“Am I going to have to call Tex back here?”
“No.” His jaw flexes.
Silence folds between us again, thick with everything we left unsaid. My heart beats too loudly.
He sighs, pushing off the wall and crossing over to the couch. He takes a seat, dropping his head in his hands.
“I just… I can’t get you out of my head.” His voice is raw. “I don’t understand it.” He looks over at me, his eyes pleading.
I walk over, each step tentative. I sit down beside him, leaving some space between us.
“Why don’t you hate me? I’m a Ravencourt, you’re an Ashthorne.”
I sit back, staring up at the ceiling. “That’s a good question… My dad did warn me away from you. But you were just always around, like a gnat.”
Jace shoots me a look, and I can’t help but smile.
“You know…” He clears his throat. “I’ve never felt this way before.”
He sits back, looking up at the ceiling. “I’ve never really let anyone in, only the guys. But you, you got under my skin. I thought you were just an annoyance, an obstacle I needed to conquer.”
I roll my eyes. He continues.
“But the more time I spent around you, I started seeing the cracks in my father’s words. You weren’t some stuck-up bitch, who thought she was owed the world, you weren’t some broken girl we could easily manipulate. Everything we threw at you, you took it and kept getting back up. “Hishands flex, the veins popping out. “You’re infuriating. But I do respect it. You didn’t deserve that. I’m sorry.”
My eyes widen. “Wait, can you repeat that so I can record it?”
He shoots me a look. I ignore it.
“As much as you annoy me, I like you, Jace. I can see how much you care for your friends. You’re a great leader, and you have a brilliant mind. As cruel as parts of it may be.” I mumble the end.
He turns to look at me, his eyebrows raised.
“What?” I ask.
“I didn’t expect it to be reciprocal.”
“I mean, I don’t like you all of the time. Most of the time you’re annoying.”
The sides of his mouth tilt.
“I definitely don’t like you when you’re being possessive.” I cross my arms.
He chuckles; it’s a different sound when it’s not full of malice. “You can lie to yourself all you want, but I see the truth in your eyes.”
I stand up, turning to glare down at him. “You can tell yourself whatever you want, Jace.” I lift my leg to step over him. His hands reach up and pull my waist down.
I catch myself on his chest, my legs straddling him. My hair falls like a curtain around us. He lifts a finger, tracing my jaw, featherlight.
“I feel a pull to you. Tell me, Isobel, you feel it too, don’t you?”
That breaks something open in my chest. I lean forward. I can feel the heat of him and the tension in his shoulders, like he’s trying so hard to stay still.
I close the distance.
And he kisses me back, not rushed, not greedy. Just sure. Like he’s known all along this was coming but didn’t want to reach for it until I did. I let all the things I want to say pour into the kiss. It’s not heat or hunger or the rush of adrenaline. It’s gravity, it’s grounding. Like I’ve finally found the place all my chaos stops spinning.
When we pull apart, my hands are still curled in his shirt. His forehead resting against mine.
