Walking into the living room, I find my mom and Carl hovering by the door, talking with Ms. Amy. Looking around I notice that Jace's uncle is nowhere to be seen, neither are the guys.

"We need to do this again sometime," Ms. Amy says to my mom.

"Agreed." Mom nods. "Next time you guys can come over to our place, all of you."

Ms. Amy smiles. "That sounds like fun."

"Like old times." Mom returns the smile while opening the door, her eyes finding me. "You okay if I go back to Carl's tonight?"

"Yeah. I was thinking of hanging here for a little bit anyway." I look at Ms. Amy. "If that's okay."

Ms. Amy waves me off. "Of course. You're always welcomed here, Lexi."

"Alright. I'll see you later than, honey." Mom leaves Carl to hold the door as she rushes over to give me a tight hug, whispering, "be careful."

"You too. Don't forget protection," I whisper back teasingly.

She rolls her eyes at me before heading out the door with Carl, giving Ms. Amy one last wave. As soon as the door closes, Jace walks out of the kitchen. I tune into his movements, hyper aware of everything he does. It's from the weirdness in the kitchen but I can't seem to shake it.

Jace looks around with pinched brows. "Where'd everyone go?"

"Uncle Robby said he had to go handle some business," Ms. Amy answers, sharing a look that seems to say more.

Jace nods, rubbing the back of his neck. "And the guys?"

She shrugs. "You'd know better than me on that one, and as much as I'd love to spend time with the both of you," she flashes me a warm smile before looking back at Jace. "I got a text from Aunt Shannon. She needs me to come over. She's having a rough night."

"What'd she do? Get into a fight with the liquor cabinet again?" Jace grumbles, earning a stern look from his mom. He places both hands up in front of him. "Hey, I'm just happy Cass isn't there to deal with it."

"Me too," Ms. Amy blows out an exhausted sigh as she grabs her keys. "I'll be back later. You two stay out of trouble."

She shoots Jace a warning look before leaving.

With the door clicking shut behind her, it hits me; we're gonna be alone. Just me and Jace. Alone. In his apartment.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

This is exactly what I was scared of when I first got here, and now I'm willingly putting myself in this situation. What the hell was I thinking?

"Lex," Jace calls.

Slowly, I turn around to find him sitting comfortably on the couch, his long legs stretched out on the coffee table.

He pats the seat next to him. "Come on, Lexi. Let's watch a movie."

Every word out of his mouth is smooth, laced with something dark and eerily tempting.

You can do this, Lex. It's just a movie.

With a deep breath, I walk over and sit next to him, still leaving some space between us. Jace smirks but turns his attention on the TV while flipping through Netflix.

"What are we watching?" I ask, fighting to keep my words from getting stuck in my throat.

"Whatever you want, sweetheart."

"That one." I point at the screen. "A Quiet Place."

"Horror." Jace nods. "Good pick."

He turns the movie on and quickly throws his arm around my shoulders. My whole body stiffens from the contact, my nerve endings going haywire.

The first twenty minutes tick by without incident, though in complete silence. Probably should've figured that out before picking the movie, but I do like horror and so far the movie's been interesting. I find my body slowly unwinding as I relax against Jace's side. He looks down at me but I keep my eyes on the TV until I feel his fingers tracing circles on my bare shoulder. I glance at his hand, getting an up close look at the ink stretching down to his fingers.

D-I-A-N

"Hmm," I murmur on accident.

"What'd you say?" Jace asks.

"Your tattoo. D-I-A-N, what's that mean?" I turn my head, my lips almost brushing his just from how close we are.

Even in the dark lighting, I can still see Jace's eyes flash with something I can't identify before he shows me his other hand and the fingers marked with another four letters.

G-U-A-R

"Guardian?" I ask, looking back up at him.

He nods. "Yeah. Guardian."

"What's it for?"

He shrugs, tearing his eyes away from mine. "Nothing. Just thought it'd look cool."

