Chapter 22: Chapter Twenty-Two

"Yes, You've heard of her?" Jason asked, looking back and forth between Damien and I, curiously.

"You don't need to worry about her anymore, boy. She is dead." Damien responded before walking to the office door and opening it. "I will allow you to live, only if you adhere by our laws. Are you familiar with them?"

"Yes, Mr. Edge, Sir. I know of the vampire laws. I promise you have nothing to worry about with me."

"Your promises are nothing to me, child. Now leave, before I change my mind."

Jason left the office and closed the door quickly behind him, practically running out of Damien's sight, as quickly as he could.

Damien and I grabbed our things and walked out of the door, not long after Jason left. We were soon in the car, on our way back home. Oh my god, we have the same home now.

"Damien, why did he come to you?" I asked him after a few minutes.

"In the vampire world, I am the closest thing we have to a leader. Sam and I enforce the laws and punish the criminals." Damien responded, not taking his eyes off the road.

"So by day you're a billionaire lawyer, and by night you're the leader of vampires?"

"You can say that." He responded as we pulled into the driveway.

"Why were you so mean to Jason?" I asked after we exited the car, and walked up the mansion steps.

Once we were in the house, Damien led me to the kitchen where he took off his suit jacket and folded it over the back of a chair. Then looked through the cabinets, trying to find something to make me for dinner.

Damien sighed heavily and looked over at me, shaking his head. "Why are you such a curious little kitten?"

"I thought you liked my curiosity." I grumbled and sat on one of the chairs, crossing my arms with a pout, acting like he'd hurt my feelings.

"I think your curiosity is adorable, so I tolerate it. But you know what I really like?" He asked as he came over, and leaned over me, running his hands up my thighs. "I love it when you purr for me."

"I don't purr!" I exclaimed with a giggle as I tried to run out of his reach, but to no avail as he instantly caught up to me, and threw his arms around my waist. He turned me around and lifted me up, then brought me down and kissed me passionately.

I kissed him back before trying to wiggle out of his grasp. "Will you make me spaghetti again?" I asked after giving up on trying to break free. Me trying to force him to let me go was like a toddler trying to fight a tree. I would never win, but that never stopped me from trying.

"Sure." He responded, then gave me another kiss before releasing me.

I followed him over to the stove, and sat on the counter behind it, watching him as he cooked.

The way he moved about the kitchen, gave me the impression that in his past, he did a lot of cooking. I felt hypnotized as I watched him move about the kitchen, chopping vegetables and frying Italian sausage. It wasn't long before the smell made my mouth water. I could tell he knew I was watching him, from the slight smile he wore when he looked at me.

"Yes, I cooked a lot in my past." Damien said, as he put the noodles in boiling water, then turned to face me.

"I can tell. But the last time I asked you about your past, you didn't seem to enjoy talking about it. So I didn't want to bring it up again." I said softly as he put his hands on either side of me, standing between my legs. Even with me sitting on the counter, he was still taller than me, and I had to turn my head up to look at him.

"It's not that I dislike talking about it, it's just not who I am anymore." He responded, kissing me softly on the cheek. "You would think me a monster, if you knew who I was." he whispered softly, then turned back to the stove and checked the food.

"Is it really that bad?"

"Yes." He said, after draining the water, then putting everything in the pot to mix it. He scooped noodles onto two plates and walked into the adjoining room while I poured soda into two glasses and followed him to the dining room.

We ate in silence until I was full, and pushed my plate to the side. As soon as I finished eating, Damien pushed his plate to the side as well. He didn't need to eat, but he only did it because he knew I didn't like when he sat there waiting for me to finish.

"Damien, do you know why I decided to spend time with you, have sex with you, and then move in with you? All in a span of a week?" I asked him slowly, after finishing my soda.

"No, I honestly don't. It's something I cannot stop thinking about." Damien responded, then stood and brought our plates back to the kitchen. I followed him with our glasses, then took a bottle of wine from the cabinet. Before I could remove the cork, Damien took it out of my hands. "You are seventeen, Bast."

"So you'll live with me, and have sex with me, even though I'm underage... But you won't let me drink?" I asked him spitefully with a glare.

Damien looked into my eyes for a few moments, as if he was trying to read my mind. Then he sighed and opened the bottle, pouring me a glass. "Vampires cannot get drunk off of wine, so there is no point in me drinking." He said. I gasped out in surprise, because that is exactly what I was thinking when I saw him pouring only one cup. Then I realized something he'd just said.

"Does that mean you can get drunk off of something?"

"The blood of a drunk human can in turn get the vampire drunk. No, Bast. I will not let you get drunk. Do not ask me."

"Let's go sit in the library." I said as I took my glass in one hand, and the bottle in the other. I could tell Damien really wanted to take the bottle from me, but he knew that was a fight he wouldn't win. We walked together out of the kitchen and across the hall to the library, then sat in the center on the couches. I took a sip of the wine before I realized it was my favorite kind. I'd always hated wine, until I went to a party when I was sixteen, and tried pink pinot. Once I tried it, I decided it was my favorite, and from there it was the only kind I would drink. I knew it was a cheep wine, but I never cared about the price. That just made it easier for me to buy. "Okay, I'm going to ask a question that I know I will regret asking."

"You're going to ask me how I knew the kind of wine you liked?" Damien asked, leaning back on the couch across from me, stretching his arms and legs out.

"No. I want to know exactly how much you watched me throughout my lifetime." I responded after downing my wine, then pouring another glass.

"Bast, I can guarantee you do not want to know that."

"Yes, I do." He was right, I really didn't want to know. I didn't push it before because I knew it would make me upset, or maybe even sick. But now I couldn't leave it alone. Damien knew things about me that even Valerie doesn't know.

Damien leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. Then he locked eyes with me and inhaled deeply before responding. "Since before you were born. You are the reason I was in the hospital."