Opposition

7

{ Katy }

Daemon had the TV turned on in the bedroom, volume low, when I walked in with a towel wrapped around me.

He glanced over at me, and his lashes lowered as his gaze moved from the tip of my now-clean toes, all the way to the top of my wet head. “Hey there.”

It seemed like he’d forgotten what he was watching, which was one of the world news channels. I hadn’t seen any reports since I’d left the cabin.

“Come here.” He extended an arm from where he sat on the edge of the bed.

The room had been restored to how it had looked before Sadi and I had gotten into it, with the exception of the curtains and the chair. They still lay in a pile on the floor. The sheets and pillowcases had been replaced.

Holding the towel where it was knotted, I padded over to the bed. I started to sit beside him, but he looped an arm around my waist and tugged me onto his lap. The room was chilly, but his body heat immediately seeped into me. He was like a walking, talking electric blanket.

On the TV, a silvery-haired newscaster solemnly stared into the camera as he spoke. At the top of the screen, there was a live video of an affiliated station in L.A. Filmed from what appeared to be a helicopter circling the distressed city, the snapshots of smoking buildings, bumper-to-bumper traffic on the major highways, and streets crowded with people didn’t bode well. Then the tiny screen on the right switched to a live stream of New York City, spitting out the same kind of images.

“Sources believe that the initial strike started in Las Vegas, and we’re trying to get confirmation of that.” Weariness etched into the lines of the newscaster’s face and clouded his tone. “It is now believed that the meteorite shower three nights ago was not, in fact, meteorites, but . . .” He cleared his throat and seemed to struggle with the next words. “But was the first arrival of a widespread . . . extraterrestrial invasion.”

“I think he just choked on the word ‘extraterrestrial,’” Daemon commented drily.

I nodded. The guy looked like he couldn’t believe he’d just said that on national television.

The newscaster glanced down at the papers in front of him, shaking his head slowly. “We’re still waiting on Dr. Kapur to see if we can gain any insight into the . . . biology and the possible endgame involved, but at this time, what we do know is that there was a period of silence after the mass arrival and then”—he looked up at the screen, his features tense—“a strategic, targeted attack all across the world, in every major city. There are no definite numbers, but we do expect that the loss of life will be substantial in the areas and the surrounding cities.”

I shuddered at the overwhelming horror of it all. Even being what I was and seeing so much in the last year or so, it was almost too much to fully wrap my head around. It wasn’t just my world that had changed anymore. Everyone’s world had changed.

Daemon’s arms tightened around my waist as he watched the TV. He didn’t say anything, because it was one of those moments where there weren’t any words powerful enough to describe what either of us was feeling.

On the television, the man’s fingers curled around the sheets of paper in his hands. “What we do know is the attacks on the cities lasted for a few hours, but this . . . this alien life-form has not been seen since.”

Glancing over at Daemon, I watched a muscle along his jaw flicker. I had a feeling why they hadn’t seen any Luxen. They were no longer in their true forms.

“We also have received word of a very frightening and . . . and frankly disturbing development. There honestly are no words for it, and if you haven’t seen this video yet, I will warn you that it may not be suitable for younger viewers.” He looked off-screen and nodded. “This was sent in by a viewer in the Miami, Florida, area. We believe it was captured on a camera phone at some point yesterday, during the attacks.”

The screen to the right switched to a shaky recording and then expanded, filling the television. My eyes widened.

It looked like whoever was filming had hidden behind a car on its side. A Luxen was on the screen, in full glowworm mode as it stalked a human male who looked like he was in his twenties. The Luxen’s movements were as fluid as sculpted water as it backed the human male up against an abandoned city bus. Horror etched into the guy’s face as the Luxen launched forward and placed a glowing white hand on the center of his chest.

I knew what was about to happen.

“Oh my God. Oh my God,” whoever was filming whispered over and over again as the Luxen rapidly assimilated the DNA of the human male, taking on the physical form and characteristics until there was nothing left of the human but a dried-out husk crumpled on the ground.

