Page 18 of Catalyst

And I knew Jace felt it too because, for a moment, that cocky smirk he wore like a suit of armor fell.

“Look… her mom has a reputation to uphold. She’s not going to risk that just to play matchmaker for Callie… right?” The uncertainty in Jace’s voice killed me.

That mother fucker wasneveruncertain. He wasn’t smart enough to even consider alternate possibilities. And here he was, worried about the future. I didn’t need that right now.

I needed–I wasn’t sure what I needed. Just not that.

The microwave dinged, reminding me I’d been cooking bacon, too. Jace sauntered over to the microwave, removing the paper towel-lined plate before plopping it on the counter beside me. He must’ve noticed a shift in my demeanor because he tried to lighten up.

He plucked a strip of bacon off the plate, blowing on it before taking a bite. “I think you need a distraction, Daddy.”

“Quit calling me that before I shove your coffee mug up your ass,” I warned.

“Ah, ah, ah. Nothing without a flared base is allowed in that hole.” He sang, waggling the bacon before popping the rest into his mouth.

The glare I shot him was sour enough to curdle milk, but of course, Jace didn’t seem to care. Instead, he smiled wider, chewing his bacon like he didn’t have a care in the world.

I gritted my teeth as I focused on folding the omelet without breaking the damn thing. I knew Callie didn’t mind scrambled eggs, but her mom said Callie had been making a spinach omeletevery morning for the last few months. From what I knew of Callie, she was an excellent cook. That meant if I couldn’t make her breakfast as well, if not better than her, she had no reason to keep letting me do it. And then she either wouldn’t eat like she did yesterday, or she would take over cooking for herself, and Ilikedtaking care of her.

I turned the omelet out onto a plate, taking a moment to savor the satisfaction that came from not ripping the damn thing, but the moment was short-lived.

Jace cleared his throat before he pushed off the counter, lacing his fingers together as he stretched. The crimson tattoos on his sides twitched with the lean muscles of his body.

“So…” His tone was casual, but there was a slight undertone of mischief. “Since you haven’t shoved my coffee where the sun doesn’t shine, I’m going to assume you need a distraction.”

I shot him another look, but this time, it was less heated and more resigned. As much as I hated to admit it, Jace was right. I needed something to take the edge offeverythingI was feeling. Something to distract me from Callie’s parents and whether or not her blood pressure would stay stable until her next doctor’s appointment.

“What did you have in mind?” I asked softly as I turned off the burner and gave Jace my full attention.

Jace leaned in slightly, “Oh, I think you know.”

His smile must’ve been contagious because the second he said that, the corners of my lips twitched up. I scrubbed a hand across the square of my jaw as my eyes trailed down his torso. He wasn’t bulky like me, but he had a sharpness that made it impossible not to get drawn into. The fucker knew exactly what he was doing, too, using that charm and those bright green eyes to get under my skin. And it workedeverytime.

Without thinking, I reached up and grabbed him by the back of the neck. He pressed his forehead to mine, and for a moment, we just breathed each other in.

“There’s my Kane,” he whispered, rubbing the tip of his nose to mine.

I chuckled as I lightly brushed my lips to his. “I’m not just yours anymore.”

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way… But, for now, you are M-I-N-E.”

My grip on him tightened, and before I could think better of it, my lips crashed into his. The kiss was hungry, full of a type of desperation I hadn’t had for a while. This wasn’t about fucking my boyfriend or reminding Jace I loved him. It was about pushing away all the bullshit I could barely understand in favor of something I always would.

Jace’s hands tangled in my shirt as I pushed him back against the counter. He pushed the fabric up with the precision only a professional could have, and just as a low, rumbly moan exited his lips, we were greeted by a soft gasp. One far too feminine to have come from Jace.

He froze, his hands pausing at my sides. My head snapped toward the archway, where Callie stood, wide-eyed and flushed, her sapphire gaze bouncing between the two of us. She didn’t exactly seem shocked—I mean, she knew Jace and I were a thing—but she looked… curious, maybe a little embarrassed, too.

What made my chest tighten, though, wasn’t that she’d walked in on us. It was how fragile she looked, standing there in the oversized shirt I’d dressed her in last night, her messy golden hair spilling over her shoulders.

When we got back from the hospital, she’d been too exhausted to keep herself upright, so I’d taken it upon myself to get her into bed, wrapping her in one of my shirts because she was too tired to pick one of Sulien’s old ones like she usually did.

I wasn’t sure I could contain myself, but I needed to. She’d had a long night, and the last thing she needed was me to think about throwing her over my shoulder and carrying her like a goddamned caveman.

“Morning, sweetheart.” I tried to keep my tone steady, but a possessive edge crept in.

My voice seemed to snap her back to reality, forcing her to look away as the flush decorating her neck deepened.

“I–I’m so sorry.” The words rushed out of her. “I just–I wanted water, and–”

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