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The icy fire in his eyes along with the determined set of his jaw jumpstarted my heart, spreading a flush over my skin and I shivered with anticipation. Even with the shitty day we’ve had and the insane call from Lucifer, one hungry gaze from Damian still sent me into the land of lust.
When he laid me out on the bed, I stared at him, taking in his hard form from head to toe as he stripped. Without clothing, the man screamed perfection and I caught the twinkle in his eyes as he crawled toward me.
Damian licked his lips and pushed my shirt up, finding my skin with his hot tongue. The magic in his fingertips sent me into orbit and he started unbuttoning my pants and then stripped away every stitch of fabric. A side of him I had never seen came out tonight.
Rough, demanding, in control and hotter than hell.
The things he did to me were far from the gentle, thoughtful lover I spent the last five years with. I think he even growled at one point, nipping and stroking with such abandon that I got lost between the pleasure and pain.
He claimed my body and soul with a vengeance that left me breathless, filling me with a need so palpable that our room filled with steam.
I don’t know how long we went at it, but when it was over, we lay side by side staring at the ceiling, both of us panting for breath. I turned my head and met his satiated gaze. He gave me that one dimple smile that warmed my form and I sent one back, still unable to speak.
My body felt supple and exhausted, exhilarated and thrilled all at the same time. My muscles trembled from exertion and I closed my eyes.
“Damn, boy,” I finally said on a breathless sigh.
He chuckled and rolled on his side, pulling me into him.
“I love you, Naomi,” he whispered in my ear with a voice as ragged as my own.
“I love you, too,” I said and turned so I could accept a kiss. As tired as I was, I couldn’t fall asleep, even when his breathing slowed into that soft cadence of sleep.
Being human had changed Damian in more ways than I think he knew. He still had a kind heart, but he now had command over his emotions, they no longer broadcast in his every expression. Most notably, the haunted look that had been in his eyes since I first met him was no longer there.
We’ve always had an active sex life, sometimes it got wild, and when we were both vampires, it included sinking our teeth in each other’s throat at the moment of orgasm. But even those wild nights paled in comparison to this.
Not once in our courtship had he ravaged me like he did tonight.
I shifted in his arms and his breathing hitched and then smoothed out. Gently, I moved his hand and rolled out of bed as a different need struck. I made my way into the bathroom, did my business and stopped at the sink. My hair looked like a birds nest and I took time to brush it before heading back to bed.
On my way through the bedroom, something in the dark caught my attention and I crossed to the window, squinting into the darkness. A small spark erupted at the closest point of the fence and I gasped at the face illuminated by a lighter. My arms crossed over my bare breasts and Lucifer took a long drag and blew a stream of smoke into the air, sending the most disturbing smile my way before the flame extinguished, leaving only the glow of the cigarette in the darkness.
I stepped farther into the shadows and swallowed the vile taste of fear.
Damian sat up in bed, staring at me, and our eyes locked. The smile on his face froze my heart in place. It was the same one Lucifer wore just before the lighter went out.
“What’s wrong, baby, you don’t like dancing with the devil?” he asked in a way that left me frigid. It was Damian’s voice, but it was not my husband.
* * * *
A SCREAM PEELED FROM my throat, burning it raw with the force and the nightstand light switched on.
“Naomi?” his hand caressed my arm and I cranked my head in his direction.
I sat stalk straight in the bed, the covers knotted around me and his sleepy, worried gaze met mine. It took a full minute to get my breathing under control and I blinked in confusion at the nightmare. The bed trembled with the shakes racking my form and Damian wrapped his arms around me, kissing my temple.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked and I couldn’t help the hysterical laugh that came bubbling up.
Complete confusion overwhelmed me and I wondered if I had dreamt the entire night; but the ache in my hips and the pressure in my bladder told me otherwise. Still, I had to ask.
“Was... did...” I couldn’t articulate and I met Damian’s gaze. “Did we...”
He grinned and the blush heightened in his cheeks and then his smile faded, worry replacing it. “You thought that was part of your nightmare?”
My mouth opened to speak and then I closed it, wondering exactly what I was going to say.
“I... I’m sorry,” he whispered, coming to the wrong conclusion.
“Don’t apologize, you were...beyond fantastic, it’s just, you’ve never been like that before,” I started and saw the flare of hurt pass over his face. He shifted the covers and dropped his gaze.
“I dreamt Lucifer had somehow possessed you,” I said and his eyes snapped to mine. I offered a shrug in my defense. “And you were so... so different than you usually are that I thought...”
“Jesus,” he muttered and ran his hands through his hair, the horror of it all reflecting in his face.
“Yeah, it was bizarre,” I said and slipped out of bed, heading for the bathroom to relieve myself. I grabbed a nightgown on my way by the dresser to dilute the discomfort of being exposed. When I came back out, Damian had straightened the covers and sat with his arms crossed and that brooding expression that I immediately recognized.
He was getting more irritated by the second and he met my gaze when I slipped into the bed.
“How can you even think that?” he snapped, taking me by surprised.
“Look, in the dream I saw something out the window that caught my attention. It was Lucifer and he was outside the fence smoking a cigarette like they do in the old movies, you know, after fucking around. And you, you sat up with that same shit-eating grin and asked me how I liked dancing with the devil.”
Damian blinked and his eyebrows rose.
“Then I woke up screaming.”
Damian’s gaze moved past me to the window and back and the tightness in his jaw softened. “I can assure you, that was all me.” He blushed.
“But Lucifer was the one who brought out the beast in you,” I said.
His gaze dropped to his hands and he took a deep breath as he analyzed my comment and his head started shaking back and forth. “No. Lucifer had nothing to do with my behavior tonight.” He turned his glance toward me. “You had everything to do with it. I’ll concede that my anger may have made me a bit more callous than usual, or a bit less inhibited, but you’re the one who drives me insane.” A dimple appeared. “In the best way possible,” he added.