The video started shaking more, and then I could tell the person was getting the hell away from what had just gone down.

When the video ended, the newscaster appeared as if he had aged a decade. “We are still waiting on the press conference from the president of the United States, but we have received word that many government figures in the sieged cities will be making statements later in the day.”

“How are they doing it?” I asked.

Daemon knew what I was asking. “When we arrived and were brought in by Daedalus, we were assimilated.” His hands slid down my arms to my cold hands. He folded his over mine. “We were exposed to a human—the three of us—over a period of time. It took several months, and when we finally shifted into our human forms, we had his characteristics—the dark hair, skin color, facial features. He was like a surrogate, but we didn’t kill him. At least as far as I know. Once we were moved out, along with . . . Matthew and the Thompsons, we never saw him again.”

Daemon had never gone into this kind of detail before, and trying to fully picture three little toddler-like aliens assimilating a human over a period of time made my brain hurt. How in the world had Daedalus gotten humans to sign up for that?

“So these Luxen are doing what you did but faster—too fast?” I said.

He nodded. “They’re doing exactly what we were taught to do.” He brought our joined hands to his lips and pressed a kiss against my knuckles. “It’s strange. They know so much, too much for not being here, but then there’s a lot they don’t know. Someone or something had to be working with them from here.”

“Sadi?”

His brows rose.

“I don’t mean just her, but haven’t you noticed? She doesn’t move or talk like the other Luxen,” I explained. “She’s more human. I think she’s been here.”

The corners of his lips pulled down. “I hadn’t noticed, but I try to stay away from her. She’s a little bit touchy.”

A slow burn of anger blazed through my veins. “I really don’t like her.”

“I know.” He kissed my cheek and then gently lifted me out of his lap. I swayed a bit on my feet, drawing a concerned look from him. “You need to rest. We have a few more hours before the sun breaks and the press conference happens.”

I folded my arms over the edge of the towel. “Why does he want us there?”

“That I can’t figure out. Rolland says he can’t get a read on me, and I can’t get one on him, either.” Daemon reached behind him, picking up a long shirt. “I was able to find this for you to sleep in.”

It was a man’s shirt, and I really tried not to think about where it came from when I took it and slipped it on over my head. I shimmied out of the towel, and the shirt almost reached my knees.

“I’ll stay with you.” He rose, glancing at the door. “I don’t think that will raise any suspicions.”

Not when they thought Daemon and I were banging our brains out. My cheeks heated, even though it was stupid to be embarrassed over it, but it was like the Luxen saw me simply as Daemon’s property and nothing else.

That made me itchy in my own skin and sick to my stomach.

I climbed into the bed and rested on my side. Daemon floated around the room, checking the door and the windows even though we both knew it was pointless, and then he turned off the TV. The bed dipped behind me as his weight settled. An arm snaked around my waist, urging me against his chest and into all his warmth.

He smoothed my hair behind my ear as his breath danced along my temple. My eyes closed when his lips brushed over my skin. “We’ve been in worse situations,” he whispered. “We’ll get out of this one.”

Had we been in worse? At least with Daedalus we knew they wanted us alive. Alive to do horrible things for them, but that somehow sounded better. With the Luxen, I knew deep down they couldn’t care less if we woke up dead tomorrow.

I think Daemon realized that, too.

“We need to get out of here.” I stared into the darkness of the room. “Tomorrow, when they take us outside, it will be the perfect opportunity.”

Daemon didn’t respond, and after a few moments, I squeezed my eyes shut. Tomorrow might be our only opportunity to get out of here, but there was one big thing in our way, one thing that would stop Daemon right in his tracks.

And that was Dee.

{ Daemon }

Dawson looked as antsy as I felt standing outside the room Kat slept in. I wasn’t surprised that he’d come to find me in the early morning hours, when most, if not all, the Luxen were asleep, completely unafraid that anyone would attempt to take them out.

People always thought I was arrogant, but hell, nothing touched these Luxen.

