Sarah Alderson

“Her eyes suddenly went round. "Hang on. You shoved him!""She shoved him?"I turned to glare at Nate."Yes. And she's always running off on him." Suki shook her head at me. "We'd treat him much better if he was ours-”

“I was aware of his lips. Like they held the answers to every bit of knowledge in the whole wide world and suddenly I wanted to be the oracle and know it all.”

“We completely need him. Who else comes up with the plans?""Demos?""Yes, but he isn't hot, Nate. We talked about is.”

“When I'm done sorting out the Unit, Alex and I are going to have a little chat""Over my dead body""I'm thinking over his dead body.”

“First I need to do something.’ He pulled me closer towards him until our lips were almost touching.‘What might that be?’ I managed to stutter, closing my eyes, anticipating the warmth of his lips against mine. But the kiss didn’t come. I opened my eyes. Alex had jumped to his feet.‘Swim,’ he said, grinning at me. ‘Come on.’‘Swim?’ I pouted, unable to hide my disappointment that he wanted to swim rather than make out with me.Alex pulled his T-shirt off in one swift move. My eyes fell straightaway to his chest – which was tanned, smooth and ripped with muscle, and which, when you studied it as I had done, in detail, you discovered wasn’t a six-pack but actually a twelve-pack.My eyes flitted to the shadowed hollows where his hips disappeared into his shorts, causing a flutter in parts of my body that up until three weeks ago had been flutter-dormant. Alex’s hands dropped to his shorts and he started undoing his belt.I reassessed the swimming option. I could definitely do swimming.He shrugged off his shorts, but before I could catch an eyeful of anything, he was off, jogging towards the water. I paused for a nanosecond, weighing up my embarrassment at stripping naked over my desire to follow him. With a deep breath, I tore off my dress then kicked off my underwear and started running towards the sea, praying Nate wasn’t doing a fly-by.The water was warm and flat as a bath. I could see Alex in the distance, his skin gleaming in the now inky moonlight. When I got close to him, his hand snaked under the water, wrapped round my waist and pulled me towards him. I didn’t resist because I’d forgotten in that instant how to swim. And then he kissed me and I prayed silently and fervently that he took my shudder to be the effect of the water.I tried sticking myself onto him like a barnacle, but eventually Alex managed to pull himself free, holding my wrists in his hand so I couldn’t reattach. His resolve was as solid as a nuclear bunker’s walls. Alex had said there were always chinks. But I couldn’t seem to find the one in his armour. He swam two long strokes away from me. I trod water and stayed where I was, feeling confused, glad that the night was dark enough to hide my expression.‘I’m just trying to protect your honour,’ he said, guessing it anyway.I groaned and rolled my eyes. When was he going to understand that I was happy for him to protect every other part of me, just not my honour?”

“—Lo siento —dije. Alex abrió la boca para hablar y yo negué con la cabeza para detenerlo—. Alex, sólo escúchame. Necesito que entiendas. Cuando pensé que mi madre estaba muerta… su funeral… y los días posteriores, sólo conseguí lograrlo gracias a ti, porque estuviste justo a mi lado cuidándome. Y cuando mi padre me llevó a Londres, lo único que conseguía sacarme de la cama en la mañana, y a través de cada día en esa maldita escuela, era el pensamiento de que un día llegaría a verte de nuevo. Sólo saber que estabas por ahí, era suficiente. Así que, incluso antes de esto, incluso antes de que realmente comenzaras a rescatarme de los hombres malos con armas grandes, te necesitaba. He sido impulsiva y loca y aprovechado oportunidades toda mi vida porque siempre he sabido que estarías allí cuando las cosas fueran mal. Lo que pasa. Mucho.¿Recuerdas el lago? ¿El incidente del trineo? ¿El árbol en el patio trasero? Y ni siquiera hemos llegado a casi ser capturada por La Unidad en un Seven Eleven o recibir un disparo en Joshua Tree. Y en cada uno de esos momentos me has rescatado. Cada vez has estado allí. Eres como mi red de seguridad.”

“—No quise decir lo que dije, Alex. Por supuesto que te necesito. No puedo creer que no lo sepas. Te necesito tanto que cuando no estás a mí alrededor, duele. En realidad duele, físicamente. Aquí. —Me toqué entre las costillas, donde podía sentir mi corazón martillando—. Sólo puedo hacer esto por ti. Sólo estoy aquí por ti.”

“—Lo que estoy tratando de decirte, Lila—dijo él con su voz ronca en su garganta —, es que siempre he estado allí, cuidando de ti, incluso cuando tú no lo sabías, incluso cuando no podías verme.Mi estómago dio un vuelco. Alex se apoderó de mis manos y apretó.—Nada ha cambiado. Estaré ahí, lo prometo. Puede que no seas capaz de verme, pero yo estaré allí.”

“Si alguien me hubiera dicho hace un par de semanas que iba a estar en México con Alex y que él iba a estar caminando a través de la playa con una sonrisa en su cara, habiéndonos reservado una habitación, me habría caído muerta de la emoción. Habría necesitado desfribiladores para traerme de vuelta. Pero aquí estaba él, caminando a través de la arena hacía mí, y era mío. Y no había caído muerta. Al contrario, me sentía muy, muy viva.”

