15. Desmond

After you've attended hundreds of years' worth of parties, they all blended together. The elbow rubbing and general niceties had become second nature to me, with every conversation taking the same fake, boring tone.

Do you know so-and-so? Lovely dress. Have you heard about the new magical law the Precipes passed? Ah yes, I am familiar with the Costa Coven's new blood harvesting system—so cutting edge.

The vampire in front of me—I forgot her name, so I'd mentally dubbed her as turquoise dress—droned on and on, about nothing particularly interesting. She just liked the sound of her own nasally, high pitched voice. The night was a broken record, and all I wanted it to do was skip to the good part, when Diana would walk through those double doors and dazzle everyone.

She hadn't come around like I thought she would. I stuck to my cat-plan, giving her space so she could come to me when she was ready. But she never did. At her training yesterday, she didn't react when her brother beat the magical crap out of me. She seemed bored. I thought maybe she'd warmed up to me finally when she tried to channel my magic, but she seemed so defeated and angry when she lost. I wished her well and left because I didn't think she wanted me there.

"Judas' inner circle must be insane–I heard his parties are legendary," Turquoise droned on, talking up a storm as I stood here and waited for the evening to actually begin.

"Oh yes, they're ragers for sure," I tossed at her, trying my best to not be rude.

Acting like I cared about conversations and social norms may have become an auto-pilot response by now, but this conversation was wearing thin. I only stayed here because this spot gave me a good view of the room, the door in particular, and didn't want to disrespect Judas' coven. They were strong allies and welcomed us into their home–made our fight their fight. Judas had been a close friend of mine for centuries, an undead brother.

Little Goddess is on FIRE tonight. This dress… I'm going to slip and fall in my own drool. Fucking contraception spell better work for her sake, because you best believe I'm gonna try to get her pregnant again, Ares' voice rumbled through my mindlink. He elected himself as her personal security guru and followed her everywhere.

Please tell me you're joking, Az begged.

I saw her dress earlier this week–it's insane, Mal bragged. And the heels. For fuck's sake, I want her to step on me.

I'd rather have them dragging down my back, but do you, Mal, Bash snarked.

The double doors at the front of the ballroom finally opened, and the crowd parted as she glided through the room, Ares hot on her tail. My jaw almost hit the floor. The dress was a bodice of black leather straps that crisscrossed, drawing attention to her full breasts. It had enough of an opening in the back to allow her wings to fully open, every feather shimmering in the low light. The skirt of the dress was some sort of black silky material, and it fanned out until it hit the floor. Her blood red lips and long, soft waves gave her a timeless look. She walked right past me, sparing me half a glance before she took the stage to give her speech.

"Good evening," her voice rang out. "Thank you, Judas, for hosting such a lovely event, and thank you everyone for being here tonight to welcome me home! I'm so sorry to have been away so long, but we hit some unexpected roadblocks, and I wanted to make sure I made my fathers proud."

As she talked to the crowd, her eyes landed on me, then on Turquoise, who was smiling up at me like I hung the moon. Diana's smile didn't fool me, I felt her jealousy rolling off her in waves and saw the anger blazing in her eyes. She didn't like that I was talking to another woman. Maybe she did care about me after all.

I can make this work…

I leaned down and whispered into Turquoise's ear, "Do you want to dance after the speech?"

She smiled at me with teeth so unnaturally white they refracted the light. "Sure!"

Diana's distance from us since she returned sparked breakup rumors. Rumors I'm sure this poor woman wanted to cash in on. I had promised Diana I wouldn't use my emotional powers on her, but that didn't mean I couldn't manipulate her feelings the old fashioned way. I wasn't above using someone to make her jealous.

I missed some of her speech, but whatever she said had the crowd eating out of her hand.

"Thank you to all the soldiers who defended us from Red's attacks. You are prime examples as to why we fight this war–for the right to freedom everyone deserves. For the right for all magical beings to live their lives as they please, free from oppression and hierarchy. As we get deeper into this war, the fighting will ramp up. Times will get darker before the light shines again. But know that I'm here with you. I'll lay everything on the line and show Red why targeting the Morningstars is the wrong move. I'm ready to help my father get back on the throne and restore free will back to the underworld!"

