Daemon POV - I like a Challenge Extra from Obsidian Colonies were all the same. Human. Luxen. Arum.

Ant. Nothing but a whole ton of crazy Kool-Aid I didn t want to come within five miles of, and I wouldn t be, but they had something I needed that Kat needed. She really owed me for this. Picturing some of the ways she could repay me for this visit, that would never e nd. I kicked back in the sterile living room. All white couches, carpet, walls, an d pillows. It was like they had something against color. It made me want to spil l something on purpose. When Ethan Smith returned, he carried a small leather pouch in his hands. He too k one look at me and his dark brows arched over eyes the shade of violets. I know you re not the most patient of our kind, but it does take time to craft thes e things. Yeah, almost three whole days of my life I d spent searching the state for more Arum and ct piece of Obsidian, but I was itchy to get idea that she was glowing like a disco ball Ethan didn t hand the bundle over. Of course t this point. May I ask why you need this? May I say no and you ll drop the conversation? A small, tight smile appeared on the older Luxen s face. Your arrogance will one day be your downfall. That among other things, not that I was mentioning any names or anything. Irrita tion flashed across Ethan s face. Not that I don t appreciate all you do for the colony, but your an improvement, I cut in, thinking of Kat. I get it. Trust me. d to the side. Hair was starting to gray along his temples. Personality could use Ethan tipped his hea never live again. Most of it had been an entire day looking for the perfe back to Dee and Kat. I didn t like the on steroids. not, because that would be too easy a

I hope so. It would be a shame to our race if something unfortunate happened to y ou. I met his stare with my own. I m sure it would be. The other Luxen was the first to break contact. Does this have anything to do with the light show over the weekend? Yes. I killed a couple of Arum and lost a few blades in the process, so I wanted something for Dee to wear just in case another happens. I sat forward, dropping m y hands between my knees. It s the same thing I told all the other Elders, Ethan. Hmm, I do believe it sounds familiar. He handed over the bundle, and the weight of the obsidian felt familiar. I slipp ed it in my pocket, ready to bounce the hell out of there. Though, I must say I have never seen such a display of power. It was remarkable. Unease trickled down my spine as I stood. Well, I am just friggin awesome.

Yes, you are. Ethan rose fluidly and straightened his pressed shirt. the Department of Defense will question it. I stopped at the door, turning back to him. And if they do?

I am positive

We ll tell the DOD nothing if they ask, like we normally do, but if you bring them to our doorstops too often, you won t just have them to worry about. Amethyst color ed eyes drilled into mine. Do you understand what I m saying? Anger replaced the unease and I gritted out, Yeah, I get what you re saying.

Daemon? Facing him once more, my jaw was clenched so I hard I was going to need to see the dentist. Yes? Ethan clasped his hands together and smiled. One more question.

I was going to throw myself out a window. Go ahead. This human girl your sister and you have been associating with? Ethan said, and I stiffened, but wasn t surprised. The Elders were as bad as the DOD, if not worse. W ill she be a problem? he asked. No. But you will be if you mention that human girl again. That I didn t say out loud o r in our language, but the look on my face got the message through loud and frea king clear. Ethan nodded and didn t stop me again. Switching into my true form, it took seconds to leave the colony and reach the c luster of houses. Not knowing if Kat s mom was out roaming about, I flipped back into human form bef ore I stepped out of the woods. The strangest damn thing happened as I headed up our driveway. Warmth shot over the nape of my neck, followed by an almost pleasant tingle between my shoulder b lades. Along with that weirdness, another sensation prodded me. A feeling of com pletion? What the hell? I think I needed a nap. As soon as I hit the porch, I knew Kat was inside. I couldn t explain how I did or why, but I knew it in my core. Pushing open the living room door, I headed through the foyer and my eyes found Kat before anyone else. She was sitting on the couch, thick lashes lowered; hidi ng those gray eyes and her hair was down, falling around her face, over her shou lders and down her back. I stopped there, incapable of moving, too quick for her to notice. Seeing her, well, it did things I hadn t been ready to delve into before. Hell, I really didn t even know at what point I had become ready. Probably happened somewh ere between when I thought she was dead and when she wasn t. I dropped onto the couch, beside her, watching her. I knew she was aware of me o n this intrinsic level. The faint blush creeping across her cheeks confirmed it. Where have you been? she asked.

Silence fell as Dee and Adam turned to her. I arched a brow, fighting a laugh as

the heat raced across her cheeks and down her throat. Well hello, honey, I ve been out boozing and whoring. I know my priorities are pret ty off. Her lips thinned. Dick. My sister groaned. Daemon, don t be a jerk. Yes, Mommy. I ve been with another group, searching the whole damn state to make su re there aren t any Arum that we re not aware of, I offered a better explanation. Adam leaned forward. There aren t any, right? Becau se we told Katy she didn t have anything to worry about. My gaze flickered to him briefly. We haven t seen a single one. Dee hooted happily and clapped her hands. She turned to Kat, smiling. See, nothin g to worry about. Everything is over. Kat smiled. That is a relief.

