Chapter 12
12
T he room seemed to shrink around them, the silence between her words and his response stretching endlessly.
Damon rested his forearms on the table, his voice low and deliberate. “Do I wish to kiss ye again?”
Lilith tried and failed to mask the familiar yet foreign desire in her eyes—it was almost a silent plea for him to tell her what she wanted to hear. What she needed to hear.
He let out a soft, humorless chuckle, shaking his head as if amused by the simplicity of her question. “Lass, wishin’ to kiss ye again barely scratches the surface of what I want to do.”
Her breath hitched, and he didn’t miss the way her fingers twitched against the edge of the table. He let the moment linger painfully, letting the weight of his words settle over her before continuing.
“Do ye ken what it was like?” His voice dropped to a husky rasp, every word deliberate, as though each one carried the weight of his desire. “To taste yer lips for the first time? It was like settin’ fire to everything I thought I controlled. The second me mouth touched yers, I kenned I was doomed.”
Lilith swallowed hard, her cheeks flushing a deeper shade of pink. Damon leaned closer, his eyes locked onto hers as he painted the memory in vivid detail.
“When I kissed ye, lass, I wasnae thinkin’ about anything but how soft yer lips felt under mine. How ye melted against me, like ye were made to fit in me arms.”
She shifted in her seat, her thighs pressing together involuntarily. Damon’s gaze flicked down briefly, and he smirked, knowing full well the effect his words were having on her.
“Ye wrapped yer legs around me,” he continued, his voice rougher now, like gravel and smoke. “And for a moment, I forgot where I was. Forgot who I was. All I could think about was how perfect ye felt, the weight of ye in me arms as I held ye close.”
Lilith’s breathing grew shallow, her chest rising and falling as his words wove a web of heat around them. She bit her lip, and his features darkened. A predator closing in on his prey.
“Do ye ken what it did to me when ye looked at me like that?” he murmured. “When ye clung to me as if ye couldnae bear to let go? It drove me mad, lass. Still does.”
Her fingers gripped the edge of the table so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Damon reached across, his calloused hand brushing hers, and she started at the contact, as though his touch burned her.
“And now,” he said, his voice dark with promise, “ye sit here, lookin’ at me with those wide, innocent eyes, askin’ if I wish to kiss ye again. It’s nae a wish, Lilith. It’s a need. A hunger.”
She let out a soft, shaky breath, her lips parting as if she wanted to speak but couldn’t find the words.
Damon leaned back slightly, giving her space to recover, but the intensity in his gaze didn’t waver.
“Every time I look at ye, I think about how ye tasted,” he admitted, his voice softer now but no less intoxicating. “How ye felt in me arms. And I think about how much more I want. How much I crave.”
Lilith’s cheeks were aflame, her entire body betraying her composure as she squirmed under his unrelenting gaze. Damon’s smirk returned—a slow, predatory curve of his lips that told her he knew exactly what he was doing to her.
“So aye, lass,” he concluded, his voice a low growl. “I wish to kiss ye again. But more than that, I wish to make ye feel everything I’ve been holdin’ back.”
She exhaled shakily, her heart pounding so loudly in her chest that she was certain he could hear it.
Damon let the silence stretch between them again, his words hanging in the air like a storm cloud, heavy and electric.
Finally, Lilith found her voice, though it came out breathier than she had intended. “Ye… ye have a way with words, Damon.”
His grin widened, his teeth flashing in the firelight. “Do I now? Or is it just that I ken exactly what to say to make ye squirm in yer chair?”
She glared at him, though the heat in her face betrayed her. “Ye’re impossible.”
“And ye’re irresistible,” he countered, leaning back in his chair with a satisfied sigh. “Did that answer yer question, lass?”
Lilith’s breath hitched. “It did,” she answered, struggling to hide the shivers running through her body.
“I aim to please, wife.”
Lilith scoffed and rolled her eyes, not responding.
I really need to reset me mind if I’m goin’ to get any sleep…
With a long sigh, she pushed herself to her feet, and Damon moved to stand in front of her with impressive speed.
“Do ye wish to ken what tonight’s activity will be?”
The question lingered like a summer heat, lapping at her skin.
“Tonight?”
“Aye, tonight.”
“So, have ye finally sorted out yer plan?”
“I have,” he said and pointed at the bed. “Share the bed, in sleep alone, with me tonight. I promise it will remain above board.”
“Truly?” she asked, resting a hand on her hip impatiently.
Damon smirked and lowered his chin affirmatively, playfully drawing a cross over his heart. “Honest.”
She looked between him and the bed once, twice, and a third time before finally relenting. “I really dinnae wish to sleep in the armchair again, so if ye swear ye willnae do anything, then I’m fine with sharin’ the bed wit’ ye tonight.”
His smile was devilishly promising, and her mind raced with the secret he had just shared with her in great detail. A pressure built between her hips as she watched him get ready for bed.
Lilith pulled the blankets up and tucked them around herself tightly as if creating a barrier between any untoward activities. Damon watched and then laughed before he climbed into bed with her.
The room was quiet except for the low crackle of the fire in the corner. Damon lay on his back, staring at the ceiling beams, his hands tucked beneath his head. His wound was throbbing, but if he was going to get any sleep, he would have to try to sleep as normal.
The bed was smaller than the one in his chambers at the keep, and Lilith’s proximity was making it impossible to relax. He could feel her presence, even without looking. He could hear her soft breaths as she lay beside him.
