Unbidden images began flashing into my mind, snippets of conversation he’d had with his father—pictures of Damien stroking my arms and legs as I lay blissfully unconscious before him, biting into me with relish, feasting on the blood of my body while he cradled me like a lover in his arms.
The rage I felt from Vance intensified at this image, and he bit harder into my neck with a strangled sound. I realized just how badly he’d been affected by this. He was trying to put his mark back on me, reclaim something which he thought had been stolen from him. I could feel his tears as they fell against my skin, hot and searing.
I couldn’t take this anymore, and I weakly pushed against him. “Stop!” I called, but he only dug harder into my neck. I cried out in pain and pushed against him again. “Vance, stop!” I tried again to no avail.
I desperately started searching for those mental barriers Hex had taught me, trying to build a wall against him in my mind to stop the images that were consuming him and raping my own in the process.
“Please, Vance,” I sobbed, feeling my strength leaving.
And then suddenly he was out of my head and off my body.
He leaned over me, panting, braced up by both of his arms on either side of me. Full demon features contorted his face, and he stared down at me with those blazing red eyes, tears still falling silently over the edges to splash down and soak into the silk top I wore.
“You are mine,” he ground out with so much fierceness, his nostrils flared with the breaths he was dragging in through them as he watched me intently.
I lifted my hand, placing it gently on his chest, knowing instinctively he needed some type of reassurance.
“Yes. Only yours.” My fingers trembled slightly against his muscles as I fought to control my own emotions. “I’ll only ever be yours,” I added, trying to comfort him—my demon lover—so strong, so powerful and yet so broken.
He didn’t move, didn’t flinch at all, continuing to study me. The mental wall was firmly in place between us now. His doing, not mine, and I wondered if my words were reaching him.
“Vance,” I whispered, meeting his stare. “Please kiss me.” I needed to connect with him somehow, to let him know things were okay.
Something flickered in his expression. “Why?” he asked roughly.
“Because, I love you, and I want you to.”
He closed his eyes, and I heard him drag a ragged breath in. He collapsed, wrapping his arms around me, rolling over to his side, cradling me against him and he buried his face into my hair.
“I’m so sorry, Portia,” he whispered against my head before placing a kiss there. “Please forgive me. I never intended for you to see those images. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just lost control and I wanted … I wanted to ….” He sighed deeply. “I don’t deserve you.”
“Yes, you do,” I said, trying to snuggle deeper against him. “You deserve happiness more than anyone else I know in this world. Besides, I can’t live without you.” I turned so I could look at him. “Will you kiss me now?”
A very small smile played at the corners of his mouth. “No. Not this time,” he said lifting his chin to settle it against the top of my head.
“Why not?”
“Because you’re tired, and I’ve already been too selfish with you. Now you’re going to go to sleep, and I’m just going to lie here, enjoying having you safe in my arms for this moment.”
“Oh,” I said, not sure what to say to that. I didn’t want to argue with him though. I was tired from his feeding, and it was difficult to deal with his flip flopping emotions. I tried to relax, closing my eyes and letting myself drift off into peaceful slumber.
I awoke to the sound of voices murmuring in quick, low, phrases. I opened my eyes to see Vance standing several feet from the bed talking to Damien. I could feel the tension in the air immediately, and I watched as Vance took a threatening step toward Damien before getting up into his face, jabbing a finger into Damien’s chest while he spoke.
I couldn’t understand the hushed whispers he was rambling, but I could see his body tense even more right before he reached out to shove Damien with both hands, causing him to fall backward several steps.
Damien rushed at Vance after a moment of surprise, and I threw the covers back, jumping from the bed.
“Stop!” I yelled out forcefully, and surprisingly it worked, my intrusion catching them both off guard, halting them as they turned to look at me.
I hurried across the cold floor until I was standing in between both of them. Vance’s face was set in a scowl, and I could feel the heat rolling off of him. Damien’s was surprisingly cool, almost amused looking, while he watched me.
“What’s going on here?” I asked, looking back and forth.
Vance clenched his jaw even harder, refusing to speak.
