A sweet, hot fire washed over my skin, and I squeezed my eyes shut. Every inch of me was hyper-aware of him. Of how my body fit against his, the way his thighs were pressed against mine, the hardness of his stomach under my hand.
My hormones kicked in with the power of a dropkick to the stomach. Heated lightning zipped through my veins. For a moment, I pretended. Not that we weren’t two different species, because I didn’t see him that way, but that we actually liked one another.
And then he shifted and rolled. I was on my back, and he was still on the move. His face burrowed into the space between my neck and shoulder, nuzzling. Sweet baby Jesus…Warm breath danced over my skin, sending shivers down my body. His arm was heavy against my stomach, his leg between mine, pushing up and up. Scorched air fled my lungs.
Daemon murmured in a language I couldn’t understand. Whatever it was, it sounded beautiful and soft. Magical. Unearthly.
I could’ve woken him up but for some reason I didn’t. The thrill of him touching me was far stronger than anything else.
His hand was on the edge of the borrowed shirt, his long fingers on the strip of exposed flesh between the hem of the shirt and the band of the worn pajama bottoms. And his hand inched up under the shirt, across my stomach, where it dipped slightly. My pulse went into cardiac territory. The tips of his fingers brushed my ribs. His body moved, his knee pressed against me.
I gasped.
Daemon stilled. No one moved. The clock on the wall ticked.
And I cringed.
He lifted his head. Eyes like pools of liquid grass stared at me in confusion. They quickly cleared, though, turning sharp and hard within seconds.
“Good morning?” I squeaked.
Using his powerful arms, he lifted himself up. His eyes never left mine. Daemon seemed to drag in a deep breath. I wasn’t sure if he let it out. Something passed between us, unspoken and heavy. His eyes narrowed. I had the funny feeling that he was sizing up the situation and somehow I was to blame for his sleepy — albeit really, really nice — fondling.
Like any of this was my fault.
Without saying a word, he disappeared above me. The door opened and slammed shut behind him without my even catching a glimpse of him.
I stayed there, staring at the ceiling, heart pounding. Cheeks flushed, my body way, way too hot. Not sure of how much time passed, but the door opened again, at normal human speed.
Dee popped her head in, her eyes wide. “Did you two…?”
Funny that out of everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours,
“No,” I said, barely recognizing my own voice. I cleared my throat. “I mean, we slept together, but not
I rolled over, burying my face into a pillow. It smelled like him — crisp and warm. Like autumn leaves. I groaned.
…
I was sure that if someone had told me I’d find myself sitting in a room with half a dozen aliens on a Saturday afternoon, I would’ve told them to get off the drugs. Yet, here I was, sitting in a recliner in the Black household, legs tucked under me but ready to run for the door if necessary.
Daemon was perched on the arm of the recliner, arms folded over his chest. The very chest I’d woken up on. A flush crept up my throat. We hadn’t spoken. Not a single word, which was okay by me.
But his current position had been duly noted by everyone. Dee looked oddly smug. A deep, unforgiving scowl had settled on Ash’s and Andrew’s faces, but the fact I was here overshadowed any reason why Daemon could be playing guard dog.
Mr. Garrison had come up short. “What is she doing here?”
“She’s lit up like a freaking disco ball,” Ash said accusingly. “I could probably see her from Virginia.”
Somehow, she made the whole glowing thing sound like I was covered in boils instead of light. I glared at her openly.
“She was with me last night when the Arum attacked,” Daemon responded calmly. “You know that. Things got a little…explosive. There was no way I could cover what happened.”
Mr. Garrison ran a hand through his brown hair. “Daemon, of all people, I expected you to know better, to be more careful.”
“What the hell was I supposed to do exactly? Knock her out before the Arum attacked?”
Ash arched a brow. The look on her face said it wasn’t such a bad idea.
“Katy has known about us since the beginning of school,” Daemon said. “And trust me when I say I did everything possible to keep her from knowing.”
One of the Thompson boys sucked in a sharp breath. “She’s known this entire time? How could you allow this, Daemon? All of our lives have been in the hands of some human?”
Dee rolled her eyes. “Obviously she hasn’t said a word, Andrew. Chill out.”
“Chill out?” Andrew’s scowl matched Ash’s perfectly. And now I knew which one was Andrew, I could tell them apart. Andrew had an earring in the left ear. Adam, who was quiet, did not. “She’s a stupid—”
“Be careful with what you say next.” Daemon’s voice was low but carried. “Because what you don’t know and what you can’t possibly understand will get a bolt of light in your face.”
My eyes widened, as did pretty much everyone’s in the room. Ash swallowed thickly and turned her cheek, letting her blonde hair cover her face.
“Daemon,” Mr. Garrison said, stepping forward. “Threatening one of your own for her? I didn’t expect this from you.”
His shoulders stiffened. “It’s not like that.”
I took a deep breath. “I’m not going to tell anyone about you guys. I know the risks to you and to me if I did. You all don’t have anything to worry about.”
“And who are you for us to trust?” Mr. Garrison asked, his eyes narrowed on me. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure you’re a great girl. You’re smart and you seem to have your head on straight, but this is life or death for us. Our freedom. Trusting a human is not something we can afford.”
“She saved my life last night,” Daemon said.
Andrew laughed. “Oh, come on, Daemon. The Arum must’ve knocked you around. There is no way a human could’ve saved any of our lives.”
“What is it with you?” I snapped, unable to stop myself. “You act like we’re incapable of doing anything. Sure, you guys are whatever, but that doesn’t mean we’re single-celled organisms.”
A choked laugh came from Adam.
“She did save my life.” Daemon stood, drawing everyone’s attention. “There were three Arum that attacked, the brethren of one I killed. I was able to destroy one, but the two overpowered me. They had me down and had already begun reaching for my powers. I was a goner.”
“Daemon,” Dee said, paling. “You didn’t tell us any of this.”
Mr. Garrison still looked doubtful. “I don’t see how she could’ve helped. She’s a human. The Arum are powerful, amoral, and vicious. How can one girl stand against them?”
“I’d given her the obsidian blade I carry and told her to run.”
“You gave her the blade when you could’ve used it?” Ash sounded stunned. “Why?” Her eyes darted to me. “You don’t even like her.”
“That may be the case, but I wasn’t going to let her die because I don’t like her.”
I flinched. Dayum. An ache started in my chest, like a burning coal, even though I didn’t care.
“But you could’ve been hurt,” Ash protested. Fear thickened her voice. “You could’ve been killed because you gave your best defense to her.”
Daemon sighed, sitting back down on the arm of the recliner. “I have other ways to defend myself. She did not. She didn’t run like I told her. Instead she came back and she killed the Arum who was about to end me.”