The crowd's raucous cheering vibrated through the room. Diana's speech brought vampires, shifters, and magical beings from all four realms together under a common goal, and I silently commended her for how much she had grown over the months. The woman I met at the jazz lounge that day was beautiful, somewhat shy, and I had read her like an open book. This woman was a force to be reckoned with.

An elegant instrumental music floated through the room, and Turquoise wasted no time pulling me out to the floor. My skin crawled under my navy tux, but I reminded myself this was a means to an end. I'd do whatever it took to get her attention.

Turquoise's atrocious lack of coordination gave me pause. This plan could blow up in my face before it even started. I pumped a bit of relaxation through her, enough for her to get her shit together. As I waltzed her across the floor, I made sure to pass right by Diana and Mal. After a few more turns around the floor, I peeked over to see her the possessive jealousy I detected earlier replaced by a crushing sadness.

Fuck. I misread this situation. I may have destroyed my chances of getting another chance. The guys all scowled at me as she excused herself and walked toward the side door.

You fucked up, thanks for ruining the whole evening before it started, Mal linked me.

You're an asshole,Az seethed as he followed her out.

"This was a mistake, excuse me," I snapped before I followed them both out.

It took too long to find my way through the crowd. Everyone wanted to stop and talk to you when you were in a hurry. I found Diana and Az in the hallway, her crying in his arms. I angled myself so I was hidden behind the giant fern plants that flanked the doorway.

"He doesn't want to be with me," she sobbed, her tears leaving streaks of mascara down her face.

"No, he does. I wouldn't lie to you about that. He's just going about it the wrong way. I'm so sorry, angel. Do you want to go home?"

I stepped out, pushing Az out of the way as I grabbed Diana's arm. We weren't having this conversation here, where anyone could easily walk out and see her crying. They needed to see the strong woman who was up on that stage, not a broken hearted one. After I faded us back to the barrack, I locked it down so there'd be no interruptions.

We stood there for a couple of minutes, staring at each other. I wasn't sure what to say–I had already screwed everything up so much, made it worse when she came back, and set it on fire with my stunt tonight. Emotions were like kryptonite to me, and nothing I did seemed to work with her.

"So, you're just going to stare at me while I cry? Wanted to make sure I got the message? You made your point clear." She sounded defeated.

"What are you talking about?"

"You came to visit me once in the hospital, vowing that you'd wait for me…then you ignored me for days and now you're dancing with some random woman in front of everyone? If you changed your mind, you should have had the decency to tell me instead of playing games with me."

She sniffled, then wiped away some of her tears. I handed her a tissue from the coffee table, and she discreetly used it to wipe the mess away from her eyes.

"She means nothing to me, and I used her to make you jealous," I admitted.

"That's what Zaz said. He thinks you still want me.

"I heard you and Az in the hallway. He didn't tell you how he knew I still wanted you–which I do–there was never any question about it. The guys and I had a meeting a while back where we brainstormed ways to get you back…"

"And your genius idea was to act like a smacked ass?" she snapped.

"Not intentionally. You left because you wanted space from us. We all epically fucked up, and I didn't want to smother you or force you into forgiving me until you were ready. My plan was to keep a solid presence–wait for you like I said I would– and you'd see I'm a constant in your life and come to me when you were ready."

"You came off as uninterested, there was no effort at all. You barely spoke to me, and I would have preferred you get in my face and try to prove you've changed…" she looked away from me, and I felt her hesitation.

"What else? Don't hold back from me, I want to know how you feel," I encouraged her. We spent our entire relationship holding back, and I was done with it.

"You come off as cold sometimes. You're not a super romantic or a touchy-feely guy, and I often get the impression you'd rather be working–sometimes it's like you're in your own little world when you're right in front of me. My ex always made me feel like I wasn't worth the trouble, and I thought you felt the same way. Then I saw you with her, and all my worst fears came to life."

I stepped into her space, until our lips almost touched. "You're worth everything to me, dollface. Everything reminds me of you, because you consume me, heart and mind. The only reason I work so hard is for you, so you're safe from an enemy I know is difficult to defeat. I'm sorry I didn't convey that to you—I'm just not good with words." I inhaled deeply, then breathed out, preparing myself to bear a truth that was hard to say. "Every moment without you has been complete agony, worse than when I was hung on Red's nymphwood cross and left to die. I'm not perfect, and I don't always say or do the right things. I gave you too much space, and I didn't read the situation right, but know that I'll always love you. I just show it differently."

