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The view of his back was mighty fine and when he shot that twinkling smile back at me before disappearing around the corner, I thought my skin would catch fire. I dropped onto my back and stared at the ceiling.
He was smashing almost every notion I had about vampires, although, I wondered if it was just his innate ability to charm that had me smitten. And I had to admit, I was smitten, maybe more than smitten now that he'd let his guard down and laughed with me.
Rough housing impressed his sense of humor, and that was a rarity in the vampire realm. From what I had heard, vampires were cold with no depth of personality; all they wanted was blood and that trumped being civil. The disease burned out any hint of fun.
Damian was different. He was as full of life as a twenty-five-year-old should be, like turning the sands of time stopped not only his body, but his mind from aging. He was a strange contradiction. His normal persona was so charismatic and bright, but his shadow form, well, frankly, that terrified me.
I wondered if being an Archangel’s lackey had some influence on his demeanor.
Damian stepped back in the doorway.
“I’m not his lackey,” he said, the aggravation making his features hard.
“That’s what you got from my silent ramblings?”
His cheeks transitioned to embarrassed red and his gaze dropped to the floor. When his mouth opened and closed a couple times trying to form a rebuttal, I stifled a chuckle. However, in the end, he just offered me a shy smile.
“Your notion of what a normal vampire is like isn’t that far off. They crave blood more than you and I do, and it turns them into uncontrollable monsters.”
“Why are we different?”
Damian bit his lip and met my gaze with a shrug. “Probably because you and I survived on vampire blood that first day and we’ve both been infused with angel blood.”
My eyes widened. “You bit Michael, too?”
The bitter smile surfaced and he nodded. “He nearly took my head off.”
I thought about how pissed he was when I bit him, and I’m part of his bloodline. “Why didn’t he kill you?”
“He got a mental viewing of what happened to his daughter and knew how hell bent I was on revenge.” Damian leaned on the doorjamb and crossed his arms. “I also think the fact I didn’t divulge where Zoe was held some weight.”
“So it wasn’t just a pity thing,” I said and grinned.
His eyes narrowed and he leveled a glare in my direction before disappearing down the hall. This time, I scrambled after him, catching him halfway across the living room.
“I didn’t mean to offend you,” I said.
He looked up at the ceiling before bringing his gaze to me. “You didn’t offend me. It’s just still a sensitive subject,” he said.
“Even after all these years?”
His lips pressed together and he nodded. For a brief instant, I saw the underlying pain flogging his soul, and I reached out, cupping his cheek with my palm. I wanted to erase every last drop of strife in him and the soft smile that appeared tugged at my heartstrings.
I moved closer and allowed my hand to drop to his chest. His heartbeat tapped a soft rhythm at my proximity.
“Do you know why the connection between us is so...” I trailed off, unsure of the proper way to describe it. Strong wasn’t the right word but it was the only one I could come up with and the thought prompted his smile to gain traction.
“Electric?” he asked, his voice lilting in a pleasant question.
My face heated and I nodded.
“I don’t know,” he said. “But when you get this close, I can’t think straight.”
His admission made me smile. I liked the fact that I pushed him to the edge of control, because he certainly had that effect on me.
“Is this a supernatural side effect to being a vampire?”
He laughed. “No,” he said when the laughter wound down. “You were out with people last night. Did you feel this connection with anyone else?”
I thought about the stroll through the mall and the number of people surrounding us. Not one of them captured my attention and I shook my head.
“I really have studying to do,” he said but instead of moving away, he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close. When his lips touched mine, I swear a bolt of lightning pierced through my soul, searing me to him for all eternity.