Chapter 52

                                    

                                          
Jace loved the feel of her on him with his arm flung across her waist. She had given him what he asked for by sleeping close to him last night and this morning she was curled up against him, her head tucked in his neck. Her left hand spread across his naked chest her palm above his heart and one of her legs draped over his keeping one of his between both of hers. She felt small in his arms.
Jace had his other hand around using his fingertips to draw circles on her arm. He had been awake for a while and didn't want to get up. Not because he had nowhere to go but because he wanted to savour every moment with her and he just happen to love it while she slept. She looked so peaceful; mostly because the walls she had up all the time couldn't follow her into her dreams as well. No more walls, No more keeping him at arm's length. He had crumbled them all yesterday. He had felt the last of it fall as they kissed.
The kiss.
He smiled thinking about the previous night and their long-overdue kiss. It couldn't compare to the kisses in one of those erotic dreams he had about her.
Damn!
He thought as he remembered the dream of hers she'd told him. He hadn't expected it and screw him if it hadn't affected him in so many ways. It was almost too painful to think about. He didn't want to think about the pleasure each of them could give each other.
Speaking of dreams. Ariana had woken up the previous night calling out for her Dad again like she always did. He wanted to know what her dream was about but he also didn't want to push her. He wanted her to trust him enough to tell her what it was about.
He sighed.
"What's got you sighing so heavily?" Ariana asked sleepily,
He smiled loving the sound of her voice and the way it vibrated through his body.
"Nothing. Go back to sleep."
"Go back to sleep?" She adjusted her head so she could look at him.
They both smiled when their eyes met each knowing the other was thinking about everything that had happened last night.
"Good morning." She covered her face with her hands so it was just her eyes that were visible, and she looked at him shyly.
He almost grinned at how cute she looked at that moment.
"Good morning." He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead.
She sighed into him,
"I hate to say it but..." She began, "we have to get going."
"Just a little while longer."
Without saying anything she resumed her previous position with her head buried in his neck.
"Want to talk about it?
Jace didn't want to push her but he wanted to know what it was that she dreamt about constantly and he wanted to help, be there for her, go through it with her.
Ariana knew what Jace meant. She was in his arms when she had woken up at night calling out for her Dad as usual. She didn't even know what to call her dreams; a nightmare or a recap of that very night.
"I-I..." She began sighing.
Silence.
"You don't have to tell me now," Jace noticed how difficult it was for her to get the words out. "I just want you to know that I'm here whenever you're ready to talk about it. Okay?"
She didn't say anything.
Seconds later she sat up smiling down at him with her hair cascading over them.
"Thank you." She placed a chaste kiss on his lips. "Now, I'm hungry."
"As am I," Jace smirked with a wicked glint in his eyes.
"You're something else." She smiled, "But I was talking about food."
Jace took a moment before he said with a straight face,
"I was planning on having you for breakfast."
Ariana's smile fell as her eyes fell to his lips before going back up to meet his gaze,
"All yours, Sweetheart." Jace could have sworn he saw her cheeks turn a light shade of pink.
She pushed off of him and climbed out of bed.
"Soon." She repeated his words from last night before walking into the adjoined bathroom.

They were on the road half an hour later to the safehouse. Jake had spoken to Jace and he also sent someone to drop off a ride for them and pick up the other one Ariana had hotwired the previous night so it could be returned back to the owner.
Jace had insisted on driving to the safe house but Ariana wouldn't let him. So he sat next to her in the passenger's seat watching her as she drove the car with the music blasting from the radio. The way her legs moved, the way her hands gripped the steering and the way she kept glancing at the rearview mirror for something out of the ordinary.
She was an extraordinary person and he couldn't believe she was his wife. Even though it was just by name, he felt it was more than that. He was sure it was more than that for him and he knew it was more than that for Ariana even though she wasn't ready to admit it to him...or herself.
He watched as her tongue darted out of her mouth as she licked her lips. He groaned just as the song changed to an upbeat one. He watched Ariana's head move from side to side to the beat of the song.
She glanced at him smiling before turning her gaze back to the road.
"What?" She asked
He shook his head even though she couldn't see him.
"You know staring at someone is considered rude." She said with the smile still lingering on her lips.
"You're not someone," Jace replied, "You're Ariana Feilman-Black, my wife."
She glanced at him again as her smile grew wider and he couldn't help smiling back at her. He was happy she hadn't argued with him. That told him soo much - most important being how far they'd come - how far she had come from a pain in the ass bodyguard to a woman who was beginning to show and realize her feelings for him.
He knew what he felt for her. He just hadn't been able to put it into words but now he knew and was sure of it.
He loved Ariana Feilman.
He was in love with her - his bodyguard turned Wife.
He was utterly and completely in love with her and he would wait for however long it took for her to figure out her feelings for him.
He reached for her hand that remained unmoving on her lap and squeezed it lightly in his.
The sigh she gave was enough for him to know how content she felt at this moment. He felt the same contentment and it was all because of the brilliant woman next to him.