Damien felt that pain in his chest again as he watched her drive away. It was as if his heart was being torn to pieces beneath his ribs. He raised his hand to that spot but could feel no injury.

"Why does her anger cause my heart to hurt?" he asked out loud.

"Sounds to me like you love the girl." a raspy voice said from behind him. Damien turned to see a filthy mortal man with long tangled hair and dirty clothes. Damien shook his head as the man looked around at the dead subs. "Come down here to find a cool place to rest and end up finding a pile of stinking zombies." the man said.

"Sub demons." Damien corrected. "And I'm sure the police will send a clean up team." The man nodded and leaned against one of the concrete pillars as he pulled a half smoked cigarette from his pocket and lit it with a small metal lighter.

"Anyway.. About your heart. It sounds to me like you're in love with the girl, whoever she is."

"Demons do not feel love." Damien replied matter of factly. The man's eyes widened.

"You're a demon huh? I would have figured you as an angel or something. I thought demons had scales and horns."

"Perhaps I hide them well." Damien replied.

"So you can't feel love, huh?" the man asked. Damien shook his head. "Are you sure?" the man asked and Damien nodded. "Well then I guess you could just have some bad gas."

"You should leave here, sir. There may be more subs that will come looking for these." Damien said.

"I think you're right. Not because I'm scared of damn zombies but because they smell like shit." the man agreed, wrinkling his nose. The man turned and began to walk away but then turned back to Damien. "You can get ya some Pepto bismal, that'll help with the gas. Of course if my first guess was right and you're in love with the girl then the only thing that'll help is to beg her forgiveness for whatever stupid thing you did."

"What makes you think that I did something stupid?" Damien asked, raising his brow.

"The man always does." the man replied with a smile and then he walked away before Damien could respond.

Damien thought about the old mans words and shook his head. Demons did not feel love but there was a part of him, a big part, that cared very much about Kaylee and her being sad, unhappy or angry was not something he could live with. He could not explain why her smile meant so much to him but when he saw it he felt lighter somehow and his heart would beat faster...

He looked down at himself. He was filthy. Covered in blood and dirt and he smelled nearly as bad as the sub demon corpses surrounding him but this could not wait. He must see her smile and know that she did not hate him before he could worry about anything else.

888

Kaylee was both angry and scared when she pulled back in at the station. She had already radioed ahead and let the chief know to send a clean up crew to the bridge and while she should have gone home first to clean up before coming back to the station, she wanted to get all of her paperwork done as soon as possible.

She turned the key, cutting off the engine and then buried her face in her hands as she laid her forehead against the steering wheel. What if walking away from Damien had been a huge mistake? What if he decided that she wasn't worth coming after? What if he didn't care about her enough to chase her?

She would have to live forever without him and she had no idea how to do that when everything in her was screaming to feel his protective, comforting arms holding her once again. Maybe her grandma could help her learn how to cope without her mate. After all, Rebecca had been without her mate's love and affection for hundreds of years before Grandpa Charles had finally realized what really mattered to him and come home for good.

Kaylee raised her head and looked out the window when she heard a tapping sound. She rolled her window down and looked at Kayleb who was standing there with a grin.

"Damien's inside. He barged in covered in blood and smelling an awful lot like shit and demanded to see you and then disarmed all the officers holding him at gunpoint because they thought he was a crazy person. He is sitting at your desk and insisting that he's not going anywhere until he's had a chance to talk to you."

"He came after me...." Kaylee said and Kayleb smiled when he saw the big grin come on her face.

"That's more like it... I knew you still remembered how to smile." Kaylee tried to give him a glare but she couldn't stop smiling long enough. She opened the door and stepped out of the car.

"He must care about me. He wouldn't chase me if he didn't care would he?" she asked her brother, hoping for a glimpse into the male mind.

"How the hell would I know?' he asked with a shrug. "All I know is when the chief asked him his name he told him his name was Damien and that he was your demon..... Kinda weird if you ask me."

"Shut-up! That's romantic." Kaylee said slapping her brother's arm. Kayleb chuckled and scratched at his head.

"It's a good think Vanessa isn't into all that romantic stuff because I would obviously suck at it. I just thought he was being creepy." Kaylee rolled her eyes and then quickly walked into the station. Chief Michaels let out a sigh of relief when he saw her.

