Jace's POV
Horseback riding was fun, but it wasn't filled with kisses this time, Clary wanted to ride her own horse. After a little resistance on my part, much stubbornness on her part, and subtle encouragement from Bat, I finally gave in. Apparently Clary had ridden her own horse the other day with Maia, Jordan, and Bat, they had stuck predominately to walking along trails, with Maia staying right at Clary's side at a walk whenever the boys decided to stretch their horses legs with a quicker gate. After involuntarily imagining Clary seated on a horse with her body pressed up against Bat's, this piece of information was extremely comforting. Bat seemed like a good guy and he and Jaida really seemed to be getting along. With Bat and Jaida being such avid riders, they quickly got ahead of Clary and I. Though Clary was very interested at trying to get the horse to move faster, she became quickly frightened when she attempted to trot. She requested to come back again soon, so she could try trotting with me. We spent most of the late afternoon just the two of us talking and joking.
Clary and I had talked a lot over the day and we were both really happy. I told her more about myself, my turbulent upbringing, where I got the book from. She talked about her childhood, her mother and her stepfather, and the little she knew about her real father. She expanded on some of the items in the letter where I had questions and she filled me in more on what Izzy, Maia, and Magnus had lectured her about. Apparently I should be very moved at how protective my sister and Magnus have become of me. Maia on the other hand wasn't as concerned about me as she was about Clary. Taking on the older sister roll for a while now, Maia is usually the only one that is willing to go head to head with Clary without worrying about pushing her too hard. Though Clary can get fiery she didn't fight back this time. Magnus, Izzy, and Maia really seemed to need to clear the air so Clary let them. Apparently this isn't the first time Maia slapped Clary either, though Clary didn't feel she necessarily deserved it this time. Clary said I shouldn't get upset with Maia. Clary said she's also slapped Maia a time or two as well and she wouldn't hesitate to do it again if she felt the need across. Speaking from experience, I can definitely believe that. Clary has known Magnus her whole life and he steps in from time to time to fill in her older know-it-all brother roll. Oddly Clary was somewhat relieved by the whole thing. Neither Maia nor Magnus had talked to her so forcefully since before the accident. Though, it did seem to be a day late dollar short as Clary put it. Clary was hopeful things might start going back to normal between all of them. Clary wasn't one to hold a grudge, and after being out for a couple hours she was already looking foreword to burying the hatchet.
I felt like Clary and I were finally on the same page and we were in a really good place. When she wanted to spend some time with Maia and Izzy after we got back I wasn't concerned at all, unlike last time. I didn't feel the need to be as clingy with her, I knew everything was finally good between us. So Alec, Magnus, Simon, Jordan and I headed out for a couple beers. We didn't stay out that late, it was drizzling when we left, but it was really pouring outside now and it had been rumbling a bit for a while, but it was just starting to lightening. Around 9:30 Maia had text Jordan saying she was heading to bed early and then fifteen minutes later or so Izzy text Simon the same thing. Just after 10:00 Clary text me she was calling it a night as well. I liked that she text me, kept me posted, it was reassuring, made me smile. Alec, Magnus, Simon, Jordan and I were having a good time, it looked like all the craziness was behind us and we were all in a good mood. With all the girls safely in bed early, we would have stayed out much later, but as the weather got worse we decided to head back. The electricity in the cottage goes out pretty easily in a storm, and we all wanted to be back before the power went out. We were back round 11:00.
When Clary text me I didn't think to inquire upon where she was sleeping. She had just spent the last two nights in my room and I was expecting to find her in my room again, but she wasn't. I glanced in her room and saw her sound asleep. I didn't want to wake her. I walked over and gently kissed her forehead before I left her room quietly shutting the door behind me. Of course Magnus was watching me speculatively as I left Clary's room. He walked into his own room shaking his head. I headed to the bathroom, brushed my teeth and headed back to my own bed to get ready to go to sleep. Sebastian actually opened his door when I was heading back down the hallway and stopped me. He asked to talk to me and opened his door to me. We talked in his room for a little while, maybe 15 minutes. He reiterated some of the stuff in Clary's letter and apologized. It was really unexpected. I still didn't get a good vibe from Sebastian, but at the same time I didn't feel quite as hostile towards him after talking to him. He also let me know, that due to the stormy weather, Kaelie decided to move her bonfire to Friday night. It would give everything some time to dry out. As the storm really started to pick up I told him I was heading to bed before we lost power. I saw Alec heading to the bathroom as I went in my room.