I'm calling bullshit but I don't wanna push, at least not when it comes to that tattoo. My eyes scan the rest of the ink on his arms, the urge to examine them all creeping its way into my head. I try to watch the movie but it's no use. With a gulp, I let my curiosity get the best of me.

"Can I see the others?"

Jace jerks his gaze to mine, shock written all over his face.

"Your other tattoos, can I see them?" I press.

His eyes narrow as he mentally decides what to say. Only he doesn't say anything, he grabs me and before I know it I'm being lifted onto his lap, facing him. I'm so stunned I don't even realize what Jace is doing until he lifts behind him and pulls his shirt over his head.

Tossing the material on the floor, he relaxes against the couch. "Look all you want."

It takes my brain a second to catch up with what's happened. I look down, my legs are spread wide, bent on each side of him, connecting us in an intimate position.

Oh my god, he has me straddling him.

I lick my lips and try to breathe, warmth traveling across my face. But with the TV behind me, I'm confident the darkness is hiding the red tint of my cheeks. The movie flickers behind me, casting a bluish glow, illuminating Jace's bare torso and my hands resting on his chest. Burning heat seeps from his skin and into my finger tips. It creeps down my hands, making me yank them back and safely place them on my thighs. But it's not the heat of his body filling every part of me that scary, it's the look in his eyes.

His piercing gaze watches me carefully, but even with the fiery look in those dark blue orbs, there's also a vulnerability that leaves me speechless.

He said 'look all you want', so fucking look already before shit gets weird!

With a shaky breath, I force myself to look at the ink crawling from his shoulders. Well, force might not be the right word. My eyes could feast on Jace for days. Everything about his body is a work of art. Not that I'd ever admit that out loud. Jace's head is big enough as is.

On his right arm is a giant black and white mural that stretches from his shoulder to his knuckles making his muscled limb look like it's some kind of biomechanical appendage. Gears, pistons, all of it pieces of an engine.

A motorcycle engine. It has to be.

It's the kind of tattoo that's easy to see even at a distance, and though I've tried not too, I have noticed it on more than one occasion. Like when he's sketching in the middle of class, his arm flexing while his eyes narrow in concentration, drowning out the world around him.

As for the left arm, this is the one I've been dying to get a closer look at. It's a shoulder to knuckle sleeve like the other, but instead of one complete image, it's several smaller ones all connected with clouds of smoke and chains.

Leaning closer, my fingers trace the first image at the top of his shoulders, a blacked out silhouette standing in the middle of an open doorway. My eyes flick up to meet Jace's hardened stare, contemplating asking him about it.

"My dad," he says, beating me to the punch in a detached tone that doesn't match the look on his face.

My tense muscles soften as I bite my lip and nod. I don't need him to say more. In the past, I've walked in on more than one conversation between our mothers while Ms. Amy vented about Jace's dad walking out on them. Jace never talks about it, but he's clearly still holding onto some of that pain. That realization makes my heart ache for him. No kid should have to go through that.

Averting my attention back to the art, my eyes slowly follow the chains that weave their way down to the next image, a broken heart split in two and laying in a puddle of blood. I don't ask him about that one, I already have a feeling it connects to his father. Though I don't know if it's Jace's heart or his mother's, my guess says it could be both.

Just below that one is a set of hazel eyes with dark blue flecks. Water brims both eyes but only one allows a single tear to escape from the corner. There's so much emotion in them and not just from the tears. It's like they're looking at something truly painful, haunting even. My lips tremble with questions on the tip of my tongue, but I swallow the words, too scared to ask.

Following the trail again, my fingers graze over the image of three knights in armor standing side by side just below the crook of his arm, though I wouldn't call them medieval. All three don a leather jacket with a hood over their helmet but each one holds a different weapon. The right knight holds a shield, the middle a long staff with blades on both ends, and the left one holds a large sword. At the warriors feet, three maidens sit, talking amongst themselves. But just like the knights, each woman has a small detail to differentiate her from the others; brown hair, golden blonde, and the last one with fair platinum locks.

"Wow," I whisper.

"You like that one?"

I nod, my hair falling in my face. "Yeah. Does it mean anything?"

