Daemon shrugged. “With humans, the possibilities are endless.”
I bit my lip. “Do you think that we are somehow weaker than you because we’re human?”
“It’s not that I think you’re weaker, I know you are.” He eyed me over his glass of milk. “I’m not trying to be obnoxious by saying that. You are weaker than us.”
“Maybe physically but not mentally or…morally,” I countered.
“Morally?” He sounded confused.
“Yeah, like, I’m not going to tell the world about you guys to get money. And if I was captured by an Arum, I wouldn’t bring them back to you all.”
“Wouldn’t you?”
Offended, I leaned back and folded my arms. “No. I wouldn’t.”
“Even if your life was threatened?” Disbelief colored his tone.
Shaking my head, I laughed. “Just because I’m human doesn’t mean I’m a coward or unethical. I’d never do anything that would put Dee in danger. Why would my life be more valuable than hers? Now yours…debatable. But not Dee.” He stared at me for several seconds, then went back to his food. If I was expecting an apology I wasn’t going to get one. Big surprise there.
“So how long will it take for this trace to fade?” My eyes went right back to him. Very annoying.
Daemon’s eyes were intent and bright, the green hue seeming to burn through me. He took a long, healthy drink.
I swallowed, my throat dry.
“Probably a week or two, maybe less,” he said, squinting. “It’s already starting to fade.”
It was weird that he was talking about this light around me that I couldn’t see. “What do I look like? A giant light bulb or something?”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s a soft white glow that’s around your body, kind of like a halo.”
“Oh, well that’s not too bad. Are you done?” When he nodded, I grabbed his plate out of habit. Not to throw it at him, but mainly out of something to do. “At least I don’t look like a Christmas tree.”
“You look like the star atop the tree.” His breath stirred the hair around my cheek.
Gasping, I turned around.
Daemon stood directly behind me. Our bodies separated only by a foot or two. Placing my hands on the edge of the counter, I dragged in a deep breath. “I hate it when you do that alien super-speed thing.” Smiling, he cocked his head to the side. “Kitten, what are we going to get into?”
A thousand images flashed. Thank God reading thoughts wasn’t one of his alien powers. Such a strange thickness invaded the air around me, and this overwhelming yearning from deep inside sprung to life.
“Why not hand me over to the DOD?” I blurted out.
Daemon took a step back, surprised. “What?”
I wished I hadn’t gone there, but I did, and there was no coming back from it. “Wouldn’t everything have been easier for you if you handed me over to the DOD? Then you wouldn’t have to worry about Dee or anything.” Daemon stood in silence. The color of his eyes went up a notch, becoming brighter. I wanted to take a step back, but there was nowhere to go.
Voice low, he said, “I don’t know, Kitten.”
“You don’t know? You risk everything and you don’t know why?”
“That’s what I said.”
I stared at him, bewildered by the fact that he’d put everything on the line and seemed to have no idea why. That was crazy to me. Absurd. Admittedly, it was unnerving, because it could mean many things.
Things I didn’t dare acknowledge.
His arms quickly shot out, landing heavily against the counter. Bands of muscle created a very successful trap, pinning me in place without even touching. He lowered his head and dark waves spilled over his eyes. “Okay. I do know why.” At first I had no idea what he was talking about. “You do?”
Daemon nodded. “You wouldn’t survive a day without us.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Oh, I know.” He tilted his head to the side. “Do you know how many Arum I have faced? Hundreds. And there have been times I barely escaped. A human doesn’t stand a chance against them or the DOD.”
“Fine. Whatever. Can you move?”
Standing his ground, Daemon smiled. God, he was exasperating. I could either stand here, stare at him like an idiot, or I could move past him. I opted for the latter. My plan was to muscle my way around him as quickly as possible.
Not that I got very far.
He was like a brick wall only a freight train could knock out of the way. He grinned wider, entertained by my lack of progress. “Asshole,” I muttered.
Daemon laughed. “You have such a mouth on you. Do you kiss boys with that thing?”
My cheeks heated. “Do you kiss Ash with yours?”
“Ash?” His smile disappeared and his eyes were suddenly hooded, less clear. “You would like to know that, wouldn’t you?”
An unreasonable spark of jealousy flared in me, but I pushed it aside. I smirked. “No, thank you.”
Daemon leaned in even more. His spicy and earthy scent surrounded me. “You aren’t a very good liar, Kitten. Your cheeks get red whenever you lie.”
Do they? Aw, hell. I tried pushing past him again, but he reached out, taking ahold of my arm. It wasn’t a tight grip, but I still felt it down to my bone. His hand hummed. Tingles were sharp and startling, yet pleasant. I didn’t want to look at him but I didn’t seem capable of stopping myself.
We were too close and there was too much tension between us. His gaze burned as it latched onto mine. He lowered his head, and I forgot how to breathe. Fascinated, I watched his lips slowly curved into a smile. It was hard to pay attention to his words when he spoke, but they somehow made it through the strange fog clouding my brain.