Lunch wasn’t that bad afterward. The only downside was Andrew, but he left after a while, and she was so grateful that Ash was a no-show. They left with a few minutes before class to spare.
Outside of the cafeteria, Bethany grinned up at Dawson, motivated by the experience. “That wasn’t too bad, was it?”
The smile he wore warmed her. “Yeah, it was okay. I think we should do it again.”
She laughed, and then he reached over and took her hand. He pulled her into an empty classroom full of computers. Without saying a word, he slipped the strap of her bag off her shoulder and placed it on the floor. Bethany shivered, unsure if it was because of the frigid air circulating or the determined look on his face.
She took a step back, wetting her lower lip nervously. His green eyes flared. “What…are you doing?”
“I’m going to kiss you again.”
Anticipation rose quickly, leaving her dizzy. “Uh, do you think this is a great place to test that out again?”
“I don’t know, but I can’t wait any longer.” He looked determined as he took a step toward her. So determined that she inched back and kept going until she was against the wall.
Reaching out slowly with both hands, he cupped her cheeks and tilted her chin up. On their own accord, her lashes fluttered closed. Like the first time they’d kissed, his lips were soft as a breath. There was a pause, as if he were waiting for something to happen, and then he kissed her more deeply.
Oh…oh, God, she melted into that kiss, into him, and her chest expanded, filled with air until she felt like she’d float right up to the ceiling. Sliding her arms around his neck, her fingers got tangled in the soft waves at the nape of his neck. His hands, well, they were on the move, too, slipping down her waist, over her hip to her thigh. Dawson made a sound in the back of his throat, a growl-like noise that sent her blood pressure into heart-attack territory. And there was this heat blowing off, strong enough to melt ice cream. It left her in a heady, pleasant fog as his hand moved back to gripping her hip.
Dawson pulled back slightly and his lips spread into a lazy grin against hers. “That…that was good. Great. Perfect.”
“Yeah,” she admitted, breathless. “All of those things and more.”
His thumbs moved over her cheeks, his hands strong yet tender as he held her right there, dipping his head to hers again. He kissed her deeply, holding her against him. When they broke apart the second time, his eyes were luminous and full of an emotion that sent her heart thundering against her ribs. Because she was sure she saw in his eyes what she felt.
Love.
Chapter 15
After school on Tuesday, Dawson headed home instead of going straight to Bethany’s house, where he wanted to be. Bethany had promised to get the groceries after dinner as a part of her chores that week, so she’d be pretty busy that evening.
It was that time of the month.
Once a month, he had to check in with the DOD. Every Luxen was required, even more so since he lived outside the colony. And it could be worse. Being summoned by the Elders usually consisted of one, if not both, of the brothers getting their rears chewed out for some reason or another, made to feel guilty for “being like a human,” and getting pestered about when they’d mate. In other words, would Daemon marry Ash at eighteen and would Dawson find another female Luxen of the same age?
The DOD would just ask the same old questions.
Yeah, fun would be had by all. He so didn’t need to do this right now.
A black Ford Expedition was already parked in front of his house when he pulled into the driveway. Counting the ways this was going to suck, he climbed out of his Jetta and headed inside.
The suits — two of them — were in the living room, sitting on the couch. Both were middle-age males and bore the same empty expression. Their postures were stiff, though, probably because Daemon leaned against the wall, glaring at them as if he wished to do something terrible to their bodies.
Dawson recognized one of them — he’d been coming to them since they’d moved to West Virginia, but the other was new.
Dee looked up from where she was perched on the edge of her chair. Relief flickered in her shining eyes. Usually that meant things were not going well between Daemon and the DOD, and Dawson would play peacemaker.
Crossing his arms, Dawson said, “Well, this looks like a happy meeting of the minds.”
Daemon’s pointed gaze slid toward him. “Sounds about right.”
Officer Lane cleared his throat. “How have you been, Dawson?” A wave of revulsion and distrust accompanied his greeting. Lane pretended — barely — to like the Luxen. All of them knew better.
“Good,” Dawson said. “You?”
“Officer Vaughn and I are doing great.” Lane clapped his hands together, while the other left his hanging by his hips, near the gun Dawson knew they carried. Funny. Like a bullet would be faster than them. “We’ve been talking to Daemon here, and he’s been…very helpful.”
Dawson almost laughed. Not likely, and if Daemon’s stance was anything to go by, whatever questions he’d been asked didn’t sit well with him. Unease trickled through Dawson’s veins. Had they found out about Bethany and her faint trace? That couldn’t be the case. The DOD didn’t know it could be left on humans, and no one, not even Andrew, would relay that kind of information.
Vaughn glanced at his partner before he spoke. “There has been some unusual activity over the last month or so — an increase in EM fields in this area. Your brother appears to have no knowledge of how this could be happening.”
Since the government thought Arum were just psycho Luxen, it wasn’t like they could tell them they’d been hunting or fighting. If the DOD ever discovered that the Arum hunted the Luxen for their abilities, then it was game over. Back to New Mexico, back to living in underground housing, treated like freaks and lab rats.
Dawson shrugged. “Well, we’ve been doing a lot of running in our true forms. Maybe that’s it?”
Vaughn’s lips twisted. “As far as our records indicate, being in your alien form would not cause such a disruption.” The man said alienas if he’d swallowed something nasty. “We find that hard to believe, after looking over the last six months of field reports from around here.”
The DOD needed a hobby, something other than monitoring them.
Dee crossed her legs. “Officers, my brothers do like their physical activity. Sometimes they get a little out of hand. See, they like to play a Luxen form of football.”
“And what would that be?” Lane smiled, because everyone smiled at Dee.
She grinned. “Imagine the football being more of a ball of pure energy. They like to toss that at each other. Maybe that’s what’s registering.”
“Really?” Lane shook his head, eyes widening. “That would be interesting to see.”
“You’re always welcome to join in,” Daemon said with a smirk. “Although I doubt you’d enjoy it.”
Vaughn’s face flushed. “You have a smart mouth, Daemon.”
“Better than a dumb one,” Dawson replied. “At least, that’s what I like to say.”
Daemon chuckled softly. “Well, boys, this has been fun, but if there isn’t anything else, you know where the door is.”
Used to Daemon, Officer Lane stood, but Vaughn remained seated and said, “Why has your… familychosen to stay outside the colony?”
“We enjoy taking part in the human world,” Dee said cheerfully, quick to answer. God only knew how Daemon would’ve responded. “You know, being contributing members of society and whatnot. It’s the same reason why any Luxen chooses to branch out.”