“That was a low blow,” I said to Andrew, because someone needed to. “He doesn’t even deserve your ass kicking, Daemon.”
“She’s right,” Adam said. Until then I hadn’t realized he’d moved, but he was on the other side of Daemon. “But if you want to put him out of commission for the next week after that comment, I’ll help.”
“Gee, thanks, brother.” Andrew scowled.
Tense silence followed, and then Daemon’s light faded and he settled back into his human form. He glanced down to where my hand curved around his wrist, and then his gaze flicked up, meeting mine. Charged air passed from his skin to mine, shocking me with a crack. I let go of his wrist and stilled under his intense stare.
“This is the kind of display we cannot afford.” Mr. Garrison drew in a deep breath. “I think that’s enough for this evening. Both of you need to cool down and keep in mind that they are here. We need to be careful.”
They left after that, including Dee. She wanted to spend time with Adam and also make sure he didn’t end up mauling Andrew, which left Daemon and me alone. I should’ve left, but after Andrew’s thoughtless comment, I needed to know that Daemon was okay.
I followed him into the kitchen. “I’m sorry about what Andrew said. That was wrong.”
Daemon’s jaw worked as he grabbed two cans of Coke, handing me one. “It is what it is.”
“Still not right.”
His eyes searched my face in a way that made me feel exposed to the core. “Are you worried about the DOD being here?”
I hesitated. “Yeah, I am.”
“Don’t be.”
“Harder said than done.” I played with the tab on the can. “It’s not me I’m worried about. They think you’re responsible for what happened—the crazy energy thing. What if they think you’re…a danger?”
Daemon didn’t answer for several moments. “It’s not just me, Kitten. Even if I had done that, it’s never been about me. It’s about all the Luxen.” He paused, lowering his gaze. “You know what Matthew believes?”
“No.”
A cynical grin pulled at his full lips. “He believes that one day, probably not in our generation, but some day, my kind and the Arum will nearly outnumber yours.”
“Really? That’s kind of…”
“Scary?” he said.
I tucked my hair back. “I don’t know if it’s scary. I mean, the Arum thing is, but your kind—the Luxen—freaky powers aside…you’re not very different from us.”
“What about the fact we’re made of light?”
I smiled a little then. “Well, besides that.”
“It got me thinking,” he said, “that if some of our kind believes this, how come the DOD isn’t worried?”
He had a good point. And I was trying not to let my fear for him take over, but my brain was throwing out all kinds of wild scenarios. All of them ended with him being taken in by the DOD. “What happens if they think you are a threat? And don’t beat around the bush about it.”
“When I was at the compound before, there were Luxen who didn’t assimilate.” The muscle in his jaw started ticking. “Mostly they didn’t want to be kept under the thumb of the DOD. Others I guessed were viewed as a threat because they asked too many questions. Who really knows?”
My mouth felt dry. “What happened to them?”
Several moments passed before Daemon answered. Each second that went by, the unease in my stomach grew. Finally, he nodded. “They killed them.”
Chapter 13
Horror rolled through me. The extreme emotion triggered the static that rushed over my skin so fast I couldn’t stop it. The burst of energy smacked around the room. I dropped the unopened can of soda as wood scrapped over tile.
A chair flew out from under the table, slamming into my knee with such force that my leg collapsed under me. I yelped in pain and buckled over.
Daemon strung together a truckload of f-bombs and appeared next to me, grabbing me a second before I hit the floor. “Whoa, there, Kitten.”
Pushing the hair out of my face, I lifted my head. “Holy crap…”
He helped me stand up, easing a shoulder under my arm for support and pulling me close. “Are you okay?”
“I’m peachy.” I wiggled out of his embrace and tentatively placed my weight on my leg. Wet warmth trickled down my leg. I rolled up my jeans, finding blood. “Great, I’m a natural disaster.”
“I might have to agree with that.”
I shot him a dark look.
With a cocky grin, he winked. “Come on, get up on the table and let me look at that.”
“I’m fine.”
He didn’t argue with me about it. One second I was standing—er, hobbling—and then air rushed me and I was sitting on the table. My mouth dropped open. “What…how did you do that?”
“Skill,” he said, placing my foot on the chair. His fingertips brushed against my skin as he rolled my pants above my knee. Electricity danced along my leg, and I jerked. “Wow, you really are a disaster.”
“Ugh, it’s bleeding all over the place.” I swallowed at the sight. “You’re not going to heal me, are you?”
“Uh, no, because who knows what would happen then? You might turn into an alien.”
“Ha. Ha.”
Daemon quickly grabbed a clean towel and dampened it. He came back, not quite meeting my eyes. I reached for the cloth, but he knelt and started to gently blot at the blood. He was careful not to touch my skin this time.
“What am I going to do with you, Kitten?”
“See? I didn’t even want to move the chair and it flew at me like a heat-seeking missile.”
Daemon shook his head as he continued to dap at the blood. “When we were younger, things like this would happen all the time, before we could control the Source.”
“The Source?”
