"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."

I turned my head away and bit my bottom lip. I never actually came out and told Jace that. He was a lot smarter than most people that I knew.

He slowly broke my walls down bit by bit and knew all of the right times to touch me.