Origin

yellow. There was a thin cut on her lower lip, too. Anger punched its way through me. I inhaled deeply, letting my breath eke its way out.

Placing one hand on the other side of her, I lowered my head and pressed a soft kiss to the cut on her lip, silently promising that I’d make whoever was responsible for the bruises and pain she’d faced pay dearly. Instinctively, I let the healing warmth flow from me to her, erasing the bruises from sight.

A soft, warm sigh blew across my mouth, and I lifted my gaze, unwilling to pull too far away. Kat’s lashes fluttered and her shoulders hitched as she dragged in a deeper breath. I waited with my heart in my throat.

She slowly opened her eyes, and her gray stare was unfocused as it moved over my face. “Daemon?”

The sound of her voice, husky with sleep, was like coming home. The burning turned into a ball in my throat. Leaning back, I placed the tips of my fingers on her chin. “Hey, Kitten,” I said, my own voice hoarse as hell.

She stared at me as the cloudiness in her gaze cleared. “Am I dreaming?”

My laugh came out strangled. “No, Kitten, you’re not dreaming. I’m really here.”

A heartbeat passed, and then she rose up on her elbows. A single strand of hair fell across her face. I straightened, giving her more room. My heart rate kicked into supersonic speed, matching hers. Then she was sitting up fully, her hands on my face. My eyes closed as I felt the gentle touch all the way to my soul.

Kat slid her hands over my cheeks, as if she were trying to convince herself that I was real. I placed mine over her hands and opened my eyes. Hers were wide and wet, shining with tears. “It’s okay,” I told her. “Everything’s going to be okay, Kitten.”

“How…how are you here?” She swallowed. “I don’t understand.”

“You’re going to be mad.” I pressed a kiss to her open palm. I reveled in the shudder that rolled through her. “I turned myself in.”

She jerked back, but I held onto her hands, not letting her get away. And yeah, I was selfish. I wasn’t ready to go without her touch. “Daemon, what…? What were you thinking? You shouldn’t—”

“I wasn’t going to let you go through this by yourself.” I slid my hands down her arms, cupping her elbows. “There was no way I could do that. I know that’s not what you wanted, but this wasn’t want I wanted.”

She gave a little shake of her head, and her voice was barely a whisper. “But your family, Daemon? Your —”

“You’re more important.” The moment those words came out of my mouth, I knew they were true. Family had always come first for me, and Kat was a part of my family—a bigger part. She was my future.

“But the things they’re going to make you do…” The wetness in her eyes swelled, and a single tear escaped, racing down her cheek. “I don’t want you to go through—”

I caught the tear with a kiss. “And I’m not going to let you do this by yourself. You’re my—you’re my everything, Kat.” At the sound of her soft inhale, I smiled again. “Come on, Kitten, did you really expect anything less from me? I love you.”

Her hands fell to my shoulders, flexing until her fingers dug through the cotton of my shirt, and she stared at me for so long I started to worry. Then she sprang forward, wrapping her arms around my neck and practically tackling me.

Laughing against the top of her head, I caught myself before I toppled over. One second she was beside me, and then she was in my lap, wrapping her arms and legs around me. This—this was the Kat I knew.

“You’re crazy,” she whispered against my neck. “You’re absolutely crazy, but I love you. I love you so much. I don’t want you here, but I love you.”

I slid my hand down her spine, curling my fingers against her lower back. “I’ll never grow tired of hearing you say that.”

She pressed against me, her fingers burying in the hair at the nape of my neck. “I missed you so much, Daemon.”

“You have no idea…” I ran out of words at that point. Her being this close after so long was the sweetest kind of torture. Each breath she took, I felt in every part of my body, in some areas more than others. Really inappropriate, but she always had a powerful hold over me. Common sense jumped out the window.

She pulled back, her eyes searching mine, and then she reclaimed the distance, and, damn, the kiss was half innocent, half desperate, and wholly perfect. My grip on her back tightened as she tilted her head, and even though the kiss started out as something sweet, I totally took it there. I deepened the kiss, throwing every fear into it, every minute that had passed that we’d been separated, and everything I felt for her. Her breathy moan shook me, and when she wiggled it nearly undid me.

I gripped her hips and pushed her back. It was the last thing I wanted to do. “Cameras, remember?”

Color crawled up her neck and splashed across her cheeks. “Oh, yeah, everywhere except—”

“The bathroom,” I supplied, catching the flash of surprise across her face. “They’ve filled me in.”

“Everything?” When I nodded, the rosy color in her cheeks disappeared, and she quickly scuttled out of my lap. She settled beside me, her gaze straight ahead. Several moments passed, and she took a deep breath. “I’m…glad you’re here, but I wish you weren’t.”

“I know.” I didn’t take offense to that statement.

She tucked her hair back. “Daemon, I…”

I placed two fingers under her chin and tilted her face back to mine. “I know,” I said again, searching her eyes. “I saw some of the stuff, and they told me about—”

“I don’t want to talk about that,” she said quickly, sliding her hands over her bent knees.

Concern rose inside me, but I forced a smile. “Okay. That’s okay.” I slid my arm back around her shoulders, tugging her closer. There was no resistance. She melted into my side, curling her fingers into my shirt. I kissed her forehead. I kept my voice low. “I’m going to get us out of this.”

Her hand balled around my shirt as she lifted her head. “How?” she whispered.

I leaned over, pressing close to her ear. “Trust me. I’m sure they’re watching us, and I don’t want to give them any reason to separate us right now.”

She nodded in understanding, but her mouth grew tense. “Have you seen what they’ve been doing here?”

I shook my head, and she took a deep breath. In hushed tones, she told me about the sick humans they were treating, the Luxen and the hybrids. As we talked, we stretched out on the bed, facing each other. I could tell she was skating over a lot of stuff. For one thing, she didn’t talk about anything she’d been doing or how she got those bruises. I figured it had to do with Blake and that was why she was mum on the topic, but she did mention a little girl named Lori who was dying from cancer. A pinched look appeared when she talked about her. Kat hadn’t smiled once. The knowledge nagged at me, threatening to ruin the reunion.

“They said that there are bad Luxen out there,” she said. “That it’s why they have me here, to learn how to fight against them.”

“What?”

She tensed. “They said that there were thousands of Luxen who wanted to harm humans and that more would be coming. I’m guessing they didn’t say anything like that to you?”

“No.” I almost laughed, but then I remembered what Ethan had said. There was no way that could’ve had anything to do with what she was saying. Or could it? “They told me they want more hybrids.” A troubled look crossed her face, and I wished I hadn’t said that. “What kind of cancer does Lori have?” I asked, running my hand up her arm. I hadn’t stopped touching her. Not once since I’d entered the room.

The tips of her fingers were resting on my chin, and we were as close as we could be that would seem appropriate, considering we had eyes on us. “Same kind of cancer my dad had.”

I squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry.”

Her fingers followed the curve of my jaw. “I only saw her once, but she’s not doing too well. They’re giving her some kind of treatment they’re getting from the Luxen and hybrids. They call it LH-11.”

“LH-11?”

She nodded and then frowned. “What?”

Holy crap, that was what Luc wanted. Which begged the question, what the hell did Luc want with a serum