Текст книги "Oblivion"

Автор книги: Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Текущая страница: 28 (всего у книги 51 страниц)

Chapter 15

I recognized all of the DOD officers immediately. Officer Lane was the first to step forward, his wary gaze trained on me. “Hello, Mr. Black and Ms. Swartz,” he said.

“Hey, Lane.” I kept my voice calm. “I wasn’t expecting you today.”

“We got into town a little early and saw your car.” Lane smiled.

Officer Vaughn squinted, as if trying to see through me. For once in her life, Kat was remaining quiet behind me. “What were you guys doing out here?”

“There was a party here last night, and we were looking for her cell phone.” I threw a grin over my shoulder and prayed to whoever may be listening that she didn’t have her cell on her and it didn’t ring. “She lost it and we’re still looking for it. So I can meet you guys later. Once we find the…”

The passenger door of one of the Expeditions opened and an icy blonde-haired woman stepped out. I swallowed a curse, recognizing the sharp features. “Underage drinking?” She smiled, but it was fake. It was wrong.

Every part of me tensed as I stared at Nancy Husher. Dealing with Lane and Vaughn was one thing, but this woman? She was trouble, and not the fun kind. I didn’t see her often, and the fact that she was here did not bode well.

“We weren’t drinking,” Kat spoke up. “He knows better. His parents are like mine. They’d kill him.”

I kept my face blank as a sheet of paper.

“Well, I was hoping to catch up with you, Daemon, and we could get an early…dinner.” Lane motioned toward his Expedition. “We only have a few hours. I hate to cut your cell phone search-and-rescue short.”

Staring at Husher for a moment, I nodded. “It’s okay. I can take her home and meet up with you guys.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Husher said. “We can take her back, and you guys can catch up.”

Oh, I did not like that. Not at all. A muscle thrummed along my jaw, and I was seconds away from telling Husher she could go screw herself, but Kat stepped forward with a bright smile. “That’s cool with me,” she said. “I just hope it’s not going out of your way.”

My right hand clenched and I wanted to shout at Kat. She didn’t know Husher, didn’t know what that woman was capable of. I didn’t want Kat in the same zip code as Husher, let alone in a vehicle with her.

“It’s not out of the way,” Husher replied. “We love the roads back here. Fall colors and all. Ready?”

Kat walked toward the SUV, glancing back at me as Husher opened the back door of the Expedition. I forced my legs to move toward my car, but I didn’t take my eyes off the vehicle. Not when Husher closed the door on Kat. Not when that woman smiled in my direction before climbing into the passenger seat. Not when Vaughn got behind the wheel. Not until the Expedition backed out of the field and pulled out onto the road, disappearing from view.

There was nothing I could do.

Helplessness poured into me, followed by bitter frustration.

Lane stopped by his driver’s door. “They’ll take your friend home, Daemon.”

I met his steady gaze and spoke the damn truth. “I don’t trust a single one of you.”

“That’s a vice versa thing,” he replied. “Always has been. You and I know that, but they will take your friend home.”

His words didn’t ease the tension building in me. “People know she left with me today,” I said, which so wasn’t true, but figured it couldn’t hurt. “If she disappears, it’s not going to look good for me.”

Lane shook his head. “Like I said, that girl will go home.”

“She better,” I warned, and left it at that.

He opened his car door with a sigh. “I’m hungry. Let’s go grab something to eat.”

Getting food was the last thing I wanted, but Smoke Hole was closer to home than where we were, so we headed there in each of our cars. Even though it was a Saturday and the waiting area was crowded, I came to Smoke Hole enough that we were seated immediately

And the fact that the waitress was a Luxen and recognized who Lane was helped.

No one was seated near us in the back.

All I ordered was a glass of water, but Lane went all out, picking the meat loaf off the menu, like he always did when we met here. After the waitress rushed off to fulfill the orders, Lane leaned back in the seat, and when he spoke, he kept his voice low. “I’m not going to beat around the bush. What went down on Halloween night?”

