Love Bites

Chapter 39: Treading the Line

Zoey makes her way to Damon, stopping at the edge of his desk. That's where she decides to settle herself, trying to keep some distance between the two of them. She didn't know what she would do to him or with him if she got any closer. She realized that at some point in the past few days, she became overly conscious of his presence.

Damon had leaned himself back in his chair as he watched her every movement closely. Having him watch her so intensely had her unconsciously holding her breath. What was up with this tension? Did she cause it, or was it something else?

"Relax, Zoey. You act like I'm going to eat you. You're so stiff." Damon takes in a deep breath which Zoey is acutely focused on. She felt like she could hear him suck in every single molecule, and in the background, she could hear the steady beat of his heartbeat, and the silence in the room became deafening against it.

It was ridiculous. Zoey never once in her life fought her sexual urges, but here she was fighting them now even though her mind was getting drunk with it. Why was she fighting it so much? What exactly was she afraid of happening? She shakes her head, trying to shake away her senses from being focused on him, "Did you have to say it like that?" She grips tightly to the edge of his desk to keep herself from moving closer to him.

Damon chuckles, resting his arm on the armrest at his side as he tilts his head innocently, "What's wrong with the way I said it?"

Zoey bites her bottom lip quite aggressively. She could hear the low shuffle of his finger rubbing against his cheek, and all she could think about was having them on her body. She was about ready to fall to her knees in front of him and beg him to touch her, "Stop playing coy, Damon. You know what you're doing."

Damon licks his lips and leans his head back on the chair, his eyes never leaving hers, "Zoey, for as long as I've met you, you've never been one to hold back from things you wanted. So why are you doing it now? What could happen that hasn't happened already?"

She loosens her grip on the desk and sighs, "I don't know..." she runs her hands through her hair, "I just... I don't feel in control of these feelings. They're too intense. Do you guys deal with this every day? I don't know how you do it." He chuckles, making Zoey's eyes wander to his chest, anticipating what lay beyond the layers of clothing.

"It's hard sometimes. We can be irrational, but we've dealt with it since birth, which helps. But Zoey..." he sat up in his chair and eyed her carefully, "there's nothing in this situation that has to keep you from controlling yourself, so why are you?"

That was the final straw, Zoey's legs buckled from underneath her, and she fell to her knees beside him, giving in to the welcoming aroma around her that her body so desperately wanted, "I don't want things to change between us..." she said in such a low voice that it was barely audible.

Damon reaches out and lightly settles his fingers under her chin, beckoning her toward him, which she happily obliges, "And who says it will? We've been friends since before this, and if you want, we'll be friends well after. I'm just helping you like I've been doing. That's all it is. Right?"

She crawls toward him until she is directly underneath him. Her senses were drunk with his fragrance, so much so that her breathing became a bit raspier, and she could feel herself succumb to the desire within her. Damon inched himself closer to her, preparing to kiss her, and she was already welcoming the touch when a knock disturbed the moment.

Damon takes an annoyed breath in before he sits up and responds, "What is it?" A slight hint of irritation was in his tone.

"Mr. Richard Cross is here for your 3 o'clock meeting." The voice that Zoey was growing to hate reverberated throughout the room. It belonged to the flashy brunette from earlier.