The Vampire's Luna
Chapter 66: Michael Jackson - Dirty Diana

Chapter 66: Michael Jackson - Dirty Diana

The way he said it sent a shiver right down her spine. Her breath hitched, but she straightened her shoulders and met his gaze head-on, a defiant princess in full blush mode. "Yes. That’s what I meant. But like I said—bucket list."

Damien stared at her. His grin widened, slow and thoroughly wicked. "Oh, it’s going to happen, Luna. Someday." He leaned in, close enough for her to smell the faint spice of his cologne, close enough to make her head spin. "And I don’t care if by then you’re already married to your perfect little alpha pup. I will still make love to you... so thoroughly that you’ll bite your fingers in pleasure and in regret for not choosing me."

"Damien—!" she gasped, scandalized. The sound came out breathy, and her hand shot up to cover her mouth, horrified by the way her own voice had dripped with accidental sensuality. "Oh my goddess..." f\r(e)ewe.b no\vel.com

He laughed and she could see the pride glimmering behind his amusement. "That was honestly the hottest thing I’ve heard today," he admitted, utterly delighted. "Your voice when you moan my name... That’s going to haunt me."

Luna groaned into her palm. "Stop talking. Please."

But Damien wasn’t done. "Look, I get it. You’re twenty-one now. Coming of age. Your body’s waking up to all its... delightful potential. It’s totally normal. Honestly, at this stage, you’d probably jump anyone’s bones."

"I think," Luna said with faux dignity, "we need to get back to the party... before I jump your bones."

Damien offered his arm. "I’ll be a gentleman...until you beg me not to be."

She rolled her eyes but slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. "Keep dreaming, vampire."

"Oh, I do. About you. Often. Vividly."

"Okay, that’s it. No more birthday wine for you."

They walked back toward the castle, her cheeks still burning, his grin still devilish.

"What else is on that bucket list of yours?" Damien asked.

"Punching you," Luna replied dryly, casting him a sideways glance.

"Awww... kinky," he purred. "I didn’t know you had it in you. I like it" He gave her an exaggerated wink that made her groan and laugh at the same time.

*****

Back at the courtyard, the festivities continued in full swing. The music had shifted to a more relaxed tempo, and drinks were now flowing again. People toasted to the princess’s coming of age. But in the corner, beside the buffet table that had been cleared of anything edible, Kyllian stood nursing a glass of whiskey.

He wasn’t drunk, but he wished he were. At least then he could blame the tightness in his chest on something other than heartbreak.

From across the room, he watched Luna laughing at something Damien said, her face alight with a kind of happiness Kyllian hadn’t seen in days. It should’ve made him feel better. That she was smiling again, that the dark cloud that had hovered over her was temporarily lifted. But instead, it was like watching someone else open a gift he had chosen, wrapped, and hidden.

Their bond, now that he could feel it, pulsed inside him. It was there, warm and electric, tethering him to her. But unlike the bond Luna shared with Damien, his was one-sided. She needed him, yes. But she loved Damien. And that difference felt like a knife constantly twisting under his ribs.

He knew none of this was anyone’s fault. But that knowledge didn’t stop the primal, territorial snarl rising in his throat. Werewolves weren’t made to share, and certainly not with vampires. Every fiber of his being screamed to assert dominance, to rip out Damien’s cold, smug heart and toss it to the crows. fr\(e)ew(e)b.(n)o (v)(e)l.com

Kyllian took another sip of his drink, letting the whiskey burn away the worst of the jealousy.

Kyllian shifted positions and stepping quietly beside Damien, who had now joined the group gathered around Luna. She was just about to open another present, her fingers carefully undoing the silver ribbon as her mother beamed beside her.

With a dramatic gasp, Luna lifted the lid and pulled out a delicate set of deep crimson lingerie. Everyone’s minds sprinted to the same scandalous destination.

At exactly the same time, Kyllian and Damien’s brains conjured a vivid, completely inappropriate mental image of Luna in that lacy ensemble.

Damien raised an eyebrow slowly. "Well... that’s one way to send a man into cardiac arrest."

Kyllian’s mouth went dry. He coughed into his glass and muttered, "Her mother gave her that? That’s..."

Luna, oblivious to the carnage unfolding in their heads, looked between them and smiled.

"Do you... do you want me to say thank you on your behalf, or...?" Damien offered.

"While you boys are mentally undressing me in front of my family, I’ll move on to the next present?"

"Any word from Sage Veyron?" Kyllian asked.

Damien, who had just taken a sip of his wine, didn’t look at him immediately. He swirled the liquid before he replied. "Not yet..." he said finally, his eyes flicking toward Luna like a reflex. "I’ll let you know if anything comes up."

Then, almost too casually, he added, "So... bucket list, huh? Is that your grand heroic plan now? Bucket list therapy?" His lip curled in the way that always walked the fine line between amused and antagonistic. "Is that how you’re trying to save her?"

"Yes." Kyllian’s answer came without hesitation, cool and measured, as if he were stating the weather.

Damien snorted. "You are such a kiss ass," he said with a smirk. "You swing whichever way she wants, and the minute she bats those pretty lashes, you fold like a love letter in a thunderstorm. You think that’ll secure your pos`ition as Mate of the Year? Please."

Kyllian turned his head slowly, the corners of his mouth twitching, not quite a smile but equally dangerous. "You sound really pained, Prince Damien. Did something on the bucket list hurt your feelings?" he asked.

"Quite the contrary," Damien replied smoothly. "But while you’re playing therapist, I’m looking at what she needs. Not just what she wants. Wants are fleeting. Needs are survival. You’re just helping her decorate her damn casket."

(Shout out to @Lucky_Sookie, @addicted2fantasy, @Jennifer_Kellum)