I folded my arms across my chest and met his stare. “Why has it taken so long for you all to come around and ask me?”

“I just got my orders on Friday to talk to you,” he replied.

“That doesn’t tell me anything.”

“I don’t need to tell you more than that.” He raised his hands. “I’m not trying to be a dick to you, but I just carry out my orders, and when they change, I know better than to question them. You should learn from that.”

My lips twisted into a wry smirk. “Well, you know me, I’m not real good at learning things.”

Lane laughed drily. “Now, I know that’s not true.” He paused when our drinks arrived. “What happened over Halloween?”

I took a healthy drink of my water before responding. “One of the guys from the colony got a little out of control. He was threatening my sister and… and my friends.”

“Kind of odd to see you with a human friend,” he cut in.

My finger trailed along the cool glass. “Well, it’s kind of hard not to when she lives right next door. That’s not my fault. You all let her and her mother move in. Anyway,” I went on, feigning boredom with the conversation. I went along with what I knew the Elders had told the DOD according to Matthew. “He was out of control. We fought. It was pretty impressive.”

“I’ll say. Took out a satellite.”

I grinned. “Cool.”

Lane’s stare was dry as his plate of food arrived. He cut into the meat loaf with an expression of bliss on his face. “What happened to the one who got out of control?”

Good question. I wasn’t sure what the Elders had told them, but with that kind of display of power, someone died. The Elders would’ve known that. “No longer a problem.”

He paused, a huge chunk of meat loaf dangling from his fork. “You know that’s forbidden.”

I took another drink. “And what would you have had me do? Let him expose us? Expose that the government is well aware of—”

“I get it,” he interrupted, chewing thoughtfully. “Your colony reported the same thing. Officer Husher didn’t seem to have a problem with it, just so you know. Talking with you today is just procedural.”

A little bit of relief set in. “Why did Husher come along? This seems too pedestrian for her.”

He snickered. “Officer Husher likes to do ride-alongs every once in a while. Today was just your lucky day.”

Now it was my turn to snort. My dislike of Husher was no big secret. I glanced out the window. Night had begun to fall. I wished I could trust Lane. I liked him, but I knew that I was just a job to him. One he tolerated. I turned my attention back to him. He looked up, only a small piece of meat loaf remaining on his plate.

“What?” he asked.

I picked up my glass. “Nothing.”

Lane finished off his meat loaf, leaving the mashed potatoes untouched, like always. He placed his fork on the plate and leaned back. “Off the record?”

Yeah, right. I waited.

“You’re being smart, right?”

My fingers stilled on the glass. “About what?”

“The girl. Katy.”

“You sound like a father, Lane.” My tone was nonchalant, but that wasn’t what I was feeling.

Lane’s grin was small. “Sometimes I feel like that. I’m not asking what is going on with you two. You’re both young and the differences don’t matter in the…heat of the moment. She’s a pretty girl. Be smart, Daemon.”

I wasn’t being smart when it came to Kat, and I had all but given up on that.

Pulling into the driveway, I parked my car and opened the door. There wasn’t a light on at Kat’s house, but as I neared my porch, I felt the warm tingle along the back of my neck. I almost hit my knees. She was here. She was okay. I climbed the steps.

The front door swung open, and Kat was a blur as she raced out. I barely had time to prepare myself. She threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and squeezing tight. My heart was racing, just like hers, and the greeting stunned me, so much so that I froze for a second.

Then I wrapped my arms around her waist, sealing her to me. I was aware of Dee stepping outside. “Whoa there, Kitten, what’s going on?”

Face-planting in my chest, she didn’t respond for a moment. “I thought the DOD carted you off to some lab to keep you in a cage.”

“Cage?” I laughed a bit unsteadily. “No. No cages. They just wanted to talk. It took longer than I thought. Everything’s okay.”

Dee cleared her throat. “Ahem.”

