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He slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I’m not certain all women would be in your position.”
“He wasn’t really there to assault me. It was more of a mind game than anything else.” Otherwise, I probably would have been a little shaken up by the whole thing. “He meant to provoke me. When it didn’t work, he went too far—”
“He went too fucking far the moment he caged you against the wall,” Damien all but growled.
I wasn’t gonna lie, the note of protectiveness in that growl got me all tingly.
“He’s being taken to a containment cell as we speak,” Damien added. “Sam and Jared will most likely banish him after once more punishing him.”
I felt my brow furrow. “Really? But he didn’t hurt me or anything—”
“He might have done if he’d had the chance. As you said, he was trying to provoke you. But that wasn’t happening, so there’s every chance he’d have gotten so pissed that he did something very, very, very stupid. Besides, if he can’t follow the rules here, he won’t be allowed to stay. Simple.”
“I can’t say I’ll be sorry to see him gone. I’ve known too many guys like him. Pushy men who treat women like shit … as if they’re objects to be used, abused, and then dumped. My mom was unfortunately very fond of such assholes. For her, the more dangerous a man was, the better. She mistook abusive for strong. Which was way too much information, I’m sorry.” I shook my head, annoyed I’d revealed so much.
“Don’t be. I like these sneak peeks I get of you.”
I parted my lips to speak, but no words came. I didn’t really know what to make of his comment, and it didn’t seem smart to ask him to elaborate. Maybe we could become friends—or, at the very least, friendly—at some point in the future. But I didn’t feel that I could manage that right now.
“Well, thanks for checking up on me,” I said. “I really am okay. I think Maisy’s madder than I am.”
“Harvey’s gone to check on her.”
“She’ll be glad to see him.”
“You sure?” Damien cocked his head. “I didn’t get the impression that she likes him as much as he does her. She kept him hanging for a while.”
“Not out of disinterest. She’s still struggling with being a vampire.”
“She applied to be Turned,” he pointed out.
“Yeah, to have forever with the guy who is now her Sire—they were a couple at the time. Now that they’re not, she resents how much she gave up to be with him, which means she’s finding it hard not to resent what she is.”
“Vampirism has its perks, but it requires a lot of sacrifices. People are often good with it. But give it a few centuries, and they start regretting that there are certain things they’ll miss out on, like having children.” He paused, watching me closely. “Do you think you’d handle life as a vampire well?”
I felt my nose wrinkle. “I don’t know if I could truly get behind drinking blood—I get nauseous just thinking about it. And the ways of your world are scary at times. Some things about vampirism are appealing, though. You’d never get sick, for one thing. Having a gift would be cool, and if that makes me childish then whatever.”
“Not childish. It is awesome having a preternatural gift—no one will claim differently. Although some are disappointed that their ability isn’t more offensive or notable.”
“Do you like yours?”
“Yeah. It comes in useful, and it got me a place in the legion, so I’m grateful to have it.” His eyes drifted over my face. “You sure you’re all right?”
“I’m positive. Castor doesn’t scare me. He’s too petty to be frightening, though he doesn’t seem to see that.”
“No, he doesn’t.” Damien’s gaze locked on my mouth and, shit, my lower stomach clenched.
He needed to leave. He really did. Because my hormones were a hot mess, and it would be all too easy to close the distance between us. I still wanted him far too much. Knowing how good it felt to have him inside me only made it worse.
Without thought, I licked my lips. “Thanks for stopping by.” It was a clear you should go now.
He drew in a breath through his nose and gave a curt nod. He slowly reached out and grabbed the door handle. He paused. Closed his eyes. Cursed beneath his breath. Then his hand snagged my nape, yanked me close, and he slammed his mouth on mine. That easily, I went up in flames.
He took my mouth in an urgent, heart-pounding, hotly sexual kiss that burned away any objections I might have made. This was a bad idea. A really, really bad idea. But I had no intention of putting a stop to it. I wasn’t sure I even could.