It was around 11:30 and I was fighting sleep. I laid in bed in a pair of boxers staring at the ceiling. The wind howled angrily and slammed against the cottage shaking it slightly as rain pelted the window. I loved that sound. I wanted to listen to it, but it was lulling me to sleep. The whole outside lit-up again. One…two…three…another loud crash, this one shook the cottage and made me feel like the whole thing was going to come crashing down. The storm was getting really close. It had been pouring and windy for hours, but the thunder and lightening just started to get really good about fifteen minutes or so ago, shortly after we got home. It was awesome. I stood up and pulled back my curtain. I didn't want to go to sleep yet, I'd miss the whole storm. The soft heat lightening made the night sky glow illuminating the torrential downpour. These summer storms were the best. I heard a door in the hallway open. It sounded close. Maybe Alec's room, or Sebastian's. The floor creaked, sounded like more than one person. The voices in the hallway were slightly low and muffled, but they were distinguishable, they were right in front of my door.
"Come back to bed." Magnus demanded quietly.
"I just want to peek in." Alec complained.
"No, we talked about this." Magnus pressed.
"She's petrified of thunder storms. She's probably so afraid right now." Alec whined.
"Maybe she's in there with Jace." Magnus sounded hopeful.
"No. I saw Jace go his own room." Alec growled. I heard the floor creak. It sounded like a rustling in the hall, maybe a small physical altercation.
"Stop that." Alec hissed. The noise in the hall stopped. Another burst of lightning lit-up the room.
"Maybe she's asleep?" Magnus sounded cheerful, but not convincing. I could almost see the disbelieving look Alec would be giving him right now. Another loud clap of thunder.
"Or. Maybe not." Magnus sounded doubtful.
"What do you think she does when you're not there?" Magnus lectured.
"Cry." Alec said pathetically. Magnus chuckled quietly.
"Well that's just pitiful." There was a somewhat loud sigh, probably Alec. Then I heard the floor creak again. Another rustling.
"Magnus!" Alec snapped.
"No. Tough Love Boo. You're not going anywhere near that room. If she's that afraid she'll come to you or Jace. She knows where to find you both." More rustling and a couple creaks and the door next to mine closed.
Part of me repressed a laugh. Clary is afraid of thunder storms. Little kids are afraid of thunder storms, not teenagers, not adults. Though, a much larger part of me quickly needed to be with Clary, needed to comfort her if she was afraid. The wind slammed the side of the house again roughly. A crackle of thunder and then a horrendous boom outside made even me jump slightly, it was louder than the others had been, it sounded like a bomb going off in the yard. The fan next to my bed and my alarm clock went off. Electricity went out. Well the one draw-back. Based on how loud that bang was, I guessed the transformer nearby probably exploded. Odds are we'd be without power until at least morning.
I didn't really think about what I did next. It was kind of a mindless blur. I felt my way across the room and opened my door, closing it behind me. I turned left and walked slowly to the end of the hall. I felt around for the door knob to Clary's door and peeked inside. It only took a second for another illumination of heat lightening to show a small figure sitting up on the bed, legs pulled up to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs, curls flowing down, rocking slightly. I could hear the soft sniffles. Seeing her so afraid broke my heart. She had raised her head when the lightening lit-up the room, so I knew she saw me too, but now we were in pitch darkness again. I slipped into the room and shut the door. I remembered to lock it this time.
"You ok." I whispered gently. A loud crackle and clap of thunder preceded a small shriek and sniffles. The floor creaked as I very carefully tried to judge the distance between the door and the bed.
"I hate storms." She whispered back. I had my arms outreached in front of me, but unfortunately that didn't keep me from slamming my toe against the bed frame and subsequently shaking the bed. Clary let out another shriek and I clenched my teeth to fight back a yell. That really hurt.
"Sorry. That was just me." I reached my hand down and felt for the bed.
"Why didn't you come to my room if you're afraid?" I asked as I sat down on the edge of the bed. Though what I really wanted to know was why she wasn't in my room when I came home. I didn't want to push her. Though we had slept together in my bed twice, both of those times were kind of under unusual circumstances, and neither was sensual. Though I'd love to make it a nightly occurrence that she slept in the same bed as me, and I'd love for them to be more intimate nights, I didn't want to rush her, I didn't want to rush this. I never had a relationship with somebody that meant something. I wanted to take things slow, to enjoy every moment together. We had a great time together today getting to know each other, but besides stealing a few gentle kisses here or there, our physical contact was predominately holding hands and long embraces. Though just looking into Clary's eyes and holding her in my arms brought me more enjoyment than any girl I'd ever had sex with brought me. I loved holding Clary in my arms; I wanted to be holding her in my arms right now.
