Clary held CeeCee's hand tightly as they maneuvered their way through crowds of shoppers. Jordan was trailing closely behind them, attentive with his eyes scanning the mall and looking for anyone or anything out of place. CeeCee was trying to walk ahead of Clary, but Clary's grip on her and CeeCee's short arms and legs wouldn't allow her to do so. Clary remembered how easily Jace had lost her that day when they first met. The mall hadn't even been busy then. She was not about to risk losing her in the pre-Christmas rush.
It was less than two weeks before Christmas, and CeeCee had managed to convince Clary to take her shopping. Clary had been hoping to push the responsibility off on Jace, but CeeCee had argued that if she was buying her father a gift, then he couldn't come along and ruin the surprise. Clary herself hadn't bought anything for Jace yet either. She didn't even have a general idea of what to get him. What do you gift someone who has the ability to get anything they want?
Clary came out of her thoughts as CeeCee pulled her into a small, nondescript store.
"Socks?" she asked, looking at the walls. The store had a wide selection of cuts, from ankle to thigh high, and most of the socks came in funky patterns.
CeeCee nodded animatedly. "Uh huh. Daddy only has boring ones. He needs fun ones to make him happy."
Clary let out a laugh and let go of CeeCee's hand. She kept an eye on her as she wandered around the store, though. She was amazed by, and slightly jealous of, the little girl's ability to come up with such a simple but meaningful gift idea. However, she figured crazy socks wasn't exactly the kind of thing you gifted someone you recently declared your love to.
Twenty minutes later, CeeCee came running up to Clary with two pairs of crew cut socks clutched tightly in her hands. Her eyes were shining and she was bouncing on the balls of her feet. One pair was black and decorated with colorful paintbrushes and pallets. The other pair was dark purple and covered with the members of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
"Are those your choices?" Clary asked.
"Yup!" CeeCee replied, handing Clary the socks so she could check out with them. "The Turtles are to remind him of me and the paintbrushes are to remind him of you," she said, beaming.
Clary stopped in her tracks and turned back to her. "To remind him of me?"
"Because you like to paint!"
Clary stared at her silently for a moment, thinking. She and CeeCee had grown close, especially since she got back from Thanksgiving with Kaelie. She'd gone on and on about how much she had missed Clary and had become slightly clingy. Despite their closeness, this small gesture had thrown Clary off. Was she really that important to CeeCee that she had incorporated her into her and her father's life through a Christmas present? Or was she just reading too much into it?
CeeCee too Clary's silence the wrong way, and her face fell. "Won't Daddy like them?"
Clary quickly regained her composure and smiled at her. "Of course he will, sweetie. He'll love it."
CeeCee's expression returned to her original excited one, and she followed Clary to the check out counter. Once they paid, Clary took CeeCee's hand again and led her outside to where Jordan had been waiting for them.
They started to walk through the crowds again, Christmas carols pouring out through the mall speakers. White Christmas began to play, and Clary's steps faltered slightly. Jordan noticed, though, and gave her a questioning look. She just shook her head slightly, as sharp pain filling her chest.
Jocelyn had been one of those people who went all out for Christmas. As soon as Thanksgiving was over, their house was filled with the scent of sugar cookies and every corner was covered in decorations. They spent the month leading up to the day listening to Christmas songs on the radio and watching Christmas movies on the television. White Christmas had been Jocelyn's favorite, and so far Clary had avoided anything that would remind her of it.
"Do you know what you want to get your mom?" Clary asked after clearing the thickness from her throat.
CeeCee nodded in return. "A charm bracelet."
"That sounds nice," Clary replied, keeping her voice even. She couldn't help but worry a little bit. The only jewelry store in the mall wasn't on the same level as the kind that she knew Kaelie probably got her jewelry from. It definitely wasn't anywhere close to a Tiffany's. CeeCee was really excited about the gifts she was buying for her parents, and Clary was worried about Kaelie having any sort of adverse reaction to CeeCee's present if it didn't fit her standards.
They passed the Santa's Village that was set up in the middle of the mall, a large line of parents and children waiting their turn to get their pictures taken with him. Clary was suddenly hit with an idea, and she turned to CeeCee.
