Chapter 68

Hand in hand, they walked together. Once Damon was satisfied they were far enough away from the others, he stopped and looked down at her, his eyes glittering.

“Forgiven me now?” she asked.

Damon grunted. “Do you have to remind me?”

Lilitha took his chin. “Thank you for saving me. Thank you for not abandoning me.” She took a breath. “Though it wasn’t what I deserved.”

Damon stared back into her eyes. “I could never leave you, no matter what you do. I would dive into the flames of hell to get you back.”

Lilitha stepped in close and laid her hands upon his hips. “How were you all? After you discovered I left?”

“In pieces, of course. Clans don’t break up easily. You are a slice of our heart, Lila.” He frowned. “Don’t do it again.”

“I won’t.”

He pulled her close, kissed her on the mouth, then carefully rested his hand upon her backside. “How is it feeling?”

“Better.”

“Once we’re done, we’ll check it.”

“Once we’ve done what?”

Damon cocked his head with a grin.

~“Oh.”~ Lilitha grinned back. Wrapping her arms around him, she laid her cheek against his chest.

Damon dragged his fingertips up and down her back until she shivered. He kissed her on the top of the head, then tilted her face to kiss her mouth. Lilitha sagged into his arms with a sigh. He was gentle this time, not so desperate, pulling her to the ground so she was on top.

Lilitha sat over his hips, laughing as she opened his pants and played with his erection. Bracing his hands behind his head, Damon gazed up at her with a smile. His eyes lingered over the mounds of her breasts, and she removed her singlet.

Instantly, his erection grew in her hands to the bursting point. A little semen spurted out, and Lilitha bent over to kiss the remaining bead away from his tip. Then she pressed her mouth around it.

Damon groaned.

The urge to engulf him was suddenly overwhelming. Damon gasped like he was in pain as she slid her mouth right over him. The muscles in his abdomen tensed. He gripped onto the earth, veins bulging in his hands.

“God, Lila. Careful!”

He gave a small spasm. She tasted salt. Slowly, she pulled her mouth away. He was panting. He rolled his eyes as Lilitha leaned over to kiss him between the nipples, then down along his abdomen. She kissed the base of his shaft. Then took him in her hand again, stroking his circumference with her thumb.

“It’s been too long,” Damon grunted.

“That’s not all my fault.”

“I get angry.”

“Yes, I saw that.”

“I’m sorry.” He gave her a faint smile. Then he winced.

Lilitha stood to remove her underwear, then straddled him again. Again, she took him in her hand. For a moment, Damon’s red hair turned golden, and she was suddenly looking back into Mandalay’s face. She let go.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Nothing.” Lilitha shook her head, shaking the image away.

Lifting her hips, she slowly eased over him. Damon bared his teeth. He filled her up, hardening and engorging, until it felt like there was nothing of her left.

They were both panting as their pelvises made contact.

Lilitha flicked her hair back. “Remember our first time?”

“I’ll never forget our first time.”

Lilitha reached out to grab his horns, smoothing them through her hands. Damon shivered. She laughed, feeling him spasm again inside her.

“Lila!”

“Damon!”

He was snorting, growling. He almost looked angry as he bucked against her, pushing in so deep it took Lilitha’s breath away.

“Okay, okay!” And she started to roll her hips.

They stared at each other, not once looking away. The leaves rustled. An owl was hooting in the distance. Lilitha grabbed Damon’s hands, and they entwined their fingers. She arched her neck, hair falling behind her as she stared up at the canopy. With a jerk and a gurgle, she came.

Damon grabbed her hips, giving a deep growl as he swelled to a size she could barely contain. He throbbed inside her, over and over again, driving harder the spreading ripples of her own orgasm.

Lilitha closed her eyes, allowing the pleasure to thud through her system, sweeping her anxieties away. She was here. She was safe. Damon and Mateus would never let anything happen to her. Neither would Silus or Carmella, for that matter.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw Damon watching her.

“You’re so damn sexy,” he growled, digging his fingers deeper into her hips.

Lilitha grinned. Then she leaned over, elbows on either side of his head so he could gnaw at her breasts. She laughed. He was laughing too as he rolled her over onto her back. Pressing his forehead to hers, he bared his teeth at her. The sharp talon of his tail was dancing behind him. Pressing her hands to his back, she felt his scars.

Damon must have seen something in her eyes because he suddenly said, “Let’s check it.”

He got up and Lilitha rolled onto her belly. Straddling her thighs, Damon gently removed the bandage.

“Does it still look okay?”

“Yes.” He leaned in to sniff it. “No infection.” He laid his hand against her left butt cheek. His voice was a growl. “I hate this. I hate them. I hate ~him~.”

“Don’t be angry, Damon. Don’t let it consume you. Else, they win.”

