Whispers at Moonrise (Shadow Falls #4)(97)

Holiday's shrug and "I don't know" didn't surprise Kylie. But it was just one more thing that had Kylie taking her grandfather's warning more seriously. What if these crazy things continued? Right now, it was just the supernaturals who considered her a freak of nature. What would happen if she did something like this in front of regular humans?

Running down the path, hoping the feel of the wind in her hair would take the edge off her mood, she made it to the office in no time. The sound of a few people still lingering in the dining hall filled the night. Before anyone saw her, she cut around to the back of the office. The second she saw Lucas waiting for her by the tree, her frustration vanished.

She ran toward him and he snagged her up and pulled her to him. His arms wrapped around her waist. His thumbs slipped under the hem of her tank top to touch her bare skin. The kiss was sweet and warm. When he pulled back and smiled, she knew what he was thinking.

"Don't mention it," she said, feeling another "glowing" joke coming on.

"I'm just jealous."

"Jealous?" she asked, thinking she'd been wrong. "Of what?"

"I want to be the only thing that makes you glow."

She thumped her hand on his wide chest. "I'm telling you just like I told Della and Miranda. It's not funny."

"You looked beautiful." Honesty flowed from his comment. "Like an angel."

She frowned. "I don't want to be an angel. I want to be a regular supernatural."

"Okay, I won't talk about it anymore. I'll just kiss you instead."

And what a kiss it was. Hotter, sweeter, and more mind-numbing than ever. When he pulled back, she heard his pulse humming, a natural seduction mechanism for weres, and she wasn't above being seduced by it. She was lost in the sound.

"It must be close to the full moon again." She smiled up at the heat in his eyes, knowing her eyes held the same.

"Yeah." He inhaled as if trying to get oxygen into his brain. "You are driving me crazy. Sometimes, I just want..." He took a step back. "Let's try talking for a while."

She grinned. "I kind of like driving you crazy."

"That's mean." He pointed a finger in her face, but his tone rang humorous.

Not really mean, Kylie thought. It wasn't as if she'd planned anything to happen tonight. But if it did ... Right then, she recalled Holiday's words of wisdom about boys, or rather sex. When you do make that decision, it's a decision you make rationally and not one you just let happen. You understand the difference?

Kylie did understand the difference. Problem was, it was easier to let it happen than to plan it. Planning it meant talking about it. And that would be embarrassing.

She inhaled sharply with a sudden realization. If she couldn't talk about it, she shouldn't do it-because unless she wanted to go through what Sara did with her pregnancy scare, it was essential that they talk about it.

"What is it?" Lucas asked.

She opened her mouth to answer-to talk about it-but closed her lips just as quickly. They could talk about it later. Later, but, for certain, before anything happened.

"Nothing." Her voice sounded like a frog ready to croak.

He studied her face. "You're almost glowing again."

"Crap!" She held out her arms and studied them in a panic.

He chuckled. "No, you're just blushing. Where did you slip off to in your head?" He tapped a finger to her temple and with her fae gifts, she felt the passion ooze from him.

"Nowhere," she lied. "Let's just ... talk." But not about sex. Because obviously, she wasn't ready to have that conversation.

He studied her as if he didn't believe her, then reached for her hand and laced his fingers into hers. His palm felt warm, but not nearly as warm as it had when she'd been a vampire.

"Okay. Let's talk." They sat down on the soft ground, under the alcove of the tree. "Why don't you tell me how you got out of being shadowed? It doesn't sound like Burnett just to ease up on something like that."

"He didn't want to. But I..." She recalled the strange feeling she'd gotten when she'd stood up to Burnett and Holiday. As if the power of persuasion was ... a real power. Then again, maybe it was. "I persuaded him."

"How? He's not easy to persuade."

"I ... sort of threatened I might leave."

"Leave?" Concern filled his blue eyes. "You were just bullshitting him, right?"

Mostly, but I'm beginning to worry. She almost told him that, but decided she didn't want to get into that particular conversation with Lucas, not when they had so little time together, so she just nodded. "I agreed not to go into the woods, and to tell them before I went to see my grandfather again."

"What?" His super-charged werewolf protectiveness spilled out of him. "Burnett's going to let you go see your grandfather again? Alone?"

She nodded. "As long as it doesn't appear too dangerous."

"How are you going to know if it's dangerous?" He shook his head, his dark hair scattered across his brow. "Don't go until I come back." He cupped her chin in his hand. "Promise me."

"Come back from where?" she asked.

His frown tightened. "My dad again. This time I'm going to have to spend some time there. A week or more."