Xander
A date? I blanched at Demi’s words. I might be half-human, but I’d never been on a date. There were many things I’d never done before, but I didn’t tell Demi that. I needed her to believe I knew exactly what I was doing.
“Sure. A date sounds fun.”
She wrapped her arm around mine, pulling me along as we walked down the sidewalk. “I know the perfect little restaurant down by the pier. It’s only a ten-minute walk.”
I could only nod my head in agreement. The feeling of Demi’s slender body pressed against mine made it impossible to form a coherent thought. “That sounds good,” I croaked. My throat felt like I had swallowed a sponge. I was glad my demon brethren couldn’t see me now.
Who was I kidding? I didn’t care what anyone else thought as long as I had Demi in my arms and in my life.
It took a little longer than ten minutes to reach the restaurant. Demi had taken it upon herself to be my personal tour guide. I’d been in the Living Realm numerous times, but it has always been for business, not pleasure. I never realized how beautiful the sunset was, shining off the water.
The thought warmed my cold heart, but only for a moment until I realized I only had two days with Demi. Two days that I needed to hold onto for the rest of my lonely life. The thought spurred me on, and I quickened our pace. I needed to make the most of my limited time with Demi.
We reached the restaurant, and the waiter led us to the outdoor patio section per Demi’s request.
“I love it out here. The view of the ocean at sunset is my favorite,” she said, after placing our order with the waiter.
“It is beautiful out here,” I said, never taking my eyes off Demi.
Her eyes lit up, and I forgot to breathe.
“Tell me about your family, Xander. You know everything about my crazy, dysfunctional family, but I’ve never heard you talk about yours.”
“I lost my parents many years ago. Theirs was a true forbidden love story.” She leaned in closer as I told my story. I took a deep breath. It was now or never. I needed to get this out in the open. “My father was a demon, and my mother was a human.” I waited for her response.
“I didn’t know we were so much alike.” She smiled and my worry vanished until I realized I needed to tell her the rest of my story.
“My parents were killed in the Living Realm by witches during the cease-fire of 2012.” Her eyes widened, but she didn’t say a word. “They were on a routine recon mission when they were attacked by the rogue witches that didn’t believe in a truce between our worlds.”
She placed her hand on top of mine, lacing our fingers together. “I’m so sorry, Xander, they didn’t deserve that fate.” Her beautiful green eyes filled with tears.
Before I could comfort her, the waiter arrived with our food. “Sir, Miss, your food.” He set our food on the table and backed away with a bow.
We ate our food in silence, only speaking when the waiter returned to fill our water glasses or to clear our plates.
“So, what should we do next?” I said around a bite of French silk pie.
“You have a little something on your face,” she said, lifting her finger and wiping at the corner of my mouth. She showed me the whipped cream hanging off her finger before she placed it in her mouth with a moan. “Mm, that’s sweet.”
Watching her stick her finger in her mouth to lick off the white fluffy cream had me squirming in my chair. I grabbed her wrist, pulling her finger out of her mouth, “You’re playing with fire, little girl.”
I stuck her finger into my mouth, tasting her and the sticky residue of the whipped cream. I watched as her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. I’d rendered my little demon-witch speechless.
Releasing her hand, I felt her finger slip out of my mouth with an audible popping sound. “It’s time to get out of here.” I stood, throwing a couple of hundred-dollar bills on the table to cover our meal.
She scooted the chair out and stood up, hitting the table with her knee, causing the table to wobble. I reached out and grabbed her arm to steady her. “Whoa there. You act like you’re in a hurry or something,” I teased.
“You have no idea.” She placed her hands around my neck and pulled me closer, her lips inches away from mine.
“Kiss me,” she whispered.
I only had so much restraint, and feeling her arms around me broke what little I had left. “Are you sure about this, Demi? Because once you’re mine, I’ll never let you go.”
“I’m certain.” Her lips crashed into mine. The kiss was dark and sensual instead of the sweet first kiss I always imagined with Demi. It was the kiss of two lost souls finally giving in to their desires.
I needed to get her alone and fast. I broke the kiss and led her through the restaurant out into the city streets.