Oblivion

Exhaling roughly, I faced Dawson. Our gazes locked. “I’m not giving up.”

Dawson lifted his chin, his mouth pressed in a flat line. He didn’t say anything as he stalked back to the SUV. I looked up. Stars blanketed the sky, as endless and unforgiving as our rescue mission had been.

Kat had stopped shivering halfway back to Petersburg, but I was still worried about her. She might be a hybrid, but she’d been doused with onyx, and I’d nearly drowned her in the Shenandoah River. There was no way I was letting her out of my sight tonight.

Near midnight, I pulled into the driveway. Blake had slunk off without so much as a word, and I hoped he walked off a cliff somewhere. I didn’t care. Catching Kat before she could head next door, I steered her inside. Everyone was talking, but again, I didn’t care. Still shrouded in Matthew’s blanket, Kat looked numb and exhausted.

I took her hand. “Let’s get you into some dry clothes.”

She waved me off at the bottom of thestairs when I went to pick her up. “I’m fine.”

I made a disgruntled sound, but stayed behind her as she slowly climbed the steps, just in case she went ass over teakettle. Once in my bedroom, I closed the door behind us.

Kat sighed. “We kind of deserved this.”

Walking over to where she stood, I pried the blanket off her. “How so?”

“We’re a bunch of teenagers, and we thought we could break into a facility run by Homeland Security and the DOD? I mean, come on. This was bound to go wrong—wait!” she said, grabbing my wrists as I grabbed the hem of the thermal. “What are you doing?”

“Getting you naked.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Uh, wow. Way to cut to the point.”

I gave her a half grin. “Your clothing is soaked and cold. And there are probably traces of onyx still on them. You need to get out of them.”

She smacked my hands away. “I can do that myself.”

Leaning in, I spoke directly in her ear. “Where’s the fun in that?” I let go, though, and walked over to my dresser. “You really think we were doomed to fail?”

The following rustle of clothing being stripped off really made it hard to not look.

“Don’t…don’t turn around.”

Considering I’d seen it before, I shook my head as I rooted around for something she could wear.

“I don’t know,” she said finally. “It was a huge undertaking for trained spies. We’re in over our heads.”

“But we were fine until we hit those doors.” I pulled out a shirt that would work like a gown on her, albeit a short gown. “I hate to say this, but I really don’t think Blake knew about them. The look on his face when you and Dawson went down—it was too real.”

“Then why did you punch him in the face?”

“I wanted to.” Placing a hand over my eyes, I turned around and offered her the shirt. “Here you go.”

She grabbed it quickly and for a moment, I split my fingers, catching the shirt billowing around her thighs.

“You were peeking,” she said.

“Maybe.” I took her hand and led her to the bed. “Get in. I’m going to check on Dawson and I’ll be back.”

Kat climbed onto the bed and made her way to what was turning out to be her side. She grabbed the comforter and tugged it all the way up to her chin. I headed out into the hallway, stopping at the top of the stairs. I could hear Dawson and Dee. Andrew’s voice was in the mix. Matthew had probably already left.

I needed to go down and check on Dawson, but as I stood there at the top of the stairs, I told myself that Dee had it handled; so did Andrew. I wasn’t always…needed. I didn’t have to be the one to always take care of everything.

Instead of going downstairs, I pivoted and walked to my bedroom. Slipping inside the room lit by silvery moonlight, I went back to the dresser and grabbed a pair of pajama bottoms. Quickly changing, I then made my way over to the bed. I pulled the covers back and slid in.

Kat wiggled closer. “How’s Dawson?”

“He’s doing okay. He’s not a happy camper, though.” I didn’t need to go downstairs to know that.

“Thank you for getting us out of there.” She tilted her head back as I brushed the still-damp hair off her cheek.

“I had help.” I pressed my lips against her forehead. “You feeling okay?”

“I feel fine. Stop worrying about me.”

I curled my fingers through her hair. “Don’t ever walk through a door first again, okay? And don’t argue with me about it or accuse me of being chauvinistic. I don’t ever want to see you in that kind of pain again.”

I waited for her to argue with me, but she scooted over and placed a hand on my bare chest. Static jumped across her fingers as she kissed me. I returned the kiss with a soft one. The kiss was more of a benediction, sweet and tender, but the kisses changed. I don’t think either of us pla

Kat shifted onto her back, and I followed. There wasn’t a moment where we lost contact with each other. I settled over her, her softness welcoming me, undoing me. In mere seconds, our failure at Mount Weather was shoved out of this room, locked away.

I smoothed my hand down, catching the borrowed shirt and baring her shoulder. I blazed a trail of kisses down her throat, shuddering when I heard her soft moan. When I kissed the smooth skin of her shoulder, Kat lifted up and raised her arms.

There wasn’t a moment of hesitation for me. God. There never was, not anymore, when it came to Kat.

I tugged her shirt off and I was struck motionless by the beauty of her.

My hand trembled slightly. I shook as I stared down at her. Since all of her clothing had been soaked, there’d been nothing under that shirt. I don’t know why I didn’t think about that until now.

Damn.

Kat undid me in ways she’d never know.

I was greedy with my hands. There wasn’t a part of her I didn’t want to touch, to explore, and she was the same. Her hands smoothed over my chest and my stomach, slipping under the loose band of the pants, and then they, too, were shed, and there was nothing at all between us.

In the back of my head, I wanted our first time to be perfect. Corny. Hell, I knew it was corny. Kat was worth perfection, but there was nothing but sensations and wants and needs. Energy coursed over us, and I was ready. She was ready.

“Don’t stop,” she whispered.

My heart freaking stopped at the sound of her plea. I kissed her deeply, and when I lifted up, electricity crackled over our skin. This was going to happen. Our breaths came in rough pants. Our hearts pounded in rhythm. We both were ready. Sitting up, I reached for the bedside table.

Kat’s gaze met mine. She bit down on her lower lip, and then a giggle broke free. I smiled at the happy sound, and I spoke in the language rarely ever heard or spoken.

“What did you say?” she asked.

I grabbed a foil package from the nightstand. “There’s really no translation for it, but the closest human words would be ‘you are beautiful to me.’”

Kat sucked in a sharp breath, and our gazes locked. She reached up, sinking her fingers into my hair. I started to open the packet.

A fist pounded on the door, and Andrew’s voice intruded. “Daemon, are you awake?”

Disbelief thundered through me. “If I ignore him, do you think he’ll go away?”

Her hands fell to the bed. “Maybe.”

The pounding came again, so nope. “Daemon, I really need you downstairs. Dawson is ready to go back to Mount Weather. Nothing Dee and I are saying to him is making a bit of difference. He’s like a suicidal Energizer bu

Stomach sinking, I squeezed my eyes shut. “Son of a bitch…”

“It’s okay.” Kat started to sit up. “He needs you.”

Yeah, but I needed Kat, like real bad.

I glared at the door. Cursing under my breath, I tossed the foil packet back into the nightstand. “Stay here and get some rest. I’ll talk—or beat some sense into him.” I kissed her briefly, and then gently pushed her back down. “I’ll be back.”