Jace gave Caleb a dirty look before he pressed his head into his outstretched arm and gave me a nod.

I let out a nervous breath and took a step forward. All though Caleb hadn't physically hurt me I was still cautious around him. "Give it to me and go please."

I stepped up to Caleb with Jace keeping a watchful eye on us the whole time. Caleb gave me a weak smile and placed the paper in my open hand. "For what it's worth; I do care about you," he whispered, barely audible.

I closed my hand around the folded paper and took a step back. I didn't want to hear that Caleb cared for me. It suddenly made me feel bad for all that I had put him through. I would never show it though. He got his payback, even if he didn't mean to. "Bye, Caleb," I mumbled, taking a step back.

Caleb clenched his teeth as he backed away from me and shook his head. "Bye." He gave Jace one last look before he hopped into his BMW and drove away.

Jace was instantly at my side. He wrapped me in his arms and pulled my head down to his chest for comfort. His breathing slowed down as soon as Caleb was completely out of sight. "Would you like to tell me about your mother?" Jace asked as he softly rubbed my head.

I pulled my face away from his chest and looked up at him. "She's in the hospital." I felt the tears start to fall as soon as the words escaped my lips. "I think my father beat her. She needs me, Jace."

Jace leaned his head back in a struggle to control his anger. I could see how much it hurt him to see women being abused. It was something that he had dealt with in his past and I knew that he would put an end to it all if he could. "I'll take you there as soon as we wake up. I would feel better if you got a little rest first."

I nodded my head in agreement, just now realizing just how exhausted I felt. If it wasn't for Jace holding me, I would've probably of been on the ground. "Thank you."

Jace smiled and placed a kiss on my nose. Then he smoothly grabbed the paper from out of my hand and opened it. He read it to himself and then looked over at me. "She's only about 45 minutes from here. I'll get you there. Let's go inside and rest first. Just long enough for you to gain your energy. You’re going to need it to be there for her."

I gave him a thankful smile as he held my hand and led me inside.

Being back in Jace's home gave me that same safe, at home feeling that it always did. I had to admit that it felt great to be back. Jace and I may have still had a lot to catch up on, but at the moment the only thing that I could think about was my mother's safety. "Thank you," I said. "I owe you so much."

Jace pulled me into my old room and gently helped me into the bed. It was soft and cozy just liked I remembered and the faint smell of Jace's cologne still lingered on the blankets making me feel safe. He lay down next to me and stripped us both of our jackets before we got lost under the warmth of the blankets. "You being here is enough."

Chapter 14

I stepped into the shower and closed my eyes as the warm water splashed against my cool skin, causing my shoulders to relax. I slowly tilted my head back and ran my hands through my wet hair as my mind began to spin.

In less than two hours, I would hopefully be seeing my mother and I had no idea what to expect. Was she still alive? Would she hate me? Has she missed me? The thoughts were pure torture and honestly, I wasn't sure if I was ready to find the answers.
The sound of Jace entering the bathroom broke me of my thoughts as he turned on the sink water and grabbed for his toothbrush. The loud clatter was enough to grab my full attention. He always did have a thing with intruding on people’s private shower time.     

I poked my head out of the curtain being sure not to expose my naked flesh, as I smiled and shook my head at his carefree ways.

"Jace," I said, with a shake of my head.

He looked into the mirror and grinned back at me playfully as he ran a hand over his firm stomach. "Can I help you?" he teased. "You're interrupting my personal time."

I playfully hit the curtain and threw my head back. "Wait! I'm interrupting your personal time? "I questioned.  ”I'm naked behind this curtain if you care." I laughed and then attempted to look serious.

Jace slowly ran his tongue over his lip and then chewed on his lip ring, playfully. "I do care," he teased. “Trust me.”

My face turned red as I pulled the curtain closer to me and laughed. "Stop teasing me and hurry up," I paused and stared him down. "You're making me nervous.”

Jace gave me a serious look as I played with my hair. "Just remember that I'll be with you every step of the way," he paused. "Please don't worry too much." He stood there in just his low hanging briefs as he shoved his toothbrush into his mouth and shook his head at me. "You're not alone in this."

I took a deep breath, leaning against the back of the shower. Was it really that obvious? "I'm fine. I'm just tired and-"

"You're not fine," he cut in. "And I can't promise that everything will work out for you, but I can promise you that I will be there to pick up the pieces if they don't." He stepped up to the shower and ran his hand over the curtain, his eyes glued to mine. "I keep my promises."     

My heart sped up, listening to his heavy breathing from outside of the thin curtain.

Suddenly, thoughts of Jace naked and sharing a shower with me clouded my mind and it was the only thing that mattered at the moment. I not only needed him, but I wanted him. I couldn't deny that fact anymore. The only thing that had been stopping me before was that I was scared. Scared of hurting Jace or possibly even myself.

"I care about…"

Jace's words trailed off as I slowly opened the curtain and gazed into his beautiful eyes.

He stood there looking shocked and confused as I reached out and grabbed his hand. I slowly trailed my fingertips over his hand, as I looked him in the eye. He was so beautiful. Inside and out.

Not a word was spoken as he stepped into the shower, still wearing his briefs and placed his hands on my face. His hands trembled as he slowly ran a finger down to my lip and bit his own. "You're so fucking beautiful," he breathed. "I want you to be happy. I want to make you happy."

My heartbeat skyrocketed and my legs became weak as he leaned in and pressed his tender lips against mine. His touch was so sensual and the taste of his mouth was sweeter than sugar, causing me to run my tongue over his lips to get a better taste.