Kat stiffened in my embrace and seemed to realize what she was doing. She wiggled free, backing up a step. “I…I was just excited.”

“Yeah, I’d say you were,” Dee said.

I stared at Kat, my lips slowly curving up. “I kind of like this level of excitement. Makes me think of—”

“Daemon!” both of them shouted.

“What?” I stepped toward my sister, tousling her hair in the way I knew annoyed the crap out of her. “I was only suggesting—”

“We know what you were suggesting.” Dee dodged my hand. “And I really want to keep my food down tonight.” She smiled at Kat. “See. I told you. Daemon is fine.”

Kat had obviously been very, very worried about me. Awesome. Right now, she looked pretty embarrassed. “They didn’t suspect anything?”

I shook my head. “Nothing out of the norm, but they’re always paranoid.” I figured there was no point going into details right now. “Really, you don’t need to worry. You’re safe.”

She stared at me and then shook her head, like I wasn’t getting something. “All right, I need to go home.”

“Kat…”

“No.” She waved me off, starting down the steps. “I really need to go home. Blake called, and I need to call him back.”

“Boris can wait,” I said as Dee slipped back inside.

“Blake,” she said, stopping on the sidewalk. A shaky hand rose and smoothed back the wayward strands around her face. “They asked me a lot of questions—especially the lady.”

“Nancy Husher.” I frowned as I went down the steps. “She’s apparently a big deal within the DOD. They wanted to know what happened Homecoming weekend. I gave them the Daemon-edited version.”

“Did they believe you?”

I nodded. “Hook, line, and sinker.”

She shivered. “But it wasn’t you, Daemon. It was me. Or it was all of us.”

“I know, but they don’t know that.” I lowered my voice as I cupped her cool cheek in my hand. “They won’t ever know that.”

Her eyes closed as she turned her cheek into my hand. “It’s not me I’m worried about. If they think you blew a satellite out of orbit, they could see you as a threat.”

“Or they could just think I’m that awesome.”

“It’s not funny,” she whispered.

“I know.” I moved closer and, drawing in a deep breath, I drew her back into my arms. “Don’t worry about me or Dee. We can handle the DOD. Trust me.”

Kat placed her hands on my sides and stayed there for a handful of precious moments, and during that time, the world quieted a little. Then she slipped free. “I didn’t tell that lady anything. And the damn phone rang as I was getting out of the car. She knew we were lying about why we were there.”

Shit. Talk about bad timing with the phone. “They’re not going to care about us lying over the phone. They probably think we were out there getting it on or something. You don’t need to worry, Kat.”

She lifted her eyes, meeting mine. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

I smiled. “I know.”

Chapter 16

“All the kids were basically like X-Men in that book you told me to read. I still really liked it, though,” Dee said, placing her hand over a cup of butter. “But if I could pick a superpower, it would be the ability to read minds.”

Kat stared at her as my sister melted the cup of butter with her hands. Slowly, Kat looked over to where I was leaned against the counter. She raised her brows at me and then said, “Dee, you are basically already a mutant. I mean, you just melted butter with your hands.”

“Can’t read minds though, now can I?” Dee poured the butter over the chopped potatoes. “Or see through walls.”

“Or control objects,” I mused, and then grinned when they both looked at me. “Oh, wait, we can do that.”

“It’s not the same,” Dee reasoned, waving her hand. The tray of potatoes lifted and slid into the open oven door. The door closed without her touching it.

Kat shook her head. “This is so weird.”

Spinning around, Dee hopped up on the counter and crossed her ankles. “God, I wish we had more than the week off for Thanksgiving.”

“I’m pretty sure we’re getting more time off than most,” Kat said, sitting in the kitchen chair. She had come over just before Dee decided she wanted to do a test run on Thanksgiving potatoes. “At my old high school, we only got a half day on Wednesday and Thursday and Friday off.”

“I think we should get two weeks off.” Dee shrugged. “It’s only Tuesday, and I already feel like it’s almost over.”

