“Then what is it, Daemon?” Tears built in her eyes, killing me. “Why now, when three months ago you couldn’t stand to breathe the same air as me? It’s the connection between us. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“Dammit. Do you think I don’t regret acting like such a douche to you? I’ve apologized.” I pushed away from the table. “You don’t get it. None of this is easy for me. And I know this is hard for you. You have a lot to deal with. But I have my sister and an entire race counting on me. I didn’t want you to get close to me. I didn’t want another person to care about, to worry about losing.”

Kat drew back, obviously shocked, but I was on a roll now. “It wasn’t right how I acted. I know that. But I can do better than that—better than Benny.”

“Blake,” she corrected. “I have a lot in common with Blake. He likes that I read a lot—”

“I do, too.”

“And he also blogs.”

I reached out and caught a piece of her hair and wrapped it around my finger. “I have nothing against the internet.”

She knocked my hand away. “And he doesn’t like me because of some stupid alien connection or because some other guy likes me.”

“I don’t either.” I lowered my hand to my side. “You can’t keep pretending. It’s wrong. You’ll break that boy’s poor little human heart.”

“No, I won’t.”

“You will, because you want me and I want you.”

Shaking her head, she limped for the door. “You keep saying that…”

“What does that mean?” I demanded.

Kat briefly squeezed her eyes shut. “You say you want me, but that’s not enough.”

“I show you that I do, too.”

“You do not.”

“What was that?” I gestured at the table I would never look at the same again. “I think I showed you that I like you. I can do it again if you’re not clear on what that was. And I brought you a smoothie and a cookie to school.”

“You stuck the cookie in your mouth!” She threw her hands up in the air.

I smiled at that damn good memory. “The table…”

“Humping my leg like a dog in heat every time I’m around you doesn’t prove you like me, Daemon.”

I clamped my mouth shut before I laughed. “Actually, that’s how I show people I like them.”

“Oh. Fine. Whatever. None of this matters, Daemon.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Kat. And I’m not giving up.” Not on her—not on us. “Do you know why I met you that day in the library?”

“What?”

“The Friday you came back after being sick?” I ran a hand through my hair. “You were right. I picked the library because no one would see us together.”

Her lips thinned as she looked away. “You know what, I’ve always wondered if your ego was so big you didn’t want to eat crow.”

“And as always, you jump to the wrong assumption.” I waited until she looked at me before I continued. “I didn’t want Ash or Andrew to start giving you a bunch of crap because of me like they did with Dawson and Beth. So if you think I’m embarrassed of you or not ready to make my intentions very public, then you better get that idea out of your head. Because if that’s what it takes, then it’s on.”

And that’s the second I realized that was what it was going to take.

“Daemon…”

I smiled at her then, a real smile that said so much. “I told you, Kitten. I like a challenge.”

Chapter 14

On the way to school the next morning, I stopped at the florist shop—the only florist shop—a few blocks from school and picked up a single red rose. It was corny. Undeniably so, but if Kat seriously thought I wasn’t willing to show people how serious I was about her, she had another think coming.

It was risky, possibly even stupid. It wasn’t like I didn’t know what the possible consequences could be, but if this was what it took to prove myself to Kat, then this was what I would do.

Walking into trig class a few moments before the bell rang, I hid the rose behind my notebook until I was in front of her.

Kat looked up, staring at the rose and then me blankly. I tapped a soft petal off the tip of her nose. “Good morning.”

Dumbfounded, she stared at me.

“This is for you,” I explained, knowing that the entire class was staring at us.

She took the green stem between her fingers and stared at it as I sat in my seat. “Oh holy baby Jesus,” Lesa murmured, and I chuckled.

Kat placed the rose on the corner of her desk and then glanced over her shoulder at me. I peered up and met her questioning stare, and smiled. She faced the front of the classroom, and throughout class, I caught her several times staring at the rose.

Corny but worth it.

After class, Kat actually packed up her bag and turned to me, waiting for me to rise. Normally, she raced out of the classroom with Lesa and Carissa. She held the rose close to her chest. “Thank you for this,” she said quietly, her gaze flickering to mine and then away. “It was very nice of you.”

I raised a shoulder as I stepped into the aisle. “You like it?”

She nodded. “Of course.”

We walked out of the classroom and she stopped, placing her hand on my arm. She tugged on my shirt, and I followed her over to the rarely used water fountain. “Did you hear about Simon?” she asked, glancing at the crowd of students.

“What?” I frowned. “What about him?”

Her worried gaze met mine. “He’s missing.”

“Missing? Since when?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know the exact timing, but Lesa said since this past weekend…” She lowered her voice as she stepped closer. “I saw him Friday night. He disappeared sometime after that.”

“That’s…weird.” I brushed the hair back from my face, considering it. “It could mean nothing, Kat. It’s hunting season around here. Maybe he took off to go hunting.”

“And forgot to tell his parents?” she questioned.

“Not everyone is responsible.” Though it was hard to believe Simon would roam off without telling his parents, stranger things have been known to happen. I knew what Kat was getting at with this. Reaching between us, I wrapped my hand around hers, careful to not damage the rose, and squeezed gently. “It most likely has nothing to do with you.”

She opened her mouth.

“I mean it, Kitten.” My eyes searched hers. “Statistically, this has nothing to do with anything we’ve got going on. Okay?”

Looking away, she nodded. “Okay.”

I let go of her hand, knowing that no matter what she said, she was afraid that Simon’s disappearance had something to do with what happened Friday night with the windows. Truthfully? I wasn’t so sure it didn’t.

Coincidences nowadays weren’t very likely.

I’d checked in with Matthew later that day to see if he’d heard anything about Simon. Being that he was on staff, I figured he might know more, but all he knew was what we did. Simon’s parents had reported him missing the night before. He hadn’t been seen in over seventy-two hours.

It wasn’t long before the cops showed up. They’d questioned all the students, though Kat was paranoid about the fact that we were in the first wave of students questioned. I wasn’t entirely surprised. It was common knowledge I wasn’t a fan of Simon, but the police didn’t appear too concerned about Simon’s well-being. I could tell they thought he was a runaway.

I filed what was going on with Simon in the back of my mind, because there were other more pressing things to take care of. Like getting Kat’s newfound abilities under control.

And wooing her through lattes, egg-and-bacon breakfast croissants, and glazed doughnuts. Kat seemed to approve of these tactics, because she didn’t complain when I showed up at her house after school whenever she wasn’t with Dee and hung out with her.