Damien's POV

The kiss caught me by surprise. Looking back at it, I realized this was the third time her lips had met mine. Not that I was keeping track of it. I had stolen the first two kisses from her because I could no longer deny the physical attraction that I felt towards this woman. But this time was different, this time she had initiated the kiss, which meant she was attracted towards me too.

She wanted me just as much as I've wanted her.

Why did the thought bring me so much joy and satisfaction?

I had never felt like this towards any woman, I've had physical relationships with many who I knew wanted me for my title and also my body. Back then I would be content knowing the power that I held and my good looks attracted all the females, I would be so proud and egoistic about it.

But with Aliya, it was much deeper than that.

With her, I wasn't the vampire king who everyone bowed to anymore, I was just Damien who she had accepted in all my forms.

It didn't matter if I had a crown on my head or not. She didn't care about the fact that I was the king, she would scold me like a child and challenge me in ways I never thought possible. Despite my cold behavior, how she managed to bring the best out of me was beyond my imagination.

It's like the money and the power that I always flaunted turned to rust when it came to her. It didn't woo her or cause her to chase after me like all the others.

The connection that we had was far beyond the materialistic aspects of this world. It was out of this world altogether.

Her innocent little kiss brought me out of my thoughts. She was being gentle, as if hesitant that I would push her away. Or maybe I didn't react soon enough because I was caught by surprise when she had kissed me.

Feeling her slowly starting to pull away, I immediately grabbed onto her waist and pulled her closer. I moved my lips against her soft ones, trying to match her innocence. Her scent was overpowering me now, wrapping around me like a blanket.

Her fingers buried themselves in my hair, softly tugging on it. I deepened the kiss, sucking on her bottom lip which made her gasp.

I tried my hardest to be as gentle as possible, afraid that she might snap back into reality and realize how much of a monster I truly was. But when she let out a small moan as I licked her lips, I was on the verge of losing control.

Then, as if all barriers between us broke, my hands reached down to pick her up as she instantly wrapped her legs around my torso. In a blink of an eye, I had her against the wall using my speed, pressing her against it firmly.

Her frame fit perfectly against mine, our bodies practically glued together.

My lips collided with hers again, this time much more urgently. Biting onto her lower lip, I begged for entrance. She let out another moan, quickly giving me access to slide my tongue in her mouth. I tasted her as if it was the first time, our tongues dancing together in the most desirable way.

It was unlike any kiss I had ever experienced.

I didn't want it to stop. I wanted to stay as close to her as possible as I explored every inch of her body, feeling every curve as my hand slid down the side of her body, resting on her small waist.

Her shirt had risen up and I could feel her warm skin under my fingers.

"Damien," she breathed out, clearly out of breath from the kiss.

The sound of my name coming from her, spoken in such a lustful way, was enough to send my mind into an overdrive.

What was this girl doing to me?

I took that as a queue to slide my fingers under her shirt, trailing up until my hand rested on her back. I felt her shiver ever so slightly under my touch.

My lips parted from her as I started to kiss down her jawline, down to her neck. I sucked on a small part of her neck, licking it ever so slightly. I could almost hear the blood pumping through her veins, shuddering at the thought of getting to taste her again.

"Aliya," the way her name rolled off my tongue alerted me of just how much I wanted her.

What was I doing?

No matter how much I wanted her, I couldn't have her.

I knew she would end up hating me if I continued any further. I was the monster who stole her childhood dreams and if I stole her virginity there would be no going back. She would blame me for taking advantage of her innocence.

She wasn't ready to see that side of me. She wasn't ready for this at all.

My mind shifted to the night in the rain when we got stranded in the village, when I first tasted her blood. Her sweet scent drove me crazy and I could stop drinking from her, she was too weak to even open her eyes after that and it took her days to recover. I had to give her some of my own blood to make her feel better. The thought of hurting her again brought me back to my senses. I couldn't bare to hurt her again, or make her feel like she was taken advantage of. She was too pure for that.

She looked at me confused as if to ask why I retrieved, her eyes searching mine for an answer.

"I.. I just remembered I have to take care of something," I gently dropped her back on her feet.

The amount of my power it took for me to not resume our make out session was insane. Holding myself back, I closed my eyes to get rid of every dirty thought that had been born ever since my skin came in contact with hers.

