Dee nodded. “I can try.”
I passed a silent Andrew on the way out. The little Prius was in the driveway, behind Kat’s Camry. Her mom was still home. That didn’t deter me as I zipped up the porch steps and knocked.
A second later, the door flew open and Kat flung herself at me in a blur of arms and legs. Stumbling back a step as I caught her, I laughed deeply at her exuberant greeting. She clung to me, arms tight around my shoulders.
“Kitten,” I murmured. “You know how much I like it when you say hi this way.”
Her head was buried in the space between my neck and shoulder, and when she responded, I couldn’t make out a damn thing she said.
I lifted her clear off her feet. “You’ve been worried, haven’t you?”
“Mm-hmm.” Kat jerked back and wriggled free. She smacked my chest hard.
“Ouch!” I grinned as I rubbed my chest. “What’s that for?”
She folded her arms, keeping her voice low as she spoke. “Have you heard of a cell phone?”
I arched my brow. “Why, yes, it’s this small thing that has all these cool apps on it—”
“Then why didn’t you have it on you today?” she interrupted.
Lowering my head to hers, my lips brushed her cheek as I spoke. “Going in and out of my true form all day kind of kills the electronics.”
A moment passed. “You should’ve checked in, though. I thought…”
“You thought what?”
Drawing back, she gave me a look. I knew why she was concerned, and I hated that she’d spent even a minute worrying about me. Clasping her cheeks, I kissed her softly. “Kitten, nothing’s going to happen to me. I’m the last person you need to worry about.”
Her eyes closed. “See, that’s possibly the stupidest thing you’ve ever said.”
“For real?” I kissed the corner of her lips. “I say a lot of stupid things.”
“I know. So that’s saying something.” Her hands slid to my chest. “I’m not trying to act like one of those obsessive girlfriends, but things…things are different with us.”
She had a point. A very good one. “You’re right.”
Her eyes widened. “Come again?”
“You’re right. I should’ve checked in at some point. I’m sorry.”
Shock splashed over her pretty face. Jaw dropped over and everything. Damn, she was adorable.
“You’re speechless.” I chuckled. “I like that. And I also like you all feisty. Want to hit me again?”
She laughed. “You’re a—”
The door opened behind her and her mom appeared, clearing her throat. “I don’t know what it is with you two and porches, but come in, it’s freezing out there.”
Kat flushed fire-engine red, so I let her go and made my way into the house. “Did you get a new haircut, Ms. Swartz?”
Her mom lightly touched her hair. “I did. About a week ago.”
“Looks great,” I said, smiling as Kat frowned. “Shows off those wonderful earrings.”
Kat’s mom flushed, just like her daughter. “Thank you.”
I continued to chat up her mom while Kat rolled her eyes about a million and three times before grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the steps. “Okay, well, this has been nice…”
Ms. Swartz folded her arms. “Katy, what did I tell you about the bedroom?”
Dipping my chin to hide my smile, I watched her face burn even brighter. “Mom…” She tugged on my arm again.
Her mom raised her brows.
Kat sighed. “Mom, it’s not like we’re going to have sex with you home.”
“Well, honey, it’s good to know that you only have sex when I’m not home.”
I coughed as I fought a smile. “We can stay—” The look Kat sent me warned that I’d probably never have sex with her, ever, if I continued. I wisely kept quiet.
“Mo-om.”
“Keep the door open,” her mom warned.
Kat beamed brightly. “Thanks!” Then she all but dragged me up the stairs. Pushing me inside the bedroom, she shook her head at me. “You’re terrible.”
“And you’re naughty.” I backed up, grinning. “Thought she said leave the door open.”
“It is.” She gestured behind her. “It’s cracked. That’s open.”
“Technicalities,” I said, sitting down on the bed. I curled my fingers at her. “Come on…come closer.”
She didn’t budge. “I didn’t get you up here to indulge in wild monkey lust.”
“Crap.” I dropped my hand to my lap.
Her eyes gleamed with amusement as she moved closer to the bed. “We need to talk. Will’s been talking to my mom.”
My eyes narrowed. “Details.”
She sat beside me, tucking her legs against her chest. “He said he’s at a conference and would be home in a week or so. He also told Mom that we were seeing each other. The fact that he even brought us up…” She trailed off, rubbing her temples. “He can’t come back. If the mutation didn’t hold, he knows you’d kill him. And if it did…”
“He has the upper hand,” I admitted.
She threw herself onto her back. “God, this is a mess—a freaking mess of epic proportions. If he comes back, I can’t let him near my mom. I have to tell her the truth.”
Leaning against the headboard, my head raced to process this problem. “I don’t want you to tell her.”
She frowned as she tilted her head to the side, meeting my stare. “I need to tell her. She’s in danger.”
“She’s in danger if you tell her.” I folded my arms. “I understand why you want to and your need, but if she knows the truth, she’s in danger.”
“But keeping her in the dark is worse, Daemon.” Rising to her knees, she faced me. “Will is a psycho. What if he comes back and picks up where he left off? I can’t let that happen.”
I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling long and hard. “We need to find out if Will actually has intentions of coming back first.”
Irritation darkened her eyes. “And how do you propose we do that?”
“That I haven’t figured out, but I will.”
She stared at me a moment and then nodded. How I was going to figure out if Will was coming back was a mystery, but right now, he didn’t feel like the worst of our problems.
“What were you doing all day?” she asked. “Chasing Dawson?”
I nodded.
“What was he doing?”
“He was just roaming around. I know he was trying to get back to that office building, and if I hadn’t followed him, he would’ve. The only reason I feel safe leaving him alone right now is because Dee has him cornered.” I paused, looking away. My shoulders tensed as his words replayed over and over. “Dawson…he’s going to get himself captured again.”
Chapter 4
Since Dee was keeping an eye on Dawson Saturday evening, I wanted to do something with Kat. Well, I wanted to do a lot of things with her.
A lot.
But I wanted to take her out, do dinner and then a movie. Something normal, and God knows, she needed something normal right now. All of us did. And what I’d told her while we made snow angels had been true. We had to forge forward like nothing had happened. Easier said than done, but if we had to act normal, then I was going to take advantage of it.
Going out on a real date, the dinner and movies variety, wasn’t something I’d ever done before, not even with Ash. We’d always seemed to skip that step, but with Kat, I didn’t want to bypass a single stage.
But then I saw her Sunday evening and not rushing through all those steps became real hard.
Kat was…damn, she was beautiful with her hair down, falling over her shoulders in soft, dark waves. The red turtleneck and dark jeans clung to all the areas I wanted to get to know personally. Like real intimately.