A/N: This chapter was a bit more dialogue heavily than I intended, in fact while I was in the middle of writing this chapter I didn't care for where it had originally started so I ended up scrapping it to give the characters a better starting point! x_x Also as a heads up, updates might slow a little as the traffic for this story has dropped, lack of interest and such (which happens, the Jojo fandom often comes in waves for slow burns) so I will be setting this story on the back burner for now so I can dedicate more time to my other fics. But I do hope that you enjoy this chapter~ and as always thanks for taking the time to read it!
Elena at this point was close to giving up.
Dio was proving quite the challenge to thwart after his wandering hands pulled her through crashing wave after crashing wave of pleasure, refusing to release her as he challenged Elena's willpower. Which she allowed for nothing other than her own selfish desires as he attempted to explore every inch of bare skin available to him.
It was petty that she chalked this up to a moment of weakness, an excuse she'd use as a crutch to allow this situation to continue but he was just so good with his hands! It was a pleasant surprise considering how many men Elena had been with, not many seemed to know how to appropriately please a woman but Dio, he handled her with a type of experience that made him irresistible.
After her first release, she had attempted to put a stop to the unspoken promise of a fling but Dio had unapologetically pulled her back in, wishing to know exactly what she was so afraid of, all the while refusing to disclose his own reasons for continuing.
Only after the third time did Elena finally pull her senses together enough to be stubborn, a blushing disheveled mess in his hands as she yanked herself out of his grasp.
"That's enough!" She gasped, her body shaking as she attempted to fight the delicious aftershocks still coursing through her veins. With her chest heaving from exertion, Elena stood on wobbly legs to ungraciously yank her panties back up to their rightful place.
This had gone far enough. Anymore and she'd truly start to become attached or at least addicted to the way he treated her physically and that would spell nothing but trouble for her.
The sound of Dio's deep chuckle behind her made Elena feel childish as she turned to look at him before darting her eyes around the lounge to locate her misplaced shawl, suddenly feeling very exposed.
"Perhaps I got a bit carried away, I take it you're satisfied then?" He asked.
"Wh-What the hell was that? What was the point of all that?"
Dio took a pause as he rose up from the couch to swiftly pull a handkerchief from his back pocket. Then settling himself back down again he began to wipe the hand that had previously been nestled between her thighs, the gesture making Elena avert her attention from him.
"Testing of stamina is something most people look for when investigating a potential partner do they not?"
"But we're not…I mean-" Elena turned away from him, obviously exasperated as she journeyed forward a few steps, attempting to assemble her thoughts. This whole encounter had her mind whirling and with her emotions still so charged from earlier it was starting to become even harder for her to focus.
He didn't outright say he wanted her as a partner, right? It would be silly to assume such a thing as it appeared he was just scoping her out but something about the way he said it made it fall flat. Was this just some roundabout way of saying he needed an on call fuck buddy? Didn't he have enough of those?
"No, this whole thing just doesn't make sense. I already told you how I felt so why are you..."
"Various reasons, but to put it simply, I understand you to be…unique." Dio explained, not in the least perturbed at Elena's inability to understand his motives.
She laughed, a sound devoid of joy, cold and untrusting.
"And that's a good enough reason to keep pursuing me, despite everything? Because you think I'm different?" Elena shook her head still refusing to face him, this felt like a very cheesy one-liner to rope an idiotic teenager to bed.
She supposed he'd say she was 'the only one for him' next.
"Enlighten me Elena, you've stated that you refuse me out of the interest of not being burdened by a committed relationship or by a one time encounter. Do you possess a fear of emotional or perhaps even physical attachment or is this avoidance simply…personal choice?"
Elena froze where she stood, thawing out just enough to turn her head slowly towards Dio whom was poised leisurely at the couch, his handkerchief missing from his person.
That certainly was unexpected.
Airing on the side of caution Elena allowed herself a moment to process his words, wondering if she should humor him with an answer.
It shouldn't have been a surprise that someone of interest would figure out her true reasons for refusal, after all, she had made her stance quite obvious, but to throw out his suspicions so boldly in conversation? Dio was most certainly daring, and his actions were proving to be something she could at least respect.
"Both." She said, moving forward to snatch her shawl that had been resting on the arm of the couch and hurriedly threw it around her shoulders.
"And you don't want to hear the story behind why; it'll bore someone like you." Elena explained before pulling her fingers through her white hair carefully to attempt to sort out the messier curls.
"And who are you to assume what I consider boring? After all, we are just starting to get to know each other." Dio said, showing off a pearly white smile with eerily prominent canines.
Briefly, she wondered if it was the shape of Dio's plump lips that made them appear longer than normal or if he suffered from an overbite. Truthfully they made him look wolfish, intimidating even, and it left her to ponder if he didn't fix it because it suited his image of an unrelenting business man or hardened boss.
Wringing her hands Elena found herself settling back down on the couch once more, this time sitting more towards the edge of the seat, making a point to put a healthy distance between them.
