What just happened? Selene asks herself.
She practically offered herself to him to drink her blood. There was no practically, that's exactly what she did. And he drank. A lot.
She felt her life draining from her with each second passing and for some reason she didn't want to fight it. Nothing in her life had felt as real as it had in those moments. Then he reminded her to stop him.
The next thing she knew, he was on the floor across the room. She watched silently and he came back. He wasn't going to attack her again, somehow she knew. And then she was in his arms and he was apologizing.
She remains on the bed where he left her. She has half a mind to let Vicky know that she is alright. But a part of her is waiting for Damian's return and doesn't want to risk Vicky seeing her as she is now, not when they have so much air to clear between them.
Damian takes to the sky in the form of mist, scanning his surrounds for someone to feed upon. He won't feed on anyone at the inn. They are protected by the prince of the Carpathians. And besides, he doesn't want to cause more trouble for Selene than he already has.
Damian nearly killed her. He's put her in danger since the moment he saw her on the mountain and she slipped through his fingers. He couldn't resist meeting her and he couldn't resist being close to her even under such dire circumstances. This is a disaster waiting to happen. If he doesn't claim her fast, there is no telling how long he will be able to continue without falling into temptation and becoming Vampire.
He finds prey quickly, a drunken patron from a tavern down the road, luring him in and sinking his teeth into the man's neck.
Despite the alcohol in his prey's system, the man's blood tastes good. He drinks deeply. In the back of his mind he knows that Selene is waiting for him back at the inn.
Suddenly, his lifemate's voice penetrates his thoughts.
How far did you go?
Not far, he responds. I'll be back in ten minutes.
His withdraws from the man's neck. And just like that his lifemate grounds him; unintentionally reminding him of what he would lose if he crosses the line.
Damian alters the man's memories and leaves him in the alley behind the tavern. Taking to the sky, he returns to the inn. He returns to Selene.
He opens the balcony door with ease, stepping inside the room.
Why didn't you put the wards back up? He looks around and she is nowhere to be seen.
"I'm in the bathroom," she calls out. "And I knew you were on your way back."
He prefers their more intimate form of communicating.
As if reading his mind she says, I'm coming out now.
She steps out of the bathroom, having removed the fishnet layer, leaving only the burgundy brazier that was underneath. He has seen her in less but for some reason lowers his gaze.
"You left a mark on me," she says, indicating a section of purpled skin below her right collar bone.
The corners of his mouth pull into a smile. "How else will they know you're mine."
"Who's they?"
"Other Carpathians. Vampires. Patrons at this inn."
"Seeing as you're the first Carpathian I've met, I don't think it will be so soon that I'll encounter another. I don't intend to encounter anymore Vampires for that matter. As for 'patrons of this inn', I don't think it's any of their business who I spend my time with."
"And what of Vicky? Do you care about what she thinks."
"Vicky doesn't know you well enough to judge you. She thought she imagined the whole Vampire attack until I told her it was true. She looks out for me but knows I ultimately make my own choices."
Selene moves closer to him. "We have some things to discuss."
"I thought that is what we were doing."
"I mean about us."
Damian likes the sound of that. "What about us?"
Selene motions for him to sit down. He's taller than her but enough that she has to tilt her head back to look up to him.
"You first," he says.
"I insist." She's stubborn and he likes it. Damian never fancied himself a lifemate that would obey him in all things. He likes a challenge and she certainly challenges him.
Deciding to make her squirm a bit, he let's the moment draw out until he finally sits down on the bed. With an unconscious sway of her hips, she moves to sit next to him. She is so alluring that all he can think about is undressing her with his eyes. He starts with that small top she wears that resembles an undergarment.
"Well?" She looks at him.
His mind is instantly sobers. He gestures to her with an open hand. "I believe the floor is yours."
Her brows draw together. "What happens now? Between us, I mean. You have lived over nine centuries and you still look like you haven't reached thirty. I'm mortal and I will age...much quicker than you."
"There is a way to make you like me."
Selene stills. "What do you mean?"
He watches her. "Three blood conversions will convert you into a Carpathian like me."
"Conversions?"
"Exchanging approximately equal amounts of blood. Just like tonight, when I drank your blood and then gave you my own. That would be needed two more times to convert you."
"Why didn't you tell me this before."
"I'm telling you now."
She moves to stand, changing the dynamic between them. "Will this one conversion hurt me in any way?"