I filled Adam in on the trip, leaving out most of the conversation with Ethan Wh ite, but the whole time my attention was more focused on Kat. Hyper-aware of eve ry small movement she made, every muscle that twitched and then relaxed, and eve ry breath that she took. Katy? Are you even here, right now? I think so. Dee asked.

Kat smiled again, but something was off about it. I sighed. Bombarding her wi

My eyes narrowed. Have you guys been driving her crazy? th a million questions? Never! cried Dee. Then she laughed. Okay. Maybe.

Figured, I muttered, stretching out my legs. A second later, I glanced at Kat. Our eyes locked. Tension filled the room, and I wondered what was going on behind t hose eyes. Dee cleared her throat loudly. He laughed. I m still hungry, Adam.

You re worse than I am. Dee hopped

True. Let s go to Smoke Hole. I think they are having homemade meatloaf. to her feet and kissed my cheek. Glad you re back. I ve missed you. I smiled up at her. Missed you, too. When the door shut behind Dee and Adam, Kat turned to me. Is everything really okay?

A really odd urge hit me right then. I wanted to hold her, because she must ve bee n worried to ask that question, and it seemed like the right thing to do. Of cou rse it was. How many times had I held Ash when she was upset? Or, in a different way, Dee, when she was upset? For the most part. Before I knew what I was doing, I reached out with one hand, ru nning my fingers over her cheek. A shock transferred to my fingertips, much like static, but so, so different.

Hell. What? Her eyes shot wide. I sat up and scooted close enough that our legs touched, not ready to go into wh at I suspected had happened between us when I healed her. I have something for you. Confusion flickered across her face. Is it going to blow up in my face?

I laughed as I reached into the front pocket of my jeans, pulling out the leathe r pouch. I handed it over to her, watching as she tugged on the little string an d carefully turned the pouch upside down, like she was afraid a grenade would fa ll out if. But when she saw the obsidian pendant, her lashes swept up and she wa s clearly surprised. Pressure clamped down on my chest as I smiled. A different feeling, like when you re about to get on a rollercoaster. I really never felt tha t way before. Believe it or not, even something as small as that can actually pierce Arum skin and kill them. When it gets really hot you ll know an Arum is nearby even if you d on t see one. I picked up the chain, holding the clasps. It took me forever to find a piece lik e this since the blade turned to crap. I don t want you to take this off, okay? At least when well, for the most part. The look of surprise hadn t faded as she twisted around and pulled her hair out of the way. As soon as I got the tiny hook clasped, she faced me. An earnest pull to her expression had replaced the shock. Thank you. I mean it, for everything. It s not a big deal. Has anyone asked you about your trace? She shook her head. I think they re expecting to see one because of all the fightin g. I nodded, relieved that was one less thing to worry about for now. Hell, you re bri ght as a comet right now. The sucker has got to fade or we ll be back to square on e. Kat stared at me a moment, her eyes sharpening. You know, us being unded like crap. And what is square one, exactly? Well, that kind of so

stuck together until the damn trace fades.

After everything I ve done, us being around each other is being stuck together? Oh crap. You know what? Screw you, buddy. Because of me, Baruck didn t find your sister. Bec ause of what I did, I almost died. You healed me. That s why I have a trace. None of this is my fault. And it s mine? Should I have left you to die? Is that what you wanted? That s a stupid question! I don t regret that you healed me, but I m not dealing with t his hot and cold shit from you anymore. I do believe you protest too much with the whole liking me part. I grinned, knowin

g the claws were about to come out. ce themselves.

Someone sounds like they are trying to convin I think it would be best if yo

Kat took a deep breath, causing her chest to rise. u d stay away from me. No can do.

Any of the other Luxen can watch over me or whatever, she protested. to be you. Yeah, that wasn t going to happen. I am nothing to you. You re definitely something. You re my responsibility.

It doesn t have

She looked like she wanted to hit me. I kind of wanted her to try, and honestly, I don t know why I liked to mess with her so much. I dislike you so very much. No. You don t. Okay. We need to get this trace off me. Now. One idea came to mind. Maybe we can try making out again. See what that will do t o this trace. It seemed to work last time. Her cheeks flushed and a certain light filled her eyes. appen again. It was just a suggestion. One that will never. Happen, she said. Again. Yeah, that s not going to h

Don t act like you didn t have as much fun Kat smacked me in the chest hard, too. I couldn t help it. I laughed, and she made this cute little sound of disgust as she started to push away. Her small hand mo ved across my chest and it took everything in me not to grab her hand and do well , other stuff with it. I arched a brow. Are you feeling me up, Kat? I m liking where this is heading. Her lips parted as she continued to press down. My pulse picked up a little as I watched her. Blood drained from her face. Our heartbeats they re the same. Oh my God, how is this possible? Oh crap. Not how I wanted to start off this conversation.

