Synching With the Devil's Son

Chapter 14

Lucien's P.O.V.

When Bella puts her hand in mine, I start to pull her up, but am surprised when she pulls back and pats the ground next to her. "Can we sit here a while longer?" she asks shyly, looking up at me with her gorgeous hazel eyes. Far be it from me to argue, and I'm not ready to leave the quiet solitude we've found ourselves in, so I sit back down next to her and lean back on my hands. Listening to the river crashing behind me, I see some of the night's creatures looking at us, trying to decide if we are a danger to them. I feel Bella move, and I couldn't have been more surprised if my Grandfather suddenly appeared riding a unicorn when she climbs onto my lap and entwines her arms around my neck. She is voluntarily touching me, not in a sexual manner, but as a friend. I can count on one hand the number of times that's happened in my life, and I cannot believe how much I like it. In my experience, touching leads to intimacy, but Bella is in no mindset to be thinking about sex. Unfortunately for her, that's all I ever think about, so I have to grit my teeth and try to prevent my body from showing her how much her proximity is affecting me. When she leans in to whisper she wants to help keep me warm, my attempt at keeping my body from betraying me goes out the window, and I shift uncomfortably. Then when her head leans onto my shoulder and I feel her relax against me, I almost groan with longing. I cannot help the shiver that runs through me when her nails scratch gently against my neck, playing with my hair. What this girl is doing to me. I had every intention of making her life miserable this weekend, and now I want to slap myself for even thinking that way. I sit up and wrap my arms around her, then stand with her in my grip and walk over to a tree, smiling at her gasp and quiet murmur of "No, not yet." I sit back down so I can lean my back against the tree, cradling her in my embrace. "You're so warm," she sighs into my chest, and I grip her tighter to me. She doesn't seem to remember the whole reason she sat in my lap in the first place was to help keep me warm. I don't need her to, but she doesn't have to know that. I do, however, need to adjust myself without making her worry about my intentions. I don't want to scare her anymore tonight, so I tuck her head tightly into the crook of my neck and adjust her until she is sitting on my thighs instead of between my legs. I take this moment to look, really look, at the woman in my arms. I begin to gently pull brambles and twigs out of her thick blonde hair, tweaking her ear between my fingers as I pass by it. I can feel her smile against my skin and it makes me smile. Her skin is so soft, her breath warm against my chest, and her scent, once hidden behind the stench of fear, starts making itself known to me. It's a subtle floral scent, mixed with cinnamon, and I am quickly becoming addicted to it. 

We relax quietly against the tree trunk for a while, listening to the crashing of the river beside us, her gentle hands continue to sift through my hair and run down my chest. I keep replaying how her fear wouldn't release her from it's icy grip earlier tonight, and it begins to strum an unbalanced rhythm deep in my bones. "Bella," I say quietly, knowing full well I am about to disrupt the quiet benevolence between us. There is a small part of me that does not want to ask, but as a demon who's job it is to punish people, I need to know. "Mmm?" she responds, placing her soft cheek on my shoulder. "What happened to you that caused you to panic tonight?" I understand it is not something she wants to discuss, but I want to find the prick that made her behave this way and make him pay. Maybe I can get Dad to help me and we can bond over the hunt for this asshole. I feel her lean away from me to look into my face. I try to give her my best guileless expression as she looks into my eyes.