I spun toward Damien. “What’s the problem?” I asked point blank.
He grinned widely. “I have no problem at all,” he replied with a shake of his head, lifting his hands with a shrug as if he couldn’t possibly imagine what I was even referring to. He glanced pointedly over to Vance, effectively throwing the ball into his court.
“Vance?” I said turning back to him.
He stared hotly at me for a second before turning away from me in a huff. “Just forget it, Portia,” he grumbled, and he walked to the bed. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.” He looked over at me. “Why don’t you come get some more rest? You’ve been through a lot lately.” He glared intensely at Damien.
I glanced over my shoulder toward Damien, who was watching with an entertained expression.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Not until someone tells me what’s going on.”
There was a moment of silence, and the hostility in the room fairly crackled.
“Fine!” Vance stalked over and grabbed my arm to thrust me behind him, farther away from Damien. “You want to know what is going on, Portia?” he said, making no effort what-so-ever to contain his voice now. “I woke up this morning to find him sitting on the edge of our bed stroking your hair!”
“What?” My eyes widened in surprise, and I stepped in front of Vance to look at Damien, feeling shivers of repugnance crawling over every inch of my body.
He lifted a finger to reach out and lightly brush against my chin. “Just admiring the view, love. No harm done,” he replied, flicking his gaze down over me appreciatively before returning to my face, and I saw little red streaks beginning to form in his eyes.
Suddenly there was a roar from behind me, and I was knocked roughly to the side as Vance charged into Damien, shouldering him in the chest before both went sprawling on the floor together.
Damien’s head bounced with a sickening thud against the stone, and I found myself hoping instantly Vance had done some serious damage to him. That was when I noticed the blood beginning to seep across the floor from underneath him.
Vance straddled his dad and began pummeling his face with a fierceness I’d never seen from him. This was pure, raw, animal instinct taking over, and I didn’t even move a muscle to try and stop him.
It was hard to not look away from the gore that sprayed from Damien’s mouth and nose while Vance knocked him about—the images reminding me of some type of bad fight club match gone horribly awry.
“Enough!” I heard Damien finally gurgle, and Vance was propelled across the room by a sudden force of magic, hitting the ground several feet away before rolling over to end up in a crouch, waiting to pounce.
Damien sat up abruptly, and the Awakening worked quickly to repair the damage Vance had caused, until there was no sign he’d even been there.
“You stay away from her!” Vance snarled, straightening up to his full height as he stared Damien down.
“I’m the one who will be giving the orders around here.” Damien jumped lithely to his feet. “Not you, son, so you better get used to it.”
“When it comes to Portia, nothing you say will supersede my word,” Vance said angrily. “She’s belongs to me, Dad, and you’ll not touch her! She’s mine, bound by magic and by God, and you will not interfere!”
Damien laughed, a low wicked sound rumbling up from his chest. “Do you honestly think there’s a God out there that cares anything about you now?” he said derisively. “Look at yourself!” he added with a wave of his hand over Vance’s form. “You’re evil incarnate! Born and bred to serve a higher power than any kind of so-called god. Stick with me, and I will teach you how to become a deity like this world has never seen, but don’t waste your time on vain religious fluff, son. It’s beneath you.”
“How dare you!” I said, stepping in between the two of them and turning to face Damien. “Since when have you become so all-knowing as to pass judgment on another? Just because you’re a sick, depraved individual doesn’t mean he has to be as well! How dare you ridicule the bonds of our relationship. I love him and only him! I don’t know what game you’re playing at or what you’re hoping to accomplish by it, but just stop! Do you hear me?” I yelled at him. “Stop it now! I’ll never leave him so quit with your delusions! I wouldn’t love you if you were the last man on this planet!”
Damien’s eyes glittered hard like ice, and he abruptly reached out, snatching me up against him. “Love has nothing to do with it!” he snarled before smashing his lips roughly against mine.
Another roar of anger came from behind me and I knew Vance was charging toward us. I braced myself for impact while I struggled in Damien’s calloused embrace. He shot a hand out toward Vance, and I heard the sound of him being thrown across the room again.
