The guilt at what he’d done in the shower melted away, allowing the feelings that’d been budding inside of him to begin to sprout.
Chapter Five
The morning following their soul-revealing talk, Damien stood by his window. He didn’t have his first class until noon that day and was still on medical leave under orders from Dr. Langston. He leaned his forehead against his forearm on the wall, watching the rain falling in sheets once again outside his window. His mind a swirling mix of emotions he’d held back all surged forward all at once.
The more time they spent together, the more Damien couldn’t deny it. He was developing feelings for Jill. He wanted her. Wanted to share his day to day life with her, to hold her and make her feel like everything would be okay.
Jill had played with fire by sharing a part of her world with him. She’d risked losing him just to do what he asked.
There was no doubt in his mind, Jill was dangerous. A force that existed outside the bounds of the realms of nature.
Something long hidden behind a veil of shadows surrounded by superstition and lore.
To add to the tension, rumbles of thunder could be heard rising above the trees and echoing across the mountains.
“I don’t care, anymore. I don’t care what you or how old you are, Jill. You’ve suffered alone for so long. I want to be there for you. At least then, you wouldn’t have to hurt alone.” Damien spoke out loud to himself in the emptiness of his room.
He knew what he wanted would come with a plethora of peril but he didn’t care. Nothing was going to get in the way of being with the woman he’d come to love.
Damien pulled his truck up to the college, opened the door and grabbed his backpack to the building where his noon class was held.
He sat towards the back of the new lecture hall. It had been completed right before classes began. He could still smell the new wood and polish. The chairs were still stiff from needing to be broken in.
Damien checked the screen of his phone he pulled out of his pocket.
Nothing. Not so much as a short response to any of the texts he sent following his speech to himself in his room earlier that morning.
Damn it. Damien thought to himself, disappointed. He dropped his phone to his lap, holding it in his hand.
His head lolled back to look at the wood paneled ceiling. The bright lights almost blinded him but he wasn’t focusing on them.
The jeans and jacket he wore were soaked from the rain slightly chilling him. It wasn’t enough to draw his mind away from the roving thoughts of raven hair and icy green eyes.
The micro-biology professor’s monotone voice droned on about subjects Damien no longer saw as important as they were to him in the beginning of the year.
Yeah, right. He thought, sarcastically smiling to himself. I wonder if the rules of natural selection and the roles of genetics in the preservation of species applies to lycans or vampires.
The rest of the class seemed shamble by like a zombified snail. Damien tapped his foot, spinning his pen around his thumb. The phone in his lap grew heavier with its silence.
When the class finally ended, Damien quickly packed his books and headed for the door only to be stopped by Chelsea.
“Hey, Dame. It’s been a while,” she said, her voice more shy than usual. “I was wondering, if you aren’t doing anything later tonight, would you like to go out?”
Damien sighed. “Not tonight, Chels. I want to catch up on some work I missed after being out of school.”
“Oh. Okay, then,” Chelsea replied. Her voice carrying a slight hint of dejection. “How about lunch?”
Damien smiled. He realized since everything had gone to hell, he hadn’t really gotten a chance to go out much with his friends. “Sure.”
A bright smile lit up Chelsea’s face as she hugged Damien around the waist.
After they got their food, they chose to sit outside at one of the tables under the wooden gazebo since it was raining to enjoy lunch and talk before their next class.
“I'm so glad we finally got the fall weather but this rain has been a nightmare. It was kind of weird this year. Almost like it couldn't make up its mind. The colors are always so pretty. I think this is my favorite season, don't you?” Chelsea chirped.
Damien wasn’t paying attention. He was too focused on what had happened on the bridge with Jill and the night before. It was like they had shared a bonding moment so strong, nothing else mattered.
Chelsea smacked Damien’s arm. “Damien, are you even listening to me?”
“What? To be honest, no. I’m sorry, Chels. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.” Damien replied, once again perturbed that he’d been hiding most of his secret life from everyone around him.
