She laughed quietly as the red haired vampire drew his arms around her and helped her sway to the music that played in Danse Macabre, one of the hottest clubs in the Blood District. She knew the law would keep her safe; plus, something about the vampire that held her told her she would be safe. His eyes were the eyes of hunters, but they weren't ruthless; desire flared behind his green eyes, more than hunger, more than bloodlust. She slid her hands up his cold chest and rocked her body against his.
"What is your name?"
After tilting her head up so she could look at him, she smiled and murmured, "Hermione."
He smiled but didn't flash his fangs. "I am Damian."
"Nice to... dance with you," she said, leaning up to whisper in his ear over the loud, sensual music.
"You are an angel, Hermione," he told her.
"I'm many things," she said softly, "but angel isn't one of them."
"We all suffer in many ways," he told her after kissing her knuckles. "Don't think that you are any less heavenly."
He continued to treat her as if she were an angel, despite her protests that she wasn't. She had gone to America to escape, to flee her previous life and the ghosts in the halls of Hogwarts; angels didn't run away or let the demons chase them out of a country.
Even in his basement bedroom, he cradled her close. She gave him permission to feed from her neck, and then he held her quietly; she guessed he had seen things from her mind while he fed from her blood, because he seemed less jovial than he had at the club.
"You deserve to be cherished," he whispered into her unruly hair.
She sighed and turned to look at him. "I survived," she whispered, "that doesn't mean I am---"
"It does," he insisted, cupping her face in his hand which was warmer than it had been at Danse Macabre. He pressed his lips to hers and seduced her into a kiss and so much more.
She had only had sex twice---with a teenaged boyfriend whose name brought tears to her eyes---but nothing compared to the feeling of having a man holding her close as he pushed his way inside of her body. She moaned and threaded her fingers through Damian's hair; she shivered when he licked the wound on her neck.
"Take more," she whispered, looking into his eyes as she rocked her body in time with the rhythm his had initiated. "I know you want to."
"Hermione... I could not---"
"I want to make you happy," she insisted.
"And I want to make you happy," he replied, smiling sadly as he turned onto his back and pulled her on top of him without missing a beat. She shivered as she realised how strong he was, how vulnerable she was.
"So... do it," she pushed, rocking her hips in a slow circle. She pushed her hair off of her face as she sat back; slowly, her hands trailed down her body. She cupped her breasts, touched by scars from previous battles, and then slid her hands down to her stomach and to Damian's chest.
She smiled and tugged him up into a sitting position, cradling his face in her hands for another kiss. She had always avoided sliding her tongue against his fangs, but in that kiss, she took her time caressing each elongated tooth. Damian moaned into her mouth and gripped her shoulders with both of his hands.
One of his fangs nicked her lower lip; Damian growled and kissed her ferociously as he chased the spilled blood. Hermione shivered and rode him as best as she could when she could barely breathe.
When their storm receded, leaving Hermione panting for breath and Damian looking entirely too alive and relaxed, she tried to get out of bed to find her clothes. She stumbled, however, and he barely caught her before she hit the floor.
"Stay tonight," he insisted.
She shook her head and swallowed hard. Dreams turned into nightmares and she hated having anyone else around her while she dreamed. He smiled and kissed her forehead as he carried her back to the bed. "Nathaniel usually makes breakfast, and his coffee is the best... so I'm told," he murmured. "No one will mind one more in the morning."
"I shouldn't---"
"Dawn's coming," he interrupted, "and soon I'll be dead to the world. For now, let me hold you close."
Hermione managed a small smile. "Well..."
"Please."
She nodded and wrapped her arm around his perfectly chiseled body.
