Hey!

It felt like it was only yesterday that I posted the Prologue of Catching Fire and we're already at the tenth chapter^^ I'm so happy that you guys like it.

So continue reviewing and I'll continue posting^^

Lilly

Chapter Ten: The First Blush of Love

Clary unlocked the front door of her penthouse and came in, half-dancing and singing in the hallway. She set down her shopping bags in the bedroom before sliding into the kitchen on the freshly-waxed wooden floor. She gasped and almost lost balance when she saw Jace sitting at the table.

"God Jace, you scared the hell out of me!" she exclaimed but her smile was sweet.

He stood up, his face grave. "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?" He shouted, closing the space between them in two wide steps. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her violently back and forth.

"Stop! Jace!" Clary felt dizzy and her eyes couldn't focus on anything. But it seemed like he didn't even hear her.

"I've been calling all day, can't you just pick up THE DAMN PHONE?" he continued.

"Well at least, no–now you kn–know how it fe–feels," Clary said, squinting to regain her balance when Jace finally stopped shaking her.

But he didn't let her go. He kept holding her face in his hands and when Clary tilted her chin up, she saw that he had truly been scared for her. What did he believe could have happened to her? She wondered. She had just spent the afternoon with their best friends.

Jace's eyes were darker than usual, and he seemed to have aged ten years compared to his sleeping, child-like face. She chewed on her lips, feeling the weight of guilt, heavy in heart. It surprised her because this situation hadn't happened in a while. She remembered a time – shortly after they got married – when Jace would often freak out without warning. At first she had told herself, 'Great, he's the jealous type!', but when she had looked at him as she was looking at him right now, she had seen that it wasn't jealousy at all. She felt her cheeks flush and put her hands on Jace's hips.

"I'm sorry," she said. She couldn't bear to see the pain and fear on Jace's angel-like face. "I forgot my cell here." Her voice was only a murmur.

"Please don't ever do that again," Jace begged. Clary felt a lump in her throat; Jace never begged. Ever. "Promise me."

"I promise," she croaked.

Jace's lips parted into a smile. He tried to kiss her forehead, but she pushed herself on the tip of her toes and kissed his lips. She wrapped her hands around his neck and hauled herself up, wrapping her legs around his waist. His smile made her feel better.

"We're feeling a little clingy today, aren't we?" Jace laughed. Clary shrugged.

"For once we're in the right place if we want to finish what we started this morning," she said matter-of-factly, but her heart was racing, pounding so loudly that she knew he could feel it too.

He set her on the counter and kissed her hungrily. She was about to lift his shirt when he grabbed her wrists. Her head snapped up. "What is it?"

"You don't remember?" Jace asked.

"Remember what?" Clary rolled her eyes. "If this is pay back for forgetting my phone I– "

"No, it's not," Jace assured her, running a burning hand up her bare thigh, causing her to sigh and bite her lip. "But I thought we were supposed to have dinner at your new friend's house tonight? We wouldn't want to be late would we?"

"Maia and Jordan!" Clary exclaimed. "Crap!"

Maia had tried to picture what Clary's husband might look like all day. She had had a lot time to think about it, while she cooked, set the table, and shopped. And the only think she could come up with was a brown-haired computer genius with glasses and nerdy T-shirts.

She couldn't have been more far off. Jace Herondale was no nerd. He looked like the type of guy she would never have dated. The kind that was way too beautiful for other's and his own good. And those perfect blond curls and deep amber eyes? Too Barbie's Ken for her. She stared at Clary, standing in the doorframe, the brightest of smiles on her freckled face and couldn't help but smile back. How could she radiate so much happiness?

"Hey! Come in," Maia hurried them inside.

"Thank you," Jace smiled and Maia rolled her eyes mentally. Angelic beauty and a sexy mellowing voice. "I'm Jace, Clary's husband."

"Maia," she introduced herself, gratefully accepting the magnificent flower bouquet he offered her.

They made such an odd pair; Clary small and fiery, Jace broad-shouldered and golden. But she spotted a look in Jace's eyes when he made way for Clary to enter before him that put all her worries at rest: it was the look of pure and utter devotion.

She heard Jordan race down the stairs before joining them in the living room. His eyes went wide, and for a minute Maia thought he was seeing the same thing she had, but so did Jace's.