"I didn't want to wake you." She said timidly. I rolled my eyes.
"Clary you could have woke me. I wouldn't have minded. I wasn't even asleep." I tried not to sound annoyed. How could she even think that? The room was illuminated again by lightning at that very moment and a small figure scurried towards me. She knelt on the bed beside me, with her arms around my neck and her face buried into my chest before the light was even gone. I could feel her body trembling slightly. I put my hand behind her back and the other pried gently behind her knees. I swung her up bridal style and crawled onto the bed. Another clap of thunder and her whole body held on to me that much tighter. I tried to reposition her onto the bed, but she was holding on so tightly I couldn't put her down. I pushed the blankets away as best I could and sat down in the center of the bed with her still cradled in my arms. I moved my hand from behind her knees and reached down grabbing the blankets and pulling them up around us as I laid us both back against the pillows and turned sideways towards her. Her little body fell right into place as I wrapped my arms tightly around her, and she stretched out her legs and lowered her hands from around my neck tucking them in front of her. Her whole body relaxed in my arms.
"Thank you." She whispered softly. A smile crossed my face. I don't know why she was thanking me. This is where I wanted to be all night. I kissed her hair and tucked her under my chin.
"Go to sleep." I whispered.
"Goodnight Jace." She said softly.
"Goodnight Clary." With the storm's symphony and the warmth of Clary in my arms, sleep found me all too quickly.
Jace's POV
I woke-up to Clary nuzzling her face into my stomach; her arm draped across my waist, one of my arms under her but stretched out across the bed, my other arm at my side. I smiled to myself as I brought my arm up so that I could run my fingers through her tangled hair. This was all I wanted, Clary in my arms. She let out a small chuckle. One little sound made my whole entire body relax. Three nights I had gone to sleep with her, but this was the first morning I woke-up and she was still here. Well yesterday didn't exactly count. This morning was the first morning we could just lay in bed together and bask in the moment. I opened my eyes and leaned down and kissed her hair gently.
"Good morning gorgeous." I whispered quietly into her hair. She giggled. It was definitely a good morning. The blankets in the bed had been kicked down to about waist level. It was pretty warm in the room, especially seeing the fan was still off, and a hot little body was draped across me. The clock was blinking, so at least the electricity was back on. I hadn't really seen what Clary was wearing last night, but now I could see the top half of a satiny white slip with lace trim. The last two nights I was just happy to be near Clary, but now that we were officially together I was very conflicted. On the one hand I wanted to take this slow, and on the other hand Clary looked extremely sexy. My hormones reacted and immediately started to work overtime. I tested the waters by moving my hand from Clary's hair to her back, rubbing very gently. I loved the silky satiny feel under my fingertips. She lifted her head and looked up at me with an amused smile. I couldn't help but beam back at her. I was completely ecstatic right now and becoming rather turned on.
"There's a boy in my bed." Clary said in almost a little kid voice and giggled. I couldn't help but laugh.
"You act so surprised. You'd think you'd never had a boy in your bed before." I half laughed and shook my head slightly. She tensed slightly and she pursed her lips and gave me the most adorable doe eyes. She looked somewhere between anxious and bashful. A deep blush crept across her face. Something about the way she looked right now, I'd seen her give me a very similar look before…when we were riding Saturday...What should I know about you that I'd never think to ask about?
"Clary? Besides Alec and Simon, have you ever had a boy in your bed?" I whispered quizzically. She shook her head gently, maintaining eye contact with the same adorable expression.
"But you've been in boy's beds?" I whispered gently. She was still giving me the same look.
"Yours." She said softly. I smiled.
"Besides mine." I whispered. She shook her head again gently.
"You've never…" I let the question hang. She shook her head again.
