Heart Of Protectors {#2}

Part 17

[Part 17]

“I’ll see you.” Jean-Jacques hung up on the phone, leaving Renee sighing. But despite her sighs, she still smiled to herself. The man still cared, and even though he wasn’t very good at conveying his emotions, she had hung around him enough to know that he cared for her –at least enough to insist on bringing her dinner to her. She understood that her protests were now useless, but it had made her feel just a tad bit better that she had tried to make things less inconvenient for the adamant vampire.

“I see a little smile forming there, dear girl.” Lexi said with a grin. “Someone is smitten.”

And even though Renee wanted very much to protest against the teasing she was now made to go through, she couldn’t deny it. Lexi was right; she was smitten with Jean-Jacques. In fact, she was so smitten that it embarrassed her very much to have doubted the man’s motivations the night before. He had been such a convincing actor that Renee had doubted him, but it was all a scam so well crafted by the man that even she had been taken in; much less Skalov.

The moments after he collapsed on her floor; she had freaked the hell out, still not understanding how anything had happened at all. It was only after a few moments that she finally connected the smell of pungent garlic to the soft hissing sound escaping from her bracelet. Not sure of what to make of thing, Renee had fumbled for her phone, calling Lexi who immediately took hold of the situation and made her husband appear. At first Dante had almost fallen unconscious with the heavy smell of garlic in her room too, but at least the man was resilient enough to hold his breath and teleport outside before he could be another heap of unconscious vampire mess on top of Jean-Jacques.

This time, even Dante had to admit that having Renee wear the garlic-infused bracelet was a stark idea for protection against vampires. So much so that Dante was a little annoyed that he wasn’t given the same technology to protect his darling wife.

“You know, I never thought Jean-Jacques to be much of a romantic. And to be honest, I thought you were better off with Louis.” Lexi admitted, leaning in as if trying to share a secret. Dante himself was thrown outside the room for having made too many lewd comments between the funny relationship between Renee and Jean-Jacques, but it was obvious that throwing her husband out was a tact from Lexi who seemed ready for a little bit of gossip.

“But given the war right now, he can’t exactly spend time being chummy with me.” Renee felt the strange need to protect the man despite the fact that they weren’t a couple at all. Besides, her feelings of infatuation were only one-sided. She didn’t know if Jean-Jacques felt anything for her at all. At least, anything for her as a woman and a lover.

“Why do the two of you have to be so similar?” Lexi whined in an exasperated tone. “Can’t you guys stop and smell the flowers?”

Renee wondered how funny it was that Lexi was so similar to her husband –to be so easy to lay back in the middle of a war and enjoy time for a short while.

“But it isn’t a time for all fun and games. War is serious.” Renee frowned a little. Maybe it was the influence from Jean-Jacques, but she understood enough from him that the war was extremely danger; that the Russians were ruthless in killing and doing anything to get what they wanted.

“It’s like I’m speaking to the female-version of Jean-Jacques.” Lexi commented with a helplessly amused expression. “Oh, Renee, how much has he changed you?”

“Not a lot.” Renee explained with a slight smile. “He’s just made me better protected.”

“It’s more than that, isn’t it? He made you-” Lexi’s observation was cut off with the slamming open of the door, and both women jerked, turning to the intruder who had gotten past the obstacle of Dante outside.