"You're persistent, I'll give you that." Elena said before looking down at her intertwined fingers, bracing herself for a somewhat rehearsed response.
"Honestly, I dislike…romantic relations, they're superficial and meaningless. The reason I view it that way is because someone did me wrong a long time ago and I suppose after I ended up in a bad place in life due to that, I never wanted to be exposed to it again. So that's why I'm actively trying to avoid people like…well, to put it plainly, people like you."
Dio listened; his eyes focused intently on the woman next to him before she sighed.
"Men like you are dangerous and addictive to people like me. You're incredibly hard to refuse for one reason or another. I-"
"And yet you are able to." Dio interrupted, seemingly intrigued by her last statement. As if it was surprising to him, which Elena supposed it must be.
Women often flocked to men like Dio. A man that is both single and successful usually carries a fat wallet with the freedom to spend cash on useless things, and in Dio's case, a gold digger would also obtain a well-spoken and decorative piece of arm candy.
"I don't think I'm doing that good of a job with it, but I might have had some practice since I was involved with someone similar to you in the past, though he nearly killed me." Elena explained, her voice turning sour at the end as she crushed her hands tightly together, her jaw clenching with old anger.
"So you remain dismissive of my interest due to your apprehension of being destroyed by me?" Dio asked, and Elena couldn't help but notice a trace amount of amusement in his voice.
Try as she might she couldn't find anything she was saying to be funny.
"Correct." Elena replied.
"Well, if you choose to accept me, I can guarantee you won't be physically harmed. Unless, of course, you wished it of me." Dio said, his voice light, perhaps even flirtatious as Elena met his eyes.
She didn't quite understand what he meant by that, at least not fully, but from the way he was looking at her Elena could almost believe him.
Still…
"Words are cheap." Elena said, returning her attention to her hands resting in her lap. Physical harm was only one of the things she allowed herself to worry about, the emotional payout of getting involved however, worried her more.
"Then allow me the honor to provide indisputable proof, hm?"
Elena shook her head, her patience starting to become exhausted as frustration began to build inside her.
"What would be the point, Dio?" She huffed.
"I mean this kind of thing isn't just about physically hurting me, there are emotional ties that come with engaging in something like this too. Say I leave with you right now, you make time for me for a few nights and then I come to find out during some business related soiree you've been providing the same things to other women? You'll just get to continue on with your life as if nothing ever happened between us and that'll leave me to carry the scars of whatever…this-"
Elena gestured between the both of them.
"Is. I'll get nothing out of it."
Love, lust, trust, emotional dependency, all of them were just cards in a bad hand of poker to Elena, whether such assets were folded, raised or even bet upon in a relationship was controlled solely by the player. The only catch to it was you could never see how much the other player was betting on similar cards in any given situation.
Elena had learned the game well despite her losses, how often she had bet all her chips on something like a prepaid romantic dinner only to be stood up and lose all her investment to a better hand according to the other player's standard.
And with an opponent like Dio it made Elena feel less than confident in her skills at handling such shitty cards.
"Let me propose this then. In exchange for your decision to be by my side, I will give to you an invested relationship unlike what you've received in the past, to which I will provide you with whatever you need." Dio countered, folding one leg over the other as he rested his joined hands neatly within his own lap.
Elena scoffed. Just how had the conversation reverted to this?
It sounded as if he was offering her a partnered business deal rather than a relationship. If he thought she could be won over with something as simple as looks or promises of riches like some kind of sugar baby he was sorely mistaken.
"I think your misunderstanding me; I don't want or need something like that, I don't want any of your money." Elena said.
"You are not listening Elena, indeed I've said that this would be an invested relationship but that is not limited to wealth. If you desire something a bit more intimate, such as devotion, all you'd have to do is wish it of me and it is yours." He explained and Elena felt her face begin to heat involuntarily at the way her name slid off his tongue.
"I would also ensure your safety as you've made clear that that is a concern of yours. Linked with my influence I'd also be able to prevent similar situations like that of which you've experienced at the bar tonight." Dio continued and Elena felt herself perk up at the possibility of such a promise.
"It would do well for both of us to not have the past haunt you in plain sight after all."
Elena felt her body begin to relax, the gears in her head turning as she attempted to quickly analyze Dio's proposal. Never having to worry about Bon approaching her again sounded like a dream come true, and it seemed like a feasible if not downright capable promise for Dio to make and uphold. The more Elena considered it the more desirable this whole thing was beginning to sound.
She'd get what she wanted on that end at least, the possibility of getting Olani off her back was also likely, and if Dio remained true to his word she'd get the promise of emotional stability but...doubt still swirled within her.
"I want to believe you Dio, but this is a lot to promise to someone you don't even know all that well. To go to such lengths and require so little of me…I'm sure the capability to go through with this is genuine but don't take offense if I do not fully trust your intentions."
Dio smirked, more pleased than upset with her response.
"My dear, I would find it worrisome if you did."