Taking them out while they slept was something we’d discussed the first morning we realized they all seriously went nightie-night, but neither of us turned out to be that stupid. We’d be able to take some of them, but there were more than two dozen Luxen on the grounds, and it wasn’t just our lives we’d be risking.

“How is she?” Dawson asked, voice low as he nodded at the closed door.

“She finally fell asleep.” I leaned against the wall, watching the end of the hall. No one else slept up here, not even Dee, but my guard was up.

“I really am sorry. She knows that, right?” Dawson thrust a hand through his hair, grimacing. “I owe her everything, and—”

“She knows.” I shifted my weight. “You know why she was at the grocery store with Archer? Turns out they were picking up prenatal stuff for Beth.”

Blood drained from his face.

“She’s been sick, and I don’t know if it’s normal or if it’s something more.” I thought about those damn kids back at Area 51, but I doubted this was the time to ask Dawson if he knew about them and really freak him out. “Kat isn’t sure, either. None of us knows crap about pregnancy.”

He squeezed his eyes shut as he blew out a breath. “I know we can’t leave without Dee, but . . .”

But how much longer was Dawson expected to stay away from Beth, the girl he loved, the girl who was carrying his child? The girl who needed him right now more than anything?

How long could I wait?

Before Kat had ended up here, I’d been willing to stick around to find out who was leading the Luxen and how he or she planned on carrying out the ultimate strategy, because I knew Kat was safe with Luc and Archer. I’d hated not being with her, freaking drove me out of my mind not even being able to think about her out of fear the others would pick up on it.

But now?

Screw the Luxen.

Screw mankind.

I wanted Kat out. Every cell of my being demanded that I protect her, even though I knew she was hella capable of doing so herself, but I wanted her far away from here. Hell, I’d keep her in Bubble Wrap if it weren’t so damn creepy and also inconvenient, considering I had a terrible habit of obsessively popping the damn things until not a single bubble was left.

Getting her out of here was what I wanted, but I couldn’t do it. How could we leave with Dee this way? We needed to break their hold on her, but neither of us knew the magic key to doing it. And what would Kat and I be running to? What future waited for Dawson, Bethany, and . . . and their baby?

I didn’t know.

In the minutes since I’d told Dawson about Beth being sick, dark shadows of worry had blossomed under his eyes, and I wondered if I should’ve just kept that part to myself.

Pushing off the wall, I clamped a hand on my brother’s shoulder and squeezed. As our gazes locked, pressure circled like vise grips around my chest. It wasn’t the first moment the thought popped into my head. Ever since I realized Kat was going to be brought back to the compound, it had been there, on the fringes of my consciousness. I knew it was the same for Dawson.

He shuddered as he placed his hand on my shoulder. “I can’t wait much longer.”

Meaning sooner rather than later, he would make a run for it, for Beth, with or without our sister.

“I know.” Real pain lanced through my chest at the thought of leaving Dee to these things I really didn’t want to claim any relation to.

Dawson nodded as he stepped back, lowering his arm. “This sucks.”

I choked out a laugh as I glanced at the closed door. “Can you hang here for a few minutes while I find her something to wear?”

“Sure.”

I left Dawson by the door and headed into a nearby bedroom where Dee had been pilfering clothes. The room was a mess. Bed destroyed. Dressers turned over and items spilled out. I stepped over bottles of perfume and pictures, and then entered the walk-in closet. Scanning for something that looked like it would fit Kat, I realized there weren’t many options. The original woman of the house was obviously a very small woman. Probably never ate a double cheeseburger, based on the size and style of the gowns.

I pulled out a dazzling, glittering blue gown. There was a split all the way up to the hip, and despite everything, I pictured Kat wearing it.

And then I pictured Kat out of it.

That image hit me like a punch in the gut.

Great. Now I would be a walking hard-on all morning. Just what I needed.

Finally, I found a pair of white pants that looked like they’d fit and a short-sleeve black sweater. There was also a pair of flats in her size. After gathering up the stuff, I turned and walked back into the main room, happening to glance down at the nightstand next to the bed.

