my burning hunger. "I need you, Jace."

     
Jace smoothly stepped out of his jeans before he crawled onto the bed and hovered above me, his bare chest heaving above my face. "I'm already yours," he moaned.

      I snaked my arms around his waist as I slowly ran my tongue over his every muscle. He tasted salty, but sweet against my tongue.

      His stomach flexed as he watched my every move. Then suddenly he stripped me of my clothing and pulled me on top of him. I wanted him more now than ever. "You're beautiful," I moaned into his lips.

      A smirk crossed his face before he took control of me, giving me the greatest pleasure I have ever known. The second time was somehow even better than the first. I had a feeling that it would only get better from there.

      I awoke in the middle of the night to an empty bed. The room felt colder than it had before, but somehow I was covered in sweat. I felt down, shook up from the earlier events, and didn't want to be alone. Jackie was sleeping in his room and it made me wonder where he could’ve gone.      

      I crawled out of bed and threw on a pair of sweats and an old T-shirt. I sauntered down the dark hall and stopped when I heard voices in the kitchen. Jace and Jackie were sitting in the kitchen drinking tea. Feeling as if I might have interrupted, I spun on my heel ready to head back to the room. "I'm sorry," I choked out.

      Jackie and Jace both stood up and smiled. Jackie waved me over and pulled out a chair next to her. "No. Please join us," she said in a soft voice. "Jace was just telling me about you."

      Jace's face turned red as he bit his bottom lip and took a sip of his tea. "Sit down. Let me get you some tea." He shook his head at Jackie and then reached for a mug. "Sorry if we woke you."

      I grabbed the mug from out of his hand and took the seat next to Jackie. Sipping the tea, I looked between the both of them. "It's fine. It wasn't you guys. I was just having trouble sleeping," I admitted.

      Jace walked over to me and kissed me on the forehead. His soft lips lingered for a moment as he rubbed the back of my head. "I'm sorry. I wish that I could take back-"

      “Jace.” A smile spread across Jackie's pale face as she watched her brother's movements. "I wish that I had what you guys do."

      Jace and I both looked over at her with confused looks.

      "What!" She grinned. "I'm not blind. I can see that you guys love each other. Joe never truly loved me. I know this."

      Jace swallowed hard as he reached out and poked his sister in the rib. "You should get some sleep." His jaw clenched. "You need to gain your strength back."

      My heart skipped a beat as I glanced around the kitchen and then set my eyes back on Jace and his sister goofing off.
That's what love and family should be like.

      "Um… Maybe I'll go back to bed." I felt so confused. Why did my heart beat that way when she said that Jace and I love each
other?

     
I stood up, but Jace placed his hand on my shoulder to make me sit back down.

      "You should finish that tea first. You need something in your stomach." He glared over at his sister and rubbed his hand over his forehead. "Good night, Jackie." He laughed and nudged her in the side again.

      Jackie looked back and forth between the both of us and laughed. Her face looked slightly better from earlier and she seemed to be doing okay. Jace managed to give us both hope. "Good night, kids." She stood up from the table and made her way back to Jace's room.

      The room was silent once we were alone. It was a silence that made my heart race and palms sweat. I had never been so nervous.

      Finally, breaking the silence, Jace set his mug in the sink and reached for my hand. "Let’s get some sleep. I'll explain everything about my sister tomorrow."

      I nodded my head in agreement and followed him back to bed. It felt good to have him back by my side. It made me...happy.

                             
Chapter 16

      I groggily made my way through the hallway and into the kitchen, which smelled of freshly cooked pancakes and syrup. A small smile spread across my face as I spotted Jace standing in front of the stove, spatula in hand, as he peered over his shoulder at me and smiled.

      "Good morning, beautiful," he said softly. "Did you sleep well?"

      My eyes wandered down to the kitchen table to see that it was set up for breakfast for three. In the middle of the table sat a plate of pancakes, corn beef hash and bacon. It looked and smelled absolutely delicious. It made my mouth water, even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to stomach it.

      "As well as I could manage," I replied softly. "I had a headache from hell that wouldn't seem to go away."

      Jace gave me an apologetic look as he dropped the spatula on the stove and exhaled. "I'm sorry. I should have asked if you needed anything last night." He stepped over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Is the headache gone? I can run to the store and grab-"

      "No, I'm fine," I cut in trying to sound as believable as possible. "I'm all better now."

      I smiled up in a daze at his sexy lips before pulling his face down so that it they brushing against mine. Our foreheads rested against each other’s as my hands cupped his face causing us both to breathe heavier.

      "Oh... I like this," Jace whispered against my lips. His hands tightened around my waist as he pulled me closer. "This makes me want you so bad," he growled, gripping my thigh.

      My body couldn't fight the urge any longer. I had no control over my actions in the presence of Jace. He had me in a trance and I wasn't willing to fight back.

      My lips eagerly crushed his causing us both to stumble into the stove behind Jace, almost knocking over the pan of sausage in the process.

