Page 22 of The Human Element (The Human Element Collection #1)
Daemon
Daemon watched as Lorelei said goodnight to the both of them and closed the door behind her.
The lack of her presence seemed to make itself clearer to him more than usual now.
When Daemon walked into his own room, only a few rooms away from Lorelei’s, he saw that Samuel was already passed out on the bed nearest the opposite wall.
At least if he gets up in the night, I’ll know if he’s just going to the bathroom or snooping around…or worse; attempting to assassinate Lorelei in her sleep.
Thinking this made Daemon feel a little bad, but it was better for him to be on guard still rather than letting it down just yet when a threat could still be present.
Maybe Lorelei was right; maybe his story was true, which he kept validating throughout the car ride to the hotel every so often just to make sure he wasn’t lying.
But it was hard to think that the son of Lucifer would be so drastically opposite to him.
Daemon at least thought the kid would be useful as far as information on his father’s plans or perhaps even fighting skills.
But from what his responses in the car would suggest, he was good for neither of those things.
And to Daemon, this was concerning. After the showdown with the demons, it was very clear to Daemon that both Lorelei, and now Samuel, needed some training.
If more were going to come after them, and it was sure that would be the case, then they needed to be better prepared.
Something that crossed his mind more than once on the journey to the hotel was whether or not he should try to teach Lorelei some Enochian.
It has never been said that a human was ever taught it before, but seeing how she’s the one they all want to kill most, it might not hurt to give it a chance.
No human he knew was able to speak the Celestial language.
It was an ancient, complex language and one that resembled no other on Earth.
It may be one of the only things that actually keeps Lorelei alive in a pinch.
The other thing that was bothering him was the fact they hadn’t really had any closure about their conversation before the demons arrived.
The look of Lorelei’s deep, blue eyes turning a misty grey as tears streamed down her face because she felt a sense of betrayal at Daemon keeping the secret of the soul connection from her, still made his heart clench with guilt.
Not to mention her arm was concerning to him.
Demon weapons were no joke, and a human who didn’t have the healing capabilities of an angel—was far worse off.
Breakfast at the little café in Inverness felt like a world away now; so much pain and suffering already happened since then.
Daemon did his best to push these thoughts from his mind temporarily as he took a quick shower.
The water felt good against his aching body.
Since the fight, he was healing steadily but it was definitely slower than it usually was.
The image of the double Finishing Spell he performed flashed through his mind; it was miraculous that it worked in the first place.
He'd never heard of an angel doing it before, and wondered how he had been able to when his power was already so low. He leaned his head against the shower wall, letting out a breath that felt like he might’ve been holding since the moment the group of demons showed up, and allowed the hot water to trickle down his wings which extended to the floor behind him.
They took up most of the tiny shower and the black of the feathers glistened as the water bounced and shimmied their way down them.
The hot water helped relieve the ache from keeping them bunched up so often.
It was a necessary thing to do obviously, but being able to stretch them out at the end of the day was a welcome relief.
Breathing deeply, he tried to calm his racing mind but he was finding it difficult to do so.
He was so close to losing Lorelei earlier that evening.
The thought made him want to buckle over in shame.
He had been able to protect her, but not nearly as well as he should’ve.
She still got hurt, and if he hadn’t performed that last spell, her life may have very well ended tonight.
Knowing that only made him angrier at himself for his inability to do more.
He only felt that scared years ago when he watched her small body get hit by the car and wondered if he might be too late to save her.
Shaking his head, a piece of his hair falling over his face, he sighed and turned the water off.
Drying himself, he got dressed again. His clothes were dirty but he decided to find a change of clothes somewhere tomorrow.
For now, he threw on his black jeans and sweatshirt again, before checking one last time to see Samuel still fast asleep, and then slipping out of the room quietly, he walked a few doors down to stand in front of Lorelei’s.
Knocking softly, Daemon waited until he heard shuffling feet quickly coming to open the door.
Seeing Lorelei’s face again eased his troubled mind.
She gave him a smile, and it was then he noticed she was in nothing but a towel draped over her lush frame.
A blush was sure to be spreading across his face, so he did his best to keep his eyes on her face and not let them stray further down. Curtly, he finally spoke.
“You didn’t look through the peephole to make sure it wasn’t somebody else.”
He saw her eyes roll and she chuckled.
“Do you ever stop worrying? Besides, I figured you would be coming anyway.”
“You did?” He perked up, genuinely surprised.
Lorelei didn’t respond as she turned and walked into the room, inviting Daemon inside silently. Sauntering in, Daemon’s eyes caught the curve of her breasts in the towel that was barely covering what it needed to.
Dear god...she isn’t making this easy...
Before the flush in his cheeks could return, he was grateful to see she was strutting into the bathroom and returned a few minutes later changed into some shorts and a t-shirt.
Even wearing that though, with her golden hair still wet falling down her shoulders, she was stunning.
Her blue eyes caught his and he was afraid he’d been staring too long.
But she smiled at him again and sat down on the bed, waiting for Daemon to join her.
“I assumed you wanted to come check my arm before you went to bed.”
“Yes, how is it feeling?”
Lorelei shrugged her shoulders and lifted her arm out for him to inspect. She was doing her best to be strong. If they looked up the definition of strength in the dictionary, Daemon was sure she’d be the picture beside the word.
“It hurts like hell, but I can handle it. I know you’re still recovering. I went ahead and ripped up another shirt to use until we can get some proper bandages tomorrow.”
Daemon took the pieces of the shirt from her hand gingerly, getting down on his knee in front of her.
After looking over the wound while seeing how deep it burned, he gently and silently wrapped her arm back up.
He caught the faint sign of Lorelei’s breath catching in the back of her throat while his fingers were at work with the wrappings.
Making his way up her arm, his fingertips grazing her skin, heat rose into his face and he did his best to control the increasing tumble session his heart was having.
He was kneeling before her, practically between her legs, and the temptation was beginning to make him question if he could resist. The scent of her lotions and perfume pulled him closer, goosebumps forming on her exposed legs where his breath hit them.
With his enhanced senses, he could feel the rapidity of her pulse beneath his touch, the way her flowery scent now included another, deeper scent.
..one that pooled near her core he was so close to.
He swore in his mind to keep himself from going there, because he felt a rising carnal need for her .
A reaction he wasn’t sure was exaggerated in his head or if it was a response he sincerely never felt before with any previous lover.
All the carefully curated cool, nonchalant demeanor he’d worked on over the centuries not only for his duties prior, but as the only protection for his most inner parts, couldn’t prepare him for the way she made him yearn for her; the desire she aroused to lose himself mind, body and soul; to crave and consume her entirely.
Composing himself, his mind reeling at what he would love to do to that perfect body of hers, he forced himself to tie off the wrappings and he stood, quite unsure what to do with himself as the distance between them felt like a crater he couldn’t quite place.
He couldn’t bring himself to move further; there was too much unspoken, too much they hadn’t had time to discuss.
He didn’t even know where her head was at, and there was no way he would sully her by ruining what didn’t even have time to blossom— yet .
Running his fingers through his silver hair uncomfortably, he spoke to fill the silence between them.
“I should be alright by tomorrow, I can most likely heal a good portion of it then.”
Daemon watched the disappointment cross Lorelei’s face; raising an eyebrow at him, a hint of sadness pervaded her words. “Do you think I am going to bite or something? You don’t seem to want to get close to me unless you have to.”
Daemon shook his head, but noticed he instinctively made his way to the wall across from her already. Stopping himself, he turned slowly to face her.
“No..no..I just...I know we sort of left things unfinished before everything went down and I...I didn’t want to..”