The Demon King (The Demon King, #1) - Completed

Chapter 24 - Endangered Life

I unconsciously smiled as I felt someone gently playing with my hair. Fingers flowing slowly through my locks, as if trying to touch every single strand of my hair. I then felt the warmth of those same fingers travel down the back of my neck and towards my back. The feel of the fingers had a very calming and soothing effect on me. I honestly could lay here forever and everything would feel alright.

I grabbed onto something and moved myself around, getting tired of the position I was sleeping in when I heard a low groan. My eyes immediately snapped open in response, widening in surprise when I realized Dimitri and I were face to face, our noses so close to touching. The something I had grabbed onto was his shoulders and I was literally sitting on top of him. Like right on top. My heart was suddenly racing and my breathing was coming out really heavy.

"Hello there." He spoke, his voice sounding really sleepy and really... uh hot.

"Hi." I spoke back breathlessly, my voice really shaking for some reason. And that's when I remembered what happened last night. I immediately grabbed Dimitri's face in between my hands and asked him how he was. He seemed confused before realization finally dawned on him.

"I'm fine." He spoke back with a very small smile on his face. A smile so small, I wouldn't have noticed if I wasn't inches away from him.

"I can't believe I fell asleep! I was supposed to be watching over you! Please tell me nothing bad happened while I was sleeping." I exclaimed so annoyed at myself. Esther specifically told us to watch over Dimitri but of course I end up falling asleep.

"You stayed up watching over me?" He asked surprised and I nodded my head, removing my hands away from his cheeks and resting them on his bare shoulders. I felt so awkward being this close to him. I felt like his red eyes were scrutinizing my every move. And why was I still sitting on top of him?

"All night, until very early in the morning when I ended up falling prey to sleep." I explained, feeling really annoyed with myself.

"You didn't have to stay up all night watching over me." He said with a frown on his face. "I would have been fine and I am."

"Yeah but Devon and Esther said you were going to get yourself killed! Esther told Devon and I to watch over you at night, and so I volunteered to do so because Devon looked really tired." I explained to him. I paused a bit before continuing on. "Dimitri... Uh, Devon last night said that this used to happen to you centuries ago, but you've never let it get this far. What was he talking about? What is it that happens to you? And if you can stop it, then why don't you?"

A bitter look crossed Dimitri's face before it settled into a defeated, sad look. He looked so sad that I really wanted to give him a hug. But I didn't. Truthfully, I didn't think I could, no matter how strong the urge was.

"It's just... I can't tell you Isabella." He started, looking down and away from me. "And I could stop it if I want, but... I just... I just can't anymore."

"So what, you're just going to let yourself die?" I demanded angrily, causing him to look up at me again.

"Some things are just more important to me than saving my own life." He spoke softly.

"Yeah? Like what?" I demanded, crossing my arms across my chest. He shook his head, smiling in amusement to himself.

"Okay, what the hell is so damn amusing? We're talking about your endangered life here and your laughing about something that seems so utterly funny to you!" I exclaim in disbelief.