I raised a brow as I pushed away from the counter. “Probably because you slept half of Monday and Tuesday away.”

“Whatever,” she said, grinning. “I’m preparing for the Wednesday grocery shopping trip from hell. Can’t wait.”

Kat’s eyes widened. “You actually want to go out there the day before Thanksgiving?”

My sister, who was crazy, nodded. “I love it. People are insane, running around and grabbing stuff. I love the excitement.”

“I bet you love Black Friday shopping, too.”

“Uh, yes. I can move lightning-fast. I get those deals.” Dee popped off the counter. “I’m gonna hop in the shower. You’re not leaving soon, right?”

Kat glanced over at me. “You haven’t showered yet? It’s like five in the evening.”

A sheepish look crossed her face. “I sort of slept in today, like Daemon said.”

“I’ll be here.”

Dee shot me a look that warned behave as she darted out of the kitchen. I grabbed a Coke for Kat and then joined her at the table.

“Thanks,” she said, taking the can and popping the lid. She glanced up at me and then quickly turned her gaze to her red can. Kat had holed herself up in her house since Saturday night. She sat back, glancing at the kitchen door. “Sometimes the only logical explanation for why your sister enjoys the things she does is because she’s an alien.”

I laughed as I stretched out my legs. “I don’t even think she’s from my planet.”

Kat smiled at that. “Are you going shopping with her?”

My brows flew up. “Hell no. I would not subject myself to that kind of torture. Adam’s going with her.”

“I bet he’s happy about that.” She took a sip and then reached up, brushing a loose strand of hair back from her face. “Nice of him to do that.”

“Yeah.” I toyed with the can. “Have you been displaying any mutant abilities?”

She stared at her can and shook her head. “Nope.”

I eyed her closely, unsure if I believed her or not, but why would she lie? Knowing her, she probably didn’t want me to worry. “Nothing at all.”

“No.” Those thick lashes lifted. “Has the DOD come around since Saturday?”

“That would be a no.” I took a drink and then placed the can down. I leaned forward, resting an arm on the table. “So you’re going to join us for Thanksgiving?”

Her lips curved up at the corners. “Dee’s invited me, but I’m not sure yet.”

“Why?”

“It’s just…I don’t know. I don’t want to creep all up in your family time.”

Extending my arm, I tapped my fingers on hers. She peered up at me through her lashes. “You know you’re seriously welcome, right? It’s not just Dee and me having dinner.”

“I know,” she said. “The Thompsons and Mr. Garrison are coming over, but they’re your family. I’m not.”

I met her stare. “You’re just as important to us.”

Her gaze rested on where my fingers touched her hand. “I’ll think about it.”

“Promise?”

She glanced up and grinned. “Of course.”

I pulled my arm back. “So how’s Beethoven been? Seen him lately?”

“Beethoven?” She laughed with a shake of her head. “You mean Blake.”

“Whatever.”

“You’re such an ass,” she said, smiling slightly. “How can you not remember his name?”

I smirked. “He’s just not that memorable.”

“Uh-huh.”

“So? You’ve seen him?”

“No,” she said. “He’s visiting his family during Thanksgiving break.”

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll stay there,” I suggested.

Her eyes rolled. “You’d like that.”

“Undoubtedly.”

Kat cocked her head to the side. “There’re the adverbs again.”

“Oh, I have more for you. How about undeniably? Unequivocally?”

She eyed me over her can of soda. “Aren’t you so proud of yourself.”

“Unashamedly.”

A giggle snuck out of her as she lowered her can. “That sums up you in one word.”

“It’s a good word.” I watched her toy with the tab on her can. She peeked up at me, and when our eyes met this time, she didn’t look away. A long, tense silence stretched out between us, and I thought about how relieved she’d been when I’d come home Saturday night.

Kat didn’t get it when it came to the whole Thanksgiving thing. She didn’t think she belonged or was a part of us. She had no idea that she was beginning to mean more to me than…

Well, than anyone else that was going to be here on Thanksgiving. And that was dangerous. Potentially stupid. Risky. Also exhilarating.

