Mysteria Nights

Damon sighed. It was time to pack up his things, tidy the hayloft, and leave. But there was one last thing he had to say. “I am sorry, lass. I know those words do not come close to making up for all the disasters I’ve wreaked here, but know this: What I did, what I said, I did in hopes it would keep ye close—close to me. Know that. But I see now what I feared most has come to pass. I’ve lost you,” he finished valiantly and turned away.

“Damon, please.”

He stopped.

“You haven’t lost me.”

His head snapped around. “Say it again, lass. I dinna think I heard you.”

The ends of her luscious mouth curved slightly. “You haven’t lost me.”

A harsh breath escaped him. He hadn’t lost her; somehow, he hadn’t chased her away.

What if Lucifer learns of this?

Damon squeezed his eyes shut. Dinna think of it. Like he’d told the child Annabelle, good always triumphs over evil, and he must summon the faith to believe in it.

“I lost sight of something today, something very important.” Harmony brought her hands together, clasping them tightly as if she were nervous, nervous as he. “The best sermons are lived, not preached. I’ll never forget the day my great-grandmother Eudora said that to my father, when she disagreed with something he’d done. She’d have scolded me today, told me the same thing, when she saw how quickly I wanted to condemn you. Seeing that God’s forgiven you, it might be a little arrogant if I didn’t. Ya think?”

“Only God’s perfect, Harmony,” he said, reminding her of her words to him shortly after he arrived in Mysteria. “The rest of us do the best we can.”

“Yes, we do.” Her eyes were luminous with tears as she walked to him and lifted a trembling hand to his cheek. He pressed his hand over hers as his emotions soared to heaven. “It doesn’t matter what you were before, Damon. It doesn’t. I had a calling to come here, and when I did, nothing was what I’d expected. But I knew God watched over everyone who lived here, whether they chose to see it or not. And then you came, and through you I fulfilled my calling here, through love. You’re so full of love, Damon. What went down before doesn’t matter. You’re a beautiful man with a beautiful soul, and that’s all that counts.”

His mood crashed immediately. A beautiful soul? “Lass, I was a demon, born of shadows. I know you’ve insisted that all humans have a soul, but I was not created as you were. The Devil crafted me, not God.”

She propped her hands on her hips. “Is this why you’ve never wanted to step inside the church?”

“I feared holy retribution—plagues, lightning strikes, and the like.”

Harmony snorted. “Oh, puleeze. You’ll have to find another excuse.” She poked him on the chest with her index finger. “You can’t fool me when it comes to souls, sir. I’m a Faithfull. Knowing souls is in our blood. I saw what you did to help little Annabelle O’Cleary. A man with no soul never would have done that, alleviated a little girl’s fear, or have run around afterward, convincing everyone they needed to come back to church next week, and not to be scared—and they believed you, Damon. A man with no soul never would exude the zest for life that you do, or the energy, your ability to make people laugh and feel comfortable. A man with no soul never would have . . . never would have . . .” Her finger trailed down his stomach, and she blushed deeply.

“Never would have what, lass?” he coaxed.

“Never would have made me fall in love with him.” She smiled softly. “With you.”

Damon’s heart crashed against his ribs. She loved him! ’Twas everything he’d ever wanted, for so many hundreds of years, to know love, to experience the pure and simple joy of it, the giving and receiving. To be human enough to share himself with someone else, to sacrifice. And now that it was placed before him, this miracle, he was all but paralyzed for fear of breaking the spell.

“Oh, lass,” he managed stupidly. “Are ye sure?”

“Never been more sure of anything in my life.”

Slinging an arm low around her waist, he drew her close. “Never been more sure,” she whispered against his lips. In the next instant, he was kissing her, falling head over heels into the well of joy that was this woman, who said she loved him. Loved him! Who said he had a soul.

From the conviction in her voice, he believed her. He remembered the feeling that had surged into him the moment he’d defied Lucifer. But even that explosion of joy and rightness dimmed with the knowledge that Harmony Faithfull loved him. Wanted him.

Then something Harmony had said earlier came crashing back into his mind. “Lass, forgive me if I misunderstood you out there on the lawn, but didn’t you mention you’d wanted to make love with me?”

“Yeah, I did.” She grabbed his butt and hauled him close. “And if I don’t do it soon, I might explode!”

“Hell’s bells, so will I.” Grinning eagerly, he swept her off her feet and carried her swiftly to the bedchamber in her house.

Thirteen

Together they fell onto the bed. Harmony laughed, exhilarated; being with Damon was like riding a roller coaster, and now it was perched precariously on the highest hill.

Damon’s weight pressed her deep into the mattress. It felt delicious. He was delicious! Her hands slid everywhere, his muscled back, his abs, the thickly muscled arms. That amazing body, she had it all to herself—and everything else that came with it. Yes, everything else, and God forgive her for going after it so greedily.

“Kiss me,” she told Damon, her fingers curling in the damp fabric of his shirt. She dragged him down to her mouth and kissed him, hard and deep. Dark, sweet heat. Slick and wet. The rasp of his whiskers as she explored with her tongue. He was the best thing she’d ever tasted, and she was hungry for more.

A deep sound rumbled in his chest in reaction to her eagerness. Shyness hadn’t entered her mind, only that she’d wanted him like this for so many weeks.

A beautiful man. A beautiful soul.

But he was a demon! Satan’s helper.

He’s starting over. A new life. He’s clean, real clean, remember?

As for his kiss? Hoo boy, it burned so hot it made Hell look cold. She’d gladly pay penance for that decidedly unholy thought—but tomorrow. Not now.

“Mmm,” she murmured as they kissed. “Mmm.” Smiling, she tore through the buttons on his shirt.

The scrape of Damon’s teeth on the side of her throat made her shiver as he fumbled with the waistband of her skirt. His hand slid up her inner thigh, and she could feel him tremble. When he touched her between her legs, the spasm of pleasure was so intense that her body gave an involuntary little jerk. If that was what his fingers could do, then she could only imagine—

“Too many clothes on ye, lass.” Her panties came off next, and the rest of their clothes went every which way.

Damon flipped her over, kissed her behind her knees and made her giggle. “’Tis my first time, ye know,” he told her as he trailed kisses up her spine, pausing to lick a sensitive little place between her shoulder blades that she never knew existed.

“First time what?” she gasped, delighted with his creativity with all the places he found to touch with his tongue and his lips.

“My first time making love.”

Harmony rolled over to stare at him. Sometimes lip reading helped with communication, especially when the messages were garbled. “You’re not a virgin.”

“Aye, I am.”

“Listen, if this is something you’ve come up with to make up for the whole demon thing—”

“Hush.” He pressed a finger to her lips. “’Tis the truth. Ye are my first.” He didn’t seem bothered by the fact in the least, nor hindered by any lack of confidence, she thought, as he pulled one bra strap down, then the other, lowering the lace until he found her nipples, lavishing each with attention as if they were made of the finest, most delectable chocolate. “No need to worry, lass. I know exactly what to do.”