Taken at Dusk (Shadow Falls #3)(43)

"Is this a werewolf thing?" she asked.

He leaned a bit closer until she felt the warmth of his breath against her ear. "Yeah."

She shivered a little. "So I really didn't cause it?" she asked, feeling a bit disappointed.

A light smile tilted his lips. "Oh, it's all your fault. It only happens when I'm ... captivated by something or someone."

She returned his smile. "Then I'm glad I captivated you."

The smile in his eyes suddenly vanished, and she could swear she heard a light growl rumble from his throat.

She barely had a chance to wonder what could be wrong when Perry stopped right in front of them.

He nodded at Lucas as if making a point that he wasn't the least bit afraid of him. "You want to dance?" he asked Kylie.

She was so surprised, she wondered if she'd misunderstood his question. Then she felt Lucas tense beside her. "Uh, not now," she said, trying to keep her tone light. "But thanks for asking."

Perry disappeared into a group of campers. When she looked back at Lucas, he scowled into the cluster of people. "Am I going to have to teach a smartass shape-shifter a lesson?"

"No."

"I can't believe he actually hit on you when-"

"He wasn't hitting on me." Kylie looked back at the crowd and found Perry standing away from the others, watching Miranda, who was surrounded by a group of boys. For a second, Kylie felt bad. Perry had probably wanted to ask her something about Miranda and she'd brushed him off.

"I don't buy it," Lucas said, his tone deep.

"He only has eyes for Miranda," she said. "Look at him, he's green with jealousy." And literally, his eyes had changed color to a bright green.

"Yeah, right."

"It's true. Believe me; he's not into me."

He dipped his head closer. "And you're not into him?"

She grinned. "Are you jealous?"

"No." He sat up straighter. "I'm just ... possessive," he said as if the two traits were somehow different. "And you didn't answer my question."

"I'm not into Perry," she assured him. "We're just friends."

"Fair enough. So, who are you into?" he asked, and those blue eyes captured hers.

"I'm sort of falling for a jealous werewolf at the moment."

He grinned and quickly brushed the back of his hand against her forearm. "Well, don't tell me his name, because I'm likely to whip his jealous ass."

They both laughed and then sat and stared at each other until it got awkward. Not awkward because looking at him felt strange, but it just seemed as if one of them should lean in and finish the moment with a kiss. But neither of them seemed to want to take the initiative. Kylie suspected his reason was the same as hers. Too much of a crowd. She just hoped it wasn't because of his pack.

"I've been meaning to ask, did you get the answers from Holiday about the whole bird thing?"

Remembering the bird's little visit this afternoon, she felt frustration tickle her mind. "No."

She took a sip of soda, focusing on the music, and tried to push all the negative stuff back. Unfortunately, it kept coming at her. "Did you know the FRU has a library of books on everything supernatural?"

"Yeah, I heard about it. Why?"

"Do you know why they don't let us read them?"

"I think some of them contain government documents."

"But why would they need to hide anything?" she asked.

He shrugged. "The same reason the U.S. government hides things. Some things might skirt the ethics line, or if certain information got into the hands of the wrong people, it could be detrimental."

The music changed to a slow song. Kylie looked up and saw several couples moving to the center of the dining hall to dance. Helen and Jonathon, holding hands, were among the first to make their way to the empty floor space. They wrapped their arms around each other and started swaying to the music. They didn't even appear to be dancing, just holding each other and occasionally doing a small side step. Not that it looked dorky; it sort of looked sweet.

A few other couples moved to the dance floor and started to sway to the beat of the music. The lyrics of the song spoke of love, being close, and kisses. Someone turned down the lights, and since Kylie didn't think the lights had a dimmer switch, she suspected it had been one of the witches using a touch of magic.

Maybe they'd even added a bit of romance potion to the air, because Kylie felt it. Suddenly, she wanted to be out on the dance floor, too. She wanted to feel Lucus's hands on her waist while she rested her cheek on his shoulder.

She glanced at Lucas, leaned in, and asked, "Do you want to dance?"

He made a funny face as if she'd asked him to stand on his head or something. "I ... no. Sorry."

"I guess that might upset the guards too much, huh?" She looked over at the pack of weres watching them.

"It's not that." Lucas released a deep breath. "Come on." He took the plastic cup that held soda from her hand and set it on the floor beside their chairs. He caught her fingers and pulled her up. For a second, she thought he meant to take her out on the dance floor, but instead he headed to the front of the dining hall.