Thrilling.

I ignored the look Dee sent in my direction as I gathered up the last of the Christmas decorations that I figured she wouldn’t murder me in my sleep for taking. She was smiling knowingly. Of course she was. And that was why I was pretending she didn’t exist.

Making a quick pass into the kitchen, I grabbed the covered plates and then went back to the box by the door.

“Very sweet of you,” Dee said.

“Shut it.”

She giggled as I willed the door open and stepped outside. I used the Source to get the box. It floated behind me like a puppy. As I crossed the lawn and stepped onto the front porch, I knew I was taking a risk, because I never knew what version of Kat I was going to get these days, but I couldn’t stand the idea of her spending Thanksgiving alone.

Like it or not, she would be continuing her traditions.

As I knocked on the door, I felt the familiar tingle along the back of my neck and grinned. A few seconds later the door opened.

Kat’s lips parted, and hell, that made me want to kiss her. But I always wanted to kiss her, so that was no different from any other day.

“Hey.” I lifted the stack of covered plates. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

She blinked. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

“You going to invite me in?” I wiggled the plates. “I come bearing gifts in the form of food.”

For a moment, she didn’t move, and then she stepped aside. I walked in, motioning at the box behind me. It landed inside the foyer with a jingle, and Kat just stood there, staring at me like I had walked into the house butt-ass-naked.

“I brought a little of everything.” Off to the kitchen I went. “There’s turkey, yams, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, some kind of apple crisp thing and pumpkin—Kitten? Are you coming?”

Silent, she followed me in as I got two candleholders and candles that looked like they’ve never been used. With a wave of my hand, the wicks caught fire. She was still quiet as I went about setting up dinner, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it.

“And after dinner, I have another surprise for you,” I warned her.

“You do?” she whispered.

I nodded. “But you’ve got to join me for dinner first.”

She slowly made her way to the table and sat, clearing her throat. “Daemon, I…I don’t know what to say, but thank you.”

Uncomfortable with the thanks, I shrugged. “Thanks aren’t necessary. You didn’t want to come over, which I understand, but you shouldn’t be alone.”

Her gaze dropped, and I got hung up on staring at those freaking thick as hell lashes. Then she reached for the wineglass I’d filled, downing the drink in one gulp.

Holy hell.

“Lush,” I murmured.

Her lovely lips tipped up at the corners. “Maybe—for today.”

I nudged her with my knee under the table. “Dig in before it gets cold.”

The food was divine.

Dee was a damn good cook, which I was suddenly thrilled about, because watching Kat dig into the food with such gusto and enjoyment really made my mind wander into places that had nothing to do with roasted turkey or buttered rolls, but had everything to do with…well, with Kat.

The second glass of wine flushed her cheeks, and things were cool while we cleaned up together after dinner. No. More than cool. Familiar. As if we’d done this every night, which was bizarre, because I was lucky to wash my own dishes at home, but this…yeah, this was good.

She followed me into the foyer, her eyes bright as I moved the large box into the living room. Kat sat on the couch, clasping her hands together as she watched me with a curious expression. Cute. She was so freaking cute. Had no idea.

Taking a deep breath, I opened up the box and pulled out the first green-needled branch. I poked her with it. “I think we have a Christmas tree to put up. I know it’s not during the parade, but I think Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving special is on, and, well, that’s not too bad.”

Her lips parted again, but this time she didn’t just stare at me. Her eyes suddenly took on a glossy sheen. Kat jumped from the couch and raced out of the room.

I stared at the entryway and then dropped the branch. Moving faster than she could track, I darted into the hallway, appearing in front of her, blocking the stairway. She skidded back and tried to turn, but I grasped her arms. “I didn’t do this to make you cry, Kat.”

“I know,” she sniffled. “It’s just…”

Fuck. This was not how I planned this going. I wanted her to be happy, to smile. I wanted her to see that even without her father, she could still have tradition.

