Sue woke up from the lights of an early morning. She felt rested. Wait, this was strange. She couldn't remember the last time, she had felt this good.
"Good morning…", a soft voice whispered in her ear, which led to all the small hairs on her neck to set up. Now she remembered. Sex was the best thing to get a good night's sleep. And she has had the best sex in her life last night. Jace had been incredibly sensitive. She had felt so close to him. Dangerously close. Well, maybe she'd slept this well, because she hadn't felt pain for the first time in many years. But what she now felt was his chest under her head and his hands slowly caressing her back. This was a wonderful feeling. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She remembered slightly that he had carried her into the bedroom early this morning.
"Good morning.", she said and smiled at him. He smiled back. She allowed herself a few moments of tranquillity and awakening, while she retraced the runes on his arms. She knew that this was close of crossing her own rules, but she gave herself this, after finally finding a clue on herself and being liberated from her permanent companion Mr. Pain. But she couldn't let herself go for too long. This would only end in pain like the last time. Finally, she sighed and sat up, holding the woollen cover of the bed across her breasts.
"So, what's next? Are we heading back to New York and tell Magnus and Alec of everything that had happened? Or do you have any other plans? I really want to take the book with me and see if I can find something more about it."
Jace looked a little confused. Maybe he had just woken up as well and wasn't a morning person as she was.
"Erm… yes. I mean, let's head back. We could look for the house you have been raised but I am really curious about what Magnus has to say about all of this. I didn't get any reception yesterday, so we need to go back near the city to talk to them. I cannot reach Alec in my mind, because Idris is protected from every kind of mind connection."
"Yes, I've heard of the changes after the war with Valentin. Well, that's fine with me. I can come back anyhow. I am not terrified anymore."
She grinned and it felt so right to say that. She still hated the clave, yes, but she felt so strong right now, maybe even stronger than the clave. Jace grinned back and tried to pull her down to his side again. Quickly, she dodged the attempt and stood up. She made her way to the door.
"I will get dressed and then we are ready to go, if you like.", she called on her way to her clothes, which were left neglected beside the couch. Quickly she got dressed and at the kitchen sink, she freshened up a bit. Suddenly she felt hands on her stomach and strong arms embraced her from behind. The flutter started again. Oh no.
"I am not ready yet…", Jace whispered and kissed her neck. She turned in his embrace, but before he could kiss her, she lightly pushed him back.
"Look Jace, I am sorry if you misinterpreted something here. Yesterday was nice and all - don't get me wrong, really nice - but I am not interested in something more."
She saw the hurt in his eyes immediately, but after a few seconds the harsh mask of a shadowhunter took over. Good for him, easier for her.
"Me neither. I really don't have time for anything serious.", he stated quickly. She knew that after a while of being distant to him he would really mean these words. At least, this is what she had felt, when she had been in his situation. She felt that at the other end of these feelings, it was harder to manage, especially if you needed to fight them. But she would get this done just as all the other things in her life. As always.
The way back to the city was very still and kind of awkward. She had judged Jace the correct way. He was a man, who always got what he wanted and now he was pissed that he couldn't play with her like the other girls. Well, at least she has had a nice night. They left behind the forest, in which the boar and its babies laid, pretty quickly. Sue was relieved about this. She felt more energetic than ever before and was much faster than on their way to. The awkward silence between them and the fact that she wanted to overcome it, was doing the rest. Around noon they reached a hill which overlooked Alicante. When she had arrived yesterday, Sue would have been terrified to get close to the city. But now it was only a light tingle on her skin telling her to feel uncomfortable. Jace already tried to reach Magnus. And he succeeded. They only waited a couple of minutes before the portal to New York appeared out of nowhere. She wanted to make her way to New York immediately, but in the last moment Jace hold her back.
"Just one thing…", he said and suddenly he bent down and kissed her deeply, his hands buried in her hair. Sue was dumbfounded by the suddenness of his behaviour and couldn't do anything but to kiss him back. Too quickly, he interrupted the kiss and without another word, made his way to the portal. Sue looked after him. What the fuck?
"What was that for, Nephilim?"
"Just wanted to check something. Never mind."
With this, he vanished through the portal. Sue was pretty sure she saw a half-crooked smile. Damn. She had read enough novels to know that this smile didn't mean anything good.
