Chapter 20 20.You’re being gentle
Tabitha’s POV
Jace tosses the ruined shirt aside and rests his palm on my back. His gaze burns into me and suddenly I feel so naked and vulnerable, like I’m totally naked in front of him when there’s still a piece of fabric between us.
I expect his serious expression to melt into something ridiculing, like he usually does when we were younger. But he doesn’t. He just studies the injury with a furrowed brow, like all he can see is the pain inflicted on my body.
“Now, let’s remove this son of a bitch…” Jace picks up the tweezer and crouches in front of me. His jaw tightens as he leans in and studies the wound again. I feel his breath against my shoulder before the cold metal touches my skin.
“This might hurt,” he mutters.
No shit.
I grip the edge of the mattress and hold my breath as he begins to pull the glass out. The largest shard comes first. I bite down hard on the inside of my cheek, refusing to make a sound. Pain shoots through my arm like fire, but I stay still. He doesn’t flinch or make a comment. His hands stay steady, and his face is all focus. I’ve never seen him like this. It’s almost as if I am staring at a completely different person.
He sets the bloody shard on a towel and leans back in for the smaller fragments. Each one stings like hell, but I swallow all my whimpers. Water drips down my spine as he cleans around the wound. He wipes away the blood carefully. His fingers brush my skin again and again, and every time they do, I feel like my body forgets how to breathe.
“You’re being... gentle,” I say, surprised by how steady my voice sounds.
“Would you prefer it if I’m a bit harsh instead?” he taunts as he continues to clean my wound after plucking out every last glass fragments.
“I’m just surprised that you can actually appear like a decent person. You don’t usually act like you care,” I reply, trying to sound as casual as possible.
Jace lets out a sharp breath. “You’re bleeding all over my floor. That’s hard to ignore.” His voice is dry, but there’s something underneath it. Something too quiet to name.
I shift slightly to look at him, just enough that our faces are closer than I expect. He doesn’t move away. His hand stays on my back, fingers splayed across my spine. My shoulder is still bare between us.
“You should learn to stop running away from us, so you don’t get hurt like this,” he whispers.
“Well, that’s easier said than done, especially when you’re the ones I’m running from.”
“Why?” he asks, inching closer until his lips are only a breath away from mine. “Do we look like monsters to you that you have the need to run away every chance you get? That you keep on combing through the restricted part of the library to break the mate bond even after we have warned you about it? Even if it might cost your life?”
“B-Because…” I hesitate, then whisper the truth. “Because you scare me.”
There it is. I may have changed a lot now but inside, I am still the same ugly fat duckling of Silver Hills High. It’s an identity I cannot fully abandon… and naturally the fear that comes with it still remains.
Instead of being surprised, Jace raises a brow and chuckles. He freaking laughs as if I just cracked a hilarious joke. He tilts his head and cups my chin, making my lips part.
“You’re scared?” he muses, his mouth curving into the familiar wickedness I’m so familiar with. “Baby, we haven’t even done anything scary… yet.” He leans in slightly until his lips are brushing against my ear. “But keep pushing our buttons and maybe we’ll give you a reason.”
I can’t tell if it’s a threat or a joke. Maybe it’s both. I don’t know which would be worse. He’s a jerk. And I hate that my heart is hammering like this for a jerk like him.
He smirks at me one last time before he grabs the bandage and starts wrapping my shoulder. His touch is firm again, more clinical now, but still careful not to press too hard. I watch him finish the last loop and pin the gauze down like he’s done this a thousand times. Surprisingly, the pain that I am feeling earlier fades into something bearable. I no longer flinch with every little movement.
After he’s done, he stands and heads to his closet. He opens a drawer, grabs a shirt, and tosses it toward me. It hits me in the face. What the…
“Put this on unless you want to keep walking around half-naked,” he barks.
Fine. I’d rather not walk half naked in the hallway.
I sigh and slide the oversized shirt over my head. I walk towards the full-length mirror to observe the fit. The shirt swallows me whole, the hem brushing my knees and the sleeves hanging past my wrists. Jace stares at me for a moment, his eyes lingering like he’s taking in a picture he’s not ready to forget.
Then, he starts walking toward me. I don’t know why, but I step back.
“Jace…” my voice trails off as the backs of my knees hit the edge of the bed. I stumble slightly and fall onto it, catching myself with my hands. Before I can sit upright, Jace closes the space between us and leans down, placing one hand on each side of me.
“I like this on you,” he murmurs. “Smells like me.”
I open my mouth to speak but no words come out. I’m not even sure if I want to argue against him or agree that his shirt fits me well.
He dips his head and lowers his face close to my neck. I feel his warm breath against my skin as he inhales his scent on me. My heart pounds in my ears. My skin prickles in anticipation—at the thought that his lips are only an inch away, just a little push and I can feel its softness against my skin. My body craves it.
Oh my god! What am I thinking?
Just then, the door bursts open and three figures march inside the room.