I turned on the shower and watched as a torrent of steaming hot water spurted out. Then I stripped off my clothes and stepped inside, closing the shower curtain behind me as I allowed the water to wash away my hot tears.

Chapter 3

I slowly opened my eyes to see Jace standing just inches from my face, his minty breath waking me up completely. I jumped back startled, nearly slamming my head into the wall behind me. "What the hell?" I questioned while throwing my hand over my chest.

My heart was beating so hard that I could see my hand moving up and down on my chest.

Silently he reached for my arm and gently pulled it away from my chest, eyes trained on my lips as he pulled me out of bed and over to the pile of clothes that sat on the black trunk at the end of the bed. "You sleep too much." He laughed. "Let's eat some breakfast and run over to your apartment." Without waiting for a response, he walked out of the bedroom, leaving me alone in the confines of my muddled thoughts.

Batting my eyelids lazily, I sauntered down the hallway, stepping into the dim kitchen to see Jace standing in front of the stove with a spatula in his right hand. I knew that Jace cooked, but seeing him in action was quite sexy.

His taut muscles significantly relaxed as he peered over his left shoulder to find me standing in the doorway. I sighed heavily and looked over at the clock. "Why did…" I stopped when I noticed the time. "Oh shit," I squeaked. "It's already eleven o’clock."

He quickly set my cooked breakfast on a plate and turned around, walking over to the kitchen table and setting it down. He looked over at the clock and smirked. "Yeah, that's what it looks like." He pointed at the chair next to the food and then walked over to fix himself his own plate. "Did I wake you up too early? I would've let you sleep longer, but I don't think that your landlord is going to be so patient with you moving your stuff." He paused to grab a fork. "That's of course, if you agree to."
I sat down and forked my eggs while eyeing his back. The gray shirt he wore was snug and revealing. Suddenly, I found my eyes trailing further down his body. It was beginning to be a bad habit of mine.

Finally, I tore my eyes away and shook my head, clasping my clammy palms together. ”That's not it," I breathed. "It's just that I went to bed so early last night and I actually slept more than five hours." I looked up to see him striding over to the table and pulling out the chair next to me. "I haven't been able to sleep much for as long as I can remember..."

He looked up warily from his steaming plate of breakfast and leaned back in his chair. He looked cool and collected. "Maybe you just needed to have me close by to sleep." He smirked playfully before shoving his fork in his mouth and chewing slowly. "Seriously though," he whispered. "You're welcome to rent out my extra room. It's already yours if you ask me." His husky voice sent a shiver up my spine.

I nervously ran my hand through my mess of hair and looked down at my plate. I knew that if I looked into the emerald of his eyes again then I would lose control and agree to his crazy offer. "I can't. I don't even know you and I couldn't-"

"It's yours, Avery," he cut me off. "You can't live out on the streets. You saw what happened to you last night. I won't let that happen again." He shoved one last forkful of food into his mouth and walked over to the sink. "I'll go and get dressed and then meet you at the car in fifteen minutes."

I exhaled, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear as his words sank in. Jace was right. It was either stay with him or risk death out on the streets.

Fifteen minutes later, we were inside Jace's black Mercedes and heading over to my old apartment. His hands gripped the steering wheel as the car sailed through the empty streets, nearing my old home with each second that passed. The closer that we got, the more nervous that I became.

"I hope that we have enough room in here to grab what you need." He looked over at me as I played with my old ring nervously. "Nice ring."

I quickly slapped his leg and pointed at the road. "Do you mind watching the road?" I snapped, suddenly nervous that Jace would get us in a crash.

He looked down at his leg with narrowed eyes and let out an amused laugh. "What, don't you trust me?"

I hugged my arms to my chest and bit the bottom of my lip. "Please just watch the road," I said firmly. "I hardly even know you. Besides, I learned long ago never to trust anyone. Everyone will hurt you in the end..." My voice trailed off as I leaned further into my seat. The softness of the leather made me comfortable and suddenly tired again, as if I hadn't gotten much sleep.

The smile instantly faded from his face and his gaze set on the road. "That's not the way to live," he breathed. "We'll have to find a way to change that."

I sat in silence as I began to play with my old ring again, gently tugging it on and off as I held back the burst of emotions running through my mind. I felt torn. I knew that staying at my place wasn’t an option but yet I didn’t even know Jace. How could I be so stupid to agree to his offer?

"Are we close?" Jace questioned, snapping me out of my painful thoughts.

I jerked my head up just in time to see us passing my apartment. The building was old, rotted and covered in moss. I wrinkled my nose. "It's right there. Go back just a little bit and pull over in that parking lot." I pointed over to the tiny parking lot and leaned back into the plush leather of the seat.

Jace pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car as I pursed my lips. "Good luck with that," he murmured, narrowing his eyes as he peered through the windshield and over at the bedraggled man fisting the door.

My heartless landlord stood outside the apartment door, pounding on it as his nostrils flared. "I know you're in there, girl. Your ass doesn't get naked until at least ten o’clock!" he screamed in rage. “Don’t make me open it myself.” He was always very persistent. I hated that.

I smiled quickly, appreciative of Jace’s help, before opening the car door and running over to the apartment door, ignoring the random faces that watched me. "I'm just here to get my stuff and then I'll be gone," I said, breathless.

He looked over at me with a gleeful smirk creasing his features. A mop of brown curls fell around his greasy, fat face. The scar on his upper lip stretched as he smiled. I always wondered how he got that scar. My guess was by someone kicking the crap out of him. He was a horrid man, and the thought had even occurred to myself on numerous occasions. "I should keep all of your-"