“What’s with you? You’ve been spacing out more often than usual, you hardly ever talk to me and to top it off, we don’t see you around much. It’s almost like I don’t know you anymore.”
Damien took a drink of his iced tea. He could feel his temper flaring up inside of him. “I know. I’m sorry, okay. It’s just things haven’t exactly been…forget it.”
“Damien, I want to help. You know how much I care for you. If something’s bothering you, then talk to me about it.” Chelsea rested her hand on Damien’s arm.
“If I could tell you, I would. I just can’t. You wouldn’t believe me anyway.” Damien replied, gently shoving her arm off.
They finished eating in silence, the air thick with tension.
Damien looked out at the grassy hill overlooking the river that ran through the campus.
The soft patter of the rain calmed him as he watched the ducks waddle down into the water. For once, he felt like he could actually settle down and enjoy the scenery. The nightmares melted away into afterthoughts. Dark dreams kept at bay by a sense of comfortable normalcy.
Damien noticed Chelsea fidgeting beside him, her hands teasing the ends of the sleeves of her purple sweater.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Damien, are you seeing someone? I watched you in class. You sighed a of couple times, staring at your phone and the walls as though you were daydreaming.”
Damien sighed, a small smile rolled across his mouth. “It was that obvious, huh?”
“Yeah. It’s been obvious since your outburst at the café. Do I know her?” Chelsea’s voice sounded half-sarcastic mixed with a hint of disappointment.
“Not directly. I saw her at the orientation the day you ran into me, remember? After that, we kind of ran into each other at the café. We’ve been talking via text mostly ever since.” Damien knew he hadn’t told the whole truth but he hadn’t completely lied either.
Without a word, Chelsea rose to her feet, her hands balled up at her sides.
“Chels?” Damien inquired, worried.
Chelsea didn’t answer. As she started walking away, Damien thought he saw the glisten of a tear falling down her face. She also didn’t seem to care that she was getting soaked by the rain either.
The last class of his day was in the science hall. It was one of the most isolated places at the campus. The hallway was long and narrow with cabinets, shelves and closets full of every kind of science equipment the students could want. Lab specimens were kept in the freezers and metal shelves sorted into species and body parts lined both sides of the halls.
The time went by with Damien not hearing half of what the professor said. He was still upset for hurting Chelsea’s feelings only briefly before his mind turned towards thoughts of what Jill could be doing.
I bet she’s doing something for a client. A sudden heat rushed in his groin as he thought of those icy green eyes and porcelain skin. He scooted closer to the desk to avoid being embarrassed by his sudden onset of male desire.
Relief came when Professor Hanson called the class.
Damien rushed to pack up his notebooks into his backpack and stepped out into the hall where he was met by a young woman with platinum blonde hair styled like an actress.
The blond
e strands layered and curled in such a way, it seemed as though she’d taken hours to get it to fall to the side as it did.
She was highly attractive with her piercing red eyes and ruby lips. Her huge breasts struggled to stay behind the leather corset she wore. Her luscious, curvy body showed off her low riding leather pants and black leather knee-high boots.
Despite all of the woman’s beauty, there was something about her that made Damien's neck hairs stand on end. He wanted to get away from her as quickly as he could.
“Hello Damien, it is the sweetest of pleasures to finally get to meet you. You're even more stunning in person.” Her voice was as sensual as Jill's. Yet it was somehow darker, holding a slight accent Damien couldn't place.
The movements of her gorgeous hips were exaggerated as she walked right up to him, pressing her body against his. Her thigh meeting his groin as her hand ran down his side to rest on his hip.
Leaning her cheek in to rest on his chest, she sighed, the other she placed right next to her face.
“Do I know you?” Damien grew more uneasy as the hand on his chest moved down his side, pushing his shirt up so the woman could savor the muscles of his abdomen and chest.
The other moved down to his ass, squeezing it firmly enough to make Damien wince, hissing through his teeth.
