“What could be worse exactly?” I asked, stunned.
“Us being together.” He shrugged. “It could be worse.”
Part of me wasn’t sure I’d heard him right. “Wait a sec. You think we should be together because of some kind of freaky alien mojo that has connected us? But two minutes ago you were bitching about being stuck with me?”
“Yeah, well, I wasn’t bitching. I was pointing out that we are stuck together. This is different…and you’re attracted to me.”
My eyes narrowed. “I’ll get back to that last statement in a second, but you want to be with me because you now feel…forced?”
“I wouldn’t say forced exactly, but…but I like you.”
I stared at him. It was all too easy to recall what I’d overheard when he’d healed me. Part of me had thought that maybe what he’d felt was real, but maybe it was the product of whatever the hell he’d done. That made sense considering what he was saying.
Daemon frowned. “Oh no, I know that look. What are you thinking?”
“That this is the most ridiculous declaration of attraction I’ve ever heard,” I said, standing. “That is so lame, Daemon. You want to be with me because of whatever crazy stuff that had happened?” He rolled his eyes as he stood. “We like each other. We do. It’s stupid that we keep denying it.”
“Oh, this is coming from the dude who left me on the couch topless?” I shook my head. “We don’t like each other.”
“Okay. I should probably apologize for that. I’m sorry.” Daemon took a step forward. “We were attracted to each other before I healed you. You can’t say that’s not true, because I’ve always…been attracted to you.” I took a step back. “Being attracted to me is as lame a reason to be with me as the fact we’re stuck together now.”
“Oh, you know it’s more than that.” He paused. “I knew you would be trouble from the start, from the moment you knocked on my door.”
I laughed dryly. “That thought is definitely mutual, but that doesn’t excuse the split personality thing you’ve got going on.”
“Well, I was kind of hoping it did, but obviously not.” He flashed a quick grin. “Kat, I know you’re attracted to me. I know you like—”
“Being attracted to you isn’t enough,” I said.
“We get along.”
I gave him a bland look.
Another flash of his teeth as his lips spread. “Sometimes we do.”
“We have nothing in common,” I protested.
“We have more in common then you realize.”
“Whatever.”
Daemon caught a piece of my hair and wrapped it around his finger. “You know you want to.”
The memory of the sweet kiss we’d shared in the field returned. Frustrated, I snatched my hair back and focused. “You don’t know what I want. You have no clue. I want a guy who wants to be with me because he actually wants to be. Not that he’s forced to be out of some kind of twisted sense of responsibility.”
“Kat—”
“No!” I cut him off, balling my hands into fists. Come on, Kittycat, don’t b e a b ystander. I wasn’t going to be a bystander anymore, which meant not caving to Daemon. Not when his reasons for wanting me were so lame they made a top ten list. “No. Sorry. You have spent months being the biggest jerk to me. You don’t get to decide to like me one day and think I will forget all of that. I want someone to care for me like my dad cared for my mom. And you aren’t him.”
“How can you know?” His eyes flashed, turning them into brilliant jewels.
Shaking my head, I turned toward the back door. Daemon appeared in front of it, blocking my exit. “God, I hate when you do that!”
He didn’t laugh or smile like he normally would. His eyes were wide and bright, consuming. “You can’t keep pretending that you don’t want to be with me.”
I could — I would try, even though deep down, I did want to be with him. But I wanted him to want me, not because we were stuck together or because somehow we were connected. I’d always liked the glimpses of the real him. That Daemon I could be with — I could love. But that Daemon never stayed around long, pushed out by his never-ending duty to his family and race. Saddened by that, I pressed my lips together.
“I’m not pretending,” I said.
His eyes searched mine. “You’re lying.”
“Daemon.”
He placed his hands on my hips and tugged me forward carefully. His breath stirred the hair around my temple. “If I wanted to be with…” he started, his hands tightening. “If I wanted to be with you, you’d make it hard wouldn’t you?” I lifted my head. “You don’t want to be with me.”
His lips twitched into a smile. “I’m thinking I kind of do.”
Parts of my body liked that. My chest swelled. Insides knotted. “Thinking and kind of aren’t the same thing as knowing.”
“No, it’s not, but it’s something.” His lashes lowered, shielding his eyes. “Isn’t it?”
I thought of the love my mom and dad had again. I pulled away, shaking my head. “It’s not enough.”
Daemon’s eyes met mine and he sighed. “You are going to make this hard.”
I didn’t say anything. My heart was thumping as I sidestepped him and headed for the front door.
“Kat?”
Drawing in a deep breath, I faced him. “What?”
A smile parted his lips. “You do realize I love a challenge?”
I laughed under my breath and turned back to the front door, giving him a one-fingered salute. “So do I, Daemon. So do I.”
Bonus Material
Scenes from Daemon’s point of view!
“Uh-oh spaghetti-o’s”
Daemon
The moment I walked into trig class, I saw Kat. Kind of hard to miss with that whitish glow surrounding her. I spotted a couple of seats empty on the other side of class and knew that’s where I should go.
Instead, I switched my notebook to my other hand and headed straight down the aisle where she was seated. She kept her eyes glued to her notebook, but I knew she was aware of me… The faint blush along the tips of her cheekbones gave her away.
I grinned.
But then my gaze slid to the awkward splint covering her slender arm, and my grin faded. Potent rage swept through me at the reminder of how close she’d come to becoming an Arum’s playtoy. My teeth gnashed together as I stalked past and fell into the seat behind her.
Images assaulted me of how she’d looked after the Arum attack — shaken, terrified, and so tiny in my shirt as we waited for the useless police to show up. If anything, this should’ve served as a reminder to get my ass up and move to a different seat.
I pulled a pen out of the spiral ring on my notebook and poked her in the back.
Kat glanced over her shoulder, biting her lip.
“How’s the arm?” I asked.
Her features pinched, and then her lashes swept up, her clear eyes meeting my stare. “Good,” she said, fiddling with her hair. “I get the splint off tomorrow, I think.”
I tapped my pen off the edge of the desk. “That should help.”
“Help with what?” Wariness colored her tone.
Using the pen, I gestured to the trace surrounding her. “With what you’ve got going on there.”
Her eyes narrowed, and I remembered she couldn’t see how she was lit up like a Christmas tree. I should have cleared things up, but it was so much fun getting a rise out of her. When it looked like she was two seconds from smacking me upside the head with her splint, I couldn’t help myself.