I came to a complete stop.

Drawers were pulled open. One of them had an adult store’s worth of toys in it. Man, the mayor and his wife sure liked to get freaky. In the top drawer were other . . . interesting things. Among them was a black box full of sealed wrappers.

Really not necessary, but . . .

I grabbed a handful and slid them in my back pocket.

Nothing like being prepared.

Smiling to myself, I pivoted around and hustled back to where Dawson waited.

“What’s up with the shit-eating grin of yours?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

He shot me a look that said he knew better. “You need anything else?” When I shook my head, he started away and then paused. “Rolland wants you at the conference today?”

My free hand on the doorknob, I nodded. “He wants Kat there, too.”

Dawson frowned.

“We need to be prepared for anything,” I told him.

Drawing in a deep breath, he nodded, and I watched him retreat down the hall. Easing into the room, I was surprised to see Kat sitting up in bed. Hair air-dried, it tumbled down in messy waves, then fell over her shoulders and down her arms.

“Is everything okay?” She rubbed her eyes with balled fists.

“Yeah. Found you some clothes.” For a moment, I just stared at her as she lowered her hands, tossed off the covers, and stood. My heart thumped.

Sometimes—and it happened at random moments—I was blown away by the fact that she was mine and I was hers. This was one of those times.

I offered the stolen clothes. “For you,” I added, like a complete idiot.

A tired smile appeared on her face as she took the clothes from me. “Thank you.”

I watched her shuffle past me and disappear into the bathroom, and I stood there as the water came on. It was still way too early and she could’ve slept more, but being the selfish ass I could be, I was happy she was awake.

Sucked I wasn’t getting to watch her change clothes, though. That would’ve really given me the picker upper I needed. But then the door opened, and I was still standing in the middle of the room as she stepped out.

Lucky me, the pants I’d given her hadn’t really fit.

They were about a size too small, hugging her shapely ass like a glove, and that made me a very happy man.

Kat caught my stare and rolled her eyes. “Thank God these pants are stretchy.”

“I’m having inappropriately timed thoughts right about now,” I told her.

She crossed her arms under her chest, drawing my attention to another place on her body I might be a wee bit fascinated with. “I’m not really surprised.”

“Just thought I’d let you know.”

As she walked past me and bent at the waist to place the shoes on the floor, I really got an eyeful, and I stopped thinking. Maybe I was exhausted and I didn’t care about getting my priorities straight while the quietness of dawn seeped in. Maybe it was the dress I saw in the closet or all the junk in the drawer. Maybe when it all came down to it, I was a dude and had sex on the brain no matter the situation. Either way, I stopped thinking, and that was a common problem of mine whenever I was around her.

I reached out, snagging her right off the floor, lifting her up with one arm around her waist. A startled sound escaped her lips as I hauled her against my chest, digging my hand through her hair as I pressed my mouth against hers.

I kissed her deeply, taking everything I could into me—her taste, her tongue, and every soft sound she made against my mouth. In the back of my head, I knew this wasn’t something I should be doing. Hell, we should be plotting and all that crap, but screw it.

Like always, I wanted her.

Setting her down on her feet, I traced a path of tiny kisses to that small earlobe of hers as I slipped my fingers under the hem of the sweater. Her skin was warm, soft as spun silk. I pulled back, lifting the sweater over her head, dropping it on the floor.

I blazed a new trail down her throat, kissing each of those little yellow daisies, lingering on some more than others. Then, I turned her around, and the air stilled in my lungs.

The scars.

A low, inhuman-sounding thing rose from my throat.

“Daemon?” She glanced over her shoulder.

I swallowed. “I . . . It’s okay.”

But it wasn’t okay.

I hated seeing the scars, even though they were nothing more than a faint pink with smoothed edges, but they would always be a reminder of the pain she suffered and the helplessness I had felt. Bad times.

