XX ‖ slow dance

LONDON
January
Location: Restaurant, Galvin La Chapelle

━━━━━━━━━━

"Iva?" Jax called my name in a low voice, surprised by my sudden reaction.

"Isaiah Gaillard?" I gasped, hastily wiping the smudge off my face using the napkin and claimed, "He's human, Jax!" 

"Hmm?" I felt a sudden chill down my spine when the pair of greyish-blue eyes ahead of me fixed into mine with an almost interrogating gaze. Jax's tone turned cold in an instant, "He isn't my target, though you just made the whole situation interesting." 

His hand reached out to hold onto the neck of the wine glass ahead of him and I caught him by the wrist. Gripping hard, I pressed, "Who is your target, partner?" 

"Pelleas Marston," he responded quietly and my eyes widened at the name, recalling the name that the cacs had mentioned on that night when Vivienne and I went out partying back in Shanghai. I adjusted my gaze a little to look towards Jax and his expression remained indecipherable and indifferent. 

Yet, beneath the collected composure he displayed, I noticed the crack on the neck of the wine glass under the pressure of his grip. Small shards cut through the skin of his fingers with red prickling from the wounds and I panicked. My hand quickly caught the falling glass and poured the contents into the bucket of ice before settling it down on the table carefully, making sure that we caught no attention. I hurriedly grabbed onto a linen napkin on the table and folded it as I pushed it into his palm and curled his fingers in, adding pressure to control the blood flow. Rising from my seat, I tugged on his arm and feigned a warm smile, "Let's dance, shall we?" 

Jax had followed without saying anything in return and unease began to clench my gut. It was only until now that I realised how much I hated not being able to read this man, his concealed thoughts and emotions weighed in my heart. The touch of his hand on the small of my back had felt uncomfortably cold when he refused to say a word. 

We moved from our table towards the wide dancing area in the middle of the restaurant. Couples around us leaned close to each other, swaying slightly to the soft sounds of the grand piano as they whispered sweet nothings to each other. I held his injured hand close to my chest and stepped close towards him in an attempt to blend in with the surroundings. He didn't even wince when I tightened my grip and pressed the napkin into his palm. In a harsh whisper, I scolded, "What were you trying to do?" 

Again, there was no response to my question. He only firmed his hold on my back and pulled me closer to him, erasing any space between our bodies. The back of his hand which I was holding onto had rested embarrassingly on my cleavage and I nearly slapped him out of panic — if not for my professionalism and a keen awareness that I'm currently in the midst of a mission holding me back. 

We stood close to each other, melding perfectly with other couples who were slow dancing beside us. The only thing: it was too close. Our bodies touched and our chests separated by a thin layer of air that wasn't enough for me to breathe. All the air that went through my lungs were filled with the faint scent of pine and rain, giddying me. It was like smelling ambrosia, clouding all forms of rationality in my mind and it only frustrated me to know that he would always have that power over me. 

I wanted to push him away but it would definitely attract unnecessary attention towards us. I had made a promise to him that I would help him out in this and I wasn't going to screw his mission up just because of my own flustering emotions that was upsetting me. Helpless, I submitted to him, moving together in small steps. He leaned in and his lips moved close to my temple as he whispered into my hair, "What's Gaillard to you?" 

The tingling sensation of his warm breath against my skin was causing my heart to skitter but I replied in a fairly composed manner, "An important friend, Jax. Just focus on your target." 

"It's interesting to know that your friend deals business with diabolos," Jax mentioned, his tone still unreadable. 

I took a step forward, commanding his next movement and turned him around. Jax complied, giving me a full view of the dining table where Isaiah and Pelleas sat. I asked in a low voice, "You're hunting that diabolo?" 

"Not yet, sweetness," he whispered softly, kissing my temple and my heart jittered from the suddenness. My body tried to move away out of reflex but he flexed his arm and locked me in place, giving me no room to escape. He swayed us lightly to the music and continued, "Pelleas isn't an easy target." 

"He's alone right now. Why not just send him back to the Underworld?" I frowned.

Jax stepped slowly as we swirled around and he was back to face his target again. Lowering his voice further, he asked, "Look around carefully, latreía mou. Are you sure he's alone?"

