Dammit. This was not happening.
I glided through the rest of my classes bored out of my freaking mind. Many times last year, I tried to convince Matthew to get me a forged high school diploma. No such luck there. The DOD probably thought school was a privilege for us, but what they taught couldn’t keep my interest. We learned at an accelerated rate, leaving most humans in the dust. And the DOD would have to approve my request to go to college if that’s what I decided. Hell, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go to college. I’d rather find a job where I got to work outside — something that didn’t include four small walls.
When lunch rolled around, I was half tempted to call it a day. School wasn’t the same without Dawson. His exuberance for everything, even the mundane, had been contagious.
Not hungry, I grabbed a bottle of water and headed to the table. I sat beside Ash and leaned back, picking at the label on the bottle.
“You know,” Ash said, leaning against my arm. “They say what you’re doing is a sign of sexual frustration.”
I winked at her.
She grinned and then turned back to her brother. That was the thing about Ash. Even though we’d dated on and off for years, she could be cool…when she wanted to be. Neither of us was really into each other, not the way Dawson had been with Bethany or as we should be.
Lifting my eyes, I immediately found Kat in the lunch line. She was talking to Carissa — the quieter of the two girls in trig. My gaze dropped down to her flip flops and slowly worked my way back up.
I think I loved those jeans. Tight in all the right places.
It was amazing really — how long Kat’s legs looked for someone so short. I couldn’t figure out why it seemed the way.
Ash’s hand dropped on my thigh, drawing my attention. Warning bells went off. She was so up to something. “What?” I asked.
Her bright eyes fixed on mine. “What are you looking at?”
“Nothing.” I focused on her, anything to keep her interest off Kat. As feisty as the little kitten was, she was absolutely no match for Ash. I sat the bottle aside, swinging my legs toward her. “You look nice today.”
“Don’t I?” Ash beamed. “So do you. But you always look yumtastic.” Glancing over her shoulder, she then turned back and slid into my lap faster than she should have in public.
A couple of the boys at a neighboring table looked like they would’ve traded in their moms to be in my position. “What are you up to?” I kept my hands to myself.
“Why do you think I’m up to anything?” She pressed her chest against mine, speaking in my ear. “I miss you.”
I grinned. “No, you don’t.”
Pouting, she slapped my shoulder playfully. “Okay. There are some things I miss.”
About to tell her that I had a good idea of what that thing was, Dee’s jubilant shriek cut me off.
“Katy!” she yelled.
Cursing under my breath, I felt Ash stiffen against me.
“Sit,” Dee said, smacking the top of the table. “We were talking about—”
“Wait.” Ash twisted around. I could picture the look on her face. Lips turned down, eyes narrowed. All that equaled bad, bad times. “You did not invite her to sit with us? Really?”
I focused on the painting of the PHS mascot — a red and black Viking, complete with horns. Please don’t sit down.
“Shut up, Ash,” Adam said. “You’re going to make a scene.”
“I’m not ‘going to make’ anything happen.” Ash’s arm tightened around my neck like a boa constrictor. “She doesn’t need to sit with us.”
Dee sighed. “Ash, stop being a bitch. She’s not trying to steal Daemon from you.”
My eyebrows shot up, but I kept up the prayer. Please don’t sit down. My jaw locked. Please don’t sit here. If she did, Ash would eat her alive out of pure spite. I’d never understand girls. Ash didn’t want me anymore, not really, but holy hell if someone else did.
Ash’s body started to vibrate softly. “That’s not what I’m worried about. For real.”
“Just sit,” Dee said to Katy, her voice tight with exasperation. “She’ll get over it.”
“Be nice,” I whispered in Ash’s ear, low enough for only her to hear. Ash smacked my arm hard. That’ll leave a bruise. I pressed my cheek into her neck. “I mean it.”
“I’ll do what I want,” she hissed back. And she would, too. Worse than what she was doing now.
“I don’t know if I should,” Kat said, sounding incredibly small and unsure.
Every stupid, idiotic thought in my head demanded that I dump Ash out of my lap and get Kat out of here, away from what surely was going to end up being horrible.
“You shouldn’t,” Ash snapped.
“Shut up,” Dee said. “I’m sorry I know such hideous bitches.”
“Are you sure?” Kat asked.
Ash’s body trembled and heated up. Her skin would be too warm for a human to touch without realizing something was different, wrong even. I could feel her control slipping away. Exposing herself wasn’t likely, but she appeared mad enough to do some damage.
I turned my head to look at Kat for the first time since I’d seen her in the line. And I already knew I was going to hate myself for what I was about to say, because she didn’t deserve this. “I think it’s obvious if you’re wanted here or not.”
