AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I narrowed my eyes at him as my heart accelerated, pounding profusely in my chest.
“Here’s a good one. You have tons of thoughts running through your mind right now, but the main one is how much you want to push me away. I’m the first man to call you out on your bullshit, and that scares you more than anything. I see right through you, Cove. And like a bunny, you’re just hoping someone will go down that rabbit hole with you because at least then, you won’t be alone anymore.”
With my heart in my throat, I asked, “How do you know all that?”
He didn’t hesitate to speak with conviction. “I’m trained to.”
“You’re not in the military anymore. You don’t need to—”
“That’s where you’re wrong. My mind is always at war with itself. It’s the consequence of taking souls that didn’t belong to me.”
I didn’t know what to say.
What to feel.
I could barely contemplate what he willingly just shared with me.
This was the most I’d ever learned about him. His family never spoke about what he did for the past twenty years. There was so much more I wanted to know and ask, but I knew he wouldn’t answer my questions, even if I begged him to.
For the first time since I met him, I felt like his walls were momentarily down, which messed with my head more than I wanted to admit.
I was no longer that little girl whose heart he’d broken.
At that moment, I was the woman who understood him.
The silence was deafening, hammering repeatedly in my core and throughout my entire body. The weight of his words hung heavy in the room as I tried to find more answers through his eyes.
Except Jace was a soldier. He wouldn’t show me anything unless he wanted to. I couldn’t see past his shield of armor that was once again proudly displayed before me.
“Is this what I have to do to shut you up?”
I couldn’t stop from blurting, “I’m sorry that happened to you, Jace.”
Stepping back, he bit, “I don’t need your pity, Cove.”
“What about my sympathy?”
“I need that even less.”
“You know this tough guy act isn’t healthy.”
“It’s not an act.”
I shrugged. “I’m just trying to help you.”
“The only help I need from you is your assisting skills this weekend.”
“Fine. Have it your way.”
He spent the next twenty minutes filling me in on what he needed. Except I was barely listening. I was too hyper focused on what he just shared with me.
“It’s the consequence of taking souls that didn’t belong to me.”
Only then did I realize there was so much more to Jace Beckham than met the eye. I couldn’t help but want to know what else lay beneath his hard exterior.
After lunch, our weekend coordinator took my class around the ranch while riding horses. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t watching Jace’s skills and how effortlessly he rode his horse, remembering all the times I saw him on one when he was helping his father around their ranch.
To make matters worse, all the girls drooled over him, waiting for him to pay attention to them. It was truly pitiful to watch, and for some reason, it annoyed me to see how much the girls fawned over him.
Once the tour was over, I used the bathroom in the stables.
As I washed my hands, a fellow cheerleader on my squad came into view of my mirror.
“There you are,” Gaby greeted. “I need you to tell me everything about Jace!”
“Uh… why would I know anything about him?”
“Oh, come on! He’s Haven’s brother, and you’re practically sisters. Now spill.”
“Honest, Gaby. I don’t know much about him.”
“Do you at least know if he has a girlfriend?”
Does he?
“I’m not sure.”
“We have the campfire tonight. Can you save me a seat next to him?”
My eyebrows pinched together. “Aren’t you with Jordan?”
“Why would I want to be with a boy when I can be with a man?”
“Does Jordan know about that?”
“Who cares. He’s not here this weekend.”
I snidely spewed, “That’s nice.”
“Why are you being so weird about helping me with Jace? Do you like him or something?”
“No.”
“No?”
“Of course not. He’s my best friend’s brother.”
“So if he wasn’t you’d be into him?”
Would I?
I shot down the thought. “Absolutely not.”
“Great! Don’t forget to save me a seat.” With that, she turned and left.
The entire time we were at the campfire, I watched her practically throw herself at him. Although Jace seemed indifferent toward her, it didn’t stop the unexpected jealousy I felt seeing her try to entice him.
I’d never seen Jace with a woman before, and it was a hard pill to swallow. I hadn’t thought about him in a romantic way since I was a kid, and it was fucking with the hatred I thought I still had for him.
He asked, “What’s wrong?”
I played it off. “I’m fine.”
