The Edge of Want
The moon balanced low overhead as Selene and Damien cleared their path through the woodland, the unease between them overwhelming in the cool night air. Selene's brain hustled with contemplations of Astrid, the wolves, and the alarming way forward. In any case, there was something different — something obvious — that waited in the tranquil minutes between them.
Damien strolled next to her, his presence consistent and strong, yet there was a greatness to the manner in which he conducted himself this evening. He hadn't expressed much since their experience with Astrid, and however he had vowed to help her, there was an implicit force in his look that made Selene's heartbeat enliven.
They arrived at the edge of the town, where the trees dispersed, leaving them in the calm shadow of the evening. Damien went to her, his face half-concealed by the murkiness, however his eyes focused with a wild light.
"You really want to rest," he said, his voice low and unpleasant. "Tomorrow, we'll begin preparing. There's a great deal you really want to learn."
Selene gestured, however resting felt incomprehensible with all that had occurred. "Damien... about Astrid. She said the wolves would come for me. Is that valid?"
He delayed, his jaw fixing as though speak cautiously. "It is. However, not this evening. You're ok until further notice."
"Until further notice," she rehashed, her voice milder, very nearly a murmur. "Also, after that?"
His eyes met hers, something crude gleaming in their profundities. "I'll be here to safeguard you. Continuously."
The manner in which he said it, the tranquil conviction in his voice, sent a shudder down her spine. Damien had been a secret since the second he showed up in her life — solid, far off, however continuously looking after her. Also, presently, standing so close, the air between them thickened, loaded up with an implicit pressure she was unable to disregard.
Selene's heart beat, not from dread, but rather from something more profound. The power in Damien's look held her hostage, and briefly, all the other things blurred — Astrid, the wolves, the risk approaching over them. All that remained was this odd, electric draw between them, as though the very ground underneath their feet had moved.
She made a stride nearer, the space between them limiting. "For what reason are you doing this?" she asked, her voice scarcely over a murmur. "For what reason would you say you are helping me?"
Damien's eyes obscured, his breath shallow as he concentrated on her. His hand jerked next to him, like he needed to go after her yet was keeping himself down. "Since I guaranteed I would safeguard you."
"However, why?" Selene squeezed, her heartbeat dashing. "Why me?"
Briefly, Damien's cover slipped, and the crude weakness in his eyes surprised her. He turned away, his jaw grasped firmly like battling with an inward fight. "Since I care about you, Selene. More than I ought to."
The admission lingered palpably between them, thick and charged. Selene's breath hitched, her skin shivering from the heaviness of his words. She had detected it previously — the manner in which his look waited, the manner in which he generally appeared to be there when she wanted him — however hearing it presently, spoken out loud, sent her heart into overdrive.
Automatically, she shut the distance between them, her body continuing on intuition. Her hand found his, her fingers twisting around his, and the glow of his touch sent an influx of intensity through her. "I care about you as well," she murmured, her voice shudder.
Damien's breath got, his body going still as their hands interweaved. Briefly, neither of them moved, the strain between them working until it seemed like it could snap. Then, gradually, he turned around to her, his look extraordinary, loaded up with a feeling she couldn't exactly name yet felt somewhere down in her bones.
"Selene..." he started, his voice unpleasant, practically tormented.
Before he could get done, she ascended on her toes, shutting the last hole between them, her lips brushing delicately against his. The world appeared to fall away, the night air murmuring with the calm energy that no one but they could feel. Damien froze briefly, as though surprised, however at that point his hands slid around her midriff, pulling her nearer.
The kiss developed, slow from the start, then more pressing, an arrival of all that they had been keeping down. Selene's heart beat in her chest, her skin humming with sensation as Damien's fingers fixed around her, establishing her at the time. His lips moved against hers with a craving that made her winded, and for a short, wonderful second, essentially nothing else had any meaning.
However at that point, similarly as abruptly, Damien pulled back, his breath battered, his grasp on her releasing. He ventured away, his chest rising and falling vigorously, his face a blend of want and struggle. "We can't," he said, his voice stressed. "Dislike this."
Selene squinted, her brain actually staggering from the power of the kiss. "Your meaning could be a little more obvious."
Damien ran a hand through his hair, his jaw grasped firmly. "There's a lot in question. You're in harm's way, and I can't... I won't allow anything to occupy me from safeguarding you."
His words stung, however Selene could see reality in his eyes. He wasn't driving her away on the grounds that he didn't need her — he was driving her away on the grounds that he minded excessively. The heaviness of their circumstance settled back over her, cold and choking. The wolves, the power inside her, the risk approaching not too far off — everything came surging back, advising her that this second between them was short lived.
"I get it," she said delicately, however her heart throbbed with the implicit yearning that waited between them.
Damien's look mellowed, and he connected, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "This isn't about the thing I need," he said unobtrusively. "It's tied in with guarding you. We'll sort the rest out later."
Selene gestured, however the strain between them stayed thick, unsettled. "Much obliged to you, Damien. For everything."
He gave her a little, miserable grin, his hand waiting on her cheek for one minute before he ventured back. "Get some rest. I'll be close by in the event that you want me."
As he vanished into the shadows, Selene remained there, her heart actually hustling, her brain turning. She had never felt so associated with somebody, but, their general surroundings was destroying them. The draw between them was evident, however so was the risk.
Also, as she went to go to her room, one idea reverberated to her: regardless of what occurred straightaway, she was unable to stand to lose Damien. Not at the present time. Not ever.