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Blake broke contact, breathing heavily. His lips were ripe, swollen. “Well, I will definitely remember you when I leave.”
I lowered my chin, blinking. Nothing had been wrong with that kiss, other than it was lacking something. It had to be me. Stress. With everything happening, I was thinking too much into things. And kissing him was just too fast. I felt like one of those girls in the books I read, delving into a guy headfirst without even thinking about it. Practical Katy still lived inside me, and she wasn’t happy with what I’d done. And it was more than that. A stirring of sour guilt poked at me, telling me that my heart hadn’t been in that kiss because of someone else.
“Just one more thing,” he said, and his hand found mine. “Ready?”
Was I? Confliction tore through me. Maybe if Daemon saw me happy with Blake, he wouldn’t feel compelled to pursue our unreal co
Outside, there were numerous cars lining the driveway and all the way down to the empty house at the begi
Dee had really outdone herself. She’d dug up numerous paper lanterns and strung them along the porch. Through their windows, thick candles spread throughout flickered softly. A warm, pleasant cider-and-spice smell floated outside and tickled my nose, reminding me how much I loved the smell of autumn.
People were everywhere inside, packed on the couch, surrounding two guys in a Wii death match. Several familiar faces were crowding the staircase, laughing as they drank from red plastic cups. Blake and I couldn’t go two feet without bumping into someone.
Dee weaved in and out of the crowd, playing the hostess. She looked beautiful in her delicate white dress that highlighted the darkness of her hair and the emerald color of her eyes. When she saw our hands joined together, she barely hid her surprise…or disappointment.
Feeling like I was doing something wrong, I pulled free and gave her a tight hug. “Wow. The house looks great.”
“It does, doesn’t it? I’m a natural.” She looked over my shoulder. “Katy…?”
My cheeks burned. “He’s my—”
“Date,” Blake inserted, catching and squeezing my hand. “I have to bail soon, but I wanted to escort her to the party.”
“Escort her?” She glanced at him, then back to me. “Okay. Well, I’ll go…check on some stuff. Yeah.” Then she floated away, back stiff.
I tried to not let her disappointment get to me. She couldn’t seriously want me to be with her brother. One of them had already gone down that path with a human and look what happened.
A huge amount of suspicious noises were coming from the dark corners of the large house, distracting me from my thoughts. I then briefly saw Adam, who appeared to be stalking Dee through the crowd. I made a mental note to ask her how her call with him had gone.
“Want to get a drink?” Blake asked. When I nodded, he led me toward the dining room, where we could see several bottles. There was even a punch bowl. Spiked, no doubt.
“We had parties like this back home,” Blake said, handing me a red plastic cup. “In beach houses, though, and everyone smelled of sea and suntan lotion.”
“You sound like you miss it.”
“I do sometimes, but hey, change isn’t too bad. It makes life interesting.” He took a sip and coughed. “What did they put in this? Moonshine?”
I laughed. “God only knows around here.”
Wild giggles came from the kitchen. We turned just in time to see Carissa rush from the room, an a
“They’re your friends, too,” Lesa commented dryly, coming up behind Dee. She saw Blake and me and came to a stop. Then she bumped me with her hip. “Yay.”
Carissa folded her arms over her chest. “My friends would not do thatwith whipped cream.”
I busted into laughter at the horrified look on Dee’s face and the curious one that crossed Lesa’s. Blake smiled at me, as if he liked the sound of my laugh.
“What?” Dee screeched and took off toward the kitchen.
“I have to see this,” muttered Lesa, following quickly behind the flurry of white.
I glanced over at Carissa, whose cheeks were as red as my sweater. “You’re kidding, right?”
She shook her head emphatically. “You have no idea what Do
“Aren’t they the two who pla
“Yep. And I can tell you they have not waited for marriage for most things.”
I giggled. “Awesome.”
Carissa shuddered. “I’m not trying to be a prude, but who acts like that in public or at a friend’s house? I mean, come on. It’s disgusting.” She took a deep breath, her dark eyes flicking up. “Hi, Blake, sorry about that.”
“It’s okay. Whipped cream should only be used on pies.”
I had to look away to stop from laughing. It was kind of gross, but I still found it entertaining. Not sure what that said about me. And who was I kidding? Last Friday I’d been getting all hot and heavy in a library.
At the reminder, my stomach knotted again and my gaze darted around the room.
We were briefly interrupted by a group who wanted to talk to Carissa about her older brother, who was away at college. I’d forgotten that she had older siblings. Mental note number two: pull head out of ass.
Blake must’ve made a lot of friends quickly, because most of the kids were talking him up. And a lot of girls kept stealing looks at him. This filled me with an obscene amount of glee. I leaned into Blake’s arm, mostly for show, and then I stayed there, liking the way the bulge of muscles in his upper arms felt against my chest.
He didn’t seem to mind. The hand on my back bunched into the silk of my dress, and he stopped mid-sentence to lean down and whisper, “I really wish I were staying,”
I turned my head, smiling. “Me, too.”
His hand slid across my back, curving around my waist. I liked this—whatever this was. It seemed natural to be close to a guy, to be flirting, having fun. Kissing. It all felt easy. We stayed like that after Carissa drifted away, and then it was time for him to leave.
I walked him to the door, his arm still around my waist. “We still on for di
“You bet. I’m actually—” My back was to the stairs, but I still knew the second hecame down. The air changed, grew heavier and warm. The nape of my neck tingled.
Blake frowned. “You’re actually…what?”
My heart sped up. “I’m…I’m looking forward to it.”
He started to smile, and then he glanced up. His eyes widened slightly, and I knew Daemon was there. I didn’t want to turn around, but it seemed u
And it was like being struck by lightning. I hated his effect on me, but at the same time it thrilled me. Nothing was easyabout it.
Daemon was dressed casually compared to the rest of us but still looked better than any guy in the room. He had on a pair of old, distressed blue jeans and a shirt that bore some long-forgotten band name. He absently tucked a strand of dark hair behind his left ear and flashed a wolfish grin at something someone said. Those magnetic eyes shimmered under the dim light of the candles. This was the first time I’d really seen Daemon around anyone other than his family or a friend or two outside of school.
Daemon had this effect on others, no matter their gender. It was obvious that people wanted to be around him, but at the same time, it seemed like they were afraid to come too close. They were drawn to him, like I was, whether they liked it or not. People approached but stopped just a few feet from him. But the whole time, he had his eyes fixed on me.
In that second, I completely forgot the boy with his hand on my waist.
Daemon stopped in front of us. “Hey there…”