"Do you want to visit Santa before we go home today?" she asked. She didn't even know if Santa was something CeeCee still believed in, or if Jace and Kaelie even played along with the tradition, but the picture would be important for her present to Jace.
CeeCee's eyes lit up at her question. "Can we really?"
"Of course." She wondered why, if she was so excited about the prospect, she hadn't asked or brought it up.
"Daddy helps me write letters to Santa but Mommy doesn't let me see him," CeeCee explained, as if she could read Clary's mind.
"So this will be your first time visiting him?"
CeeCee nodded, and Clary frowned. She didn't understand why they would keep that experience away from her. In her opinion, visiting Santa in the mall was an important staple of childhood Christmases. She didn't like that CeeCee had yet to do it, but a small part of her was glad because it would make her gift for Jace even better.
"Can you keep visiting Santa a secret?" she asked, not wanting CeeCee to ruin the element of surprise she now had.
"I thought secrets were bad?" CeeCee said, cocking her head to the side.
"Some secrets can be good." Clary smiled. "Like surprises. This is a good secret, okay?"
"Okay!"
Clary was glad CeeCee easily agreed. She wanted the picture as a reference point for a painting she wanted to make for Jace. She didn't have much time with Christmas being so close, but she believed she could get it done if she focused on it and got started right away. She mentally went through the supplies she had at home and decided she would only need to get a new canvas, which they could stop for on their way back.
CeeCee dragged Clary into the mall's singular jewelry store. Jordan waited outside again, and Clary was jealous of him. She felt uncomfortable surrounded by diamonds, gold, and silver. Jocelyn had never been big on fancy jewelry. The most expensive thing she had owned was a pair of pearl earrings. Because of that, Clary never got into jewelry herself, not that she ever really had the money to afford it anyway. Raphael had bought her fancy necklaces, rings, and bracelets when he first started getting violent as apology presents. She never wore them, though, and they ended up getting pawned once she needed money.
CeeCee chatted excitedly with the store associate, explaining what she wanted to get for her mother. She spent a solid hour having the associate pull different bracelets and charms before she was finally satisfied with what she had. She'd been adamant about wanting the charms to have some sort of meaning. Clary was dying of boredom and would have felt bad for the associate if he wasn't about to make such a large sale.
Clary held onto the bag from the store, not wanting to risk CeeCee losing something so expensive. They made their way to Santa's Village, CeeCee's excitement growing. Clary held onto her hand as CeeCee talked a mile a minute with Jordan. Clary wasn't really paying attention to their conversation, looking at the surrounding storefronts instead.
Her eyes landed on a Victoria's Secret, and another plan popped into her head. Jace had been treating her like a fragile China doll ever since she'd spilled about her past with Raphael. He had barely touched her in that way, and when he did he was almost too gentle with her. Not that she minded gentle, but she was tired of him acting like she was going to break. It was something that she had been afraid would happen once she told him everything. There was also the fact he was spending a lot more time at the office for the past week or so. He was trying to catch up on work so he could take more time off for the upcoming holiday. He was stressed out, and she could sense it.
Looking at the skimpy lingerie the model was wearing in the display window, Clary came up with an idea to help him alleviate some of that stress and get herself what she needed. Tomorrow was Friday, and CeeCee was going to Kaelie's for the weekend. Because of that, she knew Jace had plans to stay extra late at the office and maybe even go in on Friday. Clary figured she could pick up something sexy from the store and surprise him on Friday night after she dropped CeeCee off.
She gave CeeCee's hand over to Jordan. "I'll be right back," she said, starting to step out of line. She knew she could be back in time for CeeCee's turn with how long the line was at the moment.
Jordan lightly grabbed her elbow with his free hand. "You're not supposed to go off on your own."
Clary pointed to the nearby store. "I am not taking you and CeeCee lingerie shopping with me," she explained.
Jordan followed her finger and nodded in understanding. "Okay. Be quick, though."
