Oblivion

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  I had no idea how long I watched her, but I eventually lost sight of her in the crowd. Part of me wanted to get up, punch Andrew in his mouth to shut him up, and go find her. But that would raise eyebrows, so I remained there, gripping the back of my chair so hard it groaned under the pressure.

  Then she reappeared with my sister, skirting the dance floor. She stopped, twisting gracefully until her gaze landed on my table as if she’d been looking for me. Something inside me roared a male approval.

  Our eyes locked, and there was that sucker-punch feeling again, except it moved lower, into my stomach. I was mesmerized, enthralled. Her lips parted and—

  And Simon pushed through the crowd, blocking her from me. Every muscle in my body locked up as a primal urge rushed through me. I started to stand, but at the last moment, forced myself to sit back down.

  A few seconds later, Ash arrived at the table. She was saying something, but I didn’t really hear her. Then Andrew leaned over, snapping his fingers in my face. “Man,” he said. “What’s your deal?”

  “Shut up.”

  “Nice.” Andrew got up. “I’m getting something to drink.”

  “Peace out,” I murmured, keeping an eye on Simon…and Simon’s hands. I did not like them.

  “Do you want to dance?” Ash asked, surprising me. I’d thought she’d left. “Or do you want to sit here and glower?” When I didn’t answer, she huffed as she stood. “Whatever. You’re boring.”

  I barely acknowledged that she’d actually left that time and that I was sitting at a table alone, like a dork. My gaze was trained on the couple. Couple? God. It was insulting to Kat to even refer to her and Simon as a couple.

  But I could deal. What Kat was doing really wasn’t any of my business. In reality, she could do whatever she wanted. If that meant dancing—

  Simon’s hand glided down the front of her dress, causing Kat to jerk back. Her angry expression was lost in a sea of faces and…well, that was it. I was on my feet before I even realized it, moving between dancers, my hands curling into fists.

  I stalked up to them, stopping behind Kat. “Mind if I cut in?”

  Simon’s eyes shot wide, and he must’ve seen his impending doom in my face, because he dropped his arms and took a step back. “Perfect timing. I needed to get a drink anyway.”

  I arched a brow and then turned to Kat, dismissing the idiot. “Dance?”

  She stared back a moment, then carefully placed her hands on my shoulders. “This is a surprise.”

  Damn if it wasn’t. We really hadn’t talked since the day at her car. Like I’d said then, the trace was so faint it hadn’t been recognizable. Didn’t mean I hadn’t kept an eye on her when she went into town, with and without Dee. She just didn’t know that I was there.

  I wrapped an arm around her waist and took one of her hands in mine. And damn if she didn’t feel right in my arms, perfect actually.

  Stupid and oddly wishful thinking.

  Her incredibly long lashes swept up, and eyes warm but wary searched mine. A pretty flush spread across her cheeks and down her throat. I’d do something terrible to know what she was thinking. I pulled her closer.

  Confusion and a…richer emotion marked her features. “Are you having a good time with…Ash?”

  “Are you having a good time with Happy Hands?”

  She sucked in her lower lip, and I bit back a groan. “Such a constant smart-ass.”

  I laughed, and she shivered in my arms. “The three of us came together—Ash, Andrew, and me.” Why was I telling her this? My hand slipped to her hip and I cleared my throat, looking over the top of her head. “You…you look beautiful, by the way. Really too good to be with that idiot.”

  Her eyes widened. “Are you high?”

  “Unfortunately, no I’m not. Though I am curious why you would ask.”

  “You never say anything nice to me.”

  “Good point.” Damn, I was a dick sometimes. Well, most of the times. I lowered my chin, and she jumped when my jaw grazed her cheek. “I’m not going to bite you. Or grope you. You can relax.”

  She was silent, so I took that as a good thing. Acting on instinct, I guided her head to my chest and then placed my hand on her lower back. Dancing like that was normal. Nothing for anyone to freak over, including me.

  Breathing in that peachy scent of hers, I closed my eyes and let the music guide us. There was something strangely intimate about slow dancing. Not the bumping and grinding kind that left little to the imagination, but this—two bodies melded together, drifting to the same beat, touching in all the right places. Intimate.

  Okay, maybe I was high.

  My hand curled against her back. “Seriously, how’s your date going?”

  When I glanced down, she was smiling. “He’s a little friendly.”

  “That’s what I thought.” I searched for him in the crowd, wanting to knock him out. “I warned you about him.”

  “Daemon,” she said, sighing. “I have him under control.”

  I snickered. “Sure looks like it, Kitten. His hands were moving so fast I was beginning to question if he was human or not.” She stiffened in my embrace. “You should sneak out of here and go home while he’s distracted. I can even get Dee to morph into you if need be.”

  Kat pulled back, and I immediately missed the way she felt in my arms. “It’s okay if he gropes your sister?”

