“Daemon had not stayed.My smile slipped from my face.He was standing by the window, his back to me. “I got bored.”“I wasn’t even gone five minutes.”“I have a short attention span.”

“It took me about a half an hour to weasel Daemon away from my mom.Maybe I wouldn’t have to worry about her and Will. Maybe I needed to worry about her and Daemon. Cougar.”

“I don’t think we got the chance to introduce ourselves the other night at the diner. My name is Blake Saunders.” He offered his free hand.Daemon glanced at Blake’s hand before returning his gaze to me. “I know who you are.”Oh, geez. I twisted toward Blake. “This is Daemon Black.”His smile faltered. “Yeah, I know who he is, too.”Laughing under his breath, Daemon straightened. At his full height, he was a good head taller than Blake. “It’s always nice to meet another fan.”Yeah, Blake had no idea what to say to that.”

“Kitten..." "Don't Kitten me." I scowled, on a roll now. "You left around five or so and didn't get back till when? Past two in the morning? What were you guys doing? And get that stupid smile off your face. This isn't funny." Daemon tried to get rid of the smile but failed. "I love when your claws come out.”

“How in the world did they just jump from politics, to a ball, and now to daimon attacks? And here I’d thought I had the attention span of an ant on Red Bull.”

“Taking pity on me, Carissa kept her voice low. “You were calling out for Daemon.”I dropped my face in my hands and moaned. “Oh, God.”Lesa giggled. “It was kind of cute.”A minute before the tardy bell rang, I felt an all-too-familiar warmth on my neck and glanced up. Daemon swaggered into class. Textbook-less as usual. He had a notebook, but I don’t think he ever wrote anything in it. I was beginning to suspect our math teacher was an alien, because how else would Daemon get away with not doing a damn thing in class? He passed by without so much as a look.I twisted around in my chair. “I need to talk to you.”He slid into his desk chair. “Okay.”“In private,” I whispered.His expression didn’t change as he leaned back in his chair. “Meet me in the library at lunch. No one really goes in there. You know, with all those books and stuff.”

“We’re still going to be seeing each other,” he murmured. “And don’t even lie. I know that makes you happy, You told me you wanted me.”Hold your horses. “When?”“At the lake.” He slanted his headm and I should’ve pulled back. His lips curved knowingly against mine, and he let go of my wrist. “You said you wanted me.”Both of my hand were on his chest. They had a mind of their own. I claimed no responsibility for them. “I had a fever. Lost my mind.”“Whatever, Kitten.” Daemon gripped my hips, lifting me onto the edge of he desk with an ease that was disturbing. “I know better.”