Touching her shoulders lightly, I lowered my mouth to just below her shoulder blades and placed a reverent kiss against each of the scars, wishing I could somehow wipe them away, erase the memory of the whole damn thing. Closing my eyes, I moved my mouth to the base of her neck and made myself a promise I would do terrible things to keep.

There would not be another scar on her body.

Not one.

With shaking fingers, I unhooked the tiny clasps and slipped the straps of her bra down her arms. She sucked in a breath as I straightened and eased the length of my body against hers.

Reaching around her, I flicked the tiny pearl button on her pants as I caught her earlobe between my teeth. I loved the little piece of flesh and the sound she made that set my blood afire.

“I can’t help myself when I’m around you,” I whispered in her ear. “But I think that’s something you already know.”

The back of her head rested against my chest as I slid my hands up. She bit down on her swollen lower lip. I felt my pulse in every part of my body and I wanted to slow everything down, worship every inch of her, but lust and love were riding me hard.

Truth was, time wasn’t on our side. I’d make time later. Damn, I would make so much time, we’d need a straight three months of alone, one-on-one quality time.

Once I had her facing me, I picked her up and sat her on the bed as I took her mouth in a deep, scorching kiss that left me unsteady on my feet. When I pulled back, I could see the burning white glow in her eyes and I knew, just like our heartbeats, that her eyes mirrored mine. I peeled off the damn tight white pants and nearly lost it right there. Glancing up at her, I raised my brows in question.

“What?” She flushed the prettiest shade of pink. “You didn’t bring me any undies. And honestly, I’m not wearing anyone else’s.”

My hands slid up her calves. “I have absolutely no problem with that. Whatsoever. Like, ever. And ever. Forever. You get me?”

A soft laugh parted her lips. “I think I get your point.”

“Are you sure?” I kissed the spot behind her knee, grinning when her leg jerked. “Because I could make it a rule.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary.”

I chuckled as I pushed back from the bed and shucked off my clothes faster than I ever had. Her gaze dropped, and she gasped as her eyes brightened. A ridiculous amount of pride brought a smile to my lips. “You like?”

Her lashes lifted. “What do you think?”

“I think you like a lot.”

With a deep breath, her chest rose. “But we don’t have any protection, and considering I about passed out when I realized Beth was pregnant, I think we really need that.”

“Got it.” Snagging up my jeans, I pulled out one of the foil wrappers. Oddly enough, though, as I glanced over at her, seeing her on the bed, waiting for me, only me, I almost forgot how to put one on.

That would’ve been awkward.

“Oh my God,” she said, laying her head back against the bed. Amused exasperation colored her tone, but she looked like a damn goddess positioned like that. “It’s like you have a special skill when it comes to finding condoms. Seriously. They must just fall out of the sky whenever you’re around.”

I winked as I tore the edge of the wrapper with my teeth. “I have the skills that count, Kitten.”

She grinned, and that sexy, heavily hooded gaze of hers worked me right to the edge. I climbed over her, bypassing parts I was so going to take a lot of time on later, over and over again. I opened my mouth, probably to say something outrageously smug and overtly sexual, but whatever I was about to say was lost.

Kat reached up and cupped my jaw, bringing me down for a kiss that wrecked me from the inside out in the most perfect way. Amazed, absolutely blown away by how a single word, a look or a touch, or just a sweet kiss from her could put me right in my place, completely humbled by her.

Then, there really was no talking and no thinking. My mouth was everywhere. Our hands on the move. I found she was ready, and I blasted beyond that moment the second we kissed. We moved together, our hands joined tightly as I lifted up and stared into gray eyes speckled with white light.

I fell in love all over again.

Flickering light played over the walls as our hearts pounded together in tandem. She held on tight, wrapping her legs around me, drawing me in, and I swallowed her cry with a kiss as a shattering whirl of sensation powered down my spine.

I don’t know how much time passed, but while I held her close, wrapping every part of my body around hers so there wasn’t even an inch between us, I finally closed my eyes. And despite all the shit going down around us, I found peace.