Taken at Dusk (Shadow Falls #3)(19)

"Is Derek here?"

"Yup," he said. "If he'll come to the door is another thing. He's been brooding in his room since he got back." He looked over his shoulder and called out, "Derek, you got company."

Not wanting to stand there to be ogled by Chris, Kylie stepped back from the door and waited at the edge of the porch. Still trying to control her heartbeat, she peeled her soaked shirt from her chest and flapped the fabric back and forth, hoping it would dry.

In a few minutes, familiar footsteps moved to the door. She turned around and faced Derek and had to will herself not to run and throw herself into his arms.

She took one step toward him, then stopped herself. If he rejected her, it would hurt so damn much.

Chapter Seven

Derek ran a nervous hand through his hair. Hair that looked longer than when he left. And softer. She could remember brushing it back from his brow then, and she longed to do it again. She wanted to hit the rewind button and go back to the way things were before. When things between them had been so good. But life didn't have a rewind button.

"Hey." He tucked his hands into his jeans pockets.

"Hey." Her heart raced a little faster and hurt more at the sight of him. She tried not to notice things like the muscles in his arms or how tightly his T-shirt hugged his chest. She inhaled.

While it had stopped raining, the scent of rain still clung to her clothes and hair. It still flavored the air. But it didn't hide the scent that she recognized as Derek.

She felt the phone in her hand and looked down at it.

"Sorry about not calling you back earlier," he said, as if he thought that was why she was here. "I had cut my phone off when I was in the hospital with Brit."

She nodded, not completely sure if she believed him, and felt the rise of emotion in her throat. Her sinuses stung. But she'd be damned if she would cry. At least not now. At least not here.

"Where did you go when you left Shadow Falls?" she asked.

"Just on a job assignment for Burnett." He hesitated. "I'm not really supposed to talk about it."

That hurt. She knew he was probably telling the truth, but there had been a time she hadn't believed they kept secrets from each other.

His gaze met hers and she could see the gold flecks meshing into his green irises. She saw emotion there. Hurt, jealousy, betrayal, anger. It struck her right then that everything he felt was what she, too, was feeling.

For a flicker of a second, she told herself he didn't have a right to feel those things; but she'd never been a great liar, not even when she lied to herself. Lucas had kissed her. She had feelings for Lucas, albeit confused feelings, but she still had them for him. How could she be so mad at Derek right now and not accept that he deserved his own anger?

She blinked, and the moment grew more awkward with each beat of silence. "I came here to ask you about..." She held out the phone and then dropped her hand back to her side. "But I suddenly realize you don't owe me an answer. I'm sorry, I..." Unable to finish, she turned to go.

He caught her. No sooner had his touch warmed her skin than he jerked away. And that hurt, too. Was touching her so unpleasant that it caused him to flinch?

"Ask me about what?" He frowned. "What has you so upset?"

"It's nothing. I'm fine." She started to walk away again.

"Damn it, Kylie!" He jumped in front of her. "Don't lie to me. I feel it, remember? I feel everything you feel tenfold. You're really upset about something. You came here to say something to me, so say it."

She hesitated and then turned on Della's phone.

He watched her. "What are you-"

"You'll see." She found the picture and held it out.

His expression shot from angry to ... something different. "Shit." He ran a palm over his face.

"It's okay," Kylie said. "I realize you don't owe me an explanation. Really, I overreacted." She tried to step around him, but he grabbed her again. This time his hand lingered for a few seconds before pulling away.

"Please don't go," he said. "Look, that's Ellie. I told you about her when we first met. I dated her for a while. We ran into each other when I was on the job for Burnett. She was ... she was just happy to see someone she knew."

"Yeah, she looks happy," Kylie said before she could stop the words, and there was an edge of sarcasm to them.

"It looks worse than it really was," he said, but he couldn't hide the guilt that flashed in his eyes.

"You really don't have to explain," Kylie said, suddenly realizing how unfair it was to confront him about this. The last thing she'd want right now was him confronting her about Lucas. She closed the phone and tucked it in her pocket. "You don't-"

"Yes, I do have to explain," Derek snapped. He drew in a pound of oxygen and hesitated before starting again. "Look, I was going to tell you anyway."

"No, you weren't," she said, finding that impossible to believe. "Not that I blame you. We weren't really going out. You don't have to tell me anything."

"I was going to tell you. I don't have a choice."

She studied him, not sure what he meant, and she saw more guilt in his eyes.

"Look," he said. "Ellie's here. I brought her back to the camp."