To disappear was what he needed, because if the forced mutation worked on any level, he’d need some time off. “Do you think he’ll come back?”
Running the back of his knuckles down my cheek, he said, “He’d be crazy.”
Not really, I thought, closing my eyes. Daemon hadn’t wanted to heal Will but his hand had been forced. The healing hadn’t been on the level required to change a human at the cellular scale. And Will’s wound hadn’t been fatal, so either the mutation would stick or it would fade away. And if it faded, Will would be back. I would bet on it. Although he conspired against the DOD for his own gain, the fact he knew it had been Daemon who mutated me was valuable to the DOD, so they’d be forced to take him back. He was a problem—a huge one.
So we were waiting… Waiting for both shoes to drop at once.
I opened my eyes, finding Daemon hadn’t taken his off me. “About Dawson…”
“I don’t know what to do,” he admitted, trailing the back of his knuckles down my throat, over the swell of my chest. My breath caught. “He won’t talk to me, and he barely talks to Dee. Most of the time, he’s locked up in his bedroom or out wandering in the woods. I follow him, and he knows.” Daemon’s hand found its way to my hip and stayed. “But he—”
“He needs time, right?” I kissed the tip of his nose and pulled back. “He’s been through a lot, Daemon.”
His fingers tightened. “I know. Anyway…” Daemon shifted so fast, I didn’t realize what he was doing until he’d rolled me onto my back and hovered above me, hands braced on either side of my face. “I’ve been remiss in my duties.”
And just like that, everything that was going on, all our worries, fears, and unanswered questions, simply faded into nothing. Daemon had that kind of effect. I stared up at him, finding it hard to breathe. I wasn’t 100 percent on what his “duties” were, but I had a very vivid imagination.
“I haven’t spent a lot of time with you.” He pressed his lips against my right temple and then my left. “But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about you.”
My heart leaped into my throat. “I know you’ve been occupied.”
“Do you?” His lips drifted over the arch of my brow. When I nodded, he shifted, supporting most of his weight on one elbow. He caught my chin with his free hand, tipping my head back. His eyes searched mine. “How are you dealing?”
Using every ounce of self-control I had, I focused on what he was saying. “I’m dealing. You don’t need to worry about me.”
He looked doubtful. “Your voice…”
I winced and uselessly cleared my throat again. “It’s getting much better.”
His eyes darkened as he ran his thumb along my jaw. “Not enough, but it’s growing on me.”
I smiled. “It is?”
Daemon nodded and brought his lips to mine. The kiss was sweet and soft, and I felt it in every part of me. “It’s kind of sexy.” His mouth was on mine again, taking it deeper and longer. “The whole raspy thing, but I wish—”
“Don’t.” I placed my hands on his smooth cheeks. “I’m okay. And we have enough things to worry about without my vocal chords. In the big scheme of things, they’re nowhere near the top of the list.”
He arched a brow and wow, I did sound kind of uber-mature. I giggled at his expression, ruining my newly discovered maturity. “I have missed you,” I admitted.
“I know. You can’t live without me.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Just admit it.”
“There you go. That ego of yours getting in the way,” I teased.
His lips found the underside of my jaw. “Of what?”
“The perfect package.”
He snorted. “Let me tell you, I have the perfect—”
“Don’t be gross.” I shivered, though, because when he kissed the hollow of my throat, there was nothing flawed about that.
I would never tell him this, but beside the…pricklier side of him that reared its ugly head from time to time, he was the closest thing to perfect I’d ever met.
With a knowing chuckle that had me squirming, he slid his hand down my arm, over my waist, and caught my thigh, hooking my leg around his hip. “You have such a dirty mind. I was going to say I’m perfect in all the ways that count.”
Laughing, I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Sure you were. Completely innocent, you are.”
“Oh, I’ve never claimed to be that nice.” The lower part of his body sank into mine, and I sucked in a sharp breath. “I’m more—”
“Naughty?” I pressed my face into his neck and inhaled deeply. He always had this outdoorsy scent, like fresh leaves and spice. “Yeah, I know, but you’re nice under the naughty. That’s why I love you.”
A shudder rolled through him, and then Daemon froze. A stuttered heartbeat passed and he rolled onto his side, wrapping his arms around me tightly. So tightly I had to wiggle a little to lift my head.
“Daemon?”
“It’s okay.” Voice thick, he kissed my forehead. “I’m okay. It’s…early still. No school or Mom coming home, yelling your full name. Just for a little while we can pretend that crazy doesn’t wait for us. We can sleep in, like normal teenagers.”
Like normal teenagers. “I like the sound of that.”
“Me, too.”