Immortal Fire - Book One

Stepping out of the bathroom, I found Damien standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. His eyebrows shot up at the sight of me.

“What?” I asked.

“I’m not used to seeing you in so little clothing,” he said never taking his eyes off me.

“Or no clothing…” I mumbled as we started towards my room. Damien heard me because he got a grin on his face and started blushing like a little boy. Opening the door to my room, I gestured him inside and he looked confused.

“Oh, c’mon man, it’s just a room…” I gestured again and this time he entered.

Closing the door behind me, I went to the dresser and searched for some pajamas. Shit. Jesse had not done laundry. Hugging the towel tight around me, I reached for the largest shirt I could find and some underwear. Peering over my shoulder, I saw Damien watching me with intrigue as he sat on the edge of the bed.

Smiling awkwardly, I turned and slipped the underwear on under the towel and then the shirt over. Dropping the towel, I walked over to the nightstand and grabbed my brush. Damien had gone extremely still and was breathing deeply.

“Is something wrong?” I asked confused. Clearing his throat, he stood and started for the door.

“Damien?” He stopped but did not look at me. “Damien, what’s wrong?” I asked confused.

When he did not respond, I put the brush down and walked over to him. Looking up into his eyes, I could see that he was struggling with something.

“Damien…”

“Good night, Aria…” He went for the door handle, but I grabbed his arm. I could feel his muscles tensing.

“Please don’t go. I don’t want to be alone tonight…” I said wiping a tear away. I cursed myself for shedding tears once again. The truth was that I felt alone, and I was scared that something might happen again while I was by myself.

He closed his eyes and then let out a sigh. “Okay.” He went back to the bed and sat on the edge. I could not understand what was going on with him.

“What happened earlier?” he asked. I sat down on the bed and looked at him.

“I was in Tartarus.”

“What!” he exclaimed, wide-eyed.

“Yeah, I know it sounds messed up, but I was Damien. At first, I was by some place called Devil’s Lake State Park and then I was in Tartarus. Cerberus attacked me…” I said, then crossed my legs on the bed.

“Whoa, hold up. Tell me the details,” he said seriously. So, I did, and Damien was antsy by the time I was done.

“Then that’s how we get there… the gate is by Devil’s Lake. Somehow, your soul traveled while your body was here. I don’t know why your body got physically hurt but it’s all that is making sense right now…” he said.

He was sitting close now, and I could see he had a million thoughts going through his head right then. I was lying down now, and my body had pains in strange places. After a while, I looked up at him.

“Damien?” I asked.

“Yeah?” he said still staring into space.

“Could you maybe stay here tonight?” I immediately regretted asking him when he went stiff as a board and stopped breathing.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea…” he eventually said.

“Why?” I whispered, strangely feeling let down.

“Aria… I…” Sitting up now I could feel his heavy breath on my face.

“No, tell me…” I insisted. He groaned and placed his hand on my cheek, looking at me intensely.

“I have no idea what’s going on with me. I want more Aria… I’ve never wanted more, never had more…” He was staring at my lips now and my heart was racing.

“What more do you want?” I asked looking into his eyes. Tracing his thumb over my lips, I shivered.

“I don’t even know how. I’ve never done it…” he said ignoring my question. He looked up into my eyes then and my heart swelled.

“You’ve never kissed?” I asked. He nodded and I could not believe him.

“No way; not you…” There was no way that Damien, sexy, dangerous Damien had never kissed someone… He pulled away as if I had slapped him.

“Sorry…” he said, stone-faced.

“What’s wrong?” I asked shocked at his sudden distance.

“Nice way to shoot a guy down Aria.”

It was then that I realized what happened. He had misinterpreted what I had said. He was already by the door when I reached him and I spun him around, placing my lips on his. It was meant to be an innocent kiss… Well, that is what I thought…

He froze in disbelief and after a moment kissed me back. It was like he was breathing life into me. Grabbing me and pulling me against him, he moaned. He ran his hands through my wet hair, and I clung to him for dear life. We staggered back into the door and laughed. He picked me up and I wrapped my bare legs around him. I had never been kissed like this and when our tongues met, I felt myself melt inside.

My body was burning with desire. We found our way back to the bed and Damien straddled me as he had on the couch downstairs earlier, only now it was a whole different scenario. Damien pulled back and smiled at me. His eyes were glowing gold and I loved it more. He trailed kisses down my neck, and I sighed in pleasure.

“For someone who hasn’t done any of this before, you are way too talented…” He laughed and placed a kiss on my lips. I could feel his breath mixing with mine.

“That’s what you do to me Aria since the moment I first saw you. It just took tonight and me almost losing you to wake me up to everything…”

I kissed him fiercely and pulled him hard against me. Hearing the moan escape him was almost the end of me. Grabbing my leg, he ran his hand over my skin and up my shirt to my bare breast. It was me that moaned now.

Something was nagging me to stop this, but it felt so good. What was I meant to remember?

Sapphire eyes and blonde hair swam in my mind, and I immediately recoiled from Damien.

“I can’t do this.” I stammered breathlessly. The hurt in Damien’s eyes was evident and I wanted to cry for hurting him and my apparent pain confused me more.

“What did I do wrong?” he asked. The lump in my throat made it difficult to breathe.

“Nothing; you did nothing wrong. I can’t do this because of Hayden…” Damien looked away and climbed off the bed.

“I’m so sorry Damien…” I called to him with my voice breaking and tears escaping me.

“Don’t be. I should have known better. Good night, Aria.” Damien said flatly.

“Damien, please…” I called out and reached for him. He did not stop to look at me as he left the room and slammed the door on his way out.

Covering my face with my hands, I cried. I cried for hurting Damien, for betraying Hayden, for my own torn feelings. I would be surprised if either of them ever forgave me or if Damien would even look at me again without hatred after what I had just done to him. I could not sleep for the next few hours as I tossed and turned, replaying the events of the night and what had almost happened with Damien…

“God, forgive me.” I sent the silent prayer up before finally falling asleep.