Knowing all of that, I still didn’t pull away. And neither did he. Oh no, he was moving closer. His pupils started to glow and his breath seemed to have stalled in his chest.
“Do you have any idea what you do to me?” he asked gruffly.
“I’m not doing anything.”
Daemon shifted his head just enough that our lips brushed once…and then twice before he increased the pressure. This kiss…it was nothing like the other times, which seemed to be angry and challenging. As if we’d kissed to punish each other. But this was gentle and soft, feather light. Infinitely tender. Like the kiss we’d shared in the clearing the night he’d healed me. Light swept through me as we kissed, but soon the kisses, they weren’t enough. Not when a slow fire was burning under my skin—and under his.
Cupping my cheeks, he exhaled a soft groan, and his lips scorched mine as he deepened the kiss until we both were breathless from its intensity. Daemon moved as close as he could with the chair between us. Gripping his arms, I held onto him, wanting him closer. The chair prevented all but our lips and hands from touching. Frustrating.
Move, I ordered restlessly.
It trembled under my foot, and then the heavy oak chair slid out from under me, dodging our leaning bodies. Unprepared for the sudden void, Daemon lurched forward, and I was unable to carry the unexpected weight. I collapsed backward, bringing Daemon along with me.
The full contact of his body, flush against mine, sent my senses into chaotic overdrive. His tongue swept over mine as his fingers splayed across my cheeks. His hand slid down my side, gripping my hip as he urged me closer. The kisses slowed and his chest rose as he drank me in. With one last lingering exploration, he lifted his head and smiled down at me.
My heart skipped a beat as he hovered over me with an expression that tugged deep in my chest. He moved his fingers back up, along my cheek, trailing an invisible path to my chin.
“I didn’t move that chair, Kitten.”
“I know.”
“I’m assuming you didn’t like where it was?”
“It was in your way,” I said. My hands were still curled around his arms.
“I can see that.” Daemon smoothed a fingertip over the curve of my bottom lip before taking my hand, pulling me up. Letting go, he watched me carefully and waited. Waited for…
What had happened slowly sank in beyond the fog in my brain. I’d just kissed him. Again. And right after he’d taken over my date with another guy—the guy I should be kissing. Or not. I didn’t know anything anymore.
“We can’t keep doing this.” My voice shook. “We—”
“We like each other,” he said, stepping forward, grasping the edges of the table on either side of me. “And before you say it, we were attracted to each other before I healed you. You can’t say that’s not true.”
He leaned in, his nose brushing my cheek. A shudder rolled through me. His lips pressed against the spot under my ear. “We need to stop fighting what we both want.”
Air caught in my throat. I closed my eyes as his fingers inched down my turtleneck, clearing a path for his lips to meet my wildly beating pulse.
“It’s not going to be easy,” he said. “It wasn’t three months ago and it won’t be three months from now.”
“Because of the rest of the Luxen?” My head tipped back, my thoughts swimming at his touch. There was something wicked in those hot little kisses he dropped all over my throat. “They’ll outcast you. Like—”
“I know.” He let go of my turtleneck and slid his hand around the nape of my neck as his body pressed against mine. “I’ve thought about the repercussions—it’s all I’ve thought about.”
Part of me had been yearning to hear him say that. A secret I’d kept close to my heart—the same heart that was jumping in my chest. I opened my eyes. His were glowing. “And this has nothing to do with the connection or Blake?”
“No,” he said, and then sighed. “Yes, some of it has to do with that human, but it’s about us. About what we feel for each other.”
I was attracted to him on a level that was nearly painful. Being around him had every cell in my body burning, but this was Daemon. Caving to him was like saying the way he’d treated me was okay. And more importantly, it required blind faith in the theory that our feelings were real. And when they turned out not to be? It would be heartbreak, because I would seriously fall for him—fall more than I already had.
Wiggling down, I dipped under his arms. A dull ache shot through my injured leg as I backed up. “Is this like a ’I didn’t want you until someone else wanted you’ type of thing?”
Daemon leaned against the table. “That’s not what this is.”
“Then what is it, Daemon?” Tears of frustration built in my eyes. “Why now, when three months ago you couldn’t stand to breathe the same air as me? It’s the connection between us. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Dammit. Do you think I don’t regret acting like such a douche to you? I’ve apologized.” He stood there, towering over me. “You don’t get it. None of this is easy for me. And I know this is hard for you. You have a lot to deal with. But I have my sister and an entire race counting on me. I didn’t want you to get close to me. I didn’t want another person to care about, to worry about losing.”
I sucked in a breath, and he went on. “It wasn’t right how I acted. I know that. But I can do better than that—better than Benny.”
“Blake.” I sighed, limping away from him. “I have a lot in common with Blake. He likes that I read a lot—”
“I do, too,” Daemon challenged.
“And he also blogs.” Why did I feel like I was grasping at straws?
Daemon caught a piece of my hair and wrapped it around his finger. “I have nothing against the Internet.”
I knocked his hand away. “And he doesn’t like me because of some stupid alien connection or because some other guy likes me.”
“I don’t either.” His eyes flashed. “You can’t keep pretending. It’s wrong. You’ll break that boy’s poor little human heart.”
“No, I won’t.”
“You will, because you want me and I want you.”
Deep down, I did want to be with him. And I wanted him to want me, not because we were the same atom split or because someone else liked me. Shaking my head, I went for the door. “You keep saying that…”
“What does that mean?” he demanded.
I squeezed my eyes shut briefly. “You say you want me, but that’s not enough.”
“I show you that I do, too.”
Facing him, I cocked an eyebrow. “You do not.”
“What was that?” Daemon gestured at the table, and I flushed. People eat at that table… “I think I showed you that I like you. I can do it again if you’re not clear on what that was. And I’ve brought you a smoothie and a cookie to school.”
“You stuck the cookie in yourmouth!” I threw my hands up.
He smiled at that, like it was a good memory. “The table…”
“Humping my leg like a dog in heat every time I’m around you doesn’t prove you like me, Daemon.”
Daemon clamped his mouth shut, and I could tell he was fighting back laughter. “Actually, that’s how I show people I like them.”
“Oh. Fine. Whatever. None of this matters, Daemon.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Kat. And I’m not giving up.”
Not that I really believed he would. I reached for the door but he stopped me. “Do you know why I met you that day in the library?” he asked.
“What?” I faced him.
“The Friday you came back after being sick?” He ran a hand through his hair. “You were right. I picked the library because no one would see us together.”
My mouth snapped shut and a sick feeling leached up my throat, causing it to burn. “You know what, I’ve always wondered if your ego was so big you didn’t want to eat crow.”
“And as always, you jump to the wrong assumption.” His eyes pierced mine. “I didn’t want Ash or Andrew to start giving you a bunch of crap because of me like they did with Dawson and Beth. So if you think I’m embarrassed of you or not ready to make my intentions very public, then you better get that idea out of your head. Because if that’s what it takes, then it’s on.”