“It’s just what?” I cupped her cheeks, thumbing away the tears. “Kitten?”

Her shoulders rose and fell. “I don’t think you know how much…something like this means to me.” More tears tracked down her cheeks. “I haven’t done this since—since Dad was alive. And I’m sorry to cry, because I’m not sad. I just didn’t expect this.”

Damn.

Those words hit me in the chest like I’d been sucker punched.

Maybe in the back of my head, I knew how much this could mean to her, but I wasn’t prepared. Tugging her toward me, I wrapped my arms around her, and I closed my eyes as she face-planted on my chest. “It’s okay. I get it. Good tears and all.”

Kat didn’t respond, but she held me back, and in that moment, I felt the change in her. Her muscles relaxed as if she’d been holding herself away this whole time. And I relished those moments, basked in them as if I were feeling the warmth of sunlight after a frigid winter.

Then she moved.

Reaching up, she clasped my cheeks and started to guide my head down. My heart freaking stopped when she kissed me. It was quick and over well before I wanted it to be, but it hit me hard. Man, dug right into me.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice breathy. “I really mean it. Thank you.”

It took every ounce of control not to bring that mouth back to mine, but somehow I managed. I smoothed away the last of her tears. “Don’t let anyone know about my sweet side. I have a reputation to keep up.”

Kat laughed. “All right, let’s do this.”

Putting up Christmas decorations with Kat was nothing like I’d ever experienced. She was animated, lovely as she touched every bulb and strand of lights. Sometimes she laughed. Sometimes she would look away quickly, thinking I didn’t notice how her eyes would suddenly go unfocused and shiny. I didn’t point it out, not wanting to overwhelm her, and she’d always recover quickly.

When she picked up a bright green bulb, she looked at me, looked at the bulb, and then smiled in a way that made me want to know what was going on in that head of hers. Once the tree was finished, I was tired, but the night was worth it. She stared at the end result with the biggest, most beautiful smile I’d ever seen.

“I love it,” she declared.

The tree was lopsided, but if she loved it, then I was down with it. “Yeah, it’s pretty good. Dee put up the tree this morning. She has to have everything the same color, but I think our tree looks better. It’s like a disco ball.”

Her smile got even bigger.

I bumped her shoulder with mine. “You know, I had fun doing this.”

“I did, too.”

I lowered my gaze. “It’s late.”

“I know.” She paused, her expression tense. “You want to stay?”

Either I was hallucinating or she seriously just asked me that.

“I don’t mean that,” she added immediately.

“Not that I’d complain if you did.” My gaze dropped. “Not at all.”

She rolled her eyes, but her face was such a pretty shade of red, and my pulse…my pulse was out of control. Outwardly, I was calm, but my mind was racing a mile a minute.

“I’m going to get changed,” she said.

“Need help?”

“Wow. You’re so chivalrous, Daemon.”

I smiled, unable to help myself. “Well, the experience would be mutually beneficial. I promise.”

The flush deepened.

“Stay.”

I stayed in place for a whole minute, if that. And I knew I should’ve stayed there, but I’d always had a problem with impulse control. Actually, I only had a problem with impulse control when it came to Kat.

Stealing quietly up the stairs, I went straight for her bedroom. I could hear her moving around in the bathroom as I drifted to the window. When she stepped out, she froze, and I immediately questioned the intelligence behind my decision to come up here, because I really liked how thin her shirt was.

And I really loved those freaking little shorts.

“I got bored.”

She shook her head. “I wasn’t even gone five minutes.”

“I have a short attention span.” My gaze dipped. “Nice shorts.”

Her lips twitched into a grin. “What are you doing up here?”

Good question. Guess “I was a glutton for torture” wasn’t the right answer. “You said I could stay.” I glanced at the bed. “I didn’t think you meant staying on the couch.”

Uncertainty flickered across her face as her gaze followed mine. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want her to change her mind and kick me out. Not tonight.

