Chapter 122 - Angels And Sharks

"Shortly" in Prince's language meant "by the time you will return home if you get stuck in traffic jam". I got stuck in a traffic jam, then I missed my stop because of the crowd in the bus, waited ten minutes for a bus to take me a stop back, realised that I would've got home faster on foot and was a hundred meters away from the stop when I saw a bus I was waiting for drive by.

The sight of delivery men unloading boxes and (of course!) more flowers, while JJ talked with, presumably, their supervisor, didn't increase my rotten mood, but it did bring relief on the supervisor's face. As soon as he noticed me, his attention shifted from JJ, who hid in the house's long shadow from the rays of the evening sun, to me.

"You must be Diana Daraeva! Please, sign there." He offered me a delivery form and a pen. "Three chairs, a sofa, and a bouquet. Will you need help to get it inside?"

"No, thanks." As long as the sofa was narrow enough to fit in the doors, it was all good. I signed the form and returned the pen. "Goodbye."

"I see you have caught not only the fish you were searching for but also someone's eye, ma chèrie," JJ purred from behind me as soon as the movers got back into their truck. It was a seductive voice, but there was a darker note to it, something I wasn't sure I should've or shouldn't have expected to hear.

I swivelled on my heels to see JJ watching me through narrowed eyes, his arms folded together on his chest in a way that made his shirt stretch over his muscles. I swallowed a lump in my throat and frowned, mimicking his pose.

"Is it my fault somehow?" I asked him. "You stare at me like it is."

JJ blinked, and his eyes lightened. His lips stretched in a tight-lipped smile. "Of course not. A man would need to be blind to miss you, Diana." He prowled towards me until sun threw orange gleams on the top of his head, his hair, while leaving the rest of him in the shadow. "Your beauty alone is enough to send a thousand ships into a war, and you have a soul to match it."

Whatever defensive ire I felt before crumbled like Soviet Union in nineteen ninety-one. I blushed and crossed the last few steps, separating us to push JJ into the shadow before that wisp of smoke coming from his hair turned into actual fire.

"I told the guy I had a boyfriend," I said, leaning close enough to him that our breaths mingled. Mine were a little shallow; JJ's were slow and deliberate. He dropped his hands to his sides. "He just couldn't take a hint. Makes me wonder what is wrong with men nowadays. They just couldn't accept a 'no'."

"Guilty as charged," JJ murmured, tracing the outline of my ribs with his gentle fingers. His eyes dropped to my lips. "But you didn't seem to be offended with me about it."

"You actually took the hint. You just… Kept on going. There's a difference, you know," I sighed and leaned closer to land a kiss on his jaw and then another one on his neck when I rested my head on his shoulder. All of the sudden, I was tired—with my long road home, with people, with heat, with everything. "Let's move the furniture inside."

"Just have a rest, ma chèrie. You look exhausted. I will finish here. The movers were kind enough to put the items in the shadow, and I will be careful to not burn my hair any further."

"Thanks, JJ. I think I didn't say it even remotely as close as I should've, but you are a damn angel in disguise." I grinned at him as I reluctantly pulled back from his chest. "Are you sure you can't grow out wings?"

He chuckled. "Angel, huh? Even fallen angels don't have to live like my kin does… And if I acquire the ability to fly, you will be the first one to know."

"Don't forget, JJ, vampires are like sharks." When he looked at me in visible puzzlement, I grinned. "They don't stop growing until they die. Oh, and they also both have teeth to spare."

JJ just shook his head, smiling in amusement, and went to move the furniture.

⠀⠀

The furniture set barely fit into the storage room, and I didn't want to keep it there for long, so as soon as it was an acceptable time for calls, and as soon as I had energy for it, I called Elena and explained to her what I wanted.

Her response was a long, thoughtful hum. Then she said, "This isn't a popular topic of interest. Restoring the broken, turning the time back—when applied to living creatures, it turns into healing, and this is one of the most coveted areas of magic. If you were interested in it, you shouldn't have waited for so long to call, Diana."

"So, is there some written manual?"

"Written manual? Of course there are books, but wouldn't it be better with a teacher? You should come and pick yourself a tutor, Diana."

Right. Something I was putting off for no good reason than the fear of getting entangled into coven politics more than I was already. "Alright."

"Do you have time next Sunday?"

That was just in a few days. It was also next month, which meant that I won't be able to escape at least one payment to Avarice, but I doubted I would be able to even if I got to Elena today. Restoration took time, and learning it took even longer, even when magic was used.

It was possible that it would take me too long to learn even how to restore that one damn sofa, but then, since I knew that restoring things with magic was possible now, I would just ask my mentor to help.

"Sure I do, Elena. Sunday it is."