OALN

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  “Yes.”

  “Damn. And I missed that.”

  “I’m sure Dee would love to do a replay for you.”

  I smiled a little at that.

  “Oh, you think this is funny.” Dee burst into the living room, car keys in hand. “I should be making you go to the store and get me Rocky Road, but because I like Katy and value her well-being, I’m going to get it myself.” That would mean I’d be left alone…Oh hell to the no. “Can’t Daemon go?”

  Daemon smiled at me.

  “No. If the Arum comes around, he’s only going to see your trace.” Dee grabbed her purse. “You need to be with Daemon. He’s stronger than me.”

  My shoulders fell. “Can’t I go next door?”

  “You do realize your trace can be seen from the outside?” Daemon pushed out of the doorway. “It’s your funeral, though.”

  “Daemon,” Dee snapped. “This is all your fault. My ice cream is not your ice cream.”

  “Ice cream must be very important,” I said.

  “It is my life.” Dee swung her purse at Daemon but missed. “And you took it from me.”

  Daemon rolled his eyes. “Just get going and come right back.”

  “Yes, sir!” She saluted him. “You guys want anything?”

  I shook my head.

  Daemon did the blinking out and reappearing thing. He was now beside Dee and pulled her in for a quick hug. “Be careful.”

  There was no doubt in my mind that Daemon loved and cherished his sister. He’d gladly give his life for her. The way he was always looking out for her was more than admirable. There wasn’t a good enough word for it. And it made me wish I had a sibling.

  “As always.” She smiled, gave me a quick wave, and darted out the door.

  “Wow. Remind me never to eat her ice cream.”

  “If you do, even I wouldn’t be able to save you.” He flashed a sardonic grin. “So, Kitten, if I’m going to be your babysitter for the evening, what’s in it for me?”

  My eyes immediately narrowed. “First off, I didn’t ask you to babysit me. And you made me come over here. And don’t call me Kitten.”

  Daemon tipped his head back and laughed. The sound sent shivers through me, reminding me of waking up with him, my head in his lap. “Aren’t you feisty tonight?”

  “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

  Still chuckling, he turned toward the kitchen. “I can believe that. Never a dull moment when you’re around.” He paused. “Are you coming or not?”

  I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Going where?”

  He pushed open the kitchen door. “I’m hungry.”

  “Didn’t you just eat all of the ice cream?”

  “Yeah, still hungry.”

  “Good Lord, aliens can eat.” I stayed put.

  Daemon glanced over his broad shoulder. “I have this strong inclination that I need to keep an eye on you. Where I go you go.” He waited for me to move, and when I didn’t, his smile turned devilish. “Or I can forcibly move you.” I was pretty sure I didn’t want to know how he planned to do that. “All right, let’s go.” I shuffled past him and plopped down in a seat at the table.

  Daemon grabbed a plate of leftover chicken. “Want some?”

  I shook my head. Unlike them, I didn’t eat ten square meals a day.

  He was quiet as he moved around the kitchen. Since the night on the rock, we hadn’t been at each other’s throats. It wasn’t like we were getting along, but it seemed like an undeclared truce existed. I had no idea what to do with him since we weren’t trying to tick each other off.

  Resting my cheek on my palm, I had a hard time pulling my eyes off him. He was broad and tall, but he moved like a dancer. Each step was smooth and supple. Even the simplest movement looked like a form of art.

  Then there was his face.

  At that moment, he peered up from his plate. “So how are you holding up?”

  I tore my eyes from him and focused on the plate of food that was already half eaten. How long had I been staring at him? This was getting ridiculous. Did the trace turn me into a walking hormone? “I’m doing okay.” He took a bite of chicken and chewed slowly. “You are. You’ve accepted all of this. I’m surprised.”

  “What did you think I’d do?”

  Daemon shrugged. “With humans, the possibilities are endless.”

  I bit my lip. “Do you think that we are somehow weaker than you because we’re human?”

  “It’s not that I think you’re weaker, I know you are.” He eyed me over his glass of milk. “I’m not trying to be obnoxious by saying that. You are weaker than us.”