Lingerie was another foreign concept to Clary. Sure, she'd been in the store before to buy bras and panties, but lingerie was a completely different ballgame. She had no idea what men found most appealing or what Jace would be interested in. She walked around the store, looking at different garments made of lace, satin, and everything in between. A few bustiers caught her attention, but she didn't think they'd be something she could pull off, so she found herself looking at babydolls instead.
She found a Christmas-y one that was a dark red. The cups were covered in an intricate lace design and the rest of it was sheer except for a small white fir trim along the bottom. She picked one that she thought might be her size and shyly asked an associate for a dressing room to try it on.
She took a moment to really study herself in the mirror once she had the garment on. The cups gave her breasts a nice lift, and then sheer material hid none of the rest of her body. She couldn't help but notice the way her curves had filled out nicely recently. She had lost her appetite between the stress of Raphael and her mom and didn't eat very well, which led to her dropping a lot of weight. She'd gained most of it back over the past few months, and she couldn't say she was disappointed.
She left the dressing room with the babydoll clutched tightly in her hand before heading to a display table to look for panties. She wanted something new and a little more daring than what she normally wore. Her underwear choices usually consisted of cheekies or boyshorts. There was probably only one or two thongs in her underwear drawer at the moment. When she found a barely-there, lace thong in the same red as the babydoll she decided to take a risk and purchase it.
As she headed toward the cash register counter, she got an odd feeling, like she was being watched. It was a prickling on her neck an unsettling feeling in her stomach that she'd felt a few times before. When she turned head around to scan the store, she could have sworn she saw a flash of familiar white hair exiting and turning the corner. She told herself it was nothing. The mall was busy and there were tons of white-haired men around. Yet, she still rushed to make her purchase and return to Jordan.
She schooled her features by time she reached Jordan and CeeCee, having convinced herself she was overreacting and imagining things. Jordan gave her an acknowledging nod as she rejoined them in line. There were only two families in front of them, and Clary could feel CeeCee buzzing with excitement.
"What are you going to ask Santa for?" Clary asked, deciding to give Jordan a reprieve from her endless chatter.
CeeCee shook her head, her blonde curls bouncing slightly. "It's a secret. The good kind," she responded. A sly smile was on her face, making her look so much like her father. Knowing what thoughts Jace usually had when he made that same expression, Clary wondered what CeeCee was plotting.
"Are you sure?" Clary pressed. "I won't tell anyone if you tell me."
"Nope." CeeCee made the age-old motion of zipping her lips, locking them, and throwing away the key.
Clary eyed her suspiciously but decided to drop the subject. She didn't think CeeCee had anything bad in mind, but she still didn't like not knowing what the little girl was up to. CeeCee was never one to really keep secrets or hide things, and Clary was wondering why she was choosing now to do so.
Clary and Jordan stood nearby as CeeCee was finally able to take her turn on Santa's lap. She was grinning and conversing easily with the man in the suit. Clary guessed he asked her what she wanted for Christmas because she quickly threw a glance at Clary before bringing her hand up to hide her face as she whispered something into the man's ear. The man also looked over in Clary's direction, and she found herself wondering what CeeCee and Santa were plotting.
Friday night found Clary in the elevator of Herondale Pharmaceuticals on her way to the top floor. She had dropped CeeCee off at Kaelie's earlier, and then gone home to shower, shave, and change. Her new babydoll and panties were hidden by her only her thick winter coat, and her singular pair of stilettos were on her feet.
She was suddenly overcome with a wave of nervousness. She had been confident in her choice earlier, asking Jordan to drive her to Jace's office and telling him she would get a ride back with Jace. She had gotten Jordan to agree to not tell Jace of her plans to show up because she wanted it to be a surprise, but now she was having doubts. She didn't know how Jace would react to just showing up out of nowhere at his place of work.
Before she could chicken out, the elevator dinged, indicating its arrival to her destination. The doors slid open, and she gave herself a mental pep talk as she walked towards his office doors. She paused outside the door, taking a few deep breaths and finally knocking on its wooden surface.
"Come in?" Jace called. It came out sounding more like a question, and she guessed that was because he wasn't expecting anybody else to be around this late.
She slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open, slipping into the office through a small crack. She shut the door, reaching behind her to lock it just in case.
"Clary?" Jace said, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "What are you doing here?" He was sitting behind his desk, a laptop perched in the middle with various papers scattered all around it. His hair was a mess on top of his head, and she knew he had been running his hands through it.
She shrugged as she walked toward him on shaky legs, her heart beating heavily in her chest. "I just wanted to give you an early Christmas present."
He cocked his head to the side. "Is that so?"
"Yes," she answered, moving to stand between him and his desk. His eyes traveled slowly up her bare legs, and her face flamed. "Do you want to open it?"
When he nodded, she took his hand in one of her trembling ones and brought it to the zipper at the top of her coat. He gave her a questioning look, and, with her hand still over his, she began to slowly pull the zipper down. She removed her hand once he caught on and continued to pull the zipper down himself.
His sharp intake of breath echoed through the silence of the room once he had her coat completely open, revealing the lingerie beneath. She watched as his eyes darkened. He brought his hands up, sliding them under the coat on her shoulders and pushing it off. The coat fell to the ground, completely revealing Clary's outfit.
Jace pushed his chair back slightly, twirling an index finger around in the air. Clary spun around for him, hearing him groan once he saw her bare ass cheeks.
"Are you trying to make it onto the naughty list?" he asked once she was facing him again. His voice was husky, sending tingles to the pit of her stomach.
"I think I made it onto the naughty list the moment I started sleeping with my boss," she said, smiling slightly.
He grabbed her hips and pulled her closer to him. "I don't know, Miss Fray. I think that was actually really nice of you."
Now that she was closer to him, she could see the dark circles under his eyes. Reaching out, she placed her hands on either side of his face and ran her thumbs lightly under her eyes. "You need to get more sleep."
She let out a yelp as he pulled her down so she was straddling his lap. He was already hard beneath her.
"I don't think you came here dressed like that so I could sleep," he murmured before placing a kiss at the base of her throat.
"I didn't," she replied, tilting her head back to give him better access to her neck.
He trailed kisses up her neck as hands moved down to grab her ass. When his mouth finally landed on hers, he pulled her tighter against him, the bulge in his pants hitting her in just the right spot. She moaned lightly into his mouth, rocking her hips against him. His hands began to wander, and he slipped his fingers into the lacy material of her panties. She pulled away from him, shaking her head and climbing off his lap.
"What are you—"
He immediately stopped as she dropped down to her knees between his legs, her hands going straight to his belt buckle. She made quick work of his buckle, button, and zipper, and pulled his pants and underwear down just enough to free his straining erection. She pumped his length a few times, causing him to throw his head back and groan.
"Fuck," he hissed as she ran her tongue from the base of his cock to the tip.
She wrapped her lips around him, and he fisted a hand in her hair. She looked up at him through her lashes; his head was still thrown back and his eyes were closed. His breathing was becoming more ragged as she swirled her tongue around the tip, and she knew he was getting close. She redoubled her efforts, humming and moving a little faster.
"Clary, baby," he breathed. "Stop, stop."
He gently tugged on her hair, and she removed her mouth from. She looked up at him, her brow furrowed and the corners of her mouth turning down. She was worried she had done something wrong even though he had seemed to have been enjoying himself.
"Did you not like it?" she asked, chewing on her bottom lip.
"Baby, you were amazing. I just don't want to come yet," he explained. "Stand up."
She did as he said, moving to stand between his legs. She was forced to move backwards as he moved his chair forward, her butt hitting the edge of the desk. He reached around her to close his laptop, moving it and the scatter of papers to one side. He gripped her hips and lifted her slightly, so she was sitting on top of the desk.
He stood up, switching their roles so he was the one standing between her legs. He leaned over and attached his mouth to hers, his right hand cupping her cheek and his left moving slowly down her body and slipping under the lace of her panties. He ran the tip of his tongue along her bottom lip, and she parted her lips to give him access.
His tongue slipped into her mouth at the same he thrust two fingers into her. Her responding moan was muffled by his mouth, and she spread her legs a little wider for him. He skillfully curled his fingers inside of her and moved his thumb to rub her tiny bundle of nerves, and her stomach began to coil. He moved his mouth down to her neck, and she moved her hands to his shoulder to steady herself.