He replaced the bandage and got off her, and Lilitha sat up. He sat down beside her and pulled her into his arms, leaning his back against a tree. Lilitha curled into his chest.

The moon above was ghostly, cresting thin, wispy clouds. Lilitha curled her finger through a stray hair on his chest. She kissed his nipple, then pressed her cheek into his sternum.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. Then he paused. “You’re thinking about her, aren’t you? Clara, wasn’t that her name?” He tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice—unsuccessfully.

“The whole point of leaving was to save her, and now I might have put her in even more danger,” Lilitha explained regretfully. “Mandalay, that knight, knows about her.”

“There’s nothing you can do, Lila. Like you told me: ‘Don’t be angry.’ Well, don’t be fearful. Forget about her.”

“Because it’s so easy.”

“She’s just a human.”

“She isn’t just a human to me. I love her.” Lilitha pressed her face into his sternum. “You came back for me, but I abandoned her.”

“You can’t go back.”

“I know.” She bit her lip. “But what if I—but what if I ~did~ go back. Just to check. Later. When it’s safer. I wouldn’t even have to speak with her. Just to ease my mind.”

“No.”

“You would—”

“No.”

Lilitha blinked back the tears.

Damon braced his chin upon her head. “We’ve all done things we regret. We all have pasts that we’d rather not remember… You’re not the only one in pain.”

Lilitha looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

“I haven’t always been with Silus and Carmella.”

Lilitha lifted her eyebrows, surprised he was ready to open his heart to her.

“All of us were part of other clans beforehand, Lilitha. I was only young, barely fifteen, but I was strong and fierce. I was only just starting to form my clan.”

Pain rippled over his face. “We lived in the hills, close to a series of fishing villages down along the eastern coast. The humans were fearful of me and kept themselves locked in their houses by the time night fell, doors barred, windows shuttered. It wasn’t enough to dissuade me, of course. It was good for a while before those from the south came.”

His voice trembled. “They knew what we were and hunted us down. We were too slow. Mara was heavily pregnant. I told Sheela to run, but she wouldn’t leave us. When they caught us, they were merciless. They—they both died. I’ll never forget their screams. I failed. I was supposed to protect them. In the end, I was only able to save myself.”

His Adam’s apple quivered as he swallowed.

“I’m sorry,” Lilitha said.

“I won’t let that happen again. You ~cannot~ go back.”

“Okay.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

***

It was hot and burning bright, Damon asleep in her arms, when Lilitha woke. His breaths were puttering gently against her neck. His arm was slung over her waist. The sunlight was burning brightly against his horns. She studied them in disbelief. She hadn’t thought she’d see them again.

She couldn’t believe she was home. She couldn’t believe she’d been given a second chance. His lashes were fanned out against his cheeks, sooty and thick. He seemed so young when he was asleep. So calm. So not Damon.

Very carefully easing away his arm, she got to her feet. She plucked a flower from a nearby bush and tucked it behind her ear. She walked, not knowing where she was going, no particular destination in mind, her heart sore, her mind reeling. The trees were thick and tall. She could hear water splashing. Perched on a log, a lizard watched her warily.

She soon found a spot where she could sit down. It was at the top of a steep slope, so steep it was almost a cliff. The trees stuck out at weird angles beneath her. She could see toward the horizon. Lilitha’s breath caught as she looked over toward a sprawling darkness, a thin film of smoke rising toward the clouds.

Mainstry.

Her legs dangled as she stared. It looked so small. Had they traveled so far? It seemed unbelievable. She dropped her eyes into her lap, then looked down the steep drop below her feet.

If she were to fall, where would her soul go? Heaven or hell? Or was there even such a thing? Was she bad for going back to the Diablons? Was she selfish for deserting Clara?

Lilitha plucked the flower from behind her ear, twisting it between her fingers. What else could be done? Even if she could go back and discovered Clara was in trouble, how could she help her? She couldn’t bring her back here with the Diablons, that was for sure. If Clara couldn’t survive in Mainstry, then how else?

And as for Lilitha’s own personal evils… She was what she was, just like Damon had always told her. She loved the clan, and they loved her, like the humans never could. If God wanted her to be something else, He should have given her better choices.

~He should have given me better choices.~

“They’re not monsters,” she whispered, continuing to twist the flower between her fingers. “~I’m~ not a monster.”

Lilitha looked over her shoulder toward where Damon was sleeping. Hearing his story helped. He, too, had suffered grief and hardship. As well as the others. They loved and hurt, they adored their children, mourned their dead. They had no less place on this Earth than anything else. She knew them for what they really were, and they were no less or more monstrous than any other predator.

Humans included.

She pressed the flower to her nose, kissed it, and let it go, letting it drift on the wind over the trees below. When it had vanished into the distance, Lilitha got up and went back to Damon.

End of Book 3