Oblivion

Kat blinked and then sat back, eyeing the candle. “I don’t know. I mean, it’s not really possible unless I go to one near a buttload of beta—”

“You just broke a rule,” I reminded her.

She wrinkled her nose. “What about you? What are you doing for college?”

I shrugged. “Haven’t decided yet.”

“You’re ru

“Actually, we’ve both run out of time, unless we do a late acceptance.”

“Okay. Rule-breaking aside, how is it possible? Do online classes?” she asked, and I shrugged again. “Unless you know of a college that has…a suitable environment?”

Our meals arrived, pressing pause on the conversation for a moment. Rhonda basically grated an entire block of cheese on my plate before turning to Kat’s.

“So, do you?” she asked when Rhonda left.

Knife and fork in hand, I cut into the lasagna. “The Flatirons.”

“The what-a-what?”

“The Flatirons is a mountain just outside of Boulder, Colorado.” I continued knifing away until the lasagna was in bite-size pieces. “They are full of quartzite. Not as well-known as some places or as visible, but they are there, under feet of sediment.”

“Okay.” She twisted her spaghetti noodles around her fork. “What does that have to do with anything?”

I peered up at her. “University of Colorado is about two miles from the Flatirons.”

“Oh.” She chewed slowly. “Is…is that where you want to go to school?”

“Colorado isn’t a bad place. I think you’d like it.”

Kat swallowed and then smiled faintly as she placed her fork down beside her plate. The sudden look on her face was distant, as if she were a million miles away as she stared at her plate.

Picking up a breadstick, I tapped the tip of her nose with it. Sprinkles of garlic puffed into the air. “What were you just thinking about?”

She brushed off the rest of the crumbs and smiled. “I…I think Colorado sounds nice.”

Yeah, I didn’t believe her. She was thinking about something that had stolen the light from her eyes. The possibilities of what it could’ve been were limitless. Stabbing a piece of lasagna, I changed the subject.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay with the movie I picked? I don’t want you to be scared,” I teased.

She pi

My lips twitched. Haunted box. Ha. “Then again, if you do get scared, then you’d have to get super close to me.”

Kat rolled her eyes.

“I like the sound of that.”

“I bet you do,” she replied drily, but her eyes were a light gray again and she was eating once more. She cleared her throat, but her voice was still a bit raspy when she spoke again. “This movie sounds right up your alley. You’re obsessed with ghost-related stuff.”

My eyes met hers. “That’s not what I’m obsessed with.”

Her lips parted. “Then what is?”

I glanced down at her mouth. How inappropriate would it be if I just knocked the table out of my way and kissed her? Pretty inappropriate. “I think you know.”

Pink splashed across her cheeks, and then she all but shoved the last of her noodles into her mouth. “Do you believe in ghosts?”

Sipping on my glass, I sat back. “I think they exist.”

Her eyes widened. “Really? Huh. I thought you just watched those ghost shows for entertainment.”

“Well, I do. I like the one where the guy yells, ‘Dude! Bro!’ every five seconds.” I smiled when she laughed. “But in all seriousness, it can’t be impossible. Too many people have witnessed things that can’t be explained.”

“Like too many people witnessing aliens and UFOs.” She gri

“Exactly.” I set the glass down. “Except the UFOs are total bunk. Government’s responsible for all unidentified flying objects.”

Her mouth dropped open.

Our check arrived shortly, and I took care of that. We walked side by side through the restaurant. Near the door there was a group from school. They stared at us like I was in my true form.

Flurries fell from the sky, leaving a fine dusting along the pavement as we walked to the passenger side of the SUV. I went to open the door for Kat, but she stopped and tipped her head back. Curious, I watched her.

She closed her eyes and then the tip of her tongue sneaked out. My mouth dried and a pleasant, heady tension invaded me. She caught the snowflake on the tip of her tongue.

Hell.

Opening her eyes, she leveled her chin. Our gazes met. “What?” she whispered.

“I was thinking about a movie.”

“Okay. And?”

“But you’ve broken the rules, Kitten. Several times. You’re owed some punishment.”

Her heart kicked up, and so did mine. “I am a rule breaker.”

My lips tilted up on one corner. “You are.”

Kat flushed, and then I moved as fast as a cobra striking. I was in front of her, my hands against her cheeks and tilting her head back, before she could take another breath. I brushed my lips over hers, swallowing a groan at the sweet contact. I swept my lips against hers again, and her mouth opened. The kiss deepened, and she tasted like paradise.

My hands coasted down to her hips, and I pulled her against me, hip to hip. Her soft gasp echoed through me. I backed her up, pressing her against the side of the SUV. The rest of the world fell apart around us, and maybe I shouldn’t have been kissing her like this in public, not when anyone could see us, but I didn’t care.

Kat did that to me.

And she was kissing me back just as feverishly. Her hands were on my chest, her palms burning through my sweater. I didn’t want anything between us, but that wasn’t going to happen right now. She slipped her hands up and around my neck as she moved her hips against mine.

Damn. I lifted my mouth from hers, forcing myself to breath. “Movie?” I kissed her again. “And then what, Kitten?”

She knew what came after a movie even if she didn’t speak it, and I think she was a little beyond the whole talking part as my fingers drifted under the hem of her turtleneck. She jerked and moaned softly as my hands smoothed over the bare sides of her waist. Her side was so smooth, silky and soft. I could spend forever just touching her.

Kat dropped her hands to my hips, and surprised the hell out of me when she tugged me against her, lining us up in a way that made it hard to keep a semblance of control. Raw sensation pounded throughout me. I growled against her swollen lips. The tips of my fingers brushed against lace. We were so not making it to—

My cell phone went off in my back pocket. I wanted to ignore it, but considering everything that was going on, that wouldn’t be wise. I pulled back, knowing my eyes were glowing. “One second.”

I kissed her as I dragged my phone out my pocket and kept my other hand where it was, under her sweater, and so damn close. She shifted against me, pressing her face into my chest as I answered the phone. “This better be really important—”

“Dawson made a run for it,” Dee shrieked into the phone. “He’s gone.”

Chapter 5

My stomach clenched as Dee’s words settled in and I could feel my pupils dilating. “Okay,” I said into the phone. “Don’t worry, Dee. I’ll take care of it. I promise.”

Kat’s face had paled as I slipped my phone back into my pocket. “What?” she asked.

Every muscle had locked up in my body. “It’s Dawson. He made a run for it.” Dammit. “I’m sorry.”

“No. I completely understand.” She brushed the flakes of snow out of her hair. “What can I do?”

“I need to go.” I grabbed the keys out of my pocket and placed them in her palm. I then handed over my cell. “And I mean I need to go really fast. Go home and stay there. Keep that in the car. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”