{ Daemon }
Dawson looked as antsy as I felt standing outside the room Kat slept in. I wasn’t surprised that he’d come to find me in the early morning hours, when most, if not all, the Luxen were asleep, completely unafraid that anyone would attempt to take them out.
People always thought I was arrogant, but hell, nothing touched these Luxen.
Taking them out while they slept was something we’d discussed the first morning we realized they all seriously went nightie-night, but neither of us turned out to be that stupid. We’d be able to take some of them, but there were more than two dozen Luxen on the grounds, and it wasn’t just our lives we’d be risking.
“How is she?” Dawson asked, voice low as he nodded at the closed door.
“She finally fell asleep.” I leaned against the wall, watching the end of the hall. No one else slept up here, not even Dee, but my guard was up.
“I really am sorry. She knows that, right?” Dawson thrust a hand through his hair, grimacing. “I owe her everything, and—”
“She knows.” I shifted my weight. “You know why she was at the grocery store with Archer? Turns out they were picking up prenatal stuff for Beth.”
Blood drained from his face.
“She’s been sick, and I don’t know if it’s normal or if it’s something more.” I thought about those damn kids back at Area 51, but I doubted this was the time to ask Dawson if he knew about them and really freak him out. “Kat isn’t sure, either. None of us knows crap about pregnancy.”
He squeezed his eyes shut as he blew out a breath. “I know we can’t leave without Dee, but . . .”
But how much longer was Dawson expected to stay away from Beth, the girl he loved, the girl who was carrying his child? The girl who needed him right now more than anything?
How long could I wait?
Before Kat had ended up here, I’d been willing to stick around to find out who was leading the Luxen and how he or she planned on carrying out the ultimate strategy, because I knew Kat was safe with Luc and Archer. I’d hated not being with her, freaking drove me out of my mind not even being able to think about her out of fear the others would pick up on it.
But now?
Screw the Luxen.
Screw mankind.
I wanted Kat out. Every cell of my being demanded that I protect her, even though I knew she was hella capable of doing so herself, but I wanted her far away from here. Hell, I’d keep her in Bubble Wrap if it weren’t so damn creepy and also inconvenient, considering I had a terrible habit of obsessively popping the damn things until not a single bubble was left.
Getting her out of here was what I wanted, but I couldn’t do it. How could we leave with Dee this way? We needed to break their hold on her, but neither of us knew the magic key to doing it. And what would Kat and I be running to? What future waited for Dawson, Bethany, and . . . and their baby?
I didn’t know.
In the minutes since I’d told Dawson about Beth being sick, dark shadows of worry had blossomed under his eyes, and I wondered if I should’ve just kept that part to myself.
Pushing off the wall, I clamped a hand on my brother’s shoulder and squeezed. As our gazes locked, pressure circled like vise grips around my chest. It wasn’t the first moment the thought popped into my head. Ever since I realized Kat was going to be brought back to the compound, it had been there, on the fringes of my consciousness. I knew it was the same for Dawson.
He shuddered as he placed his hand on my shoulder. “I can’t wait much longer.”
Meaning sooner rather than later, he would make a run for it, for Beth, with or without our sister.
“I know.” Real pain lanced through my chest at the thought of leaving Dee to these things I really didn’t want to claim any relation to.
Dawson nodded as he stepped back, lowering his arm. “This sucks.”
I choked out a laugh as I glanced at the closed door. “Can you hang here for a few minutes while I find her something to wear?”
“Sure.”
I left Dawson by the door and headed into a nearby bedroom where Dee had been pilfering clothes. The room was a mess. Bed destroyed. Dressers turned over and items spilled out. I stepped over bottles of perfume and pictures, and then entered the walk-in closet. Scanning for something that looked like it would fit Kat, I realized there weren’t many options. The original woman of the house was obviously a very small woman. Probably never ate a double cheeseburger, based on the size and style of the gowns.
I pulled out a dazzling, glittering blue gown. There was a split all the way up to the hip, and despite everything, I pictured Kat wearing it.