"Do you know each other?" Maia asked.

"Yeah, we work together," Jace answered, composure back on his face. He shook Jordan's hand firmly, who still looked startled.

"No way!" Clary exclaimed. "You work for Alicante too?"

Jordan slowly nodded. She exchanged a look of complicity with Maia.

"What are the chances right?" She grinned.

They all settled in the living room, Clary and Jace on the big new fuchsia couch holding hands whereas she and Jordan took the matching armchairs across the coffee table. Maia set down colorful drinks on coaster in front of them.

"So, I'm dying to ask," she said, "how did you two meet?"

"A friend introduced us," Jace began, intertwining his fingers with Clary's.

"Yeah, I had just arrived in New York and like every college graduate, I aspired to become a famous artist. I had already found a part-time job so I started looking for somewhere to live. Magnus was the first I met about sharing an apartment and we bonded instantly. He was completely insane but really sweet and above all – and you have no idea how many times I had to stress it to my mom and dad – irrevocably gay. We lived in Brooklyn and he showed me New York like I would never have imagined it. Anyway, one night he decided to introduce me to his friends but I really wasn't up to it."

"Probably because you just got fired," Jace said.

"Definitely because I just got fired," Clary agreed. "But Mags dragged me anyway. Do you know Pandemonium?"

"Yeah, the club down in Chelsea," Jordan said, meeting Jace's eyes. Maia frowned but shook her head and concentrated on Clary's story.

"That's where he dragged me. Obviously we arrived before everybody." She dug an elbow in Jace's ribs. He winced.

"Hey! I was working!"

"Anyway! There I was, bored nearly to death, by myself at the bar drinking my sixteenth cosmopolitan when Jace appeared." Clary smiled a sweet loving smile, she turned to him. "You said hello and, because I thought you weren't speaking to me, I looked behind for the six-foot tall winner of America's Top Model to answer you."

"And you fell from the stool," Jace finished.

Clary blushed. "And you caught me as if you spent your evenings catching girls who fainted or fell at the sight of you."

"That's so sweet!" Maia exclaimed.

"Not really," Clary said. "I was horrible to him after that."

"You were feisty," Jace corrected. "And I loved it. You thought I was so cocky that at the end of the night you told me you never wanted to see me again."

"And we had dinner the day after."

"And all the other days of the week," Jace added and leaned in to kiss her.

They're perfect together, Maia thought and looked at Jordan who grinned.

Sebastian's heart was pounding loudly in his chest. What they were asking him to do was insane. He didn't know if he were even capable of it: of knocking Tatiana out and taking her to the Agency's basement and locking her up until they got what they needed.

He looked at the night through the window and sighed. It was his first mission. If he ever wanted to become a field operative, this was his chance. Moreover he had sworn an oath to protect his country from any threat domestic and foreign, and he was pretty sure that Valentine Morgenstern was a threat all right. And there were also actual lives at stake here. Jace's wife Clary for starters, Magnus Bane, their families.

Would he be able to look at Jace and Alec in the eye – would he be able to look at himself in the eye – if he caused their deaths?

Tatiana was sound asleep next to him, her face buried in a pillow and an arm thrown around his waist. Could he trust her? Could he trust himself? It was a game he was playing. A game with no rules and most of all, no feelings. Then why did he feel so much resentment at the idea of hurting Tatiana, of betraying her trust. But if it wasn't for work, why was he sleeping with her at all? Did he like her?

"I'm going crazy," he whispered to himself. "I need some air."

Carefully, he slipped out of bed and tip-toed to the balcony through the living room. The fresh breeze was invigorating and helped him clear his mind. It was a job and he had a mission to accomplish. He wanted this job, this life, he would just have to get used to the deception.

Sebastian walked back in with a newly found motivation. He got his coat and grabbed the two pink pills and walked into the kitchen where he put them in a glass of water. He watched them dissolve absent-mindedly but when the light switched on he grabbed the glass, covering it with the palm of his hand.

"Hey," Tatiana winked. "What are you doing out of bed?" she asked.

He raised the glass. "I was thirsty," he said and smiled. "Want a sip?" He glanced down, the water was clean as if nothing had ever been in there.