After a moment to calm myself down, I opened my eyes to find Aliya leaning against the wall behind her. She seemed out of breath and I couldn't blame her, she took my breath away too. Crossing her arms, she started to study my expression.

Why did I feel like I was in trouble?

I wasn't used to the way she was looking at me, usually I looked at people like that when they did something wrong or pissed me off.

Did I do something wrong?

"What is this something that you have to take care of suddenly?" She asked.

"It's- there are many things that require my attention at the moment," I tried to clear my clouded thoughts of her to think of something quick, "I have to head back to the vampire world. I would have to attend the guests who will be arriving soon for my sister's wedding."

Her eyes beamed with excitement at the mention of my sister's wedding as the scowl on her face disappeared. The excitement only last for a few second though, soon replaced by sadness as her eyes dropped to the floor.

I knew what she was thinking.

"Would you like to come?" I asked her, not sure if she would even accept. She had been keen on leaving the vampire world for as long as I could remember. But I knew she also didn't want to miss Emma's wedding.

"That was the reason for my visit, Emma insisted that I invite you personally to attend her wedding, it would mean the world to her if you could come."

To her, I could hear her thoughts as clear as the day.

Does he want me to come?

I gulped, too afraid to even think about answering that question. I knew having her in the vampire world would be hard for me, her presence would remind me of the past and her eyes would constantly draw me towards her without, making me forget about the consequences.

"And besides," my mind shifted to another topic, "I'm not leaving you here by yourself after what happened tonight. The predators might decide to come back, you'll be safe in my world where I'll be present to protect you. You can enjoy the festivities and spend time with my sister while I hunt down the people behind this, just give me some time. Once I have them by the hook, then you can return home whenever you wish."

She was lost in thought for some time, debating on if she should join me.

"But what about my work and my classes? I will have to talk to Esther before leaving for a few days. I guess I can still take my classes online..."

"You can call your work tomorrow and tell them you had a family emergency. And as for your classes, I'll make sure you have a quiet private space for your studies. If you need to return for anything at all, I will drive you here myself."

I knew I was making a big promise, I barely had time for myself nowadays. How I was going to travel between the worlds was something I didn't think through yet, but I knew I would figure something out.

Besides, nothing was more important than keeping her safe.

I blinked at the thought, since when did I turn into her bodyguard?

It was just to right my wrongs, nothing more. So I kept telling myself.

"Okay, just give me a few minutes to grab my stuff, my clothes and my laptop," she started to walk towards her room.

She stopped as she noticed my clothes that were on the floor, "here, let me throw these in the washer while I pack and take a quick shower. We don't want you returning with a shirt that's stained with blood."

"You left plenty of clothes back at the castle, so just pack the essentials," I recalled half my closet filled with her belongings that I never had the heart to donate.

After putting my clothes in the laundry machine, Aliya disappeared in her bedroom. I heard her tiny feet running around throwing things together and talking to herself about what she would need.

I chucked, laying down on the sofa I pulled out my phone to keep myself occupied while she acted like a mad woman. After a few moments, I heard the shower running.

Closing my eyes, I shifted into a more comfortable position. Looks like we're gonna be here for another eternity.

***

Aliya's POV

"I said to pack the essentials," Damien stared at the medium sized suitcase and a duffel bag, accompanied by a laptop purse in disbelief.

I noticed that he put his shirt back on, the stains now washed off but a cut remained where his wound was. The wound had completely healed from the looks of it.

Lucky vampires.

"They are essentials," I claimed, "never know what a girl might need."

It was only a few pair of clothes, some sandals and shoes to go with them, and purses to complete the look. Oh and also my skincare, makeup, hair tools and accessories, laptop/study materials, toiletries, etc.

See, only the essentials.

"You realize we have toiletries and all of the above in the vampire world too, right?" Damien raised his eyebrows.

"Okay but do they have cute scrunchies?" I questioned.

"Cute what?"

I let out a small laugh, hearing Damien say the word "cute" sounded too cute.

Did I just call the vampire king cute?

He starred at me as his lips pulled back in a firm line. The look told me he just read my thoughts again, making me wish I was ten feet under ground, dead by now.

Before he could give me the "I'm not cute, I'm the king of the world" speech, I held out my hand to stop him.