Her eyes welled with tears again as a shy smile spread across her face. I caressed her cheek, tilting her jaw so I had perfect access to her petal soft lips. Fuck it, I needed her now and I was done giving her space and waiting. I didn't care that she may still be upset with me. I had to kiss her, because if I couldn't tell her how I felt, I could damn well show her.

Our lips met, with each kiss more passionate than before. Diana was ravenous, consuming me whole with every meeting of our mouths, every swipe of her tongue against my own. My shadows swirled around us, binding her to me as I backed her into the living room wall. Kissing down her neck, I licked her collarbone, reveling in the salty taste of her skin.

"Fuck, I'm going to tear this dress to shreds, dollface. I need you, take it off," I begged her.

She waved her hand, and I heard the clink of the zipper opening down her back. Her dress fell to the floor, revealing a body I've craved since the day I met her–thick thighs that touched, rounded hips, and breasts that begged to be bitten and sucked until she cried for me to stop. My shadows circled her waist, then trailed up her sides. They weaved around her breasts, tickling her nipples.

"Please, Desmond," she slowly sighed. The need in her voice had my dick so hard it almost hurt.

I hiked her legs around my waist, gripping her ass in my hands to keep her flush to me. My shadows wrapped around her throat, and she licked her lips. Fuck, she was so bad. So willing. She drove me fucking nuts.

"Won't last long," I warned her as I bit and sucked on every free inch of skin I could reach.

"I don't care, just get inside me, please," she begged.

I should have prepared her, been romantic and made love to her in bed with the lights dimmed. But I was so desperate to be inside her and feel every inch of her tight heat. I wanted to hear her moans and breathy sighs, the way she said my name when we were so deep in our own pleasure we couldn't think straight.

One single thrust inside was enough to make her eyes widen. She whimpered as I waited inside of her a few seconds, at least giving her the mercy to adjust before I lost myself in her. Gripping her hair, I drove inside her in rhythmic, deep movements that had her panting, speaking gibberish as little unh, unh, unhs escaped her lips. Her hands roamed up my chest before they grabbed my shoulders and her nails dug into me for dear life.

"Oh fuck, Des, fuck." she gasped.

When I looked into her blue eyes, I saw pure adoration. This woman truly loved me, and I almost lost her. As I thrust inside her, I vowed to never lose her again, to do whatever it took to keep her.

Her pussy tightened around me like a vise, setting off my own climax. We came together as I buried my face into the crook of her neck and inhaled the peppery perfume she wore. My knot swelled, locking us together, so I faded us into her bed to be more comfortable.

Wrapping my arms around her, I kissed her lips and watched over her as her breathing deepened and she drifted off into a light sleep. I felt her exhales brush my chest, and the small detail warmed me. How I existed these past months–drinking, avoidance, and distance–was nothing compared to how my dollface made me feel.

Desmond, where are you and Diana?! I need a location and confirmation that both of you are safe, Ares shouted through the mindlink.

"What's happening?" Diana groused as she rolled away from me, onto her stomach.

We're in her bed, safe. What's going on?

Get dressed and get down here, Red's forces attacked en-mass. They knew about the ball. Someone fucking snitched. Ares' Greek accent was thick in his rage.

I smacked her ass to wake her up and snapped my fingers, dressing her in something similar to what she wore at training yesterday. "Rise and shine, sleepy head. Red's army decided to crash the party!"

She shot out of bed and looked at herself in the mirror. As if she could read my mind, she grabbed my hand and faded us right into the ballroom in the middle of the action.

"What the actual fuck?!" she shouted, drawing attention to herself from the opposition.

The soldiers wore head to toe black. Some of them wore black masks, while others had fully visible, shifted faces. It was hard to discern what kinds of supernaturals they were.

"Diana, be carefu–" I tried to warn her before a masked soldier shot her with a blast of neon orange magic.

It bounced right off her palm, and she redirected it, hitting the assailant right in the heart, an automatic killshot. Then she used his corpse to tackle a large, wolf-shifter to the ground.

Oisín met her, and they locked eyes, having a silent conversation.

"Sounds like a plan," she said before running toward the back of the ballroom.