pajama bottoms. And his hand inched up under the shirt, across my stomach, where it dipped slightly. My pulse went into cardiac territory. The tips of his fingers brushed my ribs. His body moved, his knee pressed against me.
I gasped.
Daemon stilled. No one moved. The clock on the wall ticked.
And I cringed.
He lifted his head. Eyes like pools of liquid grass stared at me in confusion. They quickly cleared, though, turning sharp and hard within seconds.
"Good morning?" I squeaked.
Using his powerful arms, he lifted himself up. His eyes never left mine. Daemon seemed to drag in a deep breath. I wasn't sure if he let it out. Something passed between us, unspoken and heavy. His eyes narrowed. I had the funny feeling that he was sizing up the situation and somehow I was to blame for his sleepy - albeit really, really nice - fondling.
Like any of this was my fault.
Without saying a word, he disappeared above me. The door opened and slammed shut behind him without my even catching a glimpse of him.
I stayed there, staring at the ceiling, heart pounding. Cheeks flushed, my body way, way too hot. Not sure of how much time passed, but the door opened again, at normal human speed.
Dee popped her head in, her eyes wide. "Did you two...?"
Funny that out of everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, that was the first question she asked.
"No," I said, barely recognizing my own voice. I cleared my throat. "I mean, we slept together, but not slept, slept together." I rolled over, burying my face into a pillow.
It smelled like him - crisp and warm. Like autumn leaves. I groaned.
...
I was sure that if someone had told me I'd find myself sitting in a room with half a dozen aliens on a Saturday afternoon, I would've told them to get off the drugs. Yet, here I was, sitting in a recliner in the Black household, legs tucked under me but ready to run for the door if necessary.
Daemon was perched on the arm of the recliner, arms folded over his chest. The very chest I'd woken up on. A flush crept up my throat. We hadn't spoken. Not a single word, which was okay by me.
But his current position had been duly noted by everyone. Dee looked oddly smug. A deep, unforgiving scowl had settled on Ash's and Andrew's faces, but the fact I was here overshadowed any reason why Daemon could be playing guard dog.
Mr. Garrison had come up short. "What is she doing here?"
"She's lit up like a freaking disco ball," Ash said accusingly. "I could probably see her from Virginia."
Somehow, she made the whole glowing thing sound like I was covered in boils instead of light. I glared at her openly.
"She was with me last night when the Arum attacked," Daemon responded calmly. "You know that. Things got a little...explosive. There was no way I could cover what happened." Mr. Garrison ran a hand through his brown hair. "Daemon, of all people, I expected you to know better, to be more careful."
"What the hell was I supposed to do exactly? Knock her out before the Arum attacked?"
Ash arched a brow. The look on her face said it wasn't such a bad idea.
"Katy has known about us since the beginning of school," Daemon said. "And trust me when I say I did everything possible to keep her from knowing."
One of the Thompson boys sucked in a sharp breath. "She's known this entire time?
How could you allow this, Daemon? All of our lives have been in the hands of some human?" Dee rolled her eyes. "Obviously she hasn't said a word, Andrew. Chill out."
"Chill out?" Andrew's scowl matched Ash's perfectly. And now I knew which one was Andrew, I could tell them apart. Andrew had an earring in the left ear. Adam, who was quiet, did not. "She's a stupid - "
"Be careful with what you say next." Daemon's voice was low but carried. "Because what you don't know and what you can't possibly understand will get a bolt of light in your face."
My eyes widened, as did pretty much everyone's in the room. Ash swallowed thickly and turned her cheek, letting her blonde hair cover her face.
"Daemon," Mr. Garrison said, stepping forward. "Threatening one of your own for her?
I didn't expect this from you." His shoulders stiffened. "It's not like that." I took a deep breath. "I'm not going to tell anyone about you guys. I know the risks to you