Taken at Dusk (Shadow Falls #3)(12)

"But the day you kicked Selynn's ass, you weren't afraid," Della jumped in. "You just acted. And eventually, you'll get used to putting yourself out there. It's not a big deal."

It felt like a big deal to Kylie. "Are most protectors a certain species?" If so, she hoped this might lead her to discovering what she was.

"No," Miranda said. "They can be anything, but they're known to be good and pure. Sort of the Mother Teresa of supernaturals."

"Which I'm so not," Kylie said.

Della and Miranda looked at each other and then back at Kylie. "Yeah, you are," they said at the same time.

"Am not! I'm not any better of a person than you two. I mean, look what I did to Selynn and Fredericka."

"Because you were protecting someone else. And that's exactly what protectors do." Miranda shrugged as if in apology when she spotted Kylie's frown.

"But ... I'm not a saint. The other day I practically shoved Socks off the bed for waking me up. And ... I ran over a squirrel once."

"On purpose?" Della asked.

"No."

"Then there you go," Della said. "I'll bet you even cried and felt guilty."

Kylie's frown grew tighter.

Della arched a knowing brow. "See? That's what makes you so good. You hardly ever get mad."

"I get mad. I get furious at you guys all the time. Remember-"

"Wait, something doesn't make sense," Miranda said. "I've never heard of a protector being anything but a hundred percent supernatural."

"See? That proves it." Kylie slapped her hands on the table, wanting to believe it. "I'm not that nice of a person, and I know I'm my mother's daughter. So I'm not a protector."

"Or maybe you're just the first hybrid protector to exist," Miranda said. "I mean, usually there's only one protector born every hundred or two hundred years. But, hey, enough about that. Let's get to the good part about what happened that night." She waved her hands through the air as if to push that thought to the side.

"What good part?" Kylie asked.

Miranda's grin spread into the perfect smile-one that could be used to sell teeth-whitening strips. "Pleeeassse. You were there, in the dark, late at night, for several hours, and alone with Lucas. Who happens to be the hottest werewolf alive. I mean, I'm so not into werewolves, but even I can see it. He's like a god. So..." She held out her two palms. "What happened? And don't you dare tell me nothing. Because I will totally, completely lose faith in romance if nothing happened."

Kylie opened her mouth to answer and then saw Della leaning forward, turning her head slightly, as if to listen to Kylie's heartbeat to see if she attempted to lie.

"The little witch has a point," Della said. "This might be the good part."

Kylie frowned at Della. For a girl who always kept secrets, she sure didn't give anyone else a break. Then Kylie looked at Miranda, who held her breath in anticipation of Kylie baring her soul.

"Sorry," she said. "Nothing happened."

"Ugh." Miranda dropped her arms on the table and sank into them.

Della stared, and Kylie knew the vamp was listening to her heartbeat and checking for lies again. Frankly, Kylie wasn't sure what Della would hear. It wasn't actually a lie. Nothing happened. Except ... She'd felt so safe when Lucas had held her, except that she'd turned into Wonder Woman when she'd heard the rogue hurting Lucas. What did that mean? Kylie wasn't sure. So how could she explain it?

Miranda lifted her head off the table. "See what I mean? You're Mother Teresa. Pure. Without lust."

"No," Kylie snapped, not wanting to be viewed as a saint. "I ... lust."

Della and Miranda shared a pensive stare. "Sorry," Della said. "When it walks like a saint, and quacks like saint-it's a quacking saint."

"He held me," Kylie said. "Held me close. And I fell asleep on his shoulder. It was nice. And kind of ... He was hot." Though she meant temperature hot, she didn't mind if they drew their own conclusions.

"Yes!" Miranda smiled extra big again. "Did he kiss you? Like the awesome kiss he gave you at the creek when you first got here?"

"No," Kylie said.

Her two friends met each other's gazes again. "Mother Teresa," they said in unison.

"But he kissed me when I got back here," Kylie blurted out, deciding she'd rather kiss and tell than be considered a saint. "And he almost kissed me when he followed me to the office earlier."

Miranda squealed and Della laughed. "So he planted one on you, huh?"

Kylie looked at the humor on her roommates' faces and didn't find any of this so funny. "I'm so confused." She dropped her head on the table. Socks, now back up on the table, stuck his nose against her head and sniffed her scalp as if he were concerned.

"Confused about what?" Miranda asked.

Kylie lifted her head and rested her chin in her palm. "Confused about what I feel for Lucas. Confused about what I feel for Derek-other than pissed off. I'm really angry at him right now." Socks bumped against her hand, seeking some TLC. Feeling as if she could use some herself, she offered the little guy some affection.