The wet streets were a shimmering neon gridwork of crimson and sapphire, with a hypnotic rhythm, yet as the late evening gloom of the city came to rest over the urban sprawl, September 12, 2025. Eleven days had passed since Mia had gone on a whirlwind of a ride into her life starting with that first irresponsible move into the nest of the dive bar of leather and lustiness, and the burden of those eleven days was pushing on her chest like a physical encumbrance. The air was chilly, and it caressed her and clung to her black sweater and jeans, and the material was wet and heavy and made her walk alone, her footsteps a soft, regular moan on the wet street. The comfort of the diner had remained with her, the hand of Lucas holding her hand, the roughness of his voice with the admission of his own father being unfaithful, the boy who had learned to remain, but it was falling away, lost in the uneasy clatter of the metropolis and the haunting flames of Jace Wilder's obsidian eyes. The beat of her heart was wild and erratic, in time with the flicker of the neon above her, and she was on the brink of a precipice, one slip of which would send her flying and she both feared and desired it with a passion that was frightening to her. The shadows of the streetlights fell jaggedly on the glistening asphalt, and each breath of wind, each laugh or honk of a car, made her heart race, half-thinking Jace would come out of the shadow, his leathers-clad body a promise of a predator that she had had to shut her ears to to keep her solitude. Space she had wanted, time to unweave the mess of their pretence, a breath free of the snarling chains which held her to him, but the city seemed now alive, the beat of its heart a taunting hiss reminiscent of the tempest which seethed in her. The rain had now turned into a fine drizzle and the water fell down her cheeks like unspoken tears, and it mixed with the dampness of her hair that stuck to her neck, and she wiped it all up with a trembling hand, and her breath fogged in the cold air. Her thoughts were of Lucas and his defenselessness, his vowal to defend, the sensitivity of his fingers as his thumb followed her knuckles, setting her ablaze, which contradicted the prohibited passion Jace had sparked with a mere look. She hated the dichotomy, how her body blushed at the thought of Jace and his velvet growl, how his hand was a ghost that lingered on her skin, tempting her to commit a sin she did not know she was capable of.Lucas. His hair was damp and shone with moisture, watered down his strands to trace the sharp lines of his jaw and his obsidian eyes fixed on her, taking her breath, keeping her in position as though he had cast a spell. It was good to meet you here, angel, he purred, his voice a low velvet which enclosed her like the embrace of a lover and gave her a shiver that went down her spine and lodged low in her belly. He was upon her with the nobility of a predator, the odor of leather and rain covering her, a heady aroma that sent her head whirling, and she stood still, her body failing her, a glow that ran down her face to her breast, her nipples knotting under the wet sweater. His hand came in contact with her arm, a caress so fleeting she felt it in her bone, and she pulled away, her pulse rocketing with a combination of fear and a feeling of desire she could not resist, her thighs clenching together with the thrill of desire that surged over her. Jace glanced his head, and his eyes tore over her in a slow appraisal, languishing on the clingy wet garments of her figure, tracing the bouge of her breasts and the inset of her waist. You, he said, and the word a mere statement, which struck her like a physical blow, and made her feel a soreness in her belly, which throbbed with every beating of her heart. He moved, his breath warm on her cheek, the opposite of the cool rain, and she was conscious of the heat of him, the rawness of his energy, the magnetism that drew them together, and that magnetism was against her will, against her will. You can not hide forever he muttered, his fingers just touching her wrist, and the touch was gentle and possessive, and the touch startled her, her breath choked as her body reacted with a warmth that she could not deny, and this was in conflict with the guilt that ate her heart.Mia felt the phone buzz and it was a rude awakening, and her hands were shaking as she answered, and she heard his voice cut through the fog. "Mia? Where are you?" His anxiety was tangible and felt like a rope that pulled her out of the abyss and she looked at Jace and his smirk was as big as he enjoyed the distraction and his eyes shone with the amusement. I am all right, I said, and my voice was quailing, moving away out of the reach of his hand, and the rain was cold between us. "Just walking. I'll be home