{A.N. Sorry, before I let you get on with this chapter, I have to say something. This chapter snuck up on me like a ninja. I didn't see it coming. I was trying to write a private chapter for the R rated companion story, then this happened. This wasn't even the next "planned" chapter of the story. Here I go trying to be professional, and this happened. Enjoy.}
*Chapter Thirteen*
*Not Edited*
*Victoria P.O.V.*
Walking back into my house, I had a sinking feeling in my gut. This was it. The moment my life crashed down around my ears. My eyes started to sting and I could feel the weight builiding in my chest. It felt like a heart attack. Like my heart had been seized by some invisible hand, and crushed. Yes, a crushing. I felt it bleeding between those phantom fingers. My throat started to burn as a whimper of pain escaped me. How could I not? The pain was too much. I couldn't have kept quiet, it was like telling a woman in labour not to scream.
I felt him then. Damon's arms wrapped themselves around me, pulling me back into his chest. I let him. For once though, I did not feel those pleasant tingles signifying our bond. You would think I would be happy. I could pretend it was all a bad dream. The fact I couldn't feel, proof of the pain ripping through me. If anything, it made it worse. If the Goddess, or God, or whoever, took Damon from me too, I would be alone.
As I grew comfortable with the warm comforting presence behind me, I let it go. Let all the pain and fear and confusion out. I let the sobs choking me from the inside out into the world. It wasn't pretty and far from sexy. It was hoarse and raspy and full of keening. Damon's arms tightened around me. A secure base I was tied too. Without any words he held me, showing me he was there. He would always be there. Being held so tight made me feel safe in my grief. Safe enough to break apart, knowing he would help put me back together again.
My knees collapsed and he kept me upright, before settling us down on the ground. With us both sitting, he could move one of his hands. He did, moving me around till I was facing him.
Then he palmed the back of my head, moving it to his shoulder. I did it without thinking. Moving myself till my face rested in the crook of his neck. Sniffing in his scent between my cries soothed me. His other hand moving in comforting swirls over my back.
After a while, I ran out of tears. It was still the middle of the day, and I was exhausted. I wearily lifted my head up and away to look at Damon. His poor face. Lifting my hand, I touched his split lip. It already looked much better. Werewolf healing at it's best. I tried not to think about Michael and what he must look like. I needed a breather between breakdowns.
"I know, I'm twice as sexy with all these manly injuries. You don't have to say it." He said, giving me one of his signature smiles. I choked on the laugh that came. Bless him, trying to lift my spirits with silliness. It didn't work, but it was sweet that he tried.
"Actually, I was thinking what a shame if you got all scarred. I mean, what would you do if you didn't have that pretty face?"
A surprised bark of laughter came after my little comment.
"There's my girl." He picked me up, carrying me inside, and I was shocked. I'm not a super curvy girl, but I do have a bit of extra stuffing. He carried me as if I weighed nothing. I felt delicate and feminine. Even Michael couldn't carry me for long. Dàmnit. There I go again. I tucked my head into the crook of his neck inhaling him in. Snow purred, comforted by the scent of her mate so close. Snow being calmed, helped me to calm. He finally, almost reluctantly, set me down on the sofa.
"I'm going to make you something to drink. Be right back." Saying that, he walked off into the kitchen. Not sure what he was going to make. We didn't have any alcohol. I needed alcohol.
Okay, maybe not alcohol, as I needed my wits about me to care for the kids-THE KIDS! I reached over to the landline one the side table and punched in my cell. I took out my braid and pulled it up and made a messy bun, securing it with my hair tie.
"Hello?" Came a male voice. I knew it was Jack.
"Jack?" I still had to ask.
"Luna?" Okay, this was becoming a comedy of errors.
"I guess. Hey Jack. Noone killed anyone, and noone is in jail. You can bring the kids back." I told him. I gave a chuckle at the massive sigh of relief from his end.
"Thank Goddess! This place is like hell. It's full of all these very loud children, playing these bright loud games! How do people come here?! Why do people come here?!" The frustration in his voice was kinda funny. Ok. It was real funny.
"We go there, because to kids it's heaven." I explained. A snort left him.
"Well, your kids are exiting heaven right now." He ended the call at that. He was probably chasing down Jacob and wrestling my kids out the door as we speak. Hopefully, Jacob didn't fight him too much.
Damon returned with manna, coffee. He handed me a cup, pale with creamer he had found in the fridge. Just looking at it, I know he loaded it with sugar. I frowned at him though. He had only brought in one cup.
"Where's yours?" I asked him. He shrugged his shoulders and sat next to me.
"Not a big coffee drinker" I looked at him shocked. I wasn't sure how to take this. Should I be upset that I was stuck with not one but two anti coffee drinkers, or happy that noone would try to drink all my coffee. I choose the latter. More coffee for me.
