12. Kenrid

As Damon pulled into the circular drive at the hotel we'd chosen on the southwestern side of Chattanooga, Tennessee, I pushed aside the memories of the last time we stopped at a hotel with Lorna. It'd be different this time. No one knew she was alive or that she was with us. At least, we didn't think so.

We were stopping a little earlier than we wanted, but Damon couldn't hold his human form any longer. He'd stayed in the back as his demon with Lorna sleeping on his chest until well after sunrise. But the tint on Elliott's windows wasn't dark enough to hide him. He'd made it way longer than I expected him to. Way longer than any other demon could even dream of doing.

"I'll try to get us a suite," I said, pushing open the passenger door and sliding out.

Damon's grunt was the only reply. I would've brought Lorna inside with me, but she refused to leave the truck. Something about not wanting to be seen in her current outfit. Not that I could blame her. Elliott's clothes swallowed her. Mine would be slightly better, but they'd still hang off her slender frame.

I strolled into the hotel, trying not to think about Lorna wearing one of my T-shirts and nothing else. The mental image stirred my desire in an instant. I shuffled awkwardly through the lobby, trying to avoid adjusting the growing erection in my jeans.

"Can I help you?" an older man asked from behind the hotel's reception desk.

"Yes, I need a suite if you have one available," I replied.

"Yes, sir, let me check."

He tapped away on the keyboard while I looked around the lobby. It was rather busy. The seating area next to me was full, as was the small dining room, even though the hotel only served breakfast. An uproar of cheers erupted from the crowd, and I realized they were watching a ball game. The matching team logos on their shirts should've clued me in earlier.

At least they were too absorbed in the game to notice me.

"We have one king suite available, sir. It has a sofa bed, though," the receptionist said. "Will that be okay?"

It wasn't ideal, but it'd have to be if that was all they had.

"Yes," I said as I handed him my credit card.

A few minutes later, I walked out with a keycard to our suite. Luckily, it was on the back side of the hotel on the top floor.

I hopped back into the truck and noticed Damon's face flickering from human to demon. We needed to hurry.

"Pull around back," I said, giving him directions to the room. "I'll get your bag if you'll open the room for us."

He nodded at me but didn't say anything. He'd barely put the truck in park before tossing me the keys. I handed him a keycard and watched him jog to the door.

"Is Damon okay?" Lorna asked.

"No," I replied, not wanting to lie to her even if I could. "We should've stopped a while ago. Most demons can't hold a human form for more than three or four hours."

Her eyes widened as she did the math. Damon had assumed his human form ten hours ago.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked. Her genuine concern made me smile, which made her frown. "How can you be smiling, Kenrid?"

"Because you constantly surprise me with your kindness," I said without even thinking. "I expected you to push us away. You have every right to despise me right now, but you don't. I'll forever be grateful for what I hope is your forgiveness."

Blushing, Lorna pushed open her door and jumped out. I shook my head, not even trying to figure out what she was thinking.

When we made it into the room, Damon was already sprawled on his stomach across the king-sized bed. His enormous wings hung over each side of the bed, and he hugged the large body pillow beneath him. And he was dead asleep.

"I guess I hadn't ever seen his feet," Lorna whispered from my side. "I didn't realize they'd be hooves. Oh my god … he has a tail!"

I glanced over at her expecting to see disgust, but she looked like she wanted to cross the room and run her hands all over the demon.

"He'll be asleep for a while," I said. "How about we order some food?"

She nodded, and I pulled the door closed to the separate bedroom. The way she looked at Damon was starting to give me a complex. Everything about him seemed to fascinate her.

"Do you like pizza?" she asked me, interrupting my plunge into self-doubt.

"Yes." I pulled my cell phone from my pocket. "We'll order several. Damon will be hungry when he wakes up." I also needed an excuse to order more than my preferred veggie pizza.

Lorna needed protein. I couldn't believe how much weight she'd lost. When she stepped out of that shower in nothing more than a towel, it left her frail body on display. She'd been slender before Conrad stole her away, but now … We needed to get her on a well-rounded diet.

I found a local pizza delivery and paused before dialing. "Is there anything you don't want on yours?" I asked.

"Nope." She shifted uneasily in the middle of the room. "I like everything."

I'd need to find out what was bugging her. I quickly placed our order and sat down on the sofa that would likely be my bed for the night.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.

Lorna still hadn't moved from the center of the room. She bit her lower lip and looked around. It wasn't a bad room. The sofa would open to a double bed. Two armchairs on each side made a cozy sitting area in front of the small hutch and flat-screen television. The bathroom was likely in the other half of the suite with the bedroom.

"I don't know," she replied, finally meeting my gaze. "How much do you know about the dhampir?"

I tried not to flinch. I knew just about everything there was to know. "Probably more than most," I said. "What's on your mind?"

She crossed the space and sat down next to me. Warmth filled my heart. She could have sat in either chair—kept space between us—but she didn't. I turned so I could face her and give her my undivided attention.

