The Divine and the Damned

DAWN.

I laughed at the statement in disbelief. "And I, kind sir, am a hundred and fifty years old" I ventured humorously. "I like seeing this side of you, Dragos"

"I'm in a good mood," he said and started to move slowly, gracefully to the music.

All eyes in the bistro were on us, but most were focused on Dragos.

He was immaculate, giving off an aura of grace and elegance like no other.

"You have gone stiff. Why?" He asked against my ear.

"Nothing" I lied.

Of course, I had gone stiff. He was dancing with me! Holding me close to him! In front of everyone! I hoped Sheila and the other waitress were watching.

Dragos spun me around and sharply pulled me back to himself, the unexpected gesture drawing a gasp from my lips.

Not only was he a singer, but an expert dancer as well.

"Where'd you learn to dance this well?" I asked curiously.

Dragos glanced down at me. "Everything I know was taught to me by Azrael"

His hand moved from my waist to my upper back "He gave no room for mediocrity. If I was going to learn something, the goal was to master it— surpass expectations or I'd be punished. Nothing less was demanded of me"

My face softened. "It must've been tough"

"It was"

"I'm sorry"

"Don't be" he grimaced "He can't dream of laying a finger on me now"

Dragos saw me staring at him and decided to change the point of conversation. "I know you think about me a lot," he said casually.

Feeling ambushed by the statement, I scoffed "You always speak with such confidence" I looked up at him. "Almost like you have facts to back it up"

"Your heart is racing"

"How can you tell that?"

Dragos smirked and ignored the question, meeting my gaze. "You are beautiful, Dawn"

There was something about how he said it. Something that made me want to give myself to him.

Perhaps it was the honesty in his tone as though he hadn't spoken to flatter me but because he truly meant it or maybe it was the beauty of his old Romanian accent. Whatever it was, I found myself wanting to surrender to him. And I longed for him to kiss me.

He had after all confessed about his feelings towards me.

"You are thinking again"

Dragos' voice brought me back to reality and I realized I'd gone quiet.

"Sorry"

"You do it when you're with me. You drift off"

He stopped moving and started to lead me back to our booth.

"I've got a lot going on in my head," I began, my voice soft. "Work, my mum..." I hesitated, then added, gathering my courage, "You."

Dragos' lips twitched in amusement. "Me? Don't tell me you've been having lewd thoughts about me, Dawn" He teased.

My face turned red and I looked down, waving my hand in front of me. "Stop it, Dragos"

But I didn't deny it.

We conversed some more and by the time we left the small restaurant, evening had fallen. As we made our way back to the house, it suddenly started to rain, and by the time we found shelter underneath a shed, we were drenched by the downpour.

The seductive aura Dragos gave off quadrupled.

His hair was wet and sleek, while his wet t-shirt clung to his chest, accentuating the contours of his muscles. He placed a hand on his waist, staring down at me, an infectious smile on his face.

"Not exactly how I wanted the day to end but it'll suffice"

I gulped, unable to respond nor look away from his perfect face.

A heat formed between my legs. A heat only he could relieve me of.

Why couldn't I get a grip on my emotions?

Why did every self-restraint I had, burn to ashes when he was near me?

"Stop fighting it," Dragos said softly "I can smell it all over you"

"W-what?"

He shifted closer, dipping his head, a smirk on his face. "The arousal"

I leaned back. Was it really that obvious that I wanted him?

I tried to deny it. "I don't know what you're talking about?"

Dragos' lip hooked into a smirk "It's okay to want me, Dawn. I know you do"

I forced a laugh, shifting my gaze away from his handsome face.

Normally, if the words had come from the mouths of someone else, I would've found him cocky, but they were true words. And they came from Dragos.

The tension between us was palpable.

My heart raced in my chest. Every hormone in my body spiraled all because I found myself trapped in this moment, gazing at him— an utterly striking, wet man.

A sensation like no other pulsed through me, an overwhelming feeling that felt almost like magic in action, as though a seductive potion had been used on me.

I wanted to kiss him. I needed to kiss him, and I felt like if I didn't soon, I'd die. That was how desperate I was.

So, I took a bold step and made the first move.

"It's going to stop raining soo-"

I pressed my lips to his own, cutting him short. Standing on my toes and wrapping my arms around his neck, I sighed as a flood of satisfaction washed over my body when I didn't feel him resist.

I remained caught up in the excitement of it all when, gently, Dragos placed a hand on the back of my head and drew me away from him.

He gazed at me heatedly for a few seconds, his golden eyes shining brighter than before, that there were no more brown specs to be seen.

"Dawn" he whispered my name, staring wantonly at me for a brief moment.

I froze, scared that I'd overstepped. Gosh, I was so stupid, acting without thought or reason.

"I'm sorry" I started to say "I-I wasn't thinking and I..."

Dragos crashed his lips back to mine before I could finish, and I moaned in relief, my fingers rushing to thread themselves within his thick, glorious hair.

On so many nights, I had dreamt of this moment— of running my hands through his hair while he did things to me.

His kisses were like everything I had fantasized about, except they were better.

He showed no mercy in devouring me, his tongue plunging into my mouth and claiming possession while I willingly surrendered.

Where did he learn to kiss like that? He was so good.

Dragos' hands had started to wander down below. They moved from my waist to grab my behind, squeezing gently. I moaned into his mouth, my fingers tightening in his hair and enacting a soft groan from him.

I hadn't thought it possible to gain such pleasure from just kissing. My ex wasn't exactly a terrible kisser, he just wasn't this good.

I was in seventh heaven.

Almost as if he sensed my knees weakening, Dragos lifted me and wrapped my legs around his waist then turned and moved towards the end, till my back rested against a wall.

He moved to my neck, then my ear, sucking on my earlobes softly and nibbling a little bit.

Then his mouth trailed kisses down to my collarbone, before returning to my mouth again.

His erection pressed between my thighs, driving me further insane and I rubbed against it desperately, my hand reaching down to brush against it.

I wanted more, wishing him not to stop. But he stopped.

Dragos pulled away to look at me and I was beyond surprised at how intense his eyes had gotten.

"We have to stop," he said in a breathy voice. His tone was utterly sexy, heavy with arousal, and I knew it was taking every shred of self-control in him not to have me against the wall, publicly.

"I won't be able to hold back if we don't stop now," he said, running a finger down my cheek and I nodded slowly, cursing everything inwardly.

"I want you just as much as you want me" I whispered and saw his eyes blaze with desire.

Dragos brushed his lips against mine, his voice low and dangerously seductive. "Careful, darling," he said "Don't say such words unless you're ready for me to take you right here, right now"

It sounded crazy, but that was exactly what I wanted. Suddenly, I didn't care that we were out in the open. The downpour was heavy, the sheets of rain blurring us from view, making it unlikely anyone would notice. But still, it was a risky move, especially for Dragos.

I wasn't prepared to cause a scandal for the Vlad family and the thought of Azrael's wrath at it sent a shiver down my spine.

Dragos gently set me back on my feet, and after a moment of silence, I spoke again, "I think we can go under now. The torrents have reduced"

My face and entire body was flushed with embarrassment. The confidence that had possessed me to kiss him and speak my mind earlier seemed to have suddenly vanished into thin air.

"Whenever you're ready" he raked back his wet hair and looked at me "I haven't done this in a long while. I feel like a child"

I laughed briefly "Deep down, everyone's still a child. Let's do it"

We grabbed each other's hands and ran.