  “Maybe physically but not mentally or…morally,” I countered.

  “Morally?” He sounded confused.

  “Yeah, like, I’m not going to tell the world about you guys to get money. And if I was captured by an Arum, I wouldn’t bring them back to you all.”

  “Wouldn’t you?”

  Offended, I leaned back and folded my arms. “No. I wouldn’t.”

  “Even if your life was threatened?” Disbelief colored his tone.

  Shaking my head, I laughed. “Just because I’m human doesn’t mean I’m a coward or unethical. I’d never do anything that would put Dee in danger. Why would my life be more valuable than hers? Now yours…debatable. But not Dee.” He stared at me for several seconds, then went back to his food. If I was expecting an apology I wasn’t going to get one. Big surprise there.

  “So how long will it take for this trace to fade?” My eyes went right back to him. Very annoying.

  Daemon’s eyes were intent and bright, the green hue seeming to burn through me. He took a long, healthy drink.

  I swallowed, my throat dry.

  “Probably a week or two, maybe less,” he said, squinting. “It’s already starting to fade.”

  It was weird that he was talking about this light around me that I couldn’t see. “What do I look like? A giant light bulb or something?”

  He chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s a soft white glow that’s around your body, kind of like a halo.”

  “Oh, well that’s not too bad. Are you done?” When he nodded, I grabbed his plate out of habit. Not to throw it at him, but mainly out of something to do. “At least I don’t look like a Christmas tree.”

  “You look like the star atop the tree.” His breath stirred the hair around my cheek.

  Gasping, I turned around.

  Daemon stood directly behind me. Our bodies separated only by a foot or two. Placing my hands on the edge of the counter, I dragged in a deep breath. “I hate it when you do that alien super-speed thing.” Smiling, he cocked his head to the side. “Kitten, what are we going to get into?”

  A thousand images flashed. Thank God reading thoughts wasn’t one of his alien powers. Such a strange thickness invaded the air around me, and this overwhelming yearning from deep inside sprung to life.

  “Why not hand me over to the DOD?” I blurted out.

  Daemon took a step back, surprised. “What?”

  I wished I hadn’t gone there, but I did, and there was no coming back from it. “Wouldn’t everything have been easier for you if you handed me over to the DOD? Then you wouldn’t have to worry about Dee or anything.” Daemon stood in silence. The color of his eyes went up a notch, becoming brighter. I wanted to take a step back, but there was nowhere to go.

  Voice low, he said, “I don’t know, Kitten.”

  “You don’t know? You risk everything and you don’t know why?”

  “That’s what I said.”

  I stared at him, bewildered by the fact that he’d put everything on the line and seemed to have no idea why. That was crazy to me. Absurd. Admittedly, it was unnerving, because it could mean many things.

  Things I didn’t dare acknowledge.

  His arms quickly shot out, landing heavily against the counter. Bands of muscle created a very successful trap, pinning me in place without even touching. He lowered his head and dark waves spill
ed over his eyes. “Okay. I do know why.” At first I had no idea what he was talking about. “You do?”

  Daemon nodded. “You wouldn’t survive a day without us.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Oh, I know.” He tilted his head to the side. “Do you know how many Arum I have faced? Hundreds. And there have been times I barely escaped. A human doesn’t stand a chance against them or the DOD.”

  “Fine. Whatever. Can you move?”

  Standing his ground, Daemon smiled. God, he was exasperating. I could either stand here, stare at him like an idiot, or I could move past him. I opted for the latter. My plan was to muscle my way around him as quickly as possible.

  Not that I got very far.

  He was like a brick wall only a freight train could knock out of the way. He grinned wider, entertained by my lack of progress. “Asshole,” I muttered.

  Daemon laughed. “You have such a mouth on you. Do you kiss boys with that thing?”

  My cheeks heated. “Do you kiss Ash with yours?”

  “Ash?” His smile disappeared and his eyes were suddenly hooded, less clear. “You would like to know that, wouldn’t you?”

