Onyx (A Lux Novel)

“Yeah, it was.” I fiddled with the chain around my neck. “Am I glowing now?” It usually happened when they went into their true form, leaving a faint trace behind.

“No.”

So that had changed, too. “Why can I still hear you? You act like I shouldn’t.”

“You shouldn’t, but we’re still co

“Well, how do we get unco

“That’s a good question.” He stretched idly as his gaze roamed across the room. “You have books everywhere, Kitten.”

“That’s really not important right now.”

One hand outstretched. A book flew off the arm of the couch and into his hand. As he turned it over, his brows rose and his gaze moved over it quickly. “His touch kills? Really, what is this stuff you’re reading?”

I shot from the chair, snatching the book away and holding it close to my chest. “Shut up. I love this book.”

“Uh huh,” Daemon murmured.

“Okay, back to the important stuff. And stop touching my books.” I set it back where I’d left it. “What are we going to do?”

His gaze settled on me. “I’ll figure out what is happening with you. Just give me some time.”

I nodded, hoping we had enough time. There was no telling what I’d accidentally do next, and the last thing I wanted was to expose Dee and the others. “You do realize this whole thing is why you…”

He arched a brow.

“It’s why you suddenly like me.”

“I’m pretty sure I liked you before this, Kitten.”

“Well, you had one hell of a way of showing it.”

“True,” he admitted. “And I’ve already said I’m sorry for the way I treated you.” He took a fortifying breath. “I always liked you. From the moment you first flipped me off.”

“But you didn’t start to want to spend time with me until after the first attack, when you healed me. Maybe we were already starting to, like…morph together or whatever.”

Daemon frowned. “What is it with you? It’s like you need to convince yourself I can’t possibly like you. Does doing that make it easier to tell yourself you don’t have feelings for me?”

“You treated me like a red-headed stepchild for months. I’m sorry if I have a hard time believing that whatever you feel is real.” I sat on the couch. “And it has nothing to do with what I feel.”

His shoulders tensed. “Do you like that guy you were with?”

“Blake? I don’t know. He’s nice.”

“He was sitting with you today at lunch.”

My brow arched. “Because there was an open seat and it’s a free world where people can pick where they want to sit.”

“There were other seats open. He could’ve sat anywhere else in the cafeteria.”

It took me a few seconds to respond. “He’s in my bio class. Maybe he just felt comfortable with me, because we’re both sort of new.”

Something flickered across his face, and then he was standing in front of me. “He kept staring at you. And obviously he wanted to spend time with you outside of school.”

“Maybe he likes me,” I said, shrugging. “Lesa invited him to the party on Friday.”

Daemon’s eyes darkened to an evergreen. “I don’t think you should be hanging around him until we know what’s up with you moving stuff. You doing that thing with the branch was only one instance. We can’t have a repeat of that.”

“What? I’m not supposed to date or hang out with anyone now?”

Daemon smiled. “Anyone human, yes.”

“Whatever.” I shook my head, standing. “This is a stupid conversation. I’m not dating anyone anyway, but if I were, I wouldn’t stop just because you said so.”

“You wouldn’t?” His hand shot out, tucking back a strand of hair behind my ear. “We’ll just have to see about that.”

I stepped sideways, keeping distance between us. “There’s nothing to see.”

Challenge filled his eyes. “If you say so, Kitten.”

Folding my arms, I sighed. “This isn’t a game.”

“I know, but if it were, I’d win.” He flickered out and appeared by the entrance to the foyer. “By the way, I’ve heard what Simon has been saying.”

Heat swept over my face. Another problem, but less important in the grand scheme of things. “Yeah, he’s being a douche. I think it’s his friends. He actually apologized to me, and then when his friends showed up, he told them I was trying to get with him.”

Daemon’s eyes narrowed. “That’s not okay.”

I sighed. “It’s no big deal.”

“Maybe not to you, but it is to me.” He paused, his shoulders squaring. “I’ll take care of it.”

Chapter 7

I didn’t get much sleep that night, so trig the next day sucked worse than normal. There was a six-foot-three alien behind me. Not talking to me, just breathing softly against the back of my neck. And no matter how far I scooted up, I could still feelhim. I was hyperaware of him—when he moved, when he wrote something down, when he scratched his head.

Halfway through class, I debated making a run for the door.

It was also day two of no pen pokes.

On the other hand, Simon kept glancing over his shoulder throughout class. Needing a distraction, I glared at his head. A slow flush crept over the back of his neck. He could feel me drilling holes into his head. Ha. Jerk-face.

Brown hair curled against the faintly flushed skin. He normally kept it cut close to the skull. I supposed he was in need of a haircut, since most boys around here didn’t let their hair grow more than an inch or two. The dull gray shirt he wore stretched over his broad shoulders as he tensed under my stare. He glanced over his shoulder at me.

I arched a brow.

Simon turned back stiffly, and his shoulders rose as he took a deep breath. A

The heavy English text flipped off the desk, smacking Simon right in the face.

My mouth dropped open as I sat back. Holy crap…

Jumping up, he stared at the book now lying on the floor as if it were some kind of creature he’d never seen before. Our teacher’s eyes narrowed as he searched for the source of the disruption.

“Mr. Cutters, is there something you would like to share with the class?” he asked in a tired, bored voice.

“W-what?” Simon stuttered. He looked around frantically, and then his eyes settled on the book. “No, I knocked my book off the desk. Sorry.”

He let out a loud sigh. “Well, then pick it up.”

There were a few scattered chuckles from the other students. Simon was beet red as he swiped the book off the floor. He placed it in the middle of his desk and continued staring at it.

After the class settled down and the teacher turned back to the chalkboard, Daemon poked me with his pen. I twisted around.

“What was that?” he whispered, eyes narrowed. There was no mistaking the amusement in the tilt to his lips, though. “Very bad kitty…”

…

Blake arrived to bio minutes before the bell. He was wearing a vintage Super Mario Bros. shirt today. “You look…”

“Like crap?” I supplied, resting my cheek on my fist. I had no idea how to prepare myself for seeing him after the branch issue. Playing it cool wasn’t something I was particularly skilled at.

“I was going to say tired.” His eyes narrowed as he watched me. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “Look, about yesterday? I’m sorry I freaked out. The branch—”

“Scared you?” he said, eyes locked onto mine. “It’s no big deal. It shocked me, too. It all happened quickly, but I’d swear that branch stopped.” He tilted his head to the side. “Like it was suspended for a few seconds.”

“I…” What was I supposed to say? Deny. Deny. Deny. “I don’t know. Maybe the wind caught it or something.”

“Yeah, maybe. Anyway, the big party is coming up.”