My eyes scanned as he turned, inhaling sharply at the knowledge that high-class cacs had infested this restaurant. Some of the couples dancing near us were cacs and I hadn't noticed them at all when they had blended in so well into the space. My hands instinctively gripped tighter into his, disregarding that I was actually holding onto his injured hand. Thankfully, Jax didn't even grimace. 

"Fuck, I don't have enough ammunition," I cursed under my breath, in a volume that is only audible to us. 

"Hush now." Jax's hand moved to the back of my head and rested my forehead against the curve of his neck. "We're not killing anyone. I'm on an intel mission."  

His hand smoothed down the length of my hair and he moved in a comforting manner. I couldn't help but tense at the fact that we're severely outnumbered and if any of us were found, it would be almost impossible to make it out alive. Kissing on my temple again, he whispered reassuringly, "We would be fine, sweetness. Don't be afraid." 

"Elysium sent you to do this alone?" I asked quietly and an unsettling feeling surfaced. I really couldn't imagine him being here by himself when there were so many 'what if's that could happen. Unknowingly, the thought of losing him had resulted in a consuming fear gnawing from within me. 

"Yes," he nodded slightly. 

"Why is it that you're tasked to do this alone? That's absurd!" I whispered harshly. 

"Don't I have you here too?" he chuckled softly.

"Was I given a choice?" I fumed, casting a glare towards him and surprised that he could still manage to smile in such a dire situation. If I could, I would honestly punch him in the face right in this instance. Suppressing the strong urge, I popped another question, "What are you trying to find?"

"Answers," Jax responded simply. 

"What answers?"

"A story for another time," he said.

"How many skeletons do you hide in your closet?" I insisted.

"You sure have many questions tonight, sweetness," he laughed silently. "We have all the time in the future to talk. All we need now is to finish this and get out of here." 

"I seriously hate you," I frowned, knowing that this was his method of evasion. 

"I seriously doubt so," he replied, grinning confidently.

We continued to dance as I leaned in his embrace, still very much preoccupied with the worry for our safety. Yet, the way he comforted me was working miraculously to keep me calmer than I would've in any other situation. 

Time stretched with each passing second and I closed my eyes only to listen to the disturbingly loud pounding of my own heart from the horrifying fear. Finally, Jax whispered into my ear, "We're done here, let's leave." 

I swore I was never happier to hear those words and it was only the moment we stepped out of the restaurant safely that I finally managed to breathe properly. Sitting in his car, I buried my face into my palms as I tried to calm the remaining nerves. Jax reached for his ear and removed the earpiece from an audio tapping device that I didn't even realise he had it on all along. He held onto my hand, sounding remorseful, "I didn't know you would be so scared. I should've left you here." 

"And you're going in there alone?" I asked, raising my voice slightly louder than I intended to. "How could you be by yourself while being surrounded by a bunch of them? Jaxen, you're freaking kidding me! Don't you know how to stand up for yourself and request for back-up from Morgiana? Just because—"

"Iva," Jax let go of my wrists and pulled me into his embrace. He held onto the back of my head with one hand and patted softly onto my back with the other. He said softly, "Iva, sweetness, it's okay. Nothing would happen to me, please don't be scared."

"I'm so mad!" I felt a rush of tears pooling in my eyes as I couldn't control the fear that still pumped through my veins and coursed in my blood. Words forced out through a surfacing cry, "You're an idiot!"

"Alright, I'm an idiot," he laughed funnily. He moved and kissed my forehead. "Don't be mad at me, Iva. What should I do for you to forgive me?" 

I almost jumped at his soft gesture. All the anger and agitation vanished almost instantaneously when my heart no longer pounded painfully with fear but it had stuttered foolishly with fluttery feelings. My mind remembered that I still owed him a reply and my stomach was protesting with a kind of emptiness that if I don't answer to its needs soon, it's going to embarrass me once again. I mumbled, "I'm starving." 

"You're always hungry, aren't you," Jax chuckled. "Let me bring you to somewhere fun."

"It better be the correct fun this time," I frowned. 

"I promise, latreía mou." 

◩

(just hold me close and dance with me slowly.)