“Ever since I was a kid I knew I wanted to be this. To do this. It’s in my genes.’ He walked over to her and pressed a finger to her chest. ‘Just as it’s in your genes, Evie. You’re a pureblood. It’s even more in your genes than mine. For you, being a Hunter is as undeniable as having blue eyes and a tight ass.”

“Checkmate to us I think,’ Cyrus said softly. ‘Now listen to me,’ he said, dropping his gaze to Evie. ‘If you want protection you can come with us now. Your boyfriend, however, is one of them. And what’s rule number three, Vero?’‘Kill all unhumans,’ the girl answered flatly.‘Jesus,’ Evie said, bringing her hands quickly to Cyrus’s chest and pushing him hard. He fell backwards a few steps. ‘This is not Fight Club,’ she yelled. ‘You can break a rule for Chrissake.”

“Look,’ said Cyrus, raising his knife again and pointing it at her. ‘Give me one reason why we shouldn’t kill your boyfriend over there. Come on. The dark scowling face is reason enough in my book.’She could have sworn she heard the sound of Lucas’s eyes narrowing to slits.‘Come on, just one reason,’ Cyrus repeated, ‘and it better not include the words love, eternal or soul.”

“It's Lila--come on, Jack. She might be a little impulsive but that doesn't make her a sociopath.'I swivelled my gaze to Jack, trying my best not to look like a sociopath.”

“I couldn't bear the thought of Alex looking at me like I was a freak. It was bad enough that the looked at me as Jack's sister.”

“I'm not stupid," I muttered lamely."Well, why else would you tell Alex to go anywhere? What will we do for eye candy now? Were you thinking of Nate at all? Were you thinking of me? I think you're incredibly selfish, Lila.”

“He kept his eyes on mine, his gaze unblinking, and I stared right back into the blue. He moved almost imperceptibly and in the space between a heartbeat his lips touched mine.”

“Cyrus had once claimed that revenge was what made the world go round. Back then Evie had argued with him that it was love. But now she knew better.”

“—Cuando bajaste las escaleras y caíste sobre mí, ese fue el momento. — Luego, sus labios se presionaron contra los míos.”

“—Cuando dije que no tenía opción excepto ayudarte, lo dije en serio. No había otra opción, porque tú eres la única opción. No confío en nada por el momento. Pero de lo que sí estoy seguro, en lo único en lo que tengo confianza...—se detuvo por una fracción de segundo—... es la manera en que me siento por ti.”

“—No. No vuelvas a pensar así. No tiene nada que ver con eso. Lo que sea que puedes hacer, cualquier habilidad que tengas, todavía eres Lila. Es parte de ti; quién eres. Y no cambiaría nada de ti, que no sea tal vez tu inclinación a salir corriendo —añadió en el último momento.”

“Un rugido arrojado rasgó el aire y ambos nos volteamos para ver una moto de color rojo acercándose a la acera detrás del auto de Jack. El piloto levantó la mano en señal de saludo y luego se quitó el casco. Mi boca cayó abierta. Era Alex. Y sonreía de oreja a oreja.¿Alex montaba una moto? ¿Desde cuándo? Y, más importante aún, ¿cuándo podría tener un paseo en ella?”

“I breathed in the memory of his lips, the softness of them, and how they felt tracing across my skin, leaving ripples of goosebumps in their wake.”

“I cannot have this Imelda Marcos woman beating me, whoever she is,’ Suki shrugged by way of explanation.”

“Look on the bright side: if you cause an inferno, you can always put it out with a tidal wave.”

“Jack stares at me blankly. ‘A what?’ he asks. I choke back the laugh. ‘A boy. You know? A Y-chromosome holder? You don’t seem to notice them as much as you do the X-carriers.’ ‘What are you talking about?’ Jack asks, ‘A boy? She’s just a kid.’ I hesitate, wondering how Jack is only just doing the maths on this one now. ‘She’s seventeen. She’s not a kid anymore.’ Jack looks like he’s about to go all Incredible Hulk and burst out of his clothes before rampaging through the bar. He jumps off the stool. ‘If any boy ever lays a finger on my sister, I’m going to kill him,’ he says. Again I stare at him in silence, thinking of all the girls Jack has laid fingers and much more of his anatomy on besides. Poor Lila. If she ever wants to have a shot at a normal life, as in one that doesn’t require a vow of celibacy, she needs to stay in London.”

“Something’s up,’ I say, handing the phone back.‘Not necessarily,’ Jack says. ‘You think this is the first time Lila’s been hot-headed? Seriously, dude, you do remember my sister, right? Short, blonde, impulsive as shock therapy? Stubborn as a mule who won’t take no for an answer?’Does Jack ever listen to himself?Does he appreciate the irony of this statement? I shake my head at him in wonder.‘Hey, I’m not short or blond,’ Jack protests as he catches the look on my face.”