And then I pictured Kat out of it.
That image hit me like a punch in the gut.
Great. Now I would be a walking hard-on all morning. Just what I needed.
Finally, I found a pair of white pants that looked like they’d fit and a short-sleeve black sweater. There was also a pair of flats in her size. After gathering up the stuff, I turned and walked back into the main room, happening to glance down at the nightstand next to the bed.
I came to a complete stop.
Drawers were pulled open. One of them had an adult store’s worth of toys in it. Man, the mayor and his wife sure liked to get freaky. In the top drawer were other . . . interesting things. Among them was a black box full of sealed wrappers.
Really not necessary, but . . .
I grabbed a handful and slid them in my back pocket.
Nothing like being prepared.
Smiling to myself, I pivoted around and hustled back to where Dawson waited.
“What’s up with the shit-eating grin of yours?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
He shot me a look that said he knew better. “You need anything else?” When I shook my head, he started away and then paused. “Rolland wants you at the conference today?”
My free hand on the doorknob, I nodded. “He wants Kat there, too.”
Dawson frowned.
“We need to be prepared for anything,” I told him.
Drawing in a deep breath, he nodded, and I watched him retreat down the hall. Easing into the room, I was surprised to see Kat sitting up in bed. Hair air-dried, it tumbled down in messy waves, then fell over her shoulders and down her arms.
“Is everything okay?” She rubbed her eyes with balled fists.
“Yeah. Found you some clothes.” For a moment, I just stared at her as she lowered her hands, tossed off the covers, and stood. My heart thumped.
Sometimes—and it happened at random moments—I was blown away by the fact that she was mine and I was hers. This was one of those times.
I offered the stolen clothes. “For you,” I added, like a complete idiot.
A tired smile appeared on her face as she took the clothes from me. “Thank you.”
I watched her shuffle past me and disappear into the bathroom, and I stood there as the water came on. It was still way too early and she could’ve slept more, but being the selfish ass I could be, I was happy she was awake.
Sucked I wasn’t getting to watch her change clothes, though. That would’ve really given me the picker upper I needed. But then the door opened, and I was still standing in the middle of the room as she stepped out.
Lucky me, the pants I’d given her hadn’t really fit.
They were about a size too small, hugging her shapely ass like a glove, and that made me a very happy man.
Kat caught my stare and rolled her eyes. “Thank God these pants are stretchy.”
“I’m having inappropriately timed thoughts right about now,” I told her.
She crossed her arms under her chest, drawing my attention to another place on her body I might be a wee bit fascinated with. “I’m not really surprised.”
“Just thought I’d let you know.”
As she walked past me and bent at the waist to place the shoes on the floor, I really got an eyeful, and I stopped thinking. Maybe I was exhausted and I didn’t care about getting my priorities straight while the quietness of dawn seeped in. Maybe it was the dress I saw in the closet or all the junk in the drawer. Maybe when it all came down to it, I was a dude and had sex on the brain no matter the situation. Either way, I stopped thinking, and that was a common problem of mine whenever I was around her.
I reached out, snagging her right off the floor, lifting her up with one arm around her waist. A startled sound escaped her lips as I hauled her against my chest, digging my hand through her hair as I pressed my mouth against hers.
I kissed her deeply, taking everything I could into me—her taste, her tongue, and every soft sound she made against my mouth. In the back of my head, I knew this wasn’t something I should be doing. Hell, we should be plotting and all that crap, but screw it.
Like always, I wanted her.
Setting her down on her feet, I traced a path of tiny kisses to that small earlobe of hers as I slipped my fingers under the hem of the sweater. Her skin was warm, soft as spun silk. I pulled back, lifting the sweater over her head, dropping it on the floor.
I blazed a new trail down her throat, kissing each of those little yellow daisies, lingering on some more than others. Then, I turned her around, and the air stilled in my lungs.
The scars.
A low, inhuman-sounding thing rose from my throat.
“Daemon?” She glanced over her shoulder.
I swallowed. “I . . . It’s okay.”
But it wasn’t okay.