soon." The laugh of Jace came after her withdrawal, a low, sneering note which stretched out into the rain, a note which lingered long after she turned her back, her heart throbbing in her chest, her body still vibrating with the reverberations of his caress. Her life had been spared by the call of Lucas, a life-line she was hanging on, but it could not wipe out the temptation, the manner in which Jace had in one look shattered her defenses, a promise that hovered like a shadow.The city edge was in view, a park where the neon faded to a thick veil of shadows, the trees swooping in the wind, their leaves glittering with the rain. Mia was going more slowly, the breath came hoarsher, the dampness soaked her clothing and chilled her body, and she leant against a tree, whose bark was hard and unyielding to her back. She shut her eyes, and attempted to make herself calm, the smell of wet soil and pine stuff filling her lungs a balancing effect to the tumult in her thoughts. Lucas came to her mind, with his hazel eyes with their expression of concern, his protective warmth like a light in the storm, but Jace still haunted her, a dark promise that could not be forgotten, his touch a memory that burnt the place where she had been touched by him. She also thought whether she was losing her self, whether the pretence with Lucas was a kind of protection, or a trap which would entangle her in its toils, and the idea caused her a shiver which the rain could not account. Her fingers again felt the phone, its buzz a low vibration and she drew it out, looking at the screen, the name Lucas a low moan of plea.The phone buzzed again, it was a constant call and she answered it, her voice a whisper to the rain. "Lucas?" His voice came out, strong and desperate. "I'm coming to get you. Where are you?" She looked, the edge of the park a mist of shadows, and provided him with a rough direction, her throat choked with feelings which she could not put into words. It was torture waiting, every moment lengthening into eternity as the rain fell upon her, and she clung still nearer to the tree, and its ruggedness was a kind of anchor against the storm in the storm. The experience with Jace kept playing in her mind, his voice, his touch, the manner in which he had looked at her as though he could see her soul, and Mia hated the fact that her body still reacted to it, a burn that had made her feel warm even when the weather was cold, a desire that was incompatible with her devotion to Lucas.Minutes later, headlights broke the darkness, the sound of an engine tearing through the rain, and Mia straightened her back as the car belonging to Lucas arrived, the recognizable shape a relief that made her chest ache. She was in the passenger seat, and the interior, compared with the cold outside, was warm, and the smell of his cologne, which was a woody, clean smell, enwrapped her, and she leant into it. A quick look of his eyes over her face revealed the worry that was written deep on his face, his hazel eyes dark with his worry as he received her wet clothes and shaking hands. He touched her, his hands linked with hers, and the touch caused a jolt through her, a sexual closeness that made her breath come short. I have no idea, she thought, and she did not speak because she could not articulate the experience, the feel of Jace and she still felt it and her body still tingled at the touch of Lucas, a touch that was almost as electric as Jace's. She bent in to him, and found the security he could give her, and her head was against his shoulder and the rain struck against the windows, a sort of beat that beat like her heartbeat. The silence was hard between them, with questions to be asked, and she wondered whether he could feel the war in her, whether he could feel the drag of his warmth to the darkness of Jace, the lure that could draw her down. The interior of the car was a haven, the heat sinking into her bones, but her mind would not yet calm down, and she was floating away to the park, to the fact that the presence of Jace had disintegrated her, a pledge she could not break.Lucas changed his position, his grip tightening on her hand, and looked at her, and his eyes were searching, and it made her heart stutter. You are safe now, he said, and his voice was a low rumble which vibrated through her, a promise which rocked her. She made a nod, and her throat was so tight with tears she could not shed, and his hand was there, a promise of silence that kept her rooted to the moment. The rain was insistently pounding, the neon heartbeat of the city was sounding faintly outside the windows, and Mia was asking herself how much longer she could remain in this protection, how much longer before the city and its ways would reclaim her and she was in Jace with the promise of destruction and salvation.