"Kaylee, who the hell is he?" Chief Michael's demanded as he pointed at Damien. Damien stood quickly when Kaylee walked in and Kaylee could have sworn he looked nervous but then wondered if she'd been imagining things when that cool, indifferent, confidence came back to his face and posture.

"His name is Damien and he is my demon." she replied. Chief Michael's grunted with irritation and she was sure she saw something that looked like relief pass over Damien's face. Damien stepped forward and ran a gentle finger down Kaylee's cheek, nearly causing her knees to buckle beneath her.

"Can we talk?" he asked. Kaylee nodded and Damien wrapped his arm tight around her. Kaylee felt a pull at her stomach and she closed her eyes. The next thing she knew she smelled the salty scent of the ocean and she could feel the warmth of the sun and she could hear the sounds of sea gulls and the crashing of waves against rocks and sand.

She opened her eyes and gasped at the breathtaking view around her. The white tropic sands, bright blue waters, blowing palm trees and rocky cliffs in the distance were all the most beautiful things she had ever seen. She spun in a circle but on all sides of her there was nothing but breathtaking wilderness.

"That's my home." Damien said pointing toward a tiny beachside cabin. Okay, so Kaylee had to admit it was more of a shack. The wooden walls were bleached nearly white from the sun and the roof was made up of woven tree fronds. Coconut wind chimes and brightly colored tropic flowers decorated the otherwise plain shack.

"What is wrong?" Damien asked as she looked around.

"Nothing." she replied. "This place is beautiful, I just pictured you living somewhere...."

"What?"

"Bigger." Damien nodded and looked out over the ocean.

"I grew up in a castle. I hated it. I am simple and I like things around me to be simple." Damien looked down at her. "Do you want to talk now?" Kaylee looked down at herself.

"I need to wash up first." she said. "Do you have something clean I could put on?"

Damien turned and walked away toward the shack leaving Kaylee standing alone in the sand. She walked about twenty yards down the beach to the waters edge and slipped off her shoes before walking out into the ankle deep waves. She had been a lot of places in her life but the simplicity of this beautiful place truly was the most amazing thing she had ever seen.

"Here." Damien said as he walked down to her and held out a folded white button down.

"Are these the only kind of shirts you own?" Kaylee asked raising her brow. Damien looked puzzled for a moment and then nodded.

"Should I own different kinds." he asked. Kaylee shook her head and grabbed the shirt.

"No, the white shirts and dark jeans work for you." Damien raised his brow.

"Work for me?" Kaylee stared at him with disbelief.

"Are you fishing for compliments?" she asked. He looked truly puzzled as he stared down at her.

"Fishing?" Kaylee was about to laugh but then she realized that he was serious.

"You honestly don't understand what I mean?" she asked. Damien shook his head.

"I do not." he replied.

"It means you look good in what you wear." Kaylee said as a blush colored her cheeks. Damien smiled and Kaylee thought her heart might just beat out of her chest.

"You are complimenting the way I look?" he asked. Kaylee quickly pushed her hair behind her ear with her free hand and nodded.

"Yes." she squeaked, wondering why she felt so embarrassed. She had known Damien for twenty years but somehow being here with him, in this beautiful place that was his, with the wolf in her craving him and calling out for him made everything feel different.

"You are beautiful, my wolf." Damien said reaching out his hand and resting it against her cheek. His own passion toward her surprised him. It was something he had worked hard to never feel before. Nothing good could ever come from a demon giving into his passions.

Kaylee pulled away from him as she remembered what he had brought her here to discuss.

"Can I have privacy?" she asked. "And a pair of pants?"

"Yes to the privacy." Damien said taking a step away. "No to the pants.... I do not have any that will fit you."

"Great." Kaylee said with a sigh. Damien shrugged.

"I will not take advantage of you, Kaylee." he promised, wondering if her sudden shyness was caused by fear. She looked back at him and locked her eyes with his.

"I know that. I would break your arms if you tried." she replied. Damien nodded.

"Of that I have no doubts." he replied with a hint of a smile. "I will go to the other side of the rocks and clean up myself, and then we will talk." Kaylee nodded in agreement.

"Yes we will." she replied and she watched him walk away, knowing that it would be much easier to stay mad at him if his jeans did not hug his legs and rear quite so nicely.