Hey guys! I know it's been forver, but I'm here now! :) I hope you guys like this chapter! Clace warning!
Ya'll ready?
LEGGO.
Two weeks. Two weeks since we fought. Two weeks since I had talked to Jace. Two weeks that i'd been miserable.
I couldn't handle it. My body is going into overdrive every single time I see him, each of my nerve ends sparking at the thought of Jace, and that night. I have to close my eyes sometimes, the need to grab Jace by his stupid gold locks and kiss him in all the ways I longed to too overpowering for me to handle. It drove me crazy how much control his mere existance could have over me. Nothing could distract me from the carnal desire that seemed to pulse through me- well except for beheading things.
Another grunt escapes my lips as I let the sharp knife fly, watching as it spins through the air, taking with it the head of a training dummy. I don't smile at the perfect shot, just calmly pick it up, reattach it, and go back to place I had marked. I let another knife fly. These movements had become a routine- I had needed something to distract me from Jace, and so far I had beheaded 87 dummies. Still not enough.
My hand aims, and I draw back my arm, right as the door to the training room slams open. I falter and almost drop the knife as Jace strolls in, a towel slung over his shoulder. My mouth goes dry at the sight of him in a black tanktop that left his lightly muscled arms exposed, and matching warmup pants. Suddenly, I'm concious of low the riding yoga pants and tank top I only wore to train alone. But I wasn't alone anymore.
His eyes skim over me, lingering for only a second. I take a deep breath and open my mouth. "Hi." Wonderful Clarissa. Stellar response.
He looks casually at me, tossing his towel onto a spare table. "Hello." His voice is slightly mocking, but I try to ignore it. I couldn't stand it anymore- I needed to talk to him.
I slowly creep forward, my hands twisting in front of me. "Er- Jace? Could we talk?" I ask meekly. He raises an eyebrow at me.
"Sadly, neither of us are drunk, so I don't think that's possible." Ouch. I bite my lip and fight down my pride.
"Please Jace?" I attempt to plead, hating the sound of it in my mouth. "I just-"
He rounds on me. "I came here to workout Clarissa, not talk about my feelings." His voice is harsh, dismissing. But I'm not easily dismissed.
I turn and grab two training swords from the wall, and I toss one to Jace. He catches it, eyeing me up as I walk to the mat. I take a deep breath, "Fine. Train. But if I win, we talk. Deal?"
Slowly, he looks at me. Really looks at me for the first time in two weeks. A beat of stillness fills the air, then slowly but surely he starts to creep towards the mat. "And if I win?" He raises the sword.
A shrug. "Whatever you want." And then I strike.
It was different this time then when we fought before. It wasn't about proving anything to eachother- it was pure tactic. Finding the easist way to beat your oppnent and initiating it. My sword comes down in a perfect arc, a cut that would wound any other shadowhunter. But this was Jace, and I wasn't surprised at all at the easy block. He spins out of the way as I dive into a roll, popping right back up. We begin to circle eachother, our eyes locked. A small smirk plays on his lips, and I know he's feeling the rush from fighting, putting your life in danger with the only confidence you have is that you won't mess up. It's terrifying and exhilirating.
"Are you sure you can hold your own Princess? Can you handle breaking a nail?" He calls tauntingly, returning back to my old demeaning nickname. I smile sweetly, tiliting my head slightly.
"The only thing I'm breaking is your pride Herondale." I was shot back into the first few days, where insults were our only communication. At least it was better than dead silence.
He scoffs. "We'll see about that." He lunges at me, and I hold my sword up, ready. His upper torso twists as he aims for a hit to my shoulder, and the blade still grazes me as I attempt to spin. If these were real, I would be bleeding severely. I grin manically, a crazy giggle escaping my throat. I hadn't felt so alive in two weeks, and I couldn't get enough of it.
Jace lands and spins, striking my sword with his so hard I felt the vibrations run through my arm. The same crazy grin is stretched across his face, his gold eyes bright as he presses me backwards, hitting my sword over and over again. I'm quickly fighting defense, trying my hardest to remember any strategy to help me get the upper hand. There's only one I could think of, but I hadn't tried it in a year.
My feet are at the edge of the raised mat, and I know I'll automatically lose if Jace knocks me off. I can tell that's what he was thinking, as his blows slowly start to get harder and more brutal. "Ready to give up?" He puffs out as I block another blow.
