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The lightening sky was my cue and I dropped down to the cabin, picked up the bag and headed inside. I locked the door behind me and tossed the bag into what Naomi called the mud room before heading to the bedroom.
She slept and I put my palm close to her forehead, trying to determine if the fever still gripped her. No heat radiated from her and I wondered if it finally broke or if I was just cold enough to not feel it. With a sigh, I crouched next to the bed and crossed my arms on the edge, just watching her sleep.
Naomi was as beautiful now as she had been when I first laid eyes on her. An ache began in my chest and I dropped to my knees, resting my chin on my arms. Her analogy to kryptonite was very appropriate and the anger at the situation bloomed, turning the ache in my chest to a burning pit.
Her eyes blinked open and landed on mine. A small welcoming smile formed followed by the bite of her lower lip.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“Hi.” I couldn’t tear my gaze away and we stared at each other for a while. My thoughts drifted to the last time we made love. The heat and passion this woman could create in me was more than I ever believed I was capable of. Nothing in my existence matched it and I closed my eyes, putting my forehead down on my arms.
“I’m sorry I was such a mess yesterday,” she whispered and her fingertips ran through my hair, singeing my scalp before she pulled away.
I clenched my teeth and forced control over the emotional storm raging in my heart.
She shifted and I looked up at her, studying her rosy complexion for a moment.
“You look much better,” I said.
“I think the fever broke some time during the night.” She sat up and crossed her legs under the covers, patting the bed.
I climbed onto the mattress and took a seat, leaning my back against the post at the end of the bed. “I’ve got a snow suit and stuff for you in the mud room. We can head out tonight.”
“Where?”
“Anywhere you want to go.”
She smiled and glanced around the room, her internal conflict of leaving this place etched into the tight lines at the corners of her mouth. “What about New York?”
Somehow, I knew she was going to say that and I crossed my arms. It was too close to Lucifer’s home base. He liked the city. It provided him with a wealth of derelicts to pull into his demonic fold. But it also provided the invisibility of sheer numbers, the ability to hide in plain sight.
I tossed around the idea, and finally, the proximity to Lucifer clinched it. I couldn’t take that chance, especially since she was now at a disadvantage.
“I don’t know about that, honey,” I finally said after weighing the dangers. “We could look for something on the ocean, down south, if you’d like?” I shrugged. “Or we could go southwest into Arizona or southern California.”
She crossed her arms. “Just because I’m no longer a vampire, doesn’t mean I can’t hold my own. I want to go home, Damian. I want to go back to the city. It will be the last place he looks.”
I laughed at her logic and she swung her legs out from under the covers. For the last five years we talked about where we wanted to go after Colorado and we could never agree then, so I don’t know why I thought now would be any different.
She stood and stretched, the shirt lifting high enough for me to see her cute round butt cheeks and I closed my eyes, turning my head away and getting the sudden swell of lust under wraps.
“New York is not an option. Pick somewhere else,” I said, swinging my gaze back to hers. “And remember, wherever we go, if the trip is longer than twelve hours, the ride is going to be interesting.”
Her brow creased in that cute questioning way that got my blood going and I smiled.
“We have to find a vehicle that has somewhere for me to go during the day if you want to keep driving. Or hotels that offer black-out shades.”
Dimples appeared. “You mean I get to lock you in the trunk?”
The playful cock of her brow brought forth the first genuine smile I’ve displayed in the last seven days and I chuckled.
“If that’s what you want to do...” I stood, crossing the distance and towering over her.
Her smile faded. “I can’t do what I want anymore,” she whispered and her hand moved to my chest. The fabric buffered my skin from the sting of her flesh and I stared down into her brown eyes, debating on just how painful a kiss would be.
“So what did you eat last night?” she asked, stepping away and putting a damper on my desire.
My gaze dropped to the floor before returning to hers. I knew she wouldn’t approve of my meal choice and instead of answering, I turned away, crossing out of the room. “I’m not sure what you want for breakfast...”
“Damian?”
I glanced back at her, leveling my best leave-it-alone stare.
Her features transitioned into disappointment and my fists clenched against the denial poised on my lips. I turned away before the lie slipped between us.
“You didn’t,” she said and the muscles in my back stiffened. She knew me as well as anyone and my reaction was a dead giveaway.
“Yes, I did,” I said, my voice lowering into that feral quality that always scared her.
“Jesus, Damian.”
I turned, letting the frustration boil over. The anger loomed over the room and I crossed, grabbing her arms and pushing her against the wall, ignoring the scream of pain jolting up my arms from where my palms pressed against her skin.
“I needed to kill something, Naomi,” I said through my clenched teeth. “Because if I didn’t find an outlet, I would have walked out into the daylight and let the sun reduce me to ash.”
Her eyes widened.
I pulled my hands away trying to hide the wince, but blisters on my palms flared an angry red. “This,” I held them up for her to see, “this is going to drive me insane.” I stepped back, my chest moving up and down with each frustrated inhale and exhale.
The woman had no idea what being near her without the ability to touch her was doing to me and it had only been a week. I can only imagine the basket case I’m heading for after a month of this or what part of my sanity will be left after a year. Nothing in my twenty-five hundred years compared to this rawness scraping my nerves.
“Lucifer knew damn well what he was doing when he sent Lilith on this mission. He knew this would drive me over the edge.” I took another step back distancing myself.
Her lips thinned and her eyes narrowed.
“And you don’t think this whole situation doesn’t piss me off too?” Her hands flew to her waist and she glared at me. “I want to skin that bastard alive,” she snarled, her growl very similar to that of the feral tiger form she used to transform into. “We are going to New York,” she added and this time, there was no negotiation in her glare.