He bit and nipped at her skin as he continued his ministrations on her. She was writhing on his desk, the pressure in her abdomen building. Jace gently raked his teeth over her earlobe, and then she felt his breath hot against her ear.
"Come for me, Clary," he whispered to her.
His voice was soft but commanding, and she almost immediately came undone on his hand. While she rode out her orgasm, he managed to flip her over. He had her feet firmly planted on the floor with her legs spread, and her chest was pressed against the desk. She felt him slide her panties down her legs and lift one of her feet to remove them.
"Condom," she managed to say. "Left coat pocket."
She heard him rustling around, followed by the sound of a foil packet being torn open. He then came up behind her again, grabbing her arms. He moved them so that her hands were at the other edge of the desk. He took his own hands over hers and wrapped her fingers around the edge. His hands moved up her arms and then down her back before finding purchase on her hips. She felt his body against hers as he leaned down to bring his face next to hers.
"I'm going to need you to hold on tight," he rasped in her ear before slamming into her.
"What's one of your favorite Christmas traditions?" Jace asked, taking another bite of pizza.
They were sitting on the floor of his office, their backs against his desk. There was a pizza on the floor between them. Jace had gotten it delivered after they both came down from their highs. They'd been asking each other holiday-related questions back and forth.
"Christmas cookies," she replied without hesitation. She also took a bite of pizza, being careful not to spill anything on the white button up Jace let her borrow to cover herself. "My mom always went all out with the cookies around Christmas. She was a baking machine, and we would spend hours decorating them together."
"You sound like you really miss her," he said, reaching over and placing a hand on her knee.
She nodded and decided to give Jace some more information for once. She had told herself she wanted to be more honest with him after the Raphael ordeal, and she knew her mother was going to have to be part of that.
"She, uh, passed away a little less than a year ago."
Jace gently squeezed her knee. "I know."
She looked at him, tilting her head to the side. "You do?"
"It was in the background check I ran before hiring you."
"Why didn't you ever say anything?"
He shrugged. "I didn't want to pry and figured you'd tell me about it whenever you were ready. I remember how much I hated people bringing up my mother at first, and I honestly didn't know how recent her passing was. I just knew that it had happened."
She felt tears prick at the back of her eyes at the fact he had been so understanding. "I really appreciate that," she said, her voice cracking a little. She quickly cleared her throat before changing the subject. She didn't want to continue discussing her mother right then. "So, what about you? Favorite tradition?"
He hummed quietly while he thought about it. "I think I'd have to say ice skating in Rockefeller Center. Although, you surprising me with festive lingerie might replace that."
Clary felt her cheeks flush at that. "I've never been," she said, ignoring the second half of his response.
"Ice skating?" he asked, not even trying to hide his shock.
"Yeah. I don't think I ever really had a desire to go as a child. I'd rather sit home and draw or read, you know? I think my mom was the same way, which is probably why she never tried to take me."
"Well, now I know what we're doing tomorrow."
She snorted. "No way."
"Why not?"
She turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "For starters, you already have plans to work tomorrow. Second of all, I don't feel like eating shit in front of a bunch of strangers and children."
He moved his hand from her knee and grabbed her hand instead. "I know you took tonight off for me, so it's the least I could do to return the favor. Plus, I'll make sure to hold your hand the whole time so you don't fall."
She shook her head. "The answer is still no. If you want to go, by all means go ahead. I'm just not joining."
He rolled his eyes, but a small smile spread across his face. "If you agree to follow my tradition and go ice skating with me tomorrow, I'll let you follow your tradition and make Christmas cookies with CeeCee."
She narrowed her eyes at him, prepared to negotiate. The idea of baking and decorating with CeeCee was extremely appealing, and she knew she had Jocelyn's old recipes stored away somewhere. However, she wasn't going to compromise on her half of the deal. "Gingerbread and sugar?"
"Icing and all," he responded, his grin growing.
