That night, Jill was full of adrenaline because of how physical she and Christian had been. She really hadn't realized how much energy she had until she'd met him. When she managed to fall asleep, it was just for a little while, and then her eyes popped open again, a few hours later, noticing that her stomach was grumbling loudly. She tried to ignore it because what sort of weirdo got up to eat in the middle of the night or early in the morning? Since it was one or two am, it was technically incorrect to call it 'night'. But the growling was persistent and finally, she grunted and sat up, hopping off the bed and taking in a sharp breath as her bare feet touched the floor. She quickly grabbed the first articles of clothing she could get her hands on (a shirt and a pair of boxers out of the drawers of a nearby dresser), put them on, and ran to the kitchen, grabbing several things out of the refrigerator, out of the cupboards, and off the counter.
"Need some help with all that?" asked a voice that made her let out a shriek as Christian reached out and grabbed the tray of food just before she dropped it.
"Thanks," she replied. "And I'm sorry I woke you."
"No, it's fine," Christian told her. "Can I ask why you're eating at this early hour in the morning?"
"I was hungry," Jill explained. "You worked me pretty hard yesterday. You seem to be able to handle that sort of a workout a lot better than I can."
"Yeah, and you know, I really can't explain why," Christian agreed. He then said, "Would you rather eat this back in the bedroom? It feels odd sitting here at the table like this at this time of night."
"Sure," Jill agreed and stood up. He followed after her with the tray in hands, asking as they walked, "Are you wearing my clothes? That's unexpected."
Jill blushed a little, but since he was behind her (and staring intently at her ass, no doubt) he didn't see it. "Well, as you can well remember, I wasn't wearing any clothes when we finally fell asleep, so like you and that bathrobe you're wearing, when I got up to eat, I grabbed some stuff from your dresser to throw on and this was it. I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
"Oh, no, please keep doing it," Christian insisted. "I like it. I think it's sexy."
"Even if it means your clothes will have girl smell all over them?" Jill asked.
Christian put the tray down on the floor then and grabbed Jill, pulling her against his body backwards and sniffing her neck and hair. "If you ask me," he whispered in her ear while she gasped. "I like the way you smell. I don't mind it at all." He gave her a spank and a slight shove and then grabbed the food tray as they continued their way back to their bedroom.
"It's better to eat in here," Jill remarked as she spread some Nutella over toast. "The living room and kitchen are a mess. I wonder how that happened?" She locked eyes with Christian as she said this and took a bite of bread.
"Well, allow me to enlighten you," Christian replied before taking some of the chocolate spread on his finger and then licking it off. "A beautiful but very tempestuous woman decided to pick a fight with me and messed up my house in a fury, even after I bought a bunch of pretty flowers for her. I haven't had time to clean up yet."
"Oh?" Jill asked, raising an eyebrow. "Anyone I know?"
"I don't think so," Christian replied and kissed her as his fingers threaded through her hair. "You would never associate with such an evil-tempered person."
"You're joking, right?" Jill asked and took a bite out of an apple, the juice dribbling down her chin as she chewed.
"Of course I'm joking, Christian replied as he pulled her to himself and tried to kiss her. But she giggled as she moved her head and stuck some celery in his mouth instead.
"Oh, god," He said and spit it out all over the covers. "How can you give me vegetables when I want a kiss? That's just mean!"
Jill chuckled. "And now the mushed up, spit-covered celery can join the crumbs all over the mattress."
"There," Christian replied and brushed the offending crumbs onto the floor. "All gone." He turned to face her, a smug grin curving his lips. "Give me a real kiss now."
"No," Jill replied, crossing her arms and sticking her tongue out at him. He then grabbed her and caught his mouth with hers, their tongues and lips mingling as he zapped the rest of the food away, pushed her back onto the mattress, and rolled up her shirt to kiss the soft skin of her belly as he slipped his hand into the boxers she wore.
