Desire, Fate, & Love

Chapter 3

I stared up at Rhys as he held me to the ground in the deserted playground. He was panting hard as he looked down at me, but he didn't move more than that. Suddenly, he shut his eyes and clenched his jaw hard. He leaned forward and I flinched as I felt his lips brush over my neck. As he laid soft kisses on my skin, I felt my cheeks heat up. My body filled with warmth as his lips brushed gently over my neck all over. I gasped softly as I felt him bite down softly. What was going on?

Then those same sparks filled my body. I shut my eyes tight and clenched my jaw to stop the sound that wanted to escape me. I felt Rhys smile as his lips moved up my neck and over my jaw. He pulled back briefly and I knew what was going to happen. I turned my head at the last second to avoid the kiss.

"No. Please," I pleaded softly. I didn't want my first kiss to be like this. Nothing made sense. Rhys growled deep in his chest. It was an animalistic sound that wasn't something I thought a human could make. He pulled my wrists up over my head and held them in one hand. With his now free right hand, he reached out and took hold of my chin. I struggled against his hold on my wrists as he leaned forward again. "No, please! I don't want this to be my first kiss!" My words froze him in place. He stared down at me and suddenly the sparks and warmth were drained from my body. I watched as his eyes shifted back to green. In an instant, he released me and scurried off from me. His eyes were filled with guilt as he looked at me. I slowly sat up.

"Lily, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to." He clenched his jaw hard and groaned in frustration. He ran a hand through his hair, messing up his perfect spikes. "Please. Let me explain." Explain? He had an explanation for all of this? Very slowly I stood from the ground dusting myself off as I went. "Lily?" His voice was full of hurt and confusion as I collected my lunch box from the ground. As I turned to leave, he bolted to his feet. He grabbed my wrist to stop me and seemed relieved when the sparks didn't come.

"Let me go," I said simply, feeling my cheeks flush with heat. I just wanted to escape. I wanted to find a corner to hide in and cry for hours. Rhys shook his head quickly.

"Not when you look like you are about to cry. Please. Let me explain. It might not make sense to you but you deserve to know." I turned on him with a soft glare.

"You mean you have a reason for attacking me like that? It better be a good one." He winced softly as if my words had stabbed him. He sighed deeply.

"You have no idea how hard it is for me to control myself around you right now, Lily. I've never wanted anyone so much." I felt my eyes widen and I tried to free my wrist from his grasp. He let me go easily, holding up both his hands in surrender. "I didn't want to attack you, Lily. I came here to find out why I react this way to you. Even when I was starving, I haven't lost control like that. Just, please. Give me a few minutes of your time. You don't have to believe me and, if you like, you never have to see me again." I saw the desperation in his eyes. I sighed heavily. I wouldn't believe him? Was it so crazy? Yet everything he had said so far made no sense to me.

"Will it explain your eyes?" He flinched at my words and his eyes widened sharply.

"My...?" Suddenly he reached forward and took my shoulders in his hands gently. "Did my eyes change?" He asked in almost desperate fear. I nodded.

"This is the second time." He let me go slowly and then fell back onto the ground in a sit. He started to laugh darkly and ran a hand slowly through his hair.

"Fuck." The curse was soft and he sighed deeply. "I'm not human Lily." The words were so simple but they threw me for a loop. I stared down at him in disbelief. He smirked lightly at my reaction. "I told you that you wouldn't believe me." I should just have left right then. Instead, I chewed on the inside of my cheek lightly. Was he serious? Yet what person's eyes changed like that? It wasn't some trick I could brush off at this point. With a short soft sigh, I sat down on the grass in front of him.

"What are you then?" He stared at me in wonder for a moment. He hadn't believed I would stick around, that much was clear from his expression. He ran a soft hand down his face and took a deep breath.

"Have you heard of an incubus?" He asked softly and I blinked in confusion. Was he honestly asking?

"The male s*x demons, right?" He scoffed suddenly and glared briefly at the ground.

"DESIRE demon thank you. It's not just sex." He let out a single chuckle and one half of his mouth jumped up in a split-second smirk. "Why do humans always jump to the s*x?" He said under his breath. He sighed softly before meeting my eyes. "But yes. You've got the gist of it." Slowly my brain began to understand and I tucked my legs under myself and shuffled a little further away from him. He frowned deeply but his eyes looked defeated.

"You're one of those?" I said, with a squeak briefly. He nodded softly and glanced at the distance I had put between us.

"I'm under control of my hunger now. You have no reason to fear me right now." His hunger? Suddenly, my hand flew to my neck and I felt my cheeks fill with heat. I knew I was probably beet red in seconds.

"Was that? Were you going to...?" The images that filled my head terrified me. Rhys watched my expression and his eyes widened. He shifted up onto his knees suddenly and held his hands out to me with palms up.

"Woah woah. No. Don't go there. I wouldn't have done that." He groaned in frustration. "This is why the s*x demon thing is bad. I can feed off a simple kiss. Even a touch." Touch? I looked down at my hand that he had grabbed at my house and he nodded slightly. "Yeah. Somehow, when I touched you it activated my hunger. Even that brief taste nearly drove me mad. That's why I left."

"Your eyes turned black then." He laughed darkly at that and shook his head.

"You must have been terrified. No wonder you didn't want to see me. I'm sorry I scared you." My eyes swept over the playground equipment to my tree. Looking at it a thought occurred to me.

"Why did you approach me at all?" As I turned back to meet his eyes, he frowned. His eyes swam with guilt as he looked over at my tree as well.

"Shit." He said in a soft breath. He took a short breath and shut his eyes. "Because I was starting to get hungry and I was planning on...." He clenched his teeth together to cut off his words as if he couldn't bring himself to say it. I was able to fill in the blanks though. He was trying to prey on me. Like a small rabbit being eaten by a graceful lion.

"Why me?" The words were barely audible to me, yet he sighed harshly.

"Human desire is tricky. After I feed off of someone for a bit, it doesn't satisfy me as much. Until I have to move on to someone new." I felt the confusion fill me. Had he really heard me from over there? Also, does that mean that he had s*x with all those girls that he dated? He smirked softly. "I can almost read the questions in your eyes. I didn't have s*x with them all. Also, I have better hearing than you." He didn't have s*x with them all? Does that mean he had s*x with some of them? I watched him nod softly to my unasked questions.

"What about Lisa?" I asked suddenly before I could stop myself. He blinked in surprise and then laughed. He shook his head softly.

"She wouldn't let me." I let out a breath of relief.

"Does that even matter to you though?" His eyes narrowed into a glare instantly and he growled. That sound for sure wasn't human.

"Of course it does. I would never force anyone. People have to want it for me to be able to get anything out of it." I nodded softly. That made sense, I guess. I opened my mouth to ask another question when I heard the bell ring from the school to signal the end of lunch. I looked back at the building and Rhys sighed. "We can talk about this after school if you want. I'll wait on the swings if you still want to talk." With that, he stood and in the next moment, he was gone.