“Daemon!” My sister’s eyes filled with tears, and now it was official. I was irrevocably a dick. “He’s not being serious.”
“Are you being serious, Daemon?” Ash twisted toward me.
My gaze held Kat’s, and I clamped down on everything. She needed to leave before something shitty happened. “Actually, I was being serious. You’re not wanted here.”
Kat opened her mouth, but she didn’t say anything. Her cheeks had been pink — the way I liked them — but the color faded quickly. Anger and embarrassment filled her gray eyes. They glistened under the harsh lights of the cafeteria. A sharp pierce sliced through my chest, and I had to look away — because I had put that look in her eyes. Clenching my jaw, I focused over Ash’s shoulder on that stupid mascot again.
In that moment, I wanted to punch myself in the face.
“Run along,” Ash said.
A few snickers sounded and anger whipped through me, heating my skin. It was ridiculous that I was pissed that other people were laughing when I’d embarrassed her, hurt her more than anyone.
Silence fell over the table, and relief was imminent. She had to be leaving now. There was no way—
Cold, wet, and sloppy stuff plopped on the top of my head. I froze, aware enough not to open my mouth unless I wanted to eat…spaghetti? Did she…? Sauce covered noodles slid down my face, landing on my shoulder. One hung off my ear, smacking me against the neck.
Holy shit. I was dumbfounded as I slowly turned to look at her. Part of me was actually…amazed.
Ash leaped from my lap, shrieking as she shoved her hands out. “You…You…”
I plucked one of the noodles off my ear and dropped it on the table as I peered up at Kat from underneath my lashes. The laugh came up before I could stop it. Good for her.
Ash lowered her hands. “I will end you.”
My humor vanished. Jumping up, I threw an arm around Ash’s waist. “Calm down. I mean it. Calm down.”
She pulled against me. “I swear to all the stars and suns, I will destroy you.”
“What does that mean?” Kat balled her hands, glaring at the taller girl like she wasn’t afraid of her one bit, and she should’ve been. Ash’s skin was scorching hot, vibrating just beneath the surface. At that moment, I really started to doubt she’d not do something stupid and reveal us in public. “Are you watching too many cartoons again?” Matthew stalked over to our table, his eyes connecting with mine for a moment. I’d hear about this later. “I believe that’s enough,” he said.
Knowing not to argue with Matthew, Ash sat down in her own seat and grabbed a fistful of napkins. She tried to clean up the mes
s, but it was pointless. I almost laughed again when she started stabbing at her shirt. Sitting down, I knocked a clump of noodles off my shoulder.
“I think you should find another place to eat,” Matthew said to Katy, voice low enough that only the people at our table could hear. “Do so now.”
Looking up, I watched Kat grab her book bag. She hesitated, and then she nodded as if in a daze. Turning stiffly, she stalked from the cafeteria. My eyes followed her the whole way out, and she kept her head held high.
Matthew turned from the table, probably off to do some damage control. I wiped the back of my hand down my sticky cheek, unable to stop myself from laughing softly.
Ash smacked me again. “It’s not funny!” She stood, hands shaking. “I can’t believe you think that was funny.”
“It was.” I shrugged, grabbing my water bottle. Not like we didn’t deserve it. Looking down the table, I found my sister staring at me. “Dee…”
Tears built in her eyes as she stood. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“What did you expect?” Andrew demanded
She shot him a death glare and then turned those eyes on me. “You suck. You really freaking suck, Daemon.”
I opened my mouth, but what could I say? I did suck. I’d acted like an ass, and it wasn’t like I could defend that. Dee had to understand that it was for the best, but when I closed my eyes, I saw the hurt in Kat’s eyes and I wasn’t so sure I’d done the right thing…at least the right thing by her.
“The Morning After”
Daemon
I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming, but if I was, I didn’t want to wake up. The scent of peach and vanilla teased me, invaded me.
Kat.
Only she smelled that wonderful, of summer and all the things I could want and never have. The length of her body was pressed against mine, with her hand resting on my stomach. The steady rise and fall of her chest became my entire world, and in this dream — because it had to be a dream — I felt my own chest matching her breaths.
Every cell in my body sparked and burned. If I was awake, I’d surely take on my true form. My body was on fire.
Just a dream, but it felt real.
I couldn’t resist sliding my leg over hers, burrowing my head between her neck and shoulder, and inhaling deeply. Divine. Perfect. Human. Breathing became more difficult than I’d ever imagined. Lust swirled through me, heady and consuming. I tasted her skin — a slight brush of my lips, a flick of my tongue. She felt perfect underneath me; soft in all the places I was hard.
Moving over her, against her, I loved the sound she made — a soft, wholly feminine murmur that scorched every piece of me. “You’re perfect for me,” I whispered in my own language.
