hot and cold, rough and gentle, the firm thrust of his body against mine, made me come in a sudden mind-numbing wave that left me limp, breathless, and damp - everywhere.
He lifted his head. By an odd trick of moonlight his eyes glittered silver instead of gold. His mouth was wet, swollen. I reached up to touch his face and he flinched.
Slowly I lowered my hand, wondering what his life must have been like if the slightest gesture made him wary. Even though we'd just shared something I'd shared with only two others, I still couldn't ask him why.
A door opened and shut nearby. Voices, music, laugh-ter. Someone was leaving the bar. Damien shifted, shielding me with his body, even though no one could see us at this angle, in this light.
A car door slammed. An engine. Seconds later they were gone.
Both of us were breathing heavily, harshly, the sound loud in the suddenly silent night. Damien slid my top onto my shoulder, and the movement brought me back to the earth.
"Put me down."
He hesitated and I tensed, prepared to make him. But he let go of my legs and my thighs slid along his until my feet hit the ground. Why that last touch seemed more intimate than all the others I couldn't say.
But my face flared and my stomach rolled. What had I done?
Given in to the wildness I kept buried inside. A wild-ness that had gotten me nothing but trouble the only other time I'd set it free.
The flare of a match, a flame illuminated his face. I wanted to kiss him again, taste him, touch the hollows at his cheeks with my fingertips.
He glanced at me as he drew on another cigarette. The smoke trailed out of his mouth as he spoke. "I've been thinking of nothing but you all day. You're not my type, but maybe that's why you're so tempting."
I looked away. God, he reminded me of -
Suddenly Damien stood right next to me, and I hadn't even seen him move. "When I touch you do I leave a mark, a blotch, a smudge?"
His long, supple finger trailed down my arm. I lifted my eyes to his.
"I can't see anything," he whispered. "Except you."
For an instant I was dazzled by his words, captivated by his smell, his heat and strength. Then I heard all of what he'd said, and it made me wonder...
"What did you do?"
Something flickered in his eyes, too fast for me to see if it was a lie or the truth.
"Nothing I won't do again," he said, and walked away.
The only thing left behind was the scent of smoke and the whisper of his touch. Despite the suspicion that he was much more than he seemed, both still tempted me - more than anything had ever tempted me before.
Chapter 13
I was supposed to go into the bar and talk to the locals. I couldn't do it.
I couldn't sit on a stool and pretend I didn't want to take Damien up to my room and finish what we'd only just started.
What was wrong with me? I thought I'd been cured of my need to fuck the forbidden.
"Guess not," I muttered.
Of course, how could I be better when the very delusion that had sent me over the edge wasn't a delusion at all but the truth?
The only thing that made me feel sane was killing the things that had ruined my life. And Edward had shown me that, not a head doctor.
Maybe doing what I did best would help now. Maybe killing a few evil souls housed in wolf bodies could make me forget the taste of Damien's mouth and brush of his skin against mine. Maybe - but I doubted it.
I'd been around enough oddities to know that there was something not quite right about Damien. I needed to find out what that something was before I let him get any closer than he'd already gotten.
I glanced at the tavern, then headed for his cabin. The place was shrouded by trees, shaded from the moon. No one would see me creeping around back here, unless they knew where to look.
I tried the door. Locked. Well, that had never stopped me before.
I picked it in record time, even for me. Edward had taught me how, and I'd excelled at the lesson.
Once inside, I made sure the drapes were drawn before I turned on a lamp. The cabin was a replica of my apartment, only larger, with one room for everything but the bath.