Hell.
Opening her eyes, she leveled her chin. Our gazes met. “What?” she whispered.
“I was thinking about a movie.”
“Okay. And?”
“But you’ve broken the rules, Kitten. Several times. You’re owed some punishment.”
Her heart kicked up, and so did mine. “I am a rule breaker.”
My lips tilted up on one corner. “You are.”
Kat flushed, and then I moved as fast as a cobra striking. I was in front of her, my hands against her cheeks and tilting her head back, before she could take another breath. I brushed my lips over hers, swallowing a groan at the sweet contact. I swept my lips against hers again, and her mouth opened. The kiss deepened, and she tasted like paradise.
My hands coasted down to her hips, and I pulled her against me, hip to hip. Her soft gasp echoed through me. I backed her up, pressing her against the side of the SUV. The rest of the world fell apart around us, and maybe I shouldn’t have been kissing her like this in public, not when anyone could see us, but I didn’t care.
Kat did that to me.
And she was kissing me back just as feverishly. Her hands were on my chest, her palms burning through my sweater. I didn’t want anything between us, but that wasn’t going to happen right now. She slipped her hands up and around my neck as she moved her hips against mine.
Damn. I lifted my mouth from hers, forcing myself to breath. “Movie?” I kissed her again. “And then what, Kitten?”
She knew what came after a movie even if she didn’t speak it, and I think she was a little beyond the whole talking part as my fingers drifted under the hem of her turtleneck. She jerked and moaned softly as my hands smoothed over the bare sides of her waist. Her side was so smooth, silky and soft. I could spend forever just touching her.
Kat dropped her hands to my hips, and surprised the hell out of me when she tugged me against her, lining us up in a way that made it hard to keep a semblance of control. Raw sensation pounded throughout me. I growled against her swollen lips. The tips of my fingers brushed against lace. We were so not making it to—
My cell phone went off in my back pocket. I wanted to ignore it, but considering everything that was going on, that wouldn’t be wise. I pulled back, knowing my eyes were glowing. “One second.”
I kissed her as I dragged my phone out my pocket and kept my other hand where it was, under her sweater, and so damn close. She shifted against me, pressing her face into my chest as I answered the phone. “This better be really important—”
“Dawson made a run for it,” Dee shrieked into the phone. “He’s gone.”
Chapter 5
My stomach clenched as Dee’s words settled in and I could feel my pupils dilating. “Okay,” I said into the phone. “Don’t worry, Dee. I’ll take care of it. I promise.”
Kat’s face had paled as I slipped my phone back into my pocket. “What?” she asked.
Every muscle had locked up in my body. “It’s Dawson. He made a run for it.” Dammit. “I’m sorry.”
“No. I completely understand.” She brushed the flakes of snow out of her hair. “What can I do?”
“I need to go.” I grabbed the keys out of my pocket and placed them in her palm. I then handed over my cell. “And I mean I need to go really fast. Go home and stay there. Keep that in the car. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“Daemon, I can help you. I can go—”
“Please.” I grasped her face once more and kissed her hard. “Go home.”
Trusting that she’d listen to me, I let go and then I moved faster than anyone could track. I had a feeling I knew where Dawson was heading. Dammit. He waited until I was out with Kat to make a run for the office building where he’d last been kept.
I darted across the highway, narrowly missing getting taken out by a truck. I hit the heavily wooded area and slipped into my true form so I could move even faster.
We had maybe two hours together, Kat and I, before the real world intruded and I had to chase down my brother. Fury was like red-hot lava pumping through my veins. It wasn’t so much that the date had been ruined that infuriated me. It was the fact that I had to leave Kat in a parking lot alone. It was because I had to chase down my brother and stop him from ending up in the DOD’s clutches once more. It was because I knew this wasn’t going to be the last time.
Several miles out from the office building, I caught sight of Dawson. He was in his human form when he skidded to a stop, facing me. “What are you doing here?” he demanded. “You’re supposed to be with Katy.”
Half tempted to pick him up and throw him through a tree, I struggled to keep a tight leash on my fury as I shifted back. “Yeah. I was with Kat, up until the moment Dee called me and told me you made a run for it.” Dawson’s hands curled into fists. “You didn’t need to leave her. You shouldn’t have left her. Not with—”
“Don’t,” I warned, lifting my hand. “Don’t you dare think I don’t know how dangerous it is for her to be out there when I’m chasing your ass around.”
“Then why are you here?” he fired back, his eyes turning luminous. Off in the distance, thunder cracked in response to the violent energy he was throwing off.
I stepped toward him. “You really going to ask that question? Seriously? Did they knock a few brain cells out when the DOD had you?”
“I’m going to knock a few out of your head.”
Fighting my brother was the last thing I wanted. No. It was actually the first thing I wanted right now. I lifted my arms. “Try it.”
Dawson didn’t need any further coaxing. Shifting into his Luxen form, his light tinged in blue, he lunged at me. I changed as I caught him. He was out of practice, because he wasn’t able to break my hold as I lifted him up and threw him back several feet. He landed in a nimble crouch and slammed his hand down in the snow.
A wall of snow flew into the air, coming at me with speed of a racing train. I spun out to the side, but wasn’t fast enough. The heavy snow came down on me, burying me several feet.
Son of a bitch.
A burst of energy left me, throwing snow up in the air in a shower of light. I sprang out, furious as icicles fell from the elm trees. Jesus, those things could’ve impaled someone. Dawson was on the run again, racing over the fallen trees and mounds of snow.
I took off after him, easily catching up to him. He tried to turn to the left, but I caught him around the shoulders, taking him to the ground. Dawson bucked, nearly tossing me over his shoulders, but I wasn’t letting go.
Just stop, I told him. Just freaking stop.
A shout of rage bounced around my skull. He rolled, and I almost lost my hold. I dug in, kicking up snow as I wrapped my arms around his neck. Standing, I forced him onto his feet. Don’t do this, I told him. Don’t put us through losing you all over again.
You need to let me go. He gripped my arms as I felt a warm tingle along the base of my neck, but before I could investigate that, he broke my hold, managing to shove me back a foot.
Oh, I was so done with this.
I shot forward, wrapping my arms around his waist, and then I launched both of us into the air. I brought him back down into the snow, slamming him through the layers. Icicles and clumps of snow rained down all around us. Whitish-blue light pulsed out from Dawson, slamming into the trees around us.
Jesus, Dawson grunted. That wasn’t necessary.
I held him down, hands on his shoulders. It was necessary.
Dawson tried to roll me, but we both froze as a voice spoke loud and clear. “You have got to be kidding me.”