I scoff. "Not a chance." I kick my leg up high, aiming for his face. He catches it easily around the ankle, not even blinking. Not even stopping for a witty comment, I use his grip on my ankle as momentum, and drop my sword to the ground, kicking my other foot directly at his fingers. I fall to the floor hard, but it works- Jace lets go of my ankle and his sword with a cry. And I grab it on its way down, rolling away and standing up behind Jace. He spins in shock and stares at me, as if he couldn't believe I just did that. I grin- it had worked.
He shakes his head in amazment. "You're crazy, Princess." He admits, right before spinning so fast he becomes a blur, then hitting me so hard in my waist with his foot I collapse on contact. I'm on my hands and knees, coughing while trying to suck air into my lungs. My lungs burn and I already can tell their is going to be a bruise. I feel myself being hauled up by my shoulders, and I feel Jace grab my waist for support as I stand with my back pressed against him, and a sword on my neck.
I freeze, my eyes on the sword. I feel Jace's deep laugh run through me as the flat of the blade is pressed against my neck. "Surrender?" He asks me quietly.
I nod, as best as I can with a blade on my neck. Jace sighs and tosses the blade to the floor, gently releasing his hold on me as he takes my hand and leads me over to the table. I slowly sit on it as e grabs a stele and quickly marks me with a healing rune on my exposed shoulder, eyes intent as he carefully glide the instrument over my skin. He finishes off and I sigh in relief as the aching slowly fades until I feel nothing. Dropping the stele, Jace turns to face me. I notice our eyes are finally level when I sit on the table.
"Okay, you won. What do you want?" I ask tiredly. I can't believe I didn't win- that move always guarenteed me a win against Jonathon back when we trained together. Jace leans in slightly, his hands settling on either side of my thighs. His face is so close I could just lean over and kiss him, but I don't.
His voice is feather soft, but firm. "Admit you're scared of me."
I move back in shock, my eyes wide. "W-what?"
Jace presses on. "I'm not stupid Clarissa-"
I jump off the table in anger. "First of all, it's Clary. Not Clarissa, not Princess, Clary. And second of all, I am not scared of-"
He cuts me off, just like I did to him. Jace leans in closer, golden eyes stormy and intense. The smell of sweat and Jace combine and intoxicate me, and I find it hard to think straight all of a sudden. "Clary," he says quietly, and I can't help the shiver that runs through my spine at the sound of my name on his tongue. "You're scared of me. I can sense it." He body closes in around me, pushing me hard against the table. "You're scared of the way you act around me, of how I might respond to you." His head slowly descends on my neck, and the feather soft touch of his breath warms my skin as he slowly moves his hands to my waist, grabbing me firmly. "Of how you blush whenever you think of me." His lips ghost over her neck and plant the smallest of kisses on my collarbone. I shiver at the first contact we had for two weeks, and I dig my nails into my pants. "Of how I make you want to lose a little bit of that self control you've had for so long. How you want to break every rule, every boundary you ever set for yourself." His lips move to my jaw, and I can't surpress the slight whimper from my lips. I want to grab onto him, and never let go.
Jace's eyes finally meet mine, and in them I see a battlefield of emotions that I can't decipher. My own wide eyes are reflected in his pupils as I take in every inch of his face, from his parted, red lips, to his passionate eyes, his sculpted jawline, and the little chip in his tooth that kept him human. He hurt to look at.
"How would you know?" I whisper, my eyes searching his. Jace's forehead falls against mine, his dark gold curls falling around his head. His lips brush mine, little sparks of electricity reaching down all the way to my toes.
"Because I feel the same way when I look at you." He whispers, so quietly if we were any farther I wouldn't have heard it. But I did.
I stare up at him, searching for any signs of the cruel, harsh king I was promised in the vulnerable and passionate man standing in front of me. I search for any signs of my father, the man who could care less about his own daughter, who ruined me. And I find absolutely nothing.
My hands fly up and grasp his face, my eyes falling to his lips. "You scare me so much Jace Herondale, and I could care less." And I draw his lips down on mine.