He nodded. “The energy in us—we call it the Source, because it links us back to our home planet, you know? Like the source of it all. At least, that’s what our elders say. Anyway, when we were kids and learning how to control our abilities, it was crazy. Dawson had this habit of moving furniture, like you. He’d go to sit down and the chair would fly out from under him.” He laughed. “But he was young.”
“Great. So I’m operating at the level of a toddler?”
Daemon’s lustrous eyes met mine. “Basically.” The dark graphic shirt strained against his chest when he laid the bloodied towel aside and leaned back. “Look, it’s stopped bleeding already. Not that bad.”
I glanced down and saw the fresh gash on my knee. Other than looking gross, it was salvageable. “Thank you for cleaning it up.”
“No problem. I don’t think you’ll need stitches.” He lightly brushed his fingertips around the cut.
I jerked at the contact. Little tingles shimmed up my leg. Daemon’s hand stilled as he lifted his head. His eyes went from a cool green to liquid fire within seconds.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked.
Sliding into his arms, kissing him and touching him—things I shouldn’t think about. I blinked. “Nothing.”
Daemon rose slowly, holding my gaze. My whole body tensed as he neared and placed his hands on either side of me. Then he bent over the chair between us, resting his forehead against mine. He inhaled deeply and it came out in an unsteady rush. When he spoke, his voice was rough. “Do you know what I’ve been thinking about all day?”
With him, it was anyone’s guess. “No.”
His lips brushed the skin of my cheek. “Finding out if you look as good in striped socks as you do in reindeer ones.”
“I do.”
His head slanted and his smile was lazy, arrogant. Predatory. “I knew it.”
I shouldn’t let this happen. There was a whole slew of complications: his attitude, the connection between us, and my new kindergarten-age abilities. Funny, the fact Daemon was an alien was the complication I considered the least important.
And then there was Blake. That is, if Blake e
ver spoke to me again, which was debatable. But due to Daemon’s interruption at dinner, I didn’t get to talk to Blake. Irony was a bitch.
Knowing all of that, I still didn’t pull away. And neither did he. Oh no, he was moving closer. His pupils started to glow and his breath seemed to have stalled in his chest.
“Do you have any idea what you do to me?” he asked gruffly.
“I’m not doing anything.”
Daemon shifted his head just enough that our lips brushed once…and then twice before he increased the pressure. This kiss…it was nothing like the other times, which seemed to be angry and challenging. As if we’d kissed to punish each other. But this was gentle and soft, feather light. Infinitely tender. Like the kiss we’d shared in the clearing the night he’d healed me. Light swept through me as we kissed, but soon the kisses, they weren’t enough. Not when a slow fire was burning under my skin—and under his.
Cupping my cheeks, he exhaled a soft groan, and his lips scorched mine as he deepened the kiss until we both were breathless from its intensity. Daemon moved as close as he could with the chair between us. Gripping his arms, I held onto him, wanting him closer. The chair prevented all but our lips and hands from touching. Frustrating.
Move, I ordered restlessly.
It trembled under my foot, and then the heavy oak chair slid out from under me, dodging our leaning bodies. Unprepared for the sudden void, Daemon lurched forward, and I was unable to carry the unexpected weight. I collapsed backward, bringing Daemon along with me.
The full contact of his body, flush against mine, sent my senses into chaotic overdrive. His tongue swept over mine as his fingers splayed across my cheeks. His hand slid down my side, gripping my hip as he urged me closer. The kisses slowed and his chest rose as he drank me in. With one last lingering exploration, he lifted his head and smiled down at me.
My heart skipped a beat as he hovered over me with an expression that tugged deep in my chest. He moved his fingers back up, along my cheek, trailing an invisible path to my chin.
“I didn’t move that chair, Kitten.”
“I know.”
“I’m assuming you didn’t like where it was?”
“It was in your way,” I said. My hands were still curled around his arms.
“I can see that.” Daemon smoothed a fingertip over the curve of my bottom lip before taking my hand, pulling me up. Letting go, he watched me carefully and waited. Waited for…
What had happened slowly sank in beyond the fog in my brain. I’d just kissed him. Again. And right after he’d taken over my date with another guy—the guy I should be kissing. Or not. I didn’t know anything anymore.
“We can’t keep doing this.” My voice shook. “We—”
“We like each other,” he said, stepping forward, grasping the edges of the table on either side of me. “And before you say it, we were attracted to each other before I healed you. You can’t say that’s not true.”
He leaned in, his nose brushing my cheek. A shudder rolled through me. His lips pressed against the spot under my ear. “We need to stop fighting what we both want.”
Air caught in my throat. I closed my eyes as his fingers inched down my turtleneck, clearing a path for his lips to meet my wildly beating pulse.
“It’s not going to be easy,” he said. “It wasn’t three months ago and it won’t be three months from now.”
“Because of the rest of the Luxen?” My head tipped back, my thoughts swimming at his touch. There was something wicked in those hot little kisses he dropped all over my throat. “They’ll outcast you. Like—”
“I know.” He let go of my turtleneck and slid his hand around the nape of my neck as his body pressed against mine. “I’ve thought about the repercussions—it’s all I’ve thought about.”
Part of me had been yearning to hear him say that. A secret I’d kept close to my heart—the same heart that was jumping in my chest. I opened my eyes. His were glowing. “And this has nothing to do with the connection or Blake?”
