“Doesn’t he own a shirt?” I asked, grabbing a spade. “Unfortunately, I don’t think so. Not even in the winter. He’s always running around half-dressed.” She groaned. “Its disturbing that I have to see so much of his…skin. Yuck.” Yuck for her. And hot damn for me.”

“I remembered all the little things. My Seth? Oh, yuck. I wanted to scrub out my brain with detergent.”

“Without thinking, I moved again, reaching out and touching the handresting near my thigh. Call it an experiment, but I wanted to see what would happenSeth’s head whipped in my direction. “What are you doing?”“Nothing.” And nothing was what happened. Confused, I wrapped my fingers around his.“Doesn’t look like nothing,” His eyes narrowed on me.“I guess so.” Giving up on my impromptu test, I lifted my hand. “Shouldn’t you be—” Whatever I was about to say died on my lips. Incredibly fast, Seth grabbed my hand and threaded his fingers through mine.“Is this what you wanted?” he asked, ever so casually.It happened. Being so close to him this time, I could see where the markings came from. The thick veins in his handwere the first to darken, branching out before spreading up his arm. Mesmerized, I watched the inky tats cover every piece of exposed skin. Before my eyes, they shifted away from his veins, swirling around his skin. Breaking off into different designs as he—we—continued to hold hands.”

“Daemon’s gaze dipped again, and I shivered under his intensescrutiny. Why, oh why, did Blake need to bail early, leaving me behindwith Daemon? “Where did you get this dress?” he asked.“Your sister,” I told him blandly.He frowned, looking half disgusted. “I don’t even know what to sayabout that.”

“So childish, Alex. You’ve ruined her dress.” The vibrant red silk floated around me as I treaded water. “I know. Bad me.”

“She rolled her eyes. "Then what happened?"Rubbing his temples, he glanced at the door. "Bethany and I were making out and something happened that never happened before."Dee leaned back. A look of supreme disgust clouded her pretty face. "Uh, yuck if this is about any kind of premat-""Oh my God, shut and listen, okay?" He dragged a hand through his hair. "we were making out, and I lost my hold on my human form. I lit up like a freaking Christmas tree.”

“I feel it in here," she said, placing her hand against her chest and then against her stomach, "and here. It’s like there’s not enough air or room inside me. That I may… burst out of my skin or drown in it, and that wouldn’t be a bad thing. I don’t know why I feel this way, but I always have… and will." She tipped her chin up and her entire face was a rosy color. "It’s you. I… I love you.”