"How are you?" He asked me. I took a drink, and nearly choked on the sweetness. Lord, this was undrinkable. Note to self. Never let Damon make my coffee.
"Well, I have been better. I'm hoping things will cool down and he will come home." I quickly looked at him, realizing what I had just said. "Oh no, shìt, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
"No, it's ok. I get it." He shook his head. "We may be mates, but you don't know me." I nodded at his words and set the abomination that was my coffee on the table. I turned to him and was struck again at the sheer perfection of his face. He really should come with a warning.
"Just because we don't know our every secret, doesn't mean you don't have feelings or that there is nothing between us." I said. A smile lit up his face. A smile that must have hurt his lips with his injury, but he didn't drop it.
"Are you saying there is something between us?" He asked. He brought his face closer to me.
"I...well...I..." I stammered. Could you blame me? He was nearly kissably close, and let's just say, those blue eyes are very distracting. His smile grew into a knowing smirk as the blush creeped over my face. A dark chuckle left those full lips. Why did he have to be so good looking? I felt like a rabbit, caught in the predator's gaze. I watched fascinated as a swirl of gold filled his eyes. Warning me his wolf lay just under the surface.
"What's the matter kitten?" He asked. Did he come closer? Oh, man. He reached up and tucked a curl that had come loose behind my ear. A warmth filled by body causing a irritating feelings in my muscles. My skin felt irritated even. It felt weird almost like I was jumping out of my own skin. Almost like I had to shift, but I didn't. Was it hot in here? I watched as his eyes closed and a deep purr came from his chest. Wow, he had long eyelashes. He breathed in deeply through his nose and gave that purr sound again.
"Goddess, you smell amazing." He opened his eyes and I let out a gasp. His eyes were swirling with gold, intense, and full of a hunger I was afraid I was starting to return. "I can smell how much you want me. How do you feel?" His voice dropped an octave it seemed. He must have hit some special frequency because it made me moan. Goodness, as the warmth got hotter through my body, I am definitely going to have change my panties. He hadn't even touched me!
"Okay, l guess. I feel conflicted. Also, like I'm jumping ouf of my skin." I admitted. I had to tell him the truth. I decided earlier, that keeping secrets and lies was no use. I wasn't trying to string him along. I was trying to be a better person. That meant complete honesty with both of them. It also meant complete honesty with myself. What was the point in denying my attraction to him? He could smell it, hell, I could smell it. The neighbors could probably smell it.
He closed his eyes and breathed in again. He looked like he was truly enjoying something. He kind of looked like me going down the coffee aisle at the grocery store. You had to stop, close your eyes, and let your sense of smell dominate. You enjoy it more. Cheese balls, was he savoring me? That was so flippin hot. He moved in a little closer, so that my lips nearly tingled in anticipation. His mouth, a ghost, just out of reach, but I could feel how close he was. I finally gave in to it and dropped my eyelids. Almost like a white flag going up. It said 'You win, I want you to kiss me.'
He gave anther dark chuckle almost in victory, which I felt against my lips, my face, as the warmth of his breath fanned over it. I sat there. With my eyes shut and my lips up, waiting. He didn't give in to me. Lord this felt almost as amazing. With that, I knew, Damon, would be the dark lover I always wished Michael would be. He would make me scream. I let a whimper of need escape as a fresh rush of arousal went through me. Crud, I was probably going to have to change not only my undies, but also my pants. I may or may not be leaving a wet spot on the couch.
I was to the point of begging him just to kiss me, when he did. His lips crashed on mine. It was like there was a direct link from my mouth to my nether parts. Like he could kiss an orgasm right out of me. It was almost an out of body experience. There were fireworks. Moaning in appreciation when he bit at my lips, I kissed him back. He was an amazing kisser. Nice pressure. Not sloppy or too wet. Just perfect. He bit at my lips again, demanding entrance. I opened my mouth and he groaned in approval at my quick submisssion.
He grabbed at me, setting me on his lap so he could feast on my mouth. His hands roamed down my back to grab at my hips and lower to my butt. He squeezed roughly, pulling me closer into his body, where I could feel what the kiss was doing to him. Let's just say it did a lot. He moved his hands up to my waist, squeezing tight again. Our tongues battled for dominance, and of course he won. One of his hands reached for my head. He grabbed a fistful of my hair tight in his hand, and I nearly exploded from the wonderful pain/pleasure. He used my hair like a handle, keeping me close. I fell into his kiss, and just enjoyed the taste of him. My hands had a mind of their own as they explored his chest over his shirt. They liked what they found.
He finally released me by pulling his lips back and away from mine. We both took in some much needed air. I enjoyed the aftershocks on my scalp as he released my hair. We were both breathing pretty heavy as we looked at each other. Both of our faces a mirror of shock. Snow was grumbling something about why did he stop, I wonder if his wolf was doing the same.