The effect is instantaneous. Every single inch of my body sparks at the same time, and I almsot melt from satisfaction. Kissing Jace is like a drug, one that you could never quit once you started. I hold onto him for dear life, letting the fire that he sparks run wild, my arms thrown around his neck. One of his arms grabs me around the waist and pulls me into him until there wasn't enough room for air in between us. His other hand weaves into my red locks and entangles itself, and I let myself be held in his strong embrace. His lips open under the pressure and so do mine, and we melt deeper into eachother. He groans ddeply and I shudder, my entire body alive with heat. I feel Jace pick me up lightly and put me on the table, and I use the oppurtunity to wrap my legs around his waist. My hands run across his back, and I smile darkly as he shudders at the feel of my nails lightly scratching at his bronzed skin. He kisses me deeper, faster, until I can't see anything or hear anything. My nerves sing with excitement, and my entire body feels as if it's floating. I wanted to feel this way forever.
Jace wrenches his lips away from mine, drawing in a gasp of fresh air as he pants, staring at me. His cheeks are flushed and lips are swollen, his hair sticking up wildly. I pant in new air, a crazy smile of satisfaction and elation stretched across my face. We both attempt to catch our breath, our eyes never leaving eachothers.
Jace goes in for another kiss, pressing a hot kiss on my neck and working his way to my collarbone. "We should," another kiss against my neck. "Porbably talk about this." He pants, arms slowly circling me as his stops to suck at a tender spot of skin. My eyes roll back in my head a little bit as I tangle my hands in his hair, losing myself once again in the sensation of Jace's lips on me.
"You're right, we really-" I gasp loudly and arch my back as Jace gently nips at the soft skin on my neck, and I let out an embarrasingly loud groan. His body shakes with silent laughter and his eyes are smug as he peppers little stinging kisses, letting me writhe under him. I close my eyes for a split second, imagining all the things I wanted to do-
No! I gasp loudly and push him away from me. He goes back easily, a small grin on his face. I push a hand through my knotted hair to try to clear my thoughts- Jace is way too distracting, and the bastard knew it too. I glare at him half heartedly, but it probably wasn't too convincing considering I was mainly staring at his lips. HE puts his hand sup in surrender, laughing.
"Okay, talk." he says, bracing himself on the table around me. Oh, like that would help. I sigh and roll my eyes, taking a deep breath. Why had we stopped kissing again?
"Okay- you were right Jace. I am scared of how I feel about you sometimes." It feels good to admit it. "It's scary thinking of how much I want you sometimes, even when we don't even know eachother that well. It's crazy to think I could ever want someone so much, someone who I barely know. And I find it unbelievable that by any way you even feel the same about me. And most of all, I'm terrified of how resolved you seem to put up with marriage and how you've come to terms with it when I have no idea how to do the same." My eyes are fixed on the floor by the time I'm done. I stay silent, waiting for Jace to say something. I can feel him breathing evenly around me, not saying a thing. Then, a hand comes up and raises my chin so I'm looking back into his golden eyes.
"I'm not asking you to figure everything out right now Clary." He says gently. "In some ways I'm as fucked up as you, and it also terrifies me how much I ended up actually okay with the short little readhead who walked into my life." He smirks, and I roll my eyes, despite the small blossom of joy in the pit of my stomach. "I'm still not ready to become the perfect husband and wife who buy eachother roses and peck eachother on the cheek each morning." His nose wrinkles at the thought, and I find myself thinking of how adorable it looks. "And I have a feeling neither are you. But I am ready to accept this marriage and actually try to make this a good thing. Are you?" His voice is quiet, eyes deep and imploring as I consider his question and what it meant if I said yes. I thought of Jace, of actually being able to be in a room with him without anger pulsing in the air. I thought of letting go of all of the strictness my teen years had been riddled with, and letting myself discover who I acutally am- with Jace by my side.
I draw his lips down to mine.
Hey! Yeah I know hella short chapter but this is really important actually. It marks the end of the animosity between Jace and Clary- but my no means are they a happy old couple anymore guys! This just means they don't really have an underlying annoyance at eachother, and that they've finally accepted the fact that they're going to be married and need to learn how to live with it. But the sparking sexual tension is not ending! trust me, lots of angry sexiness is planned. ;)
Also, anybody looking for a beta for a new story? hmu!
I love you guys so so much! Thank you for putting up with me!