"Remember how you said that my sorting was a fae trait?" she asked. I nodded. "Well." She bit her lip again and looked away. "In order to function semi-normally, I created several personas in my mind. Mallory is one of them. She's my socialite, the one who handles being around people for long periods of time. I have a couple others." She paused again, then turned to sit sideways on the sofa with one leg tucked beneath her. "I don't have them anymore, and I don't know why."

She searched my face for answers I couldn't give her. I'd had no idea she was carrying around different personalities to handle different situations in her life. It would explain why Mallory's picture was so full of life and Lorna's wasn't. Who was she when they took the picture of Lorna? Just as important, how did they all disappear?

"Are you saying you have Dissociative Identity Disorder?" I asked, not answering her question.

"Not really," she replied. "I know exactly what you're talking about, though. I looked it up, and I don't really have any of the other symptoms. I remember everything, regardless of which persona I'm channeling. I don't have suicidal or homicidal thoughts, and I was never traumatized as a child." Once again, she looked away. "Well, that's not entirely true. I … killed a bunch of kittens when I was four. That's when Mallory was created, so I could hide from myself. It took me a while to understand who I was after that."

My heart ached for her. She'd probably used a fae spell without even realizing it. I suddenly remembered the way she destroyed that man's mind who"d attacked her at Maxwell Securities. It was likely the same spell. I reached over and pulled her hand into mine.

"I'm not sure if that was fae magic or something else," I said gently. "There is a summer fae family line whose specialty is creating very intricate glamour, including the personality to go with the appearance."

I almost admitted that she couldn't be from their line because she was likely from the winter fae. But if I told her that, I'd also have to tell her my own story, and I wasn't prepared to reveal those secrets to her.

"But you don't think I'm part of their family," she said, but I could hear the question.

"No, I don't."

"So, what would make all my personas disappear?"

And there she was, once again pleading for me to have answers.

"I don't know, Lorna," I said. "If you're asking if it's a dhampir trait, I don't believe so. I've never heard of a dhampir with multiple personas. They're human and vampire, neither of which have ever demonstrated that ability to my knowledge."

"Except for me," she mumbled. "I'm somehow also fae."

Yes, she was. I couldn't answer her unasked question. I gently squeezed her hand and tugged her toward me. She let me pull her into my lap and wrap my arms around her thin shoulders. Her hands slid around me, and I breathed in her sweet floral scent. She didn't smell like one single flower, more a compilation of several. It soothed and aroused me at the same time. One I needed and the other I didn't.

"My dhampir said I don't need them anymore," Lorna said, her breath hot on my neck. "She said now that I have her, she can help me handle any situation."

I could barely take in her words when her body pressed against mine. Her fingers ran along my lower back, caressing, exploring, driving me absolutely insane with desire. How in hell did Damon allow her to lay on his chest for hours? I'd never be able to do it.

"Kenrid?"

I opened my eyes, not even realizing I'd closed them. Lorna's face was only inches from mine. Her pupils were so dilated they nearly consumed the hazel of her eyes.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled. "I was thinking." Not about her question or concerns. No, I was thinking about laying her down on the sofa and worshipping her body.

"I want to kiss you," she whispered, her eyes dropping to my mouth.

"I could never tell you no," I admitted.

She leaned forward and brushed her lips against mine. I ran my hands up her back and cupped her neck, deepening our kiss. Her tongue ran along my lips, and I gave her the entry she wanted. And then I couldn't get enough of her taste or her scent. Her magic wrapped around me, trapping me in her web, and I didn't care.

I wanted more.

Every part of me reached for her, wanting to connect in a way that terrified me. If I allowed it, I'd never be the same. I could never go back. I wasn't sure I even wanted my old life, not if I had to give up Lorna to keep it.

Her fingers tangled in my hair and tugged. A moan escaped my lips when she pulled away. Her breath was staggered, but a smile spread across her face.

"I've wanted to run my fingers through your hair since the first night I saw you," she murmured.

I grinned, grateful that Damon wasn't here to comment on it. "You can do it whenever you like," I said.

"You might regret that later," she teased.

I highly doubted it. Having her hands on me felt more right than anything else I'd experienced. Other than maybe her lips.

My cell phone buzzed in my pocket, making Lorna jump. She laughed and rolled off me. I retrieved it, still smiling at her.

"Hello?"

"I got your delivery order in the lobby."

"I'll be right there."

I hung up and kissed Lorna's forehead. She hadn't moved from my side, just far enough to give me space. I wasn't exactly in a hurry to leave her either, though. We'd connected in a way I hadn't expected after all she'd endured. But the pizza delivery guy wouldn't wait forever, and Lorna needed to eat.

"I'll be right back with food," I promised. "If you want to shower, you can take clothes from my bag to change into."

"I might do that," she said, her eyes drifting down my body as I stood. They lingered on the erection I couldn't possibly hide.

I chuckled and snagged the room key from the desk. "Don't answer the door for anyone. I have a key."

She nodded, and I hesitated once again, enjoying the way she looked at me without reservations. When her eyes finally found my face, she blushed.

"Go get us some food, Kenrid."