As they held each other later, he said in a joking tone, "That was some fun we had yesterday and just now. I know you told me you were a virgin before, but are you sure? Is there something you're not telling me? Cause if I may say, you're awfully experienced for someone who claims to have never done anything like that before."
He then felt Jill stiffen in his arms. She buried her face in his shoulder and began shaking her head.
"What's the matter, babe?" He asked, his eyes displaying worry. "Did I say something wrong? I was just making a joke. If you…if you want to talk to me, you can."
"You're right," she blurted out, the shine in her eyes clear proof that she was trying not to cry. "I'm not. I'm not a virgin." She sighed. "Last year…there was a guy. It's the same story that every brokenhearted girl seems to have: I thought I loved him, I opened up, I gave him everything I had (and I do mean everything) and then the next day, he acted like he didn't even know me." Her voice did break then. "And he even told everyone about my visions. Do you know how awkward it is when you're a person at a human school who has visions?!"
He held her close and rocked her gently, whispering into her hair, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"That's why I told you I was a virgin," she sniffled. "Cause pretending that mess never happened is the only way I don't feel like total crap all the time. I didn't even tell anyone in my family. You're the only one who knows."
He held her close and said, "Well, that guy is an idiot. I can't believe someone would be such an ass as to hurt someone as good as you. Want me to hunt him down and kill him for you?"
"Are you still gonna do it even if I don't give you permission?" Jill asked.
"Yes," Christian replied firmly. "Yes, I am."
"All right," Jill nodded. "But when you find him, I want to see what you do to him. I wanna watch."
"I have no problem with that whatsoever," Christian replied. "Hell, I'll even let you help if you want to."
"No," Jill shook her head. "I don't think I can go that far. Just watching will be enough for now."
Christian shook his head and said, "After being with a big jerk that hurt you so badly, I don't see how you can even stand to be near me. I'm no better. Certainly no Prince Charming."
"Yes, you are," Jill told him. "I know that eventually things are gonna get difficult between us for whatever reason, but for now….thank you. Thank you for all you've done. Thank you for letting me know that I'm allowed to feel things I've never felt before. That it's okay for me to be freaky and weird and that there's nothing wrong with that." She hugged him tight. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
Meanwhile, Jill was not the only one who was having trouble sleeping.
"Darling?" Elijah asked when he woke up in bed alone and then found Selina sitting in his office chair at four a.m. and sneaking his scotch after breaking into the safe. "Darling, what's the matter? Why don't you come back to bed?"
"I know I should," Selina agreed. "But I just…sitting around and waiting for someone to come and kill us is not working for me. If it's gonna happen, it should happen now. We know Freya hates me, so if I asked nicely, do you think she'd be willing to make my death quick and painless? I know you want to die together like the people in that opera who end up buried alive…what's it called again?"
"Aida," Elijah supplied as he came and picked her up so he could sit in the chair and then sat her back down on his lap.
"Yeah, exactly," Selina nodded. "But I can't help it. I'm a big chicken about dying. You would think that poison would be a quick way to go, but I convulsed and screamed all that for quite some time. I don't want it to happen again."
"No, I'm sure you don't," Elijah agreed and stroked her hair as she re-positioned herself and laid her head on his shoulder. He then looked at the sofa bed that was always pulled out and waiting and said, "Let's lie down. You don't have to fall asleep, but wouldn't you be more comfortable with the covers over you than sitting in a chair all night?"
"Yeah," Selina nodded and hopped off his lap before settling down in bed. "I'm sorry I broke into your office and stole your scotch. I know this is your private space and it was wrong of me to intrude."
Elijah sighed and lay down next to her. "Thank you for apologizing," he said and pulled her to him so she could snuggle against his bare chest, the warmth of his body calming her currently rapid heartbeat. "But I can understand why you felt you needed to. We're all on edge now, aren't we?"
"Yeah," Selina nodded. "And I hate it."
"Yes," Elijah nodded and kissed her hair. "I hate it too."
