And for some reason, I grabbed his arm to stop him.
Damian raised his brows. "Something wrong?"
"No." I let go of his arm and bit my lip. "Would you, um, like to talk?"
"About what?"
I hunched my shoulders. "Anything, I guess. When we talked earlier, it was nice."
"Sure, I can hang with you for a while. I promised Ollie I'd take the new guests out to the pilot project later, since they've got a horse-crazy kid, but I've got some time to kill."
He sat down in the chair by the window while I relaxed on the bed—sitting up this time, not lying flat on my back staring at the ceiling balls.
"What does Ludar mean?" I asked. "You called yourself a Ludar prince, and you mentioned your Ludar lidar."
Damian rested his feet on the bedside table, his ankles crossed, and clasped his hands over his belly. "The Ludar people came from Eastern Europe, mainly Bosnia but also Romania. My mother is descended from that line. My dad is of Rom heritage, which means Eastern Europe and Russia. Both Ludar and Rom are known as gypsies. We call ourselves that, but I think it's mostly because that's easier for most normal people to remember. Rom, Ludar, Romnichels, it all gets kind of confusing."
"Okay. So you are a genuine gypsy."
"By heritage and by choice, yeah, I am. But nobody in my family has ever been to the old country. We're all Americans who love football and apple pie." His mouth slid into a sexy smile. "But we do have gypsy powers. Want me to read your palm?"
I didn't know how he did it, but he managed to make that simple question sound erotic.
"You don't actually believe you have psychic powers or whatever, do you?" I asked. "The gypsy thing is cool and fun, but you can't actually divine my thoughts."
"No." He winked. "Or maybe I can."
He planned to keep up this "I'm a mysterious gypsy thing" for as long as possible, didn't he? Maybe he was teasing me, but I couldn't tell for sure. Did I want him to tease me? Friends could do things like that, so it wouldn't necessarily mean he was trying to seduce me.
I felt a twinge of disappointment when I realized that.
No, I didn't.Get a grip, Heidi.
So what if Damian looked extra sexy in that black outfit, kicking back in a chair like he owned the place. I didn't even care that the way he'd smiled a minute ago made my tummy flutter. I had willpower, if I could ever find it.
"Do you speak Romanian or whatever language the Ludar speak?" I asked.
"I don't know much Romanian, not like my mom. She's fluent. I took French in high school, but I don't remember anything except how to ask where the bathroom is."
"Yeah, I took Spanish, but I've forgotten all of that too. Can't even ask where the bathroom is."
He smiled, and even though he wasn't trying to be sexy, he was.
And my tummy fluttered again. Dammit.
"Where does your family live?" I asked.
"St. Paul, Minnesota. My mom was born and raised in Brooklyn, my dad too, but they moved to St. Paul when I was in eighth grade. Dad got a job there. My brother and his wife and kids live there too."
"How did you wind up in Idaho?"
He smirked. "You mean how did I wind up in the potato state working at a prison. It's simple. After college, I wanted an adventure, so I joined a circus run by gypsies, mostly Ludar and Rom. By the time we got to Idaho, I'd had enough of the vagabond lifestyle, so I applied for a job as a prison guard. They hired me, and I kept that job until Ollie convinced me to work here instead."
Damian had told me that part this morning, but he hadn't mentioned his circus job.
"What did you do in the circus?" I asked.
"I was an animal trainer. Horses, mostly, but I also helped out the elephant and monkey trainers whenever they needed it." He sighed like he was remembering good times. "I also did some palm reading, though it's my mom who's the best at that stuff. Our friends and neighbors always love it when Ileana the Ludar Queen entertains them."