Our eyes locked, and I placed my hand over hers and squeezed. I suspected as muc h. This only confirmed it, but what I knew about my kind healing humans was so l imited, and what I did know was more like whispers and rumors. But it s not too bad, I said. I mean, I m pretty sure I morphed you into something and this whole heart thing proves we must be connected. I grinned. Could be worse. What could be worse exactly? Her voice had risen.

Us being together.

I shrugged.

It could be worse.

Wait a sec. You think we should be together because of some kind of freaky alien mojo that has connected us? But two minutes ago you were bitching about being st uck with me? Yeah, well, I wasn t bitching. I just had a moment of really bad word choice. I was p ointing out that we are stuck together. This is different and you re attracted to m e. Her eyes narrowed much like a pissed off cat. I ll get back to that last statement in a second, but you want to be with me because you now feel forced? I shifted. I wouldn t say forced exactly, but but I like you. Kat didn t immediately res pond, and I prepared myself. Oh no, I know that look. What are you thinking? That this is the most ridiculous declaration of attraction I ve ever heard, she said , standing. That is so lame, Daemon. You want to be with me because of whatever c razy stuff that had happened? I rolled my eyes as I stood. We like each other. We do. It s stupid that we keep de nying it. Oh, this is coming from the dude who left me on the couch topless? She shook her h ead, sending locks of brown hair flying. We don t like each other. Okay. I should probably apologize for that. I m sorry. I took a step forward. We were attracted to each other before I healed you. You can t say that s not true, because I ve always been attracted to you. And it hit me then how freaking true that was. From the very first time I d seen h er standing on my porch the first argument, the first time she called me a douche and from the very first time I realized how strong and brave she truly was, I d be en attracted to her. I d wanted her. Perhaps I had protested too loudly this whole time. Being attracted to me is as lame a reason to be with me as the fact we re stuck tog ether now. Oh, you know it s more than that. I paused, sort of dumbstruck by the fact that a ye ar ago I would have died of laughter if someone had said I d be where I was right now, saying what I was. I knew you would be trouble from the start, from the mome nt you knocked on my door. Kat laughed dryly. That thought is definitely mutual, but that doesn t excuse the s plit personality thing you ve got going on. Well, I was kind of hoping it did, but obviously not. I flashed a quick grin. I know you re attracted to me. I know you like Being attracted to you isn t enough, she said. Kat,

We get along. She shot me a bland look. I couldn t stop the grin that time and tried for a, Sometimes we do. We have nothing in common. We have more in common than you realize. Whatever.

I caught a piece of her hair and wrapped it around my finger. You know you want t o. She hesitated a moment before she snatched her hair free. You don t know what I wan t. You have no clue. I want a guy who wants to be with me because he actually wa nts to be. Not that he s forced to be out of some kind of twisted sense of respons ibility. Kat No! Her hands balled into fists as she drew in another deep breath No. Sorry. You h ave spent months being the biggest jerk to me. You don t get to decide to like me one day and think I will forget all of that. I want someone to care for me like my dad cared for my mom. And you aren t him. How can you know? She stared at me a moment and then turned toward the door as if she planned on l eaving. This conversation was so not over. I moved faster than she could track, appearing in front of the door. God, I hate when you do that! Kat shrieked. I stared down at her. You can t keep pretending that you don t want to be with me. She stared back with a look of fierceness I found incredibly sexy and and yeah, I respected her for that, too. But then that look faded as she pressed her lips t ogether. Sadness had crept in her eyes. I m not pretending. Bull. Shit. There had been hesitation before she had said that. There had been s o much more that powered her words other than anger or frustration. She was afra id and she was sad. I got that. I had been a dick to her. There really wasn t an e xcuse in the world to make up for that, and like I d realized when I d been holding her in my arms in the field, I didn t couldn t let her go. You re lying. Daemon. I placed my hands on her hips and tugged her forward. The warmth of her body cas caded over mine, and I closed my eyes briefly, taking in a deep breath that tast ed of Kat. If I wanted to be with My hands tightened on her hips, and she swayed a little closer, until our legs brushed once more, proving that her words were at odds fr om what she wanted. I dipped my head and she shivered. If I wanted to be with you, you d make it hard wouldn t you? Kat lifted her head. You don t want to be with me. Oh, I had to disagree with that. My lips spread into a smile. I m thinking I kind o f do. A pretty flush moved down her neck, and I wanted to chase it with my lips Thinkin g and kind of aren t the same thing as knowing. No, it s not, but it s something. It was more than anything. Isn t it? Shaking her head, she pulled away. It s not enough.

I met her stare and sighed. Her stubbornness was something I loathed and was inc redibly attracted to, which I guess made me sort of twisted. You are going to make this hard. She didn t say anything as she sidestepped me, and I let her get to the door this time. Kat? What? I smiled, and saw her gray eyes light up. You do realize I love a challenge? She faced me.

Kat laughed softly and turned back to the door, giving me the middle finger. So d o I, Daemon. So do I. Watching her leave, I had to admit that she looked just as good walking toward m e as she did walking away. I did love a challenge. And I never lose.