She bit the inside of her cheek and contemplated the offer. "Throw in a gingerbread house, and not the store-bought shit either, and you have a deal."
"Great! It's settled then. I'll take the afternoon off tomorrow, and we'll go to Rockefeller Center."
Clary removed her hand from his and ran it through her hair, her fingers catching in the knots left behind from their earlier activities. Rockefeller center was already a big tourist destination, and it got even worse around Christmas time. There would be giant crowds of people there, people who would see her and Jace together. They had agreed to keep their relationship on the down low, and she didn't know if that still applied.
"What are you thinking about?" Jace asked.
"That's just a really public place," she said looking down at her hands in her lap.
"So?" he pushed.
"People would see us together, and I just didn't know if you'd thought about that."
He hooked an index finger under her chin and lifted her face, forcing her to look at him. "Clary, love, I don't care if people see us together. In fact, I'd be proud to be seen with you and have people know you're mine." He paused, his brow furrowing slightly. "Unless you have a problem with it?"
She sunk her teeth into her lip, unable to pull her eyes away from his. He looked so insecure in that moment, and she felt terrible that it was because of her. "It's not that I don't want to be seen with you, it's just—" She cut herself off, closing her eyes briefly while she tried to gather her thoughts. She was trying not to compare him to Raphael in her mind, but she couldn't stop it. "People are going to have different reactions for me than they are for you."
"What do you mean?" he asked, removing his hand from her chin.
She let her gaze drop, her eyes focusing on his chest instead of his face. "People will be really happy for you, but they're going to have more adverse reactions for me. During my last relationship, people didn't have the kindest things to say when they found out I was a broke college student from a single-parent household. They thought I was just using him for his money and that I was some kind of gold digger. I can't imagine what they'll say when word gets out about us, especially considering I work for you."
"You never struck me as someone who cares what others think or say."
"That's not what I'm worried about," she replied, still not looking at him. When he didn't say anything in return, she decided to elaborate. "I-I don't want what they say to change your opinion."
"Hey," he said gently, "please look at me."
She brought her gazed back up to his, startled slightly by how soft and sad his eyes looked. He reached out, cupping her face in his hand.
"Nothing anybody could say would ever make me change my mind about you, Clare." He leaned in, pressing a chaste kiss to her lips. "I know who you are, and I know you're not like that. I've seen the way you've acted with CeeCee and you can't fake that level of kindness and caring." He gently ran his thumb over her cheekbone. "But if it makes you uncomfortable, we can always go somewhere less public."
She knew he had tried to hide the disappointment from his voice, but he had failed terribly. She didn't want him to be disappointed or upset, and she knew that they had to go public eventually. With a sigh, she said, "No. We can stick to the original plan. People are going to find out about us at some point, so there's no point in hiding it, right?"
A dazzling smile broke out across his face. "Exactly. Plus, people usually don't pay any attention to me unless I'm at some event. We should be fine. And if anyone tries to give you shit, I'll be right there to set them straight."
He brought his lips to hers again, and they lost themselves in each other for a second time that night.
The next night she found herself at Pandemonium despite wishing she could have taken another night off. Her legs were sore, and one of her palms was scraped from when she had fallen at the rink. She had managed to take Jace down with her in the process, and he was sporting a bruise on his knee that probably matched the one forming on her ass.
Overall, the day had been really fun, though. Jace had been patient with her as she held the rail tightly in one hand and his hand in the other for the first thirty minutes or so. When he finally coaxed her to let go of the rail, they had skated hand-in-hand around the rink, stopping to kiss every once in awhile. She still demanded they stuck close the wall even if she wasn't using it for support anymore.
After they had their fill of skating, Jace had taken her to a nearby café for hot chocolate. They had then gone home so she could take a quick nap before work. It had been a simple afternoon together, and it was one of the best she had had in a while. She wondered if it counted as their first date, but it had never explicitly been labeled as a date at all.
Despite her amazing day, Simon was putting a serious damper on her good mood. He had been short with her all night, and she had no idea why. She wanted to confront him but the club had been too busy for her to have the chance.
She had returned to the bar after delivering a table's order when Simon came up next to her with his arms crossed.