      Luckily, Jace reached out in just enough time to catch it before it could happen to fall. “Crap!”

      "Whoa there!" Jackie called out. "Let’s not burn the house down." She laughed, placing a hand to her temple. “This headache is kicking my ass.”

      We both looked over at Jackie as she brushed her black locks out of her face and pulled out a chair to sit in. The bruising had decreased significantly over night, making her face look much better than before.     

      "Morning, Jackie."

      Jace watched Jackie as she continued to rub her head. "You're looking really good. I'm guessing that you slept well." He strolled over to the table and kissed Jackie on the forehead before pulling out a chair for me to sit in. "I hope that you're both hungry."

      I nodded my head at Jackie and then took the seat between the two of them. Somehow, being in the middle of them made me nervous and at a loss for words.

      The room stayed quiet while we enjoyed the well-cooked breakfast that Jace provided for us.

      It took me a while to stomach the food, but I managed to put everything out of my mind and try to enjoy the first good meal that I’d had in days. I had to admit that it felt nice being there with Jace and his sister. It almost felt like a real family. One that I’d never had.

      "So Avery," Jackie paused to smile. "I hear that you live here with my brother. That's great because I've been worried about him being lonely. I'm happy that you're here."

     
Oh shit!
I cursed myself realizing that I forgot to tell Jace about the apartment that I got. Not only that, but I also failed to mention the new job.

      I looked nervously between Jackie and Jace as they stared at me waiting for a response. I swallowed hard and glanced back down at my half-empty plate feeling lost.

      Jace's eyes went wide as he shifted in his seat and grabbed my hand. "Is everything alright?"

      I took a deep breath and leaned back in my chair. "I have something to tell you." My heart pounded uncontrollably at the thought of being away from Jace.

       Suddenly, I just couldn't do it. I couldn't tell him about the apartment. "I found a new job," I swallowed back the lump in my throat. "I'm supposed to start tomorrow morning."

      The look on Jace's face was of pure hurt as he forked his pancakes and swallowed. "A new job," he mumbled. "Where at?" he asked looking back up.

     I couldn't stand to look Jace in the eye at the moment. I felt sick to my stomach for making him feel the way that I knew he felt. I could see the hurt all over his face. 

      "It's at a little pizza restaurant called 'Jan’s Place.' It would be Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays from ten o’clock a.m. until around six o’clock p.m. She wasn't quite sure of the hours," I said nervously.

      Jace smiled and squeezed my hand, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. "I've been there plenty of times. Jan is a loyal customer of mine. A little hard to get along with, but you’ll do fine."

      He looked over at Jackie and nodded at her. "Maybe Jackie could fill in on those days for you at the diner and you could still work with us on Thursdays and Sundays."

      Jackie looked taken aback as she looked up from her plate and looked between the two of us. "I... um... I don't know Jace," she mumbled, looking away.

      Jace swiftly reached across the table and grabbed for his sister's hand. "This can be a new start for you. You can sleep here until we can get you a place and you can work in the diner. You never have to see Joe again." He squeezed Jackie's hand as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I promise you that things will get better. I love you." He turned his face away as if to hide it.

      The look on Jackie's face matched the screaming of my heart. Hearing those words come out of Jace's mouth had my heart aching. It sounded like the sweetest and most sincere thing that I’d ever heard in my entire life. It pained me to know that I’d never known those words.

      Jackie's face scrunched up as the tears poured out uncontrollably. You could see that she was fighting as hard as she could to hide it, but it was no use. Jace had a way of making you feel everything. There was no hiding. "I feel so lost right now," she cried. "Why do I miss him so much?"

      Jace jumped up from the table and ran over to his sister's side. He placed both of his hands on her face and squeezed it. "You don't. You just think that you do. Your body and mind is programmed to think that you miss him. What you miss is always knowing that you had someone to go home to." He shook her as she began to shake her head back and forth. "Trust me. You can still have that. You have Avery and me now. You don't need him."

     
Jace's words froze Jackie in her place. Her body loosened up as she took a deep breath and turned around to face me. "I trust you, Jace. I can see it in her eyes too. You've got a good woman here."

       My mind was in complete shock as Jackie made her way past Jace and threw her arms around me. I sat there for a moment not knowing what to do. I felt like running, but a big part of me felt as if I could cry. I didn't do either. I just sat there stiff as a statue.

      Finally, Jackie pulled away with a sad smile on her face. "I'm going to take a shower and find some clean clothes. Thank you for breakfast." With that she walked away leaving Jace and I alone in the kitchen.

      Jace waited for Jackie to leave before he walked over and squatted down in front of me. "Thank you," he whispered, rubbing my cheek.

      I gave him a confused look while trying to put myself back together. "For what?" I questioned.

      He smiled and ran a finger over my bottom lip giving me the chills. "For letting my sister hug you. I know that you don't like to be touched."