Page 28 of Awakening the Dhampir

He was tremendous. Even in the cab’s dark interior, I could see the sculpted muscles of his chest and abs. Just like every other time I’d seen his demon, he wore only a pair of leather pants. Really tight pants that hugged his thick thighs and gave a tantalizing outline of his … well, enough said.

“We both need rest,” Damon said, interrupting my ogling. “You can sleep on my chest.”

I snorted. “Yeah … no. I’ll just lean my seat back and take a nap if I get tired. Besides, someone needs to stay up and talk to Kenrid, so he doesn’t get sleepy.”

Kenrid chuckled, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Damon. I should’ve been horrified by the enormous creature filling the back seat, but I wasn’t. His magic called to me just like it always did, as did his scent.

I licked my lips. Damon’s smile shined bright against his dark brown skin. I wondered what the horns crowning his head felt like. Were they hollow like a ram’s, or were they solid bone? I remembered how the scales covering his arms felt beneath my fingertips. And the desire to run my fingers along his wings nearly had me crawling in the back seat.

“Go ahead, Lorna,” Kenrid said. “I’ll be fine if you want to test your resolve with our demon.”

My face flushed a hundred shades of red. Thank goodness it was too dark for anyone to see.

“Nope, I’m good,” I insisted, forcing myself to face the front of the vehicle. Damon was a huge temptation.

He chuckled at my response.

“He’s right,” Kenrid said. “We really do need to see how much you can handle. We’ll try to keep you away from the vampires for as long as possible, but you need to be able to stand at Damon’s side in front of the clan and act normal.”

I frowned and glanced over my shoulder at the demon. He extended a clawed hand to me, and my entire body lit up. Again, I should have been afraid of the long claws pointing my way, but I wasn’t.

“You’ll knock me out if I do something stupid?” I asked. “I really don’t want to hurt anyone, especially you guys.”

“You’ll be fine,” Damon said. “Now get back here so I can rest.”

Kenrid nodded and gave me a quick smile. I couldn’t believe I was actually doing this.

Don’t be stupid, I warned my dhampir. We have to prove we can do this.

Like I don’t know that, she snapped back. But I am licking him.

No, you will not!

I won’t bite, just lick.

I rubbed my hands across my face and unbuckled my seatbelt. I crawled over the center console and fell onto Damon’s massive body. He grabbed my waist and situated me the way he wanted, lying on my stomach with my head on his shoulder. Every inch of my body lined up with him, except for my legs which rested on the seat between his. As soon as I settled, his hands left me.

Something very hard and very large pressed into my lower stomach. I tried to ignore it, but seriously … Whew! Instead of focusing on his arousal, I trailed my fingers along his chest, feeling the scales lift under my touch. It was mesmerizing, and I wished it wasn’t dark outside so I could see it.

Damon didn’t say a word when I reached out to touch the edge of his wing. Just like I suspected, it was buttery soft like well-worn leather.

“Does it hurt lying on your back like this?” I asked.

“No.”

“Is it uncomfortable when I touch here?” I asked.

“No.”

Kenrid cleared his throat, and I blushed, realizing what I said.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Kenrid,” I said. “I was talking about his wings.”

The fae laughed, and his magic tickled my senses. My blush deepened.

“The membranes in my wings are very sensitive,” Damon said, but I could hear the humor in his voice. “What you’re doing feels good, though. I will tell you if you do something I don’t like.”

“Okay.”

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