"I can hear your car coming. Didn't want your kids to see a strange man pawing their mom. Or worse. Believe me, you were 5 seconds away from being naked and filled with me." Oh, crap. Did I say my thoughts aloud? The pink of passion fell from my face as a new color filled it. Pure humiliation. I got off his lap and steadied myself. I heard the car too. At least one of us had the wherewithal to pay attention to our surroundings. It sure wasn't me. A marching band could have played through my house and I would have been blissfully unaware. I calmed myself, preparing for my babies to come home.
The car doors opening and closing heralded the return of the suffering Jack, sullen Jacob, and hopefully exhausted Alyssa. They came in, Jack holding a sleeping Alyssa, and as expected, a pouting Jacob.
"I didn't even get to change in my tickets Mom! He ran us out of there so fast!" Jacob yelled in accusation. I laughed a little and walked up to him. Giving my oldest a giant hug.
"We will go back and you can get even more tickets and an even bigger prize. Why don't you go upstairs and put your tickets in a safe spot." I promised. He had a grin on his face and bounded up the stairs. He was probably imaging all the "cool" things he will win. I gave Jack a thankful smile before taking Alyssa from him. I carried my little angel upstairs, changing her diaper, then laying her in the crib. I turned on her monitor and quietly left the room.
Returning downstairs I must have interrupted some heavy conversation between the two wolves. They stopped talking abruptly when I entered. I hate when that happens. I knew Jacob was already on his game system, building worlds and killing creepers, so we should have a moment to talk.
"Luna, here is your phone and keys, as well as your money back." Jack was handing me my things when Damon grabbed my phone. He started doing something on it, whatever, I have nothing to hide. I grabbed my keys and ignored the money.
"Jack, that money was for you to use at the pizza place. Keep it." I told him. He shook his head and placed the cash on the side table.
"Alpha, took care of it." I looked at Damon at this. He handed my phone to me with a shrug.
"I can take care of it. That's what Alpha's do. There's no need to spend your own money. I have plenty. I put my number in your phone. Call me." He got a far away look on his face and looked at me. "Pack duties call and I have to go. I mean it. Call me if you need anything and no matter what time of day or night I will answer. See you tomorrow." He placed a brief kiss to my lips before grabbing at Jack and heading out the door. I gently touched my mouth, still feeling the effects of the brief kiss. Maybe I wanted to see if I could feel it through my fingers as well. It should be illegal to taste so good.
The rest of the day passed quickly enough. During dinner, I couldn't help but keep loooking out the window, hoping to see the headlights of a familiar truck. They never came. The kids asked where Michael was, and I had to lie to them. I told them Daddy had to go out for work. I wasn't going to say that Daddy was mad at me because Mommy had met her wolf mate. Honesty wouldn't work here. They accepted my answer and we started the nightly routine sans Michael. It was a little more work for me, but I accepted it. It was my fault he wasn't here. I was getting worried though. He hadn't called or texted me and he wasn't answering any of mine.
I did the only thing I could do. I stood, looking out my living room window at the empty driveway and called Damon. It barely started to ring when he picked up.
"Victoria? Is everything okay?" His deep voice soothed me better than a shot of whiskey.
"No, Michael isn't home yet, and I'm getting worried. We don't know a lot of people around here-"
"Victoria, kitten, you need to calm down." He interupted my rambling as gently as he could.
"Do you want me to go look for him?" He asked. I thought about it for a second. Did I want that? Did I want my mate, I wasn't sure what else to call him, searching for my husband? Especially after what happened earlier? Was Damon my boyfriend?
"Do you think you could? I mean without getting all MMA again?" I listened to his laugh, at least someone thought I was funny.
"I think I could do that." My shoulders dropped in relief. I guess I did want him to go and find him.
" Thank you, I just need to know he's okay." I sighed. Also, that he wasn't seeking relief from some man stealing ho. I let it that thought go. Here I go being horribly selfish again.
"I told you, whatever you need. I meant that. I will find your runaway husband, you go to sleep. You're going to need your rest." I almost asked him what I would need the rest for, but timidity won on that one. I was afraid what he would say.
"Alright, call me though if you find him." He said he would and we said our goodnights and ended the call. I was tired all of a sudden. This had been an extremely emotional, exhaustive day. I was more than ready to call it done. I headed upstairs for my own bedtime routine. Then for the first time in forever I laid on my empty bed. All alone. I couldn't remember the last time I was alone in my bed. The tears came then. I grabbed at Michael's pillow and held it close to my face. It pulled double duty. It quieted my cries and helped to soothe me as I inhaled Michael's scent. This went on for a bit before I fell asleep. Tears drying on my face and Michael's scent in my nose.