  Well no, but… “I know she can take care of herself. You’re out of your league with that guy.”

  We’d completely stopped dancing by this point. A storm was brewing, and it had a name: Kitten. I almost smiled.

  “Excuse me?” she said. “I’m out of my league?”

  Didn’t she get it? “Look, I drove here. I can let Andrew and Ash catch a ride with Dee, and take you home.” Sounded like a good plan to me, but the look on her face said it was no-go. “Are you actually considering going to the party with that idiot?”

  “Are you going?” She pulled her hand free.

  “It doesn’t matter what I’m doing.” And I wasn’t ready to let her go yet. “You’re not going to that party.”

  “You can’t tell me what to do, Daemon.”

  Frustration whipped through me. Didn’t she get that I was trying to look out for her? This wasn’t a “who is the boss of me” contest. “Dee is taking you home. And I swear, if I have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you out of here, I will.”

  Her hand fisted against my chest. “I’d like to see you try.”

  I smiled. “I bet you would.”

  “Whatever. You’re the one who’s going to cause a scene carrying me out of here.”

  I made a sound low in my throat, but she actually smiled up at me, a mixture of smugness and innocence. “Because your local alien teacher is watching us as we speak. What do you think he’s going to believe when you toss me over your shoulder, buddy?”

  Son…of a biscuit. She was talking about Matthew.

  “Thought so,” she said.

  I was still seriously considering throwing her over my shoulder and carrying her out of here with the whole school watching. I think I also wanted to kiss her…with the entire school watching. Probably do things that would make that flush turn a deeper shade of red.

  Her glare turned defiant, and damn if a part of me didn’t really, really like that.

  A smile formed on my lips. “I keep underestimating you, Kitten.”

  Chapter 19

  The field where all the keg parties were held was roughly two miles outside of Petersburg and was accessed by a beaten-down dirt road that most would miss unless they knew it was there. I parked near the road, so I didn’t end up blocked in.

  Climbing out of the car, I slipped my keys into my pocket as I scanned the lines of vehicles haphazardly parked. Off in the distance, the orangey glow from the bonfire beckoned as I closed the door. The scent of gasoline and burning, damp wood was strong. Shadows moved around the fire. Laughter rang out, mingling with shouts. Music blared from speak
ers.

  I’d left the dance a few minutes after Kat walked out with Simon. Ash and Andrew were still back at the school, and I wasn’t sure if they would end up here or not. Field parties weren’t their thing. I’d been to a few, with…with Dawson. I wasn’t really keen on Dee being here, even with Adam, but she wasn’t who I was worried about.

  I knew Kat could handle herself. Deep down, I knew that. How could I not? But that didn’t mean she didn’t need help or that she wasn’t in over her head with someone like Simon.

  Walking around the cars, trampled cornstalks crunched under my steps. As I neared the bonfire, a girl stumbled out from behind a truck, blocking my path. A red Solo cup dangled precariously from her fingers as she teetered on heels. Dark brown hair was piled up and clumps of dried grass and cornhusks clung to her silvery dress.

  The girl, whom I vaguely recognized, couldn’t have been older than fifteen. Her chin lifted, and her glazed eyes roamed over me. “Daemon?”

  Unable to figure out her name, I nodded. “Are you okay?”

  “Yep.” She giggled, raising her cup to her lips. “Why you ask?”

  I arched a brow. “You have dirt and pieces of corn all over your dress.”

  Another giggle echoed out of her. “I might’ve fallen a time…or four. These shoes—” She lifted her leg to show me and wobbled suddenly. My hand snapped out, catching her arm and steadying her as she continued to lift her heeled foot. “These shoes are ah-mazing, but they are not suited for field parties.”

  “No doubt,” I murmured, letting go of her arm when I was sure she wasn’t going to face-plant on the car next to her. “Are you here with someone?”

  “Uh-huh. I’m here with Jon. He’s my boyfriend,” she explained, grinning as she swayed forward. “Unless you wanna be here with me, then I’m not here with anyone. Jon doesn’t exist. Nope.”

  I smiled slightly. “Sorry, babe, but I’m here for someone else.”

  “For shame!” She smiled broadly and then whispered, “That was bad of me to say Jon doesn’t exist, right? He’s really nice. Can it be our secret?”

  Amusement flickered through me. “It’ll be our secret.”

  “Yay!” She hobbled unsteadily as she clapped her hand against her cup. Beer sloshed over the side.

  I could’ve left the girl there, roaming aimlessly for whatever reason between cars, but that seemed wrong for a multitude of reasons. “Let’s go find Jon.”

  Turned out Jon wasn’t in much better shape when we found him sitting by the fire. Based on what the girl had said, they hadn’t even made it to the dance. When I deposited her with Jon, he stared at me like he half expected me to dropkick him into next week.

