Just The Right Black

Chapter 38

Ariana was conscious as she came out of her deep sleep. Her eyes closed, she tried to remember when she'd slept off but couldn't. The last thing she remembered was holding tightly onto Jace and feeling at peace. Ariana opened her eyes slowly and the first thing she saw were those lips.

She closed her eyes and sighed, warding off the thoughts that popped into her head, it was too early for that and she was not mentally prepared to deal with them. Ariana was about to turn to her other side and move to her side of the bed but Jace's grabbed onto her waist when he felt her about to move away. Ariana looked down at her waist and held onto her breathe. She swallowed when she let herself feel the warmth of his palm on the small of her back.

Jace had woken up the second she'd moved in his arms but he kept his eyes closed and waited to see how it played out. Ariana looked up at his sleeping face and at the same time reached out to pluck his hand away.

"Too much physical contact for you?"

Ariana's breath caught in her chest as she stared at his face. Jace opened his eyes to meet hers, he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was uncomfortable to be in their current position. Ariana blinked when those grey eyes pierced hers.

"I'm not groping your ass...yet." He smirked,

Ariana dropped her gaze to avoid his gaze as she pushed his hand away from the small of her back.

"You want me to go lower?" Jace had a hint of humour in his voice,

Ariana snapped her wide-eyed gaze at him, she felt her face start to heat up.

"All you have to do is tell me." He said calmly,

"Jace?" She called his name in a low tone, warning him, "Let go of me."

He sighed, closing his eyes,
"I'm quite enjoying this position," He said, "So, no thank you."

Ariana's hand let go of his hand and came up between them and placed it on his chest to push him away but he only tugged her closer to him. Their bodies touched and one of her legs was caught between his.

"Jace," Ariana called on a sigh,

Jace didn't say a word so she struggled to get out of the leg lock and his hand on her waist but she only ended up on her back with him on top of her. Her legs were caught between his and her hands were restrained by his above her head with his eyes staring into hers.

"Stay." He said between clenched teeth like he didn't want her moving,

Ariana's chest rose and fell as she struggled to get her hands out of his grip but she shut her eyes in defeat. When she opened them again, she inhaled sharply at how close Jace was. Jace didn't know he could love watching someone as much as he did Ariana. He leaned closed to her and he watched her eyes close again as she tried to push away, her head sinking deeper into the pillow. He smiled and brought his lips to the side of her face and he felt her hold her breath.

"Training in 5." He said before he got off her.

Ariana sighed when she felt the absence of his weight but then almost instantly missed it. She didn't open her eyes until she heard the door to the ensuite shut. Ariana sat up and went to change into her workout clothes. Jace was out and joined her in the walk-in closet but she left and went to the bathroom without sparing him a glance. She did her morning ritual and was out the door and down at the gym where Jace waited for her.

An hour later Ariana felt the burning in her injured leg which she usually did after she'd gotten a good leg workout.

"Enough Ariana." Jace stood beside the treadmill where she was trying to walk at a normal pace and she wasn't even putting that much weight on her hands gripping the handles.

She looked at him and nodded. She reached in front of her and reduced the pace then turned it off. Jace was behind her and holding onto her waist when it came to a complete stop.

"You okay?"

She swallowed at the feel of his hands on her naked waist,
"Yea." She turned and got off the treadmill, Jace stood there, in front of her and tucked a stray lock behind her ear.

"You did great."

She couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips.

They went up to the kitchen for breakfast rather than showering first because they'd both built up an appetite. They went upstairs later to shower.

Ariana walked out of the bathroom in a towel, her wet hair across her shoulder as she dried it with another towel. She came to a stop when she saw Jace lying on the bed. He'd turned to her the second she stepped out of the bathroom and he stared at her in surprise.

Ariana looked away and walked to the walk-in closet. Her limp was there but it was almost unnoticeable. She put on some clothes and went to sit in front of the vanity mirror. Jace had brought the seat for her when so she didn't have to stand with her injury.

Jace was in the bathroom when Ariana plugged in the hairdryer and got to drying her hair. She turned off the dryer and started to comb through her hair when she saw Jace, in the mirror, step out of the bathroom with only a towel hanging loosely around his waist. Her heart stopped beating for a moment as she let her eyes do what eyes do best.

Stare. Watch. Eye-rape. Whatever it is, you name it.

Ariana cleared her throat, snapping herself out of whatever haze she was in and looked away, running the comb through her hair. Jace was frozen where he stood as he watched her comb her hair. He bit his tongue when she lifted her hair at the crown of her head and began to twist.

Not another bun.

His feet picked up when she hooked a bobby pin to keep it in place. Ariana's eyes met his in the mirror as he stopped behind her. Jace reached out to her hair and felt for the hairpin then pulled it out. Ariana's hair untwisted and fell like a mass on curtain behind her and Jace threw the pin at the vanity and it landed amongst the other things in front of the mirror.

Jace ran his fingers through her hair and Ariana's eyes closed at the feel of his fingers in her hair.
"Your hair's beautiful," He said, "I like it down."

Ariana opened her eyes to meet his wandering ones.

"No more boring conservative bun," He said, "Keep it down."

"I can't," She stood and bent to rummage for the pin, "With what I do, it gets in the way."

"Just in the house." Jace side-stepped the stool, took her arm and pulled her away from the vanity.

Ariana stumbled when he pulled her up and her hands reached the first thing she could hold on to which was his naked chest. She froze then let her eyes drop from his gaze to the magnificent work of art she had her hands on. Her fingers trailed down through all that manliness and stopped right above the towel and her heart jumped in her chest when she felt the urge to rip it away.

Boy oh boy!

Her eyes shut when Jace slipped his hands into the back of her hair, her head dropped back and Jace stared at her face and her slightly parted lips. Her hands on him was driving him crazy. Ariana's heart pounded in her chest and she opened her eyes and found his gaze had grown dark and the grip he had on her hair had tightened.

She gasped and she could have sworn she heard him growl,
"Ari," His voice had dropped an octave low and it sent tingles down her body, "I need to kiss you."

She was suddenly aware of her tingling lips as her head grew heavy. Jace's gaze fell to her lips and Ariana's hands slid up his body and to his shoulders as he inched closer and closer. She jumped away from him when his phone went off. Jace clenched his jaw and cursed aloud before he pulled away and headed to his side of the bed to get his phone.

Ariana's head was slowly starting to clear and her common sense returned.

"What?!" Jace snapped when he answered the call, "Yes, Bridget."

Ariana snapped out of whatever daze she was in and went in front of the vanity mirror, she picked up the pin, rolled her hair into a bun and fixed the pin. She caught his gaze in the mirror but she walked out of the room as fast as she possibly could.