  An unreasonable spark of jealousy flared in me, but I pushed it aside. I smirked. “No, thank you.”

  Daemon leaned in even more. His spicy and earthy scent surrounded me. “You aren’t a very good liar, Kitten. Your cheeks get red whenever you lie.”

  Do they? Aw, hell. I tried pushing past him again, but he reached out, taking ahold of my arm. It wasn’t a tight grip, but I still felt it down to my bone. His hand hummed. Tingles were sharp and startling, yet pleasant. I didn’t want to look at him but I didn’t seem capable of stopping myself.

  We were too close and there was too much tension between us. His gaze burned as it latched onto mine. He lowered his head, and I forgot how to breathe. Fascinated, I watched his lips slowly curved into a smile. It was hard to pay attention to his words when he spoke, but they somehow made it through the strange fog clouding my brain.

  “I have a strange idea that I should test this out.”

  “Test what?” My eyes dropped to his lips. I felt myself sway.

  “I think you would like to know.” He moved closer, his hand sliding up my arm and resting carefully at the nape of my neck. “You have beautiful hair.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” His fingers spread along the back of my neck, slowly weaving themselves through strands of loose hair.

  His deft fingers moved against the base of my skull. My lips parted, and I waited.

  He dropped his hand and reached out again as I stood there, eager—maybe too eager—to discover if he felt the same unexpected ache. If he was any bit as affected as I was.

  Instead, Daemon plucked up a bottled water off the counter.

  I slumped against the counter. What the holy hell.

  His eyes danced with laughter as he turned back to the table. “What was it that you were asking, Kitten?”

  “Stop calling me that.”

  He took a drink. “Did Dee pick up a movie or something?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, she mentioned it earlier in class.”

  “Well, come on. Let’s go watch a movie.”

  I pushed away from the counter and followed behind him. I lingered by the door as he held the DVD up and frowned. “Whose idea was this?”

  I shrugged and then watched his brows rise as he read the blurb on the back. “Whatever,” he muttered.

  Clearing my throat, I took one step into the room “Look, Daemon, you don’t have to sit and watch a movie with me. If you have other things you want to do, I’m sure I will be fine.”

  He glanced up from the movie and then shrugged. “I have nothing to do.”

  “Okay.” I was still unsure. Imagining him enjoying a movie night with me was more farfetched than the idea of aliens living among humans.

  I dragged myself across the room and sat on the couch as he fiddled with the movie. After sliding the disc in, he approached the couch and sat down on the far end. Then the television came on, and I would swear he’d left the remote by the T.V. It was probably a good thing I didn’t have his power. I’d be beyond lazy.

  He glanced at me, and I immediately faced the television.

  “If you fall asleep during this movie, you’ll owe me.”

  I turned to him with a frown. “Why?”

  Daemon spared me a wolfish smile. “Just watch the movie.”

  I made a face, but remained quiet. Daemon shifted. The couch dipped and the distance between us grew smaller. I held my breath until I had to come up for air. He didn’t seem to notice as the open credits rolled over the screen.

  I stared at his profile and wondered for the hundredth time what he could be thinking and, like always, I came up empty. Out of frustration, I turned back to the movie and decided the strange pull I felt for him had to be my imagination. It couldn’t be anything more.

  Tense and unused to what I was feeling, I counted the minutes until Dee returned.

  Chapter 20

  Daemon was surprisingly subdued in math on Wednesday. The inevitable pen poke only came once, and that was to remind me the only plans I had after school were with him.

  Yeah, whatever, like I could forget.

  In bio, like the day before, Mr. Garrison’s keen stare kept going back to me. I knew he saw the trace, and I had no clue what he was thinking. Daemon hadn’t mentioned if he and Dee had said anything to the other Luxen. Throughout the day before, several teachers had given me weird looks. Today, one of the coaches I passed on the way to the cafeteria stopped in the middle of the hall and looked me up and down. Either he was a perv or an alien. Or both, which would be a winning combination.