“We haven't had the pleasure of meeting but I do know you, Damien. Your dog truly doesn't understand what a truly delicious treat she has.”
The woman leaned in close to his face, her breath hot with a clear desire. Her perfume smelled like one of those very expensive name brands. It was floral with a hint of vanilla wafted into his nose only to shift into an almost mellow hint of spice.
“What are you talking about? I don’t have a dog.”
Every nerve ending in his body told him he should try to get away from this woman. He could sense the same level of danger as the men in the alley. The encounter still left Damien with nightmares.
“Your lycan. The one you seem to be attracted to doesn't care about you, you know. She's only interested in her dead lover's soul you harbor inside your gorgeous body. I, on the other hand, could care less and would give you whatever you could possibly want.”
The woman’s hand was cold as ice as her finger ran over his lips, playfully flicking his lower lip just as Jill had. “I don't care about the soul inside of you like that mongrel or my father does. You're so beautiful, who would care? Come with me. I promise you would enjoy the high life like a noble in our coven does. No one would question you or I would tear their heads from their bodies.”
Damien closed his eyes, his jaw held tight. He didn’t want to let himself think about the idea that Jill only wanted him for being an incarnation of Lucius. He wanted to get to her and find out which one of them she saw when they were together.
“I appreciate the offer but I need to go. I have a friend expecting me.” He tried to get free of her only to have his wrists held firmly against the wall.
“Your dog, you mean? She can wait. I'm not done savoring my time with you.” Damien jumped as her seductive voice became dark and demanding. She moved his hands behind his back, using one of hers to hold him in place as she took his jaw. “I wonder if you taste as good as you look.”
The woman leaned in to kiss him. His heart beat hard in his chest. He wanted to run but he couldn't get free from the strong hold she had on him. Her strength held his hands like shackles, her body pinned him firmly against the wall.
Just before their lips met, Damien heard the footsteps of someone sprinting down the hall. It wasn’t until the woman was suddenly thrown from him that he became aware of Gabriel.
The sheer force of their collision sent the woman skidding down to the opposite end of the hallway, knocking over shelves and jogging freezers. She hissed at Gabriel as he placed himself between her and Damien.
“Damien, run! Run!” The desperation in Gabriel's voice made Damien get to his feet quickly. He grabbed his backpack and ran as fast as he could down the hall to the exit.
Damien stumbled out of the double doors of the building, his breath labored from running so fast.
The main quarter of the school was mostly deserted. The students finished with their classes for the day were most likely already back at their dorms to study or gone to get drunk at the local frat parties.
Damien looked around until his eyes fell on Kain leaning next to his car.
“Damien!” Kain yelled at him. “Hurry! Gabriel can't hold her off for long in his current state!”
Damien didn't fully understand what was going on but ran as fast as he could to Kain’s car, got in and threw his backpack in the back seat.
Kain shifted gears quickly, his foot slammed on the gas in reverse only to shift quickly back into drive just as Gabriel shot out of the building, jumped into the back seat and slammed the door. He was covered in cuts. His shirt was ripped, his nose and head were bleeding from where he'd been hit.
“Kain, go! Go, go, go!” Gabriel yelled, patting the back of Damien’s seat with the heel of his palm.
Kain slammed his foot back on the accelerator, the tires of his car screeched in protest as they peeled out of the college parking lot. All three of them grateful it was largely empty since none of them wanted to try and explain what was going on to campus security.
****
They arrived back at Solstice where Kain took Damien up to Jill's room. “I've called Jillian. She'll be here soon. Are you hurt?”
“No, but I'm fucking pissed as hell. What's going on, Kain? First, I nearly get killed by two vampires in a back alley, then I’m almost kissed by one I could have sworn had a huge crush on me. I’m pretty sure she wanted to take me in the damn hallway?”
