Wake Up Call

CHAPTER 4

Avery

I slowly open my eyes to see Jace standing just inches from my face; his fresh minty breath wakes me up completely. I jump back startled, nearly slamming my head into the wall behind me. I must have forgotten to lock the door before I crawled into bed and crashed out. "What the hell?" I question while throwing my hand over my chest. "What are you doing?"

My heart is beating so hard I can see my hand moving up and down on my chest as I wait for him to respond.

Seriously... Who does that?

Without a word, he reaches for my arm and gently pulls it away from my chest, eyes trained on my lips as he pulls me out of bed and over to the pile of clothes that sit on the black trunk at the end of the bed. "You sleep too much." He gives me a concerned look. "Let's eat some breakfast and run over to your apartment before it gets too late." Without waiting for a response, he walks out of the bedroom, leaving me alone in the confines of my confused thoughts.

Batting my eyelids lazily, I saunter down the hallway, stepping into the kitchen to see Jace standing in front of the stove with a spatula in his right hand. I knew that Jace cooked, but seeing him in action is quite sexy.

His taut muscles significantly relax as he peers over his left shoulder to find me standing in the doorway. I sigh heavily and look over at the clock, trying my best to wake up and get with the program. "Why did..." My voice trails off when I notice the time, realizing that it's later than I thought. A lot later. "Oh shit," I squeak. "It's already past two?"

He quickly dishes out my breakfast, or I guess I should say lunch, onto a plate and turns around, walking over to the kitchen table and setting it down. He looks over at the clock and smirks. "Yeah, that's what it looks like." He points at the chair next to the food and then walks over to fix himself his own plate. "Did I wake you up too early? I would've let you sleep longer, but I don't think that your landlord is going to be so patient with you moving your stuff." He pauses to grab a fork. "That's of course, if you agree to stay." I sit down and fork my eggs while eyeing his back. The black shirt he wears is snug and revealing, giving me a nice early morning view. I find my eyes trailing further down his body, taking in every last muscle. It's beginning to be a bad habit of mine.

Finally, I tear my eyes away and shake my head, clasping my clammy palms together. "That's not it," I breathe. "It's just that I went to bed so early last night and I actually slept more than five hours. At a lot later than five hours." I look up to see him walking over to the table and pulling out the chair across from me. "I haven't been able to sleep much for as long as I can remember..."

He looks up warily from his steaming plate of food and leans back in his chair, no doubt, something stirring in his brain. He looks cool and collected as he looks me in the eyes as if he's figured it all out. "Maybe you just needed to have me close by to sleep." He smirks playfully before shoving a forkful of food into his mouth and chewing slowly. "Seriously though," he says gently. "You're welcome to rent out my extra room. It's already yours if you ask me. There's no harm in being roommates. Strangers do it all the time." His husky voice sends a shiver up my spine as he works hard to convince me. "Stay."

I nervously run my hand through my mess of hair and look down at my plate. I have a feeling that if I look into his eyes again then I will lose control and agree to his crazy offer. "I can't. I don't even know you and I couldn't –"

"It's yours, Avery," he cuts me off. "You can't live out on the streets. You saw what happened to you last night. I won't let that happen again and you know you'll be safe here." He shoves one last forkful of food into his mouth and walks over to the sink. "I'll go and get dressed and then meet you at the car in fifteen minutes."