Want a sip? He repeated to himself. What kind of douchebag says that?

"I would prefer a glass of you," she replied, lightly jumping on the counter. She took the glass from Sebastian's hands and gulped the water down.

Tatiana grabbed his pajama pants and pulled him against her. She kissed him hungrily, her hand sliding into his pants and he couldn't help but moan. For a half second, Sebastian wondered if Tatiana wasn't a nymphomaniac of some sort. He spread her legs, easily tearing off the soft fabric of her underwear, his mouth already crushed on hers.

"Declan," she moaned softly, closing her eyes.

"Shit," Sebastian cursed as Tatiana fell forward. He sighed and carried her to her bed before heading to the bathroom.

When his cellphone rang, he was going through Tatiana's computer. He had taken a shower and put his clothes back on and had also put some on Tatiana.

"Aline?" he asked after glancing at the caller ID.

"Yep," the girl's voice answered.

"Working late huh?"

"I don't have anything better to do anyway," she said, and he imagined her shrugging as she did. He would have found it weird that Aline didn't have a boyfriend but he guessed that her massive crush on Jace prevented her from that. "I'm calling to know if your package is ready."

"It is," Sebastian muttered through clenched teeth.

"Should I send the extraction team in then?" Aline asked.

"Sure, knock yourself out."

"Do you want to talk about it?" she offered.

"About what?"

"Tatiana, of course," Aline replied. "You don't like how Jace and Alec are handling this whole thing, do you?"

"No, I really don't," Sebastian agreed. "But that's not my call, it's theirs."

"You know they will never hurt her, right?" Aline said. "Jace actually booked her a room at the Carlyle hotel. I think she could have done worse. Way worse. I almost wished I was her."

"This is not the point," he retorted.

"You have to look at the big picture here." He didn't answer, and a minute passed in silence before Aline spoke again. "Listen, with our line of work, there are going to be days when we'd rather have been teachers or movie stars and that we'll hate this job. But there will be other days, when you'll get to save a little boy's life or an entire city, when you realize that this is what you want to do, that the good days are worth the bad ones."

Sebastian felt his heart skip a beat. "You are awesome, Aline, do you know that?"

"I'm trying my best," she chuckled. "Is it working? Do you feel better?"

"Much."

"I'll tell you what," she began, "come home safely and I'll buy you dinner."

"Hello?" Clary's voice sounded like a whisper in Jonathan's ear. "Who is this?"

Jonathan was lying on his bed with his legs outstretched in front of him. His eyes were closed as he conjured up a picture of her in his mind.

"Clarissa?" he asked, faking surprise. "Hi, it's Jonathan Morgenstern, we met at the Golden Door– "

"The Shakespeare lover!" she exclaimed and gasped. "Are you calling about the painting?"

"Yes," he lied. She gasped again, but this time it sounded more like she was moaning.

"Jace stopped it, please," he heard her say. Her voice was even lower, as if she had put a hand on her phone. "Can't you see I'm talking?"

"You're the one who wanted to finish what we started. I'm just doing what I was told."

Jonathan's free hand tightened into a fist. The voice was unmistakable; he would recognize it anywhere, no matter how muffled or altered it was. Now he was sure. He groaned; next to his conjured-up image of Clary, there was Jace, smiling at her with that stupid arrogant grin that made Jonathan want to bash his head in. He tried to push it away.

"Jace, not my– " She gasped again. When she spoke again, the volume of her voice was back to normal. "Sorry," she apologized.

"It's okay," Jonathan said, but of course it wasn't. Rage and jealousy had risen up in his throat like bile.

"I was about to call you about the painting," she continued. "I finished it this morning."

"Really? That's great," Jonathan said. "I was calling to tell you I was staying longer."

"Cool," Clary said in a high-pitched voice.

"Is this a bad time? I can call later if you'd like?" Jonathan suggested.

"Are you free tomorrow night?" Clary asked. "It's my little sister's birthday and we're doing this ridiculously big party. You could drop by – if you want to, of course. Otherwise I won't be free until the day after."

"Tomorrow sounds good for me," Jonathan assured her.

"Great! I'll text you the address. See you tomorrow."

"I can't wait."

So it was a bit harder to write this one than the others so tell me honestly what you think^^

Review!

Lilly.