  Scoping out the groups huddled around the fire, unease formed in my gut when I didn’t see Kat or Simon among them. I headed to my right, eyeing the smaller groups near the thick outcropping of trees. Couples. Lots of couples. If Kat was among them, I’d…

  What would I do?

  I stopped walking right then, standing in front of the truck with its doors open, blasting music. What would I do if I saw Kat with Simon, doing those things the couples were doing in the shadows of the bare trees? What could I do? She had every right to be with him. She wasn’t…

  Kat wasn’t mine.

  Acid churned in my gut as I wheeled around. Dee was standing there, the light from the fire reflecting off the angles of her face. Her eyes were unnaturally bright. “Have you seen Kat?” she asked.

  The unease exploded. “You haven’t?”

  “I saw her about five minutes ago. She was heading over to me, but then I lost track of her. She was with Simon, but…” Her nose wrinkled. “I just need to find her.” My hands curled into loose fists. “I thought you weren’t worried about Kat being with Simon.”

  Adam appeared at Dee’s side. “I don’t think there will be a problem—we don’t think that, but Simon is pretty trashed, so…”

  I didn’t like what I was hearing. “Where did you see her last?”

  “She was over there.” Dee pointed to the other side of the fire, closer to the woods. “But she’s not there anymore.”

  No shit.

  We split up at that point and it took a couple of minutes to find someone who was about 70 percent certain that they had seen Kat head into the woods with Simon. That little piece of knowledge made me want to bang my head off the rough tree bark. I wanted to shake my sister. Whatever happened to the all-touted girl code? Wasn’t it some kind of unspoken law that required them not to let one another roam off with questionable dudes?

  I followed a worn man-made trail, preparing myself for the fact that I just may find Kat and she might not want to be found. Actually, that was the high likelihood here. Just because Simon was a touchy jackass who was currently trashed, didn’t mean Kat needed rescuing or that she wanted rescuing.

  If she was fine, I was going to walk away. She didn’t even need to know that I was here. If she was okay, I needed to—

  “Simon, stop!” Kat’s shriek cut through the muted hum of music.

  Instinct flared and I shot off like a bullet. A second was too long, but I found her and rage erupted inside me like a violent volcano. The son of a bitch had her pinned against a tree. His hands were on her. His body. His mouth.

  They didn’t hear me or see me, but that bastard felt me when I slammed my hand down on his shoulder and tore him away from her. Cocking back my arm, I nailed him in the face. His feet left the ground and for a very happy moment he was airborne. He hit the ground, legs and arms sprawled, with a not so satisfying thud.

  I bent over him, grabbing the collar of his wrinkled dress shirt. “Do you have a problem understanding simple English?”

  “Man, I’m sorry,” Simon slurred, grasping my wrist. “I thought she—”

  “You thought what?” I hauled him up with little effort, recognizing and enjoying the flare of fear in the human boy’s eyes. I wanted to rip the motherfucker apart, limb from limb. Then I wanted to piece his ass back together. Rinse and repeat about a half a million times. “That no meant yes?”

  “No! Yes! I thought—”

  Close to absolutely destroying him, I raised my hand and froze him. Simon was a statue, his hands in front of his face. Blood pooled under his nose. Eyes wide and unblinking. Stepping back, I dragged in a deep breath.

  “Daemon,” Kat said from behind me. “What…what did you do?”

  I glared at the frozen idiot. “It was either this, or I’d kill him.”

  Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Kat step around me. Her back was to me as she poked Simon’s arm. “Is he alive?”

  “Should he be?” I asked.

  Kat looked over her shoulder at me, her eyes shadowed, but I saw what she was thinking in that moment, and I wanted to murder his ass. It didn’t matter that I had warned her about him. This wasn’t her fault. She didn’t ask for it. Those things shouldn’t be crossing her mind.

  I tensed. “He’s fine. Right now, it’s like he’s sleeping.”

  “God, what a mess.” She backed up, wrapping her arms across her chest. “How long will he stay like this?”

  “As long as I want. I could leave him out here. Let the deer piss on him and the crows crap on him.”

  A laugh choked out of her. “You can’t…do that, you know that? Right?”

  I shrugged.

  “You need to turn him back, but first, I’d like to do something.”

  While I waited to see what she wanted to do, she unfolded her arms and walked right up to Simon. Without saying a word, she kicked him right between the legs.

  “Whoa.” I let out a strangled half laugh. “Maybe I should’ve killed him.”

  Kat shot me a look.

  Frowning, I waved a hand, unfreezing Simon. He doubled over, cupping his hands between his legs as he moaned, “Shit,” over and over again.

  I pushed Simon back a few steps. “Get the fuck out of my face, and I swear if you so much as look at her again, it will be the last thing you do.�
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  The idiot wiped a hand under his bloodied nose as he looked over at her. “Katy, I’m sorry—”

  He had a death wish.

  “Get. Out. Of. Here,” I warned, taking a threatening step