Kain leaned his hip against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. “The vampire you encountered was Lilith Stone, the daughter of Demetrius Stone. He’s the ruling lord of the coven in the nearby mountains. You know the place if you think. It’s the large mansion on the acreage just outside of town. Apparently, she's developed an interest in you. We just became aware of it. We think her intentions are to turn you into one of her kind and take you as her mate.”
Kain took Damien's hand, seeing it had been cut on some of the shattered glass in the hall. “Here, I'll wrap that up for you. I can imagine it will heal on its own quickly.”
“Great. That’s just great. As if things weren't fucked up enough, now I've got a vampire super model on my ass.” Damien replied, his voice thick with sarcasm to ease the frustrated tension in his gut.
“Damien, there’s something you need to know. Demetrius is the one responsible for the first attempt on your life. He won’t stop until he sees you dead. I’m sure Jillian has told you but I wanted to make sure you understood how much danger you are in,” Kain’s voice was surprisingly calm, despite the severity of his words. “There.” Kain continued as he finished dressing Damien’s cut hand.
“I know you’re frustrated. Jillian shouldn’t be much longer.” Kain rose to his feet and turned to leave. He stopped briefly to talk over his shoulder. “Damien, she’s taken with you. I don't think you understand just how much you mean to her.”
Damien gave a slight nod. He knew what Jill told him at his house but what Lilith said in the hallway still bothered him. He had to know for sure if Jill’s affection was directed at him.
****
Hours seemed to pass as Damien paced the floor, rubbing his hands across his face and scratching his head.
When Jill finally arrived, she sounded like she'd been sprinting. “Gods, I'm so sorry for making you wait. Are you hurt?”
“I'm fine, Jill. Today just hasn’t been my day.” Damien replied, trying to keep himself from sounding too angry.
“I tried to get home as soon as I could. Kain and Gabriel told me what happened.” Jill said, trying to sound reassuring.
The room stayed silent for a while, the tension grew only thicker with each passing minute.
Damien sat down in the chair, his he
ad against the knuckles of his thumbs, his elbows on his thighs. He tried to find the words he wanted to say before opening his mouth. Jill kept next to the makeshift work desk in the corner of her room.
Damien sighed as he leaned forward. His forearms resting on his knees. “Jill, I need to ask you something. I’m not sure how to go about it so I’m just going to be blunt.”
“Go ahead.”
“When we’re together, do you see me as Damien or as Lucius?” Damien’s voice was slightly strained, almost afraid of the answer.
Jill stood up and made her way over to Damien in the chair. She knelt down onto floor in front of him. Her hands rubbed his knees in slow, comforting circles. “Damien, I don’t know what lies you were told but I can assure you they weren’t true. Yes, it was Lucius’ soul that called me to you but I soon realized I didn’t care if you were him or not. When I first saw you, there was something about you that made me so curious. I had to get to know you more. The more time we spent together, the more I realized I was chasing a ghost. I’d forgotten what it meant to truly love someone.”
Jill rose up, her hand slowly reaching for Damien’s face, caressing his cheek. “To answer your question, I see you, Damien Pierce. The man who took my heart and soul the minute I gazed into your beautiful eyes.”
Damien felt his heart beat hasten as Jill lay a soft kiss on his cheek, withdrawing and waiting for his response.
Without thinking, he reached his hand out to touch Jill’s face, her skin softer than he imagined. His thumb ran the length of her cheekbone to her ear. She looked so human. No one would ever imagine she wasn’t if they saw her this close.
It was as though he were seeing her for the first time. Her lips the color of strawberry, her icy green eyes so full of love and affection she harbored for him.
Damien rested his hand on the back of Jill’s neck as he leaned forward. He brushed her raven hair away from her face, his heart pounded as his lips met hers in a gentle kiss.
The sensation was like nothing Damien ever felt before. He’d dreamed of kissing Jill, even debated on trying it during one of the nights they’ d spoken. Something held him back.
Blessing of Luna (Wolfgods Book 1) Page 8