Page 55 of Set the Moment
Jace doesn’t hesitate to pull me towards the animal, smiling from ear to ear. I grimace, already knowing how this will play out before it starts as Shayla leads us inside the enclosure with Nox and his siblings.
The entire process is going smoothly with Nox letting me feed and pet him—or so I think. About two minutes into feeding Nox, his mother, Reina, wakes up, andsurprise surprise…Jace Heart decides that he wants to feed her.
My back is turned to Jace and Reina, with Shayla mediating between the two of us. I’m just about to feed Nox another small carrot when my body is jerked back into a strong chest.
Jace wraps both of his arms around me protectively, squeezing tightly.
Is he trying to hug—
“I made her mad,” he whispers calmly in my ear. My blood chills, eyes snapping up to the buff momma-roo in front of me, eyeing down the idiot using me as protection.
“She’s docile…”
“Babe, have you not seenKangaroo Jack?! These motherfuckers are psycho. Nope!” he exclaims, grabbing me up like a kid before dragging us out of the enclosure, completely ignoring Shayla’s protest.
The walk back to the bike is silent with Jace stewing and me trying not to laugh at the idiot.
“Don’t—”
The laugh that falls out of my body is immediate and loud as I double over, clutching my stomach. Jace rolls his eyes, handing the purple helmet from earlier back to me, shutting me up instantly.
“What was that?” He smirks, watching as I look down at the heavy chunk of metal in my hands.
“Shut up…”
My phone vibrates in my pocket as he’s about to make another annoying retort, so I ignore him and pull it out to check the message.
Daisy
Where are you?
Did you forget about our practice??
My heart drops, my eyes falling to the time. It’s 12:30…we were supposed to meet at 12:15. Shit. It’s a Friday, so I know I don’t have classes today, but Ididhave a dance practice with Daisy.
Daisy
Are you with that guy?
Your boyfriend?
Boyfriend is a strong word…I’d say an acquaintance who is male that I have kissed and hung out with.
Leaving Daisy on read, I look up at Jace who’s already staring at me expectantly. It’s then that I finally take him in.
The sun is at its peak, and though we’re in a forested area, it shines through the trees. Jace’s hair is a mixture of sunlight, gold, and brown sugar cookies. Sweet and light. Jace is like a golden boy, like Herc—
No!
“Want something sweet?” he asks, his words like music to my ears as I grin, trying to shake off my thoughts.
“Have you met me?”
Jace may know me a little too well.
Our drive back to our side of town is seamless, with me cowering into his back and him singing early 2000s pop music over our Bluetooth connection.
When we get to Sweet Tooth, I’m surprised to find it empty with Saree standing behind the counter writing down an order on the phone. When she sees us, her eyes brighten as she waves before gesturing that she’ll be with us in a minute.
