Page 184 of The Wrong Play

I blinked at him.And?

“Jace,” I whispered, my fingers still pressed against the ink. My head was spinning. My heart was pounding. “Why…why your ribs?”

His expression changed, softening just slightly, the teasing smirk giving way to something deeper. His fingers brushed over mine, pressing my palm against his skin like he wanted me to feel the weight of it.

“Because,” he murmured, voice quieter now, rougher. “Your name belongs right here.” He tapped his ribs, just over the ink, just over his heart. “Every breath I take, I want you to be part of it. Every time I move, I want to feel you with me. I don’t want you on my arm where it’ll fade in the sun. I don’t want you on my back where I’ll never see it. I want you here, Riley. Where you can’t be ignored. Where you can’t be erased.”

My chest clenched.

Emotion swelled in my throat, choking me.

I stared down at him, at this ridiculous, reckless, beautiful man who had just branded himself withme.

“You’re insane,” I whispered, because what else could I even say?

Jace smirked. “I think at this point that’s old news.”

I wanted to run my fingers over it. I wanted to trace every line, every curve, to press my lips against the proof that he had made me a part of him—permanent, unshakable, like I was something that could never be erased. I wanted to scream, to laugh, to cry, because Jace had gone and inked me onto his body like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like I had always belonged there. Like I always would.

Like he never had a single doubt about it.

I swallowed hard. “I think this means you’re serious about me, Jace Thatcher.”

His smirk softened, and those eyes—warm brown with flecks of amber catching the light—held me captive. Steady. Unyielding. Certain. Like he already knew how this story ended.

“I told you,” he said simply, “you’re mine.”

I drew in a breath, the kind that felt like it reached the deepest parts of me, stirring places I’d long thought abandoned.

Jace Thatcher.

Fierce and reckless. Unyielding and mine. A storm I should’ve feared, but instead, I had run straight into it, finding shelter in the very thing that could destroy me.

I exhaled, my fingers brushing over his skin, mapping the warmth of him, the solidity, the unwavering presence that had become my foundation.

And in that moment, something within me, something fragile and aching, mended, not with stitches, but with fire, sealing every crack with the only thing strong enough to make me whole.

Him.

CHAPTER 34

JACE

Parker and I were lounging on the couch, watching football, when the front door slammed open so hard I thought it might fly off the hinges. Matty stormed in like a man on a mission, eyes locked onto me like I was his mortal enemy.

“You arestilltracking me?” he bellowed, hands on his hips like a pissed-off suburban mom.

I popped another cheese puff into my mouth, completely unfazed. “You hadn’t answered any of my texts,” I pointed out, licking the cheese dust off my fingers.

Matty threw his hands in the air. “I was on a date, Jace.Adate.”

I nodded sagely, reaching for another cheese puff. “Yeah, and that date could’ve been a cleverly orchestrated kidnapping attempt. You never can be too careful these days.”

Parker snorted, but I kept my face neutral, like I was genuinely concerned about the state of Matty’s safety.

He scowled. “Kidnapped? ByCourtney?”

I shrugged, stuffing another handful of snacks in my mouth. “Listen, I don’t know Courtney personally. Maybe she seemed sweet. Maybe she batted her eyelashes and laughed at yourdumb jokes—a sign she’s faking, by the way, because you’re not funny. But who’s to say she wasn’t planning to stuff you in the trunk of her car and drive you to an underground fight club?”

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