Freak of Nature - By Julia Crane Page 0,33

decision for you.”

“You’re right. I should have talked it over with you. I’m sorry. I really am.”

“So, I shouldn’t have feelings for you, but I do. What does that mean?” Kaitlyn pulled back to look up at him.

His lip twitched. “That I’m irresistible?” He looked away, bashful. That was so lame.

“It does seem that way, doesn’t it?” She looked pensive. “I guess I don’t understand why they don’t want me to have feelings or emotions. There are soldiers everyday that do their jobs well, and they have families and people they care about.”

“You’re not supposed to be any old soldier, though,” Lucas said. “You are supposed to surpass the best soldier. And emotions get in the way.” Lucas touched her cheek; her skin was warm.

There was a long silence before she spoke again. “Are you going to tell Professor Adams?”

Lucas stuck his hands deep in his pockets and looked off in the distance at the towering trees. The sun was gone completely; night had fallen. He knew he should tell the professor. “Not unless you want me to. As far as I’m concerned, the coding is correct. I did my part, and you have done a convincing job of fooling everyone.”

“I don’t want you to tell them.” She held out her pinky.

“You learned that from Quess?” He laughed.

She nodded and waited. Lucas held out his own hand, so much larger than hers. They hooked pinky fingers, and shook.

Chapter Fifteen

Kaitlyn sank to the ground, pulling Lucas with her, and rested against the tree. She felt better after their pinky promise. She had to admit she was a little relieved to know that the feelings for Lucas were real, and not a computing error.

Lucas opened his arms and tugged her close. She rested her head against his chest and listened to the steady rhythm of his heart. Even in the cool evening she could feel the warmth of his skin through his clothes.

She should have been angry with Lucas, but being with him felt so right. She didn’t want to squander away the short amount of time they had together not getting along. The thought of never seeing him again sent a brief wave of panic through her that her systems quickly overrode.

“What were you like when you were younger?” Kaitlyn asked, lifting her face to peer up at him.

“I can’t believe you still want to be with me,” Lucas said softly and ran his thumb slowly across her lower lip. “I thought I’d lost you forever.”

“That feels good.” Kaitlyn closed her eyes at the touch of his hand.

“How about this?” Lucas’s warm breath on her neck caused her to gasp as he flipped her hair off her shoulder and lightly kissed from her collarbone to her temple.

“That, too.”

His lips moved across the sensitive skin at the base of her neck, his tongue darting out to touch her. She shuddered, one hand reaching up to cup his face and draw him closer.

His touch was intoxicating; it set her blood boiling, flushing her body with heat. Kaitlyn completely lost herself when he was so near. “Kiss me,” she whispered.

His lips met hers, slowly exploring with an urgency that left her breathless.

Eventually, she pulled away and met his gaze. “Are you distracting me with pleasure to avoid my question?”

Lucas laughed, long and hard, his body shaking beneath her touch. He leaned forward, kissing her again, just a short, affectionate peck. “You’re too astute.”

Kaitlyn straightened up, putting some breathing room between them. She cupped his face and looked him in the eye. “Tell me about your childhood. We don’t have much time together, and I want to know more about your past. I hardly know anything about you.”

“Let’s just say I’m glad you didn’t know me when I was younger.” He tugged on a lock of her hair, but his eyes were dark and sad.

“Why?”

“Well, I was what one would call a ‘nerd.’ Tall, lanky, no social skills, and eye glasses as thick as a coke bottle.”

Kaitlyn tried to match the mental image with the man sitting beside her, but they didn’t seem to match.

“When you have an IQ as high as mine, it’s hard to fit in. I skipped ahead in school, so I was always around older kids, and they didn’t want anything to do with me. Plus I would get lost in my own world and didn’t care about anything else.”

“What changed?”

He was silent for a moment. “My father left when I was twelve. He always wanted an athletic son—someone he could