“He smiled, a little smile, but the sight of it made my breathing speed up. "I've always needed you. For my entire life,' I said in a whisper,'and I'm always going to need you.”

“What I'm trying to tell you, Lila,' he said, his voice husky in his throat, "is that I've always been there, looking out for you, even when you didn't know it - even when you couldn't see me."My stomach flipped. Alex took hold of my hands and squeezed. "Nothing's changed. I'll be right there, I promise. You might not be able to see me, but I'll be there.”

“Urgh, her,' Suki groaned. "Yeah, she's still with us. And she's still a pain in the culo. I'm learning Spanish,' she said brightly. "Culo means ass.”

“For a few minutes we didn’t move. All I was aware of were Alex’s hands, one resting in the small of my back, pulling me against him, and the other holding my face gently. And his lips. I was aware of his lips. Like they held the answers to every bit of knowledge in the whole wide world and suddenly I wanted to be the oracle and know it all.”

“You just were so cold with me. And the nurse’s outfit didn’t seem to make any kind of impression. Whatsoever. So I thought . . .’ I looked at the ground. ‘I thought you were only staying because you had promised me and then . . . when I asked you, you didn’t deny it.’ ‘You didn’t give me a chance to,’ he said, shaking his head at me. He took a step nearer. ‘And believe me the nurse’s outfit made an impression.’ He took another step towards me, so he was just a few centimetres away. ‘A very big impression.”

“Damn Alex and his resolve. If I died a virgin, I’d never forgive him.”

“I tried to make my mind go blank. La la la la la la la la. 'You can't keep that up forever,' Suki said, with a touch of menace.La la la la la la la. 'Oh, Demos, make her stop.”

“You think this is the firsttime Lila’s been impulsive? Seriously, dude, you do remember my sister,right? Short, blonde, impulsive as shock therapy? Stubborn as a mule whowon’t take no for an answer?’Alex raises an eyebrow. Without reading his mind I can tell he’s thinkingthat that’s like the ear wax laughing at the snot.”

“My mission, which I chose to accept, is to infiltrate the enemy. Jack andAlex are the enemy. I pause, wondering how Demos defines infiltration.'Not that way', Alicia answers.”

“There they are. Lieutenant Jack Loveday and Lieutenant Alex Wakeman. I’ve only seen their photos so far and the pictures that are in Demos’s head, but the truth is Demos did not do them justice. In fact, Demos’s head needs a tune up or a reboot or an entirely new operating system altogether.”

“The Unit might be out to get us but that doesn’t change the factthat they’re also very buff and two of them in particular are beyond buff –indeed they occupy a whole new federation of hotness. They are almost as hot as me. Only in a man way.”

“I didn't steal it,' I stammered in protest. I had so stolen it.”

“He finished tying the knot and looked me in the face and I felt my gaze fall from his eyes to his lips and back again. "Why are you giving it back to me?" I asked. He pressed his thumb to my bottom lip and I heard an intake of air. That was me, I thought, before my head started to spin. Then he bent his head and kissed me. Just lightly, for a short few seconds before drawing away again.”

“Are demons allergic to fashion? Am I supposed to blind them with sequins?”

“Enter at own risk: Trespassers may be shot, drunk, eaten, poisoned, sliced or attacked by a wild animal. The psychic will tell you which.”

“When I said I had no choice about helping you, I meant it. There was no other option because you are the only option. I don't trust anything at the moment. But the one thing I am sure of, the one thing I do trust..." he paused for a fraction of a second, "is the way I feel about you.”

“I sunk down onto the bench in the middle of the car. So Alex had loved me the whole time, from the moment we'd seen each other again? All that time I'd been freaking out about Rachel? All that time I'd spent inches away from him, sleeping in his bed by myself; sitting opposite him at dinner, smashing plates; clinging to him on the back of his bike; sneaking peeks at him through a half-ajar bathroom door - and all the time he'd been in love with me? We'd wasted all that time when we could have been kissing? And he'd had to wait until two seconds before leaving me until he told me? If the Unit didn't kill him, I was going to.”

“Alex shot her a look that was colder than liquid nitrogen.”

“I felt the engine growl deep as Alex pressed down the accelerator. His foot would be through the floor soon. If looks could kill, the road would be dead.”

“I wandered over to the motorbike and read the work Triumph on the side. 'How long has he had it?' I asked Jack. 'No. Over my dead body.' Jack's expression was hard. […] '[…] I told Dad I'd keep you safe and the Alex you know is not the Alex who drives that bike. He's not known to respect the speed limit.' Now I definitely wanted to go on it.”

“Alex paused. 'I want you to be happy and I want you to be safe,' he said finally.'I'm both those things with you.”

“He who fears to suffer,Suffers from fear..”

“I felt his other hand sear hot against my cheek. He bent his head, and in a voice that Jack couldn’t hear, said, “When you came down the stairs, and fell into me, that was the moment.” Then his lips pressed against mine.”

“I'd be really jealous of me too. I mean, what's not to envy? No friends, no family, no future - but it's OK because guess what? I'm the White Light. Well Whooppeee Do.”