"Ah." I brought my other hand up to her face and gently brushed the back of my hand against her cheek. Her face softened, her body relaxed slightly, she still had doe eyes, but her lips were no longer pursed. She looked like an innocent angel, and that's exactly what she was. I brought my lips to her forehead and kissed her gently. Clary continued to stare into my eyes, it was a silent exchange. Her eyes softened more to a look of pure affection. It was a struggle of will. She looked so beautiful and a very large part of me wanted to crush my lips to hers and explore every inch of her satin covered body. Though now that I actually knew how innocent she was, an even larger part of me than before didn't want to rush this. She pulled herself up so her face was level with mine and she was looking down at me. Her hair fell forward and I absentmindedly pushed it back behind her ear. Both of our hearts were racing. She looked like she was having a long debate with herself. I rested my hand on her head and glanced up at it.
"I wish I was in there with you." She broke into a huge smile.
"You always are." She whispered. I brought my hand to her cheek, the other one still on her back and leaned forward hesitantly, her eyes closed and her head tilted expectantly as I pressed my lips to hers, softly.
Knock Knock Knock Clary jerked back.
"Clary. Maia and I made brunch. It's almost 11:00." Izzy's voice drifted through the door. Wow we slept in.
"Ok. I'll be there in a couple." Clary yelled back. You could hear Izzy's retreating footsteps. Clary glanced back at me with a humorous look on her face and shook her head as she started to move to get up. I tightened my arm around her and brought the other one around her as well.
"Stay." I said quietly and tried to bring my lips to hers, but she turned her head and I ended up with a cheek.
"It's Divine Intervention Jace." She said comically and shook her head and started to scramble again. I grabbed her with both arms and quickly rolled over, lying on top of her, but not crushing her. She laughed.
"No. The storm was Divine Intervention. Izzy was just bad timing." I tried to kiss her again, but she turned and I got another cheek.
"Jace." She said in a warning tone. I would have taken her more seriously if her cheeks weren't flush, her breathing wasn't crazy, her heart wasn't hammering, and she didn't keep staring at my lips. Not to mention what she was wearing was driving me wild.
"Yes?" I tried to mimic her tone, but I'm sure I just sounded overly sarcastic. She looked really hot the way she was looking at me, her eyes looked somewhat irritated, which just gave that fiery Clary look, but her lips were trying so hard not to crack a smile. I tried to kiss her again and this time she let me. I crushed my lips to hers and she let out a small moan. My body went into a frenzy as I parted her lips with mine and started to caress her tongue with my own. She pressed her hands against my chest as she turned her head and let out a laugh. I pulled back.
"Ugh. Morning breath. See Divine Intervention." She chuckled as she brought her hand to her mouth and covered it."
"I didn't notice, but I can always just avoid kissing your lips, according to Lever you have 1,999 other parts." I brought my lips to her neck and she laughed, halfheartedly trying to push me away as I kissed her,
"Jaaace!" I pulled away and flopped on my back defeated. Clary started to sit up. The rolling around had pushed the blankets off of us completely. She glanced over me and her face looked semi-shocked.
"Jace!" Clary scolded. I grabbed the blankets and threw them up to my waist.
"Come on. You can't blame me for morning wood." I snickered.
"For what?" Clary looked at me quizzical. Oops.
"Huh?" I could get out of this.
"What?" She looked confused.
"What did you say?" I tried to look innocent.
"Jace!" She rolled her eyes.
"Yeah?" I smirked.
"Oh. Get out." She said through a non-humorous chuckle. Crisis averted. I gasped dramatically.
"Why?" I tried to sound hurt.
"Because you're in my bed with just boxers on that's why." She had a smile on her face and sounded only semi-annoyed.
"Hey if Alec or Simon crawled into your bed you'd be fine with it. You can't blame me for getting carried away this morning by your gorgeous body." She flopped back onto the bed and threw her arms over her eyes.
"Alec and Simon crawl into by bed completely clothed with no ulterior motives!" She had a smile across her face and sounded cute, somewhere between mad and trying not to break out laughing.
"Oh. I see where I may have gone astray here…" I said as I turned semi-sitting up leaning over her, the action jostled the bed and she lowered her arms slowly and looked up at me.
"…but seeing as I'm already here." She was still just laying right there. I bent down quickly and pressed my lips to her neck. I pulled back and looked down at her as I raised my eyebrows up and down. She was scowling at me.
"Go put some clothes on, you're barely dressed." She said, but she sounded so amused.
"You weren't complaining a few minutes ago. Plus have you seen what you're wearing, I feel appropriately dressed considering, if I were wearing anything more, I'd be overdressed." I said heavily and smirked. She playfully glared at me.