"Let's just go," I said, but then paused as I realized how we are going to get to the vampire world.

Last time Damien teleported his ass out of the room like a magician, I wondered what tricks he had up his sleeve this time.

"Did you just compare me to a fucking clown?" He sounded offended.

"But to answer your question, no. There is no way I'm carrying 3 bags and you out of this place. Besides, I only teleport when it is absolutely necessary, other times I use a more.. statement worthy means of transportation. So don't worry, I brought a ride and it's waiting for us downstairs."

The corner of his mouth pulled up in a half smile, for the first time I saw him getting excited about something.

Boys and their toys.

Damien helped me carry the bags; more like he carried all of them and didn't even let me touch one. He was such a gentleman sometimes, only when he wanted to be. If we were to rewind seven months ago he would've just watched me struggle and even called me weak for not being able to carry the weight.

He was being much nicer, I welcomed the change and pushed his old habits to the back of my mind.

We headed down the elevator and stepped outside the building, it had stopped raining but the air was still cold and humid.

A chiming sound echoed through the streets as he unlocked his car with the touch of a button.

My eyes landed on the car parked by the curb as the bright headlights blinded me for a few seconds. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I noticed the dark beauty that lay before me. The car was a marvelous royal black with tinted windows that blended in with the rest of the body.

"Meet the newest member of my collection, this baby just got delivered today: Bugatti La Voiture Noire."

What what and what?

All I caught was the word Bugatti, I knew they were some of the most expensive cars in the world.

"There's only one of these in the human world, and you happen to be staring right at it."

My eyes almost popped out of their sockets, "what?! So you bought it from here?"

"Yes, I had my eyes on it for some time now and when I found out they're only making one unit, I knew it had to be mine. I like having the most rare and precious things to myself," his eyes shifted from the car to me, he held my gaze for a few seconds before it dropped to my lips, making them part in response.

He cleared his throat and started to put my stuff in the car, holding the door out for me after he was done.

I accepted the gesture and slid into the passenger seat, the smell of a new car mixed with something citrusy hit me in the face.

Damien came around to the driver seat and put his seatbelt on. I did the same.

"Ready for the ride?" He asked me.

I watched as he turned on the air conditioning and adjusted the AC vents, beaming with happiness. There was a glow in his eyes that rarely made an appearance. There weren't many things that caught his attention in a good way. For once, there wasn't a scowl on his face or guarded eyes trying to hide every emotion.

I liked seeing him happy for once.

"I know I'm sexy but can you stop staring at me like that? You're making me shy," he joked, rubbing the back of his neck for effect.

Him and feeling shy? I scoffed.

"Trust me, you're not even the sexiest man alive. Have you seen Chris Hemsworth?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

He gave me a weird look, "who the fuck is that, your new boyfriend?!"

"I wish," I sighed, thinking about how perfect and hot he looked as Thor. Emma and I had binged watched the movies when she came to visit.

Damien's hand gripped the steering wheel so hard that I could see his veins popping out.

"Want me to drop you off at his place instead?" He narrowed his eyes at me, almost like a warning.

I chose to ignore him.

"So are we going to drive through the portal?" I asked as he pulled out of the parking space, waking up half the city with the roaring engine.

His car seemed just as mad as him.

I didn't quite remember how I was brought through the portal last time or any details of where it was located in the human world. Emma said it was illegal for any human residing here to know where the portal was, so the guards erased my memory of it.

"It is strictly prohibited to drive through the portal, you have to be on foot in order to cross it, or at least that's what the law says," Damien shrugged.

"So you're gonna have to leave your car here?"

He went through a lot of work and spent too much money just to leave it all behind. I couldn't believe he would do that.

"I said it's prohibited; but did I mention I'm the king and I can do whatever the hell I want?"

Yup, there was no way he was going to start following the rules all of a sudden, definitely not today.

I crossed my arms and leaned back into the seat, resting my head to the side and watching the city lights blur past us. A comforting silence surrounded us; my eyes started to feel heavy and I could hear Damien telling me to rest in the background as I dozed off to sleep.

But not before a final thought made its way to my mind: I was heading back to the place that had been my prison for the last ten years.

I wondered what new challenges I would have to face and if I would be lucky enough to break free this time...

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