A pink flush stained her cheeks. I chased that color with my thumb. “I like to watch you blush.”
She sucked in a tiny breath, and it undid me. Pressing my forehead against hers, I pushed it to the limit. This was insanity, but she smelled of peaches and her skin was soft and her lips looked even softer.
I was caught up in a web there really was no escaping. A web of Kat… One I damn guarantee she had no idea she weaved. A naive beauty, and I’d seen a lot in my eighteen years to know that was a rarity. Something to be cherished.
Lightning struck again, and Kat didn’t jump at the thunder this time. She was focused in a way that pleased me, pulled at my control, and teased me with what I could never have. Shouldn’t even want, but I wanted… God, did I ever want. And if we continued where we were heading, it would get messy. I already knew what happened when Luxen and humans mixed. I had too much responsibility to be fooling around with her. Too much going on…
But I still wanted.
My fingers slipped along the curve of her cheek as my head tilted. I was going to regret this—holy crap was I ever, but I wasn’t stopping. Our lips were only a breath away…
“Hey, guys!” Dee called out.
I jerked back, sliding in one fluid movement and putting distance between us on the swing while Kat turned a fierce shade of red. I’d been so absorbed in her, I hadn’t heard my sister’s car or noticed the storm had passed and the sun was out, shining and all.
Great.
Dee came up the steps, her smile fading as her gaze bounced between us and then narrowed. No doubt she was seeing the faint trace around Kat and wondering how the hell that happened. Then she seemed to focus on what she’d just interrupted.
Her mouth dropped open.
It wasn’t often that I surprised her…like this. I grinned. “Hey, there, sis. What’s up?”
“Nothing,” she said. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing,” I replied, jumping from the swing. I glanced at a silent, dazed-looking Kat. Her gray eyes were still hazy and wide. Freaking beautiful. Damn, I needed to nip this in the bud right now, before something worse than just a trace happened. I met her gaze. “Just earning bonus points.”
Kat went ramrod straight, her eyes flashing and hands curling in her lap as my words sank in.
Ah, there it was—there was the kitten coming out, claws sharpening. The warm, cuddly creature was gone in an instant. I’d done that. Taken her up and slammed her right back down to earth, to reality. That was all me.
I wasn’t proud, but at least this way she’d live. We’d all live.
I spun toward the steps, leaving her with my sister, who was staring at me in confusion. I felt like the biggest ass on the planet.
Hell, in the universe.
The sun had set when my bedroom door burst open and Dee whirled in like a tornado, dark hair streaming from behind her and eyes gleaming with excitement.
“What in the world did I interrupt?” she demanded.
I closed the lid on my Mac before Dee could see what I was looking at. “You’re back from the colony early.”
She danced over to the bed, rising up on the tips of her toes. “Not like that’s really important, but if you must know, I think Ethan was just getting super annoyed with me and decided to let me leave.” She paused, grinning mischievously. “Plus, they’re having some kind of dinner reception for the females who are getting married Tuesday night and I said I’d come back…with Ash.”
My brows rose. “Uh, does she know that?”
“Yes. And she’s totally ticked off at me, but she can’t say no. But that’s not important!” She clapped her hands as she rocked back and forth. “What were you doing on the porch with Katy?”
I sat the Mac on my nightstand. “I was sitting out there with her.”
Dee’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, duh, but you weren’t just doing that. Don’t play with me.”
Had Kat said more? The urge to ask rushed to the tip of my tongue, but I mentally punched myself in the face. Wasn’t going to go there. “I’m not playing with you, sis.”
“That’s poppycock!”
“Poppycock,” I repeated slowly and then laughed. “Are you high?”
She lifted her hand and flipped me off. “You looked like you were about to kiss her.”
A muscle thrummed along my jaw as I leaned back against the headboard, folding my arms behind my head. “I think you are projecting or something.”
“While I think Katy is hot, I don’t want to make out with her.” She winked.
“Glad to hear that,” I muttered.
“Ugh, why can’t you just admit you were about to do something!” She threw herself onto the bed, shaking the entire frame. Girl looked small but she was like a damn train. “You were going in for the kiss. Your hand was on her chin.”
Closing my eyes, I decided the last thing I needed was a blow-by-blow description of how close I came to complete disaster.
“And then add in the fact you made up some lame excuse about keys and bonus points?”