“No,” he said, and then sighed. “Yes, some of it has to do with that human, but it’s about us. About what we feel for each other.”
I was attracted to him on a level that was nearly painful. Being around him had every cell in my body burning, but this was Daemon. Caving to him was like saying the way he’d treated me was okay. And more importantly, it required blind faith in the theory that our feelings were real. And when they turned out not to be? It would be heartbreak, because I would seriously fall for him—fall more than I already had.
Wiggling down, I dipped under his arms. A dull ache shot through my injured leg as I backed up. “Is this like a ’I didn’t want you until someone else wanted you’ type of thing?”
Daemon leaned against the table. “That’s not what this is.”
“Then what is it, Daemon?” Tears of frustration built in my eyes. “Why now, when three months ago you couldn’t stand to breathe the same air as me? It’s the connection between us. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Dammit. Do you think I don’t regret acting like such a douche to you? I’ve apologized.” He stood there, towering over me. “You don’t get it. None of this is easy for me. And I know this is hard for you. You have a lot to deal with. But I have my sister and an entire race counting on me. I didn’t want you to get close to me. I didn’t want another person to care about, to worry about losing.”
I sucked in a breath, and he went on. “It wasn’t right how I acted. I know that. But I can do better than that—better than Benny.”
“Blake.” I sighed, limping away from him. “I have a lot in common with Blake. He likes that I read a lot—”
“I do, too,” Daemon challenged.
“And he also blogs.” Why did I feel like I was grasping at straws?
Daemon caught a piece of my hair and wrapped it around his finger. “I have nothing against the Internet.”
I knocked his hand away. “And he doesn’t like me because of some stupid alien connection or because some other guy likes me.”
“I don’t either.” His eyes flashed. “You can’t keep pretending. It’s wrong. You’ll break that boy’s poor little human heart.”
“No, I won’t.”
“You will, because you want me and I want you.”
Deep down, I did want to be with him. And I wanted him to want me, not because we were the same atom split or because someone else liked me. Shaking my head, I went for the door. “You keep saying that…”
“What does that mean?” he demanded.
I squeezed my eyes shut briefly. “You say you want me, but that’s not enough.”
“I show you that I do, too.”
Facing him, I cocked an eyebrow. “You do not.”
“What was that?” Daemon gestured at the table, and I flushed. People eat at that table… “I think I showed you that I like you. I can do it again if you’re not clear on what that was. And I’ve brought you a smoothie and a cookie to school.”
“You stuck the cookie in your mouth!” I threw my hands up.
He smiled at that, like it was a good memory. “The table…”
“Humping my leg like a dog in heat every time I’m around you doesn’t prove you like me, Daemon.”
Daemon clamped his mouth shut, and I could tell he was fighting back laughter. “Actually, that’s how I show people I like them.”
“Oh. Fine. Whatever. None of this matters, Daemon.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Kat. And I’m not giving up.”
Not that I really believed he would. I reached for the door but he stopped me. “Do you know why I met you that day in the library?” he asked.
“What?” I faced him.
“The Friday you came back after being sick?” He ran a hand through his hair. “You were right. I picked the library because no one would see us together.”
My mouth snapped shut and a sick feeling leached up my throat, causing it to burn. “You know what, I’ve always wondered
if your ego was so big you didn’t want to eat crow.”
“And as always, you jump to the wrong assumption.” His eyes pierced mine. “I didn’t want Ash or Andrew to start giving you a bunch of crap because of me like they did with Dawson and Beth. So if you think I’m embarrassed of you or not ready to make my intentions very public, then you better get that idea out of your head. Because if that’s what it takes, then it’s on.”
I stared at him. What in the hell was I supposed to say to that? Yeah, a part of me had believed it. How many people would kick a chick out of the cafeteria like he had and then start wooing her? Not many. And then I remembered the lump of spaghetti hanging off his ear, heard Daemon’s amused laughter from the day that felt so long ago.
“Daemon…”
His smile was really starting to concern me. “I told you, Kitten. I like a challenge.”
Chapter 14
Lesa practically pounced on me the moment I sat down in class. “Did you hear?”
Half asleep, I shook my head. I’d had a hell of a time going to bed last night after everything with Daemon. The fluttering my stomach was doing had to be a consequence of no breakfast.
“Simon is missing,” Lesa said.
“Missing?” I didn’t pay attention to the warm tingling on my neck or when Daemon sauntered into class. “Since when?”
“Since this past weekend.” Lesa’s eyes flicked up behind me and widened. “Wow. Now that’s even more unexpected.”
Something smelled sweet and familiar. Confused, I twisted around. A single rose in full bloom, a vibrant red, brushed against the tip of my nose. Tan fingers held the green stem. My eyes lifted.
Daemon stood there, his eyes glittering like green tinsel. He patted me on the nose with the rose again. “Good morning.”
Dumbfounded, I stared at him.
“This is for you,” he added when I didn’t say anything.
Every single person in class was staring as my fingers wrapped around the cool, damp stem. Daemon sat down before I could say anything. I sat there, holding the rose until the teacher walked in and started calling off names.
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