She stirred, and I dreamt her responding, wanting me instead of hating me.
I pressed down, sliding my hand under her shirt. Her skin felt like satin underneath my fingertips. Precious. Prized. If she was mine, I’d cherish every inch of her. And I wanted to. Now. My hand crept up, up, up.
Kat gasped.
The dreamy cloud dissipated with the sound I felt all the way through me. Every muscle locked up. Very slowly, I pried my eyes opened. Her slender, graceful neck sloped before me. A section of skin was pink from the stubble on my jaw…
The clock on the wall ticked.
Shit.
I’d felt her up, in my sleep.
I lifted my head and stared down at her. Kat watched me, her eyes a smoky, wonderful gray and questioning. Double shit.
“Good morning,” she said, her voice still rough with sleep.
Using my arm, I pushed up and even then, knowing that none of it had been a dream, I couldn’t look away from her, didn’t want to. An infinite need was there, in her, in me. Demanding that I kneel to it, and I wanted to — dammit, did I ever want to.
The only thing that got to me, that cleared the layers of lust and idealistic stupidity out of my head, was the trace shimmering around her. She looked like the brightest star.
She was in danger. She was a danger to us.
With one last look, I shot across the room with inhuman speed, slamming the door behind me. Every step away from that room, from that bed, was painful and stiff. Rounding the corner, I almost ran into my sister.
Dee studied me, eyes narrowed.
“Shut up,” I muttered, heading past her.
“I didn’t say anything, jerk-face.” Amusement betrayed her words.
Once inside my bedroom, I quickly changed into a pair of sweats and slipped on my sneakers. Running into my sister cooled most of me down, but there was a raw edge to my nerves and I needed to be out of this house, away from her.
Not even bothering to change my shirt, I picked up speed, shooting through the house and out the front door. The moment my sneaks touched the porch, I took off and darted into the woods in a burst of speed. Overhead skies were gray and bleak. Drizzle pelted my face like a thousand tiny needles. I welcomed it, pushing and pushing until I was deep in the woods. Then I shed my human skin, taking my true form as I shot between the trees, moving until I was nothing more than a streak of light.
This was wrong. Think of Dawson. Look at what happened to him. Did I want to take the same risk? Leave Dee all alone? But even now I could feel her skin, taste it — sweet and sugary like candy. Hear that wonderful sound she made over and over again, haunting every mile I put between us.
An idea began to form — one that Dee would hate, but I didn’t see any other option. I could go to the DOD and request a move to one of the other communities. We’d be giving up our home, leaving our friends behind and Matthew, but it would be for the best. It was the right thing to do. Dee would be safe.
It would keep Kat safe.
Because Dee couldn’t stay away from her and neither could I. But no matter where I went, what I was running from would still be with me — Kat. She wasn’t just back in the house, in that bed. She was with me now, inside me. And there was no outrunning that.
Acknowledgements
Ob sidian wouldn’t even be a glimmer in my eyes without Liz Pelletier. Simply put, you’re the best. Seriously. Funny how one email can turn into this crazy idea within minutes, hours…and then days — wait, hours? And you’re like an editing ninja. Thank you.
Thank you to the wonderful, awesomely awesome team at Entangled Publishing. Heather Howland — I love the buns atop your head in your Twitter avatar. Have I told you that before? Thank you to Suzanne Johnson for turning my manuscript into a lovely Christmas tree during copyedits, Heidi Stryker — a huge thanks to you for being the first intern to read Ob sidian and think, “Wow, this doesn’t suck.” A shout out to my publicist Lewis Pollak — thank you for handling everything that you do.
To my agent Kevan Lyon — you are a dream come true. Special thanks to agents Rebecca Mancini and Stephanie Johnson. Whenever I hear your names, I get all warm and fuzzy inside.
To my family and friends, thank you for not disowning me when I don’t answer your calls or pay attention when you’re talking. I know I get lost in my head from time to time, so thank you for being patient.
Lesa Rodrigues and Cindy Thomas — you guys kept me sane while writing Ob sidian. To Carissa Thomas for liking to mess around with pictures of hot guys and make my blog all steamy, thank you.
Julie Fedderson — you’re the best crit partner and cheerleader in the world.
And a huge, GIGANTIC thanks to all the book bloggers out there who helped reveal the cover of Ob sidian and spread the word. I heart each and every one of you.
About the Author
Jennifer L. Armentrout lives in West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. Well, mostly. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, working out, watching zombie movies, and pretending to write. She shares her home with her husband, his K-9 partner named Diesel, and her hyper Jack Russell Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent her time writing short stories…th
erefore explaining her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes Adult and Young Adult Urban Fantasy and Romance.
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