Tortured - Jaele

|| Chapter Nine ||

Riele-

I was afraid to go to sleep the nights that followed that one. To lay down and feel Jace beside me. Close enough to reach over and grab me. I wanted to sleep on the sofa in the living in front of the comfort of the tv, but by denying him in the kitchen I knew I had reached the only amount of mercy he'd grant me. A few days pass and Promise's fever had dropped to a normal level, she was resting in a deep sleep inside of the guest bedroom. I couldn't close my eyes. I felt uncomfortable sleeping with my back turned to him, so while he as in the bathroom I turned over, the cover pulled up to my chin. Beneath it I could feel the t-shirt riding up my legs and bunching up around my stomach. Jace came out of the bathroom, and turned the light out.

It was completely dark now, except for the lights of the city streaming in. Jace laid beside me, with no shirt on. Perusal. He slipped one of his hands under his head and stared off at the ceiling. I fixed my eyes on the gap of space between us. It was hot. I wanted to throw the covers off and let my body take in the cold filtered breeze of the air conditioner. But I'd be exposing the lower half of my body if I did. I squirmed under the heavy comforter to get comfortable, not wanting my legs to sweat and stick to the sheet. Jace looked at me. I stopped moving, suddenly fatigued.

"Are you okay? Do you need to take a piss?"

"No."

"What's with all the moving around?"

He turned on his head to the side and shifted. By now I was burning up, I could feel my blood boiling over and causing me to sweat. Something I wanted to avoid. This comforter has to come off soon.

"Sorry."

I muttered. Jace glanced at me again. I couldn't really see his eyes but I knew they were scaling me.

"What's the problem?"

"Nothing."

It was hard for me to pull in a steady deep breath. I felt like I was suffocating.

"Don't give me that 'Nothing' bullshit... What's wrong?"

He asked firmly. I pushed myself up a little and wiped my forehead with the back of my hand.

"It's fucking hot in here."

I said finally, leaning my head back to huff and puff. Jace reached over to me.

"Here..."

Before I could pull the t-shirt down, he peeled the comforter off of my body. The sudden rush of cool air on my warm damp skin felt good but now he was staring at me. He wouldn't look away, it was like a floodgate had been opened. I hurried to yank the t-shirt over the floral pattern of my panties. An uneasy silence wedged between us. I laid there, quietly breathing, bracing myself.

"Better?"

I closed my eyes briefly, nodding.

"Yes."

Jace propped himself up on one elbow and fully turned his body towards me.

"You know, you make it really hard to practice a little something called self-control."

He said.

"I'm... Sorry?"

I can't think of anything else to say. He's getting closer to me. I can feel his breath crawling down my arm. I turn my eyes to the large window and count quietly in my head. Blocking everything else. Seeing nothing but the glowing lights of the city, or the occasional airplane hovering through the sky.

One... Two... Three... Four...

"Don't be."

His voice is low and ruggedly hoarse, as if he couldn't really form the words he wanted to clearly. I feel his hand on my thigh, his palm is thick with heat. I move my legs, in hopes he'll leave me be. But there's something different about this touch. It's soft. Steady. Almost hypnotizing. I don't think I've ever been touched like this by a man before. His fingers grazed a path up to my hip. My limbs seize. Going tense and rigid, desperately wanting to put space between us. I think about turning over.