Chapter 23: Chapter Twenty-Three

I gaped at him for what seemed like hours, but was likely only seconds, trying to comprehend what he'd just said. "Why?"

"Do you recall when I said your scent is like an addiction to me?" Damien asked, as he continued to watch me closely, like he was afraid I would faint. He wasn't far from the truth, I felt like I would pass out any second now. I couldn't respond, so I nodded my head instead. "The first time I caught your scent is when your mother was about five months pregnant. It was faint, of course, but over the months it only grew stronger as you grew bigger. I kept a watchful eye on her until I received news of your birth. That is when I entered the hospital."

"With the intentions of killing me." I finished for him, drinking my second glass quickly. "Damien, I know you said I couldn't get drunk. But I think this conversation permits it."

"Yes, my love. But please don't drink so quickly." He responded with a slight nod. He waited until I voiced my understanding before continuing. "Yes, with the intentions of killing you. Once I decided not to kill you, I kept constant watch on you until you were twelve..."

"Which is when you bought me." I said as he trailed off, knowing he didn't want to say the words. I couldn't blame him, even as I said the words we both cringed.

"Afterwards, I kept guards on you who never let you out of their sight, and reported everything you did, and everyone you spoke to. Including everything you ate and drank. They were given instructions not to interact with you, but to make sure no harm would come." Damien said as he put a hand on his forehead, like he was getting a headache.

"So you knew about Jacob, before you killed him? And Jason? Why did you wait until I brought them home to kill them?" I asked curiously. There was never a second he didn't know what I was doing. So why only kill my two boyfriends after they entered my house?

"Because once they entered your house, they were official. That gave me the immediate right to kill them. When I was human, and courting, a relationship wasn't official until they entered the threshold of the woman's house." Damien responded nonchalantly, as if it was the most normal thing ever.

"You were born centuries ago, Damien! The way things worked back then, is far from how they work now." I exclaimed, as I started to finish my third glass, but then slowed down as Damien had asked of me.

"I'm well aware, kitten. Do you know what the age of consent was, when I was human?" He asked, taking the bottle and taking a few gulps from it.

"Like fifteen?" I responded with a shrug.

"Eleven, little one. If I continued traditions, the way they were when I was human, I would have taken you when you were twelve. Now, at the age of seventeen, if you weren't married with child by now, you would have been deemed too old." He said, putting the bottle down in front of me, then taking out his cell phone. He made a quick call to Sam, speaking in a language I didn't understand. "You were right, this conversation permits being drunk." he said to me, after ending the call.

Only a few minutes later, Sam was in the house with a very inebriated man babbling over his shoulder. Damien and Sam walked out of the room, towards the kitchen. I heard a loud, drunken scream, pursued by nothingness as Damien drank, then came back into the room with me. "Are you still only drinking the blood of men?" I asked him after he sat back on the couch, a little too hard, forcing it to move backwards.

"Bast, would you like to see my face in a beautiful woman's neck, drinking her life? Or would you prefer to see me do it to a man? Be honest, little kitten." Damien said with a slight smile. He wasn't drunk, but I could tell he was slightly tipsy. Not tipsy enough to slur or mix words, but tipsy enough to be able to speak with me in a much calmer manner.

"Why does it have to be a beautiful woman?" I asked him, drinking the rest of my third glass, then picking up the bottle instead. "You're right, I'd rather see you drink from a man. What is that like, exactly? Is it the same as when I drank from you?"

"Almost, yes. It depends on your sexuality." He responded as Sam entered the room with a tinted wine bottle, and handed it to Damien. I could tell it was blood due to the thickness, and the small blood-red trickle that fell down the side of the bottle. Sam had finished draining the man, and put it in a bottle for Damien to continue to drink from.

"Wait! Stay!" I said to Sam as he turned and started to leave. I pointed to the big chair to my left, and Damien's right, motioning for him to join us. "I'll get two more glasses." I said as I stood and walked quickly to the kitchen. When I entered, I saw the drunk man dead in the corner, his body deathly pale, even more so than usual. I decided to ignore it as I grabbed two glasses and reentered the library.

I handed one of the wine glasses to Damien, and the other to Sam before I took the bottle and poured some for the both of them. "So, is that guy going to turn?" I asked after I sat back down.

"No." Both Damien and Sam said in unison. Sam bowed his head and allowed Damien to speak. "He's dead, and he's going to stay that way. He needs to receive vampire blood to be turned."

"Oh, okay. So what did you mean when you said it depends on your sexuality?" I asked as I poured myself another glass. I was going to drink from the bottle, but I decided to continue using the glass, just as Damien and Sam were.

"If you were a lesbian, you wouldn't have gotten aroused when drinking my blood. But if you were bisexual, you would have gotten aroused whether you drank from a woman or a man. That is the reason I drank from men, so it wouldn't arouse me and tempt me into having sex with them." Damien explained as he finished his glass, then poured himself another, offering Sam a refill as well.

"Sir, I can leave now, if you wish." Sam said, obviously feeling out of place. I couldn't blame him, he was drinking with his boss, and his boss's girlfriend. I would feel weird if I was in the same situation.

"Sam, I'd really like to get to know you better. If that's alright?" I asked softly, looking at Damien, then Sam.

Sam looked at Damien for approval, then nodded softly at me with a smile. "Sure."

"I want to change into something more comfortable." I said as I stood, then swayed softly. I hadn't realized how much I'd drunken until I tried to stand.

"Look at my tipsy kitten." Damien said with a grin as he stood and helped me stand. He held me in his arms and carried me up the stairs, then sat me softly on the bed. He picked out an outfit for me, then set it on the bed next to me before leaving the room.

I stood and dressed in what he'd picked, which was a small pair of black cotton shorts, and a red sports bra. I smiled and shook my head after dressing, this was close to what I was wearing the night Damien and I had sex for the first time. I started to wonder if Damien really would stay interested in me, after having me as often as he wanted. As I thought about it, I felt myself getting sad. What if I was right? What if he would get bored with me, knowing I was fully his?