“You’re not clumsy, Kitten. So how does this keep happening?” I slowly approached Kat, not wanting her to dart away from me.

“I tripped in the woods the night I first found out about you,” she reminded me.

“Nice try.” I shook my head. “You were running full-out in the middle of pitch-black woods. Even I’d…” I winked. “Well, maybe not me, but normal people would trip then. I’m just too awesome.”

“Well…” Her nose wrinkled.

My gaze briefly dropped. “It looks like it hurts.”

“It does a little.”

“Then let me fix it.” I reached for her.

“Wait.” She backed up. “Should you be doing that?”

“Healing you can’t hurt. Not at this point.” I tried again, but she knocked my hand away. Frustration spiked. “I’m just trying to help!”

She backed up against the wall. “I don’t need you to help me.”

The muscle in my jaw started working. Kat always had to be so damn stubborn, even when she was obviously in pain, and I hated seeing her like this. I loathed the idea of her hurt. I couldn’t deal with it, so the moment she started to relax, I moved wicked fast. Within two heartbeats, I had my arms around her hips, careful to not touch her back, and I lifted her up, carrying her to the couch. I sat down, holding her in my lap.

Kat gawked at me as her hair settled around her face. “That’s not fair!”

“I wouldn’t have had to do it if you would just stop being so freaking stubborn and let me help you.” I slipped my hand under the back of her thermal, flattening my palm against her lower back. She jerked slightly. “I can make you feel better,” I told her. “It’s ridiculous that you won’t let me.”

“We have stuff to do, people to stalk, Daemon. Just let me up.” She wiggled, but I held her still.

“No.” I focused and felt heat flare from my palm. My lips tipped up when I heard her soft inhale. Her eyes met mine and then flickered away. Her mouth opened, and I knew she was preparing for another argument. “I can’t be around you when I know you’re in pain, okay?”

Her eyes widened slightly. Uncomfortable, I focused on the spot above the TV. A moment passed and she asked, “Does it really bother you, me hurting?”

“I don’t feel it, if that’s what you’re asking.” I paused, exhaling softly as I met her questioning gaze again. “Just knowing you’re hurt is enough for it to bother me.”

She lowered her eyes and stopped squirming, the fight leaving her. Healing her didn’t take as much concentration as it had that night we’d fought Baruck. It was natural, requiring almost no thought, and that was a good thing, because Kat placed her head on my shoulder, and that was incredibly distracting.

It felt like forever since I’d held her. Thanksgiving night was the last time. Too long ago. She snuggled in, resting one hand against my lower stomach. I closed my eyes, soaking up the feel of her. At some point I knew she was healed, but I didn’t want to bother her. She was completely relaxed in my loose embrace, where she belonged.

Yeah, exactly where she belonged.

I lowered my chin and tilted my head to the side. Her thick lashes fanned the top of her cheeks. With her slow heart rate, I knew she was close to sleep. It wasn’t late at all, but those shadows under her eyes were still there. She was exhausted. Folding my other arm under her knees, I stood.

Kat stirred. “What are you doing?”

“Taking you to bed.”

“I can walk.”

“I can get you there faster.” And I did. Leaving the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree, I raced her upstairs and into her bedroom. “See?”

She looked a little windblown as I neared her bed. Without touching them, I lifted the covers back and then placed her down. I tugged the comforter up to her hips, lingering as I stared down at her. “Do you feel better?”

“Yeah,” she whispered, her gaze fixed on mine.

The center of my chest throbbed in an unfamiliar way. There was so much between us that sometimes it felt like we would never be on the same page, but there were moments—moments like this—that there were no obstacles. It was just her and me, and the world outside didn’t exist.

My throat worked. “Can I…? Can I just hold you? That’s all…that’s all I want.”

Her lips parted, but there were no words. She nodded.

Relief cracked me straight down the center as if some internal fault line had been ruptured. My heart started pounding, and I knew she could feel it as I kicked off my shoes and then walked around to the other side. I slid into bed beside her and extended an arm. Kat rolled onto her side without hesitation, curling against the side of my body. She rested her cheek on my chest.

“I kind of like being your body pillow.” My hand trembled slightly as I placed it on her hip. “Even if you drool on me.”

“I do not drool.” Her hand came to rest above my heart. “What about tailing Vaughn?”

“That can wait until tomorrow.” I tilted my chin to the side, brushing my lips against her forehead. My arm around her tightened as I held her close. “Get some rest, Kitten. I’ll be gone before morning.”

That was the plan. I would hold her until she fell asleep, and then I would leave. After all, it wasn’t even eight o’clock, and I could still scope out Vaughn without Kat. I just wanted a few…quiet moments with her, but Kat drifted off fast, and the seconds in between opening and closing my eyes rapidly increased. Being with her like this had a lulling, comforting effect, and before I knew it, I fell into the deepest sleep.

I was having the most wonderful dream. Ever. Kat was in bed with me, her body warm and soft. My mind was full of vague, almost distant images and sounds. I felt her hand slip free from mine, and she shifted beside me. I rolled into her, my arm around her waist keeping her close as I buried my face in the side of her neck. Inhaling deeply, I caught the scent of peaches. I was half awake, present enough to know this wasn’t a dream. She was lying in bed next to me. Perfect. I pressed my lips to her neck.

Kat pushed me. Hard.

I blinked my eyes open. “Mmm, what’s your problem?”

She looked at me, and then her gaze moved to the doorway. I followed and immediately woke right up. Her mom stood in the opening, a robe cinched tight at her narrow waist. Beside her was Dr. Michaels.

Oh shit.

I removed my arm from Kat’s waist. “Oh, wow, awkward.” Clearing my throat, I spoke louder.

“Good morning, Ms. Swartz.”

Kat’s mom smiled tightly while her look screamed are you serious, but I was really at a loss for what else to say. “Good morning, Daemon. I think it’s time for you to go home.”

Yep. I was going to have to agree with that.

Glancing down at a red-faced Kat, I was relieved to see that only a faint shadow lingered under her eyes. I grinned apologetically at her, and then I left the bed as fast as humanly possibly, which was really slow for me.

I grabbed my shoes off the floor and turned sideways as I walked out the door. Her mom didn’t even spare one glance in my direction. Dr. Michaels stepped aside, and as I made my way past him, he clapped his hand on my shoulder in an age-old attaboy way.

Weird.

But when I stepped out in the frigid morning temperatures, all I could think about was the look on Kat’s face. I tipped my chin back and I laughed loudly, laughed harder than I had since…since Dawson.

Chapter 23

Over the next couple of days, I laid off dragging Kat into the whole stalking-Vaughn business. With Christmas, it didn’t seem right. Plus, I’d learned from Dee that Blake was spending all of Christmas break with his family. That meant that Kat should be able to actually get some rest, and that also meant that I needed to crawl out of her ass for a few days.