"If it's isolated, no. But with another blood exchange, you might start to see some physiological changes. For example, you might be more fatigued during the time the sun is at its highest point of the day."
"Will I need to drink blood?"
"No. Not until you are converted."
She backs away from him like a cornered animal, clutching her head.
"Is your head hurting you? We can stop if this is causing you pain."
He tries to push into her mind but she is keeping him out. Damian knows little about women, let alone a witch of these modern times. He studies her, trying to determine where the conversation went so wrong.
She won't even look at him.
Suddenly he stands. "Selene."
It's the way he says her name that makes her meet his gaze.
"You don't think that I would make this choice for you, do you?"
The palms of her hands push on either side of her head.
"Do you want to stop?"
She shakes her head. "I don't know what to think."
"To convert you would mean that we both agreed on it."
"And what if I don't agree?"
"Then I wouldn't even consider it. Only if your life were in danger would I ever...forget that. Selene, if you choose not to become Carpathian, then I would choose a mortal life, to end my life when yours ends."
"I thought you are in danger of becoming Vampire?"
"That is still true. If I claim you then our souls would be tied together, preventing me from becoming Vampire."
"You've said that before. What do you mean by claim?"
"It is a ritual similar to how you would cast a spell. I would recite words to tie us together, sealing our lifemate bond. Once done it cannot be undone. However, with you Carpathian or human, once you die, that possible threat of me becoming Vampire returns. I won't have the strength to take myself from this world. I will have to have someone else do it. Just like I did for Bash."
"Who?" Her eyes are bloodshot but he doesn't comment.
Damian shakes his head. "The night I first saw you on the mountain...I had just taken the life of my long time companion and friend. He did not have the strength to greet the dawn and became Vampire. It took me some time but I finally did it."
"You killed him." It is not a question.
He nods.
Suddenly, Selene's knees buckle. He steps nearer to her but out of caution stops himself from moving too close.
"Selene."
"The pain. We need to stop talking about this, at least until I get my aunt to remove this block."
"Okay."
She takes a few deep breaths. "Tell me what will happen when I leave."
"Leave?"
"I leave tomorrow. I'm going back home. My aunt will remove the block and then I'll have to tell her about the encounter with the Vampire and with you. The coven will need to know about a possible threat. I can't have you following me until I know how they will take it."
"Are you telling me to let you go?"
She nods. "Just for now."
This enrages him. He closes the distance between them, taking an arm in each hand, he pulls her up to her feet. Keeping his hold on her he says, "You know what finding you means to me."
The sight of her cowering in front of him makes him let her go. He steps back.
"I won't hurt you, Selene."
She's so tense that her shoulders are practically touching her ears. "I'd like to think that. But after what just happened earlier and after everything you've told me, I realize that I don't even know you."
He moves back to the bed, putting some space between them and letting a silence stretch out so that he can decide how to proceed. Once seated he says, "Don't you see that this is the whole point of me being here? I want to get to know you, Selene. And I want you to get to know me."
Her posture relaxes. "Then tell me. Tell me about you," she waves her hands in the air, "without all the technical stuff that makes my head hurt."
Damian shrugs, rubbing his hand across his face. When it drops into his lap he says, "I don't know what to say yet. I've barely been anything but a hunter for the last few centuries. But I want this to work. If you are going home then I will give you the space. Just don't forget about me, that's all I ask."
She can feel the pull to go to him. Selene does her best to ignore it but it's nearly impossible. He looks as if his entire world has been crushed. In an instant she's in front of the bed, placing both hands on his shoulders, she crawls onto his lap, straddling him.
"I'm not an idiot. I feel something between us. I just can't let myself make decisions when my mind is all messed up. I need the truth, and as much as you would give it to me, I know you don't have all the answers and right now, even if you did, I can't hear them. The pain is too much. Let me sort out this thing with my aunt and the coven. I won't forget you, that I promise."
He hesitantly places his hands on her hips. Selene presses her forehead to his and he releases a long breath. He'd thought he was losing her and then she goes and makes him a promise.
As if to assuage him further, she speaks into his mind. What will you do while I'm gone?"
He smiles, their foreheads still pressed together. I will seek out the Carpathian Prince, announcing my presence here. And then I will seek out my remaining family; two cousins and their lifemates. I would like to like to have my own place in the mountains.
That sounds wonderful. She pulls away to look into his eyes. "Will I be able to speak to you like that while we're apart?"
Damian shakes his head. "It won't work over such distance. I could get a mobile phone."
She laughs. "Of course."