Daughter of Stars and Nightmares (The Eternal Bond Saga book 1)

Not My Idea of a Fun Night Out 2

Damien waited behind; when he and Julia were alone, he unlaced his fingers from hers and cupped her face in his hands "Jules, you did great today. I'll stop by tomorrow night and get you."

Her body went stiff, confusion rippled through her. His words were as tender as his touch. Julia closed her eyes for a second. She could feel the persistent voice inside of her scratching at the edges of her mind urging her to put Damien in his place and not to take things any further. Julia forced the voice back down, silencing its demands. She needed time and space to sort things out with Alex on her own.

Julia drew in a deep breath and let the air out. "Damien, you really don't have to do that. I can meet you guys in the basement."

"I know I don't, but I want to. Therefore, I'll pick you up at eight." He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

Julia stood there rooted to the floor surprised. When he pulled away, she squeaked out, "Good night, Damien," as he turned and walked toward the window.

He smiled back at her, beaming as he jumped out of her window; leaving her to unscramble her brain and sift through the millions of thoughts bouncing around her head. She didn't have long to sort out her confused feelings, before she felt a familiar jolt of electricity running down her spine, sensing his presence before he stepped through her window.

Alex's face twisted into an odd look; it was a mixture of annoyance and longing with a hint of rage. He walked over to her and rubbed the spot where Damien had kissed her with his thumb. "I really wish you wouldn't let him do that. Every time he touches you like you're his girlfriend I want to rip his arms off."

Stunned by his words, it caught Julia in a vortex of conflicting emotions. She was beyond happy that he was there; being kind and caring. Yet pissed off at him for ignoring her for a week and she still wasn't sure she hadn't hallucinated what happened between them in the woods.

Summoning up all her strength she pulled away from him. Her whole body screamed out in protest at the loss of contact. But Julia had to stand her ground and get things straight for her own sanity.

"Why do you care what Damien does?" It was a simple question.

A fire blazed in his eyes, his face turned hard as he closed the gap between them. Towering over her, he looked straight into her eyes, "What do you mean, why should I care?" his tone razor-sharp. "Did what happened between us on Halloween mean nothing to you? Have you changed your mind? Don't tell me you prefer him."

Julia saw hurt flash in his eyes for a second before they hardened. Seeing this tore her heart out, the pain was more than she could take.

She reached up and cupped his face in her hands. "No. Alex, I like you; it's always been you. Even when you were being a complete jerk to me it was you."

Alex's expression softened as he wrapped her in his strong arms, bent down and kissed her with longing and passion. It made the world drop from her feet, everything melted away. As their tongues entwined, and the kiss deepened, everything clicked back into place. The huge hole that was always present in her soul felt as if it was slowly being filled up by Alex and the love she had for him.

When they stopped kissing Julia felt foolish for doubting him. "I don't understand why you were avoiding me, Alex. It hurt; not to mention it made me doubt my sanity."

He gave her a look that told her he didn't understand "When you ignored me and went back to treating me the way you had been before Halloween. I thought I had hallucinated all of what happened between us in the woods. I started to think whatever Mormo gave me made me dream up the whole thing," she clarified.