“His hand rested above my hip, having a totally different impact on me. My skin tingled underneath the chiffon. Daemon cleared his throat as he glanced away. 'You...you look beautiful, by the way. Really too good to be with that idiot.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Daemon was sprawled on his back, one arm stretched across the space beside him and the other rested across his bare stomach. Sheets were twisted around his narrow hips. His face was almost angelic in sleep, chiselled lines softened and lips relaxed. Thick lashes fanned the top of his cheeks. He looked so much younger at rest but, in a weird way, he was even more out of my league. His kind of masculine beauty was otherworldly and intimidating. Something that existed in between the pages of the books I read. Sometimes I had a hard time convincing myself he was real.”

“Then he leaned forward and rested his cheek against mine. Hot tingles spread through me as his lips moved against my ear. "You should tell me to stop." I didn't say a word.”

“Daemon spoke in his language. The lyrical quality of his words made no sense to me.“What did you say?” I asked.“There’s really no translation for it,” he said, “but the closest human words would be, you are beautiful to me.”

“This was it. And it was right. Perfect without the dinner, movies, and flowers, because how could you really plan something like this?You couldn'tDaemon sat back-A fist pounded on the door, and Andrew's voice intruded. "Daemon, are you awake?"We stared at each other in disbelief. "If I ignore him," he whispered, "do you think he'll go away?"My hands dropped to my sides. "Maybe"The pounding came again. "Daemon, I really need you downstairs. Dawson is ready to go back to Mount Weather. Nothing Dee or I are saying to him is making a bit of difference. He's like a suicidal Energizer bunny."Daemon squeezed his eyes shut. "Son of a bitch...""It's okay." I started to sit up. "He needs you."He let out a ragged sigh. "Stay here and get some rest. I'll talk-or beat some sense into him." He kissed me briefly and then gently pushed me back down. "I'll be back."Settling in, I smiled. "Try not to kill him.""No promises." He stood, pulled on his pajama bottoms, and headed for the door. Stopping short, he looked over his shoulder,his intense gaze melting my bones. "Dammit."A few seconds after he stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him, there was a fleshly smack and then Andrew yelling. "Ouch. What in the hell was that for?""Your timing sucks on an epic level," Daemon shot back.”