“So there are more like you?” she asked. Lexi like Travis was harder to except. There wasn’t a deceitful bone in her body. She couldn’t see her hurting anything. Now Chase. That was a whole different story. He out of all of them was easily the most convincing. That boy looked like a menace to society.
He nodded. “Besides Lexi, Chase and I…yes. I have no idea how many, but in Spring Valley there are others.”
Oookay. There was a whole lot about this world she didn’t understand. And it seemed that things just got a whole lot messier. Wait. Did that mean she actually bought his story? Travis. A half-demon?
What choice did she really have? She trusted him above anything, and he had never lied to her before. But the real question was how she felt about it.
After the near death experience she couldn’t even began to explore her feelings. Right now all she felt was numbness. And that was just dandy with her.
“So this being half-demon allows you to run in vampire-speed. What else can you do?” She wanted to understand.
“Mostly its heightened senses, faster speeds, quicker reflexes, increased strength and mind control. Those are the upsides, but the downsides outweigh any positives.”
She lifted a perfect arched brow. Downside? Right he had said he was cursed.
“I have a demon half. A side of me that calls to chaos, destruction, and evil. It can be controlled, but more often than not the demon breaks through.”
His admission made her think about his eyes. “Does that have anything to do with the way your eyes change color?”
“Yeah. When the demon begins to surface, the eyes turn yellow. Once the eyes are entirely yellow, its complete possession, more demon than human. And that is highly dangerous and unpredictable.”
She swallowed hard. Emma was started to get the impression that he was trying to frighten her. She wasn’t sure why?
“I know it may seem like I’m normal, but I swear I am anything but. And truthfully you would better off without me in your life. There is nothing but devastation, pain, and danger at every corner. That is no way to live, and I won’t mix you up in it.”
She wasn’t sure she liked where this was going. “What are you saying?”
He rubbed a hand over his face. What was he saying? There was no way on earth he wanted to let her go. No matter how much that made him a selfish bastard. The thought of living without her in his life was unbearable.
Bleak.
Sunless.
Empty.
A pitiful life.
Yeah that wasn’t an option. So what was he going to do? “I don’t know.”
She hated to hear the defeat in his voice. It was gut-retching. Laying a hand on his cheek, she sought to give him solace.
“I guess I just want you to know what you are getting into, and I’m giving you out. No hard feelings, no obligation. I can’t promise that it will be easy, but I promise to not let anything hurt you. Ever.”
There was a long pause. And then it hit her. He was talking about ending what they had just started. She could barely process that he was half-demon, and now he was giving her an out. What was going on? “I don’t want an out,” she replied over the crackling of a fire log.
He didn’t seem to hear her. “Look I understand you are scared and afraid,” he rambled.
“I don’t care what you are!” she said, forcefully. It seemed to be the only way to pierce through his thick skull. “I’m not afraid of you,” she continued, softer after she finally got his attention.
“Em, I know you think–”
“You don’t know what I am thinking.” She realized that what she said was true. Even after everything she learned, she wasn’t afraid of Travis.
He studied her. There was no fear in her crystal glass bottle eyes. His heart skipped. “Good, ‘cuz I am too selfish to let you go.”
She was suddenly in his arms.
This was going to take some getting used to. Her eyes couldn’t follow his suddenly blinding movements.
Then his warm lips were on hers. All thoughts disappeared except how incredibly edible Travis tasted. Her core burned from the inside out like the roasting logs. Coaxing her mouth open everything about him was gentle and sweet.
It didn’t matter that he was different. It didn’t matter what the world thought, or the problems that would surely arise.
All that matter was now.
Entwining her arms around his neck, she pulled him closer. He nuzzled the side of her neck with butterfly kisses. When his mouth returned to hers, he kissed her ravenously. She had become his lifeline. Her scent, like daisies was faint but drugged him regardless.
With just the last thread of sanity he pulled away ever so slowly. What she needed was comfort not debauchery after all she had gone through today.
She saw the glint in his eyes, and her pulse raced.
“Let’s get you home,” he regrettable said. He wasn’t ready to let her go and wasn’t sure he ever would be. What he felt for her had spiked a hundred degrees. Letting her see the real him had done something inside. He felt freer, lighter and for the first time he felt like he belonged.
Belonged with Emma.
Chase was going to kick his ass from here to kingdom come.
Chapter 12