Finally Dorian closes his eyes, breaking his hold on my body and restoring his gorgeous face. The darkness has fallen away, his conventional human beauty taking its place. I am a panting, whimpering wreck, yet he is so coldly controlled. I gaze at him admiringly as he undoes his slacks. He steps out of them then comes to me, holding his body over mine. I don't know what to make of this. How could I possibly take anymore? But I want to feel him. I want his body on top of mine. I want to kiss him, taste him, feel his warmth living inside of me.
With a tentative hand, I reach up to stroke his chiseled jaw. He nestles into the contact, letting his eyes close and draws in the scent of my palm. Breathing me. When his eyes reopen, they are bright and sparkling, like the moon's reflection on dark water. I let my hands roam his shoulders and back, pulling his face down to mine. My tongue tastes his sweet flavor mixed with my own, my hands knotting in his hair.
Dorian lifts his head and stares down at me with cautious, searching eyes. This is not the Dark One who manipulated my body with just a brush of his fingertips. This is not the calculated, controlled killer. This is a man seeking acceptance. He needs to know that I'm okay with all this, okay with his darkness. Okay with him.
I look into his baby blues earnestly. "I love you, Dorian. No matter what you are, I love you."
Relief and affection wash over him and Dorian lowers himself to reunite our lips. His hands find mine and he conjoins them over my head, our fingers intertwined in their own embrace. I could taste his lips forever, and I want to. I never want to kiss another man ever again. No other man even exists.
Dorian pulls a hand from mine to guide himself into my warm, soft flesh and enters me slowly, our unified gasps echoing throughout the dim bedroom. He fills me, satisfies my craving for him. Each stroke is measured and deliberate. He finds my hands again and joins our palms as he passionately digs deeper into my middle. I moan and sigh as he bathes my neck and shoulders with kisses before moving back to my mouth to consume my most erotic sounds.
For what seems like hours, Dorian makes good on his promise to love me from the inside out. He fills every part of me in ways that I could never fathom in my wildest fantasies. And for the first time since learning what I am and all it entails, bullshit and denial aside, I undoubtedly believe in magic.
Chapter Four
"Are you sure you can't come?" I whine, poking my lip out like a spoiled brat.
It's Saturday afternoon, and I begrudgingly have to go home soon to get ready for Morgan's celebratory barbeque. I love my girl, but I'm not ready to leave Dorian or his arms. There's so much more I need to know. And if we have any chance at surviving this, knowledge is power.
Dorian chuckles and flicks my lip gently. "No, little girl. I told you. Chris and Donna are not ready to see me."
"They know there's nothing they could do to make me stop seeing you. Maybe it'd be good for them to see that you really don't intend to kill me," I say with nervous laughter.
Dorian nods. "In time, but not at Morgan's house. We shouldn't ruin her day. Besides, we need to be sure there are no other witnesses just in case things become hostile."
I look at Dorian quizzically. "You wouldn't hurt them, would you?" After witnessing just a fraction of Dorian's incredible power, Chris and Donna would be annihilated in the blink of an eye.
"Of course not. But I can't say the same about you. You aren't in control of yourself yet."
Huh? Dorian thinks I would hurt them? "What are you talking about?"
"Gabriella, you are still so raw. You are completely ruled by your emotions. If things became heated, I don't know how you'd react. I could defend myself. They could not."
I think of how I left things with my parents less than a day ago- my hands trembling violently, my eyes burning with unseen frost and every light flickering throughout the house. They were afraid of me, and I liked it. Their fear empowered me. My parents wanted to keep me from Dorian and I was ready to strike like an untamed animal. He's right; I am a serious danger to them.
"You're right," I nod solemnly. "The sooner I move out, the safer they'll be. Will the apartment be ready by graduation?"
"It will be. Or you could come here and stay with me."
I choke on my own saliva, hacking into my palm. "Um, are you serious? You just told me you were sent to murder me and now you're asking me to move in with you?"