Using this distraction, I was able to pull my face from Damien’s, shoving my hands at his chest, and tried to push away.
Damien let go abruptly, and moved with a lightning speed over toward Vance, who was still climbing to his feet.
Vance shot out an arc of fire, but Damien easily advanced upon him without even breaking his stride. All the magic Vance threw at him he easily absorbed and maniacal laughter erupted from him.
He grabbed Vance around the throat and lifted him up into the air, pressing him against the stone wall.
Vance clutched with one hand at his neck before swinging his other fist and punching Damien in the face.
He staggered, losing his grip, and Vance slid to the floor gasping for air. But Damien wasn’t finished yet—he picked Vance up forcefully, contorting into his demon features. He ripped into Vance’s neck with his fangs, tearing a chunk of Vance’s artery out and spitting it onto the floor.
“No!” I screamed, running to jump onto Damien as I pounded my fists into his back.
He flung me off, dropping Vance to the floor. He turned to seize me, and I felt him freeze my body with his powers.
“You will do what I say, you little witch,” he said menacingly, Vance’s blood running from his mouth as he spoke, spraying me with little bits of spittle. “I hold all the cards here, not you.”
“I’ll never help you!” I spat out vilely, thankful he left me armed with my voice.
“Oh, I think you will,” he sneered, and he turned me away to face the other direction. Waving his arm in an arc, a section of the stone wall slid away from my sight, revealing a shirtless man with bite marks and blood trails all over his body, manacled with magical restraints to an iron chair. “You’ll do everything I say,” Damien’s heated breath snapped into my ear, “or I will kill your father!”
“Dad!” I cried out, a strangled sob tearing from me as I looked at the horrifying sight.
“He can’t hear you,” Damien growled waving his arm once again, and instantly the cave wall reappeared.
“Let him go!” I yelled. “He’s nothing to you! Why are you doing this?”
Damien turned to me face him. “Because I can,” he sneered. “And I need you to understand I’m the one in control here.” He regarded me with a heated expression, and I stared back furiously, tears rolling freely down my cheeks.
Suddenly, his demeanor changed, and his next words frightened me even more.
“My, you’re lovely when you’re angry,” he said with a softer voice this time, tilting his head a bit while he surveyed me closely. “I find I quite enjoy our little spats. There’s a smoldering fire that burns inside of you, and it’s tantalizing.” He lifted his thumb, wiping away one my tears before taking it and sticking it in his mouth to suck on it. “Mmm. You’re positively delicious in every way,” he taunted, elevating an eyebrow, his gaze burning into mine.
A cold, fearful chill settled over me, and I knew I was treading on dangerous ground. “Damien,” I croaked hoarsely, trying to reach him somehow. “Please don’t do this. If you need me to beg, then fine I’ll beg, but please don’t hurt my family.”
He studied me curiously for a moment. “What will you offer me in return?” he asked bluntly, catching me off guard.
“I … I … I don’t know what you mean,” I stammered. “What do you want?”
Lust leapt into his eyes, and I knew I’d asked the wrong question. “You know exactly what I want, Portia,” he growled, and he pulled me closer, forcing his mouth against mine.
He froze me completely. I was helpless to move at all, but I could feel everything, and my insides were cringing. Had my stomach been able to convulse I would’ve heaved, but instead I was completely imprisoned in his grasp.
His lips moved roughly against me at first, before gentling. Then he brushed his them back and forth over mine in a feathering motion, before getting harder once again, slipping his tongue inside my mouth, exploring me.
He grabbed me tighter, wrapping an arm around my waist and sliding a hand up my spine to thread his fingers into my hair, deepening the kiss I couldn’t, or wouldn’t, ever possibly want to respond to.
Damien lingered for several moments before he pulled away, sucking my bottom lip into his mouth as he did so. He opened his eyes to stare into my frozen ones, and I felt his teeth sharpen, biting into my lip enough to draw blood. A look of rapture crossed his face before he closed his eyes, as if to savor what he tasted there. After a few seconds he glanced at me again. He let my lip, now throbbing from his actions, slide slowly from his mouth.