"Verlac's here. Usual booth," he said. His tone was bored, none of his normal teasing about Sebastian there. He also didn't even look at her, looking over her shoulder instead.
She nodded and let Helen know she needed Sebastian's usual. She headed in the booth's direction, deciding she would confront Simon after taking care of Sebastian no matter what. She was sure she could get someone to cover her for a few minutes.
Sebastian was a lot less chatty than usual with her tonight, and she was extremely thankful that somebody finally seemed to be on her side for the night. She had excused herself after giving him his drink and talking briefly with him and was now on the hunt for Simon. He was no longer at the bar, not that she fully expected him to be.
Finally, she found him near the front door. She knew that someone else was manning the doors and had a feeling he was just trying his best to not be anywhere near her that night. Taking a deep breath, she marched up to him.
"What the hell is your problem tonight?" she asked, raising her voice in order to be heard over the music.
He shrugged, still refusing to look at her. "Don't have a problem."
"Oh? So you're just being a dick for no reason?"
He shrugged again but didn't say anything.
She let out a frustrated growl, throwing her hands up in the air. "Talk to me, Simon!"
His eyes darted to hers for the briefest second. "Do you have something to tell me?" he asked.
She frowned, her brow crinkling in confusion. "No? But I have a feeling you think I do."
He pulled his phone out and fiddled around with it for a moment before turning the screen to her. "Care to explain?"
Clary's eyes widened at what he had pulled up. It was an article from some gossip site, and the photo accompanying it was of her and Jace sharing a kiss at the ice skating rink. Her eyes scanned over the text, which talked about Jace Herondale shacking up with a new red-headed mystery woman. The author also speculated about what had happened to Aline and how she would handle the news.
She had been so worried about what people in Jace's social circle would say, that she had forgotten all about her friends. Simon didn't know that anything had happened between her and Jace in the first place. Izzy knew about their initial kiss and that they had decided to see where things went, but she had no idea that they had become way more serious since then.
"Simon, I—"
"How long has this been going on?" he asked, cutting her off.
"Awhile," she answered, beginning to feel guilty that she had kept him in the dark for so long.
"And you're still working for him?" he scoffed.
She nodded. "I still need the job, Si."
He sneered at her. "Are you on the clock when he fucks you? Does he pay you more to warm his bed?"
His words were filled with hostility, and there was a fire burning in his eyes. Without thinking about it, she reached out a slapped her hand across his cheek, her palm stinging from the impact. He didn't seem phased by the hit, though.
"So you've learned how to handle conflict from Raphael, huh? Real nice, Clary," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "What are you going to take away from Herondale? How to sell yourself for money?"
Tears stung at the back of her eyes as she lashed out physically again, not knowing what else to do or how to handle the emotions swimming through her. Her hands beat against his chest as she yelled at him.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" she cried. "Why are you being so cruel? What did I—"
She was cut off as a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and she was pulled away from him. She flailed her arms and legs, trying desperately to free herself. The person just pulled them tighter against their chest in response.
"What the hell is going on?" Bat asked. Clary could feel the vibrations of his voice against her back.
Clary stilled in his grasp, placing her feet back on the floor as embarrassment flooded her at the way she had just been caught acting. Simon continued to stand there with his arms crossed, saying nothing.
"Somebody better fucking answer me," Bat demanded.
Simon shrugged, his face remaining stoic. "Ask her. She's the one that went all psycho."
"He's the one acting like an asshole!" she shouted, feeling the need to defend herself.
"And you're the one acting like a whore," he shot back.
Clary went to lunge at him again, but Bat tightened his hold.
"Hey!" Bat said. "There's no need for that, Lewis. Now I don't know what is going on between you two, and frankly I don't think I want to, but you are causing a scene."
Clary looked around to see that were quite a few people staring. She forced herself to relax in his grasp. "Sorry," she muttered.
Bat finally released her. "I think you should take the rest of the night off, Clary."
She whirled around to look at him, her stomach dropping. "But—"
He put a hand up to stop her. "I'm not doing this to punish you, but you need to cool down."