He watches me carefully, a hint of raw openness dancing in the depth of those blue pools. "Guess it's my version of a family portrait." He points to the shielded knight. "My Uncle Rob." The middle one with the staff. "Kade." And then the one on the end with the sword. "Me."

"What about the girls?"

A loving smile slides across his shadowed features. "My mom, Aunt Shannon, and Cassie."

My heart melts a little but I try my hardest not to let it show. It's brave of him displaying his heart on his sleeve, literally. I'm not sure I'd have the guts to do it. To put a piece of myself on the outside for everyone to see. It's admirable.

Restraining my emotions, I go back to mapping out his skin. His forearm displays images I think I already understand; a metal barn surrounded by trees with four bikes parked in front, the word 'Brothers' in an edgy script, and a set of realistic-looking brass knuckles on the back of his hand, lining up perfectly with his actual knuckles. The brass knuckles is probably the one I least grasp but before I can ask about it, Jace lightly grabs my hand and pulls it away from his heated skin.

"Enough about me. You got any ink, sweetheart?" he asks as his eyes roam my body like he can see through my clothes.

Trying not to squirm under his stare, I shake my head. "Not yet, but I've got ideas."

"Like what?"

"Something to honor my dad. Not sure exactly what though."

"You should let me do it. I could come up with some ideas for you." He shifts his body a little, getting comfortable and reminding me that I'm still on his lap.

Biting my lip, I shrug. "Maybe."

"Hey, if you're not confident in my abilities I'm sure the guys would be more than happy to show off the work I did for them. Even Josie and Dolly are sporting a couple of my designs."

"I'm not doubting your abilities." I giggle.

The force of my chuckles lightly shakes my body, making my position falter as I slip closer to him. My center connects with something rock hard causing Jace to groan, and killing my laughter instantly with a gasp.

Holy shit.

With a clenched jaw, his eyes trap my attention. I no longer have trouble breathing, oh no, my breathing is accelerated. Placing my hands on his bare chest, I consider pushing away and climbing off but I can't find the strength to do it.

The expression taking over his chiseled features echoes my own feelings. A needy desire that settles in the pit of my stomach, making itself at home and stealing all rational thought.

I'm completely fucked.

Jace's eyes glaze over and as if in a trance, he lifts his hand and softly runs it down the side of my face, burning my skin in his wake. The kind of burn that spreads, sending waves of heated pleasure through every fiber of my being. I don't understand how he can do that with a simple touch but I can tell that he's feeling it too.

My fingers itch to do the same to him, just to test my theory.

Letting go of the deathgrip I have on my thighs, I place my finger tips at his temple and lightly run them down to his strong jaw. A slight shiver runs through his body and I smile. It's nice to know I'm not the only one affected. My fingers repeat their path but starting at his eyebrow, where I find a cut hiding.

"Did you fall again?" My voice comes out breathy.

"Not exactly." He rasps, his husky voice twisting my insides into knots.

"You didn't fall the last time either."

I remember his conversation with my mom this morning, even though it feels like that was a lifetime ago.

'Alexis is in good hands. I've never gotten a ticket or been in a wreck.'

I wanna press more, ask him what happened then and now for him to keep getting hurt. But all my questions vanish as Jace's hand moves from my face and over my jaw to sear a path down my neck. His skilled fingers glide over my collar bone and don't stop till they reach the start of my cleavage.

Yeah, I'm in good hands alright.

My heart pounds. I'm positive he can feel it through the rough pads of his fingers. His tongue snakes out, wetting his lips as his other hand tenderly grips my hip.

My hands develop a mind of their own, both of them graze the skin of his neck, diving lower. Though unlike him, I don't stop. I take in the feel of his strong pecs, defined abs, and finally, taking advantage of his leaned position, I map the lines of his cut V that leads into his low hung jeans.

Jace sucks in a breath before exhaling with a groan. "Alexis."

There's something about the way he says my name, like he's pleading with me. It spurs me on, sending my racing pulse into overdrive. I wrap my arms around his neck and lean closer, my rapidly rising and falling chest meeting his.

