Yolanda Sfetsos - Alex Wales - Promise

He lifted the photo a little closer. “He has darker skin than you and green eyes, so you must take after your mother. It looks like you got his curly, dark hair, though.”

“Exactly! My father has green eyes and dark skin…just like you. ”

“What are you saying?”

“I don’t know what I’m saying, except that the first time I saw you, I remembered the color of his skin. When I looked at his photo again, I couldn’t help but wonder how much your skin and eyes resembled his. I think you might be from the same race as my father.”

He shook his head. “No, that can’t be. I was born here, on Eden.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Where was your father from?”

“See, that’s the problem.” She sat down on the bed, not caring about both of them being completely naked while having this conversation. “He never spoke about his home planet or people. He never liked to talk about it. The only thing he ever told me was that he came from a place where everything was pure…and magical.”

“Magical?” Damon echoed.

“I’m sure he didn’t mean-”

“How can you be sure? He actually used the word?”

Alex thought back to the memory, and nodded. “Yeah, he did. I always assumed he meant it was a lovely place, though. Not magical in any literal way.”

They were both silent for a moment.

“Are you going to eat that?”

Damon shook his head. “No, here. You have it.”

She took the foiled energy bar from him and ate it as fast as she had the first one. They might not taste as good as real food, but she was famished.

Damon continued to stare at the picture as if he was looking for some sort of answer.

Alex decided to put the choker back on. Things always made more sense and felt better when it was around her neck. She secured it and let the key dangle down her breastbone. Suddenly, all the fuzzy sensations rushing around her body stopped.

“Whoa.”

Damon’s brow furrowed. He winced.

“What’s the matter?”

“I can’t feel it.”

“You can’t feel what?” she asked, confused.

“I can’t feel your magic, anymore.” He stared at the key. “Can you remove the key from around your neck?”

“I just put it on!”

“Please, Alex.”

“All right, all right,” she said, untying it. As soon as it was off, the rush of warmth hit her hard. She dropped it and fell back against the pillows. Something very close to an orgasm began between her legs and intensified as it spread, leaving her breathless. “Wha…what was that?”

He’d closed his eyes, too, and an erection had lengthened between his legs. “I can feel your well of magic, again, but when you put the key on, I couldn’t. I think that might be…”

“Might be what?” Her nipples were so hard, they hurt. All she could think about was crawling over to him so they could get it on, again. When she felt the same response from him, she nearly rushed him.

He sounded breathless when he answered. “I think your father might have put a protection spell on the key to keep others from feeling your magic. By doing that, even you can’t feel it.”

Her heart sped up. Her father had told her to keep the key on her at all times, claimed it would protect her. She’d always assumed he meant because of Promise . Oh, gosh. This was getting a little too confusing, but there was no way she could believe all this hocus-pocus talk. Yet, how could she deny it now that she’d actually felt it? No amount of illusion could make her feel things the way she just had.

Wondrous William had shown her a lot of tricks, and while they fascinated and excited her, none had ever had this intense, physical effect on her.

Damon looked down at the photo. “Your father might not have told you about it, because he wanted to keep you safe, maybe even hide you from someone. Is that possible?”

“Well, we did hide from my mother for a while…but he didn’t give me the key until just before I ran away from her planet.” When she saw his concerned face, she shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s a little complicated. We’ve got a very dysfunctional family unit.”

“Your father is the only one who knows for sure. Is there any way to contact him?”

“Well, considering we’re on a planet, which according to you has no form of communication, and I haven’t seen my father in over ten years, nope. I’d say I can’t contact him.” She looked away. “I don’t even know if he’s alive.”

“I’m sorry.”

She heard the sheets rustle and felt his warm fingers on her chin. He lifted it, and she couldn’t help but stare into his beautiful eyes. “Talking about Daddy always makes me sad. He risked his life to give me back mine…”

Damon kissed her lips, just a light caress. His green eyes stared into hers, and the compassion inside them made her stomach flip. He seemed like such a complicated man. Someone who on one hand was gullible enough to believe in things like magic, but on the other hand, had enough sense to research his own leader because of a simple question.

“I think your father tried to protect you even when he wasn’t with you.” He took the key and leather cord from her hand. “I think this was always meant to be more than just a key to your ship.”

She nodded. Of course, that sounded like something her father would do. Teaching her how to use a blaster, how to navigate Promise , and becoming familiar with the controls by the time she was 13 had all been part of the same plan. How long had he known that Lorraine would chase after them when she wanted something?

“I want to continue what he began. I want to take care of you, Alex.” Damon held the key in one hand and pressed the other against her cheek.

She closed her eyes at the heat surging from his touch. “Damon, I don’t need you to take care of me. Besides, we just met-”

“I know. This seems very strange to me, too. I’ve never connected to a woman on this level before.”

She opened her eyes and stared into his.

“Alex, I’m not going to lie to you. I enjoy sex, a lot. I’ve never shied away from it and have had many lovers since my sexual awakening, but I’ve never had this sense of wanting to look after them, to be with them constantly, and protect them.” He paused, releasing a breath. “From the first time I saw you, I felt it. I know you don’t want to believe in magic, and maybe that’s not even the right word for it. For all I know, and like you’ve pointed out before, there could be a scientific explanation for all of this, but I only know it as magic. It’s what I feel when I’m with you. The explosive climax you drew out of me is still rolling around inside me. That’s not a reaction I’ve ever felt after a sexual encounter with anyone.”

All she could think to do was lean over and kiss him. She pressed her lips against his, as his hand slid from her face to caress her hair. He could never understand what he’d done to her by admitting this. It’s exactly how she’d lived her entire adult life. After she lost her virginity-just shy of turning 20-she hadn’t been able to stop. It was the only way she’d ever felt close to someone, even if only for that one moment. To know Damon had lived the same way made something inside her calm down and feel connected to him.

All the worries and knots Ulric’s admission and suggestions had caused her had smoothed out, finally.

“I’m not making you a proposal or pushing you into a commitment, because we need to get to know each other first, but I do want you to know that I really enjoy being around you.” He kissed her lightly. “I would love to do more of what we did earlier today. I can’t lie about it.”