"Why does he get to stay?" she whined, cringing when she realized she sounded like a petulant child.
"Because Lewis isn't the one losing his shit and throwing his hands all over the place. Like I said, I just need you to cool down. You won't be doing anybody any good with how worked up you are right now."
She sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to focus clearly on her work with how angry and upset she was at the moment. "Okay," she relented. "I'll go."
"I'm going to put you two on different shifts next weekend," Bat said as she turned to walk away. "And if you can't get your shit together, I'll keep it that way. I can't have you going at each other's throats every time you see each other."
"Fine by me," she said as Simon nodded curtly.
Her feet dragged as she walked into the penthouse. She had spent the entire ride home trying to understand what had happened. She was still struggling to figure out what had led Simon to say the things he had. He had never insulted her before, and everything he had said that night had been filled with such malice.
She knew that he had been blindsided by her and Jace's relationship, but that didn't justify his actions. He was hurt, and she understood that. She just couldn't wrap her mind around his reaction. They had never really fought before, and this had been a terrible fight. It was completely unlike him. He had been trying to hurt her back, and if she was being honest with herself, he had succeeded.
Everything he had said was wrong, and she knew that. The thing was, other people didn't know that. If her best friend had those thoughts, what would complete strangers think? And while Jace had said he didn't care what anybody said, she didn't know how well he'd be able to stick to that once other people started to get involved.
As she fully entered the penthouse, her eyes fell on Jace, who was sitting on the couch watching some documentary on the TV. He looked over the back of the couch at her as she approached him, and his brow furrowed. "You're home early," he said. "What happened?"
She had kept herself composed for the entire car ride with Jordan, and for some reason Jace asking her what happened just set her off. She suddenly burst into tears, and Jace cursed under his breath. He jumped over the back off the couch so he was standing in front of her. He took her face in his hands, his eyes frantically scanning over her body.
"Was it Raphael again?" he questioned. "Did that fucker touch you?"
She shook her head as much as she could with his hold on her. She was sobbing too hard to say anything, though.
Jace removed his hands from her face and gently led her over to the couch. He sat her down and then crouched in front of her, placing his hands on her knees. "Talk to me, baby," he pled.
"I-It was S-Simon," she managed to say through her tears.
His face hardened, and his grip on her knees tightened. "What did he do? Did he hurt you?"
She shook her head again, struggling to catch her breath. Everything had just hit her so hard, and there was a tightening in her chest. She was overwhelmed with the thought that all she wanted to do right now was go over to Izzy's apartment and cry her eyes out over a bottle of wine and ice cream. She couldn't do that, though. Izzy's apartment was also Simon's apartment. Izzy was Simon's fiancée. She couldn't go over and complain about Izzy's fiancée to her.
Jace started running his hands up and down her legs. "Hey, deep breaths," he said, his voice soft and quiet. "Just focus on breathing in and out."
She focused on his calming voice as he continued to tell her to just breathe until she was finally able to calm down. She ran her sleeve under her nose and sniffled. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice barely audible.
He picked himself off the floor and sat next to her on the couch. "Don't apologize," he said as he picked up one of her hands and held it. "What happened with Simon?"
She launched into the story of their fight and ended up in tears again by the end of it. He was holding her close against him, running soothing circles over her back. She had her face pressed against his chest and was enjoying the feeling of the rise and fall of his chest against her cheek.
"I have half a mind to go kick his ass," Jace said into her hair. "He should have never even thought about saying that shit to you." He placed a chaste kiss on her forehead.
"It's probably not the worst thing that people will say," she muttered.
"Clary," he sighed as he held her closer, "I already told you that what people say doesn't mean anything. You know how I feel about you and I know how you feel about me. That's all that matters right now."
She hummed in response.
"And I'm sorry this came out so fast. I honestly didn't expect anyone to care enough to snap a picture and sell it to one of the sites."
"It's not your fault. Bound to happen anyway, you know? Plus, now people know that you're mine," she said, trying to lighten the mood a little.
"I love you," he said, placing another kiss on top of her head.
"I know." She smiled into his chest. He hadn't said it since the first time. "I love you, too."