Dorian shrugs, his mouth twisting into an uneasy, hopeful grin. "I know it seems too soon for us; I understand that. But you need to be protected, Gabriella. I need to make sure that whoever is out there lusting for your blood doesn't get near you."
He lets out a breath then shakes his head. "And I just want you here with me. Always. I know it's selfish of me to request that of you but it's the truth. Having you near mollifies me in a way that I can't describe. I've never felt this … good. I'm completely addicted to you and I'm not sure how to deal with that."
What happened to the elusive, enigmatic man that totally beguiled me with just a look? Dorian's words leave me speechless; there's not much I can say in response. Of course I feel the same way. Of course I only want to be where he is. I've been battling my own addiction to him, feeling more and more drawn to him with every passing second we're together. Part of me wants to pull back and put some space between us so I could gradually wean myself from my insatiable craving for him. Yet I know that I could never be strong enough to actually stay away. Even as I stared at that photo for the first time, the evidence of Dorian's betrayal looking back at me, I couldn't stay away. And now that I know how he feels, now that I know he loves me too, all resistance is futile.
"Why do you think that is? I mean, I understand why we're drawn to each other; I get that level of crazed need to feel you. But why me? And why does it suddenly feel so … intense?"
Dorian takes my hands in his, pulling me to face him. "Every time I touch you, every time I breathe you, that feeling of frenzy intensifies. I take you inside of me; I absorb your life force. I know you don't understand how deep of a connection that is just yet. But willingly giving yourself for the sake of pleasure is one of the most intimate acts for us, both Dark and Light alike."
He brings my hands to his lips, trailing soft kisses on each knuckle. "Little girl, we, the Dark, don't love easily. It's a notion that is rare for our kind. So when we find it, we don't take it lightly. We fight for it. We die for it."
Die for it? Dorian has said that he would gladly die for me yet the words still surprise me. But the nagging reminder that his ravenous lust for my essence could accidentally kill me nudges my sensibility before I give into his request.
"As much as I want to spend every second of the rest of eternity with you, I think there are too many doubts, too many questions for right now. I want to be with you; I know that for sure. But we have to sort this shit out, Dorian. What we have- what I thought we had- is in repair. Hell, I'm in repair. Plus I want to room with Morgan. We've planned this for months and I won't let her down."
Dorian nods, giving me a tight-lipped grin. "I understand. You're right to be reluctant. And it'd be for the best. The more we are together, the closer we are, the harder it is to resist. We should be smart about this. Our lives are already at stake. No need to make things even riskier."
"Thank you," I smile. "Speaking of Morgan … you know about her, right? How she's different?"
"Yes, I know," he nods. Dorian looks at me with a furrowed brow. Something about this topic troubles him. "When I told you I would protect your friends, I meant it. When I tried to make good on that promise, I learned that Morgan already had a protection spell around her. Something that even I could not penetrate. I am Dark, but Dark magic and black magic are two different things. Even still, I am considerably more powerful than any Vodou."
"Mr. Pierre? Could he have done something?"
"No, it wasn't him. He has the gift of sight but he can't use. The only thing I could think of would be if a powerful force of black magic actually was sacrificed for this one spell. But who would do that? Then I did some digging. You know about Morgan's grandmother, right?"
"Right," I answer meekly.
"She was very powerful for a priestess. But her life was short-lived. She died suddenly, a few years back. No one knew what caused her death. Do you know what triggered her sudden demise?"
I shake my head slowly. What is he getting at? "No, Dorian. I don't."
He looks at me with remorseful eyes, and reaches out to stroke my cheek. "Her son and his family moved to Colorado Springs. And her granddaughter instantly befriended another young lady. On the outside, this new friend seemed innocent enough. But her grandmother learned that this girl was very different. Very special. Very dangerous. And she sacrificed herself to give her family one last gift."
Tears pool in my wide, horror-stricken eyes. "Morgan's grandmother killed herself to protect Morgan from me?"
"Yes, my love. Do not be saddened. Even Morgan's father does not know the truth and he never will. That form of magic is unnatural, and our kind avoids it all costs. She did us all a kindness, you will see."