"I don't have a lot to choose from. Izzy bought all this silky lacy crap for me. I can go out and buy normal pajamas if that's better." I smirked. I rather have a room with a view.
"Well that's definitely not necessary. Silk and lace sound pretty good to me." I said extremely sarcastically. Clary shook her head gently.
"Jace." She said in a warning tone. She looked a little more annoyed, but still borderline amused.
"Alright. Alright. I'll go get shorts, but it would be much better if I didn't leave your room right now with boxers on. Wouldn't you agree?" Clary nodded reluctantly.
"Ok, so I'll just take these off." I jokingly reached for the elastic and her eyes bulged out as she sat up, her hand wiped out, and she grabbed mine.
"Don't you dare!" I chuckled.
"I was joking. Seriously though, could you go get me some shorts out of my room?" She rolled her eyes, a smile still touching her lips.
"Fine." She got out of bed and walked across the room. I crossed my hands behind my head and enjoyed the view. She opened her dresser and grabbed some clothes. She was standing facing her dresser, so I had a side profile of her, which was a very nice view. She wasn't really paying any attention to me though. She pulled on a pair of light blue terry cloth shorts. She had on very nice, sexy, lacy, white thong. She reached for the hem of her silk slip and brought it up exposing her stomach and her belly button. She glanced over at me and glared.
"Do you mind?" I shot her a huge smirk.
"Not at all gorgeous." I said heavily. She shook her head and turned completely away from me. She pulled the slip over her head exposing her bare back. The curves to her back were very sexy, though I'd seen her back before with her tiny bikini on, it effected me a lot differently looking at her now knowing she didn't have anything on the top half of her body. I just wanted to kiss every inch of her back. I was never going to get rid of this damn erection. Next thing I knew she was putting on a lacy white bra.
"Snaps in the front. Hm?" I love a bra that snaps in the front. She shot me a glare over her shoulder and I chuckled. She threw a white tank top on and turned around.
"Don't you worry your pretty little head how my bra snaps. You don't need to know." She reached onto her dresser and grabbed a brush.
"Why? Do you plan on just wearing sexy lingerie whenever you are around me? No bras?" I smirked. She glared. This one was definitely a fiery, angry, Clary glare. So cute.
"No!" She snapped. She was quickly pulling her brush through her hair in almost a painful fashion. Ouch.
"Well then, au contraire. I need to know that your lacy white bra snaps in the front. It's imperative I know how all of your clothes come off." She spun around hands on her hips. That's my full fledged firecracker.
"I'm going to leave you in here without any clothes if you keep this up." Oh, she was so hot when she was pissed.
"Is that a promise or a threat?" She glared deeper. I threw my hand over my mouth in mock shock.
"Oh the scandal when I come waltzing out of your room in just boxers. Unless you want to leave me here so I'm in your bed whenever you want me. In that case see you later." I winked at her with a smirk and adjusted my body dramatically like I was getting more comfortable. She threw her hands up flustered and turned back towards her mirror.
"I can't believe this is the man I'm going to marry." She muttered. I totally heard that.
"Excuse me? What was that?" I said amused. She turned towards me with somewhere between an embarrassed and a surprised look on her face, mouth gapped like she was going to say something, a nice rosy blush in her cheeks. She shut her mouth without saying anything and turned back towards the mirror and continued to torture her poor, beautiful hair. I'd let her slide on that for now.
"It didn't do anything to deserve that." She shot me a confused look.
"What?"
"Your hair." Her eyebrows furrowed and she reached her hand up and grabbed at her hair protectively.
"I don't know why you're abusing it. You have the most beautiful hair; it didn't do anything to deserve to be treated that way." I probably sounded a bit harsher than I meant to. A smile spread across her face and she opened her mouth, but closed it without a word. She shook her head and smirked at me as she turned back towards the dresser.
"What am I going to do with you Jace Wayland?" She sounded so cute. I laughed.
"I can think of a few things." I said heavily and patted the bed. She shot me a glare as she put the brush down and grabbed a scrunchy, throwing her hair up in a messy knot.
"I like it down." I said softly. She gave me a reproachful look and rolled her eyes.
"I know!" She walked out of the room. A few moments later she opened the door enough to throw a pair of running shorts at me, and a t-shirt, before quickly closing the door without saying a word. Yeah she was fired up, I couldn't help myself, but all and all I was pretty damn happy right now.
