drove down the street to Aislynn's apartment.
She read the email over and over again, not believing what she was seeing. She had had her phone off the whole two days she had spent at Jace's, and was now catching up on her calls, texts, and emails.
"No, no, no!" she whined again.
"Aislynn, what is it?"
"Please, God. No!" she cried and slammed her head against the head rest. She squished her eyes with her hands, wishing she could erase the last image her retinas had the misfortune of registering.
While stopped at a red light, Jace grabbed the phone from her hands and read the email that was still on the screen.
"Your mom is coming to San Diego? Your birthday is this weekend?" he asked, clearly more shocked about the last part.
"Ugh, it sounds even worse when you say it out loud!"
"Don't worry, babydoc," he said, giving her back the phone and kissing the top of her head. "We'll get through it." He put his arm around her and softly massaged her now tense shoulders.
Did he just say we?
"You don't understand. That woman sucks the life out of me. She's…she has this ability…she will…" Aislynn stumbled over her words, just like she stumbled over everything she did whenever Pam was around. "Okay, let me give you a visual you'll understand," she finally said, and Jace gave her as much attention as he could while keeping his eyes on the road. "She's like my own personal Darth Vader. She has the power of the dark force that allows her to strangle me without even laying a hand on my body. She does it with just her words."
Jace parked his car in front of the apartment and turned in his seat to face her. He gently caressed her face with both hands and stroked his thumbs softly under her eyes. "I don't like seeing you like this. I don't like that she makes you feel this way."
Aislynn closed her eyes and gave in to the wonderful tranquility that embraced her. Being in Jace's hands, in any capacity, made her inner turmoil settle down. "I really don't want to drag you into this."
"You're not doing this alone. Not anymore. Remember what we talked about on the beach—you promised to let me in. Please let me take care of you now," he said, and kissed her sweetly on her forehead.
Jace's words made her feel incredibly conflicted. She wanted nothing more than to have him protect and support her from a potentially torturous encounter with Pam, but she was way too stubborn and hardheaded to ignore her initial instinct to push him away.
I don't need any saving. I should deal with this myself.
She forced the thought aside, knowing she needed to do things differently with Jace this time around. She had made a promise to him, and he deserved her honesty. This thought led to feelings of guilt about the things she was still keeping from him about her past, but she quickly decided it wasn't the place or the time to deal with them.
Jace got out of the car and walked her to the door. Aislynn had to force a smile to hide the sadness that had invaded her. "When are you coming back?" she asked as they walked into the apartment.
"Thursday."
"I'll miss you," she said, and hugged him tightly.
"I'll miss you too, babydoc," he whispered in her ear. "You have no idea how much."
Aislynn pulled away after a minute and took in the tenderness in his eyes. He leaned in for a kiss, and she closed her eyes, yearning with the intensity of a sixteen-year-old girl that the kiss would last forever. The emotion overwhelmed her, and she couldn't control the urge to press herself against him.
He held her close and walked with her as Aislynn guided them out of the living room and into her bedroom, her tongue exploring his mouth, and her hands refusing to stop touching his body.
"Aislynn…" he mumbled with his mouth still on hers. "I have to…my flight leaves in…Oh, fuck…" he said as her hands moved down his chest, to his waist, and then hastily pulled at his belt and button. The zipper of his pants opened with one swift motion of her desperate hands.
"You can spare ten minutes for this," Aislynn said, already breathing hard. "I…I need you right now. Just…please."
Her voice was laced with longing and demand. She needed Jace to ground her at that moment, to organize the chaos that was raging in her head and in