She half expected him to become absorbed in the book, even as she asked about the woman he hoped to banish from his life. The glint in his eye when he spoke of coming back from the dead and the hint of that smile sent shivers, both icy and pleasant, up her spine. It was an odd sensation, like she was both aroused by that glimmer in his eye and that her body had triggered her fight or flight response, all at the same time. She supposed he had not lied about the trouble part, and that was what scared her. Lane had made the mistake of losing herself to guys that were not really interested in her, not as a person at least.<br/><br/>When he gripped her hand and lowered it to his thigh her eyes went wide and her breath caught in her throat. She had assumed he was about to put her hand a bit more to the right of where it was now. The shock wore off immediately when she felt the unnatural heat of his thigh, her expression softened then, because even with her limited knowledge of this kind of injury, she knew it must cause him immense pain. Looking back, she understood why his gait had been stiff at times. It was not just another quirk to add to the list.<br/><br/>"We should-- Maybe I--" she stuttered the words out, but the sentence would not quite form like it had in her head. His teasing words had rattled her, because even though it went against her better judgment, she wanted to know more about him and see more of him too. It wasn't just how he looked, something about him felt intoxicating to her. Maybe it was just the thrill of the unknown but Lane wanted to believe there was more to it than that. "I don't know that I want Adella's memories, but I would like to know if that particular hunch is right, because I feel it too. And maybe I can find some way to help with your...pain."<br/><br/>Whatever this Anastasia had done, it felt like darkness to Lane. Her need to help him was legitimate, just as he had seen when he first met her in the shop earlier that evening, Lane's motives were often altruistic. He didn't actually have to give her any sort of help, she'd want to find the cure for what ailed him regardless.<br/>She stared back at him with doe like eyes, the sort of gaze that held both innocence and damage at the same time. His eyes glittered before her and she bit her bottom lip, a nervous gesture that likely came out looking more sexy than anxious. His lips were then against hers, soft and much more gentle than she expected. From his earlier actions, she though he might be rough or forceful. Part of her wanted that, the firm hand, but it was better that it started this way. Her hand slid from the place on his thigh over his hip, and tugged him a little closer as they kissed.<br/><br/>A moment passed and she pulled back from him, her breath coming out in short pants. "Should I be worried? A woman like that, I'm betting she doesn't like sharing her toys. Did she and Adella ever clash?" Lane had no way of knowing how old his former companion was. Maybe she had already met this devil of a red-haired woman in a former life.<br/><br/>"I do want to get you out of your pants." She added, but then realized how it sounded. "To help you. Not to-- Well, maybe to--"<br/><br/>Lane tilted her chin upward and pressed her eyes closed, sucking in a deep breath to steady herself. "I can't imagine me being this flustered is at all sexy. It's been awhile and I'm not usually out with guys that knew my ancestor and manage to match me at every turn, and..."<br/><br/>She wanted to be the feisty, confident woman she had been at the beginning of this night, but that was easier to think than do. Clearly the man before her had his own baggage, the last guy Lane had been with was not exactly demonic, but the way he had treated her might as well have been. There were no spells to banish emotionally manipulative boyfriends to the underworld, at least not ones that didn't include dark magic.<br/><br/>"Don't do this unless you mean it, James." She looked at him again then, here eyes looking almost amber in the low light of the room. It was a simple and heart felt plea. He knew what it was like to be toyed with, so now she stood before him, asking him not to do the same to her.