“Not right now, but there is always later.”
I wasn’t sure if he was being serious or not. “I’m okay missing ‘later.’”
“Yeah. Busy?”
“Other than messing with my blog, no.”
“You have a blog?” He faced me, leaning back against the post. Derision pinched his features.
He’d said blog like it was a crack habit. “Yeah, I have a blog.”
“What’s your blog’s name?”
“None of your business,” I said, smiling sweetly.
“Interesting name.” He returned my smile with a half grin. “So what do you blog about? Knitting? Puzzles? Being lonely?”
“Ha. Ha, smartass.” I sighed. “I review books.”
“Do you get paid for them?”
I laughed out loud at that. “No. Not at all.”
Daemon seemed confused by that. “So you review books and you don’t get paid if someone buys a book based on your review?”
“I don’t review books to get paid or anything.” Although that would be sweet, which reminded me I needed to get a library card. “I do it because I like it. I love reading, and I enjoy talking about books.”
“What kind of books do you read?”
“All different kinds.” I leaned against the post opposite of him, craning my neck back to meet his steady gaze. “Mainly I prefer the paranormal stuff.”
“Vampires and werewolves?”
Man, how many questions could he ask? “Yeah.”
“Ghosts and aliens?”
“Ghost stories are cool, but I don’t know about aliens. ET really doesn’t do it for me and a lot of readers.”
One single eyebrow arched. “What does it for you?”
“Not slimy green space creatures,” I replied. “Anyway, I also appreciate graphic novels, history stuff—”
“You read graphic novels?” Disbelief colored his tone. “Seriously?”
I nodded. “Yeah, so what? Are girls not supposed to like graphic novels and comics?”
He stared at me a long moment, then jerked his chin toward the woods. “Want to go on a hike?”
“Uh, you know I’m not good with the whole hiking thing,” I reminded him.
A grin appeared. There was an edge to it. Rough. Sexy. “I’m not taking you up on the Rocks. Just a harmless little trail. I’m sure you can handle it.”
“Did Dee not tell you where your keys were?” I asked, suspicious.
“Yeah, she did.”
“Then why are you here?”
Daemon sighed. “I don’t have a reason. I thought I would just stop over, but if you’re going to question everything, then you can forget it.”
I watched him go down the steps as I chewed on my lip. This was crazy. I’d been dying of boredom for days. Rolling my eyes, I called out, “All right, let’s do this.”
“Are you sure?”
I agreed, with a hefty amount of trepidation. “Why are we going behind my house?” I asked when it was evident where he was leading me. “The Seneca Rocks are that way. I thought most trails started over there.” I pointed to the front of my house, to where the tips of the monstrous sandstone-looking structures loomed over everything.
“Yeah, but there are trails back here that will take you around and it’s quicker,” he explained. “Most people here know all the main trails that are crowded. There used to be a lot of boring days out here, and I found a couple of them off the beaten trail.” I made a face. “How far off the beaten track are we talking?”
He chuckled. “Not
“So it’s a baby trail? I bet this is going to be boring for you.”
“Anytime I get to go out and walk around is good. Besides it’s not as if we’ll hike all the way to Smoke Hole Canyon. That’s a pretty big hike from here, so no worries, okay?”
“All right, lead the way.”
We stopped off at Daemon’s to grab a couple of water bottles and then took off. We walked on in silence for a few minutes and then he said, “You’re very trusting, Kitten.”
“Stop calling me that.” It was a little difficult to keep up with his long-legged pace, so I trailed a few steps behind him.
He glanced over his shoulder without a misstep. “No one has ever called you that before?”
I picked my way around a large, prickly bush. “Yeah, people call me Kitten all the time. But you make it sound so…”
His brows shot up. “Sound so what?”
“I don’t know, like it’s an insult.” He’d slowed, and now I was walking beside him. “Or something sexually deviant.”
He turned his head away, laughing. The sound had my muscles tensing.
“Why are you always laughing at me?”
Shaking his head, he grinned down at me. “I don’t know, you just kind of make me laugh.”
I kicked a small rock. “Whatever. So what was up with that Matthew dude? He acted as if he hated me or something.”
“He doesn’t hate you. He doesn’t trust you,” he muttered the last words.
I shook my head, bewildered. “Trust me with what? Your virtue?”
He barked out a laugh, and it took him a few moments to respond. “Yeah. He’s not a fan of beautiful girls who have the hots for me.”
“What?” I tripped over an exposed root. Daemon caught me easily, setting me back on my feet the minute I was steady. The brief contact had my skin tingling through my clothes. His hands lingered on my waist only a few seconds before he dropped them. “You’re joking, right?”
“Which part?” he asked.
“Any of that!”
“Come on. Please don’t tell me you don’t think you’re pretty.” He considered my silence. “No guy has ever said you’re pretty?”
He wasn’t the first person to say anything nice about me, but I guess I never cared before. Previous boyfriends told me I was pretty, but I never considered that a reason for someone disliking me. Looking away, I shrugged. “Of course.”
“Or…maybe you’re not aware of it?”
I shrugged again as I focused on the trunks of old trees, about to change the subject and deny the other part of his statement. I most definitely did not have the hots for this arrogant guy.
“You know what I’ve always believed?” he said softly.
We were still standing in the path, only the sounds of a few birds echoed around us. My voice drifted away on a light breeze. “No.”
“I’ve always found that the most beautiful people, truly beautiful inside and out, are the ones who are quietly unaware of their effect.” His eyes searched mine intently, and for a moment we stood there toe to toe. “The ones who throw their beauty around, waste what they have? Their beauty is only passing. It’s just a shell hiding nothing but shadows and emptiness.” I did the most inappropriate thing possible. I laughed. “I’m sorry, but that was the most thoughtful thing I’ve ever heard you say. What alien ship took the Daemon I know away, and can I ask them to keep him?” He scowled. “I was being honest.”
“I know, but it’s just that was really…wow.” And here I was, ruining probably the nicest thing he would ever say to me.
He shrugged and began leading me down the trail again. “We won’t go too far,” he said after a few minutes. “So you’re interested in history?”
“Yeah, I know that makes me a nerd.” I was also grateful for the change in subject.
