Blood Ties (NaNoWriMo 2015)

Fifty-Eight

If I had thought my talk with Marilyn had created waves of scandals that was nothing compared to what Damon did when the dancing started. At first I'd opted to sit out, though I had been given some practice dancing at Cruor Luna, many of the songs played and styles favored were very unfamiliar to me. More things that belonged to the Victorian era or whatever time Jane Austen hailed from. I did watch though, tapping my feet and fingers in time to the music as the lavishly dressed undead moved to the dances of their youth.

I was kept company off and on by Keith, who had a steady stream of jokes about Damon and myself to keep me laughing and blushing at the same time. I spotted Ife from time to time as well, but as per usual, I'd turn to tell her something and off she'd gone.

Dominic had been kind enough to invite me to dance as did Jasper and Keith. I'd accepted, warning and apologizing for my lack of experience and though Dominic certainly had been a little uptight, he'd been cordial about the moments when I stepped on his feet. Jasper was even better, taking no issue at all with my missteps when I had them and twirling me around with ease. He'd asked me more about the things I was handling at Robur and I (somewhat embarrassed) told him that I'd been planning for this trip and gone a bit crazy doing it.

When questioned what I meant by crazy, Damon cut in, tapping his shoulder and laughing. "By 'crazy' she means anyone who got in her way was crushed." He said, eyes shining. "I slipped her papers on the floor and I thought she was going to kill me!"

"You should not have been anywhere near my desk!" I defended myself, but I had to admit that he was right. I had been nuts, drunk on rage and worry. I'd been so stressed that seeing Damon messing with my files had sent me onto a freak out session. I'd actually thrown a phone across the room and put a dent in the filing cabinets. "And besides," I added, "I couldn't have actually done anything, I am just human."

"You didn't see that look in your eyes," Damon informed me. Jasper's multicolored eyes darted between myself and Damon, taking in my red face and his barely contained smile. "Do you mind if I cut in?"

"Not at all," Jasper stepped aside and Damon wasted no time taking his place. One hand laced into mine, the other a gentle pressure on my waist.

"You didn't break his toes did you?" asked Damon was the music melted into a waltz. Great, finally something I recognized.

"Please," I said. "You're kind are far too tough for that."

"True," he remarked. He led us around the floor in an easy, flowing manner. Being held by him again made me realize how much I'd missed him as he'd been moving about the floor, chatting with other coven leaders, dancing with other women and hopefully making connections. Jasper and Keith had been wonderful and even Dominic hadn't been so bad, but they weren't Damon.

Their hand didn't close around mine in a way that didn't drown it and make me feel small. Their hand on my waist, though cold as Damon's, did not send any warmth buzzing through my veins like his did. My head couldn't rest just above their heart as we moved, their laugh didn't infect me and raise my mood the way Damon's did and their smile didn't make my knees weak either.

Damon spun me around, I saw my hair whip around, looking like fire as the light caught it. I laughed, exhilarated as I fell back into Damon's cool arms. "You are a great dancer," I commented. "Have I ever told you that?"

"No," he said. "But it is nice to be reminded of it from time to time."

I smiled, opening my eyes and I saw people around us staring, even those I couldn't see I knew they were. I felt the weight of their gazes boring into my back. "Their staring at us," I whispered to Damon.

"Well," Damon said, and I looked up to meet his gaze and it was sparking with mischief. "Why don't we give them something to look at?" He let go on my hand, tracing my jawline and I was half expecting sparks to fly between our skin. I certainly felt like they were. I was so thankful Damon was strong because I half expected my knees to go weak."May I?"

"You may," I answered and that was all it took. Damon's mouth was on mine and I heard a collective gasp go up through the room, right along with "Get a room!" marked with laughter that I knew belonged to Keith. Though I was aware of them, I wasn't embarrassed. I was far too distracted at the moment to care.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, I felt him stiffen, surprised by my enthusiasm. I was too, I certainly enjoyed kissing him, and it wasn't like I hadn't done this before, but that had been when were alone. Not out in public like this. I wasn't normally so big on PDA's, in fact I had normally been a little repulsed by them when I was the one who watched. I'd never really stopped to consider why people bothered, but now I had a really good idea of the reason. Damon was like a drug, expect there were no seriously harmful side effects. Just that heat that didn't burn, the feather-light feeling of happiness that swept through me every time he made me laugh and that safe and secure feeling I felt every time we were together.

We broke apart, the room now dead silent excluding Keith who was howling with laughter. "Well," I said, slightly light-headed. "That was certainly something!"

"Yes," Damon agreed, chuckling. "It certainly was." The band was still playing thank goodness, and Damon returned to twirling me about the floor. I knew vampires couldn't fly, a tidbit Bram Stoker had gotten wrong, but right now I certainly felt like we were floating above the ground. I'd been buzzed on alcohol before, felt the rush that came from adrenaline and I'd been lucky enough warmed by feelings of contentment and happiness many times in my life, but Damon's kiss combined all those feelings and intensified them by ten.

I rested my head against his chest, knowing there was no heartbeat to be heard, but I thought I heard an echo of one anyway. Something soft, slow and just barely there. Either way, I liked it alot. Not as much as his kiss, but it was still pretty nice.

When the song finally ended, Damon released my waist, but kept a firm grip on my hand. He titled his head and said. "Care for a refreshment?"

"Please," I replied, allowing him to lead me off the dance floor and the chatter started to pick up around us again. Though as we walked, I did spot some people giving us bewildered looks. However, this time, I found that I didn't care at all. The way Damon was looking at me, with pride, affection and some third thing I couldn't name, that was what mattered to me. I didn't care about anyone else and Ife was right when she told me that I shouldn't.

********************************************

Thanks for reading! Please remember to COMMENT and VOTE if you enjoyed it!

Write on! =D