Alyssa | Damien
Damien Duval had his answer. It wasn't even in her declaration that she genuinely liked him. No, it was in the fact that she bite her tongue, cut herself off, and then supplemented a different set of words. He could have let her get away with it. After all, her little display was proof enough that she wasn't using him, but the vampire wanted every ounce of truth Alyssa had to give.
Was he expecting to care about her? No. He'd been with thousands of girls in the two hundred plus years he'd been alive. Girls with similar traits to Alyssa's and girls that were as bland and dull as dishwater. When they threw themselves at him, at his brother, it was rare that neither of them took advantage. Of course, Damien tended to be far more picky about the company he kept, but still, he accepted the offers if he deemed them worthy of his time. Or he needed to feed.
Meeting Alyssa wasn't supposed to be anything special. They had a deal, a deal Damien had with countless other girls at one point, for her blood and that was supposed to be the extent of it. However, the fairy girl had surprised him and that thew Damien off. He hadn't expected to care, but now, he did just a little bit...and it was growing.
"Tell me what you intended to say, fÊe fille. You stopped yourself and we only deal in truths here," Damien replied, blue eyes flashing as he watched her from across the table.
"You might regret saying that." But Her question earned her a smirk and a hint of fang before Damien raised his glass to his lips for another sip of bourbon. He had no doubt she'd fight him; it was clear Alyssa wasn't one to simply take anything at face value. She was far too strong willed for that. Unfortunately for her, Damien was also strong willed and stubborn. He didn't tend to back down no matter how pretty the face staring back at him.
Damien usually kept a pack on him, but he certainly wasn't going to turn down the generous offer from Alyssa to feed his nicotine habit. She had to be careful teasing him like that. He had far more control than Bran, but that didn't mean feeling her lips graze his ear didn't stiffen him in his pants either. She stepped back and Damien bent his head, allowing his lips to ghost over hers as he replied, "Then you know your way to my cold, dead heart." The vampire pulled back and reached for his drink, polishing it off.
The vampire took in the sight of her grin and her words. They reminded him of something his brother would say. Bran always embraced his monster more freely than Damien did. The elder Duval tended to keep it more underwraps. "That's because anything involving the darkness is always the most fun. The most dangerous. The most alluring," Damien returned. "Anything that let's you live on the edge brings out the life in you. Gives you a perception you wouldn't experience unless you took that path."
It wasn't wrong to covet that acceptance. Damien would be surprised if Alyssa didn't long for it. She wanted someone to desire the same things as much she did. It was clear no one in this town could keep up with her, at least not in the capacity she desired. Until Damien arrived. With him, she found someone that was equally dark or at least capable of being on her level.
"No," Damien answered simply. "People long for someone they can fully be themselves with. For those like us, it is even harder to find. I imagine that even with your brother and sister, you still felt a bit of loneliness because there were parts of your personality they simply couldn't cater to given their role in your life."
As her arm looped around his neck, Damien's arm tightened around her waist while his other hand trailed down, skimming the material of her dress, before slipping underneath the hem. His fingers played along her thigh until he located her panties, the tips teasing the material.