"What do you want, Jace?"

Jace's grip on my hip tightens, his thumb sneaking under the hem of my shirt to rub circles over my skin like he did earlier. Only this time, there's a sensual undertone to each stroke of his thumb. His other hand travels back up from my chest and wraps around to grip the back of my neck.

"You got any idea what you do to me?" Jace asks in that husky timber, sending a jolt of shockwaves to my core.

I shake my head, overwhelmed from the feelings blooming inside me. "Tell me."

He uses the grip on my neck to slowly pull me towards him. "I'm so fucked up over you, Alexis." His brows painfully pinch together while his hand on my hip slides under my shirt and wraps around to the small of my back. "I can't get you out of my head. No matter what I do."

"I know the feeling."

Jace bites down on his lip, suppressing another groan. "Don't say that. I can't fucking handle it right now. With your hands on me, it won't take much for me to lose control."

I know he's trying to hold back but each word that falls from his lips makes it hard for me to think straight. My mind's spinning, dizzy from his touch and that intoxicating spicy sweet scent that lingers on his skin.

Scared and excited, I shake my head. "Don't..."

The apartment door swings open.

Both of us whip our heads to watch as Wilder walks in with his head down and a duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

"Dude, I need a place to..." Wilder looks up, his voice trailing off as his wide eyes take in our compromising position. "Shit, my bad...I'll just." He points behind him to the stairs before backtracking out the door and closing it.

It's too late though, the spell we were under has broken.

Oh, God. What the hell was I doing?

My breathing grows heavy again but for different reasons this time.

"I need to go." I scurry off his lap and look around the living room for...fuck, what am I looking for?

"Lexi," Jace calls to me through the haze of my racing mind. "Alexis, relax."

"Keys!" I step back. "I need my keys."

Jace points to the kitchen. "On the counter."

Ignoring the painful frustrated look on his face, I dash for the kitchen. I find my keys on the kitchen easily but grab the counter and bend over to calm my panicked breathing.

That girl in there was no stranger but a part of me I didn't think I still had. I wanted Jace, bad. I haven't felt that kind of pull in so fucking long. That primal urge to dig my nails in and feel his mouth on my body. I needed it as much as I needed to breathe.

Taking several more deep breaths, the sound of the door opening again fills the small apartment.

"I'm so fucking sorry, man." Wilder sounds torn with guilt.

Jace sighs. "It's fine. Probably a good thing you showed up when you did."

Pain pulsates through my chest.

He didn't want to...he didn't feel the same way.

Looks like the blind-as-shit-award goes to me.

Wild clears his throat. "I just...I was hoping I could crash here tonight."

"Your dad again?"

"Yeah," Wilder's voice comes out hard.

"You know you can stay here."

"Probably should've called first though." Wild laughs without any trace of humour. "But thanks."

"What are brothers for?" Jace asks with complete sincerity.

I gotta get out of here. Tightening my grip on the keys, I force myself from the kitchen and try to pass both guys without a word. I'm almost to the door when I hear Jace's voice.

"Lexi."

Keeping my eyes down, I walk out and try to speed down the steps without falling on my face.

"Alexis, wait!" Jace shouts from the top of the stairwell.

But I don't stop. The second my feet touch the main floor, I sprint out of the building and towards my mom's car. As I'm pulling out of my parking space, I catch sight of Jace standing in the building's open door, shirtless and panting.

💋____________________________________💋

Double update tonight! As I said in the last chapter, originally this chapter and 14 was gonna be one, but then it went over 6k words. So, I split them. 😁

Now, how about that tension? What did you think about Jace's tattoos? Were you feeling the fire between them? 🔥🔥🔥

Seriously, if you think it could use some spicing up, let me know. I'm trying not to move them too fast but don't wanna go to slow either.

Let me know what you think in the comments and if you like what you read, please hit that star button! (Really I've noticed more stars lately, and I really appreciate it. 😊)

A teaser for chapter 16 will be posted on my Instagram and Twitter in a day or two, so keep a look out!