Chapter 78 - No Better Way To Dampen The Mood Than To Bring Up An Ex

All the logic and intelligence I had in my head must've evaporated somewhere while I had been distracted by JJ's presence. I had no reasons to be so unsure of myself. He expressed his interest in me on many occasions, and here I was, giving him just what he wanted. There were no reasons for the anxiety that filled my stomach.

Still, my heart clenched uncomfortably as I waited for one imminent blow or another. A refusal? Just general smugness? JJ, throwing in my face how easy I was? It didn't matter that never in our time together had he ever once shown himself able to say these words. In this terrifying second, my mind was beyond reason.

The longer he sat silent, the more nervous I grew, until I couldn't bear it anymore. I tensed, ready to just stand up and leave, when JJ stopped me with a cool touch of his hand on my knee. His lips were spread in a wide, joyful smile, with not even a hint of ill intent, though with quite some amusement at my expense.

"Diana, you are like a rabbit, so tense and ready to bolt even when there's no real danger around." He let out a small chuckle, his green-and-red snake eyes boring into mine. "Truly, I don't see why you would even need to ask. Wasn't that, in a sense, what we were already doing for a while already? Even if our time spent together was usually brought by business affairs, as far as I can tell, it was enjoyable for us both."

I leaned away from JJ, all too aware of his hand on my knee, but unable to bring myself to shake it off, or to look anywhere but into the abyss of his pupils. "There's a difference. We can, we should, do something else too."

"Something else?" a sly glint in JJ's eyes made it absolutely impossible to miss the suggestiveness in his tone. "May I offer the first suggestion?"

I folded my arms over my chest, puffing my cheeks to hide the grin that threatened to take over my red face. How I could be both embarrassed and so happy at the same time, I had no idea, but here I was.

"I know aaall your suggestions, JJ." I gave him one of my best glares, though I was pretty sure all the twitching of my face must've mitigated its effect to zero.

"I highly doubt this, ma chèrie." He said with one last smouldering look and then, to my surprise, leaned away, his expression turning serious in an instant.

He folded his hands in his lap and closed his eyes. When he opened them a second later, they were pure green, a colour of fresh grass or of apples, the kind that is so sour I don't understand why anyone would eat them. These eyes stared at me with a grimness that killed all my previous elatedness faster than any hitman.

"It will be a great pleasure to me to discuss our options for shared activities, ma chèrie, but first, I must speak about more pressing concerns. Namely, the one I was in a process of explaining to you earlier today."

He didn't need to say a name for me to realise what he was talking about. The thought alone was like a bucket of cold water poured over my head.

"Christina… What about her?" I asked, sitting straighter in my seat. "She didn't do anything yet, except for sending me these annoying messages—" I caught my tongue at the alarmed expression on JJ's face. 

"Messages?"

I nodded. "Yeah, she had been sending me text messages from fake accounts for the last few days, but it's all just threats, and, well, I imagined it would be best for me to ignore her. 'Don't feed the trolls' and all that. Actually, let me show you."

JJ frowned in confusion at my mentioning of trolls, but didn't ask about it. Meanwhile, I pulled out my phone and opened my chat history. He scrolled through my messages with Christina with an expression that became grimmer and grimmer by the second. Finally, he put my phone back into my hand, closing my fingers around it in an intimate gesture that brought my heart to my throat. His eyes were on mine all the while.

"You were absolutely right, ma chèrie. This is one of Christina's tactics, to use terror in order to force people into making mistakes. Whether or not she derives sick pleasure from your reactions, first of all, she is most calculative. Keep ignoring her, and do as you did before—stick to populated, well sunlit places if you go out into the city without me."

I blinked, my brain making conclusions through the hormone-induced sluggishness. JJ still held my hands in his. "Were you following me around these last days?"

"Of course, as soon as I was in a state to do so. I doubt Christina would make a move again soon, but I had to make sure."

I never saw him, even once. He was really good at following me, and as creepy as the act was, I could only feel grateful for his protection again. "Thank you."

JJ gave me a sad little smile and finally let go of my palms. "I can't say I don't enjoy your gratitude, ma chèrie, especially its more physical kind, but this is just a small dent in my piling debt to you."

I shook my head in exasperation, but my amusement didn't last long. "What do you think Christina is doing now, JJ?"

He hummed thoughtfully. "As all vampires who live past a certain age, she is nothing if not patient. Now that I'm healed and on alert, she will stalk me, us, until she finds another opportunity to strike. I doubt, though, that it will be here, or anywhere on Avarice's territory. For all Avarice's youth, I admit she has quite interesting people at her disposal."

"Avarice? How is SHE involved in this entire mess?"