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Since it’s only five o’clock in the morning, the rest of the apartment is dark and quiet. But I still check to make sure that Jace isn’t lurking out there before I slip through the door and into the living room.
Yellow light from the streetlamps outside falls in through the windows and illuminates the room enough for me to see where I’m going. I tiptoe across the hardwood floor until I reach the door to Jace’s room on the other side.
His door has been left slightly open, probably so that he can clearly hear if I call for help. Which I have to admit is kind of thoughtful of him. But it unfortunately still doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want him here.
How can he not understand what it’s like? How can he not understand that his presence here, and everywhere I am every day of the week, makes me feel like a prisoner? That it makes me feel like I’m being suffocated. He is living in my apartment, for God’s sake! I have no privacy. No freedom. Doesn’t he understand what it’s like to feel trapped?
Shaking my head in frustration, I slink in through the gap in the door and sneak into his bedroom.
My heart skips a beat when my eyes land on him.
He hasn’t even closed the blinds, so the light from the streetlamps outside falls in patches across the bed. And across his body.
Standing by the foot of the bed, I watch him for a while.
His perpetually messy hair is equally messy in sleep. But when those loose curls are tumbling over a pillow it’s somehow even more sinfully hot. Suddenly, I just want to run my fingers through his hair and make it even more messy.
My gaze slips down to his body.
He has kicked off the cover at some point because it now only covers one leg and half of his hip, leaving the rest of his body on full display. And since he only sleeps in a pair of boxers, it leaves a lot on display.
Fire sears through my veins.
God, I thought he was hot just wearing that damn t-shirt. But shirtless… the man is a damn masterpiece.
I stare at his broad shoulders and firm pectorals and perfectly sculpted abs while slowly shaking my head in disbelief. Does he do anything other than work out? With a body this perfect, he has to be one of those health freaks who only eat chicken and eggs and who spend every waking moment in the gym.
Shaking my head once again, I shift my gaze back up to his face.
His features are smoothened by sleep, making him look almost… innocent.
Guilt slices through my insides, and I glance down at the canister in my hand.
It’s technically not his fault that he’s here. My father is the one who hired him and who is insisting that I need a bodyguard. Not Jace. He is literally just doing the job he was hired for.
A flash of anger pulses through me.
Gritting my teeth, I tighten my grip on the canister and shove all traces of guilt out of my mind.
It doesn’t matter if he’s only doing his job, it’s making me miserable. And I want him gone. If he didn’t want to deal with my shit, he shouldn’t have accepted this contract. Nothing is stopping him from just getting another job. But him being here is stopping me from living my life. So I will give him hell until he quits.
I straighten my spine and give myself a determined nod before sneaking around the bed until I’m standing right next to Jace instead.
Then I lift the air horn canister and blare it right in his face.
A loud blast cuts through the room, shattering the silence like a smashed mirror.
Jace shoots up from the bed.
I chuckle, but the sound is cut off halfway through by a yelp.
My stomach lurches as I topple backwards when Jace practically tackles me to the floor. I hit it hard enough to knock the breath from my lungs. A huff rips from my throat and I drop the air horn canister. It clatters against the floor before rolling away.
I try to gasp air back into my lungs, but before I can even begin to draw a breath, Jace’s massive body lands on top of me.
His hands are like steel bands around my wrists, slamming them into the floor above my head. I try to use my legs to push him off me, but it’s impossible because they’re spread wide on either side of his hips rather than underneath him.
I snap my gaze up to his face.
