“I know.” I stifled a yawn. “Get some sleep, Kitten.”
She was quiet for all of five seconds. “But what if the last one comes back?” I paused, realizing a new fear. “Dee’s with Mr. Garrison. He knows I was with you when they attacked. What if he turns me in? What if the DOD—”
“Shh,” I murmured, finding her hand with mine. I ran my fingers over the top of hers. “He won’t come back, not yet. And I won’t let Matthew turn you over.”
“But—”
“Kat, I won’t let him. Okay? I promise you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
This time it was her soft inhale that I heard, and I knew my promise was bold and it was a big deal, but it was one I wouldn’t break.
Chapter 21
I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming, but if I was, I didn’t want to wake up. The scent of peach and vanilla teased me, invaded me.
Kat.
Only she smelled that wonderful, of summer and all the things I could want and never have. The length of her body was pressed against mine, with her hand resting on my stomach. The steady rise and fall of her chest became my entire world, and in this dream—because it had to be a dream—I felt my own chest matching her breaths.
Every cell in my body sparked and burned. If I were awake, I’d surely take on my true form. My body was on fire.
Just a dream, but it felt real.
I couldn’t resist sliding my leg over hers, burrowing my head between her neck and shoulder, and inhaling deeply. Divine. Perfect. Human. Breathing became more difficult than I’d ever imagined. Lust swirled through me, heady and consuming. I tasted her skin—a slight brush of my lips, a flick of my tongue. She felt perfect underneath me, soft in all the places I was hard.
Moving over her, against her, I loved the sound she made—a soft, wholly feminine murmur that scorched every piece of me. “You’re perfect for me,” I whispered in my own language.
She stirred under me, and I dreamed her responding, wanting me instead of hating me.
I pressed down, sliding my hand under her shirt. Her skin felt like satin underneath my fingertips. Precious. Prized. If she were mine, I’d cherish every inch of her. And I wanted to. Now. My hand crept up, up, up. Her skin was so smooth, so soft.
Kat gasped.
The dreamy cloud dissipated with the sound I felt all the way through me. Every muscle locked up. Very slowly, I pried my eyes open. Her slender, graceful neck sloped before me. A section of skin was pink from the stubble on my jaw…
The clock on the wall ticked.
Shit.
I’d felt her up, in my sleep.
I lifted my head and stared down at her. Kat watched me, her eyes a smoky, wonderful gray and questioning. Double shit.
“Good morning?” she said, her voice still rough with sleep.
Using my arm, I pushed up and even then, knowing that none of it had been a dream, I couldn’t look away from her, didn’t want to. An infinite need was there, in her, in me. Demanding that I kneel to it, and I wanted to—dammit, did I ever want to.
The only thing that got to me, that cleared the layers of lust and idealistic stupidity out of my head, was the trace shimmering around her. She looked like the brightest star.
She was in danger. She was a danger to us.
With one last look, I shot across the room with inhuman speed, slamming the door behind me. Every step away from that room, from that bed, was painful and stiff. Rounding the corner, I almost ran into my sister.
Dee studied me, eyes narrowed.
“Shut up,” I muttered, heading past her.
“I didn’t say anything, jerk-face.” Amusement betrayed her words.
“Don’t say anything,” I warned.
Once inside my bedroom, I quickly changed into a pair of sweats and slipped on my sneakers. Running into my sister cooled most of me down, but there was a raw edge to my nerves, and I needed to be out of this house, away from her.
Not even bothering to change my shirt, I picked up speed, shooting through the house and out the front door. The moment my sneaks touched the porch, I took off and darted into the woods in a burst of speed. Overhead skies were gray and bleak. Drizzle pelted my face like a thousand tiny needles. I welcomed it, pushing and pushing until I was deep in the woods. Then I shed my human skin, taking my true form as I shot among the trees, moving until I was nothing more than a streak of light.
I wanted that—I wanted Kat.
That wasn’t an entirely new thought or realization. From the moment I saw those legs, I’d pictured said legs wrapped around me, tangled with mine, more than a time or two. And then she’d rocked that red bikini? Wanting her wasn’t new, but the intensity of what I felt this morning was.
I wanted Kat so badly it neared physical pain.
Had it been because of last night? Her saving me? Or had it been earlier, seeing her with Simon and that dress? Or had it been building from day one? None of it mattered.
This was wrong.
Think of Dawson. Look at what had happened to him. Did I want to take the same risk? Leave Dee all alone? But even now I could feel her skin, taste it—sweet and sugary like candy. Hear that wonderful sound she made over and over again, haunting every mile I put between us.
An idea began to form—one that Dee would hate, but I didn’t see any other option. I could go to the DOD and request a move to one of the other communities. We’d be giving up our home, leaving behind our friends and Matthew, but it would be for the best. It was the right thing to do. Dee would be safe.
It would keep Kat safe.
Because Dee couldn’t stay away from her, and neither could I. But no matter where I went, what I was running from would still be with me—Kat. She wasn’t just back in the house, in that bed. She was with me now, inside me. And there was no outrunning that.