Not ever.

Walking toward her slowly, I stopped in front of her. “I’m not going to bite.”

“That’s good.”

“Unless you want me to.”

“Nice,” she muttered, stepping around me.

Since she hadn’t told me to get my ass out of there, I decided it was a go. I kicked off my shoes and then tugged my shirt off, going for my jeans before she changed her mind.

“What—what are you doing?” she asked, stuttering.

I looked down at myself and then at her. “Getting ready for bed.”

“But you’re getting naked!”

I arched a brow. “I do have boxers on. What? Do you expect me to sleep in my jeans?”

“You did last time.”

A laugh burst out of me. “Actually, I had pajama bottoms on.”

Kat opened her mouth like she was about to say something and then changed her mind. Turning away from me, she walked over to a book on her desk. I watched her for a moment, and then I took it there. I climbed into the bed, folding my arms behind my head so that I didn’t grab her the minute she decided to get her butt to the bed.

Finally, after about ten years, she turned around and whispered, “This was a bad idea.”

“It was probably the smartest idea you’ve ever had.”

Her hands moved along her hips, drawing my attention. “It’s going to take a lot more than Thanksgiving dinner and a Christmas tree to get laid.”

Sometimes I wondered what in the hell she thought of me. “Damn. There goes my whole plan.”

Her eyes narrowed, and then she finally moved. Stomping—yes, stomping—over to the other side of the bed, she yanked the covers back and all but threw herself into the bed.

I grinned.

“Can you turn off the light?” she asked.

Without moving, I turned it off. Darkness enveloped us.

“That’s a handy ability,” she muttered.

“It is.”

“Maybe one day I can be just as lazy as you and turn off lights without moving.”

“That’s something to aspire to.”

“God, you’re so modest,” she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice.

“Modesty is for saints and losers. I’m neither.”

“Wow, Daemon, just wow.”

Rolling onto my side, facing her, I simply stared at her back for a moment. “I can’t believe you haven’t kicked me out yet.”

“Same here,” she murmured.

I shifted closer, stopping when my legs brushed against hers. The skin-on-skin contact was hard to ignore, but this needed to be said. “I really didn’t mean to make you cry earlier.”

She moved onto her back and stared up at me as I rose up on one elbow. “I know,” she said. “The whole thing you did, it was sort of amazing.”

“I just didn’t like the idea of you being alone,” I admitted quietly.

Kat sucked in a sharp breath, and her gaze met mine. I couldn’t look away. Only she had that kind of power over me. How in the hell could she not see that?

I reached out, catching a strand of her hair and brushing it back. An electric charge traveled up my hand. Her gaze dropped to my mouth, and I knew—dammit, I knew she was feeling exactly what I was feeling.

“We should go to sleep,” she said, voice lower, thicker.

“We should.” I palmed her cheek.

She didn’t look away as she lifted her hand, brushing her fingers over my lips. The touch sent a jolt of lust straight through me. I shifted my hand closer, giving her more room to play as I slid my hand down to her neck. Her heart sped up, beating in tandem with mine. I dipped my head, pressing a quick kiss atop her nose.

And then I kissed her.

I took my time. It was slow and deep. It burned right through me, and I wanted more, so much more. I wanted her. I wanted her in any and every way I could have her.

But she wasn’t mine.

Reining it all in, calling on all the self-control I had, I lifted my head and shifted onto my back. I kept my arm around her. “Good night, Kitten.”

She sighed loudly. “That’s all?”

Damn. I laughed. “That’s all…for now.”

Her heart hadn’t slowed. Neither had mine. After a couple of moments, she sighed again and then squirmed closer, quietly nudging me until I snaked my arm under her head, and rested her cheek there. I turned my head to her. Our eyes met. Her scent enveloped me, and even though I closed my eyes, I knew I wouldn’t be sleeping for a long, long time.

And I also know that although she wasn’t mine now, she would be one day.