her cheek. Her skin was silky smooth and cool. It warmed when she drank from him, but cooled again quickly. Probably because her heart wasn’t beating.
She flinched, and he quickly pulled his hand back.
“Do I really frighten you?” he couldn’t stop himself asking.
“I…don't think so.” She licked her upper lip again and frowned. “Only Sir was allowed to touch me, still some of the other demons, not just Greg, liked to hurt me when they knew they’d get away with it. I guess I’m just not used to being touched in a way that doesn’t cause pain.”
A sledgehammer came down on the calm he’d been working so hard for, shattering it with one mighty blow. He refused to let Luna see it this time, though, and the effort was so Herculean, he trembled. “I’m sorry, love. Next time, I’ll ask before I touch you.”
Her head tilted to the side, eyes sharpening with curiosity. “Why would you want to touch me?”
The move was all demon, and for some reason, to Gunner it was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. Christ, the last thing he needed now was a hard-on. “To comfort you. To comfort me. You don’t think you’d like that?” he asked, again unable to stop himself.
She blinked in that slow way of hers. “I don’t know.” She looked down and touched the inside of her wrist. “When you brushed your thumb here, it felt…nice.” Her cheeks colored. “It made my skin tingle.”
How could she not know if something felt good? What the hell had she been through? How long had that twisted fuck had her? Her emotions were all over the place, one moment she was smiling, the next there wasn’t a trace of anything there, and a second later she was wide-eyed and blushing.
He knew a lot of dhampirs struggled with emotion or were devoid of them completely. Luna was definitely struggling.
She frowned again when he said no more, her gaze locking with his, knocking the wind from his lungs. “But why would touching me comfort you?”
Because you became my entire world the moment I felt you a year ago. Because I thought I’d lost you forever. Because I need to touch you to prove that you’re real and you’re truly here with me.
“I thought you were going to die, Luna. Seeing you like that scared the hell out of me.”
She continued to frown.
Luna didn’t understand, and now wasn’t the time to tell her. “Would you like to take a shower? I can get you some clean clothes.”
“God, yes. I must look and smell disgusting.”
“Nothing about you is disgusting. Not one fucking thing.” Gunner swung out of bed before he reached for her, before he touched her again, and tugged on a pair of jeans lying by the bed. Luna was obviously strong as hell. How could she not be after everything she’d been through? But there was also a kind of naivete about her. She didn’t seem to understand relationships very well, of any kind. And ones that involved affection, definitely not. She said she had a friend, but he doubted the demon who kept her prisoner all this time had let them get too close to anyone else.
She didn’t even know how to identify what made her feel good. Which told him she’d spent most of her life suffering and deprived. Christ.
He dragged a hand over his shaved hair, and when he turned back, Luna had twisted to watch him. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes were wide and bright. She licked her lips before her gaze slid up to his face, and then she blushed harder when she realized he’d caught her looking at his body. He pretended he hadn’t noticed, but he took that little bit of interest, that blush, as a fucking good sign.
“The bathroom’s just through there. I’ll get you some clothes and leave them on the bed. When you’re done, just come through to the living room.” He pointed at the bedroom door. “I’ll be waiting there.”
Jesus, she looked so small and pale. Then her dark crimson lips curled up, flashing her little fangs. “Thanks, Gunner.”
His pulse picked up speed at the memory of those dainty fangs piercing his skin, and his cock surged behind his zipper. “Don’t need to thank me, Luna. Whatever you need, I’ll be the one giving it to you,” he said, his voice impossibly deep and rough with need.
His demon pressed against his skin and purred, and Gunner quickly turned away and walked out. He’d