Chapter 17 – Damon
DAMON
It’s my turn to take a bath in the freezing waters of the lake. Because, apparently, I smell like booze and sweat. I try to pretend that Cody isn’t trying to get me in fighting shape before Jordon comes back and chews on my ass, but we both know why I’m cleaning myself up.
“You’re a different man.”
I whirl around and find a strange woman standing at the edge of the lake.
Blood coats her hands, and some of it splatters her face.
Purple weaves through the strands of her hair, and she wears a purple dress that’s decorated in blood.
More than that, I swear that in the right light she has the faintest green tint to her skin.
And…are those horns just barely poking out of her hair?
The fucking shade.
“I’m Damon, a friend of Cody’s and Elliot’s,” I say, recognizing the fight in my voice already.
She tilts her head and her gaze runs over my naked body. “You’re different from them.”
I grab my dick, remembering what she said to Cody. “What, not big enough for you?”
She winces, and I hate that I instantly regret my words. “I meant, you seem…less kind.”
“Kind?” I snarl, no longer mad at myself for grabbing my shaft like an asshole. “You’re a damned monster we were sent to kidnap or kill. Did you really think we’d be kind?”
She looks away from me. “I guess I never thought anyone would be sent to kill me. That’s my job, and not one I enjoy very much.”
“Oh, I’m sure you just hate killing.”
In response, she grabs the edge of her dress and lifts it off.
My mouth goes dry as she wades into the water and begins to wash the blood from her hands and face. The woman is a psycho. Probably just got done murdering someone. So why is my gaze clinging to her perfect breasts?
Damn monsters.
“You’re not going to get under my skin like you did with Cody.”
She looks up at me with those brilliant purple eyes of hers. “Cody was right. Elliot does want to leave. And it’s probably for the best. I might think I can keep him safe, but I can’t do it forever.”
What the hell do I say to that? “Of course your fucking prisoner wants to escape.”
She flinches. “Why are you so angry?”
“Why?” I move closer to her, my hands balling into fists. “Maybe because your vampire buddies don’t exactly play fair. Whatever the fuck spell they used made us helpless. And I am not helpless.”
“You seem helpless.”
I grab her wrists and jerk her against me. I’d planned it to be violent and angry, but I just end up with her gorgeous body pressed up against my own, which makes it hard to breathe. “I am not helpless.”
Something radiates from her skin. A prickling that’s almost painful. A minute later, I’m on my knees before her, my hands barely holding the strength to grip her wrists.
She looks down at me, like a fucking goddess rather than a monster. “You are helpless. You’re out here screaming like a child at someone who’s helping you, just because you’re angry. If you can’t even control your emotions, how can you be useful to anyone?”
My jaw drops open. “I’m a gargoyle.”
“You smell of liquor.”
“So?”
She leans closer, and my gaze snaps from her breasts to her face far too many times. “So, what are you hiding from?”
“Hiding?” I repeat in disbelief.
“The vampires who drink do it as an escape. What are you escaping from?”
“I drink for fun,” I tell her, hating that I’m defending myself to a monster.
“So, you’re having fun?”
I’m not, and I haven’t been for a long time.
“Can you stop? Or will the things you’re running from catch up to you?”
“I can stop anytime I want.”
She shifts closer. “Yeah, right.”
I don’t think before I lean forward and take one of her perfect nipples into my mouth. She gasps, and I expect her to push me away, to slap me, to do something. Instead, she moans.
Oh, fucking hell. My dick hardens.
And then she shoves me backwards.
I fall into the water, under the surface for the briefest moment before my strength returns. I push off the bottom of the lake and explode out of the surface, ready and willing to battle the shade right here and now.
Except, she’s back on the shore, pulling her dress over her perfect body.
“Come back and fight me!” I shout.
She turns. “You’re in no shape to fight me.”
“Oh, you just wait until Jordon returns. The four of us will destroy you and that fucking clan of vampires.”
Her brows rise. “Jordon? There’s another of you? Does he have more control over himself than you do?”
“I don’t lack control!” I shout, stomping from the water and onto the shore.
Before I can grab my sword, she’s on me, her hands pressing into my face. A different kind of tingle moves over my flesh, but no less filled with magic, and then she smiles. “I shall find this Jordon near the warlock’s house. He will be a gargoyle worthy of helping me.”
I open my mouth to call her every swear word I know.
But she’s gone.
I dress in a hurry and storm through the woods until I find Cody at our campsite.
“I met the damn shade!”
“And did you…slay her and all of that?”
I think of her naked breasts dripping with water. “Not exactly.”
He laughs, and I grit my teeth.
I am going to kill that shade. After I finish jerking myself off.