Page 32 of Awakening the Dhampir

I’d need to find out what was bugging her. I quickly placed our order and sat down on the sofa that would likely be my bed for the night.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.

Lorna still hadn’t moved from the center of the room. She bit her lower lip and looked around. It wasn’t a bad room. The sofa would open to a double bed. Two armchairs on each side made a cozy sitting area in front of the small hutch and flat-screen television. The bathroom was likely in the other half of the suite with the bedroom.

“I don’t know,” she replied, finally meeting my gaze. “How much do you know about the dhampir?”

I tried not to flinch. I knew just about everything there was to know. “Probably more than most,” I said. “What’s on your mind?”

She crossed the space and sat down next to me. Warmth filled my heart. She could have sat in either chair—kept space between us—but she didn’t. I turned so I could face her and give her my undivided attention.

“Remember how you said that my sorting was a fae trait?” she asked. I nodded. “Well.” She bit her lip again and looked away. “In order to function semi-normally, I created several personas in my mind. Mallory is one of them. She’s my socialite, the one who handles being around people for long periods of time. I have a couple others.” She paused again, then turned to sit sideways on the sofa with one leg tucked beneath her. “I don’t have them anymore, and I don’t know why.”

She searched my face for answers I couldn’t give her. I’d had no idea she was carrying around different personalities to handle different situations in her life. It would explain why Mallory’s picture was so full of life and Lorna’s wasn’t. Who was she when they took the picture of Lorna? Just as important, how did they all disappear?

“Are you saying you have Dissociative Identity Disorder?” I asked, not answering her question.

“Not really,” she replied. “I know exactly what you’re talking about, though. I looked it up, and I don’t really have any of the other symptoms. I remember everything, regardless of which persona I’m channeling. I don’t have suicidal or homicidal thoughts, and I was never traumatized as a child.” Once again, she looked away. “Well, that’s not entirely true. I … killed a bunch of kittens when I was four. That’s when Mallory was created, so I could hide from myself. It took me a while to understand who I was after that.”

My heart ached for her. She’d probably used a fae spell without even realizing it. I suddenly remembered the way she destroyed that man’s mind who'd attacked her at Maxwell Securities. It was likely the same spell. I reached over and pulled her hand into mine.

“I’m not sure if that was fae magic or something else,” I said gently. “There is a summer fae family line whose specialty is creating very intricate glamour, including the personality to go with the appearance.”

I almost admitted that she couldn’t be from their line because she was likely from the winter fae. But if I told her that, I’d also have to tell her my own story, and I wasn’t prepared to reveal those secrets to her.

“But you don’t think I’m part of their family,” she said, but I could hear the question.

“No, I don’t.”

“So, what would make all my personas disappear?”

And there she was, once again pleading for me to have answers.

“I don’t know, Lorna,” I said. “If you’re asking if it’s a dhampir trait, I don’t believe so. I’ve never heard of a dhampir with multiple personas. They’re human and vampire, neither of which have ever demonstrated that ability to my knowledge.”

“Except for me,” she mumbled. “I’m somehow also fae.”

Yes, she was. I couldn’t answer her unasked question. I gently squeezed her hand and tugged her toward me. She let me pull her into my lap and wrap my arms around her thin shoulders. Her hands slid around me, and I breathed in her sweet floral scent. She didn’t smell like one single flower, more a compilation of several. It soothed and aroused me at the same time. One I needed and the other I didn’t.

“My dhampir said I don’t need them anymore,” Lorna said, her breath hot on my neck. “She said now that I have her, she can help me handle any situation.”

I could barely take in her words when her body pressed against mine. Her fingers ran along my lower back, caressing, exploring, driving me absolutely insane with desire. How in hell did Damon allow her to lay on his chest for hours? I’d never be able to do it.

“Kenrid?”

I opened my eyes, not even realizing I’d closed them. Lorna’s face was only inches from mine. Her pupils were so dilated they nearly consumed the hazel of her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled. “I was thinking.” Not about her question or concerns. No, I was thinking about laying her down on the sofa and worshipping her body.

“I want to kiss you,” she whispered, her eyes dropping to my mouth.

“I could never tell you no,” I admitted.

She leaned forward and brushed her lips against mine. I ran my hands up her back and cupped her neck, deepening our kiss. Her tongue ran along my lips, and I gave her the entry she wanted. And then I couldn’t get enough of her taste or her scent. Her magic wrapped around me, trapping me in her web, and I didn’t care.

I wanted more.

Every part of me reached for her, wanting to connect in a way that terrified me. If I allowed it, I’d never be the same. I could never go back. I wasn’t sure I even wanted my old life, not if I had to give up Lorna to keep it.

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