A Legacy of the Damned: Daughter of Astaroth

Chapter 30 - Seattle Welcome Wagon

"Seattle?" I blurt out.

He turns to face me and I suck in a deep breath.

He's very intimidating under normal circumstances, but when he's angry like this, he's a different creature. There's still that swirl of energy with sparks of gold around him. The gathering of forces before the storm. It's clearer now that we're in the darkened SUV. His eyes are also more gold than the regular bright hazel, surrounded by long dark lashes. His sharp angular face looks like carved marble. His beauty takes my breath away.

I can sense how very powerful he is and he gives off a dangerous vibe that should have repelled the demon part of me. But somehow, despite the danger or maybe because of it, I want more of him. I want to get closer. If I were to burn, I'd gladly perish by his fire.

"But why?" I ask him. I don't get why he can't just leave me here like he planned to. I'm not planning to go anywhere now. Not too much, anyway.

"Why?" he says through gritted teeth. "Because you obviously can't be left alone for five minutes without causing trouble!" he bursts out angrily before he stops.

I can feel the energy around him building as he was talking and I have a feeling that he's now reining in his rage for fear of hurting me.

He takes a deep breath while keeping his hand firmly clenched on his thigh. He takes a few more long deep breaths then turns to stare moodily out of the window.

He's furious but he won't physically harm me and that's a serious conflict within our natures. I don't get it but I do sense it on the deepest level.

I watch the passing view outside the window on his side for a few seconds before my gaze flicks back to study him.

I can't see his entire face because he's facing away from me but his jaw is clenched and his whole body is stiff. He has an elbow of one arm braced on the car window while the other on his thigh. The muscles of his exposed arms are taut underneath the golden skin. His long elegant fingers are digging into the fabric of his dark grey pants.

His turbulent energy only draws me in, tempting me to stick a finger into his flame.

I remember what it feels like to feel his warm skin underneath my fingertips and even now, I'm itching to trace my fingers over the raised veins of his arm or run them through his thick dark mane. But I keep my hands to myself and I fidget with the diamond bracelet around my wrist instead.

Maybe the best thing to do is to stay quiet so that he'd have the chance to cool down?

After ten minutes or so, I can't take it much longer. The silence sort of unnerves me and I sense that he's got his rage under control...a bit. At least I don't see that golden energy revolving around him anymore.

"You're mad," I say finally, wringing my hands together. Ugh! That's not what I meant to say. No man has ever made me feel this way before. I made men feel insecure and desperate, not the other way around.

He remains stiff and stoic, not giving any indication that he has heard me but a muscle in his clenched jaw jumps and his arms seem to tighten even more at the sound of my voice.

"I mean, I know you're mad that I ran off on my own," I begin again. I see the muscle ticking at his jaw but I continue on, "But I was going back to your condominium." Because Astaroth ordered me to, but there's no need to tell him that. And there's no need to tell him when I was thinking of going back because that also wouldn't help my cause. "So you see, you don't have to..."

"I was supposed to be attending a very important meeting this evening," he cuts in quietly. His expression is grim when he turns his head to face the windshield. He keeps his eyes firmly on the road outside. "We were minutes away from taking off when one of your guards called to tell me that you're gone." His eyes narrowed and he's clenching his fists. "I warned you that it's dangerous for you to be out without the guards. But what did you do?"