The silence between them felt fragile, like it could shatter at the slightest word. He thought she had drifted off to sleep when her voice broke the stillness.
“I look forward to goin’ back home in the morning,” she said softly, her tone distant.
Damon remained silent as she continued.
“I miss me bed.” She stretched out like a cat next to him. “It will be odd havin’ Ryder back there, ye ken. He hasnae been at the keep since… Well, it’s been a while.”
She started describing a distant memory of the last time Ryder had been inside the castle, but Damon didn’t catch any of it.
At the sound of another man’s name on her lips, he had held his breath, the ringing in his ears throwing his mind into a wicked distraction.
I should punish her for utterin’ another man’s name in our bed…
He turned his head toward her, his gaze narrowing but a smile playing on his lips. “Ryder, eh?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Aye,” she said, shifting slightly. “I just… He was hurt, Damon. I cannae help but worry.”
Damon pushed himself up onto one elbow, his expression darkening. “Ye’re thinkin’ about Ryder right now? While we’re sharin’ a bed?”
Lilith turned to look at him, her brow furrowed in confusion. “I wasnae tryin’ to upset ye,” she started to argue, and his smile turned devilish. “I’m?—”
“Upset me?” Damon interrupted, sitting up fully now, positioning himself to face her. His voice dropped, a low growl rumbling in his chest. “I’m nae upset, but do ye think I want to hear his name in a bed we are sharin’, lass?”
She blinked at him, clearly startled by his sudden intensity. “That’s nae what I meant,” she said quickly, sitting up as well.
“Do ye nae understand how it sounds, Lilith?” Damon pressed, hoping to see that blush creep up her cheeks once more. “To lie here beside me, touch me, and speak of him?”
Her lips parted as if to respond, but he didn’t give her the chance.
“When I ken what was on yer mind just moments ago when ye asked me if I wished to kiss ye again?”
His eyes landed on her throat, which bobbed and…
There it is.
His restraint, already stretched thin, snapped at the sight of the color climbing up her neck and along her jawline.
“Beautiful,” he managed to say.
Without thinking, he reached for her, his hand cupping her chin and tilting her face toward his. He closed the space between them in a heartbeat, his lips crashing against hers with a ferocity he couldn’t control.
The kiss was a storm, fierce and all-consuming, leaving no room for hesitation or second thoughts. Damon felt her gasp against his mouth, her body going rigid for a moment before she melted into him. Her hands moved to his chest, her fingers clutching at him as if she needed something solid to hold on to.
Damon groaned, the sound low and primal as he deepened the kiss. He poured everything into it—his frustration, his jealousy, and the desire that had been building since the moment he first laid eyes on her.
Her response drove him mad. She wasn’t pulling away, wasn’t resisting. She was kissing him back with a hunger that matched his own, her soft, intoxicating moans fanning the flames of his need.
His hands slid down to her waist, pulling her closer, and he shifted over her, guiding her back down to the mattress. The feel of her beneath him, her body arching into his, was enough to make his head spin.
“Lilith,” he murmured against her lips, his voice rough and filled with longing.
She whispered his name in return, her breath hitching as he trailed kisses down her neck. Her hands tangled in his hair, holding him close, and he thought he might lose his mind entirely.
He pressed his hips to hers, the sensation igniting a wave of pleasure that made him groan. She responded with a soft moan, the sound so sweet, so utterly intoxicating, that it sent a jolt of heat through him.
And then, just as suddenly, it all came crashing down.
Damon froze, his entire body stiffening as reality slammed into him like a fist.
What am I doin’?
He pulled back slightly, his breathing ragged, and looked down at her. Lilith’s face was flushed, her lips swollen from his kisses, her eyes heavy-lidded with desire.
He swore under his breath, the sound harsh in the quiet room. He pushed himself up, his movements abrupt and jerky, and rolled off her.
“Damon?” Her voice was soft, confused, as she propped herself up on her elbows to look at him.
“I promised it would be above board, and I’ve failed ye,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “I’ll leave ye now, lass.”
His heart was pounding in more places than in his chest. With each step he forced himself to take, his body screamed in defiance.
“Wh-What’s wrong?” she asked, sitting up fully now.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he snatched his shirt from the floor and tugged it on with sharp, frustrated movements.
“Damon,” Lilith pleaded, her voice tinged with worry.
He shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. If he stayed any longer, he’d lose whatever shred of control he had left.
“I’m goin’ to patrol the area,” he said finally, his tone clipped and distant.
Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “Ye’re leavin’? Right now?”
“Aye,” he uttered, grabbing his belt and sword. He buckled them on quickly, avoiding her gaze. “Get some rest, lass.”
“Damon, wait!”
“I’ll be back,” he called, his voice firm.
He turned toward the door, his hand already on the knob.
He paused for a brief moment, his back to her, before shaking his head and stepping out into the hallway.
The door closed behind him with a soft click, and he let out a shaky breath. The cool air in the corridor did little to calm the fire still raging inside him.
Ryder stood dutifully outside the door. Damon grumbled that he’d return later before he bounded away purposefully. The memory of her lips, her touch, the sound of her moans—it all lingered, taunting him.
“Damn it,” he muttered under his breath, driving his fist into the stone before stalking out of the inn.
I cannae afford to lose control around her again.
But as he stepped out into the night, he couldn’t shake the feeling that—the promise of duty or not—leaving her was a mistake.