  While standing in the lunch line, I did everything in my power to not look toward the back of the cafeteria. Staring at the food, I stepped forward and nearly bounced off the back of a walking mountain.

  Simon Cutters turned around and then looked down. He smiled when he saw me. “Hey there, Katy.”

  I handed my money to the checkout lady, and turned to Simon. “Sorry about that.”

  “No problem.” He waited for me at the end of the line, his plate full of food. He ate almost as much as Dee. “Did you have a clue what Monroe was talking about in trig? I swear it was a different language.” Considering I’d spent most of the class ignoring the boy behind me…“I have no clue. I’m hoping someone took notes.” I shifted my plate. “We have a test next week, right?”

  Simon nodded. “Right before the game, too. I think Monroe does that—”

  Someone reached in to grab a drink, forcing us to take a step back from one another, which wasn’t necessary since anyone could’ve easily walked around us. When I inhaled the crisp scent, I realized who it was.

  Daemon grabbed a carton of milk off the cart and flipped it. Passing me an unreadable glance, he turned to Simon. Both of them were the same height, but Simon was much broader. Still, Daemon gave off a more badass vibe.

  “How you doing, Simon?” he asked, flipping the carton again.

  Blinking as he backed up, Simon cleared his throat. “Good—doing good. Heading over to my—uh, my table.” He looked at me nervously. “See you in class, Katy.”

  Frowning, I watched Simon trip over his own feet to get to his table. I turned back to Daemon. “Okay?”

  “Are you planning on sitting with Simon?” he asked, crossing one arm over his chest.

  “What? No.” I laughed. “I was planning on sitting with Lesa and Carissa.”

  “So am I,” Dee chimed in, coming out of nowhere. She balanced a plate in one hand and two drinks in the other. “That is if you think I’d be welcomed?”

  “I’m sure you will be.” I glanced back at Daemon, but he was already heading back to his table. I stood there for a moment, confused. What the hell had that been all about? There were the Thompson twins and Ash, huddled together. A few of the other kids were chatting. I had no idea if they were aliens o
r not. Daemon sat down beside them, pulled out a book, and started thumbing through it. Ash looked up and didn’t appear too thrilled. “Do you think anyone else will mind?” I asked finally.

  “No. I hated that I didn’t sit with you yesterday. And I think it’s time for a change-up.” Dee looked so hopeful I couldn’t disagree. “Right?”

  Lesa and Carissa were shocked into stunned silence for roughly five minutes after Dee joined me at their table, but she won them over and everyone relaxed pretty quickly.

  Everyone but me.

  Half the cafeteria watched me, probably waiting for me to get into another epic food fight with Blondie. It had been a week, and still everyone considered me the food ninja. Every so often, Ash glanced over at our table, a deep scowl on her beautiful face. She had on an electric blue tube top that matched her eyes. The white shirt she wore over it was unbuttoned, revealing that she had a kickass body.

  God, what was up with alien DNA? I got that they were otherworldly, but Jesus, did that include perfect breasts, too?

  Dee nudged me with her elbow while Carissa and Lesa chatted with a freckle-faced boy at the end of the table. “What?” I asked.

  She leaned into my shoulder, speaking so only I could hear. “What’s going on with you and my brother?”

  I took a bite of my pizza, mulling over how to answer that. “Nothing, you know, the same-old.”

  Dee arched a perfectly groomed brow. “Yeah, he was gone all day Sunday. And so were you. And while he was gone, a certain someone came looking for him.”

  My slice flopped in my hand.

  She picked up her drink, smiling slightly. “I didn’t get to tell you yesterday since he was up our butts, but you can’t tell me you haven’t noticed Ash giving you the stink eye.”

  “I have,” Lesa cut in, plopping her elbows on the table. “She looks like she’s wishing you dead.”

  I made a face. “Gee. That’s nice.”

  “And you have no idea why?” Dee asked, angling her body so her back was to their table. “Pretend you’re looking at me. Right now.”

  “I am looking at you right now,” I pointed out, taking another bite of my pizza.

  Lesa laughed. “Look over her shoulder, genius. Toward their table.”